How to Conquer Chronic Illness Without Shitting Your Pants

Zach (00:00)
Have you ever been sick for months and months and just can't shake it?

Jeremy (00:01)
I'm going to go to bed.

No, dummy, that's what doctors are for. Have you gone to the doctor?

Zach (00:08)
I did and I avoided the recommendation that they gave me.

Jeremy (00:13)
Let's find out what they recommended, why you waited, and how you're doing now. Uh, this is going to get messy.

All right, Zach, I know we're largely an audio podcast and occasionally we post some video. I don't think I posted this video. You look like shit. What is going on with you've been sick forever? What is the deal?

Zach (00:55)
I have been sick for almost three months now, like just on and off, like get better, get worse, get better, get worse, get better, get worse. I don't know, and a lot of it, it was like all coughs and like, and then it moved into my sinuses, like ridiculous sinus infections. And I went to the doctor.

what, like a month ago, or no, three weeks ago, and they were like, oh yes, of course, you need antibiotics because, you know, they don't hand that stuff out like candy anymore. They're usually like, go home, rest, it's viral, you'll be fine, but I told them the history and I was like, oh, I've been sick for like two months, and they were like, here's some antibiotics, here's some steroids, go home. And I was like, wow, that was easy. So of course I went home and was like.

I'm just going to wait like two days before I start taking these because I don't want to take antibiotics and I don't want to take, I just don't want to take them. And two days later I started to feel better. So I was like, I guess it wasn't, I wasn't, it wasn't bacterial. And I got mostly better. And then all of a sudden this week, like I took another turn, like just all kinds of, I've just been sick, just been sick. So I took the first round of antibiotics last night, finally. And just

Kind of succumb to the fact that like maybe this is bacterial and I need a little help with it because holy shit I have been I Can't go to the gym. I can't do like I'm having trouble at work I'm having trouble like all over the place because I'm sick all the time. It's been terrible

Jeremy (02:23)
I had to drag you off the couch to record this.

Zach (02:26)
I know, I was super comfortable on the couch and you were like, we doing this? And I was like, I, you know, I don't really want to.

Jeremy (02:35)
So antibiotics, what's your beef with them? I mean, there's plenty of people listening right now going, what a dumb question. But for the people that are like, yeah, what's the deal? What's your problem, dude? Why don't you wanna take them?

Zach (02:45)
I think just two main points. I think the more we take antibiotics, the more they won't work in the future for like the moments when you actually need them. All right, I think I do need them right now, so I'm gonna take them and hopefully, my lifelong avoidance of them will allow them to go in, quickly deal with whatever it is and take it out. Actually, three points. Second is like...

Antibiotics don't just kill the bad stuff. They kill a whole bunch of good stuff. So for me, it kind of destroys my gut and just all these things, just lots of good things it gets rid of. And then third, like any medication I take, like whatever the side effects are, I get them no matter what.

And even most medications where it's like, hey, here is 0.00001% chance of you getting these super rare side effects that include death, heart blowing up, like all of these things. I usually get those too. So I'm just waiting for the side effects of antibiotics to come in, and we all know what those are.

Jeremy (03:50)
Yeah, it's really going to flush out your system as the way I've heard it described.

Zach (03:55)
Yes, and I leave for Disney in two days. So I don't necessarily, I mean, happiest place on earth, I don't really need to be flushing my system out there.

Jeremy (03:57)
Oh god.

I think by the way, you're returning to the scene of the crime. Like if you picked up anything bacterial, I think it happened at Disney because there's just germs everywhere.

Zach (04:10)
Probably. I was there, that's when I started getting sick. I went to Disney and then I came back and went to Ireland. And then, I mean I really got sick after I came back from Ireland. But I probably picked it up in Disney, I don't know. So we'll just, you know, I figure we'll play it safe. We'll just go back to Disney, see if I can like get hit with the same thing again, and then my body will just be immune to it.

Jeremy (04:32)
Yeah. So what is this doing to the super achiever and yet inside you that's just I imagine just dot like literally dying inside going this sucks I can't get off the couch.

Zach (04:43)
Oh yeah, that's terrible. I still go to my whiteboard every day and write down all my thoughts and all the things I wanna do and aspirations I have and that's where all my overachievement things come out where I'm like, I'm gonna build X or I'm gonna do Y. And I still write them down. I look at them and I'm like, fuck, I can't do that. I can't do that right now. It's horrible, I hate it. So I have all these ideas and things that I've...

thought up in the last two and a half months that I would like to try and like to do, but I just can't do them right now.

But the one thing I am focusing on is like gratitude of where I am, right? Like, yes, I'm sick. Yes, I'm not doing the things that I want to do to like keep myself healthy mentally and physically. But at the same time, I'm okay still. I know I'll get back. I know it'll just take time and I'll get through it. So I'm just

Gratitude and self-compassion is like two things that I struggle with myself. Right? I can have compassion for other people and gratitude for other people, but I do struggle with those two things for myself. And the last two and a half months have taught me nothing but gratitude and self-compassion because every day I have to say, no, you're okay. You can't do the things you want to do today, but you will. You're going to be able to, but you're okay.

Jeremy (06:01)
Yeah, there's no pity party like the one when you're sick. It's it's so easy to just feel like this sucks. Everything's the worst. How come this happened to me?

But it really is one of those cases of the obstacle is the way, right? This is the lesson to learn from this experience is how to find good, even in. The bad, this is, this is what the practice is all about is being able to pull yourself out of the trenches when you're in it for now multiple months. And realizing that maybe you need to look somewhere else for a different result. And that's what I think you found in caving and taking the medication.

Zach (06:35)
Yeah, definitely caving. I swallowed the first pill and was like, God damn it.

Jeremy (06:42)
Stupid science and medicine.

