Hacking Your Own Body

My approach to living with cardiomyopathy is a lot like my approach to programming – not programming to get a job done, but playing and investigating. Most programmers have run a page with chaching turned off, and then turned on, just to see how much difference it makes. We all have our own sloppy set of bench marks. It’s part of learning.

I find myself doing the same thing with my body. If my pulse seems high, I have learned that I should eat a banana or an orange to raise my potassium. Because low blood sugar can also speed up the heart, just eating can also help. I may also take a magnesium supplement. I am learning to tune my body.

My blood preasure was never really high, but now my cardiologist is trying to lower my blood pressure low to give my heart a rest as it beats. Anything I do to keep it low is good: resting, listening to music, taking a nap. Eating is a form of treatment for me now as much as a matter of taste. I now know that cerries are a good source of potassium, but new research shows that they may also lessen muscle pain when I bike too hard. I have not tried it, but tea made from cherry stems is a good diuretic. Cherries themselves are a diuretic, and they are a good source of fibre. After having been hospitalized with congestive heart failure, I am always looking for natural ways to get rid of excess fluid.

Research suggests that aerobic activity can suppress neurohormonal activation, a process which may cause the heart to enlarge and change shape – some of my medications perform the same function. Activity combined with meds feel great together. That’s what a hacker does: he combines approaches, applies different solutions and measures his progress.
Remembering to thank God also has an effect. Call it the power of positive thinking, but I call it something else. Making the effort to get along with people and letting go of resentment has an influence I can measure with a blood preasure cuff. Proverbs 4:20-23 says that the word of God is health to the body. In my case, you could say that I have literally given my heart to Jesus.

The fine tuning it takes to live with an illness requires one to pay attention to several factors. It’s a lot like tuning code.