#she took only one pill before the cardiologist immediately took those pills away from her

[incorrect-primarchs-quotes]

HonestlyYYYY!! Though now you intimidate me more, you're clearly a big league pharmacist. I just took a summer class to be a techie.

Though like the rude customers are both understandable (miserable, pain, feel icky) but also not because du d e it's not our fault the doctor did the wrong stuff

Don't be afraid, I'm really just tired or confused all the time😭

But yes, I've became kind of sus(?) of doctors now. I have a lot of things I could tell, like when this newly appointed doctor gave her first med to her own grandma - which is a family's friend - and I turned pale after hearing what drug she gave her.

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

He makes me livid! I get so mad!!! I don't understand him at all. He makes me go UGH but in bad ways.

I went off on him first before I realised what his problem was... Like total accusations and misfit drama. All paranoid loca. I don't give a shit.

I draw conclusions and those were the most obvious.

But when you know someone... You have to remember their stupidity. One time he confessed... And I already had decided to break up with him... I was all I'm waiting till his dad dies then I'm done. He's a good friend when he tries but he doesn't make me,a priority. And so I hadn't told him. I just tired of him,upsetting me so I had to remove me.

So he said he wouldn't do anything for his pain,then, he would take 2x his Percocet with 5 shots of tequila then treat me like shit.

I really hadnt noticed. I was all "oh he's just in his mood where he's decided I'm not important to him"

And true enough when he told me his dad died I walked away from our relationship.

But honestly ... Years later... I missed him.. Because he treated me best. Because I say I walked

I mean I left, completely.

But despite his faults he's always treated me best. I mean person to person. He didn't give me what I wanted from,the relationship. But as a low key friend, he understood me the most

He understood i was scared to go to sleep and he would stay on the phone and help,me,sleep so I could. No one else can do that. My daughter, if she was sleeping with me. I could listen to her breathe and I could fall asleep that way. Because it would calm my r breathing if she was sleeping that calm sleep,breath

But he knew all what to say. And I never had to tell him or even tell him I was afraid to sleep or even admit it to myself.

I hope this helps some of y'all that are anti medicine as well.

I don't like hospitals or doctors (I like my personal doctors But aside from them) in general. I'm afraid of them. They make me hostile. I feel like theyre some dangerous S&M dungeon

Go and wait for hours to get bad news then they don't give you what you need because you're so fucking exhausted they don't understand. Or don't care or are the ones that like to kill patients.

So I like my doctors although I have to wait for hours to see them past my appointment time, they take extra time to see me and cover what I think I need. Their quality is worth the wait. I have 3. Primary, Pain and Urgent Care. And I use the computer urgent care where I leave an online message after finishing a long ass quizz through the insurance website.

And whatever pills they give me, I Google to make sure they were right. They always are. Im also interested in what else the pills cover. Like i take 2 different anti seizure pills for pain and one also for insulin sensitivity increase and metabolic increase. And i take an antidepressant that also covers fibromyalgia.

I have 13 prescriptions. Monthly. Some I have to take more than once per day. Plus i take vitamins.

Then I Google the pharmacy pills to make sure the pharmacy was right.

So.

I get it. Sometimes I don't want to take 13 prescriptions more than once per day or even at all.

But we need to know what we are taking and why.

And why it is important.

And we need to take our medicine. So we can survive

I think this information is especially important during this epidemic.

Now realize that antibiotics are not useful on viruses unless the virus causes a bacterial infection. Like.

A cold is a virus but in some people like myself and used to in my daughter, causes a severe sinus infection which requires antibiotics.

I know the point at which we need antibiotics and so i go to my urgent care lady because she understands and we just do a walk in. And i don't overwhelm my doctor who is taking time to give quality care and has long waiting patients.

But otherwise a virus does not respond to antibiotics. And anti-virus medications are quite rare.

Flu shot... But not a cold shot..

So we take over the counter medicine for our symptoms. Like coughing and runny nose

Sinus pressure in the eyes, nose, teeth. Jaw.

If you have a tooth ache you can take sinus medicine. Because the worst tooth pain is actually in your sinus cavity! That's a secret trick. Works every time.

