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Speaker 2This episode is brought to you by TXU Energy. For the first time ever, Texans have an energy plan that combines free nights all year with daytime summer savings. It's called Free Nights and Cool Summer. You get free nights every night, all year long, plus a 25% bonus toward your daytime use all summer. It's a first-of-its-kind plan, created for how Texans actually use energy. Discover how much more you could save with Free Nights and Cool Summer. TXU Energy. Energy for everything. Visit TXU.com for more information. Rep number 10004.
Speaker 3So you just get sober, you're looking for answers, you're tired, you're going through post-acute withdrawal syndrome or pause, and things are tough, you're looking for answers, you're looking for solutions to the way you feel, you're not sleeping enough, you're, you know, you feel fat or out of shape because of all the poor behaviors and addiction and all the poor choices you had been making, and people start talking to you about a simple solution to all your problems. And it's, you know, it's effective. And you see these influencers posting on social media. It's peptides. This is the new thing now where everybody is telling you that you can solve all of your problems by sticking a needle in your stomach and buying it online and it's easy to get and buy my product and get a discount code and it's cheap and this and that. I'm going to talk about peptides today. I'm not going to talk about the science behind each one. I'm not going to explain exactly what each individual one does. I am not going to promote them. Here I am not anti-peptide. I want to make this clear, but I am not pro-peptide either. Lord knows I've put ridiculous amounts of unknown chemicals into my body. I want to do this episode to promote awareness about the dangers of peptides and putting in unknown, untested, un-FDA approved products and maybe how you can get, you can look for other ways to find your healing, to find your peace, to find your quiet, to find your contentment. And I'm going to talk a little bit about, you know, what it's like to be addicted, to be addicted to drugs, to be addicted to a drug, to be addicted to alcohol. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what it's like to be addicted to drugs. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what it's like to be addicted to drugs. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what it's like to be addicted to drugs. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what it's like to be addicted to drugs. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what it's like to be addicted to drugs. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what it's like to be addicted to drugs. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what it's like to be addicted to drugs. I'm looking for the microwave mentality, the pill, that's going to fix all my problems. And that's what I've been doing for so long. So when I come into recovery and you tell me that this simple vial is going to fix my eating problem or my sleep problem or my beauty problem, my skin problem, whatever the problem is, it's a low hanging fruit. I want to, I want quick fixes. I want solutions. So let's get into it. We're going to talk about peptides and I want to raise awareness about them. This is not a scientific podcast. I am not a scientist, a doctor. I am just going to tell you my experience. I've tried many peptides before. I've tried many performance enhancing drugs and steroids. As a result, I am still on testosterone replacement therapy today because of all the steroid use I had exhibited in my past. And now my body is used to the hormone and the artificial insemination, if you will, of testosterone. So now I have to take exogenous testosterone to keep my levels stable because anyone knows with low testosterone. It is miserable. It's a horrible place to be when your hormones are out of whack. And so let's dive into it. So what these influencers, these people that are taking peptides don't mention is that it's unapproved. A lot of them, there's no long-term human data for a lot of them. And the financial ties to the products. I get money when you use my discount code and buy my peptides. You're seeing a lot of this on social media. A lot of influencers that are paid by these peptide companies, these third party companies that are paid by these peptide companies, they're getting paid by this. 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So why people in recovery specifically, the dopamine system is already dysregulated. We are wired to seek relief, especially when we feel bad, we feel sad, we feel uncomfortable. The shortcut to healing pitch, it's different when you've been white knuckling it for months. I feel unsafe. I need to get out of this. I'm going to relapse if I don't fix this problem. That's where I was. I don't like the way I look. So I'm going to use this thing to feel better about myself, to look better. And it's going to solve my problem. When really the work is deeper, it's under the surface that we need to do. There's no outside thing that'll fix your problem. I always say that it's an inside job recovery. I can't use outside things to fix my insides. And if I keep using outside things, I'm going to relapse eventually because the outside things aren't going to work. I'm going to process of eliminate all the things, the car, the money, the