Need serious help with SUGAR!!!!
Replies
-
For some, "You're gonna die if you don't stop," is the "reward" they need.
I didn't need to be told this. I knew it to be a fact. I would either die in some kind of accident, or kill someone with my car. I knew a couple of other guys who had killed people with their cars, and I was pretty certain I wouldn't be able to live with that. For some reason, age 30 was the magic number for me... like I said, along with a couple of wakeup calls right around that time... and having to go see the dr anyhow for my 'Saturday Night Palsy,' it all just came together for me.I have a younger bro who is an alcoholic. He had to be hospitalized to withdraw. If he went long without a drink, his hands would shake. But his drinking was not at all like mine. He would drink just a little, from morning until night, a nip here and there. I planned my binges and would drink until pass-out or black-out, but then would go a week or more in between. He had to drink every day. (He's been sober, for the second time, for several months now. Crossing fingers that he can stick to it!)
Let's just hope your brother has come out alive, and on the other side..
Yeah, for my brother, waking up in the hospital and being told he *did* die and had to be revived with the paddles was what it took. He relapsed once, early last year, and had to detox in the hospital again. I think it's actually sticking this time.
I don't mean to be presumptuous, but are they looking into co-morbidity with him?
I had to Google that.
No, they hooked him up with the local AA group, and he has been doing that and going to church and such. He was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and I believe that he was using alcohol to self-medicate. With no insurance or access to the right meds, he could relapse again. But TBH, my parents are trying to make sure he has adequate cannabis, which is helping him a great deal. He is eating regularly and his mood is much steadier. (It's funny because twenty years ago, my parents used to want to argue with me about cannabis, but now that they have dealt with my brother, they have changed their tune.)
His chances of staying off the hooch will be directly related to how well his bi-polar disorder is managed. He really needs to get on some meds IMO. The problem with bi-polars is they start to feel better, stop taking their pills, and then crash and burn.
He has no access to proper medical care, like so many in this country. He hasn't been on bi-polar meds for nearly a decade. :ohwell:
But mom and dad say he is doing well now. When I saw him over Christmas, he was great - fun to be around again and the sweetheart that I remembered from long ago. We shall see.0 -
Yeah, for my brother, waking up in the hospital and being told he *did* die and had to be revived with the paddles was what it took. He relapsed once, early last year, and had to detox in the hospital again. I think it's actually sticking this time.
I don't mean to be presumptuous, but are they looking into co-morbidity with him?
I had to Google that.
No, they hooked him up with the local AA group, and he has been doing that and going to church and such. He was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and I believe that he was using alcohol to self-medicate. With no insurance or access to the right meds, he could relapse again. But TBH, my parents are trying to make sure he has adequate cannabis, which is helping him a great deal. He is eating regularly and his mood is much steadier. (It's funny because twenty years ago, my parents used to want to argue with me about cannabis, but now that they have dealt with my brother, they have changed their tune.)
His chances of staying off the hooch will be directly related to how well his bi-polar disorder is managed. He really needs to get on some meds IMO. The problem with bi-polars is they start to feel better, stop taking their pills, and then crash and burn.
If he does not have health insurance and he has a valid bi-polar diagnosis and does not have significant assesst he can fairly easily obtain the medication through a community or pharmacetuical company assistance program, almost always without cost. But, cannabis is contraindicated with psychotropic drugs commonly used to treat bi-polar, and that will normally be enough to disqualify him from medication and some treatment programs.
Right with the laws like they are, he is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. Our health care is SO effed up in America. (My husband is having problems too. He uses cannabis to keep his Crohn's in remission, but when his sciatica begins to act up, his usage prevents him from having prescription pain meds. It's frustrating.)0 -
Easy solutions... "Just say NO :noway: "0
-
I really wish I didn't have to work so I can read through all of this and POST! That's it, I'm quitting my job tomorrow.
Sloth, you're my hero :flowerforyou:0 -
I really wish I didn't have to work so I can read through all of this and POST! That's it, I'm quitting my job tomorrow.
Sloth, you're my hero :flowerforyou:
Well, if I've motivated you to quit your job, then my work here is done.
I'm rarely anyone's hero. And besides that, I pretty much jacked your thread from sugar, to booze. I was attempting to draw some similarities between those that have issues with alcohol, and those that have issues with sugar. But, after jonnythan's explaination of "hyperpalatable foods," things kind of took a right turn.0 -
Do you get the same feeling from crack as you do from cocaine?
Crack is cocaine on steroids.
Crack is just free-based cocaine. The only difference is the high comes a bit quicker.
my point to the OP is that crack and cocaine are both cocaine, so how could you be addicted to crack, but not cocaine..which is the same as saying I am addicted to processed sugar, but I can eat fruit and honey all day with no problem….0 -
Do you get the same feeling from crack as you do from cocaine?
Crack is cocaine on steroids.
Crack is just free-based cocaine. The only difference is the high comes a bit quicker.
my point to the OP is that crack and cocaine are both cocaine, so how could you be addicted to crack, but not cocaine..which is the same as saying I am addicted to processed sugar, but I can eat fruit and honey all day with no problem….
