Lightbox therapy for SAD in conjunction with HC/AF? - good or bad?

[Guest guest]

Has anyone used a high-lux light-box (mine is 10,000 I think) for

SAD or " near-SAD " ? Would this be good or not for AF? My feeling is

that since the ACTH pattern is entrained by light via the SCN (supra-

chiasmic nucleus - is though to integrate information about light

signals), a stronger light signal in the morning (and perhaps other

times) might help to repair the loop, or make less likely the

possibility of suppression of the natural cycle.

Has anyone out there figured out exactly *how* (and definitively

*if*) chronic stress causes the ACTH loop to break down? (Wikipedia

is SORELY lacking in references on this - why can't they just put a $#

%@ PubMed ID for the ref?) It says that not only do some researchers

think that chronic stress causes the loop to break down (no idea as

to whether these same researchers think it can be restored..), but

also says that long-term high-cortisol can damage the hippocampus and

impair memory and learning (again, no mention of possible neural

regeneration or " rerouting " of the brain). I would suppose that

perhaps some population of cortisol-sensitive neurons in the SCN/

pituitary become de-sensitized over time to the chemical, which would

dampen the loop. But are these neurons the same ones that are

" directly " responsible for the light-entrainment of the rhythm via

the SCN, or are they a secondary population of neurons in the pit?

I wonder if the *reason* why doctors are so scared to death about

suppression is that no-one really understands why the ACTH loop

breaks down, how it does, or how it can be reversed. How is full

's disease generally treated? Is it a probably supra-

physiologic replacement of ACTH/cortisol, which most likely won't

given the loop ANY chance of recovering (to the degree it can), or is

it physiologic replacement with the hope that the pit will somehow

reset the loop?

Jim

[Guest guest]

Can't answer all your questions but I do know that 's is almost

always UNDER treated and leaves the patients ill. The cases of

;'s that are usually diagnosed are often autoimminue with no hope

of recovery, but then there are ones from cortiosl use that possibly can

recover but it could be such a long arduous journey that it is simply

not feasible in our medical world to even attempt it. The pituitary is

not know for recovery and when it is damaged and causes low cortisol

from low ACTH I htink the only hope is replacing the hormones that are

missing.

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[Guest guest]

Jim

I have been using a 10,000 lux light box since around July this year

but for depression not AF - ok I have AF also but I didn't buy the

light box for that.

Mine sits on the table where I have breakfast and I leave it on for

about an hour each morning. Whether or not it helps AF is probably

too early to say

Lynda

Lightbox therapy for SAD in conjunction with

HC/AF? - good or bad?

> Has anyone used a high-lux light-box (mine is 10,000 I think) for

> SAD or " near-SAD " ? Would this be good or not for AF? My feeling is

> that since the ACTH pattern is entrained by light via the SCN

> (supra-

> chiasmic nucleus - is though to integrate information about light

> signals), a stronger light signal in the morning (and perhaps other

> times) might help to repair the loop, or make less likely the

> possibility of suppression of the natural cycle.

>