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

Sat Jan 11 01:08:28 UTC 2014

I did understand that you were not dismissing sleep disorders, and that you believe total blindness cannot be the cause. My point was to extend the conversation into the reasons I disagreed with you. To the idea that there is a body of evidence that in sensory deprivation situations some people have circadian rhythms that get set to a 25 or 26 hour schedule, as opposed to the more natural 24 hour rhythm that human beings follow. Total blindness is a form of light deprivation, and can thus cause this change in circadian rhythms. I guess it could technically be said that it is the light deprivation causing the sleep disorder instead of the blindness.. Though in truth it seems that we agree on far more than we disagree on. 

Like you, I have a pretty cynical attitude about the drug corporation who developed this new medication. That does not mean that their research is not founded on good science or that our food and drug administration did not do a good job in reviewing the validity of the studies. It does mean that this company was able to produce enough scientific evidence of this condition from the study they did on blind people to get approval to market this drug.

You also made really good point about the myriad of other things that can effect sleep patterns even if someone does not actually have a disorder. I am a big believer in working out natural solutions to a problem when possible. Even if it is not the final and complete solution, we can all benefit from healthier diets, more fresh air and exercise, good routines, and the like. Vitamin D deficiencies are nothing to be sneered at either because they can cause some pretty serious side effects.

My own son is not blind. This is not an issue in his sleep disorder. All of the things I mentioned about that can effect sleep p are things we address with him. None of them are the complete solution. Sometimes this is just because it is not practical to apply them on an effective level. My son did sleep a good 8 to 9 hours every night the week before Christmas. Sometimes a more normal 10 to 12. This involved a total of 4 to 5 hours a day in the pool while being encouraged into physical activity the whole time with diving and race games, plus several hours of active play with his brothers and cousins every day. It is just not practical to fit that in every day and also attend to other basic needs as well as his two brothers. The human body is really deigned for far more physical activity than most of our modern lives provides for.

Jennifer

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nevzat Adil
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2014 2:59 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] Has anybody heard these Learn More 924 commercials on the radio?

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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>
>
> --
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> If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."❞ 
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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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