Commiserations on your auto immune disease. I am glad you are on the mend. Having a clear diagnosis does help to deal with things.
My wife has GPA too and it almost killed her in her early 20’s. She only survived because of an experimental drug - rituximab. She went on to have two children and is living a full life. I wrote a book about it on Amazon called Alicia, my battle with Wegener’s Disease.
I’m a big fan of your chess teaching and use all 3 of your openings in my own game. I don’t have enough time to play or study as much as I’d like at the moment, but hopefully that will change as the kids get older.
I'm sorry for your diagnosis and am happy to have you back with the chess community. At the pain of maybe being wrong, let me give some unsolicited advice as a doctor. #1) Make no plans you cannot change. Every day will be an adventure with little rhyme or reason why you feel the way you do. #2) Understand that we don't know either what will happen. Autoimmune diseases are very humbling for physicians because we have steroids and maybe biologics to slow down the immune system. But the immune system is like an ant colony that smells a picnic, it's very hard to stop once the message has been sent out. #3) Every treatment has effects and side effects. That is the same for doing nothing. You will often have to choose between the two. Make sure your doctors take the time to explain to you what they think and what is happening. It's far too easy for doctors to just shuffle you along. Lastly, #4) Every day you have your health is a gift. You may have known that before but now you perhaps understand. Nothing is guaranteed, tomorrow is a promise only. Enjoying each day is a mindfulness practice but it's so easy to just assume there is another tomorrow coming. That is not always the case. I wish you and your family well Nate.
Hi Nick, thank you for sharing your expertise. I am coming to appreciate the wisdom of your first suggestion, "Make no plans you cannot change." Initially my surge of energy gave me an incredible sense of power. While I am genuinely getting a lot of good work done, I also experience some sudden crashes, so it's important not to go overboard.
I had a similar experience on prednisone while fighting off shingles. I was manic and did all sorts of things that were unusual for me. My partner calls it "Craig N Zone".
You might be interested in a book called "The Great Nerve" by Kevin Tracey. It goes over the vagus nerve's role in inflammation. It had me wondering if there's a difference between the energy of anti-inflammatory drugs and just being naturally "healthy". My question would be, "Is this just how people with high energy feel all the time?" Because it was a *very* different level of energy.
What a tortuous ordeal! I'm so glad that you're finally on the mend. I really appreciate how you can write about your trial with such clarity and poise. Best wishes to you and your family -- and your blitz rating!
Welcome back! :) So glad that you got a diagnosis and the treatment appears to be manageable. It is so easy for these things to just linger with no resolution until it’s too late.
Thanks, Nate, for the update. I am glad those cute children of yours, and your extremely supportive wife, have you back. If you want to write, that would be great, but mostly I wish you health.
So sorry to hear about your ordeal but I hope to see you again soon at a tournament (there are six GMs registered for this month's ALTO btw). I also had my first real hospital stay this year, but it was just three nights and I was extremely relieved to get out of there. They really really do not care about letting you sleep.
Yes, this ALTO looks amazing. I decided not to register a few months ago when I was feeling terrible. In this case, it wouldn't have worked out. But I would love to come back to ALTO.
So sorry to hear about all this. Glad you are feeling better.
I am glad you have a team of doctors who diagnosed your condition. Anything mildly rare and a lot of people just won’t get diagnosed right.
Also, as a vegan, I’d like to recommend that you take up a whole food plant based diet. Such diets help some people with autoimmune conditions. It can’t hurt to try. Besides, it’s better for the animals and the environment and your health. I would give up all animal-based foods just to be on the safe side if I were you.
Do your own research but here’s a snippet:
<< Overall, almost 80 percent of people with autoimmune disorders are female. Research is beginning to show that a healthy plant-based diet for autoimmune disease can be helpful. In some cases, individuals have reported a reduction – or reversal – of symptoms after making the switch to veganism>>
Whoah, that is intense, and I'm glad you're coming through it now. My neighbour is probably the oldest person in the UK with what she still calls Wegener's (not sure if she knows about the Nazi thing). It's even rarer here, for whatever reason - she regularly has doctors attend her sessions 'just so they can meet her'. Turns out being one in a million isn't always to be sought after.
Anyway, just wanted to say that it's great that you're feeling better, but I think I'll pass on your new method of gaining 200 rating points.
Thanks for sharing such an amazing experience. I appreciate the insight.
My experience with steroids--prednisone for an allergic reaction--transformed me from a so-so runner of 3 miles a day to "I can run all day, up hill" guy for about a month. The doc said that was great, but might not be the best way to last long enough to enjoy my grandchildren.
I like Craig Wilcox's comment: "My question would be, 'Is this just how people with high energy feel all the time?' Because it was a *very* different level of energy."
I am glad that you are feeling better ! I must say that this article was really well written, happy to have you back.
Commiserations on your auto immune disease. I am glad you are on the mend. Having a clear diagnosis does help to deal with things.
My wife has GPA too and it almost killed her in her early 20’s. She only survived because of an experimental drug - rituximab. She went on to have two children and is living a full life. I wrote a book about it on Amazon called Alicia, my battle with Wegener’s Disease.
I’m a big fan of your chess teaching and use all 3 of your openings in my own game. I don’t have enough time to play or study as much as I’d like at the moment, but hopefully that will change as the kids get older.
