I am curious. At the moment I am in an ascetic mood and have decided to fast over the whole weekend (Sat AM - Mon AM). I want to know what it's going to feel like if hunger is ever forced upon me.

Really, fasting is not quite so bad, although I deeply regret drinking that cup of coffee in the morning because fasting+caffeine does not mix. Apart from the slightly jittery hands and lower energy, no problemo for the short duration.

-- Coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), February 27, 1999

Answers

Coprolith????? Give me a break! Troll Alert!!!!!!!!! If you don't know what a coprolith is grab a dictionary.....Knowledge is power.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), February 27, 1999.

Few in the USA. Some fast for religious reasons...some to lose weight....and now some like yourself as an experiment....and we hear the stats on how many children die each day from starvation in the world.

I am home at the moment taking a breather from the Y2k Summit and Town Meeting here in Phoenix. It ends tonite with Pat Boone and local folks giving us an update and taking questions. The afternoon program began with Craig Smith (the main man) introducing a special guest he had promised...it was a cute young girl which he held in his arms...he said, "this is the reason we are here...so that she will not know hunger in a few months". It was a real emotional grabber!!!

-- ronbanks (phxbanks@webtv.net), February 27, 1999.

Now Donna, the troll just needs a few high colonics ;-D

Really, these ossified relics need more intestinal fortitude. Their archaic outlook within their smug confines needs to be loosened up. Surely the recent news will help stimulate more willingness to let go of certain retentional assitudes?

Reading csy2k helps get one ready for all sorts of ascetic simulations. Perhaps Coprolith would like to zoom on up over there for a dose.

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 27, 1999.

I'm not a troll. I just use a funny email alias, otay? Geez, sorry I've offended so many of you. That was not intended. Really I am just a regular guy like the rest of you, as well as a GI who's trying to prepare for Something and make sense of all the garbled information.

-- Coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), February 27, 1999.

How many names does feces have? Does his name make him a troll? I found his question interesting and germane to y2k.

And everytime someone yells troll alert I find it demeaning to the intelligence of the forum group.

-- KaKa (x@x.com), February 27, 1999.

Ah, well,...mea culpa. We have been inundated with trollish nonsense....a thread about starvation from someone with the name Coprolith rang my troll chimes....We mean you no harm.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), February 27, 1999.

It isn't a troll problem, but how many times do we have to plow exactly the same ground on this NG ?

Hunger Experience Thread

-- Blue Himalayan (bh@k2.y), February 27, 1999.

Coprolith, not a regular guy, but maybe not a troll? Those high colonics do wonders for irregularities too. Some ppl even do coffee bolices for the boost. In all our years of nursing, never have done that.

How long have you read this Forum, rocketship? We've been plagued by trolls on weekends, but one particularly unstable morphing naughty one has been having a field day on & off, recently ON all the time. As a result the Yourdynamites tend to beat up on possible splits of the MPD.

Coprolith, you'll need a special introduction to Paul Milne, who will take particular interest in your name and question. His specialty involves frequent exclamations of a proctological nature. This should be rich. Welcome to the YourDoneEres!

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-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 27, 1999.

So Donna, you really think he's full of it? His/her idea is sensible though. Unless of course, his/her idea of fasting is gorging on his namesake ;-)

Leska fergawdsake! You've been inhaling coprolia for too long, it's obviously affecting you ;-)

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), February 27, 1999.

My dicty does not contain coprolith. Lith, must be some kind of rock. Don't worry as much about hunger as about the feed:

" Because I worked hard, I lost weight. My ribs protruded and I was hungry all the time. At six feet, I weighed one hundred-fifty pounds. Once, after a dinner, Aunt H. asked J. to finish some peas, which she declined. When H. offered them to me, I wanted to devour them, but J. said, Ill eat them because I dont want him to have them. That was OK, for unbeknownst to my masters, I robbed them to supplement my daily bread. I ate the grain of their cows, as well as the linseed and milk replacer for their calves. Evidence in this feed indicated that rodents were stealing this as well.

