Addiction and long-term effects

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

"The EPA has officially removed saccharin and its salts from their list of hazardous constituents and commercial chemical products. In a December 14, 2010 release, the EPA stated that saccharin is no longer considered a potential hazard to human health."
From Wikipedia:Saccharine#Warning_label_addition_and_re moval. There isn't definitive evidence of a single artificial sweetener having adverse effects in humans, even in large quantities, as far as I know. At least not the big three: aspartame, saccharin, or sucralose.

And the sugar alcohols cause uncomfortable flatulence at best. That said, my concern - for blood sugar control purposes - with sugar alcohols would be to stick to the lower glycemic index sugar alcohols. So lactitol, xylitol, erythritol, good (very little impact on blood sugars). As far as I know, the popular sugar alcohols used for sweetening diabetic candies, maltitol and mannitol, not so good (they can raise blood sugars per unit serving about as much as glucose).

Didn't know the consensus changed on saccharine. It still tastes horribly bitter to me. Then again, cilantro tastes like liquid hand soap and look at how many people enjoy that.
I found that managing my diabetic diet is not as simple or obvious as I had assumed. Some "healthy" substances spike my blood sugar, while a few "less healthy" ones don't or even act to reduce it. I prefer hard and fast rules, but my body keeps getting all subjective and indeterminate on me.

[Anders]

Could we return to the addiction part?

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Could we return to the addiction part?

What if I'm addicted to forum tangents?

Long term effects of anything are the stuff of massive studies. I'm not so sure that generic rules should be made for even individual addictive chemicals.
For example, "everyone knows" that alcoholism blows out your liver. But my gf worked in an assisted care facility with an alcoholic with a perfectly healthy liver but alcohol induced dementia. The immediate effects of alcohol ingestion are pretty predictable, but the long term effects, not so much.

[Anders]

Yes, but you remember that guy because he was an exception. You forget about the hundred dudes who had liver failure.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

For example, "everyone knows" that alcoholism blows out your liver. But my gf worked in an assisted care facility with an alcoholic with a perfectly healthy liver but alcohol induced dementia. The immediate effects of alcohol ingestion are pretty predictable, but the long term effects, not so much.

Right. Alcohol increases the probability of liver failure, but doesn't make it a certainty.

Game mechanically, I'd treat things like Aging and degenerative conditions as periodic CP loss, but I'd leave it up to the GM (with possible input from the player) to determine how those disadvantage points are "spent". The particular type of disease or addiction will influence, but not dictate, what disadvantages are gained.

Obviously, having a character lose CP over time is not appropriate in all games. In one-shot adventures or short-running games such a condition is no more than a Quirk. In many other games it simply doesn't fit the tone, and may be more appropriate to Dependents than adventurers. If a PC has a degenerative disease I'd have the player prepare a backup character that they can switch to as their primary becomes too frail to adventure.

[trans]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

But my gf worked in an assisted care facility with an alcoholic with a perfectly healthy liver but alcohol induced dementia.

I'm more worried about my brain than my liver, too, and that is what I keep telling a friend of mine who had a life-threatening seizure a couple of months ago due to alcohol withdrawal.

By the way, I seem to have tapered off my consumption enough that I will be able to stay out of the hospital this time. Now to get totally dry and stay that way.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Yes, but you remember that guy because he was an exception. You forget about the hundred dudes who had liver failure.

Woman. But I just mentioned her because long term predictions are inherently unreliable.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by trans

I'm more worried about my brain than my liver, too, and that is what I keep telling a friend of mind who had a life-threatening seizure a couple of months ago due to alcohol withdrawal.

By the way, I seem to have tapered off my consumption enough that I will be able to stay out of the hospital this time. Now to get totally dry and stay that way.

Same with me and diabetes. I could live blind and footless, but those brain effects are far too scary to risk.
Good luck, stay strong, good thoughts, and all the other over used trite sayings of sympathy. :)

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by trans

By the way, I seem to have tapered off my consumption enough that I will be able to stay out of the hospital this time.

Well done!

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by trans

By the way, I seem to have tapered off my consumption enough that I will be able to stay out of the hospital this time. Now to get totally dry and stay that way.

Congratulations! I wish you well as you pursue your long term goal.