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This show starts off strong, as I get a B King to mail a Whopper to my PO box to replace a scratched bun. This leads to wastedmemory having a scratched bag and a creased reciept, and I deal with a pen marked bag. We dabble with some burger sports before discovering the effectivness of reporting non-emergencies. A lot of employees are covering the phone reciever, and that’s not an emergency. There’s all kinds of stuff going on with Benadryl, and that’s not an emergency either. By the end of the show, some shit happens, but we get permission to lie to the hotel, so everything is totally fine. This show is made possible by donations from listeners like you. If you enjoy what you hear, please consider donating via patreon or paypal! join the prank call discord server !! powered by rogueserver.com
You may think of allergies as causing sniffly noses and congestion in the spring or fall. But allergies can go far beyond that. As Dr. Kari Nadeau points out in this episode, allergies can affect us from head to toe, including eyes, nose, throat, lungs, sinuses, skin and gut. In the most dangerous instances, the whole body is threatened with an anaphylactic reaction. That's a medical emergency! One in three Americans will develop allergies at some point in our lives, so it's important to know what works to control them. At The People's Pharmacy, we strive to bring you up to date, rigorously researched insights and conversations about health, medicine, wellness and health policies and health systems. While these conversations intend to offer insight and perspective, the content is provided solely for informational and educational purposes. Please consult your healthcare provider before making any changes to your medical care or treatment. How You Can Listen You could listen through your local public radio station or get the live stream at 7 am EST on Saturday, June 6, 2026, through your computer or smart phone (wunc.org). Here is a link so you can find which stations carry our broadcast. (Welcome, Huntsville, Alabama!) If you can't listen to the broadcast, you may wish to hear the podcast later. You can subscribe through your favorite podcast provider, download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of the page, or listen to the stream on this post starting on June 8, 2026. What Are Allergies? We begin our discussion of your allergy survival guide with an explanation of what is happening during an allergic reaction. The immune system perceives some foreign compound, usually a protein, as dangerous even though normally it would not be. So it reacts by trying to flush the invader out by producing extra mucus. The turbinate sinuses can make one to two gallons of mucus a day, and naturally, it has to go somewhere. That's why you might be congested. Having all that mucus in the sinuses can also encourage bacterial growth, so if the allergic reaction persists, some people have to deal with sinus infections. Emergency Treatment In determining what works, you need to know the nature of the reaction. If you have two or more organs involved, if you are having trouble breathing or if you feel dizzy, you may be in the midst of an anaphylactic reaction. What works for that is an epinephrine injection and immediate medical attention. This is potentially life-threatening, so you will want to figure out what triggered the reaction so you can avoid it in the future. Once someone has suffered one anaphylactic reaction, they should keep epinephrine with them at all times in case of another episode. Epinephrine comes as a self-injector pen or a nasal spray (neffy). Can You Spot Drug Allergies? In the warnings that are rattled off as part of a TV ad for a pricey new drug, we often hear viewers cautioned not to take the medicine if they are allergic to it. That sounds like simple common sense, but it also has a Catch 22 quality. How do you know you are allergic to a medication unless you take it–and experience an allergic reaction for which you might need treatment. Most of these presumably are immune system-mediated reactions, in which the body produces IgE. That is how allergies to penicillin or sulfa drugs work. Some drugs cause a different type of reaction, not IgE-mediated but dangerous nonetheless. Lisinopril is the most commonly prescribed blood pressure medicine in this country. Like other ACE (ACE is short for angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor medications, lisinopril can trigger angioedema. This swelling can affect the face, lips, tongue and throat, where it can compromise breathing. The most insidious aspect of this reaction is that it can occur after the person has been taking the drug without problems for weeks, months or even years. “Red man syndrome” or infusion reactions in people taking vancomycin can likewise occur without warning. The last type of drug reaction is not actually an allergy at all, although people occasionally use that terminology. It is better described as sensitivity. For example, a stomachache is a common reaction to the antibiotic erythromycin. Some people are disabled by this abdominal pain and try to limit their exposure to erythromycin thereafter. What Works and What Doesn't? Since the immune system is acting inappropriately to cause allergic reactions, treatment should involve immunotherapy. Eye drops can help eyes feel less itchy and irritated. Likewise, OTC nose drops or nasal sprays can often help the nose. The corticosteroid Flonase (fluticasone) and the antihistamine Astepro (azelastine) are good examples. During allergy season, some people find that a daily nasal wash (with a neti pot or NeilMed device) can help reduce the mucus and remove the allergens such as pollen causing the reaction. There are also oral antihistamines and inhalers for asthma. For decades now, allergists have offered their patients shots to help desensitize them to the allergen causing their trouble. Joe had these as a child and teenager and has been largely free of allergies since. Not everyone gets such lasting relief. Complications from Current Therapies Medications have side effects, and that is true of allergy medicines as with other drugs. Antihistamines, especially the older ones like Benadryl (diphenhydramine), are notorious for causing drowsiness. That's one reason it is often included in nighttime pain relievers as the “PM” in drugs like Advil PM. We worry about regular use of such antihistamines because it has been linked to a greater risk for dementia. A second-generation antihistamine such as Allegra (fexofenadine) is much less likely to make someone feel sleepy. However, Dr. Nadeau has seen patients on antihistamines suffer worse allergies if they stop suddenly. The People's Pharmacy has received hundreds of reports from people who experienced unbearable itching upon discontinuing Zyrtec (cetirizine) or Xyzal (levocetirizine). This can last for weeks. Doctors don't usually worry much about steroid nasal sprays like Flonase because they are topical. Presumably, nasal tissues pick up most of the dose. Just the same, using such a nose spray day after day for a long time could result in systemic steroid exposure that is not trivial. Stronger Medicine Dr. Nadeau is enthusiastic about the benefits of two potent prescription medicines. One is Xolair (omalizumab). It was originally developed to prevent asthma, but is now approved for chronic sinusitis, food allergies and chronic hives. Paradoxically, Xolair is one of those medicines that could cause a severe allergic reaction even on the first dose, so the FDA warns that the initial injection should be given in a healthcare setting prepared to treat anaphylaxis. This is uncommon, though, occurring in 0.1 to 0.2% of patients. The other medication Dr. Nadeau is prescribing for allergy patients who don't respond well to other treatments is Dupixent (dupilumab). The FDA has approved this medicine to treat a wide range of conditions, including eczema, asthma, chronic sinusitis, allergic reactions affecting the esophagus and chronic hives, among other things. Most insurance companies will not cover this pricey injection unless the patient has failed all other therapies. Fighting Air Pollution: What Works Air pollution makes allergy symptoms worse, so using an effective air filter inside the home is a good step. A HEPA (high-efficiency particulate-arresting) filter is ideal, especially as part of the air-handling system. If that's not possible, utilizing a MERV 13 in the part of the home where you spend the most time is a good second choice. Sonu One new option for treating allergies is acoustic resonance therapy with the SoundHealth Sonu headband. It uses vibration from sound to loosen mucus from the sinuses so that they can clear. The FDA has approved its use for children as well as adults. New research was just published demonstrating its helpfulness in treating children with nasal congestion (Oto-Open, April-June 2026). SoundHealth has underwritten The People's Pharmacy podcast. Dr. Nadeau has also been compensated for her role in conducting studies of this device (International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, Dec. 2025). Since it does not employ medications, there are no drug side effects. This Week’s Guest Kari C. Nadeau, M.D., Ph.D., is Dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health ( starting July 1 2026). Until then, she holds many other positions. At Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health she is: John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies; Chair of the Department of Environmental Health; and Director of the Allergy, Extreme Weather, and Exposomics Lab. Dr. Nadeau is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and serves in the Division of Allergy and Inflammation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford Medical School. Dr. Nadeau is also the co-author of The End of Food Allergy, which provides strategies for treating and preventing food allergies in children. Here is a link to the research underway in her Harvard laboratory. PHOTO CREDIT: STACY GEIKENTaken in April 2017 at Kari Nadeau’s professorship dinner The End of Food Allergy: The Science-Based Plan That Turns Food into Medicine The People's Pharmacy is reader supported. When you buy through links in this post, we may earn a small affiliate commission (at no cost to you). Listen to the Podcast The podcast of this program will be available Monday, June 8, 2026, after broadcast on June 6. You can stream the show from this site and download the podcast for free. This episode has additional information about Nasalcrom (cromolyn sodium nasal spray) and its effect on mast cells; alpha gal allergy to red meat; and the latest thinking on preventing peanut allergy among young children. Download the mp3
Three horses were stabbed by a crazy teen competitor prior to a racing event in Vegas. Man demolished his own family home with an excavator after wife threatens divorce. Benadryl challenge viral trend sends 5 children to the hospital over the weekend in San Diego.Weird AF News is the only daily weird news podcast in the world. Weird news 5 days/week and on Friday it's only Floridaman. SUPPORT by joining the Weird AF News Patreon http://patreon.com/weirdafnews - OR buy Jonesy a coffee at http://buymeacoffee.com/funnyjones Buy MERCH: https://weirdafnews.merchmake.com/ - Check out the official website https://WeirdAFnews.com and FOLLOW host Jonesy at http://instagram.com/funnyjones - wants Jonesy to come perform standup comedy in your city? Fill out the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfvYbm8Wgz3Oc2KSDg0-C6EtSlx369bvi7xdUpx_7UNGA_fIw/viewform
Most people assume that if a drug sits on the shelf at Costco or Walgreens, it must be pretty safe. But what if some of the most common over-the-counter (OTC) medications are among the riskiest drugs in America? On this vintage episode of Vitality Radio, Jared exposes the hidden dangers behind everyday pain relievers, sleep aids, and heartburn drugs—medicines that cause thousands of deaths every year when misused or taken long-term. You'll learn how a drug becomes “OTC,” what happens when pharmaceutical companies push for that switch, and why the FDA's approval process might not tell the whole story. Jared dives into the startling realities of PPIs like Prilosec, NSAIDs like ibuprofen, and acetaminophen (Tylenol)—uncovering their risks to the liver, kidneys, bones, and brain. He also discusses how marketing convinces consumers these drugs are harmless. Finally, Jared offers a resource for safe, natural alternatives for reflux, pain, inflammation, sleep, and immune support—options that nourish the body instead of depleting it. This episode will change the way you look at “harmless” OTC drugs and help you take real control of your health.Additional Information:#341: Your Digestive Health Supplement User's Guide. From IBS to Acid Reflux - Learn How to Balance Your Gut Health With Natural Products. #522: Q&A Show #5 - Jared Answers Your Questions About Energy and Sleep!#471: Boosting Your Immune System Ahead of Winter #553: Boswellia & Curcumin: Nature's Dream Team for Pain & Inflammation with Dr. Lexi LochVisit the podcast website here: VitalityRadio.comYou can follow @vitalitynutritionbountiful and @vitalityradio on Instagram, or Vitality Radio and Vitality Nutrition on Facebook. Join us also in the Vitality Radio Podcast Listener Community on Facebook. Shop the products that Jared mentions at vitalitynutrition.com. Let us know your thoughts about this episode using the hashtag #vitalityradio and please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you!Just a reminder that this podcast is for educational purposes only. The FDA has not evaluated the podcast. The information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The advice given is not intended to replace the advice of your medical professional.