So basically anytime you have facial pain that doesn't respond to Tylenol or ibuprofen or alieve, you can take sinus medicine. Also ear pain.

Google sinus cavities in the face and you'll see why.

Now an ear and sinus infection is a bacteria, usually but usually our bodies can fight it Well without an anti biotic. As long as it is treated with over the counter medicine. But sometimes, like with myself and my daughter, sometimes an antibiotic is needed..but that is after at least a week to 10 days of serious green overflow that doesn't respond to over the counter medicine.

Sometimes the bacteria is lab revealed by terrorists during the "flu and cold season" to create an income for pharmaceutical companies. For my daughter and i, they're usually too strong for our immune system.

Although since my ex husband left town, my daughter's immune system has significantly became stronger. While mine has not. So she needs less antibiotics, than I do.

Otherwise, my body can fight it on its own with a few doses of otc.

I had a tooth pulled a few years ago.. It created a pathway to my sinuses. I could rinse water in my mouth and it would come out my nose. I saw an ear, nose and throat specialist whom said i needed surgery immediately to repair my nose.

I said no thank you mother fucker

I had to have clearance from my cardiologist. So i took a stress test and failed. So i had to have an ultra sound. It wasn't good. But they said I could have the surgery since it was simple.

I said that's cool, but I don't want to.

I haven't done it. So I get sinus infection and pain quite often. My bone structure in my nose is center in my right nostril. Meaning it's really fucking bad

From being punched in the face a lot. The surgery sounds fucking horrible. And it's a cosmetic change.

I'm all nope. I'm a single mom. She don't take good care of me. I'll drown in the blood sliding down the back of my throat.

The tooth removal was so bad... It was horrible. There was blood every where for days... I can only imagine the nose surgery would be the same

I also hate the smell of blood. So I'm like no. It sounds like the most miserable thing.

If I had someone to take care of me and baby me like a little blood soaked lamb in need of care... That's s different story.. But I don't have anyone that would take care of me

After my tooth... I was throwing up the blood and my kid just stood there and stared,. Which I wanted to hide it from her I was sick... But I was in the kitchen and began violently puking in the trash can... Scared her to death

"Mom I'm scared"

"I am, too. This has never happened before"

So yeah fuck that nose. I got one crooked fucking nose. And it makes me sick.

She wants me to have surgery so I'll quit snoring.

Well.

Ear plugs are at the Dollar Tree, babe.

So y'all take your pills that you need

Some one cares about you

And they don't want to slap your face off. But you'll drive them to it. And a crooked nose isnt all its cracked up to Be. It pretty much sucks.

I can't even blow it Like a normal person....

[happy4eternity]

