CHRONOLOGICALLY BLESSED

[SevenofSeven]

I still don't get it though.

Son1 was our bush baby, he played in the dirt, was rarely inside and was just all out feral. He is the only one of all my Lads who has a nut allergy as in anaphylaxis, which developed over time. He used to shell and eat walnuts, peanuts, pistachios when he was small, now if you touch any type of tree nut or otherwise, then touch him he will instantly react. The same with his bee allergy, I distinctly remember him being stung when about 13, but the only reaction then was a small welt. The last time he was stung he was 17 had an anaphylactic reaction and spent the night in hospital. He is a boilermaker and is dirty all the time and rarely gets a cold/flu or stomach bug.

Of all the lads his childhood was better for his immune system than Son6 and Son7 who are gaming babies. Son6 borders on OCD with his germ thing. Yet has not developed any severe allergy to anything.

(Shrugs) I dunno.

[Granny Nogg]

Allergies make no sense, especially if you get them well into your adulthood.  *looking at cow's dairy with an evil glare*

[mom2sjm]

When I was 46 I learned that I am allergic to loads of stuff - mold, trees, weeds, dogs, cats, etc.  All these years i thought the rashes were stressed induced. But i could never figure out why sometimes it was so hard to breath.  But now I know.  Allergies suck.

[Mark D]

You never have an allergic reaction the first time you're exposed to something, your immune system sees it and sets up for next time. My brother in law developed a seafood allergy as an adult, after eating fish his whole life. Now he can't eat food that was cooked in an oven WITH fish.

[Granny Nogg]

You never have an allergic reaction the first time you're exposed to something, your immune system sees it and sets up for next time. My brother in law developed a seafood allergy as an adult, after eating fish his whole life. Now he can't eat food that was cooked in an oven WITH fish.

Wow, never heard of that one before.

sent from my tiny particle accelerator

[Mark D]

Wow, never heard of that one before.

sent from my tiny particle accelerator

 

Now that I have a real keyboard instead of my phone, I can give the topic a better treatment.

 

You always hear people who have a reaction to, say, a bee sting, say "But I've been stung before and didn't have a reaction!".  That's exactly how allergies work.  You immune system mis-identifies something that's not harmful as something that is, and it can only do that if it's seen it before.  So you can eat peanuts (or in my BILs case fish/shellfish) your entire life, then for some reason one time your immune system says "Hey, this is something that could kill me, I better prepare antibodies so I'll be ready to handle it next time.  So next time you eat a shrimp you blow up like a balloon.  The rash or whatever isn't caused by the substance, it's caused by your body's over-reaction TO the substance, and it can only do that if it's encountered it before.  So the case of suddenly having problems with something you never did before is the only way to develop allergies.

 

I think the rise in things like peanut allergies is from a number of things, including:

 

- the aforementioned lack of germs giving the immune system something to do

- preservatives and artificial substances in the food that our bodies don't know how to process

- medical advances that allow children with such allergies to survive, where a hundred years ago they'd probably have died young.  And the survivors pass on the tendency toward the allergies.  A few generations of this and suddenly peanut allergies are common.

[Granny Nogg]

Now that I have a real keyboard instead of my phone, I can give the topic a better treatment.

You always hear people who have a reaction to, say, a bee sting, say "But I've been stung before and didn't have a reaction!". That's exactly how allergies work. You immune system mis-identifies something that's not harmful as something that is, and it can only do that if it's seen it before. So you can eat peanuts (or in my BILs case fish/shellfish) your entire life, then for some reason one time your immune system says "Hey, this is something that could kill me, I better prepare antibodies so I'll be ready to handle it next time. So next time you eat a shrimp you blow up like a balloon. The rash or whatever isn't caused by the substance, it's caused by your body's over-reaction TO the substance, and it can only do that if it's encountered it before. So the case of suddenly having problems with something you never did before is the only way to develop allergies.

I think the rise in things like peanut allergies is from a number of things, including:

- the aforementioned lack of germs giving the immune system something to do

- preservatives and artificial substances in the food that our bodies don't know how to process

- medical advances that allow children with such allergies to survive, where a hundred years ago they'd probably have died young. And the survivors pass on the tendency toward the allergies. A few generations of this and suddenly peanut allergies are common.

That makes allot of sense. I give credence to fast food, food additives, as well as hormones and antibiotics given to animals, pesticides in the feed, and on and on and on.

