A Software Developer's Guide to fixing His Health - INTRODUCTION

I am not a writer, so hopefully I won't bore you with details and my wandering mind.

In April 2014, my father passed away from a heart attack. About 8 years ago, my brother passed away as well of a heart attack at age 49 and he was running marathons. During May/June that same year, I experienced a couple of sharp pains near my heart - one while working out, the other coming in my door from the car. I don't recall if it was after a workout or not. After the first incident, I figured it was just gas pains, or something else. My personal trainer wanted me to go see a doctor. Well, those of you that know me, know that I go annually just to see how my doctor is doing. I told her if I experienced the same pain again, I would go. As I mentioned, I did have the second incident. I went to see a specialist for a stress test, radiation test, EKG, and whatever else. Of course I am overweight and some high cholesterol (LDL was 163), and high blood pressure (130/85). Nothing was found on the tests, however, the Dr. did want me to do a Coronary Calcium Score.

My score was 363. As you can see from the link, that is not good. For a white male my age, I scored in the 97th percentile. Hard to explain, but it is like golf, the lower the better. Upon reading other articles, a score of 400 suggests a 50% chance of a coronary event (heart attack, stroke) within a year. IN addition, the calcium keeps building up at say 10% a year. That means in a year, I would hit the magic 400 mark unless I did something. The Dr suggested aspirin and a Statin. I told him, I don't take drugs. He asked what about aspirin? I initially told him I would, but upon asking a couple of Chiropractors and doing my own research, I decided to decline taking aspirin.

Why am I not taking the Dr's advice? What if I die? Good question to ask, but I am a believer that things done, can be undone and God has put everything we need on this earth to fix our health issues. SO now what? I am a Software Developer and I only know one approach - tackle this like I would any Software problem (bug).

IN Software Development, we first have to identify the cause of the bug. We also need to understand the requirements of the system (what is to be done and why) in order to properly address the bug. We need to investigate the extent of the damage the bug has caused, such as corrupted data. We then need to provide a work around to stop the buggy code from executing, fix the bug, and fix any corrupted data - that simple. Now the HOW is the hard part.

IN my case, I have calcium buildup in my soft tissues. I first need to stop the buildup before more damage is done. Maybe I can reduce my calcium intake? No, calcium is necessary for the bones and teeth and to prevent osteoporosis. I did some research and found out that other vitamins and minerals are required in order to move the calcium to its proper place. I need Magnesium and Vitamin K2. Vitamin K2? I bet you, like me, are thinking you have heard of Vitamin K, but not K1 and K2. I don't get enough K2, that's for sure. K2 comes from Grass Fed animal products.

Secondly, I need to reduce my cholesterol/high blood pressure. If you think about why I have high blood pressure, imagine that my arteries are narrowing. Imagine a garden hose. If you get a smaller diameter hose, with the same amount of water going through it, you will certainly have more pressure on the hose. SO high blood pressure isn't really a problem, it is a symptom of my underlying condition. The cholesterol (LDL) is what builds up on the arteries. I need to reduce the bad and increase the good (HDL).

Lastly, I need to remove the calcium from the arteries as I am currently at risk and most likely will have a heart attack/stroke within 10 years UNLESS I do something. In future blog posts, I plan to tell you what and why and how. Why am I posting thing about my personal issue? Because I don't want you to make any mistakes that I make if something happens to me. You can follow what I did and identify any wrong steps. I plan to blog frequently and keep you all posted until my next appointment with the "heart specialist" (quack doctor) in August.

I started my self treatment March 1st. Towards the end of March, I checked my cholesterol and it was down to 140, so losing about a point per day. I will continue to post my scores each month and provide more detailed explanation. Feel free to comment and ask any questions, or email me, come visit me personally to discuss in detail. If you do have high cholesterol, it could be a symptom of my condition as you may have the Magnesium/K2 deficiency as well.