Dr. Peter Attia

I mean, I felt awful. You felt worse between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., and then you get this second wind, usually about the time you're operating, and then you usually feel pretty good. But overall, I mean, it's a haze.

I mean, I felt awful. You felt worse between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., and then you get this second wind, usually about the time you're operating, and then you usually feel pretty good. But overall, I mean, it's a haze.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, for sure.

Well, look, there's so much going on. I'm happy to tell my story because it's a great introduction to the work you've done. So for folks that haven't heard it, I've shared this before and we were talking before the podcast. I don't remember how much of this is in the book because at one point I wrote all of this out. I'm pretty sure much of it got cut out.

Well, look, there's so much going on. I'm happy to tell my story because it's a great introduction to the work you've done. So for folks that haven't heard it, I've shared this before and we were talking before the podcast. I don't remember how much of this is in the book because at one point I wrote all of this out. I'm pretty sure much of it got cut out.

But when I was in my third year of medical student, I was having just a great old day, rode my bike to the gym, was just about to go in the gym and I get off the bike and I feel a pain in my back like I've never felt before. And it was enough that I decided not to work out, which says something because I would have worked out through any amount of discomfort.

But when I was in my third year of medical student, I was having just a great old day, rode my bike to the gym, was just about to go in the gym and I get off the bike and I feel a pain in my back like I've never felt before. And it was enough that I decided not to work out, which says something because I would have worked out through any amount of discomfort.

I limped home, laid down and said, you know what, I'm just going to sleep this off and tomorrow will be fine. Tomorrow it wasn't fine. I was in so much pain I couldn't get out of bed, had to actually call my roommates. we had separate phones in the same house, to come and get me up and out of bed. And the next two weeks proceeded to be a really unbearable episode where I was doing an ICU rotation.

I limped home, laid down and said, you know what, I'm just going to sleep this off and tomorrow will be fine. Tomorrow it wasn't fine. I was in so much pain I couldn't get out of bed, had to actually call my roommates. we had separate phones in the same house, to come and get me up and out of bed. And the next two weeks proceeded to be a really unbearable episode where I was doing an ICU rotation.

This is back in the Wild West, where I think the nurses and the residents were just shooting me up with Toradol every day, nonstop, getting me through the day. But the nights were brutal. And what I now realized happened was I'd had a really significant herniation. A piece of that L5-S1 disc broke off.

This is back in the Wild West, where I think the nurses and the residents were just shooting me up with Toradol every day, nonstop, getting me through the day. But the nights were brutal. And what I now realized happened was I'd had a really significant herniation. A piece of that L5-S1 disc broke off.

I would later find out it was a five centimeter piece and it had extruded, broken off, was sitting on the S1 nerve root. Every night now I was going to bed feeling as though the skin on the bottom of my foot was being ripped off. The only way I could sleep was to put my foot into a bag of ice. and take some amount of Benadryl that was enough to knock me out.

I would later find out it was a five centimeter piece and it had extruded, broken off, was sitting on the S1 nerve root. Every night now I was going to bed feeling as though the skin on the bottom of my foot was being ripped off. The only way I could sleep was to put my foot into a bag of ice. and take some amount of Benadryl that was enough to knock me out.

This went on for about another week until the dean of students saw me limping along and said, hey, Peter, what's going on? I told him. This was a Sunday afternoon I was studying. He took me directly to the ER, got an MRI, showed all of this mess. The next day I had surgery. As I've talked about in the past, everything went wrong in a series of surgeries. And fast forward three months,

This went on for about another week until the dean of students saw me limping along and said, hey, Peter, what's going on? I told him. This was a Sunday afternoon I was studying. He took me directly to the ER, got an MRI, showed all of this mess. The next day I had surgery. As I've talked about in the past, everything went wrong in a series of surgeries. And fast forward three months,

three trips to the operating room, multiple discectomies, laminotomies, multiple levels. In theory, my back should be fine. I'm anything but fine. I now have a new pain, but this is unlike anything that was related to my back. This is where you come in. I now have a pain that is so significant and it sounds grotesque to explain it, but this is all it was.

three trips to the operating room, multiple discectomies, laminotomies, multiple levels. In theory, my back should be fine. I'm anything but fine. I now have a new pain, but this is unlike anything that was related to my back. This is where you come in. I now have a pain that is so significant and it sounds grotesque to explain it, but this is all it was.

It felt like someone was reaching in my body from my kidneys into my groin and tearing my testicles out from the inside of my body. So needless to say, I was out of commission. I did not move. I laid on a floor 24-7. And to your point, how did I feel? Well, it wasn't just that I was in so much pain that I couldn't do anything. It was I watched my life disappear.

It felt like someone was reaching in my body from my kidneys into my groin and tearing my testicles out from the inside of my body. So needless to say, I was out of commission. I did not move. I laid on a floor 24-7. And to your point, how did I feel? Well, it wasn't just that I was in so much pain that I couldn't do anything. It was I watched my life disappear.