Foreword and Legalish

Fort Tryon Park, New York

Prepare to be lovingly whumped over the head with logic wrapped in just a little bit of hope.

You came here because you want help recovering from pericarditis. Perhaps what's been done thusfar hasn't helped or isn't working fast enough. This blog documents what I'm doing to recover from my own pericarditis hell. Feel free to do what I've laid out here but be advised: By reading any of this blog or following any of its instructions, you recognize you're doing so at your own risk, dismissing me and my assigns from any and all liability. Amen.


If you're ready to get started, here's the first thing you should do: Sleep.

Then again, perhaps, when you approach the idea of maybe bothering to possibly change any habits, you just sink back into your cave because you've been sick too long and it couldn't possibly be that easy; or perhaps you couldn't possibly change anything you're doing because it would upset the precarious balance of your home life. Been there and been there. Then one day, just for kicks, because I had nothing to lose, I tried a few things I hadn't before, some tips a friend had given me, from the naturopath that had helped him so much...and the next day, I woke up with a smile on my face and the energy to travel 45 minutes on public transportation to hike (slowly, gently, paved paths) through a beautiful park. Alone. It gave me a huge surge of hope. Thrilled to tell you, I haven't been the same since. I still have heavy symptoms; I'm still chasing this bugger away. But I am HEALING. Finally - after having been diagnosed 8 months ago, and after having the correct diagnosis missed for 20 years before that.

This is not a miracle cure, it's just giving your body what it actually needs. Why our bodies react to physical and environmental stressors this way is a question for a qualified therapist (to my knowledge, medical doctors can't answer that question beyond saying sometimes pericarditis is viral, sometimes, bacterial, sometimes idiopathic). Sure, getting to the root of the problem would be ideal, but right now, it just doesn't matter. Right now, you need to get well enough so you can even begin to confront whatever the roots of your illness are - if you still even care by that point. This blog provides workable solutions.

Whatever you do, do it under the care of a competent cardiologist, assuming you have access to one. If not, find one. If that's impossible, do what you can to change your life just enough to help your body heal but be smart about it and don't be shy about calling 911 if you need to. 

Read whichever way you're comfortable: across the menu at the top, or via the posts below (same content). Feel free to leave a comment in case I've stumbled across something that might help you in particular - or even if you just need to be heard, understood and encouraged towards health.

Making the changes I describe here might be frightening, but the worst case scenario is even moreso, which only exacerbates the symptoms. You ever notice that a scary movie causes much more anxiety when people in the audience are screaming?

So stop screaming

                                                                                                       Start getting better >>

PS: Yes, I've created this blog merely out of the kindness of my inflammation-wrapped heart. There is no catch. Sure, it would be nice to monetize it. I'd AdSense it, but Google thinks it's "adult" (see Chill! Rule No. 4), and no amount of wading through their utter swamp of circuitous AdSense Support would solve that in a timely fashion. However, if you'd like to donate to the cause of my blueberries, supplements and healthcare:

(Don't feel guilty if you can't or don't want to donate. Just get better!)