-- Not Again! (seenit@ww2.com), February 27, 1999.

Wow...in the time it took me to write my reply, 4 more replied :-p...I need a fast writing course :-p

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), February 27, 1999.

BTW, lets give Coprolith a chance shall we? After all, E. Coli turned out to be one of our best contributors.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), February 27, 1999.

Dear Chris,

Synchronicity.

-- Not Again! (seenit@ww2.com), February 27, 1999.

Not Again, you and I are coprolith in the best sense of the word. We know our stuff! ;-)

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), February 27, 1999.

OK! Donna, your instincts are right-on. Our troll-O-meter is dinging madly. Coprolith is our irratic same ole morphing troll who puts so much energy and ingenuity into his many guises. This time he jerked his slippery chains around a dictionary and tucked it into his hidey-hole. We'll prolly see more Latin 'n Greek derivatives soon. Donna, this troll, JBD of the thousand names, pokes around every thread, picking up clues and flavors and idiocyncrasies and regurges them back at us in odd mixtures. If only he picked up all the prep tips as well! He'd out-bunker the best of the most perinoids. Yes, that one's for you, Chris ;-D "I never inhale" LOL!

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-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 27, 1999.

Okay...deal...sorry for jumping the gun. Adrenaline runs pretty high here. It's why lately, after a year of preparation, I spend most of my time in the humor threads. You can dress me up, but you can't take me out.

Time will tell.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), February 27, 1999.

Yes I do and its no picnic!!! During my military training in the late 70's I went from 6'3 and 210 lbs. to 170. During particularly long L.R.P's (long range patrols) I could drop another 10 lbs. and that was while eating particularly tasty C-rations (no mre's then) some of which were made in the 50's. As I posted earlier, you can eat almost anything if you get hungry enough. I have eaten rat, snake, grubs (taste kind of nutty when roasted) and assorted other things I'm to embarrassed to mention. The point is, you CAN get by on many different things if the need arises. As for me, I will survive-- I just pray it doesnt come down to that. If it does, I'm sure when the kids get hungry enough, they'll join me. Charlie P.

-- Charlie P. (nospamforme@maybelater.com), February 27, 1999.

I'm in agreement with the Blue Himalayan about many threads on this forum address potential famine. Folks who've participated at Yourdon's a while will remember this one and many others. Here's a currently active one with URL and link:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000Y8y

Another famine discussion

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), February 27, 1999.

Here are a couple of random comments.

Blue: thank you for the link, it was very interesting. Sorry to be redundant.

To all: Yourdon's forum is a great way to kill time during a 5-15 minute incubation on a sat. evening. (Hopefully the DNA yield will be good so I can go home and catch the Duke-Carolina game). But really, with all due respect, I believe that a sense of humor is HIGH on the list of attributes needed to get you through Tough Times. If some Joker is "pulling your leg" with (gasp) a bit of silliness, you will feel a lot better if you laff it off rather than getting bitter and angry.

Which brings me to another tangent. Bitterness and anger are exactly what I have been feeling lately at how the world seems to have failed me re: Y2K and TSHTF. I am young and poor and still trying to struggle with the basics of navigating the "real world;" now this reality may include all kinds of messes that I never made but will be forced to "mop up" for perhaps decades. No one ever told me about the world hanging on the brink of precipitous collapse. No one ever told me that we as a society would ever be this stupid. It certainly wasn't on the evening news (though lately there may have been a slight change in tone among the anchors). Nevertheless, the bitterness and anger that stews inside you only serves as an energy sink, and in the meantime, may leak out to your friends, loved ones, and strangers in ways you do not intend. Ya got to let it go if you want to make the most of what little time you might have...and laughter is the best antidote to both fear and anger.....

-- Coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), February 27, 1999.