Timestamps:(9:02) - Mackenzie / The crash(29:20) - Matthew Hertgen Update(34:13) - Sam Nelson* Note - Timestamps may slightly vary due to dynamic adsThe AI tool ChatGPT is used by over 800 million people per week. In a recent poll, a majority of 13- to 17-year-olds said they use AI chatbots, with 28% saying they use them daily.Sam Nelson (19) started using ChatGPT when he was in high school. He began initially using it for general questions and homework help.Over time, it is alleged that Sam began to use the chatbot to get information about taking illicit drugs. In the early morning hours of May 31, 2025, Sam told the chatbot about drugs he had ingested and asked for help with the side effects that he was experiencing. ChatGPT's last alleged message to Sam was “If you're still nauseous after an hour, I can help troubleshoot further (Benadryl combo, timing, food intake, etc.). Just let me know your symptoms and how intense the nausea is right now.” Sam's mother would find him dead in his bedroom hours later.In May 2026, Sam's parents filed a lawsuit against OpenAI. They allege wrongful death and the unauthorized practice of medicine. Sam's family are asking for financial damages and for the court to pause the operation of ChatGPT Health.In this episode of the True Crime Society Podcast, we discuss the case of Sam Nelson - did AI contribute to his death?Read our blog for Sam - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2026/05/20/did-ai-contribute-to-the-death-of-sam-nelson/In this episode, we also discuss the case of Mackenzie Shirilla, subject of the new Netflix documentary The Crash. We first covered this case on our podcast in 2023 and we will be re-releasing that episode this week. Be sure to check it out before listening to this episode for context!Be sure to check the timestamps to get straight to the episode section that you want to listen to.Be sure to join us on Patreon for weekly exclusive episodes and all episodes are ad-free - Patreon.com/truecrimesocietyJoin us on Instagram for the latest crime news - Instagram.com/truecrimesociety
70-80% of Americans do not get the minimum recommended daily intake of magnesium! And don't miss the following topics that Terry will also discuss on this show: Extra Virgin Olive Oil is Best, Women: Cut the Risk of Death by 50%! Alternatives to Benadryl, Nutrient Deficiencies Associated with Type 2 Diabetes, Herb of the Day: Comfrey.
Caller Questions & Discussion: Dr. Sheri discusses how many of us grew up in homes where there was sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and psychological abuse. Many people carry those wounds into adulthood, often still feeling powerless and helpless in relationships without realizing it. I am adopted; am I biblically obligated to have a relationship with my biological mother if I don't want to? My 11-year-old granddaughter has developed a fear after getting sick and won't take Benadryl because she thinks it's poison. She was given a small dose of Prozac. What are your thoughts now that she's off the medication but still very anxious? After 43 years of marriage, I've never felt that my wife loved me. What do you recommend? I lost my mom in October, and I'm an only child. We received an inheritance from her, but we were previously homeless and have now spent all of it. Where can I go to find clarity? I have a crystal meth addiction, and I feel like God is condemning me to hell. What can I do?
Caller Questions & Discussion: Dr. Sheri discusses how many of us grew up in homes where there was sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and psychological abuse. Many people carry those wounds into adulthood, often still feeling powerless and helpless in relationships without realizing it. I am adopted; am I biblically obligated to have a relationship with my biological mother if I don't want to? My 11-year-old granddaughter has developed a fear after getting sick and won't take Benadryl because she thinks it's poison. She was given a small dose of Prozac. What are your thoughts now that she's off the medication but still very anxious? After 43 years of marriage, I've never felt that my wife loved me. What do you recommend? I lost my mom in October, and I'm an only child. We received an inheritance from her, but we were previously homeless and have now spent all of it. Where can I go to find clarity? I have a crystal meth addiction, and I feel like God is condemning me to hell. What can I do?
It's one of the most common—and most frustrating—complaints in the Emergency Department: the patient covered head-to-toe in hives, miserable, itching, and desperate for relief. In this episode of EM Pulse, we welcome back ED Clinical Pharmacist Haley Burhans to tackle the “uncomfortable” topic of urticaria. We move past the myths of one-and-done doses and explore why your standard allergy dosing might be leaving your patients itching for more. The Power of Second-Generation Antihistamines Haley explains why second-generation antihistamines (cetirizine, levocetirizine, fexofenadine) should be your first-line ED therapy, rather than the old school standard, diphenhydramine (Benadryl). Xyzal vs. Zyrtec: We break down the L-enantiomer (levocetirizine) and whether it actually beats its predecessor in preventing drowsiness. The “Double Dose” Pearl: For acute urticaria in the ED, 10mg of cetirizine isn’t enough. Haley recommends starting with 20mg for adults (or doubling the weight-based dose for kids) to see relief within 20–60 minutes. The 4x Rule: Guidelines now support up to four times the standard daily dose for refractory cases (usually split BID). We discuss the safety data behind these higher regimens and why they are tolerated so well. The Steroid Trap and the Rebound Effect Patients often come in requesting steroids but they are NOT the primary cure for urticaria. The Antihistamine Backbone: Steroids treat inflammation, but the antihistamine treats the underlying stimulus. If a patient stops their antihistamines and only takes a steroid burst, they are set up for a miserable rebound. Dosing Strategies: If you do use steroids, keep it to a burst or taper of 10 days or less. We discuss the utility of methylprednisolone (Medrol Dosepak) versus a simple prednisone burst/taper or a course of longer-acting dexamethasone. Beyond the Basics: Benadryl and the MABs The Danger of “Dirty” Drugs: Why diphenhydramine has fallen out of favor due to its sodium channel blocking side effects, anticholinergic toxicity, and psychiatric risks. The Future of Itch: A look at emerging biologics like omalizumab. While these IgE-blockers shouldn't be started in the ED, it's important to know about them to treat patients who are taking them, or who present with rebound urticaria after recently stopping them. Key Takeaways Go Big on Second Generation Antihistamines: Start with a double dose of cetirizine in the ED. It's safe, effective, and less sedating than first-generation alternatives. Discharge patients on that double dose twice a day. Think Long-Term: Urticaria pathways need time to “cool down.” Advise patients to stay on the prescribed meds/doses for 1–2 months, not 1–2 days. Steroids are Adjuncts: Use a short burst (
Dr. Deb Muth 0:03What are the answers to your child’s chronic allergies, ADHD, or autism?weren’t just in another prescription, but in restoring balance to their body chemistry. Today’s guest has spent nearly two decades uncovering those answers through integrative and biomedical medicine. That’s a mouthful, isn’t it?Helping children heal when nothing else seemed to work.This is the conversation about science, compassion, and changing the future of pediatric care.Welcome back to Let’s Talk Wellness Now. The show where we uncover the root causes of chronic illness, explore regenerative breakthroughs, and empower you with the practical tools to heal. I’m your host, Dr. Deb, your medical detective, and today’s episode is one every patient should hear.My guest is Dr. Anu Usman Singh, Medical Director of True Health Medical Center in Naperville, Illinois, and the owner of Pure Compounding Pharmacy.And for over 17 years, she has been pioneering evidence-based integrative interventions for children with ADD, autism, allergies, and complex gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders. She’s not only a practicing physician, she’s a researcher who’s investigated copper-zinc imbalances.metallonine dysfunction, biofilm-related infections, vitamin D in pregnancy, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.Dr. Usman serves on the executive board of TACA, and is a faculty member at MAPS, training other practitioners in pediatric integrative care. So get ready for a conversation that will open your mind and heart to the possibilities of when medicine truly becomes holistic.If you guys can insert the ad in here, that’d be great.Well, welcome back. I’m so excited to have Dr. Usman with me today. I have known her for, oh my gosh, 15, 17 years, something like that. We’re aging ourselves. Anju 02:32Oh, yeah, when we were in our 20s, right? Dr. Deb Muth 02:35Yes, exactly. So, welcome back, and I am so excited for you to be here, because you have literally helped thousands of families over the years.But I’d love for you to share a little bit about your journey, kind of who you are, what drew you into exploring integrative and biomedical approaches for helping children and families. Anju 02:58I think my journey is similar to a lot of you out there, the audience. I mean, we’re looking to help our families, and our kids, and ourselves, and I was doing my residency at Cook County Hospital, downtown Chicago, in the 80s.And I thought, oh my goodness, if I could take care of the sickest patients, then I can take care of anybody. So I came from Indiana, and I went to Cook County, and my children, my eldest daughter, started having, severe allergies and asthma, really, really at a young age.And I went to, like, my residence, and I went to my attendings, and I said, this baby is wheezing. And they told me, babies don’t have asthma.And I said, she has all the symptoms of asthma. She has asthma. And I remember with, in her crib, I would just nebulize her, you know, and I was like, what is going on?And I figured out that she had a lot of food allergies, and I was nursing her, eating the foods that she was allergic to, and back then, in the 80s, you know, we didn’t have the internet, we didn’t have Whole Foods, and I just…being a doctor, and I didn’t even know what to do, and I felt so hopeless. And I thought, gosh, you know, I’m a doctor, I have these, like, skills, I have… people I can talk to, and I still feel so… it’s so difficult. And then this… my particular daughter, the oldest one, her name is Priya, and she developed severe, asthma, and I couldn’t figure it out. She was in junior high. Every time she would walk into the lunchroom, she would have a severe asthma attack.And I’ll be like, what’s going on? What’s going on? I kept her home over the weekend, she was better. I sent her back to school, she was bad again.And we figured it out that it was other people eating peanuts. Dr. Deb Muth 04:54Severe peanut allergy. Anju 04:56And I went to the school, and I said, she…can you, like, put her somewhere else? Can… they said, oh, no, that’s not fair to other kids and their food. And this was in the 90s. Dr. Deb Muth 05:10Yeah. Anju 05:10And so, I just…You know, my heart goes out to families who are struggling to find answers for their kids, and my daughter Priya, the one I told you about, she ended up passing away from a peanut allergy.And so, I’ve just… Dr. Deb Muth 05:26Yeah. Anju 05:27My heart goes out to parents and my own kids and their illnesses.And so I just started working with families, with kids, andIt just kind of grew from there. Dr. Deb Muth 05:40Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, and I think being a mom who went through that yourself, and…was seen but not heard, and turned away from the traditional medical community, you’re forced to start finding answers on your own. And we always feel like we’re on an island by ourselves in the medical world when we’re doing that. Anju 06:01Yeah, I, it was really hard when I found out, you know, about…Integrative medicine, and just different…ideas and approaches to diet and supplements, I thought, how come I wasn’t trained in any of this?And… Dr. Deb Muth 06:21So angry when I learned some of the things that I learned in the beginning. I was like, same thing, like, how did they not teach us this? And then I think, you know, it’s my fault, was I asleep, was I not paying attention, whatever. And then you just realize, like, there’s this whole part of the human body.That they just didn’t teach us. Anju 06:42Yeah, so then I… I, probably like you, we had to learn it on our own. There weren’t, like, classes or any way to learn this stuffAnd I just reached out. There’s a clinic that,I don’t know if you’ve heard of the Pfeiffer Treatment Center? Dr. Deb Muth 07:00No. Anju 07:01Do you know Carl Pfeiffer from the attendees.He has a clinic called the Pfeiffer Treatment Center in New Jersey. It was called the Princeton Brain Bio Center. Dr. Deb Muth 07:12And in the 70s, they did orthomolecular medicine for patients with ADD. Anju 07:18And schizophrenia. Dr. Deb