• Previous posts, since the bulleted list was getting super unwieldy.

Around 34 million Earth years ago, at the end of the very creatively named 18th Era, the boreal and polar regions including the Great Polar Plateau, where Kyanah would eventually evolve, and its surroundings, were a very different place. The climate was at the time cooler and drier than the modern Homeworld, and the plateau was filled with more open boreal savannas and polar barrens rather than the dense scrublands of modern times. These boreal savannas were quite different from the modern ones, as endoskeleton plants had yet to expand in the northern hemisphere beyond the tropics, and single-leaf crawlers (which would go extinct at the end of the era) dominated over the modern multi-leaf crawlers to form the ground cover, the equivalent of Terran grass. The most common Walkers (i.e. tetrapods) on the plateau in the late 18th Era were small to medium-sized grazers, many of which had heavy armor or glands to secrete poisonous substances, as a defense against the top predators of the day. There were also the Kakenkortiors, the ancestors of modern Kyanah and dozens of other species, as well as other carnivore groups that specialized in oasis environments, pursuing the amphibious neuz or small burrowing herbivores. The Kakenkortiors were solitary quadrupedal carnivores roughly the size of small to medium-sized dogs, which were opportunistic carnivores taking on all manner of small prey when they had the chance, but primarily subsisted on scavenging carrion or stealing eggs, and had scaly skin covered in a dense coating of feathers to keep them warm and provide camouflage; notably they had yet to evolve the pack behaviors seen in some of their descendants. However, they themselves often fell victim to the true predators of the time--not true Walkers, but rather an offshoot of the wingbeasts (themselves marsupial creatures with foldable wings that could fly like gliders or walk on all fours on land)--the terrorbeasts. These terrorbeasts gave up their flight in exchange for reaching enormous sizes--almost a ton and 4 meters tall for the largest species--adopting a permanently quadrupedal and rather uncanny stance, with their forelimbs (formerly wings) being much longer than their rear limbs, while the wings themselves lost the ability to unfold, instead becoming vestigial forelimb frills used for attracting mates. Some terrorbeasts used their height to feed from the tops of exoskeleton plants, but many were carnivorous, developing long necks and elongated, hardened spear-like snouts to peck at grazers from above; it's believed that they sometimes reared up on their hind legs to gain additional height and force. This was in direct contrast with every extant tetrapodal predator of large game, which would prioritize either attacking from below or else taking out their prey's legs to bring them crashing down; as a result most herbivores had the heaviest protection on their bellies and legs, with their backs being comparatively weak. But then again, most creatures on the Kyanah homeworld, both extinct and extent, tend to be wide and low to the ground due to living under 1.4G, not tall and spindly, so the terrorbeasts were a giant middle finger to the biosphere and planet in general. Though their 50 million Earth year reign was cut short by the meteor shower that formed the Homeworld's newest impact range, created the Shatter, and caused the most recent mass extinction, leading to the beginning of the 19th Era.
With the terrorbeasts gone (though not their relatives, the normal, flying wingbeasts), the early 19th Era saw the creatures of the Great Polar Plateau adapt to the changing landscape. A group of species which had evolved thorn-covered backs--essentially made from modified feathers--to protect themselves from the terrorbeasts, also went extinct, and many of the remaining grazers lost their heavy armor due to the sudden dearth of megacarnivores to necessitate it. The Kakenkortiors survived the mass extinction and continued to occupy their old niches, but by around 29-28 million years ago, one branch, known as the Tyorketforms, would shift to a more actively predatory niche, using enlarged dew claws to slash the tendons of prey to drop them to the ground; this branch would eventually lead to the domestic Tyorkets, common Kyanah pets in the modern era. Meanwhile, climatic shifts at the start of the mid 19th Era would lead to the Great Polar Plateau becoming warmer and wetter; the boreal savannas would give way to denser boreal scrublands. Through both speciation and migration, the smaller, armored grazers would be displaced by large unarmored browsers eating leaves and twigs and growing to much bigger sizes in the comparatively plant-dense nutrient-rich environment.
It was only natural that something would evolve to hunt these new browsers. Oddly enough, it would be the Kakenkortiors. The main line would go extinct around 9 million years ago, but long before that, they would produce one more notable sideline, the Ratoryinut, starting around 25 million years ago. Many of the early Ratoryinut would be much larger than both early Kakenkortiors and modern Kyanah, reaching average masses of 150-300 kilograms, depending on the species. Compared to early Kakenkortiors, they had a higher and proportionally slightly narrower, though still relatively broad, profile, with bulkier forelimbs and more dexterous forelimbs--an intermediate stage in developing opposable thumbs--with non-retractable claws, as well as losing their feather coating entirely. By 20-18 million years ago, the Ratoryinut would further split into the Ratorkortyot-forms and the ancestors of the Kyanahforms. The Ratorkortyot-forms (roughly "strong herald beast") would continue to grow in size, with the largest species reaching up to 500 kilograms by 10 million years ago, somewhat resembling large, reptilian bear-like forms with bare, greenish-brown scaly skin. They would also evolve a Parasaurolophus-like crest, which they would use to make loud and elaborate trumpeting noises to attract mates or scare rivals away from a kill, and, as the climate cooled in the mid-late 19th Era and they gravitated towards the poles, many evolved blubber deposits to replace the insulating role of their ancestors' feathers. Ratorkortyot-forms, including the eponymous Ratorkortyot, the most famous species, are still extant and where their ranges overlapped with prehistoric Kyanah, appear to have occasionally killed and eaten packless or young individuals, though the reverse was more common. Most Ratorkortyot-forms are now threatened by habitat destruction and pollution.
As for the Kyanahforms themselves, they took the opposite approach to hunting the soft browsing herbivores that were spreading throughout the boreal scrublands. They began steadily losing raw mass, but underwent a quantum leap in intelligence, with six-core brains rather than the four-core brains of most Walkers; the only other animals with six-core brains, before or since, were a few one-off species of social wingbeasts. Not coincidentally, the modern pack dynamics of modern Kyanah also emerged with early Kyanahforms by around 15 million years ago, with 4-6 adults bonding together for life, having children with each other, and cooperatively raising them to adulthood. It's believed that this pack dynamic evolved from simpler serial pair-bonding in Ratoryinuts and the earliest proto-Kyanahforms as a result of six-core brains enabling more complex social behavior, allowing such relationships to be stable. It also enabled reliable tool using and eventually tool manufacturing (modifying found objects to further enhance their utility), as the Kyanahforms were capable of bipedal movement--though early Kyanah forms still spent most of their time on four legs--and had developed opposable thumbs.
While one minor side-line, the arboreal Kyanahforms, continued to shrink further, taking up omnivorous behavior and living in the taller, shrub-like exoskeleton plant species, the main line continued to gradually optimize for attacking in packs and killing medium-large game on the ground. During the mid-late 19th Era cooling, they would take on migratory behavior, moving to the edge of the Great Polar Plateau in the winter to take advantage of the milder winds from the south, and back north in the summer to hunt the big-ticket game animals further into the plateau. The main line would eventually evolve into tkorks, the closest living relatives of Kyanah, who have been discussed elsewhere. The side-line that would become the true Kyanah diverged from tkorks around 5-6 million years ago, shortly after the evolution of the Tyotonikors (perhaps "strong leaf beast"). These were basically the final, logical conclusion of the trend of large generalist browsers, relying on raw mass rather than armor or numbers to deter predators; it was one of these species that would eventually become the domestic nyruds that are so important to the Kyanah. The largest species, the Tyotonikor, could reach heights of 1.8 meters, with a length of 7.6 meters and males averaging around 4-5 tons--one of the largest known animals in the history of the Kyanah homeworld, and the largest period since the 16th or 17th Era; it was hunted to extinction by prehistoric Kyanah around 8000 years ago. While other related species were not as large, even the smallest averaged 1.5 tons, 3 times bigger than the biggest carnivores in the Great Polar Plateau. With a long, whip-like tail, a wide and stocky frame, and a sturdy beak-like mouth capable of handling even the toughest leaves and twigs, the species under the Tyotonikor classification were quite formidable. Indeed, healthy adults had no natural predators...until the true Kyanah came along.
If it seems like Kyanah were optimized specifically to hunt and kill the giant Tyotonikors that no one else dared eat...well, they were. They shifted from a merely bipedal-capable form to obligate bipeds, enabling them to see over interfering shrubbery to better devise a plan of attack, and also be able to hold tools and weapons at all times. To maintain balance in a bipedal posture, their tails became longer and bulkier, enabling them to flail them around to keep balance, and also use them as a weapon. While their jaw size--and thus snout size--and bite force increased relative to predecessors to better penetrate the thick skin of Tyotonikors, their claws became somewhat shorter and stubbier, optimized more for gripping than piercing, making it easier to hold the sticks and rocks they were increasingly using as force multipliers. An increase in fast-twitch muscles in their legs enabled them to more easily catch fleeing Tyotonikors--which, despite their bulk, could be surprisingly fast, rather like Terran elephants, able to reach speeds above 30 kilometers per hour. The strong legs and gripping claws also made it more feasible to get onto the creatures and deliver devastating top attacks. Their skulls also broadened significantly to enable increased cranial capacity, which enabled them to form even more complex pack hunting strategies and even cooperate with other packs to take down especially large and dangerous prey; this would be a game changer, as tkorks and earlier Kyanahforms would almost always ignore or fight other packs instead of working together. Compared to the tkorks, true Kyanah are basically high-performance, high-maintenance creatures, relying on intelligently applying explosive bursts of strength and speed to quickly take down big-ticket prey, rather than stamina, low resource usage, and gradually accumulating smaller prey items. While having primarily evolved to fill the empty niche of preying on Tyotonikors, the various Kyanah species were more than capable of hunting any medium to large animal, both on and off the Great Polar Plateau, using their sophisticated tactics, high physical strength, and eventually primitive spears, axes, traps, and controlled use of fire. Meanwhile, most tkork species in modern times are endangered or extinct, except for those that have adapted to living in Kyanah cities and feeding off various urban critters and meat that has been thrown out or left unattended by the Kyanah themselves. Those tkork species have done very well for themselves, to the point of being a pest.
Proto-Kyanah would speciate several times, gradually expanding around the edges of the Great Northern Plateau by around 1 million years ago, with some species expanding to the poles and also to the more temperate latitudes by 750k years ago, though modern, main-line Kyanah did not spread off the Great Polar Plateau until around 100k years ago. Remains of the most far-flung Kyanah species, the Dunewalkers, have been discovered from the Shatter to the Western Sector, though they went extinct 84k years ago after the asteroid impact that created the Ikun Crater, which also reduced the main-line Kyanah population to a few thousand, though they, obviously, bounced back and then some. None of these other species remain; the last to go were the Kyanah Brutes, so-named because of their large stature (roughly on par with humans) and proportionally smaller brains compared to main-line Kyanah, dying out around 5500 years ago; it is possible that there were organized efforts by Kyanah proto-civilizations to eradicate the last of them, but also just as possible that the main-line Kyanah merely hunted their prey into extinction. Notably, main-line Kyanah have the largest cranial capacity of any of these species, with Dunewalkers being a close second; there is no evidence that any Kyanah species other than *the* Kyanah ever devised fully fledged language on their own, which made cooperation between multiple packs more frequent and reliable, and made teaching their young more efficient. The presence of bones from multiple species being found together indicates that main-line Kyanah occasionally included members of a couple of the more advanced Kyanah species, like Dunewalkers and Kyanah Brutes, into their own packs, and vice versa. While these species lack the genes associated with independently inventing complex languages, it's believed to be possible that they could be taught it to a limited degree, as they had similar vocalization structures, and even tkorks can be taught to understand simple words and phrases. The exact nature of this relationship, whether these other species were viewed as working animals, slaves, or fellow packmates, is unknown. While they likely interbred, it is also unknown if this led to fertile offspring--but probably not.

Hello y’all!
I have frequented this forum now for several months since learning about FQ toxicity and have decided to finally post my story so far.
I’m 23 years old (M) (turning 24 soon) and before this nightmare began, I was an energetic, active, and healthy runner and athlete that ate whatever I wanted and enjoyed things such as alcohol, caffeine, fast food, etc. My story begins in mid-January 2024. I woke up one morning with intense testicle pain which persisted for several days before I decided to visit the ER. The ultrasound and urinalysis tests found nothing. The pain persisted another week before I went back to the doctors and was diagnosed with epididymitis and prescribed Levofloxacin 500 mg (1 pill per day) for 10 days; I completed the pills by the end of January.
The pain persisted and I went back to the doctors. I was referred to a urologist. The urologist prescribed me Doxycycline 100 mg (2 pills per day) for 14 days. I finished the pills by the end of February. Shockingly, the pain still lingered! I was so desperate that I looked for alternative answers on the internet and discovered that garlic supplements helped people with chronic testicular pain. I decided to order some and give it a try; lo and behold, after only 3 days, the pain completely vanished! I was so happy to finally put this nightmare behind me…or so I thought. Keep in mind that during the days I was taking the antibiotics, I abstained from caffeine and alcohol.
In the middle of March, it was like a BOMB went off in my body. Leading up to this bomb, I was eating, drinking, and operating the way I usually would, but I noticed here and there that something didn’t seem right: the effects of alcohol seemed to linger longer than usual, I started to get weird feelings in my gut whenever I ate something, my runs started to exhaust me more than usual, the list goes on. I decided to visit my primary physician to check my general well being and told him about what I have gone through. Blood tests and X-Rays were run and I was diagnosed with constipation caused by IBS. I thought to myself that this was because of the antibiotics I took and that I simply had to let time go by for that to resolve. However, during one week in the middle of March, I drank more alcohol than usual, and by the end of the week, the bomb went off. I remember the symptoms very well: severe anxiety, complete loss of appetite, constipation, restlessness, an impending sense of doom, loss of concentration, lethargy, loss of motivation, malaise, and nausea. These symptoms subsided significantly by cutting out caffeine and alcohol again since I attributed my symptoms to gut dysbiosis and resorted to eating foods that were easier to digest.
Then, the 2nd, and most severe bomb, went off again at the beginning of April after I decided to help myself to a heavy meal of Alfredo pasta with meatballs and broccoli. The same symptoms recurred again, but this time, they persisted longer and much more severely. Once again, I chalked it up to gut dysbiosis and went on a diet of nothing but probiotic yogurt, crackers, and sauerkraut. During this time, I began to lose weight because of my change in diet. I went back to the doctor to get a possible answer for what was happening to me, and to no surprise, it was no help. I was prescribed Omeprazole, a PPI, for supposed gastritis and sent on my merry way! That didn’t satisfy me at all.
It was after this that I began to really question my condition and why I was experience what I was experiencing, and that’s when I discovered the treasure trove of stories, reports, research papers, etc, of people who have been damaged by Fluoroquinolones. I was finally relieved to find what was causing my condition, but I was angry! Why the hell was I prescribed Levofloxacin when it has been significantly restricted by the FDA for last resort use!? How much have my mitochondria been damaged? Am I now at higher risk for heart problems such as aortic aneurysms? Will my tendons rupture eventually? When will my gastrointestinal problems finally go away? The list of questions going through my mind goes on.
Since then, I have been taking buttloads of supplements and minerals while changing my diet to nothing but protein and fiber. I have cut out alcohol, caffeine, gluten, and significantly restricted sugar intake. Magnesium is incredibly important!!!
As the title states, I am now 4 months out from taking Levofloxacin. I am generally doing better now that I know what I’m dealing with. However, every once in a while, I get flares in the form of loss of appetite, malaise, chest pain (which scares me the most since it occurs on the left side right where my heart is), fatigue, lethargy, loss of concentration, and really bad anxiety. I actually had my first severe panic attack yesterday while driving; it happened so fast. There was a pop/stab feeling that I felt right in my left chest near my heart and all of a sudden, my heart rate went through the roof, my arms began tingling, I felt like I was going to die, and I got really bad hot and cold flashes in my chest. I was so scared I was having a medical episode that I told my father who was with me that I thought I should go to the hospital. That didn’t happen tho, and my panic attack calmed down. My father and I chalked the panic attack up to the stressful drive and intense concentration I put into driving for the previous three days.
Today, I’m doing better with slightly persisting chest pain in the same area on the left where my heart is. I surprisingly haven’t experienced any problems with my tendons and have only experienced things with my nerves like tingling and numbness a handful of times. The three biggest issues going for me from being floxed are my anxiety, chest pain, and gastrointestinal problems.
Since this ordeal began, I have lost 15 pounds. (156->141). I still cannot ingest alcohol and caffeine since they cause relapses as does eating the wrong thing. I still take my supplements as well. I hope that brighter days are ahead that I can one day look back at all this and smile that I have overcome this.
I have a couple of questions to conclude this story:

• have any of y’all experienced chest pain around the heart? Should I be concerned that there is something wrong with the aorta or the valves?
  
