Letters to the Editor

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Winter 2005 - Volume 9 Number 1

Dear Editor,

I've been a proud Kaiser Permanente employee for the past 30 years, 22 of these as an Ob/Gyn nurse practitioner in San Francisco. I read with interest Sam Averett's article titled "Truth in Advertising" in the Summer 2004 issue of The Permanente Journal. Mr Averett points out that with the new advertising campaign, KP is "marking a significant change in the way we talk about our organization and our relationship with our members ...." It is my hope that all future KP advertisements, broadcast widely on the radio and television, will include the mention of choosing a nurse practitioner as a primary care provider. This surely would be "truth in advertising." Having choice increases the potential to thrive.

Thank you,

Winifred L Star, RNC, NP, MS
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
San Francisco, CA

Dr Felitti,

I just read your article entitled Sleep-Eating and the Dynamics of Morbid Obesity, Weight Loss, and Regain of Weight in Five Patients (Spring 2001). Unfortunately, I suffer from sleep-eating, in which I do not recall the activity the following morning. I am a 33-year-old male, and I do not recall a history of abuse of any type. The more I attempt to diet, the more frequently I seem to sleep-eat and with greater quantities of food. On average, it strikes every other night. I am at a loss of where to turn and would appreciate some advice or perhaps a referral to some other material on this subject.

Thank you in advance,

NA

    -- Reply
    Dear NA,

    How did you ever find the article from The Permanente Journal?
    Perhaps answering the following questions could be a start:

        How much do you weigh now, at what height?
        When did you first start sleep-eating?
        When did you first start putting on weight?
        In what state do you live (for a possible referral)?

    I'm not aware of materials more current than those cited in the article, but you might check Google® and the National Library of Medicine (PubMed on the Internet). Search for "sleep eating" with, and without, the hyphen. If you lived in the Southern California area, I'd suggest Ericksonian hypnotherapy as a treatment modality. A good article on the subject, by Dr Brian Alman, in another issue of The Permanente Journal, can be found on the Internet at http://old.thepermanentejournal.org/files/Fall2001/hypnosis.pdf. You might contact Dr Alman at BAlman9931@cox.net to see if he has any additional thoughts. Please let me know the outcome of all this; there is much to be learned about this uncommon condition, and you can help us all.

    Vincent J Felitti, MD, Book Review Editor
    Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program
    San Diego, California