#high thyroid symptoms

[hopkinrx]

Hyperthyroidism: Its Important Symptoms, Causes, Treatment And Lifestyle

Hyperthyroidism: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment And LifestyleIntroductionFunction Of Thyroid GlandWhat is Hyperthyroidism?Causes of HyperthyroidismSymptoms Of Hyperthyroidism Physical Manifestations Emotional RollercoasterDiagnosis Of HyperthyroidismTreatment Options: Bringing Harmony Back Medications Radioactive Iodine Therapy Surgical InterventionEmbracing a New Rhythm: Living with…

[millerflintstone]

She is contemplating being told no and that it is naughty to howl and howl and howl. I asked her why she's so full of meows and she said, "maooo!"

She's funny. I'll bring her into the bedroom when she's having a meow fit and she just settles on her heating pad.

She has had breakfast, attention, and has drunk water already. I don't know if this is just aging or an actual condition. She's due for her check up later in January

[diabetes-health-corner]

Can BP, Thyroid be reversed like Diabetes can?

Rising urbanization and the unhealthy diets, and sedentary lifestyles that go with it have enabled this unrecognized, rising pandemic of non-communicable chronic diseases. Take a deeper dive into these so-called “lifestyle diseases” to understand more about their causes, risk factors, and how they can be treated holistically.

Click on link to read more: https://www.freedomfromdiabetes.org/blog/post/can-bp-thyroid-etc-be-reversed-like-diabetes/2889

[cripplecharacters]

Disabilities that You Should Consider Representing in Your Writing More… part 1

[large text: Disabilities that You Should Consider Representing in Your Writing More… part 1]

While all disabilities are underrepresented in basically all sorts of media, it’s hard to not notice the trend in what disabilities make up the majority of representation. It’s especially visible when having a blog like this, where we can see what disabilities writers even consider including in their writing, and which ones never come up.

One in four people are disabled. With eight billion people alive it means there’s a lot of disabled people, and a lot of reasons why they are disabled in the first place - but this diversity is rarely represented, even on this blog, and anyone who has been following for a while has probably noticed that fact.

To be blunt: there are disabilities other than “amputee” and “(otherwise invisibly disabled) mobility aid user”. Does that mean that it’s wrong to write either of those? Of course not, and we don’t want to imply that it is. Does it mean that either of these have a ton of good representation? Hell no. Does it mean that when you are deciding on what to give your character, you should think beyond (or along! people can be multiply disabled!) just those two? Absolutely. Disability is a spectrum with thousands of things in it - don’t limit yourself for no reason and embrace the diversity that’s built into it instead. 

This is, simply, a list of common disabilities. This is just a few of them, as this is part one of presumably many (or, at least three as of right now). By “common” we rather arbitrarily decided on “~1% or more” - so at least 1 in 100 people has the disabilities below, which is a lot. Featuring!: links that you should click, sources of the % that are mostly just medical reports and might be hard to read, and quick, very non-exhaustive explanations to give you a basic idea of what these are. 

Intellectual disability (about 1.5%) Intellectual disability is a condition we have written about at length before. It’s a developmental disability that affects things such as conceptualization, language, problem-solving, or social and self-care skills. ID can exist on its own or be a part of another condition, like Down Syndrome, Congenital Iodine Deficiency, or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. This post covers a lot of basic information that you might need. We have an intellectual disability tag that you can look through!

Cancer survivors (5.4% in the US, about 0.55% worldwide) A cancer survivor is a pretty self-explanatory term. There is a lot of types of cancer and some of them are very common while others are very rare, which makes this a very diverse category. Cancers also have different survival rates. While not every survivor will have disabling symptoms, they definitely happen. Most of the long-term side effects are related to chemotherapy, radiation, and other medication, especially if they happened in children. They can include all sorts of organ damage, osteoporosis, cognitive problems, sensory disabilities, infertility, and increased rate of other cancers. Other effects include removal of the affected area, such as an eye, a spleen, breasts, or the thyroid gland, each of which will have different outcomes. Cancer, and cancer treatments, can also result in PTSD.

Diabetes (about 8.5%, ~95% of that are type 2) Diabetes is a group of endocrine conditions that cause hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) for various reasons depending on the type. The vast majority of people have type 2 diabetes, which can cause fatigue, poor healing, or feeling thirsty or hungry. A diabetic person will use insulin when needed to help manage their blood sugar levels. There are many complications related to diabetes, from neuropathy, to retinopathy, and chronic kidney disease, and there's a lot of disabilities that coexist with diabetes in general! You might want to check out the #how to write type 1 diabetes tag by @type1diabetesinfandom!

Disabling vision loss (about 7.5%) Blindness and low vision are a spectrum, ranging from total blindness (around 10% of legally blind people) to mild visual impairment. Blindness can be caused by countless things, but cataracts, refractive errors, and glaucoma are the most common. While cataracts cause the person to have a clouded pupil (not the whole eye!) blind eyes usually look average, with strabismus or nystagmus being exceptions to that fairly often (but not always). Trauma isn't a common cause of blindness, and accidents are overrepresented in fiction. A blind person can use a white cane, a guide dog or horse, or both. Assistive solutions are important here, such as Braille, screenreaders, or magnifying glasses. We have a blindness tag that you can look through, and you might want to check out @blindbeta and @mimzy-writing-online.

Psoriasis (about 2-4%) Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition with multiple subtypes; it can cause intense itching, pain, and general discomfort, and often carries social stigma. It’s an autoimmune and non-contagious disability that affects the skin cells, resulting in raised patches of flaky skin covered with scales. It often (30%) leads to a related condition, psoriatic arthritis, which causes joint pain, tenderness, and fatigue, among other things.

Stroke survivors (0.5-1%) A stroke survivor is a person who has survived any kind of stroke (ischemic, hemorrhagic, etc.). While the specific symptoms often depend on the exact location on where the stroke happened, signs such as hemiplegia, slurred speech, vision problems, and cognitive changes are common in most survivors to some degree. When someone has a stroke as a baby, or before they are born, it can result in cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other disabilities. We have a brain injury tag that you can look through!