• How long did it take for y’all to at least achieve 80% recovery?
  
• How long does it take for gastrointestinal problems to resolve?
  

Any comments and help appreciated! 👍🏻

Hello all, I am getting surgery for a High-grade interstitial split tearing of my peroneus brevis tendon. The Dr will also do the Brostrom procedure while he has me open.
What do you wish you prepared before surgery that is missing from my list / should be considered?
Here's what I've got so far: Mobility scooter, little crafts so I don't lose my mind just laying there, bed tray, ice packs, 2 loving roommates who will be my servants for 2 weeks.
Here's what I've done so far: Stack the pantry, deep clean my room so I don't hate looking at it for so long, mega laundry haul, move the tv to my room, I also might install the ac early Incase it gets hot.
Ty in advance... This really sucks lol.

Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I posted anything or even visited the sub. I do not visit the sub anymore as I collected all the information I needed long ago and staying on the sub only led to more thinking about flox. Focusing on other areas of life has been a great life hack for me! I have done a lot of positive things in the past half a year - I am starting my own business, been meeting new people and making a lot of new friends. Flox has changed me for the better.
I want to preface this by saying that I was probably the only person (or almost only as I've met maybe 1 or 2 other people on Reddit) who claimed flares from CoQ10. It actually flared me quite a lot — sometimes I could handle 100mg and sometimes even 30mg would lead to terrible pain. It was frightening to be one of the rarest cases in a pool of already rare cases, so, naturally, I tracked reactions to supplements extremely attentively (u/vadroqvertical won’t let me lie about that) and I have tried a lot (my cupboard is full of supplements — I spent around €3,500 on them in the span of 1.5 years). I will list reactions to supplements and the approximate timeline of when it happened:
— First of all, CoQ10/Ubiquinol flared me not so much 1 month out (tried 100mg ubiquinol multiple times) but it got worse as time went on to the point that April 2023 I could not even take 30mg without great pain. I tried it 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 16 months out all without luck with varying doses flaring me to different extents. I will outline the reasons for it below;
— Vitamin E flared me a lot 2, 4, 6 and 8 months out. Never tried again. Tried 200-400 IU at a time. Due to poor GSH regeneration through Glutathione Reductase dependent upon B2 and NADPH;
— Benfothiamine flared me as well (doses 150mg-300mg/day). This is due to high sulphite and blockage of complex IV of the Electron Transport Chain in the mitochondria the reason for I will explain further. Thiamine is easily broken down by sulphite in the body and it is broken down into sulphite as well, which causes a negative loop reaction in people with high sulphite levels. Benfothiamine also caused me a severe allergic reaction (extreme anxiety and itching) that gladly did not require hospitalisation but was extremely scary and scarred me psychologically (likely high sulfocysteine activated NMDA receptors);
— Vitamin B6 increased my neuropathy when I got it. Likely due to poor B2 functional status. The problem I was also deficient in B6 and its supplementation led to great improvements in sleep quality once I could tolerate it. Note B6 is easily destroyed by sulphite just like B1;
— Riboflavin flared me (tried at 100mg, doses under 10mg never flared me). This is likely due to unmatched NADPH supply due to high sulphite load in the body (speculative);
— Astaxanthin greatly improved my physical health at 5-6 months out (proving that the core of my issues was solely ROS) but it caused reductive stress (NADH accumulation), which also caused pain, albeit the pain was a different kind and asta caused worsening neuropathy and visual snow. It accumulates in fat tissue, so stopping it was nice with ROS coming to a balance at about 10-12 days after discontinuation (after a loading dose of 36mg/daily for 3.5 weeks) but ROS then came back after it went out of the body further. I did not retry astaxanthin as I realised it caused me reductive stress and neurological issues;
— NAC helped me a damn lot. It was the best antioxidant for me. The problem is it depleted my molybdenum and copper and started giving me allergic reactions (low molybdenum + copper as well as blocked complex IV will lead to way higher sulphite generated from NAC);
— Did not feel much from vitamin D. I live in a very sunny country and tested at 51 (ref. Range 30+) without any supplements;
— Magnesium helped me a lot. #1 supplement;
— Calcium did not help me much in the beginning, actually, caused me heart palpitations. Was fine taking it after a few months;
— Potassium was a good supplement. I took 800mg/day for a while and it supported my muscle health;
— Important: vitamin B5 made me feel a lot better. It took my ROS down like crazy — I could feel normal muscles again, it removed my oxalate pain completely, too but for only a short while like 3-4h.
I have tried many more supplements that were phyto-supplements and such and none of them really helped me beside maybe some placebo effects. Some made me feel worse and were not worth it at all. I did not try anything mood-changing as I was not interested in it. To note, GABA supplement made me feel a little euphoric at first.
It is very relevant that I have been oxalate dumping since 27 Dec. 2023. The description of the experience can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/1by0uh0/comment/kyma718/
Now, to the real question: why did CoQ10 flare me even at high nutrient status (just after flox). I have to stress that flares from CoQ10 were much less at the beginning of flox likely due to better nutrient status (it went from extremely terrible to slightly more extremely terrible while 6 months out it went from ‘eh’ to terrible).

1. First, I have to say that NAC made me worse long-term. How? Over a long period of time I was taking it and was not watching my copper levels (NAC increases metallothionein and causes poor copper absorption) and molybdenum levels (NAC raises generation of sulfite and it needs molybdenum to be detoxified). Some NAC formulations have molybdenum in them but I was not lucky to get one of those and, due to lack of knowledge, did not supplement any molybdenum. The result was high sulphite and from that high ROS (with a combo of benfo which further increased sulphite it caused me peripheral neuropathy at 5 months). Sulphite causes Fenton reactions when complex IV gets blocked up. H2S (a signalling molecule and a vasodilator) also needs to be detoxified by a CoQ-10 dependent enzyme and turned later into sulphite and then sulphate by molybdenum and complex IV (dependent on copper) and if it is not detoxified, it causes a complex IV blockage and starts Fenton reactions as well as electron leakage during production of ATP, causing ROS. This causes a negative feedback loop that was described in the linked article as follows:

«This can be explained as follows:
1) hydrogen sulfide inhibition of complex IV generates superoxide in the respiratory chain, which becomes hydrogen peroxide,
2) hydrogen sulfide reduces ferric iron to ferrous iron, which makes it release from storage in ferritin,
3) this increases Fenton reactions between free iron and hydrogen peroxide, which generate more dangerous reactive oxygen species like the hydroxyl radical,
4) all of this deplete glutathione,
5) since a major purpose of the trans-sulfuration pathway is to provide enough cysteine to make glutathione, glutathione depletion hyperactivates the trans-sulfuration pathway, leading to more cysteine availability, the excess of which is catabolized to sulfite by alternative reactions that do not produce hydrogen sulfide and therefore do not require CoQ10.»

1. In the article linked below, you will see that CoQ-10 protects against reactive oxygen species mainly due to improving hydrogen sulphide clearance (H2S). Therefore, CoQ-10 deficiency did not cause much ROS in complexes I and II but mainly produced issues in Complex III (where sulphite detoxification starts) and complex IV (where the last electrons are delivered during the sulphite-sulphate reaction). Excerpt: «In human cells with CoQ10 synthesis defects from the same study, CoQ10 protected against reactive oxygen species, but suppressing the enzyme that uses CoQ10 to clear hydrogen sulfide abolished this effect. This shows that the reactive oxygen species were coming from poor hydrogen sulfide clearance.»

Considering this, and oh my god, finding this article was like god sent it to me: my CoQ10 flares were coming from poor hydrogen sulphide clearance. At that point there were multiple reasons this could be happening:

1. Cellular CoQ-10 deficiency;
   
2. Manganese toxicity;
   
3. Copper deficiency;
   
4. Molybdenum deficiency;
   
5. SUOX (enzyme which converts sulphite to sulphate) or another genetic impairment;
   
6. Blockage of complex IV by something else.
   

I checked my molybdenum and copper transporting genes, SUOX using DBSNP and my AncestryDNA.txt file, and they were all good (Yes, I know Ancestry does not do a full genomic profile but it still had the main SNPs for that.). I also checked my manganese transporter genes and seemed I was homozygous for an important one but fine with others. It is really hard to estimate how that might affect you IRL, perhaps that would require a real genetic counsellor (or lots of hours spent ruminating again). I also did not think I had any genetic issue since I was very very healthy all my life and had 0 pain or health issues before flox occurred (I have extremely healthy young looking parents that drink, smoke and do whatever they want and have 0 consequences to their health as well).
I took some tests, for example: Genova NutrEval at ~6 months out, full nutrient blood test panel at ~11 months out (abstained for 35 days from any supplements at all, even vitamins and tested literally everything, paid around €1,200) and my CoQ10 levels at both of those occurrences were at 1 & 1.07 in absence of supplementation with ref. Range 0.8-1.4, so it was definitely not low. That way I eliminated #1 and #5. While I was not entirely sure whether genetic issues had to do anything with it, I decided to pretend like they didn’t, since I had to try out other solutions before jumping to the most complex one. I took a lot of molybdenum, so molybdenum deficiency was not at the table for me. In this way I was left with #2, #3 and #6. In the full blood panel, my manganese was slightly high (20.1 with ref. Range <~18) and the SNP people were talking about that caused them manganese toxicity was homozygous for me, so I definitely considered it but manganese when supplemented made me a feel a lot better, actually (mentally, not physically), so I was also likely deficient in it. For now, I just avoid it in supplemental doses but I do not avoid foods containing it. Besides, I do not have iron overload genes that could contribute to manganese toxicity.
I could not take copper because it would lead to high ROS immediately (due to complex IV blockage the reasons for which I will outline further). Considering manganese was likely deficient and not superfluous, I discarded reason #2 and reason #3 could not be fixed by copper, so it was definitely not only copper deficiency but either another factor or another factor coupled with copper deficiency. I was stuck for a long time until I found another article from the same author about B12 and B9 helping to detoxify oxalate. As I said before all this explanation, I have been oxalate dumping throughout the whole process (already 4 months). I should note I was oxalate dumping even before I got floxed (I likely had oxalate overload to my appendix surgery — this is proven by inflamed mesenteric lymph nodes confirmed by 3 MRIs — Sally Norton has the same case of over-absorption in her book) and that is how I actually got the E. Coli they gave me Cipro for (oxalate crystals create a good environment for it in the urinary tract lol) and how I got floxed (I went full circle, lmao). When I was floxed, I was not oxalate dumping for at least a year likely because my body was not in the state to handle the dumping process but it was still affecting me as I will outline further. First of all, I want to say that biotin actually promoted dumping for me as said in the article and not relieved it like it is said in Sally Norton’s book (I am not sure if there is a genetic variation to this). The proposed mechanism of oxalate detoxification in the article is as follows:
«Recall my proposed two-step detoxification process:

1. Pyruvate carboxylase [biotin-dependent] converts oxalate to formate.
   
2. Formate is joined to tetrahydrofolate to enter the methylation cycle, be used for the synthesis of purines or DNA, or be converted to carbon dioxide and exhaled in the breath.»
   

This are also very important words: «There may be more regulation layered on top of this to prevent excessive formate accumulation. It would certainly be preferable to have oxalate crystals cause pain or disrupt the skin than to have formate accumulate beyond the capacity to clear it.» This is why I felt best when dumping. Could eat anything, drink beer, even smoked weed once without issue. Another time though I got too brave, smoked a lot of weed and got a very bad ‘relapse’ but recovered quickly from it. The next morning when using a towel after a shower I had the same pain I used to have 2.5 months out from Cipro (which was extremely bad and took me back 14 months in memories) while before I smoked weed that second time I had almost 0 tendon pain in my daily life apart from oxalate [Here I thought maybe I and DrHungry share similar issues then? He also had an extreme (same in intensity relatively to his flox journey) flare from weed and is also using a lot of sulphur-based antioxidants still. Could such weed flares be related to complex IV dysfunction and/or impaired sulphite clearance?]. In either case, I felt best when dumping, probably because my body was able to regulate formate accumulation and ROS production greatly reduced at those times.
I was sitting outside with my parents and their friends, researching my flox issue when I read these lines: «Formate accumulation is the principle mechanism of methanol toxicity. Part of its toxicity is driven by inhibiting cytochrome oxidase, complex IV of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, which would inhibit the clearance of sulfite and hydrogen sulfide and block the production of ATP.» It finally clicked. It was honestly one of the best moments in my life when I realised. I made the connection between great improvement from B5, formate accumulation, issues with copper supplementation, general ROS improvement and oxalate everything together. Suddenly, my whole flox journey became crystal clear to me.
B5 is mainly used in the body to create Coenzyme A. An intermediate molecule in the production of CoA is called 4’-phosphopantethine and is used in the enzyme 10-methyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (high formate will pair with THF and form 10-MTHF in the attempt of the body to detoxify formate). This enzyme converts 10-MTHF back to THF and creates NADPH in the process which is used by Glutathione Reductase to regenerate Glutathione. Hence, high-dose B5 led to a lot of those reactions occurring and me feeling a big relief from ROS AND OXALATE, so oxalate is indeed detoxified into formate by biotin-dependent pyruvate carboxylase.
Okay, so theory is very interesting but what is theory if it has no proof? When I read it, I realised I finally cracked my flox but I had to get real proof.
Just a few weeks before this, I drank some wine and got nerve damage (likely from high sulphites in it, again, duh — while this was a terrible experience, it played a role in me getting closer to the solution of my issues). Beer caused me no issues, could drink 10 or more bottles in one sitting, eat a lot of rice with no issue. Before, I had only numb hands and top of feet. After the wine, I had burning up to the knee and burning in palms and behind my shoulders. I got fed up with this, I just decided to methylate the fuck out of my nerves and eat copper not in supplements but from calamari (very high in copper but low in vit A, so no toxicity risk like from liver). At that time, I was dumping and my ROS was not too high. I started consuming around 200g protein per day, eating a lot of copper 3-4mg/day and my nerves really healed a lot. To the point they even became normal after 3-4 days. My vision became brighter, it was absolutely crazy. I was also supplementing 150mg molybdenum/day. After a week of that, though, I started getting ROS back and it was very bad ROS, like almost a year ago when I had low molybdenum and copper from a lot of NAC use. That confirmed my suspicion that my issue was indeed sulphite. Eating almost anything caused ROS for me, dumping stopped since the body had no free reducing agents (NADPH) to support sulphate-producing enzymes (oxalate is transported on sulphate transporters, so it literally could not drive out of the cell because it had no car lol). As you understand, high ROS prevents a lot of enzymes from working and here it causes, as you have probably understood, a negative feedback loop.
So, back to the proof. Since I realised that my issue is probably formate, I just decided to take high-dose B5 again (did not add any high dose B2, B1 or other B vitamins, just took my usual B complex with food). It really helped me a lot, again. I felt almost normal. Then, it caused me some pain but I felt how I was getting better and the next day I took it in the day, then in the evening I ate around 80g carbs and took double the dose of B complex (my B complex has low doses: 10mg B1, 10mg B2, 25mg B3, 20mg B5, 5mg B6, 100mcg B7, 100mcg B9, 50mcg B12) instead of adding a lot of B5 and boom, no pain and oxalate dumping restarted quite more strongly than it even used to be before megadosing protein. So I was in pain for at least 2 weeks dying from ROS and then 2 days of B5 and suddenly I was normal again? It felt like paradise. The next day, I went out with my friends. I was a little nervous since we were going to eat out and we ordered 600g of carbonara (the portions here were huge there). I ate it all at once with 2x my light B complex and guess what happened? NO PAIN, just oxalate dumping. I finally realised that I was right and detoxified formate unloaded my complex IV, allowed sulphate transporters to be created, reduced ROS production from food and suddenly I felt like a normal human being (except the dumping part). I recently retried CoQ10 — no flare. Likely before formate got recreated a lot because I was dumping a lot (if you read my comment, you will understand).
I am not megadosing B5 right now but just stuck to 80-100mg B5 per day, so 4x my light B complex as my B6 tolerance improved a lot. Why I am not megadosing B5 is because oxalate likely blocks conversion of vitamin B2 into its active forms as I at ~11 months out when I did full-testing in the absence of supplementation 35 pre-testing had high molybdenum, iodine, (almost above the ref. Range (113 with ref. Range <120) selenium and very high B2 even though I was cellularly deficient according to Genova NutrEval (at 356 with ref. Range <295).
Hence, we can understand what happened to me from the beginning:

1. Oxalate overload led to formate overload as oxalate is converted to formate through the action of biotin-dependent pyruvate carboxylase;
   
2. Formate overload led to complex IV blockage, high ROS and high sulphite, which also leads to high ROS and also leads to complex IV blockage (negative feedback loop);
   
3. High sulphite destroys vitamins B1&B6 as said in the beginning, which caused endogenous production of oxalate to skyrocket (you can read about this if you google, this information is very available);
   
4. Hence sulphate transporters also got impaired, oxalate detoxification in the form of physical crystals also halted, which led to even higher overload;
   
5. This led to higher formate, this led to even more ROS.
   

Mega-dosing B vitamins and especially B5 and B9 led to formate detoxification and the ability of my body to detoxify oxalate. This improved me a lot and it definitely feels like it will inevitably lead to my recovery. I feel good now, I still have some remaining neuropathy but it’s minimal and I know what to avoid to not make it worse and how to improve it quickly if I need to. I have no OS from beer, coffee or food. Also, I am dumping a lot right now. You can ask me all kinds of questions that you want and I will try to answer them to my best ability since I know what it is like to be floxed and I will help anyone who is in the same situation. I am only 22 years old and this experience led to me rethinking my whole life. I plan to become an extremely rich person to be able to fund biochemical research in the future and will focus specifically on floxed individuals and I will help floxed people first. I will try to reach my goals as fast as possible, I promise.
I hope this post does not get removed by moderators. If there is anything to moderate, change, or add, I will be happy to do that. All I say here is very attentively selected and fact-checked either from external sources or personal experience. I do not lie and have no motivation to do so. I am only trying to share my knowledge and to help realise others flox is not unbeatable and can be understood and solved — it all depends on individual factors.
Linked articles:
Manganese Toxicity Is a CoQ10 Deficiency
https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/manganese-toxicity-is-a-coq10-deficiency
CoQ10 Deficiency Is Sulfur Toxicity
https://chrismasterjohnphd.substa2ck.com/p/coq10-deficiency-is-sulfur-toxicity?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader
10-Formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase
https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/pantothenic-acid#formyltetrahydrofolate-dehydrogenase
Can Biotin Help Detoxify Oxalate?
https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/can-biotin-help-detoxify-oxalate
Can B12 and Folate Help Detoxify Oxalate?
https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/can-b12-and-folate-help-detoxify

I have been going to my family doctor for over 15 plus years for various symptoms. Most recently i got blood work that ruled out rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation, thyroid disease, etc. He casually mentioned in the absence of other diagnoses it could be Fibro.
Since that visit i have been looking up fibro and i feel it could be possible and some of my issues make sense, except for the extreme sensitivity to touch, which I don't have. Although my thighs have always been slightly sensitive. Here's my list of ailments...what do you think?
Generalized deep dull aching of my lower back, leg muscles, and knees. Not all the time. Archillies Tendonitis in both feet, nothing has helped... Stiff and sore joint pain in my hands and elbows. Morning stiffness and also from sitting. Pulsatile tinnitus Crunchy neck Migraines Constipation most days Brain fog if im not careful what i eat in the mornings. Mental confusion in mornings some days, other days I'm spot on. Occasionally dizziness Some trigger points are sensitive but not extreme. Tiredness. Some days no amount of coffee can wake me up. Painful periods (pre menopause) Blood pressure on the low end, always.
Im 49 and I often say to my hubby, should i be having these issues, im still youngish? If i dont walk or do yoga, The muscle stiffness is rediculous.
What do you think? Up until now i haven't put all these symptoms together as possibly one disease.

I'm 1.5 years out. My initial symptom was Achilles pain and inflammation. I barely walked the first 3 months. Then slowly I started to recover.
From the start there were many medicine and supplements that increased my tendon issues. The list was getting bigger and bigger, I stopped taking anything. Even magnesium cause my tendons to flare. RIght now when I'm not in a flare I feel fine, almost great. On a good day I can finally take longer walks or go somewhere in the city.
But after several months not only supplements started to flare me but food also. First were fruits (I believe it's because of sugar), then slowly, week after week I started to react to more and more food, mostly grains but some vegetables too. I do good with most of the vegatables, meat, nuts. And it hasn't stopped. I eat just several things now, lost 15kg and still, even though everything is organic, I loose one food every several weeks.
I don't think it's MCAS because I don't have a normal allergic reaction. Just my tendons hurt like A LOT around 1h after I eat something I can't. It hurts really bad usually several hours, I still feel the pain and stiffness during the next 24-48h. Then I can again walk almost normally, while in a flare - I can barely walk for several minutes.
What can I do about it? I'm afraid I'm loosing weight and food. Is it a gut thing? How to heal this? In my country there are no functional medicine doctors. Is there anyone who receovered from something similar?

Western Expedition
[Evan Yang] vs [Zygarde Lee]
Evan rampaged on. He had no intellect, he had become a machine.
Intelligence: N/A
Zygarde: Snap out of it!
Zygarde took out his batons.
Evan: ...
[Gangseo (No 4): "Lu Bu" Evan Yang]: ???, XXR, A+ (Assurged), N/A, ???

Zygarde couldn't block it. The force of Evan's punches crumpled his batons.
Zygarde: Crazy bastard.
Lower 5: we will help you sir!
Lower 5
[North Gangseo (No. 16): Won Hakjun]: SSR, SR, B (Awakened), B, SR
[North Gangseo (No 17): Bae Ji-Woong]: SR+, SR, B+ (Awakened), B, SR
[North Gangseo (No 18): Taekbeom Gu]: SR+, SR+, B (Awakened), A+, SSS+
[North Gangseo (No 19): Jeong Baek]: SR, SR, A(Awakened), A, SR
[North Gangseo (No 20): Cheonhak Kim]: SSS+, SR, A(Awakened), C, SR+
Zygarde: What the fuck are you morons doing?! Stay back!
Zygarde sighed. I didn't want to use this now...
He dropped his batons and got into a new stance.
Ji-Woong: What's that?
One month prior...
???: My great-grandbaby! I can't believe you guys made something so cute!
??? vs Zygarde Lee and Hae-in Kim
Winner: ???
Zygarde: F-fuck...
???: I'll be taking Yeon for now...
He looks down to see Zygarde biting on his Achilles tendon.
???: Because a real father's strength comes out when the baby is in danger!
Place: ???
Yeon: Grapa! Grapa! ???: Zygarde and Hae-in have done a good job raising you.
Day 1: Winner: ??? ???: Not bad for a first try.
Day 2: Winner: ??? ???: I don't see it.
Day 3: Winner: ??? ???: You've gone soft my boy.
The old man sighed.
???: I don't see it, boy.
...
A month later...
Yeon: Grapa! Bye!
???: Good Job. You've finally learnt it.
Zygarde swaddled Yeon in her arms.
???: Unfortunately, we only have a month, but you're a smart boy. You'll do well.
???: You've finally picked up CQC.

[Gangseo (No 4): "Lu Bu" Evan Yang]: XR, XXX, A+ (Assurged), D, XR
Evan: Zuhhhh...
[Gangseo (No 5): "Commander" Zygarde Lee]: XX, XXX, A+ (Ascended), SS, XX



Zygarde: It's time to rest, Evan.
[Gangseo (No 5): "Commander" Zygarde Lee]: XXX^up!, XR^up!, A+ (Ascended), SS, XX

Evan fell.
Winner: Zygarde Lee
Western Expedition: Complete!
Southern Expedition
???: What are you doing?
[North Gangseo (No 9): "Six Fingers" Seongji Yun]: XX, X, S(Ascended), B, XX
Yun: Y'all are slow. Yechan told me to send some of y'all to the east.
Kai: Meh-
William: I'll go.
Kai (muttering): Excited bitch.
Yun: Sure.
William: Bong. Great job.
[Bucheon High (No 1): Hu Jiram] vs [Gangseo (Personal Executive): Bong Kwang]
Winner: Bong Kwang
[Gangseo (Personal Executive): Bong Kwang]: SSR+, SSR, A+ (Awakened), C, SSR+ (Rebirth)
Southern Expedition: Complete!
Eastern Expedition
[Gangseo (No 7): "Swordsman" William Texiter]: XX, XX, S (Ascended), A, X ^new!
Northern Surveillance
Adrian: Mapo union huh? Interesting. This should be good enough for now.
Adrian calls Mangu.
Adrian: I'm coming back.
Northern Surveillance: Complete!
Eastern Expedition
William: This should be where he is. I should surprise him!
William broke the door with a heavy strike.
William: Sup b-
William saw the twisted remains of men. Some were lodged into the walls, some were twisted. Many had a look of fear before succumbing to their fates.
William: Seol Jin went above and beyond huh?
Doha: Sir.
[Gangseo (Personal Executive): Doha Han]: UR, UR+, A(Awakened), C, UR+
William: Oh. Doha. Great progress. Why am I here though?
Doha shifted nervously. He couldn't maintain eye contact with William.
William: Spit it out. Doha: The thing is... William: Is? Doha: Mr Seol Jin.... William: Does he need any help? Doha: I think you should see it for yourself.
Place: Head office of Gateway
William: Oh.
Seol Jin was out of it. He trashed the room. He was reduced to a man with nothing but rage.
William: Jin?
The teenager stood up.
[North Gangseo (No 10): "Vanguard" Kim Seol Jin]: X, X, B(Ascended), F ^down!, XX
He took a step forward. In his hand was the heart he had ripped out of the man's chest.
William: What the f-
He crushed it and fell with a thud.
Western Expedition: Complete!
A few hours later...
Place: Gangseo HQ
Mangu: Great job you guys. Take a break. Adrian, Zygarde, Evan, Hwangyan. We need to talk.
A few moments later...
[Gangseo (No. 1): "Emperor" Hwangyan]: XXR, XR, S(Assurged), A, XXR
[Gangseo (No. 2): "Genius" Adrian Ciel]: XX, XXX, A+ (Ascended), S, XX
[Gangseo (No 3) "Business Man" Mangu Yeong]: XX, XXX, A+ (Ascended), S+, XX
[Gangseo (No 4): "Lu Bu" Evan Yang]: XR, XXX, A+ (Assurged), D, XR
[Gangseo (No 5): "Commander" Zygarde Lee]: XX, XXX, A+ (Ascended), SS, XX
Zygarde: So. How was Mapo, Adrian? Adrian: There is a union controlling the region. I think it's called "Mapo Union". They have various businesses. The north needs more planning than we expected.
The men in the room nodded at one another.
Evan: So we can't barge in and take over? Mangu: Yeah. At least not for the time being. Evan: Wuh? Hwangyan: It means we can barge in later. Evan: Cool! I can wait!
Mangu stood up.
Zygarde: Is it finally time for that?
Mangu nodded.
Mangu: It's time for a reshuffle. Hwangyan: Reshuffle? Zygarde: The crew's grown. The normal rankings aren't gonna cut it anymore. Adrian: So what do you propose?
Mangu smiled.
Mangu: We'll do it like the workers have!
Hwangyan's ears perked.
Mangu: We'll rename our crew to Empire.
Hwangyan's rubbed his nose.
Hwangyan (shameless): No need to thank me. Evan: So cool! Empire! Zygarde and Adrian: Cringey bastards.
Mangu coughed.
Mangu: Moving on. We have to make do without the numbers.
Mangu brought a whiteboard in. It showed the hierarchy of the members
Emperor (Head) >>> Archdukes (Vice-Heads) == Dignitaries (VVIPs) >>> Ministers (Affiliate heads)
MInisters:
Dukes (President/ Affiliate Heads) >>> Marquess (Chairmen) >>> Earls (High Executive) >>> Viscount (MIddle Executive) >>> Baron (Low executive) >>> Commoners (Workforce)
Zygarde: You've been reading Otome Isekais! Mangu: They spark joy.
Hwangyan scrutinised the board.
Hwangyan: So I'm the Emperor. You guys are my archdukes? Mangu: Yep. Though Zygarde and Evan will have a "Duke" and "Marquess" title as well. Hwangyan: I see... Mangu: I think we should start on the reshuffle.
[I'll leave the list for AU Character positions (3)]

I'm writing with a question about my 81m father. We're having a difficult time reaching his urologist or his GP to answer this question. The TL;DR is that we're concerned about the risk of tendonitis for seniors while taking Cipro and want to know if it's ok for him to do low-impact activities/movement classes for seniors or if he should refrain from those while on Cipro. Any other advice you have about preventing risks of side effects while taking Cipro would be appreciated.
Details: In preparation for his TURP procedure (which took place yesterday), his urologist prescribed a 7-day course of Ciprofloxacin to clear a catheter-related UTI before the procedure (a culture later revealed the bacteria to be Pseudomonas). The urologist insisted that he take Ciprofloxacin despite the warnings that we've read in the information brochure and elsewhere about higher risks of side effects for people age 60+ such as tendonitis and kidney damage (he is frequently dehydrated despite our prodding him to drink more fluids, although he hasn't been diagnosed with any kidney issues). We are very concerned about these risks and the doctor was a bit dismissive about our concerns.
He has been on it for about a week with no noticeable side effects so far. He had one day left of the 7-day course when he had his procedure yesterday and the procedure went well; he was released from the hospital 2 hours later. They prescribed another 5 day course of Cipro to take after the procedure; they didn't say why, but I'm assuming that it's to make sure that the Pseudomonas infection is fully resolved as well as killing any other harmful bacteria that he may have been exposed to during the procedure. He'll have a catheter in for 5 days following the procedure, and then they will be taking it out and hopefully leaving it out for good once they test his bladder function, which will be a big relief for all of us as he has been using one for 7 months now due to an enlarged prostate & prostate cancer that has so far been controlled with medication & monitored.
So far as I know he doesn't have any other contraindications regarding health history or medications. Going through the list of warnings in the brochure, he's not taking any corticosteroids, antidipressants, nor tizanidine. No history of tendon problems, liver problems, central nervous problems, nerve problems, bronchitis/respiratory illnesses, and recent heart tests show that it's still strong & healthy for his age (he's on statins). No diabetes or blood sugar issues, and no joint problems such as RA.
My father does have mild frontotemporal dementia which affects his coordination, so his physical therapist normally has him going to low-impact "silver sneaker" movement classes for seniors, and doing low-impact exercises at home as well. Does he need to refrain from doing these while he is on Cipro due to the higher risk of tendonitis? Out of precaution he hasn't been doing any of these low-impact activities but I'm concerned that it will negatively impact his coordination. I understand he's not supposed to do strenuous exercise or heavy lifting during TURP recovery, but is low-impact movement ok? Would love some advice on whether he should continue to refrain from low-impact activities or if he should continue those to maintain his coordination & balance.
ETA that he has never smoked and rarely drinks alcohol. He took one regular strength Tylenol for pain management after the procedure but the pain he has been experiencing is minimal, he hasn't needed any today.
​
​

The very first thing that alerted me to a surprise pregnancy, 16 years ago, was a sudden onset of sciatica and pain when standing. My GP was shocked to discover I was only 6 weeks pregnant when this started. She reassured me the problem would go away once my hormones settled down after delivery. Towards the end of the pregnancy I could barely stand. Admittedly it was much better after delivery, but I still had significantly more hip pain and the sciatica did not go away.
After 6 months post partum, the Dr sent me for an Xray, which was normal, and I was told I had herniated a disc. I started to get very tender around the base of the rib cage. Fast forward 5 years and I still have the same problem; sciatica, hip pain and rib tenderness. It’s always there, and sometimes it’s very noticeable. Nearly always on my right side. I was referred to a rheumatologist after my CRP levels remained high. The rheumatologist examined me for 5 minutes and described me as rotund. He wrote to my GP advising weight loss, and my GP, horrified, wanted to get a second opinion. I declined and stopped seeing Drs.
A couple of years after that, I get extremely debilitating pain in my right knee, and I see a physio. Physio said I had an anterior pelvic tilt, and my muscles on my right leg were pulling my knee cap out of alignment. She gave me some core exercises, but this made things worse so I gave up and it eventually went away. Every few months the problem would come back.
I carry on, always with a background level of pain (very often I don’t realise that I am guarding my right leg and don’t put my weight through it - I see it in photos). Every now and then, I get symptoms on the other side, or my knee is worse, but it always calms down after a month or so.
Then, two years ago, my achillies tendon on my left side became very painful. A physio tried treating this as a traumatic injury, using percussive therapy to encourage inflammation. I was told it would take 6 months to heal. After 8 months of seeing the physio for percussive treatment, and getting no better, I stopped, and found it almost fully recovered after 3 more months.
Then this year, I ended up in A&E and was diagnosed with extreme iron deficiency and a high ferritin level. My GP told me I should see a rheumatologist, and ordered a load of blood test. The blood tests all came back normal, except CRP. Suspecting Lupus (family history plus rash), my GP made the referral.
Rheumatologist was very interested in my pelvis (although my referral didn’t mention all of the above) and he ordered more sensitive blood tests, more inflammatory marker tests, some genetic tests and an MRI of my pelvis. He said he didn’t think it was Lupus, and that he would test for it, but he said I needed to have seronegative arthritis ruled out.
So of course I googled that, and when I saw the list of symptoms for AS, my jaw dropped. I get the results of everything on Friday. I am scared, both of it being AS or something similar, and of it being “nothing” (because there is so much pain and so many things I used to do that I can’t any more - it would suck not to have answers).