You can't realistically get away from it (at least without great difficulty and expense), so you make the best of it and accept that you'll need to carry an epi pen you're whole life, or like me, try not to get too embarrassed when you have to send a meal back to the chef 3x because they kept putting different forms of cow's milk on it, even though you told the waiter you're lactose intolerant and specified that you can't have butter, sour cream, or cheese.

sent from my tiny particle accelerator

[peelout]

- medical advances that allow children with such allergies to survive, where a hundred years ago they'd probably have died young.  And the survivors pass on the tendency toward the allergies.  A few generations of this and suddenly peanut allergies are common.

Thats a theory I had not heard before, but logically, it could be a contributor.  

 

Here are 2 more, the first of which has already been discussed. (from WebMD)

 

One theory for the rise, the hygiene hypothesis, holds that “we’ve become very good at preventing natural infections, and the immune system is not chewing on things it would normally be chewing on,†Sicherer tells WebMD. “We’re not living on farms anymore, we have lots of antibiotics, but seeing an increase means that something has changed in the environment.â€

The theory suggests that “clean living†and more medication use leaves immune systems in a condition that is more prone to attack harmless proteins, such as those in foods, pollens, and animal dander.

The increase also could be related, he says, to the way peanuts are processed.

“We roast peanuts, and potentially, roasting it makes a more allergenic food out of it,†he says. “Some people theorize that the oil in peanut butter might make it more allergenic. Roasting peanuts changes the sugar and makes the protein more stable to digestion and easier for the immune system to attack.â€

[Tomu-san]

I've been reading quite a bit lately about the intestinal microbiota, gut permeability and how increased permeability can cause an increase in allergies (as well as all manner of other inflammatory issues).

[Granny Nogg]

I've been reading quite a bit lately about the intestinal microbiota, gut permeability and how increased permeability can cause an increase in allergies (as well as all manner of other inflammatory issues).

 

Yup I think Leaky Gut is going to turn out to be a real thing. 

[congie]

 

 

One theory for the rise, the hygiene hypothesis, holds that “we’ve become very good at preventing natural infections, and the immune system is not chewing on things it would normally be chewing on,†Sicherer tells WebMD. “We’re not living on farms anymore, we have lots of antibiotics, but seeing an increase means that something has changed in the environment.â€

The theory suggests that “clean living†and more medication use leaves immune systems in a condition that is more prone to attack harmless proteins, such as those in foods, pollens, and animal dander.

 

Peelout - I'm in early childhood education and there is a rise in "natural playgrounds" and this is one of the reasons.  Children do not play in the dirt anymore, and statistics are showing that not being exposed to all the things in dirt is hurting children's ability to fight illnesses/infections etc.  Plus the sensory/cognitive benefits of playing with natural objects vs. plastic just can't be underestimated.  It's sad that kids don't naturally go outside to play as much, but it is a different world now than it was 50 years ago.  

[Granny Nogg]

Mudpies FTW! I agree wholeheartedly. Climb trees. Play in creeks. Stay out until way past dark. Be a kid, for crying out loud. Kids are way overscheduled and stressed and spend way too many hours in front of screens.

sent from my tiny particle accelerator

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Mudpies FTW! I agree wholeheartedly. Climb trees. Play in creeks. Stay out until way past dark. Be a kid, for crying out loud. Kids are way overscheduled and stressed and spend way too many hours in front of screens.

sent from my tiny particle accelerator

 

And so are we.  Hum ......  I see a theme for an upcoming challenge.

[Scumspawn]

Just came on here for a quick moan

 

I'm doing 2 weeks without the contraceptive pill so I can have a blood test to see if I still need it.

I was ok for the first week but the second week is not fun - hot flushes followed by freezing ones that keep me up from 4am and mood swings, urgh.

 

And my waist is now 35 inches, that is 2 up from this time last year.

 

So, not a happy bunny, need to hang in here until Monday when I can go back on the pill - the goal is change to HRT if I'm a low enough pregnancy risk.

 

I'm doing all the herbal stuff, eating ok, though today I'm so tired I just want to eat everything.

 

moan over, any advice appreciated.

[Scumspawn]

I've been googling hot flushes and it seems that bigger women have a worse time of it. So I really could do with losing some weight but it seems impossible, especially when I'm this tired and all I want to do is eat. Maybe fasting is the way forward? None might be easier than less?

