Hi. Well, I was sitting around the other day thinking about leptin (it's been a rough summer) and started doing some research. Some of the more technical stuff out there indicates that something in marijuana is very effective in reducing leptin (hence the munchies) I was wondering if anyone knows more about this in terms of the current pharmacology research that is going on to simulate "medical marijuana" There is a prescription "marijuana pill" on the market but I don't really understand the biochemistry of all this stuff anymore (I used to be pretty smart) Anyway, it prob has a bazillion side effects. Then I was thinking, is there a natural alternative? but I guess that would be smoking pot (not an option) Anyway, just curious if anyone else has info about the leptin/marijuana connection that could be useful in helping lyme patients loose weight w/out actually smoking it.
Posted by SForsgren (Member # 7686) on :
If you have high leptin levels, have you considered:
1) Whether or not mold is part of your problem or 2) Taking binding agents such as CSM or chlorella to attempt to reduce your biotoxin load
Posted by minimonkey (Member # 8693) on :
I believe the idea is to *increase* leptin levels, as it is an appetite suppressing hormone. I don't much understand the biology of this either -- but the quick skim I just did of an article indicated that the idea behind current research is to block the cd1 receptors that marijuana stimulates -- thus having the opposite effect from marijuana (which -- ahem, I hear -- has the ability to stimulate appetite.)
There are dietary programs that are geared toward balancing out leptin levels -- a google search should point you the right direction on that, I think.
My best guess is that the majority of lyme weight actually has more to do with insulin resistance/carbohydrate metabolism and inflammation than it does with leptin itself, except as it is influenced by carbohydrate metabolism. Systemic yeast is also known to result in weight gain, and many of us are prone to yeast, even when/if not on abx.
Posted by minimonkey (Member # 8693) on :
Okay -- I just did some more skimming, and it appears that it is neither the goal to increase nor to decrease leptin levels, per se -- obese individuals tend to have high levels of free leptin, having to do with deficient leptin receptors (hence an inability of the body to use leptin correctly.) So my revised guess is that the hope is to better facilitate the body's ability to utilize leptin. Normal weight mice who are given leptin lose weight and gain lean body mass, but overweight mice who have deficient leptin receptors do not lose weight -- one thing I read even indicated that it may cause weight gain in such mice.
Sorry -- seems I'm not much help here.... boo hoo.
Posted by Larkspur (Member # 5131) on :
Thanks for the replies! I did the Mold/CSM protocol over a year 1/2 ago - believe it or not, that's when my leptin problems got much worse. My Lyme doc (who is excellent) says that in her exp the mold/csm protocol in a small percentage of people actually turns something "on" that increases leptin instead of the opposite. Since then I can't loose this weight no matter what I've tried. I have looked into the leptin diet protocols etc and follow them religiously. It's very frustrating. Diet, exercise, nothing works. My lyme doc says when the inflammation goes down the leptin should normalize. Anyway, my understanding is that I am leptin resistant due to too much leptin. The science behind marijuana I read about indicates that it reduces leptin, stimulating appetite, but in someone who has too much leptin it would actually cause them to loose weight. The science is very complicated, but I wonder what the actual agent in pot it is that does this...
Posted by SuZ-Q (Member # 5903) on :
Larkspur,
Did your llmd test your MSH levels? It is my understanding that the MSH is the key that allows the leptin to function properly. I have a high level of leptin and virtually NO MSH and I have been gaining weight like crazy for the last year, despite exercise and proper diet. I'm not sure how the balane of MSH and leptin can be restored though. I wonder if Marnie might know anything on the subject. She has touched on some similar subjects. MSH is also involved in production of melatonin.
I've tried the CSM protocol briefly, but it did not agree with my digestive system. Hope to try it again after getting off of some other meds. I would love to learn more about this subject if anyone else has any knowledge. Larkspur, do you by any chance see Dr. C.?
Good luck! If you find anything that works, I would love to hear about it.