u/DiviDodo

I have played the majority of the series and truly love most entries from the bottom of my heart.

I also played a few of the so called Zelda clones. My favourite, by far, was Alundra on the PS1. The world, the dungeons, the puzzles, absolutely incredible.

By the end of the year my wife and I are expecting our second child. Life is already stressful as parents, but we know it'll be even more by then. Now we'd love to play just one more game together before the stressful family life will hit us. Unfortunately the expected date of birth is before the OoT remake release 🥴

I recently did some research and found two games that look very promising:

The Adventures of Elliot

and

Elementallis

We will have to select one. Which one should we play? Or do you know one that is even better than these two?

For context: We love puzzles, it's our favourite element in Zelda games. OoA is one of our favourite games, because the puzzles were actually challenging. We also enjoy exploration and atmosphere. We don't enjoy battle/ combat a lot (it's ok, though).

Thank you!

I have played the majority of the series and truly love most entries from the bottom of my heart.

I also played a few of the so called Zelda clones. My favourite, by far, was Alundra on the PS1. The world, the dungeons, the puzzles, absolutely incredible.

By the end of the year my wife and I are expecting our second child. Life is already stressful as parents, but we know it'll be even more by then. Now we'd love to play just one more game together before the stressful family life will hit us. Unfortunately the expected date of birth is before the OoT remake release 🥴

I recently did some research and found two games that look very promising:

The Adventures of Elliot

and

Elementallis

We will have to select one. Which one should we play? Or do you know one that is even better than these two?

For context: We love puzzles, it's our favourite element in Zelda games. OoA is one of our favourite games, because the puzzles were actually challenging. We also enjoy exploration and atmosphere. We don't enjoy battle/ combat a lot (it's ok, though).

Thank you!

I have post-covid and am four years in now, my angiologist (also a ME/CFS specialist) suggested nattokinase, and before I start I'd love to hear from anyone who's already tried it.

For context: This started after covid back in 2022 and what I'm left with is exercise intolerance with some visual and neurological symptoms on top. The usual post-exertional weirdness a lot of you will recognize, plus stuff that feels more "vascular" than purely fatigue-based.

A few things stand out in my history that don't fit a simple "deconditioning" story: In 2022 I had a period of near-full recovery (after being almost bed-bound for three months), and it happened while I was doing high-volume strength training. Not pacing-and-rest, actual heavy lifting. That's when I felt closest to normal. That recovery ended with a collapse that included chest pain, dizziness, brain fog, vision issues, etc. I was then house-bound for months.

Since then I've had a very consistent seasonal pattern: I get noticeably worse every year between December and February.

Cardio is reliably worse for me than strength work (I can now do up to 8 pushups in total, writing this hurts and depresses me as I used to be a muscular athlete), even at similar exertion levels.

Putting this together, my working hypothesis (with my angiologist) is that there's a post-viral autonomic dysfunction component, but with a microvascular piece on top, possibly small fibrin deposition affecting perfusion. A mast cell activation is involved too.

The seasonal pattern fits too, there's a circadian/light-exposure angle and a gut microbiome seasonal dip that both tend to bottom out in winter, which lines up with when I crash every year.

The piece that really sold me on the vascular angle, though: I had a strong reaction to eating raw garlic. It gave me almost instant relief on my worst days (not like a full-blown cure, but symptoms improved dramatically for hours), almost like a medicine. Perhaps because it's a blood vessel vasodilator?!?

That's what led my angiologist to bring up nattokinase, so if there genuinely is a microclotting/fibrin component sitting in small vessels and messing with perfusion, it's a logical thing to try. I also read about some successful cases on the news, which gave me some hope too.

I haven't started yet. Want to get gastroenterologist clearance first (I've got a colonoscopy coming up and don't want to muddy the water) and then loop back with my angiologist to actually start it properly.

Has anyone here actually tried nattokinase for post-viral illnesses, especially if your picture includes exercise intolerance, reactions to things that affect circulation (garlic, beetroot, etc.), chest pain or anything that felt vascular? Did you notice any real improvement? How long before you saw anything? Any side effects worth knowing about? And if it didn't work for you, that's useful info too.

Thanks for reading.

I'm four years in, my angiologist (also a ME/CFS specialist) suggested nattokinase, and before I start I'd love to hear from anyone who's already tried it.

For context: This started after covid back in 2022 and what I'm left with is exercise intolerance with some visual and neurological symptoms on top. The usual post-exertional weirdness a lot of you will recognize, plus stuff that feels more "vascular" than purely fatigue-based.

