What’s Actually Wrong With Me (And Why It Matters for Survival) | Episode 609
This One’s a Little Different
This is going to be a different kind of episode.
If you’re brand new, this might not be the best place to start. But if you’ve been listening for a while, you’ve probably heard me mention that something hasn’t been right.
Fatigue. Pain. Just feeling like absolute shit for months.
And I finally have answers.
I Thought It Was Just Getting Older
For the longest time, I chalked everything up to getting older.
I’m 44. I’ve got a physical job. I’ve got a six-year-old with the energy of a nuclear reactor.
Of course I’m tired. Of course I hurt.
That’s what I told myself.
But it kept getting worse.
Getting off the couch became a chore. Playing with my daughter became something I physically couldn’t do some days.
That’s when it stops being “just getting older.”
The Long Road to a Diagnosis
I tried a lot of things.
Checked testosterone. It was low-ish, not terrible, but enough that I went on TRT.
At first? I felt like a god.
Two months in, energy through the roof, felt amazing.
Then it all came back.
Pain. Fatigue. Everything.
That’s when I knew something else was going on.
I went through telehealth, got some blood work done, and one test came back just barely positive for something that could indicate lupus.
Barely.
Like right on the line.
So I go to a rheumatologist. They run a ton of tests—vials and vials of blood—and we wait.
Meanwhile, I’m feeding all this into ChatGPT, tracking symptoms, trying to figure it out. My wife is Googling like crazy, trying to prove it’s not lupus.
Because if you look up lupus?
It’s scary as hell.
The Answer: Not One Thing—Two
I finally sit down with the doctor and ask straight up:
“With everything you’ve got… do you know what’s wrong with me?”
She didn’t hesitate.
Rheumatoid arthritis. And lupus.
Both.
There’s even a name for it when they overlap—“rhupus.”
Lucky me.
Two autoimmune diseases. No cure. Something I’ll be managing for the rest of my life.
But here’s the thing…
Knowing is a huge weight off.
Knowing Changes Everything
Before, I was just throwing shit at symptoms.
Trying supplements. Trying random fixes. Guessing.
Now I know what I’m dealing with.
Now it’s not “what helps fatigue?” It’s “what helps this specific condition?”
That’s a massive difference.
Because now I can actually build a plan.
The Reality of Living With It
These diseases work in flares and remission.
Some days are okay.
Some days are bad.
And some days you just have to ride it out.
Right now, I’ve been in a pretty bad stretch. You’ve probably noticed episodes haven’t been as consistent.
That’s why.
I’ve felt like total garbage.
What’s Actually Helping (And What’s Not)
I’ve tried a ton of stuff.
Most of it didn’t do a damn thing.
The one thing that has consistently helped me function?
Kratom.
Without it, I’m basically stuck. In pain. Not moving.
With it, I can function closer to normal.
And yeah, people have opinions about that. I get it.
But when it’s the difference between working and not working… that matters.
Now I’ve been put on hydroxychloroquine, which is kind of the standard starting point for lupus.
The downside?
It takes months to fully kick in.
Which sucks when you feel like garbage right now.
I’ll likely end up pushing for something like prednisone in the short term just to get relief while that builds up.
Why This Matters for Prepping
This ties directly into survival.
If something goes wrong—real world, grid down, whatever—and I’m in a bad flare?
I’m not protecting anybody.
I’m not doing anything.
That’s a problem.
Health is a prep.
If you’ve got symptoms—fatigue, pain, weird stuff going on—go get checked.
Because if you don’t know what’s wrong, you can’t plan for it.
And if you can’t plan for it, it can take you out when it matters most.
I know now that I’ll likely be on medication long-term.
So guess what?
That becomes part of my preps.
I’m not running out of something I need to function.
That’s not happening.
Get Checked Before You Have To
If you’re dealing with symptoms and ignoring them, stop.
Go to the doctor. Get blood work. Figure it out.
Because this stuff doesn’t just go away.
And the longer it goes untreated, the worse it can get.
Including permanent damage.
You don’t want to figure this out in the middle of a crisis.
Handle it now.
This has been James from SurvivalPunk.com. DIY to Survive.
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