What I've been up to

When I last checked in I thought I was done working on the house-
but alas, there was a slight alteration in plans.

My husband came and sat across the table from me and said very seriously, "Honey, I'm having a mid-life crisis."
So, using my new improved vagus response, I said calmly, "Is it a sportscar or a cheerleader?"
And he said "Neither. I want a swimming pool."

So here it is:


















It's an endless pool. In my garage.
Not only did we spend a week putting it together, and a weekend putting on the wooden rails... but I had to totally clean and paint and pile manage the whole garage and basement before that could even happen.

It's pretty cool though. He's been using it a lot. Wants to do a mini-triathalon or something. (It's kind of freaking me out. If I wanted to live with a jock I would have married one!)

So, one of his friends asked him what I was getting for MY mid-life crisis... also guessing something in the automobile category... Ha. I'm way too weird for that. (Besides, we now officially have "more stuff than anyone needs".)

I'm getting medical tests.
Big ones.
A couple polysomnograms.
A couple glucose tolerance tests.
A couple antibody titers.

Matching ones. Before and after gluten.

I know this is real.
It's predictable, reliable and repeatable. And measurable.
I'm going to document it.
And my doctor has agreed to help me.
After he read YOUR testimonials.

Thank you all so much for your support.

Suicide Prevention

There have been a lot of reports of young people committing suicide lately.
I find it too disturbing to address right now.
I just wanted to post this in case someone is searching blogger for information:

Suicidal ideation is triggered by low orexin levels.
Low orexin levels can be caused by high blood sugar or an allergy to gluten.
A change in diet may alleviate your suffering.

Please read the research on my website or contact me directly for more information.

10-30-10

A rally for the forces of sanity!

I know hope.

Correlation Games

This is how this article is summarized:

Smoking Can Increase Depressive Symptoms in Teens, Study Finds
ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2010) — While some teenagers may puff on cigarettes to 'self-medicate' against the blues, scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal have found that smoking may actually increase depressive symptoms in some adolescents.

This study finds no such thing.

"Smokers who used cigarettes as mood enhancers had higher risks of elevated depressive symptoms than teens who had never smoked," says coauthor Jennifer O'Loughlin, a professor at the University of Montreal Department of Social and Preventive Medicine and scientist at the of the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre. "Our study found that adolescent smokers who reported emotional benefits from smoking are at higher risk of developing depressive symptoms.The association between depression and smoking exists principally among teens that use cigarettes to feel better,
"It's important to emphasize that depressive symptom scores were higher among teenagers who reported emotional benefits from smoking after they began to smoke," says Dr. Chaiton.

My Turn:
People with rapidly diminishing orexin levels find nicotine attenuates their mood problems. It does not, however, address the underlying neurodegeneration. They deteriorate rapidly anyway.

Homework Assignment

You all must watch this video.

Sugar: The bitter truth

It's very long.
It's very worth it.

Three years

Happy Glutenversary to me.

Here's my old song for today.

I know hope

As Andrew says: "Sometimes, reason wins."

It's a good day for the forces of sanity.

Six degrees of Gluten Intolerance

Do any of you know Lindsay Lohan?
Will you please tell her to stop eating bread before she implodes?

Coming up for Air

The kitchen is at a point I can stop obsessing, the house is clean, and the weather is nice enough for me to sit outside and write. I guess it's okay that the remodeling took so long- we didn't get sunshine until last week. It gave me a long time to think. And I had a lot to think about. I found lots of new studies, heard from a few more people, and I had some interesting neurological events myself.
I have much to say, and promise I will get it out- but as usual- it's all inter-related and very detailed. I want to post it as one large unit so it makes sense. It will take me a while, even if I stay up all night for the next few weeks...