Noonan Syndrome (about 0.1-1% - mild is 1%, severe 0.1%) Noonan Syndrome is a disability that is almost never mentioned in any context, but certainly not around the topic of writing disabled characters. It’s a congenital condition that can cause cardiomyopathy, chronic joint pain, hypermobility, short stature, facial differences such as ptosis, autism, and various lymphatic problems among other things. Some people with Noonan Syndrome might use mobility aids to help with their joint pain.

Hyperthyroidism (about 1.2%) Hyperthyroidism is a condition of the endocrine system caused by hormone overproduction that affects metabolism. It often results in irritability, weight loss, heat intolerance, tremors, mood swings, or insomnia. Undertreated hyperthyroidism has a rare, but extremely dangerous side effect associated with it called a thyroid storm, which can be fatal if untreated.

Hypothyroidism (>5%) Hypothyroidism is an endocrine condition just as hyperthyroidism is, and it causes somewhat opposite symptoms. Due to not producing enough thyroid hormones, it often causes fatigue, depression, hair loss, weight gain, and a frequent feeling of being cold. It’s often comorbid with other autoimmune disabilities, e.g. vitiligo, chronic autoimmune gastritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Extreme hypothyroidism can also be potentially fatal because of a condition known as Myxedema coma (or “crisis”), which is also rare.

Deafblindness (about 0.2-2%) Being DeafBlind is often considered to be an extremely rare disability, but that’s not really the case. DeafBlindness on its own isn’t a diagnosis - it can be caused by a wide range of things, with CHARGE syndrome (congenital), Usher syndrome (born deaf, becomes blind later in life), congenital rubella, and age-related deafness and blindness being some of the most common reasons. DeafBlindness is a wide spectrum, the vast majority of DeafBlind people aren’t fully blind and deaf, and they can use various ways of communication. Some of these could be sign language (tactile or not), protactile, the deafblind manual, oral speech (aided by hearing aids or not), the Lorm alphabet, and more. You can learn more about assistive devices here! Despite what various media like to tell you, being DeafBlind isn’t a death sentence, and the DeafBlind community and culture are alive and thriving - especially since the start of the protactile movement. We have a DeafBlindness tag that you can look through!

It’s probably worth mentioning that we have received little to no asks in general for almost all the disabilities above, and it’s certainly not due to what mods answer for. Our best guess is that writers don’t realize how many options they have and just end up going for the same things over and over.

Only representing “cool” disabilities that are “not too much while having a particular look/aura/drama associated” isn’t what you should aim for. Disabled people just exist, and all of us deserve to be represented, including those whose disabilities aren’t your typical “cool design” or “character inspo”. Sometimes we are just regular people, with disabilities that are “boring” or “too much”, and don’t make for useful plot points.

mod Sasza (with huge thank yous to mod Sparrow, Rot, and Virus for their contributions with research and data!)

[doberbutts]

If y'all who actually care about my obsessive doberman posting ever wonder why I'm cagey about who I recommend nowadays, and why I don't name people who are "known greats" in the breed, consider:

Person C has a dobe produced by Person A and Person B. B and C are good friends. B has made some highly questionable breeding decisions including using dogs with known cardiac health problems and covering up thyroid problems by representing the dogs as "thyroid normal" but not including the detail that they're only normal while actively on thyroid medication.

Person C posts that their dog from this pairing is severely low thyroid at a fairly young age, and that they've decided not to breed their dog as a result. Person A publicly lamblasts C, calls it not that big of a deal, and swings by C's house to collect semen anyway. C deletes previous post, reports the photo, and the new caption makes no mention of thyroid disease but instead talks about how the dog passed all the other health certs with no issue, implying that the dog is perfectly healthy.

Consider:

Person Z has two dogs they have titled to impressively high levels in protection sport. Just before breeding, Z gets very bad results from heart testing on both dogs. One dog definitely has DCM, the #1 breed killer that takes over 50% of dobes from us by way of sudden death with no other symptoms, ie the dogs just collapse and die one day or die in their sleep with no other warning (unless you're doing rigorous heart testing). The other dog has concerning results indicating that DCM is on the horizon but not yet diagnosable.

Z puts both dogs on heart meds designed to combat DCM. The dogs' next test results return to normal. Z uses this normal result to say the dogs have healthy hearts and breeds the dogs anyway. Z has made no mention to the buyers of this litter that the parents both effectively have DCM, albeit well controlled with medication thus far.

If I did not have all 4 of these people on Facebook I would not know this about them. If someone were to friend them currently right now, they would not find evidence of this, because the posts with evidence have been deleted. There is no way to know this about them without knowing in advance.

When I say that the people I personally would get a dog from is a very small, exclusive club nowadays, I don't mean just because I'm particular about temperament, though that is certainly part of it. It's because I've watched this behavior from a LOT of otherwise popular, well-respected, well-liked breeders and I know if I named names their fan bases would crucify me, but I've also seen the wrongdoing with my own eyes or even in person.

[talkethtothehandeth]

Here is a video that talks about the reality of living with Long COVID. This is another reminder that this virus is still prevalent and just as deadly, if not more. COVID has killed nearly seven million (documented cases) people worldwide. You are not immune, you are not invincible, and this is something you should still be taking seriously. It’s not in the past, it is still spreading and mutating and harming and disabling and killing.

Wear your masks, get the vaccines if you can.

Video Length: 1m 16s

Transcription:

"Hi, my name is Hannah, and COVID took my life from me. I was 23 when I got sick in August of 2020, and I'm turning 27 this month. I was an athlete for 10 years, and I had straight A's all through high school. I graduated with honors, multiple scholarships, and I was years in the school for my PsyD. I loved going on adventures, traveling, reading, painting, drawing, I even loved having a job. I even had a healthy immune system, and that was all until I got COVID." - "I've been diagnosed with epilepsy, and the back to back seizures have caused brain damage; it has caused dementia type symptoms, spelling problems, mood changes, POTS, which haused caused me to be hospitalized multiple times with concussions and injuries. I'm on IV infusions and medications for that." - "I have to use a wheelchair, I can no longer legally drive; diabetes, an autoimmune disease, chronic and debilitating fatigue, vision deterioration, had to have my thyroid removed, lost half my hair. I still have a hard time breathing and have low oxygen at points-- chronic pain, muscle aches, tooth decay, increased mental health issues and ideations. I had to quit my job, withdraw from school, and I never see anyone but my family and doctors I can longer draw, travel, and I really struggle with reading, which is my favorite thing." - "My loved ones are terrified to leave me home alone, and I'm scared to even sleep at night because I'm afraid that I won't wake up. I spend my days alone in bed because life has to go on without me. This is the reality of it [long covid]. And 1 in 5 infections cause long COVID. I promise you, you are not invincible."