Case 1: Day 1, Part 1

The music played in the background as the woman made breakfast. Pancakes were flipped as bacon cooked in another pan. The woman swayed to the music as the finished pancakes were taken from the pan as new ones replaced them in the pan. The bacon was removed from the pan where it joined other slices and the grease was drained. The song changed and the woman began to sing. Her voice matched the artist’s, and it was even sweeter, if not richer than the artist’s. She continued to sing as she set the table with three plates. When she set the pancakes and bacon on the table, the woman held the note of the song for eight counts, and finished the song. As she was making coffee, clapping could be heard in the background. The woman turned to see her two friends that spent the night. “I still believe that you picked the wrong career,” said one. The other nodded in agreement as she ate a piece of bacon. The woman laughed as she pilled a pot of hot water off the stove, pouring it over a tea bag for the one who was munching on the bacon. The friend who spoke first pulled her messy tight curls into a loose ponytail atop her head as she walked over to the cabinets. She reached in and pulled out her resident mug and helped herself to the coffee that just finished. She added cream and sugar, stirring it slowly and enjoying the strong and rich aroma of the dark liquid. “Where are the beans from?” she asked. “Costa Rica,” said the woman who sang, “Got them from Skank.” “For a neurosurgeon, he sure loves to travel to find the best coffee,” said the friend drinking tea. The other two agreed. The three sat down and ate the warm food. They all took their time and enjoyed each other’s company/ The three women hadn’t had a day off that matched up in a few months and they all wanted to take advantage of it. Their whole day was planned out, including a trip to the spa. “Rilletta?”asked the tea drinker, “Is there more hot water for tea?” “It’s on the stove,” Rilletta answered. The girl got up and began to walk away from the table. “Serena, can you bring the coffee pot as well?” she asked. Serena said she would. “What do you guys want to do after the spa?” asked Thyxia. Her curls managed to escape their confinement, and were now tied in a bun. “Can we get drinks?” Serena asked, placing the coffee pot in between her friend, “Maybe ask the boys to come?” “I’m down,” Rilletta replied, “But don’t try and set me up with anyone like last time; clear?” Her two friends laughed. “Alright deal,” Thyxia said. They sat and finished their food, with Thyxia and Serena cleaning up since Rilletta made the food. Once the dishes were in the dishwasher, the girls put on comfortable clothes and got into Rilletta’s car. Thyxia controlled the music and Serena spread out in the backseat. They all sang along with the music, helping the time pass. As the three arrived and began walking inside, Rilletta received a phone call. She shooed her friends inside saying she’d be in momentarily. “Cincotta,” she answered. “We got a hit,” said the person on the other line. “Taddeo, you know it’s my day off,” Rilletta said. She knew he was smiling. “I know,” Taddeo answered, “But I’d figure I should keep you in the loop.” “Thank you I appreciate it,” she replied, “What did y’all come up with?” “We were able to pull a print off the light switch in the bedroom. It belongs to a hired hitman that arrived under the alias ‘John Smith’.” “How original,” Rilletta commented, “Got a location?” “Nothing yet, but once we catch him and bring him in, we will call you and tell you what we come up with.” “I can always come in,” she said. “No chance,” Taddeo said, “This is your first day off in how long? Plus, your friends had to practically drag you out yesterday. If it’s urgent we will call you in.” Rilletta sighed. “Alright fine,” she replied, “But contact me if the situation changes.” “You got it.” The phone call ended. The massage lasted an hour and a half, and the girls agreed it could have gone longer. The hot stones and seaweed wrap felt nice, but when it came to the cucumbers on the eyes, they all ate their two slices. The sauna was the best part of the whole day. Sitting in a warm room and thoroughly relaxing made the girls wish they could stay like that for eternity. The last part of the spa day included a manicure and pedicure. Serena had pale blue nails and coral toes, complimenting her tanned skin and sun-kissed hair. Thyxia chose a lavender color to paint over her acrylic nails, and bright yellow toes. Rilletta went with her usual colors: black toenails and groomed nails, no color. She hadn’t had painted nails in a few years, let alone acrylic nails. Her job was too physical for them. By the time the women got out, it was well into the afternoon. Thyxia got an idea and made a phone call. “What are you up to?” Rilletta asked as Thyxia got into the car. Serena was smiling down at her phone as the passenger door closed. “Drive to my work,” she instructed, “You’ll see when we get there.” Rilletta followed Thyxia’s instructions. Once the car parked, the three women got out of the car and walked into the massive hotel. Their shoes clicked on