O & O = Overweight & Obesity
Posted , 4 users are following.
Increasingly, it's a subject one can't avoid or ignore, it's everywhere, it's global. In the news, on the streets - it's 'in your face'. Unfortunately more than in the face but all over the body, all 30, 40, 50, 60 (and more!) stones or 420, 560, 700, 840 lbs, or 191, 255, 318, 382 kgs - take your pick!
I constantly wonder how people get to this serious condition, and I'm sure there's more to it than just gluttony or food craving. Sure, it doesn't happen overnight, but it does remind me of another condition that affects so many people with ailments of one kind or another - drug addiction, and not for recreation purposes either but to help ease pain, sleep, anxiety and hosts of other normal ailments that, over time get out of hand with not just drug dependence, but accompanied by the need for even more of the drug just to maintain the status quo.
In fact many drugs don't even do that because once the body/brain has got used to addictive drugs they lose the ability they first had, with the body demanding yet more without giving any more benefit.
It's a losing battle.
I am fortunately neither overweight nor obese, but technically I am a drug addict, using a regulated drug that over the years lost its use as a sleep aid but left me feeling the real need for more. Not getting any more left my sleep in chaos, but left me still dependent on the wretched drug.
I can't afford to be smug, as the way out of this dilemma that I have found is looking really good, as after only two months of a new treatment (new to me) has vastly improved my sleep, from 2-3 hours to now 6-7 hours, even giving me the confidence to start tapering off the drug - very slowly - and over the coming months to eliminate my dependence on it. That's my desperate hope, but it's looking good because the greatly improved sleep and my very slow tapering method has allowed me to reduce the drug by 20% so far (2 months) without any side effects.
So how is this drug habit related to O & O you may be asking? Well, for a start, my comparison with how drug addiction begins innocently enough, slowly building up to dependence and eventually getting out of control. Obesity doesn't suddenly happen, it starts with overweight and gradually carries on from there. And what is 'overweight'? It's not quantified nor qualified by BMI, although there are obvious comparisons. Does one pound over my defined BMI calculation make me overweight? or 2 lbs? Of course not, but that can be the thin end of the wedge for some, so that before long it could certainly lead to being overweight if not monitored and dealt with.
Now here is where I'm going to stick my neck out and put forward an idea I came across, funnily enough (no, it's not actually funny) while researching for an alternative to my sleeping problem.
What I haven't revealed to you is how did I achieve that. Well first with an awful lot of online research, which led me to how the body operates at different levels, largely through its complex system of neurotransmitters. These are fed by a small number of amino acids (9 or thereabouts I think, I'm not a medical expert, just quoting from memory what I have read). Among these amino acids is one called serotonin, and it is a key amino acid having the role of not only operating in its own brain area but of collaborating with/regulating the remaining amino acids.
Some of you reading this may have heard of serotonin, or know that it has a strong influence on sleep. A Google search will provide you with as much knowledge as I have found, which I suggest you do anyway.
Once I had a grasp of this I looked for how to get some of it, on the basis that if I increase my serotonin level, it might help me sleep better without taking other drugs.
There is an African shrub - Griffonia Simpliconia - whose seeds produce an ingredient known as 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) that, when taken as a supplement, produces serotonin that gets into the brain. It overcomes the problem of eating foods that contain tryptophan, which gets converted to serotonin but almost all of this ends up in the gut.
Taking the recommended night time dose of 2 x 100 mgs 5-HTP did just that for me, greatly improving sleep, as well as mood, confidence, and a lot more that I hadn't even been looking for, but have been very welcome bonuses.
Is that the end of my story? Not quite, in fact it takes me back to the beginning, because as I said earlier (funnily enough) 5-HTP has also been tested and found very beneficial towards helping weight reduction, especially if combined with an appropriate diet. Double blind tests (described as the 'gold standard' as far as tests are concerned) found impressive results reducing weight among groups of overweight women, and men, although less men were tested.
How does it do this? It's not a diet pill, but via the body's neurotransmitter system which controls mood and other mind matters, it helps suppress appetite, particularly on weight increasing carbs like sugar. It produces a sense of fullness or satiety. As simple as that.
Now I am not suggesting that 5-HTP is the panacea for either O or O, but could it be the start of something good for some willing to try it?
I began this as a discussion, and that's all my input is meant for. Why not do some research of your own, Google serotonin or 5-HTP. Ignore the ads, look for unbiased information, research papers. By all means look at some of the many user reviews of 5-HTP which is readily available to buy and is not expensive by any means, but try to draw your own conclusions.