Last week in a post-deleted by the OP, there was discussion about how there is no point in stockpiling antibiotics and any attemps for lay people to practice any form of health care in a widespread grid down disaster was a waste of time
Myself and some colleagues wrote: Survival and Austere Medicine
Edit. New link. in a post below.
We are slowing working on a 4th edition with some new material and minor corrections - but it is taking longer than we thought!
But I thought given the above post, I would take the opportunity to post the introduction - which address the "why bother" question for a major long-term grid down situation. Apologies for the formatting and length
"There is a sense, when considering the issues around survival medicine practice, that everything is overwhelming, that it is impossible for lay people to provide a high level of medical care and maintain a high level of population health.
We don’t think this is the case at all. We believe that intelligent lay people with some basic medical knowledge, skills, and equipment can deliver high quality health care. While it is obviously impossible for lay people to safely and competently deal with every medical problem, and there remain many complicated diagnoses requiring equally complicated or technologically advanced treatments, for 80- 90% of the health problems afflicting humanity, simple things done well are all that is required to preserve life and limb and help alleviate suffering.
Consider the following:
1. Remote Medicine Practice:
Below are the results of one of our author’s experience in the provision of health care in various remote and austere locations (some third world, some first world) to nearly four thousand people over a cumulative 30-month period (spread over 18 years) – with more data there are few minor changes from the 2005 2nd edition, but the list is essentially the same – which is interesting. The record keeping was a bit unreliable at times, but the following summary is reasonably accurate.
Top 20 presentations (representing > 95% of consultations):
1. Minor musculoskeletal injuries - ankle sprains most common, included many minor fractures which didn’t require more than diagnosis and simple care
2. Upper respiratory tract infections
3. Allergic reactions/Hay feveAnaphylactic reactions/Rashes
4. Minor open wounds – included a mix of lacerations needing closure, many needing
cleaning and advice only, and some infected wounds
5. Gastroenteritis/Vomiting/Diarrhoea
6. Mental health problems
7. Sexual health/Contraceptive problems
8. Skin infections/Cellulitis
9. Dental problems
10. Abdominal pain - 4 confirmed acute appendix (2 treated with IV antibiotics and
subsequent delayed appendix removal / 2 required evacuation) + 1 gangrenous gall bladder. Many were "no cause found". Of the remainder with a clear diagnosis the most common were renal or biliary colic)
11. Fever /Viral illness
12. Chest infections
13. Major musculoskeletal injuries (fractures/dislocations)
14. Asthma
15. Ear infections
16. Urinary tract infections
17. Burns – mostly partial thickness within the realms of management in the environment the
patient was in. Several required evacuations. Several required rehabilitation due to location and sub-optimal initial treatment.
18. Chest pain
19. Syncope/Collapse/Faints
20. Early pregnancy problems
Major trauma was uncommon but was seen including several fractured femurs and a dozen cases of multi-system severe trauma resulting in a mix of in-country surgery and evacuations
Top 12 prescribed drugs (representing >90% of medications prescribed):
1. Paracetamol (Acetaminophen)
2. Loratadine (and other assorted antihistamines)
3. Diclofenac (and other assorted antiinflammatories)
4. Combined oral contraceptive
5. Flucloxacillin
6. Throat lozenges
7. Augmentin (Amoxycillin + clavulanic acid)
8. Loperamide
9. Nystatin (and other antifungals)
10. Hydrocortisonecream
11. Ventolininhalers(Salbutamol/Albuterol)
12. Morphine
What is of note here is that the clear majority of problems dealt with are simple and straight forward – there is still potential for serious consequences but there is scope for a well-informed lay person with a basic knowledge and access to a reasonable collection of reference books to provide reasonable care. Equally the vast majority of medication prescribed are from a very narrow well defined list – despite the fact 1000’s of drugs are on the market – the list of core lifesaving or comfort preserving ones is relatively brief.
2. Why children die
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the following conditions as having contributed to >75% of worldwide deaths in the under 5-year age group (in no particular order):
Pneumonia Pneumonia is an infection of lungs. Prevention of this condition is somewhat limited – although good nutrition, clean and warm housing, and a reduction in the exposure to respiratory irritants (smoke) all can help. However, the most common bacteria which cause pneumonia are frequently sensitive to penicillin – which is discussed later in the book and can be produced in a low-tech environment.
Diarrhea Death from diarrhea (dehydration) is almost 100% preventable with appropriate use of oral rehydration therapy. Dirty water or poor food handling causes much diarrhea – this can be virtually eliminated by proper hygiene practices and care with drinking water.


Pre-term delivery While we are limited in the direct interventions available in an austere environment to mitigate this problem contributing factors to early labor are young age, malnutrition, smoking, poor maternal health, so there is scope for indirect intervention based on optimizing mum’s health and environment. For babies who are born prematurely the necessities of life are warmth and breast milk. With attention to detail for both things, it is possible for infants as young as 33-34 weeks to survive without high-tech intervention.
Malaria. Prevention is better than a cure, knowledge about clearing stagnant water, mosquito nets and long sleeved clothes can significantly reduce the risk. Equally quinine is derived from the bark of the Chincona tree and the Chinese have been using the herb, Artemisinin, effectively for the treatment of Malaria for years. So, while not as easy to treat or prevent as diarrhea, there is still scope for significant reduction in death rates in low-tech ways.
Blood infection Blood infection or septicemia is rapidly fatal. The ability to intervene depends on the cause of the infection and antibiotics available. Broadly, infections causing septicemia can originate from the skin, the lungs, the kidneys or bladder, and the abdominal contents. While specific treatments for these may be lacking in an austere environment – all have prevention strategies and basic low-tech treatments that can be lifesaving when applied appropriately.
Lack of oxygen at birth Of these problems, this is the one with probably the least scope for impact. Unfortunately, even if foetal distress is detected during labor (with heart beat monitoring or signs of distress like meconium), without the ability to deliver the baby quickly options are limited. That said, a caesarian section is not a massively complicated operation (and discussed in Chapter 10), and in parts of the third world is performed by trained lay people with safety and success.
Measles Again, there is limited scope to intervene directly with the disease. Measles is always around and while vaccination reduced the incidence of epidemics, sporadic cases still occur. In the absence of vaccinations epidemics of measles every few years will be inevitable. There is however some scope to minimize the spread during an epidemic with isolation and respiratory precautions during outbreaks. While some of the serious neurological complications are unavoidable in a
Prevention is better than a cure, knowledge about clearing stagnant water, mosquito nets and long sleeved clothes can significantly reduce the risk. Equally quinine is derived from the bark of the Chincona tree and the Chinese have been using the herb, Artemisinin, effectively for the treatment of Malaria for years. So, while not as easy to treat or prevent as diarrhea, there is still scope for significant reduction in death rates in low-tech ways. small number of patients, basic care such as maintaining hydration can also prevent complications such as dehydration.
Neonatal tetanus The prevention of neonatal tetanus is easy. You don’t let the site where the umbilical cord attaches to the baby get dirty. It is as simple as that.
HIV/AIDS Prevention of maternal infection is the key to prevention of infection of newborns. The steps required to prevent exposure to the HIV virus are widely known: abstinence (not undertaking sexual activity), monogamy (maintaining a single sex partner rather than multiple) and if neither is a palatable option, then safe sexual practices.
Most the conditions above have an element of either preventability or the ability to be treated to some degree in an austere environment and significant improvements in mortality and morbidity can be made.

3. The greatest advances in medicine
Several years ago the British Medical Journal ran a poll trying to identify top medical advances of the last 200 years. The following is the top 12 from that poll:
Sanitation 1st Antibiotics 2nd Anaesthesia 3rd Vaccines 4th DNA 5th Germ theory 6th = The oral contraceptive 6^th = Evidence based medicine 8th Imaging 9th Computers 10th Oral rehydration therapy 11th Smoking cessation 12th =
Just as with our discussion above about the causes of childhood deaths, this list is introduced to show just how much impact a very basic health care knowledge can have in terms of optimising health in a post-disaster or austere situation.
Of the biggest advances of medicine in the last 200 years, between 7 to 9 (depending on your knowledge and available resources) of the 12 can be applied to care in a austere situation. In particular, the knowledge of sanitation, germ theory, oral rehydration therapy, and simple manufactured antibiotics and anaesthetic agents all have the potential to be able to be continued to be applied in a post-disaster situation and to continue to contribute to a high quality of low-tech health care. In the same way that we can substantially reduce childhood death rates in a low tech post-disaster situation, we can still continue to have access to some of the biggest advances in medicine even at the end of the world.
4. Surgery in the third world
A non-specialist surgeon working at a isolated bush hospital in Papua New Guinea published his experience of Emergency Surgery over a 14 month period (similar articles have been published with similar data):
Emergency Surgery 243
Tendon repair 33 Open orthopaedics 32 Dilation and curettage 31 General surgery 29 Incision and drainage 26 Laceration repair 26 Obstetrics 23 Manipulation under anaesthesia 15 Urology 15 Gynaecology 9 Ear, nose and throat 2
Emergency anaesthesia 243
Ketamine – spontaneous breathing 166 Local anaesthesia 33 Ketamine – ventilated 16 Spinal anaesthesia 12 Propofol / thiopentone 10 Epidural 5 Epidural / GA 1
The point of this reference is to help illustrate what someone can achieve in primitive conditions with no formal surgical training and no dedicated anaesthetist. We are not suggesting that the average layperson can safely practice to this extent or breadth of surgery, but it does demonstrate that a non-surgeon can achieve much. It also shows that most anaesthetics for surgery in an austere situation can be done under local or ketamine anaesthetics.
Why this is relevant?
Each of these four references gives you insights, one way or another, into low-tech austere health care. First, it gives you an insight into the likely clinical problems that you may see in a survival situation, and how much can be dealt with in that sort of austere environment. Second, it demonstrates how medically speaking it is the small things and simple knowledge which save lives and some of the biggest killers can be mitigated with these relatively low level interventions or strategies.
In our opening summary – “Medicine at that end of the world”, we describe a pretty bleak medical reality post-SHTF. Will million’s really die from lack of access to modern heath care as we have alleged?
The short answer is yes – many will die much sooner than they otherwise would have, from disease and injury, which currently are not immediately fatal. But the answer is not nearly that simple nor bleak. The reality is that while cancer, diabetes, malnutrition or serious injury may claim many of its victim’s sooner than with today’s health care, most health problems can be treated or mitigated to a degree in a low- tech environment, with a narrow range of medications and interventions – including some cancers, non- insulin requiring diabetes and many major traumatic injuries.
Most medical problems are relatively mundane and not life threatening. Truly catastrophic problems in medicine are fortunately rare. You should focus on learning and preparing to deal with the common problems, and doing common procedures well, and you will save lives, and possibly also improve the quality of those lives.
There will be a significant change to health care but with knowledge and some preparation it isn’t quite as dire as many (including our own opening paragraph) predict. "

Hey everyone,
I wanted to share how I personally managed to overcome FQAD (or at least the worst part of it, lets hope to not relapse). I’m not quite at 100%, but I’m somewhere in the 95-99% range, depending on whether it’s a good or bad day. Initially, I experienced tendon and muscle issues all over my body—from my feet to my neck. I dealt with some minor fatigue, twitching, and cracking. It took me around 600 days, including at least 500 PT/rehab sessions, to reach this point.
I still take quite a few supplements, but they’ve helped me maintain that 95% level. If I stop taking them for a while, I notice a decline. Here’s what’s been working for me:

• Magnesium Complex: I take 4x250mg daily (a mix of glycinate, malate, and citrate).
• Boron: 6mg.
• Vitamin D3: I measure my levels, and 20,000 IU is what I need.
• PQQ: 20mg.
• Liposomal Vitamin C: 4x500mg.
• Ascorbic Acid Vitamin C: 4x1000mg.
• Tudca: 2x600mg.
• Multi Mineral: 100% RDA.
• B Vitamins: 2 servings (each ~300% RDA).
• Thiamin HCL: 4x500mg.
• Benfothiamin: 4x300mg.
• Pro Resolving Mediators: 300mcg

Other strategies that worked for me:

1. Rehab: This had the biggest impact alongside time. Over 500 rehab sessions, I gradually loaded my tendons, allowing me to regain normalcy. I can lift, hike, cycle, do chores, and work. I could even run, but I’m not a fan. I’ll continue with rehab, transitioning to normal training over time. I even made a special instagram account for my rehab progress, it also contains some information how to start if someone wants on their own, that link is in my profile here in reddit
2. Time: The 19 months of being floxed played a significant role in my recovery.
3. Fasting/Caloric Deficit: Initially, fasting caused flare-ups, but now it’s fine. The caloric deficit during fasting likely triggers autophagy, including mitophagy.
4. Breathing exercises: I do Wim Hof Breathing, Box Breathing, and the Physiological Sigh from Hubberman throughout the day.
5. Near Infrared Therapy: Once I found the right dosage, it noticeably sped up my leg recovery. (my dosage is quiet low, its currently like 1,3j/cm2 and still gradually adding more slowly slowly)
6. Heat and Cold Exposure: I exposed myself to both heat and cold, which helps with mitochondria biogenesis.
7. Social Interaction: Having supportive friends, especially my wife, made a huge difference but also finding other floxies who shared the same mindset about doing something about it
8. Supplements: I’ve tried many, but the ones listed above have been the most beneficial.

Final Thoughts:
I might be luckier than others in terms of how hard I was floxed, but who really knows? I credit my recovery to a combination of factors: antioxidants, magnesium, persistence in rehab, and the realization that I had to save myself. There’s no magic cure; it’s a process. Once I shifted my mindset, I made progress. It’s not just mental—it’s action.

As part of my recent NSAID relapse, I am now dealing with bilateral peroneal tenoniditis, tennis elbow, and left insertional hamstring tendonitis on both ends. I decided to reach out to a Physical Therapist for help in recovery and today was my initial evaluation. The new PT is probably younger than 35.
He asked me why I was there and I told him that I was dealing with a reaction to NSAIDs that has caused some systemic tendonitis. His very next question was “Have you ever taken Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics?” I said, “Matter of fact…” and we carried out a long conversation about Fluoroquinolone Toxicty.
I asked how many patients he has ever had that identified their problems as being from FQs. He said other than me only one. However, he has learned over the past few years of his practice and through his schooling that when anyone reports with non-injury related tendonitis, especially under the age of 50, he immediately goes into their history of antibiotic usage to identity if they have ever taken FQs. He also has a list of other FQT symptoms he asks them about. So, he said only one other has self identified, but he has identified many others who had no idea their symptoms were likely from FQT.
1) This made me happy not having to explain more than I had to about FQs, but 2) that the damage that FQs cause is becoming more widespread and in his case, he said they spoke about it extensively on his PT schooling.