Zach (06:45)
They have their place, they really do, but it's definitely something that I think we need to be careful with. I think they did give out antibiotics like candy for a long, long time, and probably caused a whole bunch of issues, but.

Jeremy (06:58)
many years ago, I used to get sinus infections regularly, to the point where it just became pointless to even go to the doctor. So I was like, I know what this is, I can feel it, I know exactly what it is, I would call them and just say, can I just get the medicine, do I have to really come in and wait in the lobby for an hour and then wait in the doctor's office for an hour and then finally talk to them for four minutes so you can give me the same medication you gave me last time? And one time I did that and I actually convinced them to just prescribe me antibiotics over the phone.

Zach (07:24)
Yeah.

Jeremy (07:24)
I don't know how I did it, but I did it. But then it turned out I didn't have a sinus infection. It was something else. I don't even remember what it was. So I ended up going into the doctor's office with my tail between my legs going like, oh, thanks for the medicine. Didn't work. The doctor who was there just tore into me, like lectured me on why are you taking these? You shouldn't be taking these things. Who gave these to you? I was like, well, not you, but the doctor down the hall, you know, prescribed them over the phone.

And she's like, you know, dangerous that is these things. This is for later in life when you really need them. This is for when you've got real shit going on in your body. Can't fight it anymore. You don't need to be taken. And I just remember thinking like, I just asked the question and they said, yes, that's not my fault. They should have said no. Why are they prescribing antibiotics over the phone to some dipshit who doesn't know what he's talking about?

Zach (08:10)
Yeah, I know. I actually, I had a doctor in Seattle. When I lived in Seattle, I would get sinus infections like once a month. And I would just call and say, can I get a Z-Pak? And she would send me a Z-Pak, which is antibiotic and that's it. And I'd get it and I would take it like once a month, it would go away and then the next month it would come back. And I realized after I moved out of Seattle, I was like, oh, I think it's just the Seattle environment that was giving me sinus infections.

Jeremy (08:23)
It's crazy.

Yeah, the Pacific Northwest moss and moisture that just perpetuates everything.

Zach (08:43)
It is absolutely beautiful out there, but like my body was born and raised in the northeast. So I'm conditioned for dry, cold winters and hot, muggy summers. So when I went to the Pacific Northwest and was like, hey, oh, it's just mildly warm all year long with a constant drizzle and moisture level that is killing me. Except for those three months in the summer, then that city shines.

Jeremy (09:13)
Three months, that's a generous summer in Seattle. That's generous.

Zach (09:15)
It is generous, it is. I moved out there in July, and I remember the first day I went for a run, and it was like blue sky, beautiful out, and I was like, oh my God, they've, they have lied to the entire world and told them that this is the worst place in the world to live, so nobody will come here. And then September hit, and I never saw the sun again until April.

Jeremy (09:26)
I live in paradise!

Yeah, yeah, that's a nice nine month winter.

Zach (09:39)
So I'm not against medication for anything, whether it's antibiotics or ADD meds or depression and anxiety meds. I'm not against them. I think they have their place for severe instances. I think it's important to use them to...

help you build all the tools and practices and techniques to naturally manage things. So anxiety and depression, I think they're important to help take the edge off while you learn how to deal with it. Antibiotics though are obviously very different than depression and anxiety drugs. They have a reason. They have a purpose.

Bacterial infections are a thing. I mean the number of people who've died throughout human history from a simple bacterial infection is kind of ridiculous so They do serve a purpose I would you know I do want to make sure everyone understands it like I think that you should take them if you have to if it's a Bacterial infection that you have to fight or if you've had surgery and you need to take them For some medical procedure If you have a viral infection though

Jeremy (10:26)
Yeah.

Zach (10:47)
they will do absolutely nothing for you. So if you have a cold or a flu, something in your ear, most of the time it's viral because we as human beings just pass all that shit back and forth. So taking antibiotics if you've got a viral infection is gonna do nothing but contribute to an antibiotic resistance for you. So they won't work as well for you in the future. On top of all of the other things that it does, like the side effects, can cause some disruptions in the gut area.

Jeremy (10:56)
Mm.

Zach (11:17)
to and leading to a little bit. Yeah. I was gonna say you'd get to spend a little bit more time on your phone sitting on the toilet.

Jeremy (11:18)
To make you shit yourself is what you're saying. To make you shit yourself. Let's just, let's just come out and say it.

Zach (11:26)
So that's my two cents on antibiotics, right? They are useful when you absolutely need them, but generally speaking, I would certainly avoid them because they're not gonna touch a viral infection, which probably 90% of the time, that's what it is, and it's just gonna cause you to be, it's gonna contribute to antibiotic resistance so that they won't work as well with you in the future. And again, those side effects, shitting yourself ain't fun, especially if you're in Disney.

Jeremy (11:55)
I'm just imagining you on like Space Mountain and all of a sudden...

Zach (12:02)
10 seconds to launch, folks.

Jeremy (12:04)
Sorry folks, ride's closed for a while. We gotta clean it up.

Zach (12:10)
Somebody took antibiotics.

I'm out.

Imagine Splash Mountain brings a whole different meaning to that ride.

Jeremy (12:21)
Oh.

All right, we better get out of here before we cause more trouble. If this has been enlightening or helpful for you in any way, please do share it with somebody who could benefit from it, especially somebody who's resisting taking the drugs that will help them feel better. You can do that by just hitting the share button and sharing this on social media or through email, whatever works for you to get this to other people. That will help us with our mission to help as many other people as possible. You are the key to doing that. So hit that share button today and come back next week to the fit mess dot com for a brand new episode. Thanks for listening.

Zach (12:57)
See everyone, maybe I'll be healthy next time. I doubt it.

Jeremy (12:59)
Maybe, I don't think so.