[balkanradfem]

Health news!

So, I've been having neck pain, that turned into head pain, for a year and a half now, and while I've had some more comfort since the center of pain was switched to my head, I've still been unable to walk, run, dance, jump, or use any tools like a hammer or a hoe. My right arm became functional again, but my left arm hurts from even holding a cup of tea. I had a neck MRI, and then a brain MRI, and there was no visible cause of pain, so I had a talk with my doctor, and she decided to test my blood for low vitamin D and low B12, and to check my thyroid function.

It turned out my thyroid is fine, but I had low b12, and critically low Vitamin D. She explained to me I need to get b12 shots every month, and that this could be the cause of the pain. When I came in, the doctor seemed overjoyed we finally found something concrete that is wrong with me, that we could treat, while I was wildly skeptical because I've been looking up symptoms of the deficiencies. While I had every symptom for vitamin D deficiency, I had none for b12, and only one article suggested there could be muscle pain as a result of it. Seems like feeble proof.

I have not been ignorant of my poor diet and living habits, I knew I had low vitamin D, and had supplemented it over the winter months, but apparently the store-bought dose I was taking was not enough. I did suspect a b12 deficiency as well, and was starting to take some B vitamins recently, but then read somewhere that they're dangerous to randomly take so I stopped. So what I'm saying is I knew I was sorta deficient, didn't think it was a big deal, I thought I was fixing it, I wasn't, my supplements didn't affect my pain or health. I got prescribed some powerful Vitamin D supplement, and got a b12 shot.

I have to say though, the nurse who was giving me the shot was acting ridiculous, first she was saying it to me like I'm a child, and I'm an adult, so I said 'I like shots, this won't be a problem'. She was not impressed. When she put the needle in me, I commented on how I can barely feel it, because I love acting cool in front of women with my high pain tolerance, but then she said 'When people tense their muscles it can get real bad and the needle can get stuck inside of them'. She said that while the needle was in me! I said 'I don't think I should be hearing this right now' and struggled to stay relaxed, and then she quickly pulled it out and it was fine. Maybe she just hated my positive attitude about getting the shot and needed me to be more apprehensive and afraid, which I don't feel is an attitude a medical professional should have?? Anyway. The shot was free for me so I love that.

The doctor told me 'you're going to feel much better next few months', super confidently, but I am still skeptical, I mean I wish I did feel better, and I'm relieved that something at least is getting attempted, and maybe a healthy dose of vitamin D will help with mental health, so okay, that would be an improvement. I doubt it will cure my head hurting while I walk though. Maybe I just don't understand deficiencies.

[theambitiouswoman]

Benefits of Sea Moss For Women

Sea moss, is a type of seaweed that is rich in nutrients, including vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iodine, and sulfur. Sea moss is also a good source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, and is commonly consumed for its health benefits, which include supporting the immune system, improving gut health, and promoting skin health. Some people also use sea moss as a natural remedy for conditions such as joint pain, high blood pressure, and thyroid issues.

Hormonal balance: Sea moss is rich in iodine, which is important for hormonal balance, especially for women during menstruation and menopause.

Bone health: Sea moss contains calcium, which is important for strong bones. Women are more prone to osteoporosis as they age, making calcium intake important.

Thyroid health: Sea moss contains iodine, which is necessary for proper thyroid function. Women are more likely to have thyroid problems, so adequate iodine intake is important.

Immune system: Sea moss contains vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system, including vitamins C and A, iron, and potassium.

Anti-inflammatory: Sea moss has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help reduce symptoms of conditions such as arthritis and PMS.

It is generally recommended to take 1-2 tablespoons of sea moss gel daily. I buy from the brand Akasha and eat it at some point during my mornings. You can take it alone, or mix it with your smoothies/shakes. You can also combine the spoonful with either honey, cinnamon, or both!

[tahyal]

Hiiii I’m glad you’re posting again 💕 I’m curious to know what things you do to get energy naturally. I know coffee and energy drinks are so bad for me. I also hate when I eat a meal and I feel tired after. It’s hard to balance trying to gain weight and not feeling fatigued after eating a larger meal. Any tips for what I can add to my diet and/or lifestyle to feel more energized?

Hi! 💞

I have noticed that starches do that to me, so I try to limit my consumption of them. When I eat too much I get a bit lethargic.

Try upping your protein intake and replacing the starches with vegetables or simple carbs such as fruits. Don’t completely take them out of your diet, but play around and see what your body likes best.

Ive also noted that cutting out gluten significantly improved my energy levels / well being in general.

Some other tips :

- Drink coconut water (rich in electrolytes) / mineral rich beverages : too much plain water can deplete your minerals

- Check to see if you’re not vitamin D deficient, this can cause lethargy and a bunch of other annoying symptoms lol

- Low impact workouts over high intensity and cardio, especially if you have hormonal imbalances or thyroid issues. Ive seen people lose more weight / get toned easily doing that versus the usual « hard » workouts

- Block out curtains or use a sleeping mask, even the slightest bit of light at night can alter your quality of sleep, which will in turn affect your energy levels during the day

I’ll add more if I remember ! Hope it helped 🫶🏽

[detentiontrack]

what was the diagnostic process like for your POTS?

This may be a little unclear because I got diagnosed when I was 13 and I had a lot of other medical issues going on around that time, so I don’t remember a lot of the process (I’ll ask my mom to clarify some details later). Basically I was already suffering from autoimmune encephalitis, fibromyalgia, chiari malformation, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (hypothyroid). When I was 11 I started getting dizzy and falling frequently, and then I started experiencing fainting and pre syncope, and eventually I was basically bed bound. My doctor (I’m not sure what kind of doctor she was, but she managed all my autoimmune diseases so I’m assuming she was a rheumatologist or neurologist) had my mom take my blood pressure and heart rate when I was laying down, sitting, and standing 3 times a day for a month. The results of that were not good (consistently abnormal blood pressure and extremely high HR) so my doctor diagnosed me with POTS and put me on propranolol (a beta blocker) and it kept my heart rate under control, but it made me sleep like 20 hours a day. I consider myself very lucky that I live in Southern California, because I ended up getting an appointment with the UCLA POTS clinic, and they did a FULL work up that included a tilt table test (the tilt table test was hell, 0/10 don’t recommend. I threw up and passed out) and they diagnosed me with POTS a second time, and put me on corlanor and midodrine which ended up being absolutely magical because it took away 90% of my symptoms, and I was able to attend school, do theatre, and get a job and spend most of the day on my feet all of a sudden. I’ve been on the same dose since I was 14, and I find they have very minimal side effects, treat my POTS, and if I forget to take them, my symptoms start coming back so they’re extremely good at managing my symptoms, even at almost 19.