Muth 07:20Mmm… Anju 07:21and depression.And they used to categorize them in 3 categories, and at the time, they called them histopenics, histidelics, and pyrolurics. Dr. Deb Muth 07:31Okay. Anju 07:32Histapenix were low histamine patients.Delix were high histamine patients, and pyrolurics were their own kind of category. We added another category of copper-zinc imbalances, and then we would categorize that population into high histamine, low histamine, pyrolurics, and copper-zinc.Now we talk about under-methylation, over-methylation. Sure. So, under-methylation is the, you know, the high histamine people, they can’t clear the histamine. And the over-methylators are, you know, what we call about low histamine now.And, and then pyrolurics and copper zinc. So…I lost my train of thought, but in the 80s, when I was going through this, in the 90s, I reached out to the Pfeiffer Treatment Center.He’s like, can I calm and just hang out and, like, see what you guys do? Because I need some answers.And I started working there and, started doing research on copper-zinc imbalances, and I did it in children with autism.And that’s how people started coming to me, and I kinda got, like. not famous, but I, you know, the word spread about, okay, we could talk about it, and Dr.Walsh was the, you know, PhD there that did a lot of the research, so we worked together for 8 years. Dr. Deb Muth 09:05Isn’t it crazy to think that we knew about histamine issues way back in the 70s? You know, I got the pleasure of being trained by, environmental medicine doctors. Dr. Wayne Konetsky and Glenn Toth taught me about environmental medicine, and what we called histamine issues that we call it today, mast cell, right? But when I was learning in the early 2000s, it was labeled as chemical sensitivity. And so it was just people that would react to everything, and we really didn’t know why, and they didn’t necessarily have this very specific allergic reaction, but we knew they were reacting, and we would try to treat them, to lower the histamine way back then. And it’s taken all these years, 25 years, to get to a point where we understand mast cell activation now, and histamine issues.And it’s really sad to me that it’s taking this long for us to identify things.And we’ve all got our journey, and I loved back in those days, too, because as I learned, I would call people up and say, hey, I just got a patient from you, and they told me this great story, and I have other people, can I come see what you were doing? And back then, everybody was very open. They were like, yes, please, come, learn. Now everybody’s like, oh, we can’t teach you, we can’t give you our secrets, but…Or pay me $20,000 to come learn with me. But back then, I mean, everybody was just… we were all in the same boat. We were all just trying to learn from each other. Anju 10:36Oh, yeah, oh yeah, and any bit of knowledge you got, you’re like… Dr. Deb Muth 10:41Yes. Anju 10:41God, you know, I learned this piece, and… Dr. Deb Muth 10:43Hmm? Anju 10:44We just kind of built from that. I keep thinking about back then, you know,the under-methylators, over-methylators, copper, zinc, and then I learned about metals.And then, as a physician, I was like, oh, okay, well, there’s mercury in vaccines, there’s aluminum in vaccines, and now I’m seeing these high levels. Dr. Deb Muth 11:04In my patients, now what happens? Anju 11:07And then we started, kind of, trying to get the word out about those things. Dr. Deb Muth 11:13Yeah. Anju 11:13And in 2000, a lot of the people that I knew put out a paper about, you know, mercury. Dr. Deb Muth 11:22And then… Anju 11:22And we all got on the Mercury bandwagon. Dr. Deb Muth 11:25Yes. Anju 11:26And did that for a while, and then we started learning about other things, like mitochondrial issues in chronically ill people, and these chronic infections, like Lyme disease, and so… and then now, you know, understanding mast cell activation, cell danger response. Dr. Deb Muth 11:44On endocrine, and adrenals, and hormones, and… Anju 11:48Yeah. Dr. Deb Muth 11:49biofilms. Anju 11:50Biofilms, I started talking about that in 2007. Dr. Deb Muth 11:54And so then… Anju 11:56It just… it just kind of keeps adding, and keeps adding, and keeps adding, and it’s like…Sometimes you think, how come I didn’t know about this back then? But I feel like it’s a process. Dr. Deb Muth 12:06It definitely is a process, and it’s amazing to seehow many people are researching different things, and they’re all, like, putting a piece of the puzzle together. And I think this is really important for our listeners to understand, is when you see a practitioner and they don’t have all the answers, this is why. It’s very complicated, it’s not black and white. And I’ve had patients over the years say to me, well, why didn’t you say this to me 6 months ago? And the truth of the matter was, I didn’t knowabout it 6 months ago. Like, all of this stuff is just… it’s evolving constantly, and when you’re a practitioner like Dr. Usman and myself, you are learning every single day. Our training has never stopped from the day we stepped into integrated medicine, and you just… you keep learning new things, and sharing new things, and talking to new people, and that’s what expands our knowledge base. Anju 12:57Yeah, the more I learn, the less I feel like I know. Dr. Deb Muth 13:01Yes, me too. Every time I go to a conference, I’m like, how did I not know this? How am I stupid? And I know we shouldn’t say that word and call ourselves that, but sometimes you feel like that. It’s like, how did I not know? Anju 13:14Or you’ll see a patient, and you’ll look at them, and you’re like, how come I didn’t realize this about this particular patient? Dr. Deb Muth 13:20Yes. Anju 13:21Yeah, they present differently, see things differently. I think that’s why it’s good to find a doctor that you trust and that you can work with, because it’s evolving. Dr. Deb Muth 13:31Yes. And, you know, we have those patients that they come, and I get those. I call myself, like, a tertiary care center. Anju 13:38You know, you get those patients that have been everywhere, and seen every doctor, and then they’re like, you’re my last hope, you’re gonna solve all my problems, and…I say to them. We’re a team, like, we’re gonna solve these together, but it takes time for me to unravel this puzzle. Dr. Deb Muth 13:54Excuse me? Anju 13:54And it… and sometimes, you know, there’s a few hits and misses along the way. Dr. Deb Muth 14:00Yup, but if. Anju 14:00If we keep at it, you know, we also say it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Yes. You know, if we keep at it, we can kind of figure it out together. Dr. Deb Muth 14:09Yeah, and a partnership, for sure, because without the feedback of the person you’re working with.understanding, like, we do this, and this happens to you, it’s very complicated as a practitioner to then be able to figure out, what do we do next? I see more and more clients these days, they come in and they just want to ask me within the first 5 minutes of, what am I changing? And I’m like, I have no clue yet. Like, you have to tell me what’s happened since the last time we did something, and then we have to look at labs, and we have to look at this, and we… it’s a synopsis.that we have to look at. You know, it’s not that black and white for us to be able to put the pieces together for them. Anju 14:47I think my most successful patients are the ones who are able to communicate with me.Their ups and downs. Yeah. And they also use their own intuition. Help me guide them. Dr. Deb Muth 15:06Yeah. Anju 15:07So, there are some people that they just hear, you do it, and you tell me.There are people who try to tell me everything. Dr. Deb Muth 15:15Okay. Anju 15:15Say, I want you to do this, do this, do this. Dr. Deb Muth 15:17Yeah, so I was like, okay. Anju 15:19I can do those things, but, you know, like. Dr. Deb Muth 15:21Yep. Anju 15:22think about blah blah. But, like, this… that collaboration.and, intuition. I kind of feel like even thoughI’ve trained allopathically as a traditional medical doctor. I feel like as I learn, I learn that being open and,Letting go of fear. Dr. Deb Muth 15:46Yeah. Anju 15:47And, not trying to jump on every, like, new thing, and being. Dr. Deb Muth 15:53consistent. Anju 15:54and diligent. really helps. Dr. Deb Muth 15:58It helps a ton. We see that, too, you know, the latest…Instagram influencer that’s talking about the latest topic, and all of a sudden, everybody sees themselves in there, and they must have that, but not realizing putting those connections together. It’s like when MTHFR came out, right? We were all so excited that this was going to be the detox gene.And then we learned so much more about genes, and now MTHFR is very popular again, and everyone’s talking about it, but they don’t understand how some of those other genetics fit together. And if you don’t understand that, we’ve all done it, we’ve all made people worse instead of better, sometimes when we’ve given too many methyl groups together, or this supplement without this support before we knew that there was another gene that we had to support for that.And I think it’s really important for people that are listening to us today talk about this, is don’t just jump on the bandwagon. Like, you really want to work with somebody seasoned who understands how all these pieces fit together. Anju 16:57Yeah, and I think that’s what individualized medicine is about.And there is no magic here, a magic bullet.I think that example of MTHFR is really good. Now, President Trump talked about Leukovorin. Dr. Deb Muth 17:14Yes. Anju 17:15in, and, you know, he’ll get up and say something like, leukovorin cures autism.And then the rest of us are like…Did you just say that? Dr. Deb Muth 17:26Yep, he did. Anju 17:30It’s folinic acid, it’s calcium folinic acid, it’s been around a long time. We’ve been using it for 20 years. Dr. Deb Muth 17:37Yeah. Anju 17:38But it does help a subset of people who potentially have what we call cerebral folate deficiency.And some of those people are misdiagnosed as autism. Dr. Deb Muth 17:50Yeah. Anju 17:51So, are you treating autism, or are you treating cerebral folate deficiency?same thing I could say about… I have a lot of cases of kids who recovered from autism.and severe ADHD using chelation type of. Dr. Deb Muth 18:06up. Anju 18:06Approaches, or detox approaches.again, did we treat their ADD and their autism, or did we treat their lead…Toxicity or lead burden, and their symptoms of those things got better. Dr. Deb Muth 18:20Yeah. Anju 18:20So, like, to put a big, like, a label like, oh, ADD on something, or autism on something, I think it does a disserviceTo the individuals, because it’s such a broad issue. Dr. Deb Muth 18:35It is, and I think the diagnosis has gotten to be much more popular these days.And yes, thank goodness we’re getting better diagnostics, but sometimes we’re getting over-diagnosis, or like you said, it may look like one thing, but it could be something else, but because it looks like autism, they’re going to get labeled with autism.And in some respects, that’s good, they can get more services that way, but sometimes we’re missing the actual picture of it. Can you talk a little bit about how autism is different than the cerebral folate deficiency? Anju 19:11Yeah, so there are some people that make an antibody to their folate receptor. Dr. Deb Muth 19:18Hmm. Anju 19:20So, to get folic acid into your cells, there’s a receptor on your cells. Dr. Deb Muth 19:25And then the folate has to bind to it, and then it lets it enter into the cells. Anju 19:30And there’s these receptors that allow folic acid to get into your brain.Now, you and I know when you put folate in your brain.On one end of the folate cycle, you help make more neurotransmitters. You’ll make something called BH4, and that’ll help make serotonin and dopamine, and then norepinephrine and epinephrine. So folate is really important for making your neurotransmitters, folate and B12.On the other end, it’s like, another cycle on the other end of folate is our methylation cycle.And methylation is so important for our RNA and our DNA, and making choline, phosphatoly choline, and making creatine for speech.And helping us with all the precursors for detoxification.So without folate in our brain, we can’t make our neurotransmitters efficiently, we can’t break them down efficiently, and we can’t detox our brain.Imagine what that will do to your brain. Dr. Deb Muth 20:36Yeah, Anju 20:37And you will see symptoms like speech delays, cognitive delays, processing issues, poor attention.All of those things. Excitation, anxiety.All of those, and so if the folate isn’t getting into the brain efficiently, then we’ll have all these symptoms, and we’ll end up with diagnoses like these. Dr. Deb Muth 20:59Yeah, so is there a way that people who are listening to this can request a test to see if they make this antibody to folate, or is it more of a diagnosis of exclusion? Anju 21:14That’s a great question. When I first started doing this, like, 20 years ago, there was, like, a university that was doing this.studies, and it was Dr. Quadros. He was the guy, and we would take samples and send them to his lab, and he would tell us about these blocking