Posted by Niniva on September 18, 2008, at 16:32:15
In reply to Re: Research into salt cravings..Seldomseen » WaterSapphire, posted by Niniva on September 18, 2008, at 15:35:13
I've read the posts in this thread, and I'll tell you two things:
#1 - I learned a lot about salt cravings from "A Brilliant Madness," which focused on Patty Duke's Bipolar I, and #2 - everyone that I've talked to with either Bipolar II or Atypical Depression has expressed salt cravings.
I've stole packets of salt from fast food chains so that I have a little stash in my jacket pocket just in case I need it, and I've seen friends and relatives do the same.
I haven't read any controlled studies on the subject, this is entirely independent observation. However, I still consider salt cravings a litmus-test to determine if a kid is just angst-ridden (normal but needs psychological therapy) or suffering from a biological mental illness requiring meds. Salt cravings (so strong that you lick salt from your palm, or add it to gum, or suck on paper fast-food packets like chewing tobacco packets), indicate early-onset, chronic (life-long) mental illness, according to the salt-cravers that I've interviewed.
I know this guy feels (or felt) like the solution, but I don't like his manner. I'll tell you why: He sounds like he's afraid of being proven wrong or "discovered" as a fraud. Precisely because of that, I believe he is wrong - that he saw something real (increased sodium), blew it out of proportion (elaborate solution that blames failure on the sufferer for craving salt), and used it to make money and meet chicks.
The other theory I have is a little nicer for him; he was only interested in knowing what was wrong with him, and he shared HIS cure with you, without consideration to your primary cause.
I'm sorry if you've lost a hope. I've killed my own hopes so often that I can no longer count them - hypothyroidism (and an entire book devoted to that cure, including a diet that will cause it), odd-form of diabetes (hypoglycemic-presentation that requires repeated, time-sensitive testing that I can't afford, but not likely to show need for diabetes meds), vitamin deficiency (never went away with supplements), raw eggs (my beloved raw cookie dough leads to specific vitamin deficiency that causes hypoglycemia, so I gave it up, but I'm still not well), and exercise (I gave that up when it failed to mop up the last of my symptoms).
The only thing that has worked is my meds, and every psychiatrist wants to tinker with them, since they SHOULDN'T work at the level I take. My poor but kindly general practitioner is a nervous wreck about prescribing Effexor XR 37.5 for me, but he keeps doing it because he's seen the terror and desperation in my eyes.
I've been on that level for over ten years, which is a huge no-no for psych-meds, but I've been ninety-five-percent symptom-free for over a decade, suffering a few days per year. I actually went a whole year with one crying jag and two rages.
Just, never give up hope! I find new things to alleviate the last of my symptoms, try them, and drop them about once a season, but I keep trying. I'm planning to re-add exercise in a different formation just as soon as I get an up-swing in energy.
poster:Niniva
thread:849401
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20080906/msgs/852708.html