CronoDAS comments on Causal Diagrams and Causal Models - Less Wrong

61 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 12 October 2012 09:49PM

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Comment author: Blueberry 23 October 2012 07:47:07AM 0 points [-]

What about a small amount of mild stimulant use?

Comment author: CronoDAS 23 October 2012 08:33:19PM 1 point [-]

I dunno. The FDA did approve a couple of drugs this year, but they might only be intended for short-term use.

Comment author: Blueberry 23 October 2012 09:01:08PM 0 points [-]

I know that the antidepressant Wellbutrin, which is a stimulant, has been associated with a small amount of weight loss over a few months, though I'm not sure if this has been shown to stay for longer. That's an off-label use though.

I'd guess that any stimulant would show weight loss in the short-term. Is there some reason this wouldn't stay long-term?

Comment author: CronoDAS 23 October 2012 10:47:00PM 2 points [-]

There are a lot of drugs that people develop tolerances to when used over long periods of time (the body's various feedback mechanisms recalibrate themselves to compensate for the drug's presence), but I can't say with any authority that this applies to mild stimulant use and weight loss.

Comment author: [deleted] 24 October 2012 01:06:16PM *  1 point [-]

I'm pretty sure tolerance to caffeine is a thing, judging from what I see on other people. (I usually abstain from drinking anything with caffeine at least on weekends and holidays to prevent that from happening to me.)

Comment author: gwern 24 October 2012 06:41:02PM 2 points [-]

Yes, the literature seems to pretty solidly support caffeine tolerance (which is one of the reasons it's not as useful as most people think).