and binding. Dr. Deb Muth 21:30folate antibodies. Anju 21:32And if patients had positive blocking or binding folate antibodies, we would follow his protocol. And he’s done papers on patients with severe autism.Where he found these folate antibodies, and then did spinal taps on the kids, and they were associated with this cerebral folate deficiency. the cerebral… spinal fluid.And in his papers, he gave .5 to 2 milligrams per kilogram of calcium folinic acid, which is leukovorin. It’s a vitamin. And over a 6-month to a 12-month period.The majority of those patients improved drastically.Some of them regained speech, and some of them lost their autism diagnosis. Dr. Deb Muth 22:26Because they never truly had autism. Anju 22:29Well, they have autism symptoms, and that’s what autism is, but we call it autisms. Dr. Deb Muth 22:36Yeah. Anju 22:37And so now, like, we need the research to categorize these people. You know, what percentage of autism is cerebral folate deficiency? Yeah. What percentage of autism is, heavy metal. Dr. Deb Muth 22:51Bourbon. Anju 22:52And what percentage of autism is Clostridia overgrowth, or… Dr. Deb Muth 22:57Hmm. Anju 22:57microbiome… Dysfunction, and then there’s overlap. Dr. Deb Muth 23:01Right, yeah, Lyme and mold and viruses. Anju 23:04and infections, and you can see… Dr. Deb Muth 23:07injury from medications and things like that that happen, or birth traumas. Yeah, I mean, it’s not… it’s not as simple as what people think autism is.Why do you think that we’re seeing so much more autism today than when you and I were kids? We didn’t see this that often. I know environment has a lot to do with it, but do you have a couple of things that you suspect are contributing to the rise of autism these days? Anju 23:38Yeah, I mean, that’s a million dollar question. Dr. Deb Muth 23:40Right. Anju 23:41And, just because I work with children, you know it’s not just autism that’s epidemic, and yeah. Dr. Deb Muth 23:49You know that. I mean, it’s… it’s probably… if you add all the epidemics that are happening to children. Anju 23:54Autism still supersedes it.Now it’s 1 in 33s, 1 in 35 boys, I mean, it’s…children. It’s really sad. When I was in med school, it was 1 in 10,000. Dr. Deb Muth 24:10That’s crazy. Anju 24:11What’s causing it? I mean, obviously it’s multifactorial. Dr. Deb Muth 24:15Yeah, 80,000 chemicals in the environment that we never had before. Anju 24:20I, I, I, look, I’ve… 219 million. Dr. Deb Muth 24:26Oh my gosh. Anju 24:27I looked it up today. Dr. Deb Muth 24:29119 million different chemicals in the environment. Wow. Anju 24:33We don’t know how many of those are super toxic. Dr. Deb Muth 24:36Yeah, and we don’t know what they do together. Anju 24:38A lot of them were, like, before, like, grandfathered in and all of that.Yeah, it’s really crazy about the chemicals. So, chemicals… I kind of… feel like…you know, this burden of all this, it’s not just on our children, it’s on our mothers. Dr. Deb Muth 24:56Yes. Anju 24:56oh my gosh, the moms of these children that… And they don’t even realize it, you know, we’re just so happy to be pregnant and have a kid.So I think it really, really starts with that piece. Care, good prenatal care, yeah. Yeah, and not just what we think is prenatal care, taking your prenatal vitamins. Dr. Deb Muth 25:18Yes. Anju 25:19And going to your gynecologist, but what you and I think is prenatal care, you know, before you get pregnant, let’s detox, let’s clean up our diet, let’s get rid of those chemicals, let’s make sure we’re not in a moldy environment.You know, let’s do our due diligence, clean air, clean water, clean food, sunshine. When I did my residency at county, I don’t think I saw the sun for 3 years. Dr. Deb Muth 25:44How?Yeah. Anju 25:46it’s just that intense, and I was pregnant twice, and my eldest hasthe allergies and asthma. Number 2 is type 1 diabetes and mold sensitivities and allergies and asthma. Number 3 has severe chemical sensitivities, mast cell activation,Hormonal issues. Dr. Deb Muth 26:09Yeah. Anju 26:09And… number 4 is my… Golden, baby. Dr. Deb Muth 26:15And those three, you know, those years that you’re there, and you’re not seeing the sunlight, there’s vitamin D deficiency, and we don’t talk about vitamin D that much during pregnancy.I still am appalled that we’re giving folic acid these days during pregnancy instead of folate, but… Anju 26:36Folenic, or methylfolate? Dr. Deb Muth 26:38Yeah, nothing. So, when, when you,discovered vitamin D in pregnancy, and it’s linked to neurodevelopment outcomes. How did you stumble across that? Anju 26:50Well, in… when I started working on Copper Zinc, Dr. Walsh and I would go to the, like, DAN conferences.Yeah. At the time, and it was interesting, because DAM conferences were a collaboration between parents.And practitioners, and researchers. Dr. Deb Muth 27:10Very unique for. Anju 27:11That’s how that new IACC committee is. It’s a collaboration of parents. Dr. Deb Muth 27:17Hmm. Anju 27:18Practitioners, researchers, And individuals with autism. Dr. Deb Muth 27:25Yeah, so for those of you who are listening to us, it’s… we’re talking about the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee that Bobby Kennedy just put together. It’s called IACC, and they are on a mission to try to do the research to figure out what’s causing autism. Anju 27:43Yeah, and not just causing it, like, these people have been living it, most of the people on that committee have been living it, and their whole lives, for some of them.And being able to bring forwardlike the question about vitamin D, we started seeing a lot of patients in Minnesota. Dr. Deb Muth 28:04Mmm. Anju 28:05who were from Somalia. Dr. Deb Muth 28:08Okay. Anju 28:09Who were… it was, like, 1 in 4 families with kids with autism.And the theory was that the vitamin D levels that they get in Somalia versus the vitamin D levels that the moms get in Minnesota. Dr. Deb Muth 28:27Hmm? Anju 28:28Affected the immune system. Dr. Deb Muth 28:31Yeah. Anju 28:32predispose them. So there’s a few papers on that. Dr. Deb Muth 28:36Yeah, that’s a… I mean, it would be a very significant difference, and when you’re thinking about genetically, like, what their culture, who they are as a species.was used to and adapted to with the sunlight and different things from a different region, geographical region, and then they moved to a new geographical region, that can take decades before the body adapts and readjusts.to that new environment. We don’t think about those things in…traditional medicine, and conventional medicine, as most people know it, but we do in functional medicine. Anju 29:14Yeah, so again, the clinicians were bringing this up, like, why am I seeing so many families? Dr. Deb Muth 29:18Yeah. Anju 29:18Then let me go to the… and then in the think tank, the vitamin D researcher said it’s vitamin D. Dr. Deb Muth 29:24Yeah. Anju 29:25And then they started researching it, and it was almost like a backwards… backwards. Dr. Deb Muth 29:31Thank you. You know, they didn’t first… Anju 29:33Think it. Dr. Deb Muth 29:34Think about it, yeah. Anju 29:35Until you start seeing… and that’s why I think that, like.clinicians like you and me, who are… I consider us on the front lines. We’re the front lines. We are seeing… we’re seeing this epidemic unfold. Dr. Deb Muth 29:46Yes. Anju 29:47front of our eyes, we’re seeing, like, the gut issues and the severe inflammation. We’re seeing the autoimmunity, and now they have to study it. Dr. Deb Muth 29:57Yeah. Anju 29:57They have to study this. They really, really, we really need, we really need protocols, we need tools, we need things that you and I have been figuring out anecdotally with our colleagues over the years, and, oh, how do we treat yeast? How do we treat Lyme? How do we treat metal burden?For this podcast today, I wanted to talk about low-level lead exposure, because for me.1 in 3 children have a lead level, above 5. 1 and 3. Dr. Deb Muth 30:31Yeah, that’s very high. Anju 30:33800 million children. Dr. Deb Muth 30:36And let’s clarify this, because the first thing people are going to think of is, what are they eating? They’re not eating lead paint to get this. That is not what’s happening here. They are getting lead from someplace else, and their bodies are not able to detox this. Anju 30:53And the reason I’m bringing this up is because when I was in residency at County in the 90s, I ran a… I worked at a lead clinic. Dr. Deb Muth 31:01And back then. Anju 31:03When we looked… we just diagnosed lead toxicity, the level was 60. Dr. Deb Muth 31:10Their level had to be 60 to diagnose them. Anju 31:13Correct. Dr. Deb Muth 31:13Oh my gosh. Anju 31:14And that’s when we would treat.And back then, there was a study, it’s called the TLC study, where they used DMSA, which is a drug to lower lead.And our goal was to get it from 60 to 20. Dr. Deb Muth 31:33And was the normal range the same back then as it is today? Anju 31:37The normal range has gone from 60 to 40 to 20 to 10 to 5 to 3.5.But you and I know I’m the normal range. Dr. Deb Muth 31:47Yes. Anju 31:47Zero. Dr. Deb Muth 31:48Zero. Anju 31:50So… so again, in my… in the lead clinic, we were given DMSA, and we got the lead from 60 to 20, and the number one thing was to get rid of the lead in the environment. Dr. Deb Muth 32:02Yeah. Anju 32:03But we haven’t evolved since then.Because in that study, It did not improve cognitive abilities. So if you think about what lead does, it causes attention issues, slow processing, it affects hearing, it can cause hyperactivity, it can cause impulsivity, it can cause aggression, it can cause constipation, it can cause hypotonia.So if you think about all these kids with ADD and autism, how many of them have low-level lead exposure from the lead pipes? In Chicago, it’s a big, a big problem. Dr. Deb Muth 32:37Yeah, Milwaukee. Anju 32:38Everybody thinks Flint, Michigan, but Flint, Michigan is not the only place. Dr. Deb Muth 32:42Right. Our infrastructure is so terrible, it has not been updated, and even though you might look in your house and you might see a white PVC or plastic pipe, what’s coming under the ground to the house in the cities is usually still lead. Anju 32:58Right. Right. Dr. Deb Muth 33:00Yeah. Anju 33:01So, I guess the point is, is that…the… the idea of, like, studying this. So, again, they study this, and they say, well, we’re not going to treat low-level lead exposure because it doesn’t improve their cognition.But did they really treat it? Dr. Deb Muth 33:18Right. We got it from 60… we got it from 60 to 20. Right. But when I know, where is the lead hiding? Anju 33:24So high. Look at the bones, it’s gonna be coming out. It’s gonna be coming out, especially during puberty. What happens to some of our kids during puberty? They just go a little wonky. Comes out again during menopause. Dr. Deb Muth 33:38Yes. Anju 33:39I don’t know, male menopause, too. Like, we’re all losing bone mass then, and our lead is coming out, our blood pressure goes up. So, again, these are some of the areas that I think, like, really need some… hard… looks. Dr. Deb Muth 33:53Right, yeah. So, what are you hopeful about this committee? Like, are you hopeful that this committee is going to be able to research some of these big things, and we’re really going to be able to find answers around some of the functional things and the biochemical things that we see, you and I know happen in the body, that might give some standardization and education to practitioners in the future. Anju 34:23Well, I think this committee understands the scope of the issues.And they’re coming from different perspectives, like I mentioned, research. Dr. Deb Muth 34:33Yeah. Anju 34:35really highly qualified MDs. MDs like you and me, who have been on the front lines. moms. Dr. Deb Muth 34:43Yeah. Anju 34:44dads, patience, And so, the strategy would be to get, again, their input, and then…get the places… people in places to do their research. And even make some guidelines and some, like, you know, thoughts about what we want to put out there. Dr. Deb Muth 35:05Yeah. Anju 35:05You know, how do we want to strategize for… Dr. Deb Muth 35:08Prevention. Anju 35:10Like, the pre-pregnancy thing. Dr. Deb Muth 35:12Yeah, I’m really hopeful that this doesn’t become a… political football,And it doesn’t get taken away if the administration changes or whatever, because people need to understand that this kind of researchthis is going to take decades for people to do. Granted, we have AI, and AI can help a little bit and get some things quicker.But trying to figure out all of these nuances to why the body does what it does is not gonna be, like, next week we’re gonna find out that this was the single cause, and I know a lot of people, they’re afraid of the vaccines, and that’s gonna be the sole answer.And that has a piece of it, but it is just a small piece of it for some people larger, but at the end of the day, that’s not what this is about. This isn’t about just labeling one thing that is the cause of autism, because it is not one thing. It is so multifactorial. Anju 36:09And I think that whole cause, I know,A lot of money has gone into. Dr. Deb Muth 36:16Yeah. Anju 36:16looking at that. They’re looking for the gene, right? The gene that causes it, and… Dr. Deb Muth 36:23answer. Anju 