Could 5-HTP be the opposite thin end of the wedge to help some O & O folk slowly but steadily win their 'battle of the bulge'? I really don't know, but if it does for them what it did for me and my sleep - they won't regret trying.
Most, sadly not all, problems have a solution. The trick is finding the right one. It has taken me years to find my right solution, so perhaps what I've written here may help some towards a quicker solution finding theirs. Here's hoping!!!
0 likes, 27 replies
rose_72472 will12050
Posted
All this is rather confusing. You guessed correctly... and I failed. Rose
rose_72472 will12050
Posted
Will, I do hope you get at least this message. All others seem to have disappeared. You are extraordinary well informed and amazing with anything like statistics, percentages, calculations. So good a decryting too no doubt!
I feel better after my antihistamine. No Supp last night. So, what do I hope the feeling of well-being? No supp Or AntiH???
Yes I am going to a London-based Budapest clinic, where they will be able to assess me and give me a quote.
I'll let you how I get on.
Rx
rose_72472 will12050
Posted
Hello Will,
I said I wouldn't be able to write much today, as I was busy, but obviously I told you lies. At first I was amused, but as the day wore on, I became more concerned I would be barred from the site so I kept trying with short messages so as not to waste too much of my time in case they were erased.
What surprises me is that some messages seem to have been deleted retrospectively, after they first seemed to have been passed. Like the joan smith one! That's a puzzle! Poor joan, she is now dead and buried evn before coming into the world!
I can undersatnd the thinking behind it: to protect the anonimity of participants, to prevent "trolls", to stop unsolicited mail etc...
So, in case I become persona non grata, let me tell you how much I would miss you if so. You have no idea how much chatting to you made me feel good. It gave me much support as well as interesting info.
Getting to know the person behind the messages was also good.
So this leads me, before it is too late to why I am so impressed by you. Your launching post for this page was as brave as it was lonesome.
Here you were, armed with information you wanted to share and wrote at length. This was such an altruistic, generous step. Why should oyu care?
The only reply you got was deleted. Maybe it was hate liam (or is it mail!!! - I todl you about my dislexia). People are so touchy when it comes to their size. And yet, you so objectively outlined what is a very visible -and costly- reality. But most people prefer to be in denial. I won't expand much more on this.
I am glad to say that I am only relatively overweight. At that rate I would indeed have become obese in another five years!
I don't know what my BMI is / was but I seem to remember it was, indeed, on the low side. But there again I knew I was not anorexic or body dismorphic or anything like that. I had a very balanced and healthy relationship with food, with no carvings or fads or obsessions. The only time it became so was after taking AMIT for a couple of years. This got even worse after taking it for 5 years -you know my story by now.
I had a very close relationship with my doctor of 26 years. He was like a friend and alsways seemed genuinely pleased to see me. We always used to share a good laugh. I don't know how we found the time in the ten minute slot.
Unfortunately he has now retired (only 58 years old, but weary of the prssures on his profession)
However, I now feel he did let me down, because I reproted first my weight gain after two years of AMIT, but was told it was normal for "age"! Then my horrendous "hypo's". But that was not takne seriously at all. I was told to watch my diet... So for both these symptoms I was given the same explanation. To take more exercise and watch my diet. That was actually hurtful because the blame was put onto me, making me feel guilty on top of anything else.
The hypo's, which now I realise were signs of sugar addiction have compltely disappeared and so has my obsession with my weight, as it dwindles towards a healthier one, both physically and psychological for me. Now I feel a bit insulted actually.
The one good thing is that, like you but for different reasons, I became more tolerant of fat people. I now undersatnd their struggle.
Dr M M, and he is not the only one now, believes that gluttony is not at tthe root of the problem and that obese people, although they eat more than most, actually can't help themselves. In Dr M's opinion, it is to do with their internal eco-system -or what he calls the "biome'. The millions and trillions of bacteria that have colonised our guts, are at war with each other and sometimes the balance topples in favour of the wrong bacteria. The ones that send those all important messages of satiety and / or starvation have been gobbled up by the baddies.. These bacteria also ahve an important role to play in how we feel: our mood, our sleep.
So this is where a supp like 5-HTP would come into play. The whoel story is very complex, but I think you have made such a discovery that I seriously mean it when I say you should write to Dr Mosley -via his website maybe.... But please read his book first. Your fact-hungry mind would find it interesting if not fascinating.
I must retire now as I am up early tomorrow.
Today was a beautiful day again if windy, as it has been for several days now. I had a long walk on the seafront. I feel blessed and privileged. Thought of you.