[peelout]

Fasting is not a long term solution.  I've been consistently losing 1lb a week since Jan 1.  Stop by my battle log is you care to look at how I've applied a method developed by Charles Duhigg to make habit changes that actually stick.  

[Scumspawn]

Fasting is not a long term solution.  I've been consistently losing 1lb a week since Jan 1.  Stop by my battle log is you care to look at how I've applied a method developed by Charles Duhigg to make habit changes that actually stick.  

thanks but you don't have the menopause to battle with. If I'm on the pill to control symptoms I gain weight, if I'm off the pill I am so tired and emotionally up and down I eat everything.

 

to give you some idea, this is the 4th day in a row I have had very little sleep, and the sleep I had was riddled with nightmares.

I wake up at 3 am and start 3 hours of hot flushes followed by freezing ones. I go to bed at half 9 so I generally get 5 hours of sleep but it's light and unsettled.

 

maybe I should just settle into being fat until I'm done with the menopause becuase this seems impossible

[mom2sjm]

I'm 47 so not yet menopausal but I did manage to lose 30 pounds 2 years ago while suffering from pretty severe depression.  The symptoms sound similar - disruption to the sleep pattern, lack of energy, emotional rollercoaster.  I also experienced hot flashes - I thought I was entering menopause at the time but it turned out to be depression.  

 

to make a long story short, during my depression, In a lucid moment I decided I was going to lose weight to see if it would also bring me out of my depression or at least help with it.  First - I didn't exercise at all.  I just walked 15-30 minutes every day, rain or shine, 7 days a week.  Second - I kept a food log to record every thing I ate.  I was very strict about it.  It actually distracted me from over concentrating on the other stuff happening at the time. I ate very simply - protein and veggies, that's was it.  And I only drank water.  It was good to keep it so simple, to let go of the stress of it all.  I was strict about it, like I said.  I decided not to look at food as a reward or a way to escape.  If I felt like shit, I went outside for 20 minutes or sometimes when I was super low I'd sit and watch Netflix for 6 hours, for a days in a row, but I didn't eat anything other than my three meals a day. My protein serving was 3-4 ounces and I had like 2-3 cups of veggies with every meal.  I weighed and measured everything.  Initially I did have a protein drink for a snack - usually after my walk, but then eventually I didn't need it.  I did eat alot of healthy fat.  avocados daily, real butter on my veggies, cooked with olive oil.  

 

I don't think you should "settle into being fat" until the menopause is over.  I have no idea how long menopause lasts.  My friend entered into early menopause at age 33 and she still complains of hot flashes (that was 12 years ago).  Try walking - it's a great mental break.  Don't look at it as exercise, look at it as a chance to clear your head.  Some days I'd walk 2 or 3 times, it really helped.  I always felt better after walking and it's not like trying to drag yourself to the gym - all you have to do is get up and go somewhere - down the street, around the block, to the park, to the parking lot of the gas station, wherever.  

 

The eating part is harder but it's also 80% of the job.  If you can commit to being very boring and simple and be consistent in this (being boring and simple) you will lose weight.  I lost weight and I sat on my ass for days in a row sometimes.  I'd drop my boys at school and come home, crawl back into bed, feeling paralyzed and just wanting to escape so I'd binge on netflix to distract myself from my depression until it was time to get my boys.  the key was that I didn't eat while I was feeling this way - I just accepted my energy level but didn't sabotage it further by eating outside of my "meal plan."  I get it - it's hard but don't give up on yourself! 

[peelout]

Great story.  But walking 15-30min everyday does count as exercise.

 First - I didn't exercise at all.  I just walked 15-30 minutes every day, rain or shine, 7 days a week.

[mom2sjm]

Great story.  But walking 15-30min everyday does count as exercise.

 

I don't know.  There is walking and there is walking.  When I think of walking as exercise I'm thinking you've planned to go on a walk - you've got on your tennis shoes and you have a route in mind and maybe you've got some music and a fit bit or whatever.  The walking I was doing (sometimes in my pajamas) was more like just get up, move, go outside.  Every day - do this.  go outside, walk around and clear your head. Back then I was keeping a food journal and in the corner I had a check box for "walk" just to be sure that I did it everyday.  After a while I started writing down how long I was out and saw over the course of the 6 months or so that I kept these journals that I was outside walking for about 30 minutes everyday so that was my suggestion, not so much for exercise/losing weight but for dealing with a difficult situation (for scumspawn the menopause, for me the depression).