Here is an article I recently published on my Substack. If you'd rather read (or listen to an audio version) it outside of Reddit, you can do so here.
Why jump rope isn’t already touted as a leading running drill tool is completely beyond me. But then again…
I'm by no means an "experienced runner"—having started running in 2021 at the age of 34. So, at the time of this writing, about 3 years.
Despite this, I managed to silver-medal my age group in my first race ever.
And it was a 10k. And I was wearing barefoot-shoes.
And I had only been running before that race for about 3 months.
How the heck did I manage to pull this off?
The answer eluded me for a while. Then I remembered—ah, I’ve been jumping rope nearly every day for 2 years.
But how do those connect?
But first, why the heck would some guy start jumping rope at age 32?
About 2 years before I started running, I took up jump rope really just as a fun outdoor hobby.
Even though I was pretty inactive and a bit overweight, that’s not the reason I started skippin’.
One day, I came across some footage of boxer Lulu Hawton doing some jump rope training.
In addition to her seemingly effortless rope handling skills and rhythmic footwork, what caught my eye was a giant grin that spread across her face about 45 seconds into the video. While she was probably skipping to warm up for a match or a training session, something was abundantly clear.
She was having a blast.
And this was from a prize fighter! None of the usual boxer mean-mugging—she looked more like a kid on a carousel.
So, after buying a $10 jump rope on Amazon, I took to the driveway in my swim trunks (yes, I was so inactive, I didn’t own gym shorts).
And…whoo, did I suck.
After a few months of making puddles of sweat in my driveway as well as wheezing sounds so loud that I’m surprised the neighbors didn’t whistle EMS, I eventually got pretty decent at it.
And I lost about 45 pounds in 6 months—probably also from making some lifestyle changes merely to make jump rope less of a slog. Not the original plan, but hey, not too shabby.
After about a year, I found myself constructively critiquing other people’s beginner jump rope videos.

• “Unlock your boxer skip. Then you’ll be able to skip forever without getting tired.”
• “Here’s how to do Double-Unders, though they’re overrated.”
• “You’re skipping like it hurts. Relax and skip easy. Smile every once in a while and you’ll feel it all over.”

But how did that turn into running?
Though jumping rope is inherently enjoyable, 30-minute skipping sessions of staring at the wall without something in your headphones can be a bit drab.
One fateful day, about 2 years into being student of the jump rope, I began listening to the book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall.
Even before I got to the end of the book, running—just like jump rope— sounded fun**.**
Yeah, I know that sounds counterintuitive—unless you’ve read the book.
“I knew aerobic exercise was a powerful antidepressant, but I hadn’t realized it could be so profoundly mood stabilizing and — I hate to use the word — meditative. If you don’t have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain’t getting them.”
Ok, ok—I’ll bite.
I proceeded to dive into all of the normal “Couch to 5k” running programs I could find and took my jump rope to a nearby park with a 1k walking path—sprinkling in running between jump rope sessions.
But something wasn’t adding up.
There was a lot of advice about walk-running to build endurance until one could run a block, two blocks, a mile.
Not to brag, but I wasn’t experiencing most beginner snags.
**“Ah, I know why—**I did most of my newbie wind-sucking two years ago!”
This isn’t to say I wasn’t still periodically sucking wind but after two years of consistent boxer skips and double-unders, getting gassed felt like part of the fun and not a medical emergency.
I also felt much springier than the average beginning runner—able to run for miles all over the city in the most minimal of footwear.
And so, I tried my hand at my first race—a donut-themed 10k. And silvered in my age group.
(Ok, there was only two of us…but my time was still respectable. 😂)
Running became an amazingly freeing activity, like getting my driver’s license for my legs.
But I still didn’t understand why running was coming easier to me than the average newcomer.
Digging still deeper, I unearthed another exciting revelation—this time from multi-decade sub-3-hour Boston Marathon runner and one of the foremost running experts on the planet, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella.
“Running with a jump rope is also an amazingly simple drill for posture, balance, and rhythm.”
In other words—form. Overall technique.
Digging a little keeper and experimenting on myself, I discovered just how similar proper running technique and proper jump rope technique were.
Both require:

• An upright, chest-leading, elbows-back, joint-stacked posture
• A soft mid-foot landing directly under your pelvis
• A quick loading and unloading of “leg springs” from your tendons and ligaments to reduce “stickiness” and wasted energy
• A proper supination (roll out) followed by a quick pronation (roll in) of the feet to help launch one’s body
• A steady core without dropping hips from side to side to reduce energy “leakage”

And so many other commonalities. The list unraveled before me on every run.
And like running, without proper technique, jumping rope just doesn’t work—though the consequences are different.
For a jump roper, due to the lower impact, the risk of injury is quite minimal.
Most newbie rope slingers will report sore calves, slightly tender Achilles tendons, and the odd shin splint if they go full Rocky at it. No need to worry, though—most of these injuries see themselves out as the skipper becomes more experienced.
However, for runners, the injury story is more severe.
The next time you’re at a park with a good path, take a seat on a bench and watch the runners. See if you can spot folks reaching far out in front of them with straightened legs—smashing heels into the pavement.
This style of running results in everything from screaming knees, plantar fasciitis, lower back pain, to hips issues.
But why do all of these occur to new runners, but rarely to new jump ropers?
Most new runners commit a major physiological no-no when they begin their running journey: they treat running like fast, aggressive, airborne walking.
“Well, what is it supposed to be?”
Synchronized jumping.
Simply put, proper running is nothing more than a series of coordinated single leg jumps through space with each landing compressing the springs for the next stride.
To compare this synchronized jumping to the aggressive airborne walking of heel-led running, you can test these in just a few seconds.
Step 1: Stand up.
Step 2: Kick off your shoes.
Step 3: Jump up and down three times.
How did you land?
Probably on your mid-foot, knee bent slightly, with your weight stacked above your pelvis.
And did you use your compressed “leg springs” to launch you into the following two jumps?
Oddly enough, if you were to add a jump rope to this, you would on your way to spinning side swings like Lulu Hawton.
If you were to take this same technique one foot at a time moving forward, you would be running in a way that increases speed, preserves stamina (springs!), and drastically decreases your likelihood of injury.
Let’s try the same test with a few tweaks.
This time, jump, but land on your heels.
Your knees probably remained fairly straight and you felt the impact in your ankles, knees, hips, and possibly even your lower back.
Now, imagine attempting to jump rope this way.
It simply doesn’t work.
Not only would there be no second jump due to the lack of spring but the pain would stop you in your tracks—even in cushioned shoes.
But if jump rope technique and proper running technique are nearly identical, what are aggressive heel landings doing in running?
While a jump roper landing on their heels would resemble Frankenstein’s monster in an express lane to an orthopedist, this is how many people perform the aggressive airborne walk—aka, a heel-striking, over-striding run.
But why do we run this way? Well, our shoes let us get away with it.
Thick heel cushioning and a bit of forward momentum do a great job of masking the pain of repeated blows against every joint up the chain—for a while, anyway. Eventually, the chickens come home to roost in the form of stress fractures, meniscus tears, plantar fasciitis, “runner’s knee,” IT-band syndrome, and more.
Not to brag (and maybe to knock on some wood), I have never experienced any of these injuries in my three years of running.
Is this because I’m some kind of running genius with all of the cheat codes? Haha, I wish! It’s simply sheer luck that I started out with jumping rope before running—an activity that shares the same injury-preventing techniques.
So, are the shoes totally to blame? No.
It is possible to run with proper form in shoes with raised, cushioned heels. But it’s not as easy.
When your heel is totally cushioned, you will be able to run with a heel strike in the same way you can hit your head against a brick wall while wearing a football helmet. And in both instances, it will eventually become less about the forces outside of the foam and more about the forces inside the cushion against each other that do the most damage.
“So, how can getting a jump rope help me become a better runner?”
Jump rope is a tremendous training tool for runners for the same reason why running barefoot can also be helpful—the feedback is immediate.
Though running with inefficient and injurious form is possible, the feedback from doing so isn’t so immediate. When it comes to jumping rope, however, you won’t get through too many skips if you don’t learn to utilize the springs in your legs. The rope doesn’t pull punches.
So, get a rope and get started.
If you’re new to jump rope, I would recommend acquiring two pieces of equipment.
Firstly, find a jump rope with a little bit, but not too much, weight to it. The weight will help you feel the position of the rope during it’s entire rotation and remain in better sync with your wrist spins
My favorite rope for this purpose is a 7mm PVC model called the Hererope, which costs a whopping $15. If you find this to be too thick or heavy, a cheap 5mm PVC model will work as well.
Secondly, to protect your rope and provide a nice jumping surface, I would recommend a large foam-rubber exercise mat. My favorite is a massive 78” mat for $32—which is probably the cheapest jump rope mat you will find.
When it comes to footwear, barefoot is ideal. This will help strengthen and mobilize your feet—including your likely overly-supported neglected arches.
And just how does one begin to jump rope?

• Keep a tall posture—imagining a string pulling you up from the crown of your head.
• Your chest should open, elbows back, hands about a fist’s width from your pockets.
• Jump from the balls of your feet, only high enough to clear the rope. When landing, let the skin of your heels “kiss” the floor—touching without taking on weight.
• Keep your knees slightly bent, using every landing to load your springs for the next take-off.
• Keep the cadence quick to maximize spring recoil. To help, listen to a song that’s at about 160 beats per minute, such as the song “Hey Ya” by Outkast (or a song of similar tempo) to get a feel for the speed for skipping rope. (For running, many recommend using “Rock Lobster” by the B-52s for cadence tempo reference.)

Start with short seasons hopping with both feet—maybe 30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest. Aim for minimal muscular activation, instead, using the recoil of your tendons and ligaments for suspension and launch as much as possible.
From jumping with both feet, move onto learning an alternating leg bounce—essentially a jog skip. Right, left, right, left—all while keeping an imaginary belt level with the horizon.
By now, you’re essentially running in place with an extremely efficient technique.
Now, apply your jump rope skills to your running!
This is going to seem quite bizarre, but it is possible (and even beneficial) to take your jump rope for a run.

• Start skipping rope on a road or path with the alternating leg bounce. Remember to keep your elbows back, shoulders relaxed, head pulled up as if tugged skyward by a string from your crown and your imaginary belt level with the horizon.
• Then, as though leaning forward just enough to give someone a kiss or have an imaginary umbilical cord lightly tugged, begin to jump rope forward.
• Remember to continue to land and load on your mid-foot—aiming to keep your weight under your pelvis just like skipping rope. Landing on your heels will likely snag the rope and keep your foot on the ground too long.
• As you proceed with this, remember how it feels—the quick foot turnover, the posture, the recoil in your leg springs, the core stability, and the lightness of it.
• In the middle of doing this, simply toss the handles behind you and keep running as though it was still there—still pretending to spin the handles.
• At a comfortable stopping point, run back to your rope—now using your hands in a wood-chop motion to counter balance your leg bounces while keeping your pelvis (imaginary belt) level and stable.

And there you have it!
You may find it quite helpful to return to this drill once or twice a week. Also if you find your form slipping a bit or becoming slugging mid-run, feel free to skip imaginary rope to try to correct your technique mid-stride. It will restore lightness and springiness to your running.
I still find myself bringing my wrists to my pockets and spinning imaginary jump rope handles if I feel my technique is collapsing a bit or if my running is becoming less springy.
And remember, most importantly—have fun. 👍
Enjoy this piece? Subscribe to my Substack blog!
You can also:

• Subscribe to the Kenetic YouTube Channel
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Most of us walk every day (“hot girl” style or not), but how much strain could it be putting on our bodies? If you’ve ever walked a long (or even long-ish) distance in the wrong shoes, you know the answer.
After extensive research and analyzing features such as cushioning, arch support, traction and heel drop, I have created a list of best shoes for women to walk, run and do other activities.

Best walking shoes for women 2024:

1. Brooks Ghost 15 (best overall)
2. Skechers GOwalk Joy (best budget)
3. Hoka Arahi 6 (Best ultra-cushioned walking shoe)
4. Vasque Hiking Shoes (best for uneven terrain)
5. New Balance Fresh Foam X 880v13 (Best shoes with arch support)
6. Chaco Z/1 Classic (Best walking sandal)
7. Camper Niki Boots (Best stylish boot)
8. Adidas Ultraboost Light 23 (best for heel comfort)
9. Feiyue 1920 Fe Lo - Ivory (low-profile walking shoe)
10. VenusCelia Comfort Walking Flat Loafer (best loafer)

Brooks Ghost 15 - $110

These shoes are extremely stable, with a grippy outsole, for both speed walks and less intense jaunts along smooth and uneven surfaces. The cushioned EVA foam midsole absorbs shock during the heel strike (when your heel hits the ground), should you also do higher-impact aerobic stints, such as running. Overall, there’s little activity you can’t do comfortably in the Brooks Ghost, and it’s the shoe I now wear most consistently among all the ones tested.
The Ghost is equipped with a curved insole to reduce arch stress—which is great if you suffer from sore tendons, are flat-footed or stand for long periods of time. The Ghost also has a firm heel counter (the part of the shoe that wraps around the back of your ankle) to hold the foot in place and prevent over-pronation, or rolling your ankles.

Skechers GOwalk Joy - $50

These slip-ons from Skechers provide value way beyond what you might expect from a $50 price point. These shoes include an Ortholite insole, as well as a solidly cushioned midsole that can keep you comfortably upright for hours.
They’re lightweight and come with an extra padded heel for comfortable walking. The breathable mesh and insole also make for a lightweight shoe and the fact that they’re slip-ons makes them extra handy for getting out the door quickly.

Hoka Arahi 6 - $197

The Hoka Arahi 6 is a standout shoe for those needing stability. While not overbearing in its corrections, I found it super-comfy and fun to run in. It’s also one of the lighter stability shoes out there which is always great. With mild improvements over its predecessor, the Arahi 6 is a really nice option for your new daily shoe.

Vasque Hiking Shoes - $80

If your walks are taking you off-road (or off-sidewalk), a walking shoe designed for trekking through uneven terrain may be best. These low-top hiking shoes are designed specifically for walking and are our favorite women’s hiking shoes. Stephanie Harper, an outdoors enthusiast based in Asheville, North Carolina, reports, “They’re lightweight and form to your foot without risking stability.” With a waterproof membrane and thick rubber soles, the shoes will keep your feet dry and on stable footing in inclement weather.

New Balance Fresh Foam X 880v13 - $132

The 880v13 model is made with a 3% bio-based foam, derived from renewal resources, which is helpful for reducing the impact on the environment, especially since sneakers are an item that you have to frequently replace once they have worn out.
If you have arch issues, or flat feet, the 880v13 is padded to deliver support in that area, with a 10 millimeter heel drop that alleviates pressure so your foot is on an include, and not resting in a flat position all day. The uppers are made from a breathable mesh, which ensures your feet don’t overheat in these sneakers. I found them airy, lightweight and very responsive during my longest walks. The only negative is that collar, or opening of the shoe where your foot slides in, comes up quite high on the foot, which can cause some rubbing.

Chaco Z/1 Classic - $80

The American Podiatric Medical Association has recognized every model in the Z/1 series for promoting foot health. Undoubtedly, the comfort and support they provide for walking comes at least partly from their simple design. Matt Schonwald, a certified ski-mountaineering and avalanche guide and founder of BC Adventure Guides, recommends the Chacos specifically for their lack of extra features: “I do not like bells and whistles — they usually cause blisters, fall apart, or just underperform.” Paul Ronto of RunRepeat says the grippy sole is heavy duty and dense, giving you “confidence that your feet will grip on to the slickest surfaces.” And while the sandal’s design is pared down, Chaco also has a fully customizable option so you can choose everything from the logo badge to the sole to the footbed.

Camper Niki Boots - $210

The Camper Niki Boots offer a stylish blend of comfort and durability, making them a versatile addition to any wardrobe. Crafted with high-quality leather, these boots feature a unique, contemporary design that stands out. The cushioned insoles and robust soles provide excellent support for all-day wear. However, some users may find the fit slightly narrow, so consider sizing up if you have wider feet. Overall, the Niki Boots are a solid choice for those seeking both fashion and functionality in their footwear.

