I am a survivor!

For what it is worth, if anything, then here is my confessional. For years I had been hyper, tetchy, short-tempered, aggressive, and very frustrated. I was married, with three daughters, and I was six foot tall, of slim build, with a mop of dark brown hair and very fit. The career paths I followed are of no consequence to the general thrust of this tale although at one stage I was managing inadequates and would return home at the end of each day frustrated. I did not expect my family to have problems of their own that they were unable to manage but they did, although normal domestic and social ones which would frustrate me further. My frustration was physical and I was compelled to go for long physically exerting walks in the evening to help relieve the frustration which it frequently did. Affectionately my family called me 'bear's breath' because of my temper; which, incidentally, I seldom showed but they noticed and felt it. Often I would be accused of being aggressive by others which would make me even more aggressive but how could I possibly be aggressive when I was containing my feelings? It was easy to spread one's discontent or to project blame outwardly or to find solace in the 'bottle'. Easter weekend of 1974 my wife suggested that we leave the world behind for a few days and travel to the remote and scenic north which we did. On the morning of the first day I was feeling remarkably well which was unusual. At lunch time on our journey north we stopped at a hotel where we had lunch. The main course consisted of mutton which we enjoyed. After lunch we retired to the lounge for coffee and biscuits. While sitting there enjoying each other's company and the comfort of the hotel lounge I could feel myself physically going down to my usual tetchiness and frustration and feeling generally awful. My wife suggested the meat in the lunch was affecting me but I dismissed her suggestion feeling that it was fatuous but she insisted, explaining that she had noticed the same reaction previously whenever I had meat. Okay, I said, if you believe that I am being affected by meat then I will stop eating it. This I did. Within a few hours I began to feel better. A little later I felt really well. Four days later, at the conclusion to our break, I felt great! My wife's observation was right; meat was adversely affecting my behaviour. Between us we examined our diet closely and subsequently I became a vegetarian and no longer suffered from those allergic food affects. I became a temperate, placid, tolerant, compassionate, nice guy. Not so long afterwards, while in my mid-forties, I began to feel the first signs of angina although was otherwise fit. Being concerned I consulted my GP and being in a mobile occupation saw a number of medics over a period of time who were all nice guys but, on examination dismissed my symptoms as imaginary. On one occasion the GP sent a psychiatrist to examine me at home and I am glad to report that I passed my sanity test! Eighteen years later, having had two hemorrhoidectomies, two prostatectomies, the removal of a lumbar disk, I was rushed to hospital having suffered a heart-attack. Two weeks later I underwent an emergency quadruple by-pass. I was then 59 years of age and still a vegetarian, although by now I had grey hair that was balding and was about two stone overweight. For the following five years I was in an extremely ill state and felt that I was unlikely to survive each day that I encountered. I slept almost all and every day and yet still slept at night. Retrospectively, what I see as my salvation was, on coming out of intensive care after the cardiac by-pass and being asked what I would like for breakfast, my comment was, well, if I am about to die, then I am going to die happily so I will have streaky bacon and fried eggs. I am convinced that if it was not for the fact that I had given up vegetarianism I would not be here today relating this tale. After five years feeling awful, I decided to read about the medication I was being given and was astounded by its side effect. I then furthered my reading and soon learned of the off-label benefits of other less harmful drugs but also discovered the benefits of alternative therapies. Amazingly, on first taking CO-Q10 at 100 mgs I felt totally re-energised and within 30 minutes was in the perpendicular and working in my garage and I have never since looked back. I stopped taking my prescription medication and continued studying pharmaceuticals for the next few years but slowly this began to veer towards dietetics and today, on reaching my 78 birthday, I am in remarkably good health and I keep the medical profession at bay. I have succeeded in helping others, and especially my present wife who previously had a traumatic existence and was a very ill woman when we first met. Today, although only 5'4" tall and of slim build she performs like an Amazon! Paradoxically it was vegetarianism that almost killed me consisting as it did of polyunsaturated fats and high in carbohydrates and other deleterious foods. How then did meat previously affect me in the manner it did. I do not know but my suspicion is that it was in the manner that animals were then fed and treated, being pumped, as they were then, with growth hormones. In addition to being fit and healthy and enjoying high protein and saturated fat meals, I do not have any aches nor pains, feel good, can run with my Norfolk Terriers, and still possess a healthy libido. I continue to court my wife and we are regular dancers. In the intervening years, I lost a granddaughter of 16, my first wife 63, and a daughter 45. In each of their cases their diagnose was initially wrong which hastened their death. The only fear that I have today is that of medicine and those who practice it or work in the field and feel that they know it all! Igorance can indeed be bliss!

I probably should have concluded this tale with the sentence, "I am a survivor who believes that he still has a future".

WOW!!! What an amazing story!!!  How ironic that vegetarianism was not for you, when so many make it out like ti is the "magic" solution to good health.  I totally agree that it is the way animals are fed, treated, etc. that causes the problems when consumed.  Thank you for sharing this info!!

YES, you do still have a future!!!