Right. That was jonnythan's original point in making that analogy. :flowerforyou:0 -
If he does not have health insurance and he has a valid bi-polar diagnosis and does not have significant assesst he can fairly easily obtain the medication through a community or pharmacetuical company assistance program, almost always without cost. But, cannabis is contraindicated with psychotropic drugs commonly used to treat bi-polar, and that will normally be enough to disqualify him from medication and some treatment programs.
Right with the laws like they are, he is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. Our health care is SO effed up in America. (My husband is having problems too. He uses cannabis to keep his Crohn's in remission, but when his sciatica begins to act up, his usage prevents him from having prescription pain meds. It's frustrating.)
It's not the laws, it's biology. Marijuana is contraindicated medically with both narcotics and most of the bipolar medications. With narcotics you run the risk of potentiating them, especially since the THC levels can't be well measured. No doctor wants to be put under a miscroscope in the event of an adverse event. I can't say I balme them. The implications with pysch meds can cause more serious issues with using antipsychotics at all. Not good if you have a chronic disorder like bipolar.0 -
Do you get the same feeling from crack as you do from cocaine?
Crack is cocaine on steroids.
Crack is just free-based cocaine. The only difference is the high comes a bit quicker.
my point to the OP is that crack and cocaine are both cocaine, so how could you be addicted to crack, but not cocaine..which is the same as saying I am addicted to processed sugar, but I can eat fruit and honey all day with no problem….
I was trying to make that point as well, and I think the other poster was Wendy Terry, who was explaining it also.
I fully agree that the term 'sugar addiction' doesn't make any sense... precisely because as you say, how can you be addicted to processed sugar, but eat fruit all day with no problem....
I think that jonnythan may have come much closer to an explanation, with the "hyperpalatable foods" idea. Lay the bag of sugar on the table, and no one is claiming 'addiction....' and getting their heads down to get right in that bag, and suck the sugar out.... but, bake that sugar in with some fat, and make some delicious Krispy Kremes, give the binger an initial bite and watch the 'binger' go crazy.I don't think "unable to stop" is the same in the context of food vs alcohol. I just read an interesting study that drew powerful similarities between reward centers in the brain between the two, but alcohol is mood-altering. It's a psychoactive drug. Sugar isn't. Alcohol directly causes mood and mental state changes that can lead to increased consumption. Sugar doesn't do that.
And again, the "unable to stop bingeing" is related to food, not just sugar. The study referred to these foods, which generally have a combination of sugar and fat, as "hyperpalatable foods." It's not sugar by itself - no one binges on a bag of sugar. Or bananas, for that matter, even though they have tons of sugar. They binge on cookies, cake, chocolate bars, etc.0 -
If he does not have health insurance and he has a valid bi-polar diagnosis and does not have significant assesst he can fairly easily obtain the medication through a community or pharmacetuical company assistance program, almost always without cost. But, cannabis is contraindicated with psychotropic drugs commonly used to treat bi-polar, and that will normally be enough to disqualify him from medication and some treatment programs.
Right with the laws like they are, he is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. Our health care is SO effed up in America. (My husband is having problems too. He uses cannabis to keep his Crohn's in remission, but when his sciatica begins to act up, his usage prevents him from having prescription pain meds. It's frustrating.)
It's not the laws, it's biology. Marijuana is contraindicated medically with both narcotics and most of the bipolar medications. With narcotics you run the risk of potentiating them, especially since the THC levels can't be well measured. No doctor wants to be put under a miscroscope in the event of an adverse event. I can't say I balme them. The implications with pysch meds can cause more serious issues with using antipsychotics at all. Not good if you have a chronic disorder like bipolar.
If given a choice between a pharmaceutical and cannabis, I would have him stick with cannabis. He is doing better now than he has in a very long time, even has a part-time job now. :bigsmile:
ETA: And I think anti-psychotics are WAY over-prescribed anyway, same as anti-depressants and anti-biotics.0 -
As my doctor once explained it to me, 100 calories from a piece of chicken is a lot different than 100 calories from a piece of chocolate cake. It is not just calories in/calories out, you have to consider the nutrient value of the foods you consume.0
-
As my doctor once explained it to me, 100 calories from a piece of chicken is a lot different than 100 calories from a piece of chocolate cake. It is not just calories in/calories out, you have to consider the nutrient value of the foods you consume.
What if you've already had 100 grams of protein for the day? Why would another 25 grams be better?0 -
If given a choice between a pharmaceutical and cannabis, I would have him stick with cannabis. He is doing better now than he has in a very long time, even has a part-time job now. :bigsmile:
ETA: And I think anti-psychotics are WAY over-prescribed anyway, same as anti-depressants and anti-biotics.
But, that's not the case for someone who is biploar or schizophrenic or has other pervasive psychiatric disorders.