36:24They have not… they’ve spent millions of dollars looking for this.And it’s not gonna pan out. It’s not. Dr. Deb Muth 36:33I’m not. Anju 36:34pan out. It’s more complex, like we’re talking about. Dr. Deb Muth 36:38Yeah. Anju 36:38And, I do think that sometimes, you know.Even though, like, politically, it seems like it’s a political topic, but it has zero to do with politics. Dr. Deb Muth 36:52Yeah, exactly. This is our children. This is the future of our country, the world. I mean, America’s not the only place that has kids with autism. I mean, this is the future of humanity. If we don’t figure out what’s injuring our children, there will not be a humanity that you and I have seen. It will be different. And, and this is important, we owe it to the future of our generations, we owe it to our children to figure this out and clean up our environment, and make it safe for everybody. Anju 37:24Yeah. Clean up our air, clean up our water, clean up our food… Dr. Deb Muth 37:29Yeah. Anju 37:30You know, our lifestyle a little bit, but… Dr. Deb Muth 37:32hoodie? Anju 37:33It’s… it’s… it’s everywhere. I travel all over. Dr. Deb Muth 37:36Bye. Anju 37:37Consult with doctors in different countries, in Italy, in India, Bulgaria, Romania… Dr. Deb Muth 37:46Yeah. And. Anju 37:48we’re going to Australia for med maps to treat doctors in, in April. And it’s a problem everywhere. Dr. Deb Muth 38:00Yeah. Anju 38:01really big problem, and it affects everybody. Even if you don’t have a child with autism or a grandchild with autism, it’s still affecting families, becauseI kind of think of ADD as being on the spectrum, in the sense thatI think the same kind of positive issues that lead to the autism are causing the ADD, just to… you know, your genetics are playing a little bit of a different role, whatever… whatever protection you have is a bit more there, but we’re seeing kind of, like, similar metabolic… issues in our ADD population. Dr. Deb Muth 38:43Yeah. Yeah, there’s so many different levels of this, and it does affect everyone. Like, I think everybody knows… a family or someone in their classroom or their school or their community that’s affected by, definitely, ADHD, Asperger’s, autism, all of those things, whether you’re high functioning or not functioning or whatever.everything is affected. The school system is affected, your social circles are affected, your families are affected.the healthcare is affected. I mean, everything is affected. We owe it to our families and our communities to help people try to figure this out. Anju 39:22Yeah, and I think even if it’s not ADD, or ADHD, or autism we’re talking about, or even OCD, anxiety, depression, I mean, you know… Dr. Deb Muth 39:33Candace? Anju 39:34Any kind of chronic illness that people are dealing with has underpinnings of these kinds of, you know, issues. Dr. Deb Muth 39:43Yeah. Anju 39:44Any autoimmune issue? That’s great. Dr. Deb Muth 39:48inflammatory syndrome that we’re seeing these days, I mean, the pants-pandas piece, the biofilms, the strep, I mean, our environment is just so laden with infections and biofilms, and And, you know, when you and I first were learning about this, we never thought anything could cross the blood-brain barrier, right? It was pristine, there’s nothing getting in there unless you could drive it in there, and now we know that’s different, and now we’re seeing bugs in the brains of people who have had Alzheimer’s disease and dementia because they’ve donated their brains for research, and we can see what’s crossing the blood-brain barrier, and it’s really scary. Anju 40:24Yeah, yeah. There’s a lot of things we don’t know. Remember when we just found out that they… the brain had a lymphatic system? Dr. Deb Muth 40:33And that wasn’t About, what, 5, 6 years ago? 7 years ago, maybe? Yeah, not that long ago. Anju 40:38You’d be like, why wouldn’t the brain have a lymphatic system? Dr. Deb Muth 40:41Yeah! Yep. Anju 40:44Yeah, so things get in and out. Dr. Deb Muth 40:46They, they definitely. Anju 40:47You know, they get in easier than they get out, I think. Dr. Deb Muth 40:50I agree, I think they do, for sure, for sure. You know, when you’re talking to a family who’s undergoing issues like this, what’s the role, do you feel, in personalized nutrition to help them make things better? Anju 41:10I kind of go through, like, a little bit of a start here, start there, and then do this. I always start, number one, I say, okay, you gotta clean up your environment, because… We gotta do that. Dr. Deb Muth 41:24But that’s a… Anju 41:24process. And then number 2 for me is cleaning up the diet. And then, when you say personalized nutrition. To me, figuring out what is a good diet for the individual. Dr. Deb Muth 41:38Makes it a little bit difficult. Yeah. Anju 41:41I mean, there is, like, healthy eating concepts, where, you know, eat upside-down food pyramid kind of concept, I guess, is the new one, but whole foods, whole grains, organic as much as possible, especially for animal products, good fats, avoiding, you know, hydrogenated oils, and those seed oils, and… Just some basics, and then individualizing for my patients, a lot of people with any kind of autoimmune condition, and we kind of put autism in that neuroimmune, autoimmune, inflammatory That, gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free kind of go there, like, as a given. If there’s a lot of gut issues, a lot of our folks have oxalate issues. And then we have to sometimes do low or limited oxalate diets. Many of my patients can’t convert glutamate to GABA efficiently. Dr. Deb Muth 42:44Yeah. So, high glutamates associated with OCD, and kind of looping or repetitive behaviors. Anju 42:51So, low-glutamate diets. And then some of my patients have SIBO, and then we do the low FODMAPs diet, and then some of my patients have messel, and we’ll do the fail-safe kind of concept with the fail-safe diet, so nutrition can get a little bit complex for certain people, but there are some basics, and then there are some, like, more of… Individual, kind of, diet approaches. And then there’s supplementation. There’s some things that I call foundational. For me, certain things most people need that have a chronic illness. Dr. Deb Muth 43:26Yeah. Anju 43:26Vitamin D3 is one of those. Omega-3s are another one for most. And then, because I did a lot of research on copper, zinc, I think 3 mineral… 4 minerals. I feel like people underdo minerals. They’re so important. Every single enzyme has a mineral cofactor, so… zinc is really important for my population with autism and ADD. 99% of them had high copper or low zinc in. Dr. Deb Muth 43:58Wow. Anju 43:59Over 400 patients that we tested. Dr. Deb Muth 44:01Wow. Anju 44:03And, magnesium.So, zinc, magnesium, and then the other two minerals I really like are selenium for glutathione. and molybdenum for sulfation, and glycolysis. So… So those are kind of my foundational pieces, and then I like to work on the gut next. So, from a nutritional perspective, prebiotics are my new favorite. Dr. Deb Muth 44:29Yeah, we go in and out with prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics. Anju 44:34Yeah, exactly, symbiotics. Dr. Deb Muth 44:36Yes, exactly, exactly. Anju 44:38demos, and… Dr. Deb Muth 44:40Yeah. Anju 44:40So yeah, biofilm busting, and all of that, so… And then I go into my other nitty-gritty stuff, like you probably do. Dr. Deb Muth 44:47individualized, right? So, you created, True Healing Nature, a supplement line, a supplement company, correct? Anju 44:56Yeah, True Hing Naturals. Dr. Deb Muth 44:58Truly Naturals, okay. Anju 44:59True, he is hard. Dr. Deb Muth 45:01Oats! Anju 45:01True! Dr. Deb Muth 45:01Healing natural. Got it, sorry about that. Tell us a little bit about what made you decide to create a supplement company. Was it because you couldn’t find formulations that you wanted? Couldn’t find clean products? That’s a big problem for people, for sure. Anju 45:19Yeah, a little bit of both. I told you that my kids were really sensitive, they had a lot. Dr. Deb Muth 45:23I know. Anju 45:24And when I would even try to give them things like ibuprofen. Dr. Deb Muth 45:28or Benadryl. Anju 45:30For allergies, they couldn’t tolerate the products that were over-the-counter. Dr. Deb Muth 45:35Yeah. Anju 45:35So, in 2007, I opened a compounding pharmacy so I could make things clean for them. Dr. Deb Muth 45:42Yeah. Anju 45:43And I thought it was so valuable. And so then I started seeing, like, certain issues with my patient population, for instance, say, mitochondrial issues. So, I would compound a mito cocktail. in my pharmacy. And then I had True Healing Naturals manufacture it, so I didn’t have to have patients get it compounded. Dr. Deb Muth 46:08Got it. Anju 46:09So that particular product’s called Mito Rescue. Okay. But then, I started… I do a lot of oats testing. Organic acid urine tests. Dr. Deb Muth 46:19Yeah. Anju 46:20But there’s, like, a marker on there for, oxalates, and I saw a lot of patients with oxalates, and oxalates inhibit some… an enzyme called, pyruvate decarboxylase. And that basically means you can’t take your carbs and turn them into energy. Dr. Deb Muth 46:38Okay. Anju 46:39So, if I saw this pattern with high oxalates and high pyruvic acid, I knew that that enzyme wasn’t working very well, and that enzyme is B1, molybdenum, and biotin dependent. So, I started compounding doses of that. And then I turned that into a product called Motor Connect, because high doses of biotin help with connectivity in the cerebellum. Dr. Deb Muth 47:08Got it. So, I did come… kind of start with the compounding pharmacy, try it, use it, and then turn it into. Anju 47:17products, and I have one for copper-zinc imbalances called True Minerals. Dr. Deb Muth 47:21Yeah, to fix the problems that were not commercially available. Could you talk a little bit for people who don’t understand what a compounding pharmacy is? Anju 47:32So, when you guys go to a pharmacy, you, you know, you send a prescription, and it’s already, it’s manufactured, and you get it. Well, a compounding pharmacy actually makes that for you. So they get the raw ingredients, and then they make that prescription. So it’s still prescription-based. But, for instance, say, I want Nystatin. And I go to Walgreens or CVS, and the nystatin there is a liquid, and it has yellow dyes and sugar. Dr. Deb Muth 48:02Yep. Or it’s a title, and it’s red. Anju 48:04or it’s bread, and a tablet, and I, like, oh, I want to treat the yeast, but I don’t want to use this. So I sent my nystatin prescription to a compounding pharmacy, and it’s Nystatin. That’s what you got. Yep. Dr. Deb Muth 48:17disappear. Anju 48:18So, pure compounding pharmacy, it’s pure, it’s pure stuff. Especially for our mast cell people. They’re so sensitive, and, you know, my kids are all mast cell, and so I just find that excipients, some people will say, oh, this doesn’t work, and I said, it’s probably the excipient that’s stimulating your mast cell activation. So, yeah. So, compounding pharmacies, You know, with all the big, kind of. conglomerates and big companies, they’ve become… they used to be, like, mom-and-pop kind of places. And my pharmacy is like that. It’s just… it’s… it’s a few of us, and we… we do it, and it’s nothing big or fancy, but we get the job done. So, we compound things like methylcobalamin injections, hydroxycobalamin, low-dose naltrexone. Different things for chelation. So, it’s nice. I love having it. Dr. Deb Muth 49:11Yeah, the compounding pharmacies really have made a huge difference for people who are sensitive. You know, so many ingredients are contaminated with corn and gluten and soy and dairy and all the big things that we want to stay away from, especially if we’re trying to treat the immune system. And even if the manufacturer says that’s not in our product. it’s contaminated, usually, because they’re usually preparing it in a facility that has those things floating around. Right. And for people who are really sensitive, that’s going to create some issues. Anju 49:45Yeah, people who are sensitive are sensitive to parts per trillion. Dr. Deb Muth 49:48Yeah. Anju 49:49I found that with my daughter with chemical sensitivity. You don’t have to see it, or you don’t have to smell it, but they could react to it. Dr. Deb Muth 49:55Yeah. And, a lot of these, like. Anju 49:58These different, substances, for instance, like enzymes, even the natural enzymes. Dr. Deb Muth 50:03They’re cultured in Aspergillus. Anju 50:07And so they’re extracted from mold. Dr. Deb Muth 50:10Yeah. Anju 50:11And so the really mold-sensitive people will maybe take a digestive enzyme, and they’ll have a reaction, and they’ll not understand why. Yeah. But it’s not because of the enzyme, it’s because of where it’s coming from. Dr. Deb Muth 50:22Yeah, where it’s cultured from. And if you have mold toxicity and mold sensitivity, and we’re looking at your mold test, wondering why are you getting a hit while we’re trying to clear it out, sometimes we forget that those products, and a variety of products that we used are cultured from molds. Yeah. Anju 50:40Yeah, yeah. It’s hard for the laypeople to understand all. Dr. Deb Muth 50:45You know. Anju 50:45of these pieces, but I think that… It used to be, like, the insurance