[missmyloko]

Getting To Know Me - Part 8

On The Third Day of Fun I present... the continuation to the last piece! Sorry if it feels like a bit of a Debbie Downer subject, but I'm really passionate about the subject and wanted to use my platform to get it all out so that others feel like they aren't alone. Continued from Part 1 I still attended school throughout all of this. However, it was around this time that just having drop in appointments with a psychiatrist like, once every 6 months at my doctor's office was going to fly anymore, so I was referred to a psychiatrist at our hospital's outpatient clinic who could look after my medication full time. The wait time at that time was 14 months, and I waited. Thankfully, it was worth it in the end. I had someone who could balance my medications, figure out why I went through them so quickly, and I could see them as often as I needed. On average I was running through an entire course of a medication (ie: from its lowest to its highest dose) in about a year, and that's unusually high. Well, it turns out I wasn't hyper-metabolizing them, but rather hypo-metabolizing them; My medication, once ingested, wasn't done running its course through my body before I took the next dose, so I was actually (unknowingly) over medicating myself. To combat this I now take my major medications every 36 hours so that they have time to work through my body and stop the over medicating (low dose medications that act as augmenters are taken every day though). It was during university that I had my first major depressive episode (that I medically knew of, I probably had them before but just didn't know), which is a time where my depression is just kicking my ass beyond normal reasoning and, because of this, I actually ended up flunking a few of my courses. I had to petition the dean to drop the courses from my record to due health reasons, which was accompanied by a letter and documentation from my psychiatrist stating what was going on and that it wasn't my fault. I ended up having 2 of them during my 6 years of university, so I had to petition twice. While in school I did receive special accommodations from the student wellness center regarding exams and assignments and such, which is a fantastic resource that anyone with mental health issues should take advantage of at their schools, and that definitely helped make life easier during those trying times (heck, it helped even when I was feeling decent). Near the end of my university tenure my psychiatrist and I actually managed to find a medication that really worked for me. I was feeling great, my symptoms were under control, and I was feeling like myself for the first time in a long time. However, it was another medication that no one told me right away would cause weight gain and, since we had now figured out how to make medications last, I was on it for a few years. I only ended up going off the medication 4 years ago, but by that time I had ballooned to over 200lbs (I believe I was around 230ish). Unlike the last time, the weight didn't come off as I had developed thyroid issues (they sadly run in my family on both sides), so I was now a depressed again, overweight wad who had gone past the point of being able to do what I loved: wear kimono. It's ironic that I was in the process of publishing a book about something I could no longer wear, but that's life for you. However, not everything ends badly (heck, there's positives, or else I wouldn't be here telling this tale!). Within the last year I finally have a concrete date set for my book to come out (June 28th, 2024!), I've lost exactly 49lbs since going on Ozempic (and diet changes) and can wear kimono again (yay!), and I'm working with my psychiatrist, who is awesome by the way, on changing my medications to make them work for me by understanding exactly what they do and their side effects beforehand. So, hopefully my tale has opened up some feelings inside of you to know that you're not in this alone, it happens to everyone, it does suck, but it does get better.

[naturalrights-retard]

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

While I do not recommend relying on supplements for your daily nutrition, depending on your state of health, there may be instances where you need one or more supplements to address a nutritional deficiency or ailment

Ten of the most popular nutritional supplements include ashwagandha, berberine, B vitamins, including B12, collagen, creatine, omega-3, magnesium, vitamin D and NAD+ precursors such as niacinamide

Some nutritional deficiencies are so widespread, thanks to soil depletion and reliance on processed foods, that just about everyone can benefit from supplementation. This is the case for magnesium and B vitamins in particular

While I do not recommend relying on supplements for your daily nutrition, depending on your state of health, there may be instances where you need one or more supplements to address a nutritional deficiency or ailment.

Some nutritional deficiencies are so widespread, thanks to soil depletion and reliance on processed foods, that just about everyone can benefit from supplementation. In this article, I will review 10 of the most popular nutritional supplements that may be helpful for many.

Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb, meaning it helps your body adapt to stress by balancing your immune system, metabolism and hormonal systems. The root contains the highest concentration of active ingredients that modulate hormones, including thyroid hormone, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

Naturally occurring steroids called withanolides in ashwagandha also suppress pathways responsible for several inflammation-based illnesses such as arthritis, asthma, hypertension, osteoporosis and cancer.

Ashwagandha also supports sexual and reproductive health in both men and women. In men, it helps boost testosterone levels, and has been shown to improve semen quality in infertile men.

In women, ashwagandha’s ability to rebalance hormones (including thyroid hormone, estrogen and progesterone) has been shown to improve polycystic ovary syndrome and relieve menopausal symptoms.

Ashwagandha also has natural pain reliever (analgesic) and rejuvenating properties, and can promote general health when used regularly. While some adaptogens are stimulants in disguise, this is not the case with ashwagandha. It can give your morning exercise routine a boost, and when taken prior to bed it can help you get a good night's sleep as well.

Berberine

Berberine — a yellow-colored alkaloid compound found in several different plants, including European barberry, goldenseal, goldthread, Oregon grape and tree turmeric — has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, antidiarrheal, antineoplastic, antidiabetic and immune-enhancing1 properties.