In the meantime, here's an article I found today:

Excess Weight in Older Women Linked to Diminished Memory
WEDNESDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) -- Middle-aged women who are overweight may have yet another motivation to take off those excess pounds: The more a postmenopausal woman weighs, the worse her memory, researchers have found.
What's more, the negative impact on memory was more pronounced in "pear-shaped" women who carry excess weight around their hips, and less of a factor in "apple-shaped" women who carry it around their waists, the study authors noted.
In the new study, researchers found that for every one point increase in a woman's body mass index (BMI), her score on a standard memory test -- though still in the normal range -- dropped by one point. BMI is a measurement that takes into account height and weight.
(snip)
This study expands on several others involving body shape, in which obese apple-shaped women -- but not pear-shaped women -- were found to be at higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and dementia.
"What this study is really telling us is that there's something about obesity that puts you at risk for dementia, and it's independent of other factors such as vascular disease," said Dr. Gary Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

It's nice to have some more evidence, but I just want to comment on one thing.
Gluten intolerance causes abdominal and gluteal muscle wasting. We carry our fat there for a reason, because the muscles there are deteriorating. For some reason men and apple-shaped women get big saggy guts and lose their butts altogether.

I cannot believe that not one of those pesky nutritionists has figured that out yet.

Silliness

Ziggy redeems himself.

Free Range Zombies

Did I ever mention that THE oddest collection of people go to library school?
And the oddest ones of all are in Seattle?
The computer nerds are pretty common here, but the librarians are weirder.

Yeah. Here's my peeps:
Librarians Do Gaga

I don't know any of those students, but recognize a couple of the teachers.

Serious Question

Can someone please tell me when and why silverware became so large?

I would very much like to buy a new set, but it's all huge! At least 10% bigger than my old stuff. I don't understand it.

Now we're getting somewhere

Kitchen Update 3

Glorious Pile Management

Kitchen Update Here

Working

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. I am trying to get some walls up before the cabinets arrive. I am also obsessing on more research and trying to write. But it's going slower than I thought it would...

I am still here and answering email though.

Very Interesting

He doesn't mention orexin specifically, but I'm sure you all will make the connection.

Think Twice: How the Gut's "Second Brain" Influences Mood and Well-Being
The emerging and surprising view of how the enteric nervous system in our bellies goes far beyond just processing the food we eat.
...
The second brain informs our state of mind in other more obscure ways, as well. "A big part of our emotions are probably influenced by the nerves in our gut," Mayer says.

This is why

Read it and weep.

This is Why

BOSTON (Reuters) – The number of children aged 2 to 5 who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs has doubled over the past decade, according to research released on Friday.
link

Because that is just appalling and wrong and must be stopped.

State of the Kitchen

I really like the house better when it's all torn up like this.

A Ton of Pile Management

Here's an update on my kitchen remodel.

The plaster actually did weigh about a ton.

Happy Solstice Everyone

Greetings from deepest darkest Seattle.

Here's an old song to chase the blues away.

Trade your bread and butter for a smile.

An Offhand Hypothesis

This seems to be a source of speculation among narcolepsy researchers:

African-Americans with the DQB1*0602 gene have cataplexy at a lower rate than caucasians.
Japanese people with the DQB1*0602 gene have cataplexy at a higher rate than caucasians.

I think this is explained by the interactive nature of the pathology.
African-Americans probably have better viral immunity. Viral immunity is known to correlate with APOE subtype, and the APOE genes also correlate with skin pigmentation.
Japanese people have higher rates of alcoholism than caucasians. Impaired alcohol dehydrogenase function is especially common.

Contact

I finally met one of you guys!

This is Anna V from the Alumni page. I was down in Arizona last week and got to meet with her for a short while. She's doing great, but did cheat on Thanksgiving...
She's so cheery, you'd never even guess she's a zombie!

She reminds me to tell you to have your thyroid function checked. Both Low and High levels are associated with gluten intolerance.

Awesome

I think this picture just about sums it up.

(Thanks again, Dan.)

Giving Thanks

Happy Narcolepsy Day.

Everyone else in the U.S. is going to load up on carbs and have a nice nap after dinner.
I am extremely thankful that I won't.
I'm also grateful that I am amused by the incredible irony of the situation.

I am truly blessed.