Acadia Beaner (now 20) gives a first-person testimonial describing a multi-year illness beginning at age 13 after a concussion that precipitated POTS and worsened symptoms including headaches, fatigue, vision problems and joint pain. She received multiple diagnoses over time—POTS, Lyme disease (treated into remission), mold toxicity, and Ehlers-Danlos—and underwent dietary detox, antibiotics, herbal supplements and IV treatments. She later joined the Gupta Program and reports substantial improvement (about 70–80% better), regained function (attending college, sports, studying, socializing) and reduced pain through the program’s techniques and meditations.
Chapters
Hi, I'm Acadia Beaner. I am currently 20. And I started feeling weird unwell when I was 13. I used to be, like, a really energetic, sporty kid. I would run around. I did track and swim team, all those things. And then I just started feeling like my hips were hurting. I felt like I couldn't keep up with my friends. I had gotten first diagnosed with pots, I believe, and that was shortly after I passed out and I hit my head. And so I got a concussion, traumatic brain injury. And then once I got a concussion, basically I had some joint pain and was tired before that. But once I got my concussion, everything just kind of, like, took off. And, like, I know in the Gupta program, they talk about, like, the triggering event, and that was definitely it for me. Um, my vision got worse. Headaches, focus, fatigue, everything you can think of, basically. And that eventually, like, led to a Lyme disease diagnosis, which I was in treatment for a year and didn't work. And then I found another doctor who treated me. He also diagnosed me with, like, mold toxicity and Ehlers Danlos, which is, like, joint connectivity stuff. So they all kind of, like, played together. And I was in treatment for a while for those. The doctor was very smart. He did, like, first, like, the diet and detox to get all the mold out of my system. And then once I was, like, stable enough, I started, like, antibiotics for the Lyme and a lot of herbal supplements, too, and I did some IV treatments. Eventually, he got me Lyme free or in recovery, because you can't really get it out forever. So I'm in remission, but I still had, like, lingering pain. Like, I was a lot better than I was. I was on the couch for about two years, but I still had a lot of, like, joint pain in my neck a lot. And we didn't really know what was up with that. And that's when I started the Gupta program, actually. After I would do, like, a session, I would fall asleep for, like, a few hours because it was really taxing on my brain. But then over time, I'd start to, like, incorporate the, like, techniques and the, like, stop, stop, stops and do the meditations. And I would feel, like, a lot more relief in my, like, my physical, like, pain. Sorry. I'd feel a lot more relief in my physical, like, pain symptoms. And, like, once I feel like I, like, broke that, like, loop in my head, it was like a whole new, like, world kind of. I was like, oh, my gosh, like, this is actually helping. I started when I was really, really sick, and so I'd say I'm about, like, 70% better, or maybe a little more like 80%. I'm at a new school, doing work, doing a sport, making friends. Kind of crazy. Like, seeing how different I am now, moving out, like, on my own in college is, like, really significant. Like, I do my laundry on my own. Like, I wash dishes. I, like, do all my homework. I've been studying for finals lately. And I've been in the library for, like, six plus hours a day, which is, like, crazy that I'm using my mind that much. Just feel a lot more like my old self. Like, I'm funny again. And, like, I have energy to, like, make friends and, like, go about my life in a different state than my family. And, like, that's just something I couldn't have imagined doing before.