It has a long history of use in traditional medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine, and many integrative health practitioners swear by berberine as a general health supplement due to its ability to address such a wide variety of maladies.2

For example, it's effective against a wide range of bacteria, protozoa and fungi, and is commonly used to treat gastrointestinal issues, including traveler’s diarrhea and that from food poisoning. Having similar mechanisms of action as the drug metformin, berberine can also be used as an oral hypoglycemic for Type 2 diabetics.3 Other ailments berberine has been shown to protect against and/or treat include:4

High blood pressure

Fatty liver disease

Obesity

Digestive issues

Neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

Cancer

Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Many of berberine’s health benefits5 have been linked to its ability to activate adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK).6 AMPK is an enzyme inside your body's cells. It’s sometimes referred to as a "metabolic master switch" because it plays an important role in regulating metabolism.7

Low AMPK has been linked to insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction, obesity, neurodegeneration and chronic inflammation — all of which lay the groundwork for a wide variety of serious chronic diseases.

According to many studies, berberine is well-tolerated.8 However, it can interfere with some medications, including oral chemotherapy, high blood pressure medications, blood thinners, cholesterol medications, immunosuppressive drugs, and pharmaceutical diabetes treatments.

Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid berberine. Other side effects can include constipation, diarrhea, low blood sugar, nausea and vomiting.

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Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is known as “the energy vitamin.” Your body requires it for a variety of functions, including energy production, blood formation, DNA synthesis and myelin formation.

It also plays an important role in neurological function, and deficiency can culminate in a range of mental health symptoms, from irritability and depression to dementia and even psychosis. For more details, see “Vitamin B12 to Help Combat Mental Illness.”

Low B12 also increases inflammation and oxidative stress by raising homocysteine. High homocysteine, in turn, is associated with cardiovascular disease and decreased immune response. Vitamins B6, B9 (folate) and B12 break down homocysteine.9

Recent research10 suggests B12 may also be a key player in cellular regeneration, speeding up tissue repair. More specifically, the study found that vitamin B12 is a limiting factor for tissue repair. In other words, to optimize tissue regeneration, you need sufficient amounts of B12 in your system.

The two ways you become deficient are through a lack of vitamin B12 in your diet, or through your inability to absorb it from the food you eat. Vitamin B12 is present in natural form only in animal sources of food, which is one of the reasons I advise against a no-animal-food, vegan diet.

B12-rich foods include beef and beef liver (grass-fed beef is highly preferable to the grain-fed variety), lamb, snapper, venison, salmon, shrimp, scallops, organic pastured poultry and eggs.

Warning signs of B12 deficiency include brain fog, memory lapses, mood swings, apathy, fatigue, muscle weakness and tingling in the extremities. Unfortunately, B12 deficiency may not present itself for several years, so by the time you notice symptoms, you may be quite deficient.

When it comes to supplementation, your best alternatives include injectable B12 and sublingual drops or spray. Most oral supplements tend to be ineffective, as vitamin B12 is poorly absorbed.

You also want to make sure you’re taking methylcobalamin, not cyanocobalamin (which is the most commonly found B12). When taken sublingually (either by tablet or spray), it goes straight into your bloodstream.

If you take it as an oral supplement, you have to rely on a glycoprotein produced in your stomach called intrinsic factor, which binds to the B12 and shuttles it into the intestine to the end of the small intestine where it’s absorbed. As you get older, you lose the ability to produce intrinsic factor, making you more likely to suffer from B12 deficiency.

Other B Vitamins

The other B vitamins are also important, and if you eat a lot of processed food, you’re virtually guaranteed to be deficient in several of them. Case in point: in mid-October 2023, Moms Across America (MAA) tested 10 fast food brands for B vitamins,11 and none of them contained either B9 or B12. Levels of B3 (niacin) were also abysmal.

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of niacin is 14 mg per day for women and 16 mg for men. To meet that RDA, a woman would need to consume 333 servings of Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches (at a serving size of 210 grams) and a man would need to eat 380 servings.

Chipotle’s carnitas bowl with everything, which had the highest amount of B3, still requires you to eat eight servings if you’re a woman and nine servings if you’re a man, to meet your RDA of niacin. Personally, I believe a B complex is a good option for most people, as you really need all the B vitamins, not just one or two.

Niacinamide

I also recommend taking 50 mg of niacinamide (aka nicotinamide, a form of niacin or vitamin B3) two to three times a day, as it plays a vital role in producing energy in your mitochondria.

Without it, your mitochondria simply cannot make energy efficiently. Niacinamide is also a precursor to NAD+, which is also tightly correlated with total ATP production. NAD+ also acts as fuel for longevity proteins called sirtuins.

Because of its effects on energy production and NAD+, niacinamide can be useful in the prevention and/or treatment of a long list of chronic conditions, including obesity,12,13 insulin resistance and diabetes,14 neurodegeneration15 and neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and ischemic stroke,16,17 heart failure,18,19 leaky gut,20,21 glaucoma,22,23 declining testosterone levels,24,25 cancer,26,27 kidney disease,28 alcoholic- and nonalcoholic liver disease,29,30 and even COVID-19.31

Your NAD levels dramatically decline with age. It’s also used up by DNA repair enzymes and enzymes involved in inflammation and immunity, such that chronic inflammation, or acute illness in old age, can rapidly result in depletion. For more details, see “The Crucial Role of NAD+ in Optimal Health.”

Collagen

Collagen is the most common and abundant of your body’s proteins. One of its primary purposes is to provide structural scaffolding for your various tissues to allow them to stretch while still maintaining tissue integrity.

As a compound of essential amino acids, there’s only one way to get collagen. Your body can’t produce it, so you must obtain it through your diet. Historically, traditional diets provided ample collagen in the form of broth made from boiled chicken feet or beef bones. These are by far your best alternatives.

If you decide to use a collagen supplement, make sure your collagen supplement is certified “100% Organic” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to minimize the risk of contaminants associated with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Moreover, collagen supplements can be either unhydrolyzed (undenatured) or hydrolyzed (denatured). The processing that most collagen supplements undergo to become hydrolyzed can also result in questionable byproducts that are best avoided.

My personal preference is to use a less denatured (unhydrolyzed) organic collagen supplement, as it has a more balanced amino acid profile. That said, I still believe the natural approach is best. Making homemade bone broth using bones and connective tissue from grass fed, organically raised animals isn’t very complicated and will produce the best results. Another alternative is to take glycine, as nearly one-third of the amino acids in collagen is glycine.

Glycine helps reduce inflammation and oxidative damage, as it inhibits the consumption of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). NADPH is used as a reductive reservoir of electrons to recharge antioxidants once they become oxidized.

Glycine also has cell-protective, and antistress effects,32 and has been shown to extend lifespan in animal studies and mitigate chronic disease and disability, thereby increasing healthspan. You need at least 12 grams of glycine daily for optimal collagen turnover, plus another 3 grams per day to form glutathione. So, a therapeutic dose of glycine would be around 15 grams, unless you’re also getting collagen from food or a supplement.

Creatine

Creatine is commonly used by athletes to improve performance, as it's immediately used by your body to convert ADP to ATP and supply energy muscles need for contraction.

Creatine also helps provide energy to your brain and may improve cognitive performance. It also appears to have protective effects in cases of mild traumatic brain injury. Of the roughly 20 different formulations of creatine on the market, creatine monohydrate is the one that has been studied most frequently and therefore has the strongest evidence of health benefits.

Creatine appears to work by increasing proteins that create muscle fibers33 and raising insulin-like growth factor,34 a hormone that increases muscle mass. Data also suggest that creatine may help lower blood sugar levels.

It is important to choose creatine from a reputable manufacturer. Clinical trials that have lasted up to five years have reported no adverse effects in healthy individuals.35 However, it is important to stay within the recommended dose.

Some people find that creatine makes them feel bloated.36 Some people are sensitive to using creatine and feel bloated if they don't drink enough water with the supplement. However, most of the time it goes away in just a few hours. Factors that affect bloating include how much water you drink, the intensity of your workout and your diet.

Keep in mind that it's not guaranteed that you will build muscle from using creatine. Consider creating specific goals for using the supplement so you are not disappointed. If you're a vegan or a vegetarian, you might consider using creatine to help protect brain health.

Omega-3

Omega-3 fats are essential for healthy cell membrane function, and higher omega-3 levels have been consistently linked to better health and longer life spans. The omega-3 fats EPA and DHA protect health and promotes longevity by:

Thinning your blood, which discourages inappropriate clotting that can lead to a stroke or heart attack

Lowering serum triglyceride levels

Helping to lower blood pressure, in part by improving the health of the lining of your blood vessels so that they can relax better

Anti-inflammatory effects — For example, provided you have enough EPA and DHA in your membranes, when an inflammatory insult occurs, metabolites of the EPA and DHA — resolvins and protectins — will be synthesized. As their names imply, these metabolites help protect against and resolve inflammation. If you do not have sufficient omega-3, the inflammatory response persists longer and can become chronic

Helping the mitochondrial membrane process energy — Improving the fluidity and flexibility of the mitochondrial membrane allows enzymes and the other proteins embedded in the membrane to operate more smoothly

Adding structural stability to mitochondrial membranes — When loaded with omega-3, the membrane allows these agents to move freely, allowing everything to work as it should

While most use fish oil to increase their omega-3 level, this isn’t the best choice, as most are synthetic ethyl esters, which are very different from the triglyceride and phospholipid forms of omega-3 found in sea food.

Ideally, you’d want to get most of your omega-3 from cold-water fatty fish like wild-caught Alaskan salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel, for example. If you opt for a supplement, krill oil, which delivers omega-3 primarily in the phospholipid form, makes it a superior choice to fish oil.

As for dosing, research37 has shown that an omega-3 index greater than 8% is associated with the lowest risk of death from heart disease while an index below 4% places you at the highest risk of heart disease-related mortality.

I recommend taking a maximum of 1 gram of omega-3 per day. Higher amounts could be risky, in my view, because EPA and DHA are both polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) and, like linoleic acid (LA), are susceptible to oxidation and the production of dangerous aldehyde metabolites.

Magnesium

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant element in your body38 and one of the seven essential minerals we cannot live without.39 It’s involved in hundreds of biochemical reactions in the body,40 and deficiency can contribute to significant health problems.41

It is necessary for the healthy functioning of most cells, and especially your heart and muscles.42 Low levels can impede both cellular metabolic function and mitochondrial function.

According to one scientific review43,44 that included studies dating as far back as 1937, low magnesium may actually be the greatest predictor of heart disease. Research published in 201745 shows even subclinical magnesium deficiency can compromise cardiovascular health. My favorite form of magnesium is L-threonate, as it appears to make its way into your brain the best.

Vitamin D

Last but not least, vitamin D. Ideally, you would get most of your vitamin D from sensible sun exposure. Depending on where you live, this may not be possible however, so oral supplementation may be necessary for at least part of the year.

The ideal dose for most adults of normal weight is 6,000 IUs a day; 7,000 IUs if you’re overweight; and 8,000 IUs a day if you’re obese. At those dosages, most people can reach a minimum blood level of 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L),46 which is the lower cutoff for sufficiency. Other research suggests you may need as much as 9,122 IUs per day to reach 40 ng/mL.47

Most definitely, the conventional claim that you only need a few hundred IUs per day — which is still touted by medical professionals in media48 — is completely inaccurate and is based on a statistical error49 that for some reason has never been officially corrected.

Your best bet is to get your vitamin D level tested twice a year. Based on the evaluation of healthy populations that get plenty of natural sun exposure, the optimal range for general health appears to be somewhere between 60 and 80 ng/mL (150 to 200 nmol/L).

Taking oral vitamin D together with vitamin K2 and magnesium is also recommended, as you need 244% more oral vitamin D if you’re not also taking magnesium and vitamin K2.50 In other words, if you take all three in combination, you need far less oral vitamin D in order to achieve a healthy vitamin D level.

[cripplecharacters]

Hey! Thanks so much for all your work — seeing your answers has helped me be a lot more conscious of ableism in media. I have a question about a character I’m writing.

The story is a climate fiction story set in the fairly near future, and the origins of their disability is traced back to water pollution. The effects of the disability are that they are in a scooter.

One of the things you say all the time that I really appreciate is when writing disabled characters make sure they have a specific disability which characteristics you can research — but I’m not totally sure how to research disabilities connected to pollution? I am thinking the character’s disability will be connected with lung issues, which then connect with certain types of muscular atrophy, hence the wheelchair. But this is kind of just guesswork based on some inconclusive googling and what I know of pollution-related health conditions.

Any thoughts or tips?

Thanks!

Hi!

I think that a disability related to pollution is a very interesting premise! I myself have a family member who has a congenital disability due to radiation pollution (Chernobyl), it's nice to see it represented :-)

Some things to consider that could help you with further research;

Were they born with it or is it progressive? Some pollution conditions, like Minamata Disease, could be both but the symptoms can vary between them. E.g. it wouldn't make sense to give your character microcephaly if they became disabled at 23, but it would if it's congenital.

If possible, try to pinpoint what specifically is causing the water pollution. Heavy metals? Radiation? Chemical spill? There are a lot of incredibly specific pollution conditions. If you can think of it, it probably already happened. This can be research of the incredibly boring variety, but once you find something that works "enough" it will make things easier going forward.

Examples: heavy metals will often cause neurological problems (including ataxia), radiation will cause extremely high rates of various (blood and thyroid, for example) cancers even decades after the exposure, chemical spills can cause almost anything.

If you're going for lung issues, I would research Pneumoconiosis. Apologies for the link to Wikipedia, but it leads to a ton of different subtypes that you could be useful to look into. It talks about dust pollution, but generally if it's in the air then it's going to be in the water very soon too.

Using a scooter can be helpful for an incredibly wide range of conditions, including COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) which is a common symptom of various pollution diseases.

Establishing the exact cause will also help you with worldbuilding - if the chemical polluting has a 90% fatality rate, it will be very different from one with <1%. If there's radiation, are unaffected people going through health anxiety due to the obvious cancer risk? Are local animals going extinct, how is the vegetation changing?

For water pollution specifically, think of how it affects the whole community - is rainwater safe to drink, are there ways to clean it, are there any fish to eat? Etc.!

I would also research the conditions that you might not necessarily think about, like bacterial or fungal ones. Here's a page on water-based diseases and their effects, as well as potential causes.

This is a very hard to exhaust topic as there's probably a million ways to pollute water, but I tried my best! I wish you good luck with writing! I think it's important to bring attention to these kinds of things.

I hope this helps! :-)

mod Sasza

[madamlaydebug]

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🚇#Chiaseeds are high in #Omega3’s which enhance overall moods, reduce irritability #hormone balance, all of which helps to put you in the right mood

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🛫#Avocados are just sexy all together now! Rich in essential fatty acids and B6 both increase male hormone production. They contain potassium, which helps regulate the thyroid gland in women, a gland directly tied to #energy and reaction to hormones.

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🎳Black raspberries are rich in phytochemicals that boost #libido and your ability to feel aroused. The ancient Chinese used them as medicine to boost libido.Experts say consuming 10 blackberries before hitting the bedroom.

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🌰#Walnuts are high in the amino acid arginine, which boosts circulation to the genital area

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🍉#Watermelon contains lycopene which relaxes blood vessels to improve blood flow.

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🎃#PumpkinSeeds are high in #Zinc. Zinc is #vitalfor #testosterone production which affects sexual desire and stamina in both men and women. Zinc deficiencies in men can cause #sexualperformanceproblems. Zinc helps to prevent PMS symptoms in women.

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🇮🇳In India cloves have been used to treat male sexual dysfunction for centuries, Cloves are also high in omega-3 fatty acids, manganese, and vitamin K increasing blood flow to the genitals

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🌵#Ginger is rich in copper, #magnesium and potassium. It is a remarkable anti-nausea food with#antiinflammatory proper tie. lower blood pressure and increase blood flow and it is high in magnesium, copper and potassium

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🍆#Maca is a good source of vitamin C, iron, potassium, and copper, and it has a decent amount of B vitamins. A study showed that 3g of maca daily significantly increased the libido in men and women on antidepressants.

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🎂Maca restore hormonal imbalance and related sexual desire and fertility in both men and women.

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⬇️⬇️Comment below if you know any other foods that turn you on?

[wistfulcynic]

in December 2008 i moved permanently from the USA to the UK and promptly got an ear infection. It was intensely painful, like an ice pick through my skull. i took some OTC painkiller and lay in bed, moaning and miserable. 

my (English) husband looked at me like i’d grown a third head. 

“if it’s that bad why don’t you just go to the doctor?” he said. 

“i--i can go to the doctor in this country!” was my reply. 

at that time, it had probably been 5-6 years since i’d seen a doctor. Not since i stopped being on my dad’s insurance. Even when i’d had my own insurance (via my grad school institution as part of my teaching assistantship compensation, the same insurance as the professors had. Probably pretty good. Still too confusing and scary for me) i never felt like i had the spare cash to cover a copay, was always afraid that what i needed wouldn’t be covered by the insurance. i ignored an abscess in my mouth for weeks until it finally burst in a geyser of pus you definitely don’t want me to go into further detail about, because i was worried that would count as dental and i didn’t have dental coverage. 

you get the picture. Health care in the US sucks hard. 

when my ear was infected, my husband phoned his local GP surgery (with which i was not registered, i was an immigrant on a spouse visa, only arrived the previous week), got me an appointment later that day. They saw me, diagnosed me, gave me a prescription for antibiotics for which i paid (i think, at the time) roughly £7. Cleared up in a few days. 

all i paid for was the prescription. 

some years later my husband made me go to the doctor again. i was having random symptoms i wasn’t even sure were symptoms, a weird laundry list of stuff that could be connected or could be nothing. i went to the GP with this list, worried that they’d take one look at a heavyset woman and immediately go “lose weight fatty!” or “diabetes!” They did not. The doctor was a young-ish woman who listened carefully to everything i told her, looked at my list of symptoms, and said “we’ll test for other things, but I’m 99% sure this is a problem with your thyroid. i’m going to start you on some medicine while we wait for the test results.” 

prescriptions were by then something in the neighbourhood of £8. 

a few days later i got a call from the lab that had run my blood tests. They told me that my thyroid levels were through the roof, so high they were actively dangerous. Cardiac arrest was a likely outcome if it was left untreated. They advised me to get a prescription immediately, and were audibly relieved when i told them i already had one. 

if i’d not been living in a country with free-at-the-point-of-service health care, i would not have seen a doctor. The NHS saved my life. 

why am i going on about this? Well. It’s because NHS workers have planned a strike for later this month, and the press are already on the attack. Fearmongering about how this will throw the system into chaos, patients will go untreated, etc etc blah blah all with the very unsubtle spin of “blame the workers. Blame the strikers. They’re putting your lives in danger.” 

zero mention of how dire the situation is in many hospitals. Not enough nurses (because Brexit among other reasons) and the ones we do have are overworked and underpaid. Too many patients not enough beds. Old buildings, old equipment. 

none of which is a problem with the system. The system’s great. The system works. The problem is the predatory Tory government who would love nothing more than a privatised, US-style insurance-based healthcare system off of which they and their cronies can profit. The problem is how the government has been starving the NHS of funds for over a decade, under the guise of “austerity” and how we all need to muck in together. Except them, obviously. They’re different. 

the problem is absolutely not the people striking because they, like nearly all of us in this country, are shamefully underpaid. Because they deserve compensation for their hard and dangerous work. Compensation they are not being given, despite their attempts at negotiation. 

whenever collective action happens there are always people eager to blame the workers. Greedy nurses, refusing to treat us when we need them because they think their pay is more important. How dare they? They have a responsibility to do their jobs! i am urging all my UK mutuals and anyone who reads this not to be taken in by these spurious arguments or any spin doctoring from the news rags. Side with the workers! Side with the nurses. Side with the people who want the NHS well-funded and thriving. A robust national health service is a universal good. Ours is creaky and wobbling but that is from mistreatment, not because the principle is unsound. i promise you, however frustrating you find the NHS, an American-style system is far, far worse. 

[madamemachikonew]

More thoughts on Baizhu's story quest #4 - the poison is the cure

My other Baizhu story quest thoughts:

1 - Changsheng the Corruptor

2 - Baizhu's Lack of Self

3 - The Adepti

↓ ↓ Story quest spoilers below↓ ↓ 

I thought some of you might be interested in the perspective of A Sick Person (which of course is only my own - I don't speak for all...).

One of the things that really resonated with me was the age-old pharmacological principle that potentially anything is poison in the wrong quantity. But equally, some things which are technically toxic can in fact bring you a cure.

It is a principle with which I am intimately familiar. And Jialiang's dilemma was very easy for me to understand and empathise with. I have been going through cycles of chemotherapy to stabilise my multiple sclerosis. I played Baizhu's quest while recovering from being infused with highly toxic drugs normally used for leukaemia patients. They help MS by killing my immune cells en masse in the hope that they will repopulate as healthy cells instead of faulty ones that attack my brain and spine. However, the treatment was not an easy one to choose. The list of side effects is long and terrifying, not just immediate side effects during the infusion period itself, but long lasting ones; I am at risk of acquiring a whole plethora of new, additional and incurable health conditions. I had to do a balancing exercise when choosing my treatment. Was I prepared to trade my thyroid for a few more years of getting to use my hands and legs and being able to live independently? If not, I'd have to opt for one of the less effective treatments.

I'm getting to how this relates to Baizhu, I promise.

I don't even know if the gamble will pay off. While I have high hopes it will succeed, and has stabilised things so far, it is not guaranteed. This treatment is not 100% effective and fails for many people, even after a few years of their symptoms having been stabilised. And similarly, a day may come several years in the future when it is time for me to pay the piper and hand over an organ or two; thyroidectomies are extremely common. I'll also be immunocompromised for around a year or so, which comes with its own risks.

I don't raise any of this for sympathy - it simply got me thinking about the green man, in that we've both made a similar decision and almost embrace the opportunity to poison ourselves as a strange sort of gift (fun fact: the German word for poison is 'gift').

In a perverse way, I understand Baizhu's choice under the contract. For me, destroying my body is literally what will give me a second chance at life. Baizhu too chooses to barter away and destroy parts of his body and acquire new illnesses for what he classifies as a greater overall benefit - except in his case it's scientific discovery and the altruistic potential to save more lives rather than improving or maintaining his own quality of life. He has a weird solidarity with his patients in this regard; while he's confident he will succeed in his endeavour to achieve immortality, it is not guaranteed, and may one day bring a devil's price with it. What sets him apart, however, is that - unlike his patients - his choice is voluntary. It is the voluntary aspect that breaks my mind a little bit. I genuinely needed this treatment and even I was hesitant. Jialiang's choice was no choice at all. He wanted to cling to as many good days as possible, because the alternative was death. Yet Baizhu just takes on the mantle without any reservation. This feeds back in to how he conceives his sense of self. Such acts run so contrary to natural instinct that it takes great fortitude of spirit and intellect to overcome our hard-wired self-preservation mechanism. His sacrifice is ironically the greatest assertion of self. One of my friends is a long-standing blood and bone marrow donor. He was also a volunteer for the covid vaccination trials. Some people are just like that.

I had to consider which illnesses I was prepared to accept in the future as a consequence of my treatment, which made me wonder whether Baizhu has a line that he draws in terms of which illnesses or toxins he's prepared to absorb. I would like to understand how he calculates risk -v- reward. Presumably he does not take on anything that will be terminal. Nothing that can't be managed or put into remission through medication (or is at least tolerable and non-fatal without it). Nothing that would wreck his immune system too much. Nothing neurologically degenerative that would cause his intellect or limbs to irreparably deteriorate or fail, as that would impair his ability to conduct research. I imagine he'd also have to consider potential interactions, given the cocktail of medications he is on - some remedies will undermine others and he may have to abstain or moderate them. And some remedies will cause additional side effects or health conditions in their own right after prolonged use.

My treatment also made me wonder how much toxicity Baizhu himself potentially leeches out to the people around him. My chemo drug literally seeps out of my pores, salivary glands, tear ducts and so on for a week or two. I have to use a separate toilet/bathroom and any clothes or bedsheets have to be washed separately. I can't be intimate with anyone for a while because my bodily fluids are literally toxic. It made me wonder if Baizhu avoids intimate emotional or physical attachments not just because of the emotional damage to someone who'd fall in love with him and because he will always put his duties as a healer first (I think he'd care less about his own pain of foregoing a chance at love given his sacrificial nature), but because he might be physically toxic to be intimate with on account of the poisons, illnesses and medications he had in his system. He jokes with Traveller in his voicelines that he can test strong concoctions on them. But I think he's deflecting here; presumably he will take a liberty to dose himself more strongly than he might a patient if there is a potential research benefit behind it, such as learning how to dose properly and potential side effects. Or simply, to manage his condition with a harsher regime because he knows he's prepared to tolerate it.