"Treat Life like a Freeroll,  Treat your Body like a million dollar Freeze-out."  -Tropical Jerry- (aka me)

 

One day, after dozens of visits to the doctors, you might get reports back that say this, that, or the other...

Always we hope for the best in these situations, and luckily for me in this instance at least, I can alleviate & avoid 99.5% of the nastiness I've been experiencing if I'm able to eliminate wheat, barley, rye, and most oats from my diet...basically for the rest of my life, pending extreme variables.  On top of that, at least for the next few month's I've been asked to stay away from cow's milk as well. 

So...luckily if I'm able to be responsible and diligent et al, I'll begin to finally feel better. Huzzah!"  Somewhat sadly though, oh so sadly, some of my most cherished foods have just been basically permanently excommunicated from my life. (There are alternatives, and I'm learning to enjoy them just fine, but it's a little bit of a switch to get used to)      

Anyways then, what does a new found "celiac sprue" diagnosis have to do with poker? Well that's what I'll do my best to tie together here in the rest of this little writing.

We see a lot about how such'n'such pro does XYZ exercise program to keep healthy, and/or follows ABC diet regiment in order to help stay feeling well & mentally alert.  (i.e. Lindsey "gosh bless her" even claims A.Robl eats cauliflower for a snack.) Shocked Wink   For a while, I wondered if all this really meant anything for the game?? ....or were these guys just getting kick backs for selling gym memberships at their home resorts, etc.? hahaa

As of now, It's probably a little too early to tell about any sort of big positive rebound, but I'm hopeful that after just a few months I will start to literally "feel" the benefits of all this.  If I set my mind on this course, it'll very likely be the case...and that's something to be a little bit happy about as is!"  & I'll certainly keep y'all updated here accordingly too.  ];)

In the meantime, however, & again = as for poker, I can definitely tell you what "feeling like sh!t all the time" can do to your game and playing style.  & I can also tell you plainly about something else that often seems to go undiscussed in the poker world, "Doctors can be expensive, especially after multiple examinations" (or at least here in the USA, as of late)....  so when you're thinking bankroll management, really really really make sure you're only playing the money you can afford, very much like a business operation, because one day you might find yourself with medical bills (or something else life changing) on top of everything else you've normally been considering.

Very Luckily, I'm able to stay afloat through this whole thing. As of now, I'm technically only considered semi-pro, being that I also currently maintain a day job (family loyalties run deep)....which fortunately provides some limited, but helpful, health insurance.  I have had to humble myself quite a bit though, and play much smaller than I'd usually like to online (maybe another blog? hmm..), which is almost always an adjustment of an exepierence.  Push, Push, Shove: Micro-ball anyone?  Mr. Green 

None-the-less, I'm grinding my way back over at p0wer and still have a couple hundo-bucks over at P'stars to use as seed money there.  I also think I'm more than halfway through the woods on getting back to better health....just the long ol' road to recovery ahead, but at least we have direction now... Hip hip hooray!" & That also means I'll have some more $$ on hand soon too, (as the doc visits become more'n'more spread out, etc.) which along with my new eWalletXpress account means I'll be able to deposit some loot to start over with on p0wer as well. Double Huzzah!"  Very Happy Very Happy

& So as I end this, ('cause I realize it's getting longer and longer...hahaa) I begin a new chapter in the story....or some sorta sappy closing like that, eh?

Really though, I am super excited to get my vitamins and minerals back into equilibrium and my body/mind/spirit feeling better over all!!!  I expect it will influence my ability to play on a lot of different levels, and hopefully very much for the positives. 

 

Now to go see if I still have enough "live game funds" scraped up together to get to Tahoe and this upcoming WSOPc... it was nip+tuck at last count, but I think there's still just enough time to tip the scales toward going. *fingers crossed*  ];)

 

Either way, and anyway which way about it all, I'm glad to keep y'all informed, etc.

~Peace & Luck~