Adidas Ultraboost Light 23 - $140

The Adidas Women’s Ultraboost Light 23 stands out as the best walking shoe for heel comfort, thanks to its exceptional cushioning and responsive Boost midsole. These shoes provide excellent support and shock absorption, making long walks effortless and pain-free. The lightweight design and breathable Primeknit upper ensure a snug, adaptive fit while keeping your feet cool. Ideal for those with heel discomfort, the Ultraboost Light 23 combines innovative technology with sleek style, making it a top choice for comfort-conscious walkers.

Redditors on the PCT Week 10* (13 MAY 2024)

Hey folks, welcome back! So sorry for the lack of an update last week, unfortunately a combo of technical issues and life stuff got in the way of the post, but I'm glad to be back! Enjoy some slightly longer updates this week :)
I can't believe we're already in May! Now that the majority of hikers will be on trail, the numbers of new people added to the list weekly will start to slow down.
In hiker news, it looks like there has been a big noro bubble in and around Big Bear in the last week or two. Rumor is it may actually be some sort of algae in the Mission Creek area making people sick instead of noro. The hikers in our update mostly seem to be avoiding it so far. As for weather, the Sierras are still pretty snowed in, so many folks seem to be considering their options.
I don't anticipate there will be many more folks signing up moving forwards, so I won't continue to add the signup link, but it is still available on any of the past posts! Those are linked below the table if you want to take a look.

Hiker	Trail Name	Start Date	Last Location	Update
	Ninety Four	Mar 05 (NOBO)	Somewhere in SoCal	No new update
_	Cheetah	Mar 07 (NOBO)	Past Baden-Powell	05/11: Back on trail solo after a short vacation. Summited Baden-Powell. Getting used to being back on trail and in the bubble
	$tache	Mar 10 (NOBO)	Mile 600	05/10: Walked the aquaduct and took a double zero in Mojave to rest some injuries. Past mile 600
u/ Yeah-girl	Troll	Mar 11 (NOBO)	Ridgecrest	05/05: Covered the stretch from Tehachapi to Ridgecrest with heavy packs, enjoying the wildflowers
u/AlmostJuicey	Popcicle	Mar 17 (NOBO)	Baden-Powell	05/05: Inventing new kinds of bagels. Had a little celebration at mile 420. Summited Baden-Powell
	Rowan	Mar 19 (NOBO)	Off-trail	Waiting out the snow in the Sierras
	Clear	Mar 22 (NOBO)	Hikertown	05/12: Made it into Hikertown. Taking care of some tendonitis before continuing on to the aquaduct
		Mar 22 (NOBO)	Walker Pass	05/05: Pushing through wind, sun, and lack of water to reach Ridgecrest. Dealing with soreness and pain
	Menace	Mar 23 (NOBO)	Agua Dulce	05/12: Hiking along with the tramily and enjoying the trail. Dealing with some foot issues. Took some time off trail and enjoyed Six Flags before heading back to trail
	Shade	Mar 28 (NOBO)	Agua Dulce	05/07: Took the long road walk alternate to Baden-Powell due to snow. Pushed through some touch days and enjoyed Vasquez Rocks
		Mar 30 (NOBO)	Off-trail	05/09: Diagnosed with a stress fracture and recommended to stop hiking until mid-June. Re-evaluating next steps
		Mar 30 (NOBO)	Julian	No new update
		Mar 31 (NOBO)	Off-trail	04/29: Decided to leave trail after making it from Campo to Tehachapi and moving on to the next adventure
		Mar 31 (NOBO)	Off-trail	05/04: Summited Baden-Powell, and made it to Acton for some rest. Went through Vasquez Rocks and made it to mile 500. Decided to get off trail and return to family life
	Old Money	Mar 31 (NOBO)	Somewhere in SoCal	05/05: Hit one month on trail, and nearing mile 400
	Spicy	Apr 03 (NOBO)	Somewhere in SoCal	05/06: Had a rough time on San Jacinto, but now the miles are coming faster. Made it somewhere past mile 300
		Apr 04 (NOBO)	Wrightwood	05/06: Ate at the McDonalds, enjoyed a soak in the hot springs, and made it into Wrightwood
		Apr 05 (NOBO)	Agua Dulce	Had a zero in Wrightwood and climbed Baden-Powell. Did their first marathon day on trail! Took a resupply in Agua Dulce
	Brick & Paw Patrol	Apr 06 (NOBO)	Tehachapi	05/10: Had an eventful time rescuing two lost dogs (they did get reunited with their owners!) Reflected on the desert as they near the end, on the varying ecosystems, superblooms, and mountains
	Jenga	Apr 06 (NOBO)	Baden-Powell	05/12: Took a zero in Big Bear, then continued on , avoiding the noro bubble. Got an early start to tackle Baden-Powell
		Apr 08 (NOBO)	Mile 400	05/11: Made it through Mission Creek to rest in Big Bear. Relaxed in the hot springs, ate at the McDonalds, and switched out some gear. Hit mile 400. and one month on trail
		Apr 08 (NOBO)	Big Bear Lake	05/08: Stopped in Idyllwild and met the mayor. Made it through the Mission Creek area, and managed to dodge noro.
		Apr 09 (NOBO)	Big Bear Lake	Made it through San Jacinto and Mission Creek. Took a nice double zero in Big Bear
	French toast	Apr 10 (NOBO)	Tehachapi	05/10: Had McDonalds at Cajon Pass, enjoyed the gorgeous San Gabriels, and made it up to Tehachapi
	Frozen	Apr 12 (NOBO)	Hikertown	05/12: Took a dip at the hot springs, took a few days off for his son's birthday, and enjoyed the mountain views. Went through Vasquez Rocks, and hit mile 500. Making plans for the Sierras and the rest of trail
		Apr 15 (NOBO)	Cajon Pass	05/09: Made it the first 600 miles on trail
	Frostbite	Apr 15 (NOBO)	Cajon Pass	05/10: Made it through a good part of the desert to Cajon Pass
		Apr 17 (NOBO)	Mile 300	05/07: Made it through Mission Creek, and managed to avoid noro while in Big Bear. Hit the 300 mile mark
		Apr 17 (NOBO)	Idyllwild	05/07: Hit two weeks on trail, meeting new people and enjoying the views
		Apr 17 (NOBO)	Off-trail	05/12: Made it past Big Bear before injuring a knee, maybe an ACL tear. Getting off trail for treatment, and hoping to get back on sometime
		Apr 17 (NOBO)	Past Wrightwood	Made it through Mission Creek, had the first major rattlesnake experience, and stopped in Big Bear. Enjoyed getting some fresh fruit at Cajon Pass, and took a zero in Wrightwood. Took the road walk to skip Baden-Powell, and enjoyed some trail magic
	Aloha	Apr 19 (NOBO)	Warner Springs	05/04: Made it further through the desert to Warner Springs. Status: still alive
		Apr 20 (NOBO)	San Jacinto	05/06: Met the mayor in Idyllwild, and summited San Jacinto. Getting used to the hiker hunger
		Apr 21 (NOBO)	Deep Creek Hot Springs	05/10: Dealing with the heat and fewer water sources, stopping in Idyllwild, and summiting San Jacinto. Taking care to try an avoid noro, going through Mission Creek. Took some time in Big Bear, before heading back out and relaxing in the hot springs
u/Typical-Bike718	Twinkie	Apr 22 (NOBO)		No update yet
	Wind	Apr 22 (NOBO)	Whitewater	05/06: Took a zero in Idyllwild and dealt with some blisters. Climbed San Jacinto, and stopped in Whitewater for a rest
and	Poppins & Chimney Boy	Apr 22 (NOBO)	Idyllwild	05/12: Hiked through fog, stopped in Julian, and travelled through Warner Springs. Hiked through the dust and heat, and took a zero in Idyllwild by way of PVC. Back to trail and summiting San Jacinto, before taking more time in Idyllwild
		Apr 23 (NOBO)	Big Bear	05/12: Found some cows near Warner Springs, had a big breakfast at Paradise Valley Cafe, and zeroed in Idyllwild. Continued on to I-10. Skipped Mission Creek to try and avoid sickness, and hopped up to Big Bear
		Apr 24 (NOBO)	Lake Morena	05/10: Started trail and had a cold first night. Hiked through the cold and rain to Lake Morena and took a zero.
		Apr 28 (NOBO)	Mile 100	05/06: Had a good start to trail. Hit 100 miles
		Apr 29 (NOBO)	Idyllwild	05/13: Made it to Julian for some pie and laundry. Made it to mile 100, complete with sunburn. Took a nice zero in Idyllwild
		Apr 29 (NOBO)		No update yet
		Apr 30 (NOBO)	Idyllwild	05/12: Had a good start to trail. Made it to Idyllwild to meet with the mayor
		May 1 (NOBO)		No update yet
		May 3 (NOBO)		No update yet
	Spice Girl	May 3 (NOBO)	Terminus	05/06: Classic terminus pic to start off trail
	Sleepwalker	May 4 (NOBO)		No update yet
		May 7 (NOBO)		05/10: Started trail, made it to Julian for pie, showers and laundry
		May 10 (NOBO)	Mount Laguna	05/12: Had a hot first couple days on trail, seeing lizards and a rattlesnake
		May 11 (NOBO)		No update yet
2		May 12 (NOBO)		No update yet
		May 19 (NOBO)	Not on trail yet

WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6 WEEK 7 WEEK 8
Edit: Reddit delete some of the usernames again :(

I’m 48 and (suspect) perimenopausal. My periods are getting a bit longer, and I’m pretty sure it’s a hormonal thing. The weirdest thing is a feeling like tendonitis in my right elbow, for about a year, and now the same pain in my left elbow. My knuckles are also sore on one hand and a weird lump is growing. I’m otherwise healthy and fit… is this ageing or is it menopause? I have a doc appt Friday for a long list of ailments 🙃 and want to know what I should be asking, or asking for?

Hello. I'm a 20-year-old male runner who received a 2nd metatarsal osteotomy in November 2020. I had been experiencing unexplained metatarsalgia under my 2nd metatarsal for 18 months, which had begun the day after a track meet my freshmen year of high school. I had gone to several doctors, who said it could be anything from a stress fracture to a neuroma, but none offered any further care. I eventually ended up at an orthopedic private practice where the surgeon said he would perform a metatarsal osteotomy to take pressure off that metatarsal. This seemed like my best option at the time.
Immediately after the surgery, the surgeon said that while operating, he had seen that my plantar plate had completely torn from my proximal phalanx and had repaired it, although I was never shown an X-ray or any form of imaging. I was relieved to find out there was a reason for my pain over the last year and a half. The surgeon then said I would have arthritis later on due to the surgery, but I didn't pay much attention to this, because I thought he meant 20-30 years from now, as I was only 17 years old and thought you had to be much older to get arthritis. To be clear, before the surgery, I was not told that arthritis was ever something I should worry about.
A year later, I began to feel extremely achy in the joint after running. Another 4-5 months later, I had to stop running because of this pain, and I haven't been able to run since. Around 6 months ago, it even began to hurt during and after walking, and it hurts everyday now. I went back to my surgeon with my concerns, and he saw me for a total of 2 minutes. In those 2 minutes, he said that I have a "funky joint" and that I should just stretch out the toe (I used to stretch out the toe almost every day, it only seems to make the pain worse, sometimes for a few days).
I went to another doctor, got X-rays, and was told I now have arthritis in the MTP joint, specifically on the proximal phalanx, which has completely degenerated since the last time I was seen at that hospital for my foot in July 2020. To be clear, the joint was completely normal before the surgery.
I decided to request my medical files from the private practice, including post-operation X-rays, about 2 months ago. I was absolutely shocked by what I found. The base of the proximal phalanx/articular surface had been drilled into, even taking off quite a bit of cartilage. I wish I could attach an image to this post to show you how egregious it is.
I've searched the plantar plate repaimetatarsal osteotomy literature extensively, and nowhere can I find post-op x-rays that involved drill incisions INSIDE the cartilage/joint. Obviously, ligament and tendon repair may require incisions for attachment, but never in the cartilage/joint itself. Arthritis is also never listed as a known complication of plantar plate repaimetatarsal osteotomy (when the surgery is done properly).
I also read the operative report and found several inconsistencies and downright contradictions. For one, the surgeon stated in one of the visit summaries "we will start a course of physical therapy", when that was untrue. I practically begged him to start me on physical therapy, to which he responded that it was unnecessary, and never referred me to a physical therapist.
I would really appreciate any input on this. I need to know what steps I should take next. I feel completely lost right now. Running was everything to me.
Thank you so much for reading.

Hope this gives some of you hope although I recognize that all situations are unique.
Developed DQ 8 months ago. I didn’t take it seriously quick enough and only after about a month did I begin treatment.
At its worst I failed the finkelstein test terribly and my tendons were full of clicking and catching, sometimes catching so badly I thought they might rupture when I tried to free my thumb up.
I splinted for 7.5 weeks day and night, taking it off only to showedo dishes carefully. Iced most days. During the acute phase I continued working which involved occasional heavy lifting and aggravated it somewhat.
I figured I could stop splinting once I was passing the finkelstein test consistently.
Range of motion was terrible post splinting - worse than ever. Pathetically weak thumb also. Also still very painful when making a thumbs up motion, making scrolling motions like on a phone, tapping, or any type of thumb rotation movements.
Tendons were also still catching and clicking randomly, usually mild with mild pain, but occasionally still pretty severely.
As months passed, and with the implementation of elastic band strengthening thumb exercises, my thumb got stronger and the motions listed above became gradually less painful and my overall range of motion without pain improved. Daytime tendon clicking continued but less.
Tendon clicking was at its worst during the night and I have had to sleep with a splint with my thumb TAPED to my other fingers up until recently so that clicking and catching wouldn’t be waking me up.
Things I wish I did earlier:
Contrast therapy (ice and hot water immersion) would have likely sped up my recovery during the first month. I wish I had done more gentle movement exercises during the splinting weeks so my thumb wouldn’t have become so weak after.
Things to note:
My healing has been EXTREMELY non linear. This has looked like the line on a stock market graph, with major changes on a day to day and week to week basis.
Unique things that helped:
Pinning exercises - I still do these as needed. So easy. Using your good thumb, press and hold the bad area, then slide up the wrist 3 inches while performing a gentle finkelstein type wrist bend. You are essentially stretching out the tendons and sheath. Only performed this late phase - NOT during the acute phase.
(Moderate) weight lifting - I started lifting again at about the 4 month point (very carefully). My DQ always was a little better for the following ~72 hours.
I have read that a surprisingly large amount of healing comes from strengthening and stretching the muscles of the forearm, which the above two things both do.
Today I and am able to scroll/type on my phone/type on a keyboard/paddle a kayak/ play piano/ play video games/ lift weights with essentially no problem.
Occasionally I experience mild twinges of discomfort which go away quickly and if I need to, I perform the pinning technique mentioned above to instantly resolve it. Lifestyle changes are key as I am careful to not over do, although most things I am able to do as long or intensely as I want with no problem.
I don’t know if I will achieve a true legitimate 100% but if I do it will be months or years, but perhaps one day.
Gotta say while I’m no expert I’ve learned a heck of a lot about this cruel and ridiculous problem and I wish all of you the absolute best.