I'm with you on this Coprolith...(you really wanna be a fossil?) The disappointment factor is high,...and I am not quite middle-aged and poor. Thought I dispensed with most of my illusions 'til all this came along. Dang, I hate when that happens. Hope you can forgive my contempt prior to investigation...somedays are diamond, some days are stone (as you probably know LOL)

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), February 27, 1999.

I went out for a while deep into the woods and started a little campfire. It was so relaxing that I actually remembered what it was like to be totally carefree like a child. And to think that just a half mile away from my hustle and bustle life in the big city could lie such a heavenly respite from an ugly world.

Freedom is out there folks. Y2K or No Y2K I am seriously considering altering my lifestyle. I can almost smell the salmon roasting somewhere in Alaska as I share a laugh with people I trust. And then to settle in for a good night's sleep under the stars without having the droning sounds of an electronic alarm clock waking me up & reminding me that the "civilized" world is beckoning.

-- (AES2010@aol.com), February 27, 1999.

Wow Coprolith, your last post was so filled with deep insight...just how young are you?

Donna, this certainly could be another E. Coli or Leo :-)

Welcome to the Madness, Coprolith. I'm looking forward to read your contributions, Y2K clueless or not.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), February 27, 1999.

I agree Chris...causing even more rotten guilt for my earlier meltdown!

In my flapping sheets, Breathing for return to center.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), February 27, 1999.

Yes, I have gone hungry when I was in college. I walked many miles and burned up everything I ingested. My body could not sustain itself with normal meals. Sometimes at night I could not sleep for HOURS. I was tormented with hunger. My stomach was in agony! I hated those days!

I confess that sometimes I stalked a local donut shop with fantasies of stealing tasty donuts. Being truly hungry makes you have weird thoughts. One time there was a pizza delivery vehicle nearby. I opened a door, saw pizza, and took it! True account. I'm ashamed to admit it, but the drive to eat is very powerful.

BTW, if you're the least bit hungry now, consider stocking up on dried and canned goods. Hunger is a base inspiration for nourishment. Whatever you procure NOW will sustain you when the hard times arrive!

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), February 27, 1999.

Cop, you mention the Duke-Carolina game. I'm not a sports person but I know enough to know that these games are usually held around here, i.e., Durham or Chapel Hill. Are you still in the area or were you just at one of those schools?

Having been hungry once, and hearing my toddler ask for more food when there wasn't any, I don't like to think about hunger much. Now that I have diabetes I have to eat every two hours or so, otherwise things start to get out of kilter. I find it irksome to have to eat so often; I don't think I'll ever get used to it. For me, shortage of food is the most frightening aspect of Y2K.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 27, 1999.

coprolith:

Hang in there! Remember to drink plenty of water. Avoid stressful situations. I know that's difficult, but your physical body requires adequate rest. Don't cut short your sleep time.

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), February 27, 1999.

Dear Old Git:

I'm sorry to learn you have diabetes. I didn't know. :(

I guess you must maintain a suitable blood sugar level. I hope you've stocked up on high caloric foods which can give you quick energy. I've read about the need to ingest fruits and vegetables, but those foods sometimes take too long to activate the glucose in the bloodstream. It's a bloody stream of activation, is it not?

BTW, has your Sweetie ever posted? Just curious. :)

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), February 27, 1999.

Hey Dinosaur,

It's not so bad really, I don't have to do shots yet. I really worry about those folks who have to have insulin--it has to be refrigerated. Yup, I keep an eye on my sugar levels, take regular readings. As for the high-calorie food, one of the reasons old gits get diabetes is because they're fat. I'm no longer fat, dropped 25lbs in one hell of a hurry, but I'm still overweight.

By the way, y'all had better keep a check on your glucose levels because diabetes is already being talked about as an epidemic. Better to deal with hyperglycemia than diabetes.