We'll try and stay in touch somehow.
Lots of love
Rosex
will12050 rose_72472
Posted
Hello Rose
I know that I too have been busy for the last few days, but then to find not one, but six messages (plus one deleted) I thought at first I had neglected to check for any reply to my last post.
Actually, I had checked but there were at least two awaiting moderation. With those given the 'all clear' plus a few more of your follow-ups resulted in all arriving together and all two days old!
No matter, all is now back on track so will try to cover as much as possible in one g! Far from you being batty, your comments throughout our exchanges have been both lucid and comprehensive, even if somewhat scathing at times! And why not, when, as I've said before, they are based on fact and personal experience.
As you said in one of the above missives, trying to present a GP with well-formed and well-informed views about yourself and your health problems, only to get them dismissed, or worse, to have the cause attributed to your lifestyle or diet when you know that's not the case, only leads to loss of faith in them and their whole background.
You seem to be able to stop using the supp at times, doesn't that cause lack of sleep? I have read it's good idea to stop for a few days every 3 or 4 weeks to help avoid possible overload effect. My supplier has an online 'chat' facility and an email response to text questions - I may put that question to see what their view is.
You give me more credit than is due for a razor-sharp mind. I suppose, with the work that I do and have done, it needs to be sharp. A more simple explanation is that I feel the need to get at the facts of any matter and then to get them right. There is too much 'fake news' around, and conflicting views. Dr M M had two 'experts' on one of his programs with completely opposite views (I can't remember about exactly what, it was to do with diet). When I research anything I try to find articles by authors with a solid knowledge of their subject.
Now I need to change your mind about yourself as being dyslexic. Not so, or if so only mildly. Strictly speaking that's someone "with an impaired ability to learn and read" and that certainly doesn't fit you - quite the opposite. Yes, you do get a few words with their knickers in a twist but that's fairly common for those whose thoughts race ahead of their ability to put them to a keyboard. That includes me, but I proof-read most of what I type, and yet still manage to miss a few silly mistakes - later discovered when too late to rectify. Perhaps I'm also dyslexic - very mildly. If so, I'm in good company with Richard Branson, Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, Speilberg, Einstein - the list is endless.
So you can afford to be more charitable to yourself, and there's also a good online spell checker I use a lot called simply wordweb that's safe, free and comes in very handy. Just google and download it from the site of that name.
Speaking of charity you can home in on one you've looked for with two simple key words wells camda and choose name of latter in caps.. Look around, should become obvious. It's entirely m'appartient so could use as redirect. A brief bonjour will do to establish.
In spite of 5-HTP, my sleep has lately been disrupted by early-hours back pain, but to be fair, largely of my own doing. Some garden tasks can't be done without a bit of back exertion, even carefully done. I'm going to try tablets with same ingredient (Devil's Claw) as the gel. Am willing to try anything once!
I hope your tooth extraction went as well as can be.today. No extraction goes 'well' but hopefully now it's over, within a day or so you'll feel much better for it. With Budapest still possibly on the agenda, that's something to actually look forward to!!
Time to get a meal ready, so look forward to hearing from you one way or another.
Will.x
rose_72472 will12050
Posted
Hello Will,
Our messages crossed.
We were obviously writing at the same time.
I am so pleased to hear from you. I am relieved.
You'll have all the answers to your questions in the previous.
I'll try and do what you suggest about your charity.
"Batty" was only in relation to my recent stream of messages, one or two fairly cryptic, which could have suggested I was "off my rockers".
But I explained why my messages came in, thick and fast and in quick succession. There will be no need for that. I was just testing the system at the time.
However, I am surprised you have recived so many in two days, because on my page it says "deleted". And also many are deleted that I cannot honestly remember writing! They must be from the other page. So, it all sounds a bit bizarre.
I only said I ws "dislexic" at the keyboard... and I totally concur with your explaination as to why (fingers going faster than typing skills. Plus having rather long nails -as befits a lady- they tend to slip on the keyboard or miss it altogether. Nicer problems to have.
I shall be curious to hear more about Devil's Claw, particularly the tablets, as I am quite intolerant of practically all pain-killers. Even Aspririn seems to leave me with the "jitters".
I will tell you more about me and 5-HTP me another time.
It is really time to say nite nite again
Rose xx
ChesterP will12050
Posted
This is nice one. thanks
Moderator comment: I have removed the link(s) directing to site(s) unsuitable for inclusion in the forums. If users want this information please use the Private Message service to request the details.
http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398316-adding-links-to-posts
http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages