Topic : 08/29 Moms Gone Wild

Quote From: valordave

There are many alcoholics and clinically depressed people in my family too and I am prone to eat when I am not hungry but when I crave "something." In my case what I crave and actually need is B6 and Zinc so that my body can make seratonan, acetycholine, GABA and dopamine. The disease of pyroluria means that the body produces too many kryptopyrolles when it synethsizes hemoglobin. Kryptopyrolles are discarded as waste by the body but Kryptopyrolles take zinc and B6 out of the body faster than I can put it in my mouth. Without these essential two cofactors, my brain doesn't work. All the therapy and steps and surrender and prayer didn't correct my lack of essential brain chemicals. In my family they coped wiith depression caused by bad brain chemistry by drinking and my mother "partied and neglected her children and had sex with everyone who would have her. She desperatly was trying to feel "good" because her natural chemical state was bipolar. An addiction is anything a person does to excess that endangers their health and well-being and diverts them away from important responsibilities in their life. Needing a nutrient is not an addiction but a misdirected attempt to fill a legitimate need. Many alcholholics have a distroted view of what is the basic cause of their uncontrollable cravings so they label themselves as party animal, selfish, etc. and their self image suffers. Just because a diabetic is sleepy all the time doesn't mean they are lazy but many diabetics label themselves that way due to a faulty understanding of what their problem is. To say all people with cravings are suffering merely from a brain chemistry imbalance is inaccurate; certianly there are pyschological ramifications, yes there are self-image distortions reinforced by a judgmental society. Yes the 12 steps do wonders to allieviate guilt from past bad behavior. All of these are important in recovery, but to ignore the physical aspects again and again means that many people go undiagnosed for a very treatable problem, with no side effects if done by a competent professional. This test and treatment enhances anyone's chances of maintaining sobriety or mental health in general. Why ignore it? The AMA and FDA both utterly ignore Pyroluria since it is treated with natural substances (zinc and B-6). Nearly 100% of pyroluria is undiagnosed. For an ailment that affects one in 10 people across the board, I think that is inexcusable. "If you misdiagnose a problem you will certainly mistreat it." (Dr. Phil) Substance abusers may have psychological problems, charater flaws, spiritual defects, but if all people treating the "disease" of alcholism ignore the biological component, a huge opportunity to get unmanageable lives manageable again and drunk drivers off the street is lost.  That is a huge, ignorant, waste in my opinion.