[blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924 commercials on the radio?

Fri Jan 10 21:21:03 UTC 2014

I believe that Non-24 is a real disorder, but I also think it's clear
that not all totally blind people develop it. As with any medical
condition, not everyone in a particular group acquires it, and there
is a huge range of symptoms and psychosocial factors that can cause it
to be better or worse for some people than others.

Arielle

On 1/10/14, Nevzat Adil <nevzatadil at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think some of you misinterpreted my words. I did not say sleep
> disorder does not exist.
> I said it cannot be blamed simply on total blindness. Other factors
> may be involved. Although totally blind I did not experience sleep
> disorder in my younger days, but now I do. So aging can be a factor.
> Lack of exercise can be another. and one can go on and on.
> And what's a light box and what does it do? Would it help someone like
> me with no light perception?
>
> On 1/10/14, Star Gazer <pickrellrebecca at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Jennifer's post is great.
>> My problem with the post below hers is that it comes across as if you
>> think
>> anybody who has non24 disorder is just sitting on their asses all day.
>> I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes with my current pregnancy. I had
>> two glucose tolerance tests to prove it. As a result, I need to eat
>> differently, and test my glucose several times a day.
>> Gestational diabetes has always been around. If not controlled, it can
>> lead
>> to some interesting things, strange behavior in women, (think agigation,
>> too
>> much sleepiness, being very anxious, huge weight gain) not to mention bad
>> impacts to the baby.
>> It has only been very recently that pregnant women are tested as a matter
>> of
>> course for gestational diabetes. Many of our moms were not tested because
>> while their symptoms were real and not caused by "crazy pregnant lady" the
>> medical industry hadn't developed the tools and the knowllege base to deal
>> with it. Home glucose meters didn't exist. Nobody was real sure what role
>> sugar played and how it was played.
>> And, there are still some people that refuse to grasp that gestational
>> diabetes is very real. I was talking with a friend a few weeks back, an
>> older gentleman who told me "I don't believe in that, my wife never had
>> that
>> problem, I think the medical industry just needs something to do". This
>> was
>> n the context of dinner when I told him why I was saying no to a food I'd
>> normally eat and explaining why.
>> The midwife I saw yesterday told me that they used to think pregnant women
>> who gained obscene amounts of weight were just eating too much and needed
>> to
>> step away from the table. Some of them probably do, and she readily
>> admitted
>> that. She also said that huge weight gains are often a sign of gestational
>> diabetes and it's how the body is processing or not processing sugar. That
>> can be resolved, but only if you know about it.
>> It's fine not to believe in non24 disorder or anything else. That's your
>> choice. Be careful though in expressing those beliefs as you minimize the
>> experiences of people who know something isn't right, and can't quite put
>> their finger on it. And, if you are proven correct, what have you lost?
>> I say all this because non24 disorder and the "is it, isn't it" real
>> debate
>> reminds me a lot of women's health issues. Many of them are issues women
>> have experienced and written about for thousands of years, and only now
>> are
>> we realizing that there truly is some medical stuff going on.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jennifer
>> Stewart Jackson
>> Sent: Friday, January 10, 2014 9:05 AM
>> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
>> Subject: Re: [blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924 commercials
>> on the radio?
>>
>> You may not believe in this sleep disorder, but several of our list
>> members
>> apparently do as they expressed in responses to this same message that
>> they
>> struggle with it. You have very good points about some other contributing
>> factors, but that does not mean the condition itself is not also a valid
>> one. Melatonin is produced in the body as a natural response to light and
>> is
>> a direct part of our functioning on a 24 hour circadian rhythm. Many
>> things
>> can happen to interfere with this natural cycle of course. People who work
>> nights and those who live in regions like Alaska often struggle with the
>> same kind of problems.
>> This may be part of why you did not struggle with this condition as a
>> child
>> as you still had some light perception. I think the process has something
>> to
>> do with the retina, so those with prosthetics or severe damage to the
>> retina
>> are going to be strongly effected in this way. If you check out some of
>> the
>> old studies on sensory deprivation, there is a lot of evidence about
>> people