A few things stand out in my history that don't fit a simple "deconditioning" story: In 2022 I had a period of near-full recovery (after being almost bed-bound for three months), and it happened while I was doing high-volume strength training. Not pacing-and-rest, actual heavy lifting. That's when I felt closest to normal. That recovery ended with a collapse that included chest pain, dizziness, brain fog, vision issues, etc. I was then house-bound for months.

Since then I've had a very consistent seasonal pattern: I get noticeably worse every year between December and February.

Cardio is reliably worse for me than strength work (I can now do up to 8 pushups in total, writing this hurts and depresses me as I used to be a muscular athlete), even at similar exertion levels.

Putting this together, my working hypothesis (with my angiologist) is that there's a post-viral autonomic dysfunction component, but with a microvascular piece on top, possibly small fibrin deposition affecting perfusion. A mast cell activation is involved too.

The seasonal pattern fits too, there's a circadian/light-exposure angle and a gut microbiome seasonal dip that both tend to bottom out in winter, which lines up with when I crash every year.

The piece that really sold me on the vascular angle, though: I had a strong reaction to eating raw garlic. It gave me almost instant relief on my worst days (not like a full-blown cure, but symptoms improved dramatically for hours), almost like a medicine. Perhaps because it's a blood vessel vasodilator?!?

That's what led my angiologist to bring up nattokinase, so if there genuinely is a microclotting/fibrin component sitting in small vessels and messing with perfusion, it's a logical thing to try. I also read about some successful cases on the news, which gave me some hope too.

I haven't started yet. Want to get gastroenterologist clearance first (I've got a colonoscopy coming up and don't want to muddy the water) and then loop back with my angiologist to actually start it properly.

Has anyone here actually tried nattokinase for post-COVID symptoms, especially if your picture includes exercise intolerance, reactions to things that affect circulation (garlic, beetroot, etc.), chest pain or anything that felt vascular? Did you notice any real improvement? How long before you saw anything? Any side effects worth knowing about? And if it didn't work for you, that's useful info too.

Thanks for reading.

In Feb 2022 I went from fit, healthy and happy to house bound and depressed in a matter of days. A series of events preceded this and I thus can't identify a single root cause or trigger for sure for today's complex health issue. The events: Third covid vaccination, two different courses of antibiotics, first covid infection. On top of that I didn't supplement vit d back then and I followed an exercise protocol aiming for muscle growth through total exhaustion.

Symptoms starting shortly after the recovery from covid: Racing heartbeat, frightening chest pain, joint pain, extreme fatigue (I needed up to 16 hours of sleep per day and still couldn't leave the house for months), enormous brain fog/ mental issues (mainly vision problems: blurriness, everything seemed to be like wobbling, but also dizziness and vertigo, forgetfulness, word-finding difficulties, etc.), exercise intolerance, and I had the odd feeling the inside of my upper body, mainly my chest and abdomen, was smouldering.

After being either accused by doctors I make it all up or told it's all psychosomatic I was diagnosed with post covid. Hence, nothing could be done to help me.

Two years later, in Feb 2024, I was diagnosed with severe gut dysbiosis and leaky gut. Inflammation markers were (sky) high too.

I then started the common protocol to tackle this issue (targeted and broad spectrum probiotics, preferential prebiotics, a targeted diet, zinc carnosine, glutamine, vit d + k2, etc. you likely know it) and I soon started feeling better.

Just a year later I was also diagnosed with MCAS (symptom: extreme insomnia). I again started the common protocol and am now much better.

What's still a mystery to me: In Dec I start feeling worse, symptoms return or worsen. Then Jan and Feb feel like a real setback. Symptoms (mainly brain fog and fatigue) become really intense and all the counter measures that usually help become almost useless. In Mar I then turn around and start feeling less bad. April is already much better. This pattern keeps repeating every year since Feb 2022. Can anyone relate? Does anybody know or have an idea what's going on in these months?

ChatGPT says it could be hormonal shifts, but blood tests didn't confirm that. A colleague said it could be an impaired circadian rhythm. In fact I remember that I became very light sensitive over the past years. I can't handle blue light well in the evening, sleep becomes a serious issue then. I'm planning on testing a daylight lamp later this year.

I've already tested correcting vit d levels and increasing the room temperature. Neither worked for me.

Would love to know, if anybody can relate or has an idea what might be the reason for this. Thank you!

In Feb 2022 I went from fit, healthy and happy to house bound and depressed in a matter of days. A series of events preceded this and I thus can't identify a single root cause or trigger for sure for today's complex health issue. The events: Third covid vaccination, two different courses of antibiotics, first covid infection. On top of that I didn't supplement vit d back then and I followed an exercise protocol aiming for muscle growth through total exhaustion.

Symptoms starting shortly after the recovery from covid: Racing heartbeat, frightening chest pain, joint pain, extreme fatigue (I needed up to 16 hours of sleep per day and still couldn't leave the house for months), enormous brain fog/ mental issues (mainly vision problems: blurriness, everything seemed to be like wobbling, but also dizziness and vertigo, forgetfulness, word-finding difficulties, etc.), exercise intolerance, and I had the odd feeling the inside of my upper body, mainly my chest and abdomen, was smouldering.

After being either accused by doctors I make it all up or told it's all psychosomatic I was diagnosed with post covid. Hence, nothing could be done to help me.

Two years later, in Feb 2024, I was diagnosed with severe gut dysbiosis and leaky gut. Inflammation markers were (sky) high too.

I then started the common protocol to tackle this issue (targeted and broad spectrum probiotics, preferential prebiotics, a targeted diet, zinc carnosine, glutamine, vit d + k2, etc. you likely know it) and I soon started feeling better.

Just a year later I was also diagnosed with MCAS (symptom: extreme insomnia). I again started the common protocol and am now much better.

What's still a mystery to me: In Dec I start feeling worse, symptoms return or worsen. Then Jan and Feb feel like a real setback. Symptoms (mainly brain fog and fatigue) become really intense and all the counter measures that usually help become almost useless. In Mar I then turn around and start feeling less bad. April is already much better. This pattern keeps repeating every year since Feb 2022. Can anyone relate? Does anybody know or have an idea what's going on in these months?

ChatGPT says it could be hormonal shifts, but blood tests didn't confirm that. A colleague said it could be an impaired circadian rhythm. In fact I remember that I became very light sensitive over the past years. I can't handle blue light well in the evening, sleep becomes a serious issue then. I'm planning on testing a daylight lamp later this year.

I've already tested correcting vit d levels and increasing the room temperature. Neither worked for me.

Would love to know, if anybody can relate or has an idea what might be the reason for this. Thank you!

In early 2022 I was struck by a terrible illness. An under-researched illness that turned me from being active and fit to disabled and house bound in all of a sudden. For a few months I was even bed bound. No doctor seemed to be able (or even willing) to help me. I was only in my mid 30s...

This situation was so overcharging and terrible that I sometimes closed my eyes and wished I could be somewhere else... someone else. Like an attempt to daydream. I started missing the serenity of my childhood and constantly thought of it. I had never been a real gamer, but for some reason I still don't understand the video game "Zelda - A Link to the Past" came to my mind. I loved it as a child. And this thought gave me some sort of temporary peace, it was somewhat soothing.

After a few months my condition improved a little and I could stay awake for most of the day. Online I came across a video about a "new" Zelda game, so I decided to order a Switch and the game. The title sounded so incredibly beautiful "Breath of the Wild".

At that time, I hadn't played any video game for around 20 years. I didn't know anything about the latest graphics, consoles, etc. And luckily I didn't know anything about this new Zelda title either.

After being blown away by the new graphics I started realising what was right before my eyes. A vast world, incredibly beautiful, as if someone wrote a Ghibli style poem and turned it into a video game. And despite the occasional combat (which I don't like as much as I like atmosphere, puzzles and exploration) this world calmed me down pretty effectively. It became my escape, an alternative reality in which I wasn't disabled and struck by misfortune. For a few hours per day I was able to forget what I had to cope with in real life.

And on top of this, I have always been fascinated by post apocalypse scenarios, lost places, worlds that had fallen and tried to come back to life. Hyrule was exactly that. And I wandered through it (it took me some time to understand I could fast-travel using the shrines 😅), ready to explore every single square centimeter in the slowest possible pace, discover its secrets and its overwhelming beauty. Countless times I stopped for sunsets and other beautiful sceneries and just gazed at them. I got to know its inhabitants, learned its history. It was as if I became part of it.

It felt as if someone made this game to give me a helping hand during a very difficult time. As if it was made for me. Considering all my preferences. Nearly perfect.

BotW has a special place in my heart. I'll never forget the comfort and peace it brought me.

Now I wonder, can anyone relate? Has anyone else experienced something similar with this game?

If English was my mother tongue, I would have written a way more poetic post about this masterpiece. But I don't like using AI in this particular case and I guess you got me.