companies would cover prescriptions from compounding pharmacies, but over the years, the lobbying and all of that has gotten so intense where, you know, a lot of that ends up out of pocket, but it’s really… it doesn’t really get that much more expensive than a copay would be. Dr. Deb Muth 51:05Right, right. Anju 51:06People just don’t know about it, yeah. Dr. Deb Muth 51:08Yeah, absolutely. So, you’ve been doing this now for more than 17 years, and you’ve made some remarkable progress with your patients. Can you share some success stories that still inspire you to do what you do every day? Anju 51:27I don’t know about you, but, like, when you first start, I think, God puts you… God puts all those really gray cases in front of you, because you’re like, whoa! Dr. Deb Muth 51:37Yes, and maybe… Anju 51:38I gave this patient methylcobalamin, and they started talking. Yeah. So methyl B12 back in the day was huge. you know, Dr. Nebrander’s protocol, and we would use that, and we would get speech, and… I mean, I’ve… it’s just… there’s hundreds of cases. There’s hundreds of cases, and same with Leukovorin now. Not for everybody, but when it really works, it’s really, really decent. Dr. Deb Muth 52:07Yeah, and worth a try, you know, if… if we suspect that’s what’s going on, these things are worth a try, because sometimes you just never know what’s going to be the key that unlocks the answer for them. Anju 52:19Yeah, but I think, you know, like, I can say… chelation, or… you know, I can, like, throw out a bunch of stuff. Dr. Deb Muth 52:26Okay. Anju 52:27In terms of, like, I’ve… I… I have those families, and I have those kids who are just… they’re just amazing, and they’re in college, and having jobs, and having kids, and… Dr. Deb Muth 52:38Yeah. Anju 52:38you know, all of that, but I think, you know, the ones that really strike me are the ones that I have to work really hard to get. Dr. Deb Muth 52:44And then we’. Anju 52:45they go, it’s not like, oh, I just did the diet, I’m cured, or I did this, and I’m better, or… Right. And I have those cases where the parents come to me and they say, I never thought my kid would Be going to college. And I never thought we would be here. So, those are the ones that really, like, when I get the little notes, or the, like, the college or the high school graduation pictures, and they… and some of them, you know, you lose touch with because they don’t need me anymore. Dr. Deb Muth 53:19Yeah. Anju 53:20And then you hear about it later. And then, I think the ones that don’t get better are the ones that, like, sit with me the most They just sit with me, and we’ve had this population of children with severe apraxia. So, apraxia is a motor planning issue, but if you saw these patients, you would think that they were… mentally deficient. Dr. Deb Muth 53:44Hmm. Anju 53:45Because they can’t talk. Dr. Deb Muth 53:46Yeah. Anju 53:47They’re the classic person that you would see that looks autistic. You know, running around, excited, verbal stimming, no speech. Dr. Deb Muth 53:57Hmm. Anju 53:58And that group of patients are incredibly Brilliant. And we are just finding out about how smart they are. There’s a book called Underestimated by J.B. Hanley and his son Jamie. JV has all the resources in the world. He used to put those ads in the New York Times about autism and vaccines. He could take his kid anywhere and do any treatment, and still, we… Blocked. Locked. Couldn’t get through. Couldn’t get through. And they started, spelling. To communicate, and this speller’s method, and it just opened a door. And it opened a door for so many of my patients who are metabolically challenged, so we do help them metabolically. Getting that ability to communicate. Some of them never got high school diplomas, and they went back to get their high school diplomas so they could go to college. Dr. Deb Muth 54:56Oh, wow, that’s amazing stories. Anju 54:59Yeah, and Elizabeth Bonker is one of those spellers, and she… she was a valedictorian in her high school, college. And she did a valedictorian speech that went. Viral, and she’s one of the people on that committee. Dr. Deb Muth 55:13That’s awesome. Anju 55:14He’s non-speaking. She… she can’t not speak. Dr. Deb Muth 55:20Wow. Anju 55:21But they asked her to be on this committee. Dr. Deb Muth 55:24That’s fantastic. Anju 55:26Huge. Dr. Deb Muth 55:27That’s huge. It is huge. There’s a way she can communicate, she just can’t verbalize the way you and I verbalize. Anju 55:34She’s brilliant. I mean, people on that committee, the, the individuals with autism on that committee, I know they’re brilliant people. Wow. But if you… if… If people saw them, they wouldn’t see that. Dr. Deb Muth 55:47Right. Anju 55:47So, I guess, for me, it’s like seeing the brilliance, seeing the competence in individuals, and as a practitioner, just trying to optimize it. But I know, like, the neurodiversity people say, okay, you know. We’re fine, and it’s like, yes, you are fine, you’re fine, and it’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay. But if you’re struggling metabolically, and we can help you feel better. What’s… what’s the harm in that? Dr. Deb Muth 56:13Right, let’s do that. Yeah. So you’re also part of something called MAPS, and you’re educating doctors worldwide. Tell us a little bit about MAPS, and how do you see the integrative pediatrics evolving in the next decade as a result of what we’re learning today? Anju 56:36I think we’re at a crossroads, and Maps is kind of in the middle of that crossroads. It used to be called Dan. Dr. Deb Muth 56:47Okay. Anju 56:47Autism Now. Dr. Deb Muth 56:48Yeah. Anju 56:49And then they kind of dissolved Dan and turned it into MedMaps. And MedMaps is Medical Academy for Pediatrics and Special Needs. So it’s not just special needs, it’s pediatrics. as well.So it’s kind of like the functional medicine for peds. And our goal is to train an army of clinicians to be the frontline. And how medicine should be, and how people should be trained. We should train them to do these types of things from the beginning. Because now it’s backwards. Dr. Deb Muth 57:28Right. Anju 57:30they come see us when nobody else can help them. But, so, we have some good leadership, and then… We are just trying to get people trained so that they understand that this is the future. Dr. Deb Muth 57:50If there’s a practitioner that’s listening to this, how do they get involved in MAPS? Anju 57:55They could come to a conference. Dr. Deb Muth 57:57Okay. Anju 57:58And the website is medmaps.org. And there’s 2 conferences a year. And we have scholarships, and we want people to come, so contact You know, the executive director, and… We just want people to come, share… their experiences, learn about functional medicine, it’s evidence-based, we try to… it’s really scientific, you know, we talk a lot of science. Dr. Deb Muth 58:25Oh yeah, a lot of science. Anju 58:26We talk a lot of science, and and so hopefully we can move all of this forward. Baster. Dr. Deb Muth 58:35I think the greatest thing, when you get into the functional medicine integrative space like this, and MAPS, and some of the other environmental academies and things like that. A lot of people might think it’s not science-based, and I’m always amazed at how much science we have, and it’s right, it’s all the things that you and I learned in biochem class, and chem class, and organic chem, and we were like, oh, let’s just learn this to be done with it. And then you get back, and you start doing integrated medicine, and you realize, like, all of that biochemistry stuff is what we needed to truly understand to fix people these These days, and you go back and you have to learn that in an intense version of it. Anju 59:18I felt like I finally understood the Krebs cycle, when I learned how it made metabolic stents, instead of just memorizing these cycles for… For the… Dr. Deb Muth 59:30Right? Like, they, like. Anju 59:32They just make sense to me. Dr. Deb Muth 59:34Yeah. Anju 59:35And I think that’s so important to understand, that all of this has science behind it, and it’s there, and the research is there. Dr. Deb Muth 59:46It’s just us having to learn how to utilize it, and recognize that not every person is going to be straightforward, and what we do for one might not work for another. There’s… It’s not as easy as prescribing a prescription and letting the person walk out the door in 10 minutes. That’s not what this is about at all. Anju 01:00:05No, and at MedMaps as well, they have a call for abstracts, and so we’re always looking for research, experience, so if any of the clinicians out there have, you know, things they want to share. then send an abstract to Maps. What a great blonde. I think, one of my doctor friends is doing an abstract on research that was done on sensory qigong massage. Dr. Deb Muth 01:00:34Oh. Anju 01:00:34And it helped with speech, and the theory was that, we were all thinking of the sensory system in the brain, the sensory system. In the periphery being affected neurologically, and how to turn that back on. So, it was… it’s… Dr. Deb Muth 01:00:51That’s neat. Anju 01:00:51Again, with the research, and with the science behind it, and with, like, clinical trials, and all of that. Dr. Deb Muth 01:00:58That’s awesome, I love that.For parents that are just starting in this journey, what would you recommend be their first one or two steps? Anju 01:01:10Educate, educate, educate? How do you get educated? I do think that, TakaNow.org is a good place for, like, a biomedical approach, or this functional approach for autism. It’s the Autism Community in Action. MedMaps is doing a parent conference in March. Dr. Deb Muth 01:01:31Oh, awesome. They usually do that around, Memorial Day, right? Anju 01:01:36They’ll do it around Labor Day in September. Dr. Deb Muth01:01:40Labor Day in September, okay. Anju 01:01:42Yeah, and then mid-March. Dr. Deb Muth 01:01:44Okay. Anju 01:01:45Yeah. And they hadn’t done a parent conference before, but we had parents that wanted to come to the conferences, and it was just for clinicians before. Dr. Deb Muth 01:01:54Got it. Is it Autism One that does theirs around Memorial Day? Anju 01:01:59Oh yeah, they don’t exist anymore. Dr. Deb Muth 01:02:01Don’t, really. Anju 01:02:03conferences. There was. Dr. Deb Muth 01:02:06NAA, the National Autism Association. Anju 01:02:09They don’t do a lot of parent conferences in functional medicine either, so there’s a few left. Documenting Hope. That’s another really nice one. Oh, that’s great. Dr. Deb Muth 01:02:21So, what last words do you want to leave with our listeners? Anju 01:02:29You know, that’s… people always ask that at the end of these… I, I do feel that, Listen to your heart, you know, follow your intuition. Dr. Deb Muth 01:02:40I’ll let that guide you. Anju 01:02:42There’s a lot of information, sometimes it gets to be too much information. It’s hard to process everything, try not to make impulsive decisions about things. And… If you have a child with special needs, or if you have a grandchild with, issues. Presume competence. There’s a lot there. Dr. Deb Muth 01:03:04Yeah. Anju 01:03:05Especially some of these kids with behavior issues. I don’t know how many patients of mine are… Put on psychotropic meds. Metabolic issues, and, you know… It’s like, a lot of them have pain, like headache, abdominal pain, and inflammation, and they’re treating them with psych meds. Dr. Deb Muth 01:03:25Yeah. That’s sad, isn’t it? Anju 01:03:28I think, you know, try to look for the underlying cause. Not just band-aid things. Dr. Deb Muth 01:03:34Where can listeners, learn more about your work and what you do? Anju 01:03:40Oh, that’s tough. I don’t have a book. One of these days. Dr. Deb Muth 01:03:48Yes! Anju 01:03:49Yes, one of these days. I think, you know, med maps, we have a… if they’re clinicians. Dr. Deb Muth 01:03:55Hmm? Anju 01:03:56I have lectured a lot. For, for, communities like Taka, so there’s just a lot of… lectures that I’ve given online. Dr. Deb Muth 01:04:09Awesome. Well, thank you for taking your time with us today. It’s been a great conversation with you. Anju 01:04:15Thank you so much for inviting me, Debra. I’m honored to be here, and thank you for doing the work that you do to put Put this out there for people, because it’s really important information. Dr. Deb Muth 01:04:27Thank you. Thank you for joining me today on Let’s Talk Wellness Now. Today’s discussion with Dr. Usman reminds us that there’s always more we can do. We can look deeper into biology, environment, and lifestyle. to heal the next generation. If this episode inspired you, please share it with a parent or a practitioner who believes every child deserves a chance to thrive. And to learn more about Dr. Usman, you can visit TrueHealthMedical.com or TrueHealingnaturals.com. And if you’re ready to explore your own root cause healing, visit us at Serenityhealthcarecenter.com. You can also follow me on Instagram, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of Let’s Talk Wellness now. Until next time. I’m Dr. Deb, reminding you to nurture your body, mind, and spirit. Be well, and I’ll see you soon.The post Episode 262 – The Root Cause of ADHD & Autism: Beyond the Diagnosis with Dr. Anju Usman Singh first appeared on Let's Talk Wellness Now.
Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 4-16-2026: Dr. Dawn opens with a follow-up from an email from Maryland about a friend in Switzerland, who has ongoing neurological and gastrointestinal symptoms. She reviews the earlier effort to connect him with functional-medicine resources in Switzerland, then focuses on a new observation that the patient may have had multiple parasitic infections during travel in Europe. Dawn agrees that this may have left a major gap in the workup and says that, in puzzling neurologic cases, a sleep-deprived EEG can sometimes reveal a “fingerprint” of brain-based dysfunction even if the patient is not actively having symptoms during the test. Dr. Dawn says that for people over 60 who have never had a heart attack or stroke, daily baby aspirin is no longer considered a good routine preventive measure because the bleeding risks, especially gastrointestinal bleeding, can outweigh the cardiovascular benefit. She makes the distinction that aspirin may still make sense for secondary prevention in people who already have established cardiovascular disease. She next reviews several medications that she thinks many older adults should reconsider. She explains that phenylephrine, which replaced easier access to pseudoephedrine in many cold remedies, has been found to work no better than placebo . She also says Colace is not very effective, and she strongly advises older adults to avoid Benadryl because it accumulates with age, increases fall risk, and may be associated with cognitive decline. She adds that beta blockers are no longer preferred first-line treatment for uncomplicated hypertension in many older patients, and that medications targeting the angiotensin pathway are generally favored instead. Dr. Dawn introduces Mira Achilles in the studio, describing her as her excellent administrative assistant. Mira explains that she gathered health questions from peers from her college world. Mira asks what best supports focus for someone with ADHD working at a desk job. Dr. Dawn says the two evidence-based pillars are cognitive behavioral therapy and exercise. She walks through practical strategies including using calendars, reminders, index cards, and to-do lists; sorting tasks by urgency and importance; breaking large projects into smaller steps; creating small reward loops by checking off progress; and deliberately reducing distractions in the work environment.. She emphasizes that movement and exercise improve attention and executive function, and that ADHD management often improves when sleep timing is stabilized. Another of Mira's peers asks whether women should avoid very cold showers or ice baths during the luteal phase or around menstruation. Dr. Dawn says the answer is not absolute, but she cautions that cold exposure can hit women differently depending on hormonal state. She notes that the luteal phase may make vasoconstriction and cold sensitivity more pronounced, and she raises concerns about the physiologic stress of cold immersion, including possible adverse effects on circulation and rewarming. Her overall tone is cautious rather than enthusiastic, especially for people who are already prone to feeling chilled or reactive. Another contributor asks why some people faint when seeing needles, blood, or medical procedures. Dr. Dawn explains the vasovagal response: a reflex in which blood pressure and heart rate suddenly drop, reducing blood flow to the brain. She offers simple countermeasures such as crossing the legs, tightening muscles, squatting, or using hand-grip tension to help push blood back toward the brain and prevent passing out. Dr. Dawn closes by asking whether cortisol is a “good” or a “bad” hormone. Dr. She answers that cortisol is essential: it helps regulate daily rhythms, energy balance, and the broader hormonal system, so it is not something to think of as inherently harmful. At the same time, she says problems arise when cortisol is chronically dysregulated or excessive, so the goal is to maintain a healthy rhythm and avoid overwhelming the adrenal system. Please go to KSQD.org and donate to support Ask Dr. Dawn on KSQD.
Donny breaks down the biggest brand wins and losses of the week. First, a brand down for ICE after a survey reveals 60% of recent arrests in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area involved people with no criminal record. Then it's a brand up for San Francisco, where new leadership is proving that tough-but-humane policing actually works — with major crimes dropping across the board and prosecutions skyrocketing. Plus, the emperor penguin gets a brand down as it's officially declared endangered due to climate change. Donny also weighs in on Hollywood making cigarettes cool again (a hard brand down), Nutella's genius move after a surprise space cameo, the return of the original American Girl dolls, and the dangerous Benadryl challenge sweeping TikTok. He also breaks down Gen Z's most bankable movie stars, the USPS stamp price hike, the dying art of cursive writing, the WNBA's explosive expansion, and why women outperform 80% of FBI agents in investigative skills. Plus, a news-you-can-use safety tip you'll want to hear before you cook dinner tonight. Thursday: Donny sits down with Billy Bush — don't miss it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Most people think allergies are seasonal annoyances and autoimmune disease is just genetic bad luck. The science says otherwise and the doctor making that argument has spent her career tracing both epidemics back to a cascade of well-intentioned medical decisions made thirty years ago that got it catastrophically wrong. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Tania Elliott, board-certified in internal medicine and allergy and immunology, to break down why your immune system is not broken, it is confused. We cover how chronic stress triggers the same physiological response as a bacterial invasion, why 80% of autoimmune diseases occur in women, and what is actually driving the 1 in 3 allergy epidemic. Dr. Elliott reveals the institutional failure behind the 2001 peanut guidance, why the 0.2% peanut allergy rate in Israel versus 10% in the US is not a coincidence, and why nut-free schools may be quietly creating the next wave of food allergies. We also get into what Benadryl is actually doing to your brain, why food sensitivity tests sold through influencers are close to useless, the real reason adults are suddenly developing shellfish allergies, and why the black plastic container your lunch arrived in is a serious problem. This episode will change how you think about your immune system, your child's early exposures, and the everyday decisions quietly shaping your long-term health. Reduce your risk of Alzheimer's with my science-backed protocol for women 30+: https://go.neuroathletics.com.au/youtube-sales-page Subscribe to The Neuro Experience for evidence-based conversations at the intersection of brain science, longevity, and performance. _____ TOPICS DISCUSSED 00:00 Intro: Why Your Immune System Is Not Broken, It Is Confused 01:02 Dr. Tania Elliott's Mission: Empowering People Through Evidence 02:46 What Is the Immune System and What Does It Actually Do 05:53 Autoimmune Disease, Chronic Stress, and Why 80% of Cases Are in Women 13:55 What Chronic Stress Actually Does to Your Immune System at a Cellular Level 25:29 The 1 in 3 Allergy Epidemic: What Changed in the Last 30 Years 30:08 The Hygiene Hypothesis, Antibiotics, C-Sections, and the Microbiome Disaster 36:09 The 2001 Institutional Failure That Made the Peanut Allergy Crisis Worse 41:52 Don't Put Peanut Butter on Your Child's Cheek, Do This Instead 43:19 Israel vs. the US: 0.2% vs. 10% Peanut Allergy and What Bamba Proved 45:37 Why Nut-Free Schools May Be Creating the Next Allergy Epidemic 49:29 Health Misinformation and the Algorithm's Role in Health Extremism 51:37 Developing Allergies as an Adult and the Shellfish Allergy Epidemic Explained 55:30 New Allergy Treatments, Useless Food Sensitivity Tests, and Black Plastic Containers 1:05:04 How to Spot Allergy Symptoms in Babies and Young Children 1:07:56 Why Benadryl Should Be Pulled From the Market _______ Thank you to our sponsors Daily Basis: https://www.dailybasislife.com/NEURO for 50% off first month Function Health: https://www.functionhealth.com/louisanicola Timeline: http://timeline.com/NEURO Jones Road Beauty: https://www.jonesroadbeauty.com and use code NEURO Lifeboost Coffee: https://lifeboostcoffee.com/ and use code NEURO for 10% off Just Thrive: https://justthrivehealth.com/NEURO _______ I'm Louisa Nicola - clinical neurophysiologist - Alzheimer's prevention specialist - founder of Neuro Athletics. My mission is to translate cutting-edge neuroscience into actionable strategies for cognitive longevity, peak performance, and brain disease prevention. If you're committed to optimizing your brain- reducing Alzheimer's risk - and staying mentally sharp for life, you're in the right place. Stay sharp. Stay informed. Join thousands who subscribe to the Neuro Athletics Newsletter → https://bit.ly/3ewI5P0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louisanicola_/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/louisanicola_ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
*Buy a EZ "DEFECTOR" hoodieNote: "Act 1" was a separate published audio podcast.*Check out EZ's morning radio show "The InZane Asylum Q100 Michigan with Eric Zane" Click here*Get a FREE 7 day trial to Patreon to "try it out."*Watch the show live, daily at 8AM EST on Twitch! Please click here to follow the page.Email the show on the Shoreliners Striping inbox: eric@ericzaneshow.comTopics*EZ got a call from "Big Vet" and now he's scared that he gave Darla Lyme Disease.*Clearly EZ puts his dogs health in jeopardy.*Wisconsin radio legend out after so-called "harassment."*Local assholes trying to cancel rapper Sonny Ski.*Gary Player getting roasted over comment to lady reporter.*Father of TN student called "hot" by creepy board member calls out board.*There's a new online challenge for stupid kids.*Asshole of the daySponsors:West Michigan Whitecaps, Berlin Raceway, Indian Paintbrush Farm Sanctuary, Impact Powersports, Kuiper Tree Care, Frank Fuss / My Policy Shop Insurance, Kings Room Barbershop, Shoreliners, Ervines Auto Repair Grand Rapids Hybrid & EV,Interested in advertising? Email eric@ericzaneshow.com and let me design a marketing plan for you.Contact: Shoreliners Striping inbox eric@ericzaneshow.comDiscord LinkEZSP TikTokSubscribe to my YouTube channelHire me on Cameo!Tshirts available herePlease subscribe, rate & write a review on Apple Podcastspatreon.com/ericzaneInstagram: ericzaneshowTwitterAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
*Buy a EZ "DEFECTOR" hoodieNote: "Act 2" will be a separate published audio podcast.*Check out EZ's morning radio show "The InZane Asylum Q100 Michigan with Eric Zane" Click here*Get a FREE 7 day trial to Patreon to "try it out."*Watch the show live, daily at 8AM EST on Twitch! Please click here to follow the page.Email the show on the Shoreliners Striping inbox: eric@ericzaneshow.comTopics:*EZ got a call from "Big Vet" and now he's scared that he gave Darla Lyme Disease.*Clearly EZ puts his dogs health in jeopardy.*Wisconsin radio legend out after so-called "harassment."*Local assholes trying to cancel rapper Sonny Ski.*Gary Player getting roasted over comment to lady reporter.*Father of TN student called "hot" by creepy board member calls out board.*There's a new online challenge for stupid kids.*Asshole of the daySponsors:West Michigan Whitecaps, Berlin Raceway, Indian Paintbrush Farm Sanctuary, Impact Powersports, Kuiper Tree Care, Frank Fuss / My Policy Shop Insurance, Kings Room Barbershop, Shoreliners, Ervines Auto Repair Grand Rapids Hybrid & EV,Interested in advertising? Email eric@ericzaneshow.com and let me design a marketing plan for you.Contact: Shoreliners Striping inbox eric@ericzaneshow.comDiscord LinkEZSP TikTokSubscribe to my YouTube channelHire me on Cameo!Tshirts available herePlease subscribe, rate & write a review on Apple Podcastspatreon.com/ericzaneInstagram: ericzaneshowTwitterAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