body until I use substances, because that's my failed solution that worked at one time. The other thing that happens too, that's dangerous is when these compounds fail, and you start using more and more. I tried every peptide, every steroid. I eventually got to a point where I was like, well, I've already tried Trendalone, which is a very dangerous steroid. Now I'm going to just do Adderall because I'm already gone this far. I've already tried these things, whatever. My brain adapts. My brain starts to talk to me and tell me that it's okay. I've already come this far. What's one more compound? What's one more thing? I'm going to control it. I've controlled all the other things. I'm going to control this. That's the dangerous part. When you're going to control it, you're going to control it. When you're going to control it, you're going to control it. So just be honest through it. Recognize, be aware of what's happening inside your, between your ears. So there's community vulnerability because recovery spaces trust pure testimonial. If I, if I'm listening to someone in recovery that has years talk about how this is safe and they haven't relapsed, then I'm going to use it because it's safe. They haven't done it. That's the dangerous thing here is that I'm not like that person. My brain doesn't work the exact same that that person does. For all we know, they're not a real addict and they're just a heavy drinker in recovery. So I'm going to control it. I'm going to control it. I'm going to control it. They're in recovery. I don't know. So the relapse risk, nobody talks about, this is the dangerous part here. Normalizing self-injection, ordering substances online, taking something that alters how you feel, even if you don't realize it, those are behaviors that are obvious parallels to something we should be talking about. Honestly, honestly, this is the thing that I always talk about is that I relapsed on old behaviors and secrets and this double life and dishonesty and, and character defects. Long before I relapsed on meth and Adderall and cocaine, this is the slow progression of addiction. It finds the back hole, the back door in your brain to get you to use your old substance again. It's a matter of time. It's cunning, baffling, powerful, and patient, this addiction. So the evidence problem, what there's research in quotation. So there's research to back my claim, what it actually means versus what people think it means. Animal studies does not equal human evidence. Rats are not real people. Pilot studies with 12 people, no control group run by the clinic selling the treatment. That's not proof. These people that are backing the studies are sell the ones selling it. They're funding the studies. They're the ones selling it. You got to be aware of this stuff. NAD therapy, one of the most established compounds in this space is still not approved to treat addiction and hasn't been tested in enough people to say it works or how well. Another problem is the single research group problem. Almost all existing data on some of these compounds comes from a single group of researchers, meaning findings haven't been independently replicated. Emerging science being used as cover for what we don't actually know. So we're using the word phrase emerging science. This is emerging science. We're on the brink of something great here. It's being used as a coverup for basically we don't actually know. What real evidence looks like is large, randomized, controlled trials, independent replication, peer review, long-term safety data. Ask for that bar every time. That should be the bar you're looking at, the standard. So again, I'm not anti-peptide. Do whatever you want. It's your body. If you are honest about it, maybe you can get through it without relapsing. But at the end of the day, what am I trying to fix here? Am I trying to fill a God-sized hole that I should be working on the inside from? Or am I just going to look for external things for the rest of my life to satisfy my issue, my codependency, my self-pity issue, my selfishness issue, my self-esteem issue, my confidence issue? Should I be working on something else? The problem I have with all of this is the exploitation of a genuine gap. The post-acute withdrawal is under addressed in conventional treatment. That's real. The predatory actors are filling that gap with products instead of solutions. Quick fixes, microwave mentality, the silence on risk. Nobody in the influencer space is talking about unknowns around long-term use, quality control failures, contradictions with medications people in recovery are actually on. That's another thing. Is this going to contradict with my medication? I don't know. The just try it culture in any other context, we'd never tell someone in recovery to just try an unregulated injectable compound they found online. There's risk for infections here because the lab wasn't careful with their use of cleaning and the materials that they're using, the lab equipment, the materials. Maybe they're not clean. Maybe they're not being regulated. I don't know. A laboratory is a very regulated place. Someone's basement is not. So from my experience, the thing that actually made me happy, made me contented, made me feel okay in my own skin was my recovery program, my spirituality, my higher power, my trust in the process, my community. It wasn't any compound, anything. It was real recovery, doing the internal work with other community members that are like-minded. That's what worked for me. And it takes time and it's not sexy and I can't sell you on that. So no one's going to talk about that stuff, but I am because that's what worked for me. I tried all the external things. They don't work. That's my experience. And maybe you need to bang your head a few times and scrape your knee and go to the top of the ladder to realize that the bag at the top is empty. Maybe you need to do that. I know I needed to. I needed to scrape my knee before I realized that, oh yeah, recovery is an inside job. There's nothing external that's going to fix the me problem, fix how I'm feeling, fix how I'm interacting in the world and my love of myself. There's nothing that's going to make me love myself as I am. That is in the form of a chemical or compound or needle or vial. It has to come from within. I have to strip back the layers that has put on me like an onion. I have to find my true self and love that true self. And that's not sexy, but it's real. So I'm not saying that nobody should explore any outside controversial medicine. I'm saying go in with clear eyes, go in with honesty, not desperate hope. Don't think that this is going to solve all your problems. Just do some research, open your mind and be honest with yourself for God's sake. Be honest with yourself. Am I looking for external solutions to solve an internal problem? I want you to ask three questions. Before you try any of this stuff or before anything is being sold to you in recovery, anything at all. One, who profits if I say yes? Who is incentivized if I buy this product? Two, what does the peer reviewed human evidence actually show? And three, what am I potentially replacing by putting my energy and money here? Go to your doctor, ask your doctor who knows your history and your medications, not a wellness influencer, not a podcast host, not a telehealth interest in prescribing. Go to your doctor who has no financial interest or you hope has no financial interest in your life. Ask people in your recovery circle that you trust. Hey, can I bounce something off you? What do you think about this part? What do you think about me taking this product? And they'll tell you, honestly, if they're a good friend, they'll tell you what they think about it. They'll tell you what to do. Ask your mentor, ask your sponsor what they think about it. And then at least that way, you're being honest. It's out there in the universe. You're not keeping secrets. Secrets keep you sick and you're only as sick as your secrets. Don't ever forget that. Evidence-based recovery is still the most powerful thing we have. Therapy, peer support, sleep, movement, connection, meaning, boring, unsexy. There's no marketing budget, but it's all real. It's true. Be honest with yourself. When has something that you've taken externally ever solved your problem long-term? And I'm not talking about medication, antidepressants. I'm talking about chemicals that you use that aren't prescribed by a doctor. What is, when's the last time something actually solved your issue long-term that you've taken on your own will? I get it. I've been, I've been, even today, I can look for shortcuts. I look for shortcuts all the time. That's my default, but I'm aware of it today. It's human. It's recovery. I want the quick fix, like I said, but I also want you to understand as a listener of this, skepticism as a survival skill, not cynicism. Be skeptical. Ask more questions. Be curious, not judgmental. Walt Whitman said that. Be curious, not judgmental. Ask more questions. Why am I looking for outside things? What is this about? If something is being sold to you while you're suffering, slow down. The urgency is still manufactured. I think at the end of the day, it's important to know what am I searching for here? What am I trying to fix? What hole am I trying to fill? And can I do that with connection, with unsexy things, routines that work? If nothing is broke also, if you've been sober for a while and there's nothing broke in your life, why fix it? Why do I need to lose weight all of a sudden with chemicals when I can just do it the old fashioned way and start working out and do it naturally. Ask yourself these questions. It might save your life. It might save you a relapse. For me, I needed to go, like I said, and bang my head and try the steroids and do all the things until I was at the rock bottom again, because they don't work. The things for me don't work. I need to do it from the inside. I need to heal from the inside. Share this episode with someone in recovery who is exploring this space. I'm going to link all the show notes. I'm going to link all the studies that I mentioned here. Do your own research. Ask more questions. Reach out for help if you're struggling. Please like, follow, subscribe to the podcast. I love every single one of you. Recovery is simple, not easy. This episode is brought to
Speaker 2you by TXU Energy. For the first time ever, Texans have an energy plan that combines free nights all year with daytime summer savings. It's called Free Nights in Cool Summer. You get free nights every night, all year long, plus a 25% bonus toward your daytime use all summer. It's a first-of-its-kind plan, created for how Texans actually use energy. Discover how much more you could save with Free Nights in Cool Summer. TXU Energy. Energy for everything. Visit TXU.com for more information.
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