Book report guy back, with the Bryan Danielson book from 2014 and it has some fun backstage stories from his time in WWE!
Solid wrestling book, though not super memorable in my opinion. Some solid detail and dirt like you expect, but honestly it felt like he was holding back.
As always, it's in chronological order as best as I could do that. Hope y'all enjoy!
Bryan is a weird dude, while describing his adolescence, he casually says that he has a lot of weird hypothesis on various subjects, and we should ask Nigel McGuinness about Bryan's theory on how a penis grows. He doesn't expand on this more. He just says that and moves back to talking about his childhood.
Bryan rants a bit about how modern medicine has stunted human evolution because kids who would have died off got to live and reproduce and pass their "defects" onto the next generation. He says that he is one of those defects, sick all his childhood and sick a lot as an adult. He says that his wife Brie is also a "defect" but says she can share the details in her own book if she ever writes one.
When Bryan was 16 years old, he contacted Dean Melanko's wrestling school and was told it would cost him $2,500, but he needed a $500 deposit to secure his spot. Bryan was scared that there were hundreds of people on the waiting list and worked extra shifts at McDonald's in order to get the cash together asap. He put $500 deposit down for a wrestling school he couldn't go to for 2 more years.
Three months before Bryan graduated high school, the Melanko Wrestling School contacted to inform Bryan that the school was shutting down permanently. When Bryan asked for his $500 back, he was told that they no longer had it and that he was SOL.
While watching Monday Night RAW, an ad flashed advertising a 900 number (an old pay-per-minute phone concept that was always a money drain on the caller), and it advertised Shawn Michaels opening up a wrestling school. After an expensive phone call, Bryan was told to pay $20 more for a package to be mailed to him with more info. He did, and when he got the package, it detailed how Michaels wrestling school would cost $3,900 dollars, and it had another 900 number to call if you're interested. Bryan was demoralized and almost didn't call. When he did, though, he was speaking to Shawm Michaels mom, who was helping Shawn run it. Bryan's mom ended up doing all the talking, and the two mothers helped Bryan get set up with a place in San Antonio where the school was. They agreed to let Bryan pay monthly to help him with the finances.
Bryan's first day of wrestling school went exactly like everyone else's first day of wrestling school, with 90% of the students gassed and vomiting. Bryan said out of the 10 guys there, only he and Lance Cade didn't end up vomiting.
Bryan remembers how much Shawn Michaels prioritized his training to Lance Cade. One of the first days, Lance did a basic jump and got so much air that Michaels loudly proclaimed, "I smell money!"
Even though it was Shawn's school, the primary instructor was Rudy Boy Gonzales, a pretty insignificant wrestler from the 80s and 90s. Bryan puts over Rudy as a passionate trainer who motivated him to try harder. Bryan said Rudy would show Bryan anything Bryan saw on a tape and wanted to try.
Bryan says that he and "The" Brian Kendrick became friends immediately as they were both around the same size in the training and had the same level of passion for wrestling.
I always heard that Shawn Michaels wasn't very present for this school, but Bryan tells a different tale, putting Shawn over as someone who was always around and always showing them how to be better.
Bryan does remember some days that Shawn would come in with his sunglasses on, sit at the back of the class, and then dip out early. Bryan didn't realize then that Shawn was in deep with a bad painkiller addiction, and so some days he wasn't as present. Since Bryan grew up with his dad's addiction issues, Bryan says seeing Shawn actually kick the addiction fully put Shawn on a pedestal in Bryan's eyes.
After a couple of months, Shawn was telling the students to start thinking of ring names, and when Bryan couldn't come up with one, he asked Shawn about using his real name. Shawn thought about it for a second before adding "The American Dragon" to it. When Bryan asked why that name, Shawn said it's because Bryan wrestled like a Japanese guy. Bryan took that as a massive compliment.
Bryan didn't tell Shawn, but Bryan initially hated "The American Dragon" name.
Bryan had trouble being expressive and emoting in the ring, so Shawn had him wrestle under a mask.
On October 4th, 1999, Bryan wrestled his first ever match for Shawn Michaels' small promotion, Texas Wrestling Alliance. His opponent was Brian Kendrick (then known as Spanky), and Bryan says as rotton as it was, everyone in the back was super excited for their performance, including Shawn.
Bryan confirms that Kendrick called himself "Spanky" as a masturbation reference.
Shawn arranged for Bryan and Lance Cade to head over to Japan and wrestle for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, a bit of a "mudshow" wrestling promotion. Shawn got Bryan and Lance a spot on their card by agreeing to referee a match for the company.
Bryan remembers seeing one guy shove a bottle rocket up his opponents butt and light it off at that FMW show. So yeah, some pretty outlaw stuff.
Bryan describes attempting a moonsalt to the outside of the ring during this Japan tour, but he slipped and cracked his head on the cement. Bryan says, "When I came to, I didn't even know where I was" before describing how he stumbled his way through the match. He notes how concussions have always been a problem for him.
Lance Cade was invited back to FMW later for a 2nd tour, but they didn't ask for Bryan back. That's when Bryan realized that at his size, he needs to get much, much better.
In February 2000, HBK got Bryan, Lance Cade, Brian Kendrick, and another student named Shooter Shultz, a dark match on an episode of Smackdown. He says they planned for a 15-minute tag match before being told last minute that it's been cut down to 6 minutes. Bryan says HBK went and yelled at some people about "his guys" until he got it bumped up to 10 minutes.
Bryan says he got his first documented concussion that match, because they weren't used to a literal ramp, and Bryan cracked his skull on it, doing a pointless dive. He says the WWE doctor backstage told him to just make sure he doesn't fall asleep.
Bryan says when they got backstage after their match, HBK was excited and pumping them up, telling everyone backstage that they should sign all 4 guys immediately. This was on Tuesday, and by Thursday, when WWE still hadn't contacted them, Shawn called them up and threatened to take the 4 to WCW where Kevin Nash would make sure they were signed. Bryan says WWE quickly offered all 4 guys developmental contracts for $500 per week. Bryan says HBK was a great guy to have in your corner.
Shortly after getting the developmental contract, Bryan and Kendrick wrestled a main event ladder match for Shawn's TWA promotion. At the time, Bryan believed that in order to stand out, he would need to wrestle a more daredevil style, so he did some dumb stuff in this match. He did some ridiculous spot that ended with Bryan separating his shoulder. After the match, he took a table bump that legitimately knocked him unconscious for a full minute.
A week or 2 later, the teams had a rematch in a steel cage where all 4 agreed to blade for the first time. Why is he doing this dumb shit right after being offered a WWE contract?
Bryan says those ladder and cage matches made him realize he needed to change his style up and become more mat based. He wouldn't have had a long career if he kept getting hurt. At this point, Bryan has only been wrestling for 6 or 8 months and already suffered maybe 3 concussions. At least 2 for sure.
Bryan Danielson, Lance Cade, Brian Kendrick, and Shooter Shultz all moved to Memphis, where WWE's development primarily opperated out of at the time. William Regal was also a developmental system at the time, trying to show he had kicked his addiction issues.
Memphis Championship Wrestling was the territory they wrestled for, and Bryan remembers wrestling in all sorts of crazy locations like a WalMart parking lot once.
Although Shawn eventually took the mask off Bryan in TWA, the guys at MCW immediately put the mask back on Bryan.
The only time Bryan thought he might get called up to the main roster was in January 2001, when he heard rumors that WWE wanted to start up a cruiserweight division and use Danielson and Kendrick That didn't happen, though, and Bryan never heard another rumor or wiff of him being called up.
In June 2001, someone from WWE talent relations came down to evaluate talent. Brian was let go and told that despite his talent, they just had no plans for him.
In October 2001, Bryan was offered a spot in California based All Pro Wrestling's annual King Of The Indies tournament. Danielson would beat Kendrick in the first round, and after the show, Nick Bockwinkle, who was there watching, loudly told promoter Roland Alexander, "If you don't put that guy over." Bockwinkle said while pointing directly at Bryan, "You're crazy!"
APW head trainer Donovan Morgan was scheduled to beat Bryan in the second round and go on to win the tournament, but promoter Roland made the call to have Bryan win instead.
Bryan says this that while this really pissed Donovan off, what really upset the guy was when Roland offered Danielson and Kendrick trainer positions alongside Donovan.
Kendrick turned the offer down, but Bryan took it and moved to California in January 2002, where he became the head trainer. Though Bryan says he was a lousy trainer and no good at motivating anyone.
On February 2002, Bryan sat down with Gabe Sapolsky, who, after being inspired by the Super 8 tournament Bryan won, wanted Bryan part of his new promotion, Ring of Honor.
Bryan remembers both William Regal and John Laurinaitis said they would try to get Bryan an in to Japan, but both came up short, and both eventually stopped returning Bryan's calls.
In March 2002, Bryan Danielson, Christopher Daniels, and Brian Kendrick got a tryout with New Japan in Santa Monica. Antonio Inoki was actually there to oversee, but he literally had his back turned to the ring while Danielson and Kendrick wrestled. Inoki never bothered to turn around and watch them, instead watching someone stretch, Bryan says. Bryan later heard that New Japan never intended to hire anyone. They just wanted their dojo to look full for press.
After the "tryout," Bryan says that Inoki fell and had to be helped up by a bunch of people. Only the three of them didn't get up to help, with Kendrick saying loudly, "serves the motherfucker right."
Bryan kept making trips to the Santa Monica dojo every couple of weeks until Shinya "Togi" Makabe told him that if Bryan really wanted to be taken seriously, he had to be at the dojo every single day. Bryan took the advice seriously, quit his training job and moved to Santa Monica.
Bryan says he was offered to come tour with New Japan after only training at the dojo full time a few weeks. It was on this tour where Bryan first wrestled in the Tokyo Dome.
In May 2003, Bryan wrestled another Tokyo Dome show, where Bryan, Rocky Romero and TJ Perkins were all pulled aside in the hotel after the show, by Justin Cully. Cully literally slapped each man across the face, saying the slaps are from Inoki, who was disappointed in their proformances that night. Apparently Inoki expected them to wrestle more of a shoot style fight and was very upset.
In March 2004, Bryan won his first title with New Japan, the IWGP Junior Tag titles with Christopher Daniels, and Bryan would spend the majority of the year with New Japan where he wrestled 8 different tours.
Bryan pitched a 3 hour long match to Gabe Sapolsky for a ROH show and is disappointed they didn't go the full 3 hours.
Going into 2005, Bryan expected to wrestle his whole career in New Japan, but was startled when New Japan didn't get his visa renewed for the January tour like they always do. He was told it was a mistake and he would be back for March tour, but again he was told last minute they didn't have a visa for him. In May they contacted him last minute inviting him for a tour, but at a ridiculous pay cut down to $500 per week. Bryan turned the offer down and never went back to that Santa Monica dojo or work for New Japan again. He later heard that he was used as a pawn in a power struggle with the Dojo and New Japan.
In mid-2005 Bryan got an email from CM-Punk about a rumor suggesting that both WWE and TNA were interested in Bryan, Punk and Samoa Joe. Joe would quickly sign with TNA after this and Punk took a developmental deal with WWE. Bryan never heard from either company, and a few months later Gabe Sapolsky told Bryan he wanted to build ROH around Bryan but wanted a promise that Bryan wouldn't just leave to WWE or TNA. Great timing Gabe, because Bryan immediately said yes.
After winning the ROH World title in September 2005, Bryan says his title reign was falling flat until he started being cocky and cutting those "best in the world" promos. Bryan even shades Jericho and Punk a little by saying at the time no one else was saying it and that's why it worked so well for him.
Bryan puts over his matches with Nigel McGuinness in summer of 2006, but points out one in particular he regrets. Nigel had the idea for Bryan to pull Nigel's face into the steel ring post 3 times to get real blood. After 3 attempts and no blood, Nigel yelled, "One more time!" They got blood on the 4th time, and gave Nigel a severe concussion.
Five minutes into an hour long match with Colt Cabana in August 2006, Bryan landed bad on the outside of the ring, where he separated that same right shoulder as before and tore two tendons.
Three weeks later, Bryan defended his ROH title against KENTA of all people, who legitimately targeted his hurt shoulder all match. Then Bryan went to tour Japan with Pro Wrestling Noah where he and KENTA had a rematch.
Bryan would finally drop the ROH title in December 2006 and then take nearly 4 months off. This is the first time he took off since he started wrestling in 1999.
After doing a tour of Japan with Pro Wrestling Noah in April 2007, Bryan was excited to come back to ROH and signed a 2 year contract.
In June 2007, Bryan and Nigel wrestled an extremely physical match that featured a spot where the two traded headbutts. The match didn't air until September that year and in the mean time, the Chris Benoit double murdesuicide happened and the talk of concussions and safety concerns changed completely. The match was not recieved well and Gabe later told Bryan that they shouldn't have aired it at all.
ROH struggled after the Benoit incident and most everyone had to adapt and tone down their styles. Bryan wasn't one of those people, and actually refused to tone down his style. Later in 2007 he would rupture his ear drum exchanging open palm strikes with KENTA and he would suffer a detached retina in a match with Takeshi Morishima. To this day, he has trouble hearing from his left ear and has trouble with vision.
Bryan remembers being super late for a show and not even being able to meet his opponent beforehand. To Bryan's suprise, his opponent, who despite being green, was great to work with and the two had good chemistry. That was a young Jon Moxley.
In Summer of 2008, Shawn Michaels was fueding with Chris Jericho and they incorporated Lamce Cade on Jericho's side, since Shawn trained Lance. Shawn actually reached out to Bryan about also joining the WWE and being involved in the story.
Bryan met with Vince McMahon and remembers how taken back Vince seemed when they first met, and thinks it was because of Bryan's size and how plain he looked. Bryan also didn't sell himself well in the meeting, saying he is "just okay." Head of talent relations John Laurinaitis told Bryan that they would call him, but he never did.
When Bryan returned from a Japan tour in October 2008, he was shocked to find Gabe Sapolsky had been fired by ROH and replaced by Adam Pearce. Bryan details that while Gabe liked to book long shows with everyone on the card trying their hardest to steal the show, Pearce booked shorter shows and had the lower card guys preform well, but not to try everything under the sun to outshine the main event. You can see why Jim Cornette and Adam Pearce get along so well.
Bryan notes how he was fueding with Claudio Castignoli when Gabe was fired, but Pearce immediately ended that program to which Bryan says he and Claudio were disappointed.
After another failed attempt to get into WWE I'm early 2009, Bryan refocused his energies by moving to Las Vegas where he started training in kick boxing and other forms of mixed martial arts.
Bryan trained religiously for months under a former MMA fighter Neil Melanson. Neil is the one who taught Bryan the LaBell Lock.
When Bryan's ROH contract expired in May 2009, he called John Laurinaitis and left a message, but never heard back.
Bryan says in mid-2009, he was talking to Gabe Sapolsky about starting up a new promotion that would become Evolve. Bryan says that Paul Heyman was even involved with these talks.
Brian Kendrick called Danielson up to pitch Danielson coming to WWE as Kendrick's tag partner. Danielson even went and filmed a bunch of promos with Kendrick and fel optimistic. Unfortunately, Kendrick was fired just a few weeks later before any of those vignets aired and that opportunity was gone as well.
Bryan had given up ever going to WWE when John Laurinaitis called him in September 2009 offering him a main roster contract. Bryan was so excited he didn't have to go to developmental, that he would be right on the main roster immediately. Or so he thought, I guess they didn't bother telling Brilyan about NXT at that time, even though it sounds like he was signed with that in mind.
Nigel was also signed at the same time (probably also meant for NXT) but before either man could start, they had to pass WWE medical tests. They asked them both about past injuries, and Bryan just lied, saying he never had anything wrong and was fine. Didn't mention his shoulder being separated twice, or the detached retina, or any concussion. Nigel on the other hand, was very honest about his injuries, including a torn bicep that he didn't get worked on, he just rehabbed it. Nigel figured he was a lock and didn't see the need to lie.
WWE was concerned about Bryan's elevated liver enzymes, and wanted Nigel to get surgery on his bicep before they would sign him. Both guys were wrestling a farewell tour with ROH and both genuinely concerned they wouldn't actually be leaving. In their last match for ROH, Bryan accidentally gave Nigel a concussion, because apparently these guys only know how to wrestle at one speed!
Nigel couldn't afford the bicep surgery and his own doctor was telling him he is fine, so Nigel went to TNA instead. Nigel would only wrestle for another year before his body would break down too far on him and he would retire.
Bryan signed his WWE contract on October 2nd, 2009, nearly 10 years to the day of his debut match. William Regal actually told Bryan, "Your wrestling career came before this and is over now. Anything else that happens now is a bonus."
William Regal came up with the name "Daniel Bryan" for Bryan to use in WWE. Brian tried arguing to Laurinaitis to use his real name and citing John Cena as an example, Laurinaitis simply told Bryan, "We don't do that anymore."