Part of the problem is our "quick fix" society and part of the problem is that people without psychiatric training are permitted to initially prescribe psych meds, don't know how to titrate them, and do not require counseling. PCPs don't know near enough to be prescribing psych meds as they do.0 -
.
my point to the OP is that crack and cocaine are both cocaine, so how could you be addicted to crack, but not cocaine..which is the same as saying I am addicted to processed sugar, but I can eat fruit and honey all day with no problem….
Am I the OP??? I'm really confused now.
Why do we keep going in circles? How am I supposed to answer why I can eat fruit and honey in a sensible amount but not cakes and ice cream? That's why I am here! I came here for help with sweets and why I get out of control with them.0 -
I really wish I didn't have to work so I can read through all of this and POST! That's it, I'm quitting my job tomorrow.
Sloth, you're my hero :flowerforyou:
Well, if I've motivated you to quit your job, then my work here is done.
I'm rarely anyone's hero.
There's a first for everything Mr. Sloth
0 -
As my doctor once explained it to me, 100 calories from a piece of chicken is a lot different than 100 calories from a piece of chocolate cake. It is not just calories in/calories out, you have to consider the nutrient value of the foods you consume.
What if you've already had 100 grams of protein for the day? Why would another 25 grams be better?
I don't eat chicken and I don't like cake, but if I'm at 100 grams of protein for the day I need the additional 25 grams, so yes the 25 grams of protein would be better. Not from chicken, though.0 -
If he does not have health insurance and he has a valid bi-polar diagnosis and does not have significant assesst he can fairly easily obtain the medication through a community or pharmacetuical company assistance program, almost always without cost. But, cannabis is contraindicated with psychotropic drugs commonly used to treat bi-polar, and that will normally be enough to disqualify him from medication and some treatment programs.
Right with the laws like they are, he is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. Our health care is SO effed up in America. (My husband is having problems too. He uses cannabis to keep his Crohn's in remission, but when his sciatica begins to act up, his usage prevents him from having prescription pain meds. It's frustrating.)
It's not the laws, it's biology. Marijuana is contraindicated medically with both narcotics and most of the bipolar medications. With narcotics you run the risk of potentiating them, especially since the THC levels can't be well measured. No doctor wants to be put under a miscroscope in the event of an adverse event. I can't say I balme them. The implications with pysch meds can cause more serious issues with using antipsychotics at all. Not good if you have a chronic disorder like bipolar.
If given a choice between a pharmaceutical and cannabis, I would have him stick with cannabis. He is doing better now than he has in a very long time, even has a part-time job now. :bigsmile:
ETA: And I think anti-psychotics are WAY over-prescribed anyway, same as anti-depressants and anti-biotics.
Hmmm. But in the face of real diagnosis, they are certainly warranted IMO. Here is how you deal with healthcare the way it is now: If you need anything and it is an emergency you go to the emergency room. They have to treat you whether you have healthcare or not. And that includes having a mental crisis. Cannabis just can't be the best treatment for severe bi-polar.
0 -
Am I the OP??? I'm really confused now.
Why do we keep going in circles? How am I supposed to answer why I can eat fruit and honey in a sensible amount but not cakes and ice cream? That's why I am here! I came here for help with sweets and why I get out of control with them.
Yes, you are the OP. And here's why we keep going in circles. Because, in your first post of the thread, 30 pages ago, you said this....
I am a sugar-aholic. I love cookies, donuts, cakes, brownies, not just one piece and walk happily away either. I have to eat it until they are done.
Do I quit cold turkey?? Is this to be looked at as any other addiction?
So, before anyone can give you any advice on your 'sugar addiction,' it has to be debated whether or not an addiction to sugar exists. This, of course, is a never-ending debate, which is why every thread with 'sugar' and 'addiction' mentioned in the same sentence is eventually closed, and never seen again. Little did you know, when you started the thread, that by mentioning those two words in the same post... you'd doomed the thread.... and your final question, " Is this to be looked at as any other addiction? " could never be answered. I think that it's pretty apparent, however that the term 'sugar addiction' doesn't make much sense.
If, you'd perhaps known the term that was later mentioned.... " hyperpalatable" foods... " and started off with that term, the thread might have turned out differently. I highly doubt it, but it might have. Of course, you had no way of knowing that by simply starting what you thought was a harmless thread, asking why you couldn't stop eating sweets.
I did a quick Google on "hyperpalatable" foods, and it appears to be all theory at the moment. ( I believe ) And I'm not sure what sources would be considered credible, so I won't share any links. You may find some help through Google, though. I haven't read through any threads... and I highly doubt they answer your ultimate question, which was.... " Is this to be looked at as any other addiction? " So, I repeat, your question may never be adequately answered in your lifetime. And almost certainly not on MFP.0 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn1cI8FNU6M
This is a good video about sugar addiction. Any thoughts?
Also, The video by Dr. Lustig called Sugar, the Bitter Truth was so full of shocking truth that most have never heard (and, NO it is not about insulin spikes!) Take a look if you have an hour and a half to invest in yourself. This video cured me from my sugar addiction, immediately! (The really interesting stuff starts about 20 minutes in so wait for it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM 0 -
Lustig
Anytime it seems like we might just be getting somewhere.... someone has to come along and do this.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 415 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions