Eric is a 62 year old man who came to me seeking help because all he ever thought about was “what I was going to eat next. I’m always hungry”. This abnormal level of hunger started after being knocked unconscious as a young child.
Though his entire adulthood, he has struggled with the desire to eat an entire bag of cookies when he knew that 1-2 would suffice for most other people. He felt that way about everything. And when he had finished eating, he would think about when and what he would eat next. As a consequence, he became extremely overweight.
Evaluation of the patient’s autonomic function revealed Sympathetic Withdrawal, a condition responsible for poor perfusion of blood and inadequate oxygen deliver to his brain. This was also responsible for his fatigue, lightheadedness and poor memory.
His cravings were driven by the fact that processed carbohydrates will temporarily improve blood flow and oxygenation to the brain. The brain “learns” this condition and improves its own oxygenation by forcing the patient to eat with the sensation of hunger.
A few months after starting the patient on a medication and nutritional regimen to restore normal autonomic functioning, the patient’s persistent hunger stopped for the first time in his life.
He now is only intermittently hungry and is steadily losing weight with rapid improvement of his blood sugar and blood pressure.
If this sounds like you, consider seeing Dr. Nemechek for an evaluation of your autonomic nervous system.