the tiled floor and were greeted by the grand entrance. Once Thyxia was seen, one of the attendants rushed over to her and handed her three keys. They conversed for a few moments before she returned to her friends. “Here you go,” Thyxia sang. She passed the room keys to her friends. “Packages are in the room. Be in the bar in an hour,” she instructed, “Let’s go.” They all rode up to the top floor and split up from there. They were each in a suite, one at each corner of the building. When the women got into he rooms, a full spread of makeup could be seen on the vanity, along with a custom dress and pair of shoes on the bed. Rilletta laughed. “I’m going to murder those two,” she said, “After a few rounds of shots.” The hour passed and Rilletta made her way down the bar. She felt ridiculous being all dressed up, but then again, Thyxia ran a five star hotel. When she walked in, Rilletta saw her friends at the bar top. Her two best friends liked gorgeous as always, and so did their boyfriends. Diknar, Serena’s boyfriend, was a foot taller than her without shoes on. He played professional baseball and was primarily catcher when he wasn’t up to bat. Despite him being the best player across all platforms with a fast ball reaching over ninety-five miles per hour, catching was his favorite. He and Serena recently got engaged. Thyxia’s boyfriend was an Olympic diver with three gold medals. The two had met when he was staying at one of the branches in Beijing and she was with her mother on a business trip. The two stayed in touch over the years and after coming back from London with his second gold and the Olympic rings freshly tattooed, the two started dating. Bakalis was six foot with coconut skin. His hair was curlier than his lady’s, resulting in his hair being kept short. He had asked for Serena’s help making a ring for Thyxia, with Rilletta’s help. The other two with the group included Dr. Audex Drazig, commonly known as Skank by the girls, and his girlfriend NIkaze Paleridge, a renown cardiologist. The two hit it off when they found out they were the first in their families to go to college after moving to the US. Both made ground breaking research around the time they started dating and haven’t looked back since. By the time she had finished looking everyone over, she was noticed. The group ushered Rilletta over, where she was given a tequila shot. They made a toast and swallowed the liquid courage. The time passed for the group and they all sat and talked. Serena shared all of her new sketches for her upcoming show for fashion week. The sketches included a wide variety of clothing, shoes, and jewelry. She shared a few sketches for her bridal collection, but she was no where near completion. She also wouldn’t know show the sketches for her dress, saying she wanted to surprise everyone. The two doctors talked about their recent patients and challenges they’ve had to deal with. The two of them had conducted a transplant, a brain and a heart, both ending in success. Audex was also trying to see if there was a way to reverse Alzheimers, but so far hadn’t come up with anything. Nikaze was working on fixing irregular heartbeats found in embryos without the use of surgery once they are delivered. So far, she only had a small amount of information, and was working on gathering more. This was the first night the two had off in a few months, and everyone knew what their night entailed. After her third glass of water and the group finishing another plate of cauliflower bites, Rilletta received a phone call. She read the caller ID and immediately answered. Her boss told her that the man whose prints were found at the crime scene was only hired to clean the house that belonged to the dead man. That was his cover story anyways. When they used his real name and questioned him further, the man came clean about being a hit man, but that he was not ordered to kill the man they have. Rather, he came to warn the man. John Smith, as he liked to be called, explained his relationship with the dead man, and provided a list of other possible men who could have killed him. The names were being run through the system as the two conversed. “What do you need me to do?” Rilletta asked. “Keep an eye out for these people, I’m sending over photos now,” said her boss. “Got it.” Laughter could be heard in the background. “Where are you?” the boss asked. “I’m in the Palace, the bar in the Seabay Hotel,” she answered as she looked at the photos. “How did you get in?” he asked. RIlletta rolled her eyes. “You forget who my best friend is,” she answered. “That’s right,” he answered, “Sorry to take you away from your friends.” “No don’t be; everyone is being mushy with their partners,” she said, “Regardless, I’ll see what I come up with and let you know what I find.” The two hung up. Soon after, she received a call from her boss’ partner, Lt. Jaylon, saying she was being called to a new crime scene. She didn’t have time to change, only enough time to grab her gun and badge. “Gotta run,” she told her friends. She sighed in relief. “But it’s your day off!” Thyxia whined. “A cop never has a day off,” she replied, running out of the bar.

[phawareglobal]

Sarah Brackett - phaware® interview 232

Pulmonary hypertension patient Sarah Brackett discusses her devastating road to diagnosis, busting CTEPH through surgery and the importance of educating medical professions in rural areas to raise rare disease awareness.

My name is Sarah Brackett. I live in Manassas, Virginia. In my life, as far back as 1985, I've had 3 pulmonary emboluses, two of them following surgeries after a Greenfield filter was put in to prevent them. And within six months of the last one in 2004, I started getting very tired and short of breath, and I wasn't feeling good. I had three teenagers, so I was a busy mother. I went to the doctor, a lot of doctors, for six long years trying to find out what was wrong with me. I was getting worse and worse and worse.

Clueless doctors who gave me the most ridiculous theories that "you need to lose weight", "You need to change your vitamins." One even told me I had pulled a muscle in my neck. I could barely walk down the stairs. I couldn't hardly roll over in bed. Every day I was getting worse. I couldn't do the things that I was doing. It was a really bad place to be in. I can remember not being able to sleep, because I was so filled with fluid and so short of breath. You couldn't lay down, it made it worse.

I would try to get up at night and go to the bathroom, and I would just stand there. I knew I was dying. Something was clearly wrong with me, and I knew it. Why couldn't anybody tell me? It wasn't that I needed to lose weight or change my diet or take vitamins. Something was wrong and nobody's telling me. And I'm scared, really scared. And that's where it started.

I got so bad I couldn't walk 10 feet across the floor. My children, who were teenagers at the time, they were crying to their father, "Do something! Do something!" And I'm going back and forth to doctors, which just going to the doctor was the biggest effort of my whole week just to get to my car and sit there for 20 minutes until my heart stopped beating out my chest so I could drive it to get to the doctor. And then having to sit in my car for 10 minutes before I got out to try to get in the doctor's office. All the time, planning how many steps do they have? What do I have to do? Only to come out later with another ridiculous theory.

Finally, I was so sick I just wanted to die. I knew I was dying. I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of trying to find out what's wrong. So my husband literally picked me up and carried me to our van and took me to his doctor. I'd never seen her before. She took one look at me, and she said, "You're in heart failure." She wanted to call an ambulance right there to her office. I cried and begged, "Don't do that. If I'm going to die, I just want to do it at home. I want to do it at home."

She let me go home. She gave my husband phone numbers. She said, "Look for this, this, and this. Call this number." So she got me oxygen. It was at home by the time I got there. She setup appointments for cardiologist, and I was in bed for three months until my heart calmed down. The oxygen helped. I went to the cardiologist, they did all the tests. They are the ones that said I had pulmonary hypertension. I didn't know what that was. One of the technicians told me when she was doing an Echo. I said, "Is everything okay?" She said, "Well, I think a little pulmonary hypertension," she should never have told me that. But she did, and it was on a Friday. I went home and googled that term. It was terrible. It was the worst weekend of my life. I just knew from what I read that I wouldn't live two years, if I lived that long. I'd never see my children get married, I'd never see grandchildren.

She got me to good doctors. The doctor she got me to that diagnosed me, they sent me to Fairfax Hospital where I've met a good pulmonary hypertension specialist. They put me on Tracleer. Later, they added Adcirca. They, at first, were going to do Remodulin, but I have little pets. I was a little scared of that. I was just scared of the pet. So I asked them, "Can we do anything else?" So they did the Adcirca, they did the Tracleer. I was on that for a long time. I got a little better. They wanted me to go to pulmonary rehab, which I thought, "I'll never be able to do that." But I did. They were so wonderful. They let me take my daughter with me, and they were very good. They did the exercises with me. They checked my stats every time.

I got stronger. It was good stress reduction, and I really needed stress reduction at that point. I needed something to look forward to. It was really good. For someone who thought I would not enjoy it, I actually did enjoy it. I got better. It took four years of getting better until the doctors at Fairfax said, "You are the best we can get you." At that time, Adempas had come out. They took me off other medicines and put me on Adempas alone. I was still on oxygen, was on oxygen for four years.

They spent four years getting me better, and then they said, "You're as good as we can get you." I felt great other than lugging oxygen tanks and taking handfuls of pills a day. I really felt good. I accomplished a lot at that point. So they wanted to send me to California to UCSD. I just never been to California. I couldn't imagine having my family there with me, so I was like, "Oh, I don't know." My doctor, she knew Dr. Paul Forfia at Temple University Hospital, and so I went there.

I spent several months doing all the testing and procedures. They found I had AFib due to the stress of the pulmonary hypertension. So we had to do procedures to take care of that. They found that I had absolutely no blood flow in the bottom of my lungs. This was by the pulmonary angiogram. You could see it. And so they spent months getting me the best I could be for that very serious surgery.

I had that very serious surgery on June 1st of 2015. I did very well. I was hyped when I went into the OR. It had been a 10-year journey. I told them I was elated. I said, "Please, put me to sleep and bust the CTEPH for me." And they said, "You're a very brave lady." That's all I remember.