Good luck 🤞
So good to hear your wife is doing well! I will likely start on rituximab soon.
I'm sorry for your diagnosis and am happy to have you back with the chess community. At the pain of maybe being wrong, let me give some unsolicited advice as a doctor. #1) Make no plans you cannot change. Every day will be an adventure with little rhyme or reason why you feel the way you do. #2) Understand that we don't know either what will happen. Autoimmune diseases are very humbling for physicians because we have steroids and maybe biologics to slow down the immune system. But the immune system is like an ant colony that smells a picnic, it's very hard to stop once the message has been sent out. #3) Every treatment has effects and side effects. That is the same for doing nothing. You will often have to choose between the two. Make sure your doctors take the time to explain to you what they think and what is happening. It's far too easy for doctors to just shuffle you along. Lastly, #4) Every day you have your health is a gift. You may have known that before but now you perhaps understand. Nothing is guaranteed, tomorrow is a promise only. Enjoying each day is a mindfulness practice but it's so easy to just assume there is another tomorrow coming. That is not always the case. I wish you and your family well Nate.
Hi Nick, thank you for sharing your expertise. I am coming to appreciate the wisdom of your first suggestion, "Make no plans you cannot change." Initially my surge of energy gave me an incredible sense of power. While I am genuinely getting a lot of good work done, I also experience some sudden crashes, so it's important not to go overboard.
I had a similar experience on prednisone while fighting off shingles. I was manic and did all sorts of things that were unusual for me. My partner calls it "Craig N Zone".
You might be interested in a book called "The Great Nerve" by Kevin Tracey. It goes over the vagus nerve's role in inflammation. It had me wondering if there's a difference between the energy of anti-inflammatory drugs and just being naturally "healthy". My question would be, "Is this just how people with high energy feel all the time?" Because it was a *very* different level of energy.
I wish you luck in managing it!
"Craig N Zone" 😂
Yeah, my wife is cracking up when we're out and about. I'm so manic. I know it but I can't stop.
Don't let her know it's great for deep cleaning around the house!
Steroids ftw.
What a tortuous ordeal! I'm so glad that you're finally on the mend. I really appreciate how you can write about your trial with such clarity and poise. Best wishes to you and your family -- and your blitz rating!
Goodness. GPA. It’s quite the life changing illness. I wish you well and I’m very glad you were diagnosed eventually (it’s almost always eventually).
Thank you. In my case I was fortunate to be diagnosed rather early.
Welcome back! :) So glad that you got a diagnosis and the treatment appears to be manageable. It is so easy for these things to just linger with no resolution until it’s too late.
Glad to hear that you are okay and recovering! I was starting to wonder what you had been up to, but I had not imagined this
Thanks, Nate, for the update. I am glad those cute children of yours, and your extremely supportive wife, have you back. If you want to write, that would be great, but mostly I wish you health.
Glad you are feeling better. As the quote says ... "when we are healthy we have many problems, but when we are sick we only have one problem"
Best wishes from Spain, and take care 😊
So sorry to hear about your ordeal but I hope to see you again soon at a tournament (there are six GMs registered for this month's ALTO btw). I also had my first real hospital stay this year, but it was just three nights and I was extremely relieved to get out of there. They really really do not care about letting you sleep.
Yes, this ALTO looks amazing. I decided not to register a few months ago when I was feeling terrible. In this case, it wouldn't have worked out. But I would love to come back to ALTO.
So sorry to hear about all this. Glad you are feeling better.
I am glad you have a team of doctors who diagnosed your condition. Anything mildly rare and a lot of people just won’t get diagnosed right.
Also, as a vegan, I’d like to recommend that you take up a whole food plant based diet. Such diets help some people with autoimmune conditions. It can’t hurt to try. Besides, it’s better for the animals and the environment and your health. I would give up all animal-based foods just to be on the safe side if I were you.
Do your own research but here’s a snippet:
<< Overall, almost 80 percent of people with autoimmune disorders are female. Research is beginning to show that a healthy plant-based diet for autoimmune disease can be helpful. In some cases, individuals have reported a reduction – or reversal – of symptoms after making the switch to veganism>>
https://alyssafontaine.com/veganism-autoimmune-disease/
Thanks for sharing all of this, Nate. I like the positive tone despite the ordeal. Best of luck, and congrats on your blitz accomplishments!
Whoah, that is intense, and I'm glad you're coming through it now. My neighbour is probably the oldest person in the UK with what she still calls Wegener's (not sure if she knows about the Nazi thing). It's even rarer here, for whatever reason - she regularly has doctors attend her sessions 'just so they can meet her'. Turns out being one in a million isn't always to be sought after.
Anyway, just wanted to say that it's great that you're feeling better, but I think I'll pass on your new method of gaining 200 rating points.
Amazing!
Thanks for sharing such an amazing experience. I appreciate the insight.
My experience with steroids--prednisone for an allergic reaction--transformed me from a so-so runner of 3 miles a day to "I can run all day, up hill" guy for about a month. The doc said that was great, but might not be the best way to last long enough to enjoy my grandchildren.
I like Craig Wilcox's comment: "My question would be, 'Is this just how people with high energy feel all the time?' Because it was a *very* different level of energy."