In early 2010, Bryan and seven other guys were told one day about the NXT concept and how they would be used. Bryan found out who his NXT "pro" would be just like everyone else, when WWE posted it on their website. Bryan initially legit wanted Regal as his "pro" but soon realized being paired with Miz gives him a story immediately.
Bryan describes his time in NXT as the most unusual of his career. The "rookies" all legitimately didn't know what was going to happen on any show and everything they did was 100% unscripted and improvised.
The first night in NXT, all the "rookies" were told 15 minutes before the show, that their "pro" would cut a promo on them and they needed to react accordingly. Bryan had no idea that his pro, the Miz was going to tell him to head to the ring and cut a promo on himself, literally telling him on live TV to make the fans care about him. Bryan had no idea what to say, no real direction he was given to go in, and no tome to plan or rehearse. Miz also told him to come up with a catchphrase, and Bryan said he always hated catch phrases.
In the ring, Bryan cut a generic promo where he said he lost his train of thought and was super greatful when The Miz came out to finish the promo off. Bryan didn't know that would happen and Bryan definitely didn't know Miz was going to slap him at the end. Bryan says that later, The Miz confided to Bryan that he was worried Bryan would try to fight him over the slap.
Bryan credits Chris Jericho for getting him over in his first WWE match, and says that neither he, nor Miz knew that Miz was to beat up Brian after the match. Apparently, Miz was informed during the Jericho/Bryan match that he was to attack Bryan after the finish. Wild how much "flying by the seat of their pants" that WWE did with early NXT.
After the show, Jericho told Bryan that Vince was impressed, though he noted how Vince said, "Ugh, but he doesn't even eat meat!"
Bryan describes promo class with Vince as kinda insane to be honest. One time Bryan accidentally spilled a water bottle, and Vince asked everyone how that made them feel about Bryan. Stuff like that.
Bryan says the NXT rookies weren't allowed to use the regular dressing room and had to use some tarped off part of the backstage area.
Bryan notes how most of the NXT season, the NXT rookies never really knew what was going to happen. The 2nd week Bryan lost to Wade Barret and wasn't told that Chris Jericho would be attacking him after the match.
Bryan says his initial storyline with The Miz wasn't a losing streak idea, but something where each loss had meaning and was being built with purpose. Miz was very hands on with each show and helped to put over Bryan and the storyline, but when Miz missed 2 weeks in a row, the producers left in charge basically just turned it into a losing streak storyline, which Bryan says, "never works."
One time on a plane, Ezekiel Jackson asked "which rookie has an isle seat?" Bryan raised his had and Ezekiel said, "Not anymore." Bryan stood his ground and refused, offering his seat to anyone but Ezekiel. Ezekiel got pissed but William Regal came over and chastised Jackson, saying Bryan is like a son to him and how Bryan has more talent in his pinky ginger than Jackson has in his whole body.
Bryan says the NXT "Pros Polls" were legitimate voting done by the pros. That's why Bryan ended up in first place, despite losing every match.
A week after Wrestlemania in 2010, NXT's direction and purpose shifted away from being serious to silly, and Bryan says they were suddenly doing dumb game show competitions and putting over how demoralizing it was.
Bryan says Skip Shepfield (Ryback) was the only rookie taking the competitions seriously and trying to win each game. Sounds on brand for the big guy.
Bryan says he was trying to be humble when asked who should be eliminated and he said himself. He figured since he lost to everyone he didn't have a right to say any of them. Backstage Miz told him he made a mistake and shouldn't have put that perception out there.
A week later they liked the rookies up on TV (an hour before it goes live) and informed Bryan and fellow rookie Michael Tarver that they are both eliminated, without telling them beforehand. Bryan felt this validated all the warnings guys like Colt Cabana and other gave him about WWE.
Right after Matt Striker interviewed him backstage and when asked an insulting question, Bryan snapped and started talking down about "Daniel Bryan" and started to put over "Bryan Danielson!" Bryan says he could hear Vince screaming into Striker's ear piece and apparently Vince threw his headset when Bryan said his real name.
They made Bryan retape the interview without saying that, but still aired his original interview.
Bryan was surprisingly called back to NXT the following week to start a rivalry with Micheal Cole, who had been verbally obliterating Bryan on commentary since Bryan debuted. Bryan seems to be greatful for that program since it kept him on tv and made him confident that he would keep his job.
The RAW after NXT season 1 ended, all the rookies were pulled into Vince's office and told about Nexus and the attack in the main event. They were told not to tell anyone or else they will be fired. Bryan says he even lied to William Regal, when asked why he was dressed to wrestle.
They were supposed to attack John Cena and Rey Mysterio in the main event, because WWE let the fans vote on Cena's opponent and they assumed Rey would get it. Surprisingly it was CM Punk, and Bryan isn't sure how much Punk was told about the angle.
Bryan legit choked Justin Roberts during the melee, leaving red marks on his skin with his tie. Bryan said he doesn't trust non-wrestlers to sell good so he did it for real, with Justin going purple on Tv. Later during the brawl, Bryan was grabbing a cable to choke someone else when a cameraman told him "no choking!" Bryan does note that he thinks Justin Roberts found it pretty cool to be involved. And later Heath Slater grabbed the dismantled ring ropes to choke Cena, but Cena told him as well, "No choking."
Cena told Bryan before the angle, "It's not the hit you do that's important, it's what you do before the hit that matters." This is why Bryan spit in Cena's face before kicking him in the head.
Backstage, Bryan was reprimanded twice, for choking and spitting. Two days later Vince McMahon personally called Bryan to tell him he was let go and apologized to Bryan for it. Bryan, arrogant as all hell, responded with, "Don't apologize, I'll make more money this year on the independents than I would have working for you."
Bryan called John Laurinaitis to clear up details and Laurinaitis was shocked to hear Bryan was fired. Apparently Vince didn't tell anyone, just called Laurinaitis up and asked for Bryan's number. The comment Bryan made about money seemed to get to Vince since Laurinaitis called Bryan back and asked about it. Laurinaitis actually told Bryan that he can start working independent dates immediately if he wasn't on TV.
After working several shows and making good money off merchandise for several weeks, Bryan was shocked when John Laurinaitis called him in August and asked him to come back for a big angle leading into SummerSlam. Bryan sheepishly asked for a raise and made sure he could make all his already planned independent bookings.
Bryan says Nexas should have won at SummerSlam, noting how they went from dangerous to jobbers in one night.
Bryan remembers a taped RAW after SummerSlam where he did an angle with The Miz. When he got backstage Vince was so mad at how it came off that he made Bryan and others go back out there and do it again. It was the first time Bryan ever had to redo something like that and he said he felt humiliated.
Bryan didnt seem to see much value in being US Champion outside of how it would keep him on tv and maybe monthly ppv matches.
At Hell in a Cell 2010 ppv, Bryan had a good match with Miz and John Morrison, but was scolded after that match for a spot where Bryan threw Miz's stoog Alex Riley off the stage where he landed on cameraman. They showed the two guys the footage and accused them of doing it on purpose to get themselves over. Bryan started regretting coming back and really hating his time in WWE.
Bryan was paired with the Bella Twins in a storyline he hated, that was based on the Twins confusing the word "vegan" for "virgin" and competing to sleep with Bryan. Despite how bad that storyline was, Bryan and Brie would develop a relationship and would start dating in February 2011.
Sheamus was given a choice of Wrestlemania opponents that year between Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan, and Sheamus chose Bryan. Bryan was greatful but concerned Sheamus chose wrong and their match would be cut but Sheamus wasn't worried at all. A week before Mania they were informed their match was on the pre-show at a meeting with literally every other wrestler. Bryan says Sheamus buried his face in his hands and remembers how Rey Mysterio got on the card in a match with Cody Rhodes. Bryan says Sheamus picked the wrong guy.
Bryan got some details in his book messed up where he talks about Miz winning the WWE title off Cena at Wrestlemania 27 and he talks about how Miz was WWE Champion going into Over The Limit ppv 2011, but Miz lost the title by then. It's notable because he says he pitched hard for a "Rocky style" storyline where he would challenge Miz for the WWE title at the Over The Limit ppv.
Bryan says the 2011 Smackdown Money in the Bank winner wasn't decided until the day of the show but it was always between Wade Barret, Cody Rhodes and Bryan. He says despite winning the briefcase, his tv time tricked down and eventually he was spending weeks off tv, until he was randomly inserted into the World title program between Mark Henry and Big Show in late 2011.
Bryan was being left at home and off shows, even watching Survivor Series 2011 from home and was suprised when WWE had him come to the December TLC ppv show, last minute. The day of the show he was told he was cashing in and winning the title and the only direction Vince McMahon gave him was to act like he won the superbowl, so that's where Bryan's over the top celebration came from. He didn't even tell his girlfriend Brie Bella about the plan and says she was shocked when he came backstage afterwards.
The only direction Vince gave Bryan as champion is to celebrate every appearance like he won the lottery, saying, "there is no too over the top here."
Bryan said he adapted his "Yes" chants from MMA fighter Diego Sanchez who was celebrating in a similar way at the time.
Bryan's favorite moment from that first world title run was the closing sequence in the 2012 Elimination Chamber match with him and Santino Marella.
Bryan originally expected he and Sheamus to get 15 minutes or so at Wrestlemania for their match, but was shocked when Chris Jericho told him he heard it would be 8 minutes, including the pre & post match stuff. A week later Arn Anderson confirmed to Bryan that he would lose a 1-move match, dropping the world title to Sheamus at Wrestlemania that year. Bryan and Sheamus were both pissed, to say the least.
Sheamus expressed concern that the short match would turn fans against him as a new champion. Smart man.
Bryan says a bunch of guys came up to him after his Mania loss and were pissed at what they did to Bryan out there. Great Khali even came up and told Bryan that it was bullshit in his broken English.
Originally Sheamus was planned to move into a fued with Alberto Del-rio right after Mania, but the crazy crowd support for Bryan forced them to extend they story another month. Bryan says his Extreme Rules ppv match with Sheamus in 2012 is one of his favorites. Mine too!
Bryan acknowledged the weird booking of Punk as champion in 2012, noting how heels would face John Cena, lose, then be sent to face Punk with no momentum. Interesting take on the situation.
Bryan mentions how when he and Punk fueded in 2012, they never got main event spots outside of non-televised events. One time at a house show, Bryan and Punk veered too far into comedy and after the match John Cena chastised Bryan by pointing out that they didn't wrestle a "main event style" match. Apparently the next house show, Cena was moved into the main event spot with Punk/Bryan being before the intermission. An enraged Punk went and yelled at people until he got his main event spot back. This time, no comedy spots were done and they stayed the main event for the circuit.
Bryan had brand new, edgier gear made up prior to Money in the Bank 2012 and didn't tell anyone backstage. He wore shorts over his trunk and hid the jacket until he had to go out. When he got to the ring, the ref told him to lose the jacket, because I guess Vince was in gorilla position freaking out over how Bryan looked. Dean Melanko was the producer for the match, and Bryan felt bad when Vince blamed him for allowing Bryan to wear it.
Bryan was originally planned to wrestle Charlie Sheen at SummerSlam 2012 in a celebrity match, but Charlie "bailed" as Bryan put it.
Bryan was trying to be "Mr Small Package" by winning matches with Small Package and then boasting about how he has an "inescapable small package!" It didn't get over.
Bryan thought his anger management vignets with Kane and Dr Shelby were going to be terrible.
The only reason they stopped using Dr Shelby is because he had limited days off from his regular teaching job.
Bryan and Kane really wanted their team name to be "Team Friendship" and they even had shirt ideas but Vince let the fans vote and he always kept those votes legit, so their team name was "Team Hell No" which Bryan brings up a good point about. He said as a team primarily appealing to kids, a name with "Hell" in it would be hard to sell merchandise to those kids.
The plan was to break up their team so they could have a good heated fued together, but they were so popular that they kept teaming for 9 months.
Bryan says his first good Wrestlemania experience was in 2013 when he teamed with Kane.
One night after Mania in 2013, when Bryan tagged with Kane and Undertaker to face The Shield, Vince McMahon told Bryan that he would pay him several thousand dollars if he could get Undertaker to hug Bryan in the ring. After the show Bryan got on the mic and tried his hardest to get the hug but couldn't quite do it.
Bryan says that both he and Kane agree that teaming together was some of the most fun in either man's career.
Bryan was scheduled to win the biggest match of his career up to that point, he would be beating Randy Orton clean on RAW. Bryan would botch a dive that left both arms nunb and him unable to stand. He got feeling back in one arm but eventually the doctor called the match off. Backstage Bryan started screaming at Triple H for calling the match and called him a hypocrite for doing so, citing his own injuries in matches. At one point Orton tried to calm Bryan down, but Bryan snapped at him and Orton started yelling too. Brie got Bryan away to calm down, but when Vince came to talk to Bryan, the shouting started again. Much later, William Regal advised Bryan to apologize to both Vince and Triple H, to which Bryan took his advice. The next week, Bryan would get his win over Orton and he says that that drama over everything made that win matter more.
An MRI showed that one of Bryan's disks was pushing into his nerves and eventually he would need surgery. With his momentum starting to rise, Bryan opted to put surgery off.
John Cena pitched facing Daniel Bryan at Money in the Bank 2013 ppv. When Vince asked why, Cena said because it's the biggest match they could do at that time. Vince ended up agreeing, but deciding that it belongs at SummerSlam that year instead!
As proud as Bryan is of the build to and match with Cena at SummerSlam, he acknowledges that the ppv didn't do good numbers, nor did the house show business the following 2 months when Bryan was the main protagonist. He thinks a lot the the Authority promos on him stemmed from some truth.
Bryan isn't satisfied with the quality of matches he was putting out in the latter half of 2013 amd he specifically calls out the series of bad finishes he had with Randy Orton in ppv main events. From the fast counting crooked ref, to that terrible one with Big Show knocking everyone out, and then to Shawn Michaels betraying Bryan at Hell in a Cell ppv.
Bryan initially thought he was getting a Wrestlemania match with Shawn Michaels after that Hell in a Cell finish, but after talking with HBK, it was clear that was never in the cards.
Bryan feels he failed as a main eventer in the 2nd half of 2013, regardless of match quality. He didn't move business and that's all that matters.
The Slammy's were fan votes and Vince didn't think Bryan would win and almost laughed when Bryan asked him what he should say if he does win. Vince said, "whatever you want." I wish I could have seen Vince's face when Bryan won later that night.
When Bryan started fueding with Wyatt Family in late-2013, Bryan was pitching for him to be "brainwashed" and join the group. He suspects that his rising popularity in early 2014 is what convinced WWE to have Bryan turn on Bray and leave the group. At the time, Bryan was hoping to stay with the group and be involved in the planned Cena/Wyatt Wrestlemania program since Bryan had no plans for Mania at that time.
Bryan says he was disappointed when Vince told him he would be facing Sheamus again at Wrestlemania 2014. No disrespect to Sheamus, but Bryan felt he belonged in a higher spot.
Bryan felt bad for the way Rey Mysterio was boo'd at the 2014 Royal Rumble.
When Punk quit WWE after Rumble that year, Bryan remembers how plans didn't change too much for a few weeks, and he assumes Vince expected Punk to come back and for Batista to win the crowds over, and neither happened.
Triple H was being vocal about wanting to face Bryan at Mania that year, but Bryan was trying to not get his hopes up since he had seen Triple H try and fail to get his ideas on screen.
Bryan and Brie only agreed to let Total Divas shoot their wedding, because Total Divas agreed to pay for the whole wedding! Hard to say no to that!
Bryan is very satisfied with his matches at Wrestlemania 30 and says he was so focused between matches that he missed Undertaker losing to Lesnar. He heard the ring bell and looked up at the monitor in shock. He says they cameras should have filmed the guys and girls in the back because their reactions were wild, apparently.
Five days after Wrestlemania 30, Bryan and Brie got married, but 2 days after their honeymoon ended, Bryan's dad unexpectedly passed away at the age of 57. Bryan was devastated and described how he was crying still as he was writing about it.
The book ends on a complete downer, very unlike most other wrestling books. Bryan says that as long as he wrestled when asked if everything he was missing or sacrificing was worth it, Bryan always said yes. He assumed he would have more time when he was done and could catch up on what he missed, but his dad is gone and Bryan openly admits that it wasn't worth it. If he could, Bryan would change a lot of his decisions if it meant more time with his dad.
He says he is still wrestling though because he literally doesn't know what else to do or what comes after. This is especially depressing 10 years later, when Bryan is still wrestling despite having started a family of his own. I hope he doesn't regret any time missed with his daughter.
He ends the book by describing the last time he saw his dad, on Christmas in 2013, where his dad dressed up as Santa. Fuck. I'm sad now.