I had the surgery, and I was home in about 10 days. I was on oxygen for a couple more weeks. But then I was able to get rid of it. I felt good. No more expensive meds, no oxygen. I felt great. I was out going and doing and trying to make up for all the things I missed. Then at three months, I went back to Philadelphia for a checkup. I did the six-minute walk, no oxygen. I'd just aced it. I was so excited to see my doctor. They did an echocardiogram. He came in, and I was so excited to see him. He said, "Well, we got a little problem." I went, "What? What's the problem?" He said, "Well, you have a little fluid around your heart." I said, "Okay, what do we do? Do we take a pill for that? What do we do?" One more thing. "No," he said, "we have to drain that off." I went, "What?"

So he explained that my heart, which was so enlarged, that had worked for such a long time beating at a marathon runner's pace was enlarged. After the surgery, my heart started to calm down, and so it started to shrink. That area fills up with fluid, that space where it shrunk. This was not good. After that six-minute walk, they immediately put me in a wheelchair, put me back into cardiac intensive care, where they had to insert a tube in my chest. And so I was in there for another week. They drained that fluid off. I had no symptoms of distress. I felt great. They let me go home. And I've been great ever since.

A year after my surgery, they found that my pressures were at the higher end of normal than the middle where they wanted it to be. This was a long ways from when I was very sick, and they were about 120 something. Now they were in normal range. They decided to put me back on a very low dosage of Adempas. I just take one milligram of Adempas three times a day, and I'm doing great.

Now people say, "Are you cured?" Well, I have a hard time with that. I can't say I'm cured. I can say that I am so much better. But I can't walk away from this. It was 10 years total of my life, and I have a hard time walking away. I feel like I have to give back. I'm better, I can do more. But I know a lot of people who aren't. And what can I do? So I am a co-leader of our Northern Virginia PH Support Group. I run a Facebook group for CTEPH, and that gives me great pleasure. I spend a lot of time every day on the computer talking to people, trying to get people to understand that if you have this, this and this, symptom… there are something that you might have. I don't ever want anyone to be as sick as I was. It was the scariest time in my life to know that I really felt like I was dying.

I went through a lot to have my children, and I was in the position that I was scared I was going to leave them. Before all of this, when I was very sick, I was so scared that I wouldn't be here for my children. They were teenagers. I wouldn't be here to see them get married. I wouldn't be here to see them become the teacher and the nurse that I knew they wanted to be. How would I explain to them that I'm dying? That mom's just not sick, I'm dying. But now, now after my surgery, now that I've thrown away the oxygen, I've thrown away the medicines, I did see that daughter become a nurse. I did see that daughter become a teacher. And I am going to be a first-time grandmother. So for all the pain and agony I went through for 10 years, I can't walk away from it. I work every day to help others. But I'm looking forward to a future now.

After all of this, so many people every day of their lives, they complain. After all of this, you learn don't sweat the small stuff anymore. Really. It's just being able to live to end of your day and breathe. It's being able to walk to your mailbox without feeling like you're going to die. It's those little things in life you take for granted that once they're taken away, you realize how important they are.

My children and my husband probably get really tired of hearing me flap my jaws about my story, but I want to reach that one person in the grocery store thinking, "Oh, my husband sounds like that." Or, "My sister has those problems." That's the one I want to reach, because I don't want their relative to be as sick as I was. The more we talk, the more we get out in the not so much the big cities, but the small communities. Up in the hills where there's little hometown doctors that've been there for 40 years. I want to get to them. I want to get to those people. I actually have a relative who's since passed away, and she lives way up in West Virginia. She had pulmonary hypertension. Nobody did anything to help her, and she died. That's just so sad. If we could have gotten her down to the city where good doctors are.

So all the talk we do, whether it's out of my mouth or a podcast or a piece of paper or a conference, that's what gets the word out there. And that's what I want to do. This mouth will work for a long time.

My name is Sarah Brackett, and I am aware I'm rare.

