tegid’s BodyBlog

I have discovered that John Watson at the University of Sydney has coined the term ‘neurotheology’ for the branch of ’science’ that is trying to establish that religious experiences are simply a type of epileptic seizure. In particular, they point at temporal lobe epilepsy (the type that I have) as being the ‘logical explanation’ for those that feel the presence of God. They figured this out after putting Carmelite nuns into MRI scanners, while the nuns were praying.

I actually find this  insulting - on two accounts. Firstly by claiming that religion is no more than a brain condition, it implies that religion can be ‘cured’ with the same anticonvulsants that are currently making my life hell. Secondly it implies that it is more important to ‘disprove’ religion than it is to find cures for epilepsy.

I wanted to let you know that, as somebody with the form of epilepsy that is implicated in all this, I  utterly disagree with the hypotheses and particularly the ethics behind ‘neurotheology’.

Please don’t believe everything that so-called ’scientists’ come up with - sometimes, one needs to question their motivation..

I particularly wanted to thank BB1968, Gallaman and Bluesplaya at this point, for keeping me sane recently.

This is doing my head in! My weight is all over the place currently. A couple of weeks back I was 212lb, now I’m down to 206.5lb.. I have a gluten-free diet and somebody I spoke to in the gym said that their weight went up and down like a yo-yo, too - they were also gluten-free. Anyone got any ideas?

Just a thought. I’ve never condoned the use of steroids but I’m currently questioning my attitudes on this.

I’ve just read a post on this website by a man that was given Ritalin when he was a child. Ritalin is chemically very similar to amphetamine. I used to teach kids that were placed on this drug to ‘calm’ their behaviour. All of them had their appetites wiped out, all started smoking tobacco (12 year olds!) and cannabis and all experienced very late puberty. As a society, we accept that it is OK for the use of this drug to be given and that its side effects are acceptable.

As a society, we accept the concept of cosmetic surgery, silicone implants and injections of Botox (botulism) to enhance appearance. We also find it acceptable to use Estrogen replacement therapy (estrogen is technically a steroid). Its side efects are acceptable.

For SEVEN years I have been told by the top medics in the land (UK) to take a drug to reduce epileptic seizures called Carbamazepine. This has reduced testosterone levels in my body, dangerously reduced the white blood cells in my body, led to mood-swings and caused all sorts of liver problems, as side-effects. Again, these side-effects are deemed acceptable by society.

When it comes to anabolic steroids, society appears to have a very polarised view - they are ‘evil’. Thinking about it, the side effects of steroids can be similar to those I’ve suffered using anti-epilepsy drugs, to give results that are considered as desirable as those seen in cosmetic enhancement surgery. Again these individual concepts are currently viewed as acceptable to society.

..The same society that gives amphetamine to children who exhibit difficult behaviour, in order to keep these children quiet.

..The same society that makes a lot of money out of cigarette revenues - particularly from people on lower incomes… knowing that tobacco is addictive.

The more I consider it, the more ridiculous ALL of these arguments appear. The difficulty with anabolic steroids is that they fall victim to society’s conflicting opinions and outlook.

The past 3 months have been a very difficult time for me, in more ways than one. On Dec 9th I had a seizure and was taken to hospital where the doctors insisted that I increase the amount of epilepsy drugs I took.
It wiped me out - constantly falling asleep and just no energy. As a result, I saw improvements in strength halt and then slide backwards. My weight also started to slide down as well. I’ve done my best to counteract this - I’m having steak for breakfast and eating for Britain, but I’m not winning, here…

However, one good thing that has come from this is the very positive comments I’ve had from the guys at this forum/website and I am very, very thankful for that. Had these people not been there for me, I’d have crumbled!