[Rebe_J]

I don't know.  There is walking and there is walking.  When I think of walking as exercise I'm thinking you've planned to go on a walk - you've got on your tennis shoes and you have a route in mind and maybe you've got some music and a fit bit or whatever.  The walking I was doing (sometimes in my pajamas) was more like just get up, move, go outside.  Every day - do this.  go outside, walk around and clear your head. Back then I was keeping a food journal and in the corner I had a check box for "walk" just to be sure that I did it everyday.  After a while I started writing down how long I was out and saw over the course of the 6 months or so that I kept these journals that I was outside walking for about 30 minutes everyday so that was my suggestion, not so much for exercise/losing weight but for dealing with a difficult situation (for scumspawn the menopause, for me the depression).

 

In a similar vein, I consider walking to be exercise for my Mental Health. When my mind is right, I am more likely to eat right and do my dedicated exercises.

Result: weight loss.

 

Husband and I like to walk around neighborhoods and get home improvement ideas--what to do, what not to do. We also talk. It's one time when we have each other's complete attention. Our walks are usually very productive.

[peelout]

For whatever reason a person is walking, I still call it exercise, although its just a mindset.  Compare the person who does nothing to the person who walks 20min, even casually.  Blood flows more, heart rate goes up some, muscles that wouldn't have gotten used get moved.  Hopefully, that leads to a person wanting to do more and get more out of life.  But again, whether its for the mind or body, it makes sense to do something over the alternative.

[Elastigirl]

thanks but you don't have the menopause to battle with. If I'm on the pill to control symptoms I gain weight, if I'm off the pill I am so tired and emotionally up and down I eat everything.

 

to give you some idea, this is the 4th day in a row I have had very little sleep, and the sleep I had was riddled with nightmares.

I wake up at 3 am and start 3 hours of hot flushes followed by freezing ones. I go to bed at half 9 so I generally get 5 hours of sleep but it's light and unsettled.

 

maybe I should just settle into being fat until I'm done with the menopause becuase this seems impossible

Sorry it is so frustrating, I know you've been battling it for a while. Keep working on making good choices, and it will help. One thing that really helped me was to change the mindset  away from food being the answer when my emotions are all over the place. I was dealing with perimenopause too, and had more anxiety from it, and mood swings. But eating crap food not only doesn't help, it makes things worse. I tried to think of things that really did help me feel better and implement those rather than turning to food as my answer. 

[Crystal Jade]

Used them for my first couple classes in college.  After that I used them for bookmarks.

 

Also used Wylbur under MVS.  Currently programming in Cobol, PL/I, SAS and Adabas/Natural.

I used hollerith cards my first few years as a programmer.  I worked with COBOL, IMS (I was the first female DBA at my company), VSAM, then moved on to midrange, but I do remember those old days!  When I started, we had to send our work to data entry to get the cards typed, and we had a card reader on the development floor.  Twice a day, we'd get our new cards from data entry, run them through the reader, then test our programs - then send up requests for more cards, and twiddle our thumbs until they came!  No one believes me when I tell them I was a programmer, but didn't have a computer or even a monitor at my desk!  I just retired this year - good to hear from some others who remember when 20 gig took up an entire computer room, and you couldn't hold it in your hand!

[Granny Nogg]

thanks but you don't have the menopause to battle with. If I'm on the pill to control symptoms I gain weight, if I'm off the pill I am so tired and emotionally up and down I eat everything.

to give you some idea, this is the 4th day in a row I have had very little sleep, and the sleep I had was riddled with nightmares.

I wake up at 3 am and start 3 hours of hot flushes followed by freezing ones. I go to bed at half 9 so I generally get 5 hours of sleep but it's light and unsettled.

maybe I should just settle into being fat until I'm done with the menopause becuase this seems impossible

I was thinking about the sleep thing, and wondered if many of the symptoms you're having (the depression and emotional eating) might be sleep related? I don't know enough about the science, but articles I've read talk about the importance of getting enough sleep and how lack of sleep creates a domino effect in our bodies, especially if it's long term.

Maybe your doctor could address the sleep problems to see if that would make a difference.

sent from my tiny particle accelerator