Learn more about pulmonary hypertension trials at www.phaware.global/clinicaltrials. Never miss an episode with the phaware® podcast app. Follow us @phaware on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube & Linkedin Engage for a cure: www.phaware.global/donate #phaware #ClinicalTrials @antidote_me

Listen and View more on the official phaware™ podcast site

[ionecoffman]

A DNA Test Can Trick You Into Believing You’re a Terrible Runner

The first thing you should know is that the DNA-test results everyone got in this study were fake.

That was on purpose. Over the course of a year, psychologists at Stanford recruited 223 participants for a study that would help scientists create personalized nutrition and exercise programs—or so they were told. What the two researchers, Bradley Turnwald and Alia Crum, most wanted to investigate was how the participants would react after they took DNA tests and learned their genetic propensities for exercise and diet.

Others have studied how a DNA test can motivate people to change their lifestyles—or not—but Turnwald and Crum had something deeper in mind. Could learning the results of DNA tests change not just behavior, but the body itself at a molecular level?

To find out, they came up with a somewhat devious approach. The placebo effect, for comparison, is rooted in physiology: When someone takes a sugar pill and reports less pain, his or her brain is actually releasing natural painkillers called endorphins. Perhaps something similar happens when you find out about your genes.

The Stanford team devised two experiments. About half of the participants got a result—a fake one—for a gene linked to exercise, then had to run on a treadmill. The other half got a result for a gene linked to hunger, then had to drink a 480-calorie smoothie. Those told they had the “worse” version of the genes ran shorter and reported feeling hungrier than others. Curiously, even their lung function and hunger hormone levels appeared to change.

“I’m not all that surprised at the results,” says Steven Heine, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia, who was not involved with the study. Heine studies how people react to DNA test results, and he says they tend to interpret genetic information “in very deterministic ways.”

At the same time, it’s getting easier and easier to buy a DNA kit online. The Food and Drug Administration regulates tests like 23andMe that give information about specific disease risks, but “wellness” DNA tests are nebulous and far less regulated. The tests might promise a diet or exercise plan tailored to your genes, but there isn’t much evidence DNA-based plans are better for losing weight, since genes explain only a tiny bit of the variation in body mass from person to person.

Turnwald and Crum, in their study, decided to straight-up give participants a random genetic result. Considering the deception involved, says Turnwald, they didn’t want to deliver a made-up genetic risk for diseases like Alzheimer’s or cancer, but they did want to pick something meaningful. They settled on obesity and selected two genes: CREB1, which is linked to aerobic-exercise capacity, and FTO, which is linked to hunger cues.

The team also consulted with Stanford’s institutional-review board, which oversees all human-subjects research, on the ethics of their research plan. Each participant ultimately had to come in three times: to get a DNA test, to do an initial treadmill or smoothie test, and then to get their fake DNA-test results and immediately redo their treadmill or smoothie test. At the end of the third visit, the team revealed the true nature of the study to the participants and gave them the option of finding out their real DNA-test results.

Compared to their initial baseline tests, people who were told they had the high-risk version of CREB1 ran for less time than before, and people told they had protective version of FTO reported being less hungry than before. The team didn’t just rely on these self-reported measures. The people who ran on treadmills wore masks measuring the oxygen and carbon dioxide in their breaths. The people who drank the smoothie had their blood drawn to test for hunger hormone levels. The participant’s bodies agreed with their perceptions of fatigue and hunger.

If these effects persist over time, the genetic information could end up being self-fulfilling prophecies. The participants were never deceived for more than an hour, though, which limits the conclusions of the experiment. “This was a very short-term experiment,” says Eric Topol, a cardiologist and geneticist at  the Scripps Research Institute. He adds that the field is also moving away from single-gene analyses toward polygenic risk scores, which look at the effect of thousands of different genes. A large ongoing study in Finland is finding that a polygenic risk score for heart disease can in fact motivate people to lose weight and quit smoking.

Before embarking on this study, both Turnball and Crum both took DNA tests to experience it themselves. Crum found out she has the protective form of the exercise gene and the high-risk form of the hunger gene. “I was not surprised about either of those and sort of found myself being like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m an athlete and a runner because I have this gene’ and ‘Oh that’s why I’m so hungry.’”

But, she added, “Does this just make sense to me or am I making it make sense?”

Article source here:The Atlantic