My doctor (at Duke Medical Center) suggested I take chromium and evening primrose oil supplements in addition to medicine because they've gone through proper clinical trials and have been shown to be efficacious. Seems to have worked, I've cut the med by one-third. The doc will be willing to prescribe some stash medication, I know, but I'll also load up on the supplements in case I run out of allowable meds. (Insurers can be a problem, can't they?) Hope y'all will pass this along to any diabetic friends--I'm not giving medical advice, just passing on an anecdote.

As for Sweetie, no he hasn't posted here. Sweetie's favorite forum is a libertarian site, libertynation.com. I don't know if he uses a nom de plume--but I'm sure he doesn't post under Sweetie!

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 27, 1999.

I went without food for 72 hours once as an experiment to see how it would feel. The second day the hunger pain is gone and the same for the third day. The hardest is the first day. Once you are past that, no more hunger.

-- Freddie the Freeloader (freddie@aol.com), February 27, 1999.

On a related note...

While true hunger is bad for adults, it is a critical issue for kids. Kids will never recover from some combinations of malnutrician and growth. I think the problem is especially pronounced for the very young. If you lack the proper nutrients when very young, your brain will never fully develop, as I recall.

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous.com), February 28, 1999.

Charlie P.----Welcome home, Brother. I too spent my time there and also went hungry, Green Eggs and Ham...sounds good if it's Dr Suess...lousy if it's what you're eating. The big problem with hunger is that it affects your thinking severely. You begin to make irrational decisions based on your stomach not your brain. Yes your stomach doesn't hurt after the second day or so but you begin to burn muscle tissue not fat. The body does not replace this tissue very well and instead turns your caloric intake to fat to safeguard itself against "the next time". Best not to go hungry.

Ole Git...talk to an osteopathic physician regarding your non-insulin dependent diabetes. Glad you are able to cut your medicines down. I had similar troubles 28 years ago when there were no glycosides to control sugar. Try taking chromium picolinate. My doc put me on this---400 mcg daily for a month then reduced it to 200 mcg daily forever. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. Don't try this without doing monitoring of your blood sugar. My glucose level went from fasting 170-210 down to 80-110 fasting in about three weeks. I quit having sugar crashes in the middle of the day and I lost weight without dieting. My EKG straightened out too. Again, DON'T try this without supervision. Good luck. Ready for a Mac and fries. Lobo

-- Lobo (Hiding@woods.com), February 28, 1999.

Thanks, Lobo. I'm taking chromium and evening primrose and also E and gingko, the first two at my doctor's suggestion the second two I think I found at the Am. Diabetes Assoc. site. All have been in clinical trials, properly controlled and all that. Any diabetics out there might want to discuss these supplements with their doctors--they were actually tested on insulin-dependent diabetics, by the way, but they work for Type IIs as well.

Coprolite--you old fossil, were you burning benches tonight at Duke or were you drowning your sorrows on Franklin Street? I hear Duke won.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 28, 1999.

Twenty four hour no food or water is as long as I've gone. Many days all I eat is coffee, two slices toast, and maybe an apple, then install kitchen countertops all day without stopping. Most times just water after that. End of day regular meal.

I've never been a big eater but I think most can adjust to less and become leaner and meaner (nicer?)

-- Mark Hillyard (foster@inreach.com), February 28, 1999.

I've never been that hungry. I know two people who have. Both now deceased.

One guy, back about 1949, decided to do a strict fast to get himself in shape spiritually. He overdid it, contracted polio and rheumatic fever, barely pulled through, ended up with permanent disabilities, though still able to hold a job. He died suddenly in 1975 of massive heart failure.

The other fellow was 2 years old when his parents fled from Latvia ahead of the returning Russian army. The winter trek -- on foot -- across Lithuania, Poland and Germany was grim. Never enough to eat, hardly ever warm, the refugee columns strafed several times by Russian fighters. Somehow the boy became blind. Years later in the U.S. the blindness was determined to be the result of severe malnutrition when a child.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), February 28, 1999.