>> developing a 25 to 26 hour rhythm when deprived of light.
>>
>> As women, we also can have many interruptions to our cycle that are
>> hormonal
>> related.
>>
>> All of this is why we have a food and drug administration in this country.
>> An extensive study had to be done with control groups and other research
>> into the causal aspect of this condition as part of getting the medication
>> approved. Of course if it is labeled a supplement as opposed to a drug,
>> the
>> standards are lower, but they do still have to submit evidence.
>>
>> Goodness knows what this drug company is going to charge to recoup those
>> expenses either. I think it would be interesting to find out if government
>> dollars funded this research too, but my cynicism about drug corporations
>> and the US Food and Drug folks is definitely straying way off topic.
>>
>> One of my children has a different sleep disorder and people often just do
>> not seem to get it. We jump through a lot of hoops around here to keep
>> that
>> child even sleeping a few hours every night. Sleep disorders are a real
>> struggle for some people. I know I became a true believer somewhere in the
>> process of the numerous ER trips with an unconscious child who even the
>> paramedics could not wake up when his little body finally just shut down
>> and
>> put him into that deep a sleep. At least twice in the middle of the school
>> day. I know I have shared about these s struggles with Henry here before,
>> but I know we have some new people who might want to know why I am so
>> interested in sleep disorders.
>>
>>
>> Jennifer
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nevzat
>> Adil
>> Sent: Friday, January 10, 2014 7:42 AM
>> To: Blind Parents Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924 commercials
>> on the radio?
>>
>> I doubt it if sleep disorder is due to total blindness. I have been
>> totally
>> blind almost all of my life, only light perception during early childhood.
>> In my younger days I did sleep very well, but it is only now that I I am
>> older that I sleep only about 4 hours per night.
>> I would say that one may have sleep disorder whether blind or not.
>> People have this disorder as they get older.
>> Another thing that needs consideration is how physically tired one is.
>> Many blind people are very sedantic, lacking physical exercise. No doubt,
>> getting sufficient exercise will help one's sleep.  It works for me.
>> As far as comercials are concerned, I do not take them seriously, because
>> they are produced to sell a product and not necessarily improve lives.
>>
>> On 1/10/14, Sharon Howerton <shrnhow at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> They are on every day here in Chicago and it is actually non 24.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>>> Robert Shelton
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 8:30 PM
>>> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
>>> Subject: Re: [blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924
>>> commercials onthe radio?
>>>
>>> Yep, it is real, but I have a big problem with the commercials.  The
>>> speaker starts off by saying "You can't see me because this is radio,
>>> and I can't see you because I'm totally blind."  Cute, I suppose, but
>>> cheesy.  Then he goes off into this business about how he can't
>>> concentrate on anything during the day, leaving the clear impression
>>> that it is because of his blindness.  Were I in the position of a
>>> sighted person thinking about hiring someone in a critical position,
>>> and a blind person showed up, that commercial would add to any and
>>> every other misconception about blindness I might have.
>>>
>>> So, maybe Vanda is working on a beneficial compound, but their way of
>>> drumming up business strikes me as patronizing at best.
>>>
>>> OK, not about blind parenting, so no more from me on this.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: trising at sbcglobal.net [mailto:trising at sbcglobal.net]
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 4:47 PM
>>> To: Blind Parents Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924
>>> commercials onthe radio?
>>>
>>>     Yes, Non24 sleep disorder is real. I have it, and Melatonin helps.
>>> Vanda
>>> Pharmaceuticals is coming out with a medication that will help more
>>> than Melatonin. I have not heard the commercials. There is also a
>>> website if you are interested. If you put Non24 into your favorite
>>> search engine, you will find it.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Terri Wilcox
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> ❝"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his
>> head.
>> If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."❞ ‒Nelson
>> Mandela
>>
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>
>
> --
> ❝"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his
> head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his
> heart."❞
> ‒Nelson Mandela
>
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