From Rocket Launches to Secret Affections. Why Your Person Is Giving You the Silent Treatment (And Why You Should Take the Gamble Anyway) This episode launches with raw emotion: the host's tearful reaction to the Artemis moon mission, unpacking childhood trauma from the Challenger disaster, and why space exploration might be humanity's last hope for unity. But don't get too comfortable in the stars—she quickly brings it back to earth with hard-won COVID survival hacks (Benadryl at night, the "50-50" Tylenol method for kids) before diving deep into a relationship reading that'll hit you where it hurts. The spread reveals: A situationship stuck between social media obsession and real-world silence. Someone got triggered by another man. Someone else is "protecting themselves from emotional chaos." There's financial entanglement (child support? alimony?), secret/ sacred love energy, and a classic power move: the silent treatment as retaliation. Both parties want to escape the jealousy-fueled hell of online connection and take this thing into reality—but fear, anger, and past trauma have them negotiating in circles. The cards don't sugarcoat it: every relationship is a commitment to heartbreak. But the host challenges listeners to plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take the damn shot anyway. The payoff? Balanced, tempered, successful love—if you're brave enough to trust it. The love note reveals someone deeply moved by a recent surprise from the listener, describing a happiness so profound it made them "happy happy" — a rare, soul-level joy that has them smiling at every message and feeling genuinely safe. They're quietly building courage to approach in person but refuse to rush, treating the connection as "too valuable" to push or pressure. Both are caught in the "chop wood" busyness of daily life, yet there's mutual patience and a shared knowing that they've each learned hard lessons. The writer sees the listener as perfect exactly as they are, respecting their pace and sovereignty. ⚠️ These are performances and for entertainment purposes only. Make Good Decisions www.lovesexandtarot.com lovesexandtarot@gmail.com Socials: @lovesexandtarot Find me on YouTube and TikTok Key themes: twin flame vs. trauma bond, silent treatment psychology, social media jealousy, financial anxiety in relationships, fear of commitment, and calculated risk in love. Plus a sweet love note reading about someone building up the courage to approach you IRL.
If you have ever taken an antihistamine labeled "non-drowsy" and still ended up foggy and tired, you are not imagining it. Allergists have a lot to say about that label and about the foggy feeling that comes with allergy season in general. In part two of our live recordings from the AAAAI conference in Philadelphia, Kortney and Dr. Payel Gupta talk to allergists from across the US about what they actually think about antihistamines. What we cover in this episode about antihistamines: Non-drowsy does not mean the same thing for every antihistamine. Zyrtec, Claritin, and Allegra are all labeled non-drowsy, but some are more likely to make you sleepy than others. Why allergists have moved away from Benadryl. First-generation antihistamines cross into the brain more easily, causing drowsiness and a range of other side effects that are far less common with newer antihistamines. The foggy feeling might not be your medication. Congestion from untreated allergies disrupts your sleep, and poor sleep creates its own fog. Sometimes it is the disease, not the drug. Timing your antihistamine makes a real difference. Taking it before you head out gives it the best chance to work. And if it makes you drowsy, switching to a nighttime dose is a simple fix. Not all second-generation antihistamines are approved for pilots. Fexofenadine has the lowest penetration into the brain of any antihistamine tested, which is why the FAA cleared it as the only option pilots can take while flying. Second-generation antihistamines (non-sedating or minimally sedating) Cetirizine — Zyrtec Loratadine — Claritin, Alavert Fexofenadine — Allegra Levocetirizine — Xyzal Desloratadine — Clarinex (prescription only) First-generation antihistamines (sedating) Diphenhydramine — Benadryl, ZzzQuil, Unisom Chlorpheniramine — Chlor-Trimeton Brompheniramine — Dimetapp Dimenhydrinate — Dramamine Hydroxyzine — Atarax, Vistaril (prescription only) Thank you to our allergists A huge thank you to every allergist who stopped what they were doing at the AAAAI conference to talk to us. We could not make this episode without you. Dr. Mansi Kotwal, Instagram Dr. Lauren Davidson, Instagram Dr. Joel Brooks, LinkedIn Dr. Pratibha Vakharia, allergyv.com Dr. Rathika Gupta Dr. David Wertheim Thanks to Opella for sponsoring today's episode. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.
Send Zorba a message!Zorba gives digs in to the new blood test that purports to predict when symptoms of Alzheimer's may begin. He helps out a caller with joint pain issues. An emailer asks about Benadryl use, and Zorba helps out a listener with IBS issues. Zorba fields comments about riding his e-bike, and we hear a mom joke...which happens to be Zorba's favorite one so far.Support the showProduction, edit, and music by Karl ChristensonSend your question to Dr. Zorba (he loves to help!):Phone: 608-492-9292 (call anytime)Email: askdoctorzorba@gmail.comWeb: www.doctorzorba.orgStay well!
Send Zorba a message!Zorba gives digs in to the new blood test that purports to predict when symptoms of Alzheimer's may begin. He helps out a caller with joint pain issues. An emailer asks about Benadryl use, and Zorba helps out a listener with IBS issues. Zorba fields comments about riding his e-bike, and we hear a mom joke...which happens to be Zorba's favorite one so far.Support the showProduction, edit, and music by Karl ChristensonSend your question to Dr. Zorba (he loves to help!):Phone: 608-492-9292 (call anytime)Email: askdoctorzorba@gmail.comWeb: www.doctorzorba.orgStay well!
If allergy season leaves you feeling exhausted even after a full night's sleep, you're not imagining it. Seasonal allergies can disrupt sleep quality through histamine release, inflammation, and nighttime congestion that fragments deep sleep. In this video, we explore how allergies affect sleep architecture, why histamine increases wakefulness, and how different types of allergy medications — including diphenhydramine (Benadryl), cetirizine (Zyrtec), loratadine (Claritin), fexofenadine (Allegra), nasal steroids, and decongestants — may impact drowsiness and next-day alertness. Learn practical strategies to improve sleep during allergy season, including medication timing, environmental controls, and ways to reduce nighttime inflammation. If you struggle with allergy fatigue, brain fog, or restless sleep during high pollen months, this evidence-based discussion will help you make more informed choices for better rest and better health.
Dander enemies. Gluten intolerances. Runny noses. Shellfish bummers. Skin prick tests. Epipen pockets. Allergies? WE GOT ‘EM, folks. And we've got double board-certified allergist, immunologist, and author of the New York Times Bestseller “All About Allergies” Dr. Zachary Rubin. The Doc takes a quick break from his many demanding jobs to let me pepper him with questions about sneezing, allergy shots, Benadryl naps, home testing vs. office visits, oral challenges, unfriendly fruits, street tree sexism, and so much more. We've been itching to do this one for a while, so get it in your system ASAP. Follow Dr. Rubin on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Buy his book, All About Allergies: Everything You Need to Know About Asthma, Food Allergies, Hay Fever and More on Amazon or Bookshop.org A donation went to Red Sneakers for Oakley More episode sources and links Other episodes you may enjoy: Rhinology (NOSES), Ophthalmology (EYES), Dendrology (TREES), Phenology (FALL/SEASONS), Fromology (CHEESE), Entomology (INSECTS), Melittology (BEES), Culicidology (MOSQUITOES), Spheksology (WASPS), Plumology (FEATHERS), Carobology (NOT-CHOCOLATE TREES) 400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes Sponsors of Ologies Transcripts and bleeped episodes Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes! Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee Managing Director: Susan Hale Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth Transcripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. Dwyer Theme song by Nick Thorburn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jeremy and Boss celebrate Metzger March, get their Peters mixed up, see William Blake after taking too many Benadryl, get sent to the sludge pits and learn to keep tabs as they discuss Radley Metzger's Naked Came the Stranger.
Send a textCostco Pharmacy Sleep Aids: Melatonin, Antihistamines, Nasal Sprays & More (No Membership Needed)Michelle and Daniel film from Costco's pharmacy and health/beauty aisles, highlighting that you don't need a Costco membership to use the pharmacy and that it participates with GoodRx, with reduced rates for GLP-1s, though hours are limited. They browse products and discuss how some relate to sleep, including melatonin (noting dosing concerns, regulation differences, and that it supports circadian shifting rather than directly causing sleepiness) and why antihistamines like diphenhydramine (Benadryl and “PM” cold/pain products) shouldn't be used regularly for sleep due to side effects, especially with age. They compare nasal products (Afrin rebound risk, saline sprays, Flonase/Nasacort, and NeilMed rinses with distilled water cautions), mention Breathe Right strips for nasal breathing, review vapor inhalers/rub, and briefly discuss magnesium and methylated B-complex vitamins.00:00 Costco Pharmacy Secrets00:48 Health Aisle Warmup02:37 Melatonin Reality Check04:09 Antihistamines Not Sleep Aids05:48 Nasal Sprays and Saline07:39 Neti Pot Safety Talk08:43 Breathe Strips and Mouth Tape09:41 Vapor Inhalers and Rubs10:49 PM Pain Relievers Warning12:28 Sleep Gummies and Supplements13:27 B Vitamins Magnesium Wrap✨ Real rest isn't just about falling asleep, it's about feeling at ease again. I'm Dr. Daniel Baughn, sleep psychologist and co-host of Sleep Takeout. I help professionals and high-achievers who seem to have everything together on the outside but can't quite turn off their minds at night.
Brandons relationship with Greg hits a snag. Meanwhile Anna, hopped up on Benadryl water passes out on Brandons bed. Who's gonna work the case with him now? Perhaps an old friend?
Courtney's experience with insomnia didn't start overnight — but when it hit, it hit hard. Looking back, she could see some early signs. As a child, she was sensitive to her environment. New places, travel, small changes — sleep didn't always come easily. But it wasn't something that took over her life. That changed in 2020. With a new baby, the stress of the pandemic, family tension, and untreated anxiety, everything began to build at once. Then the nights started to change. She began waking up in the early hours of the morning, wide awake. At first, it was confusing. Then it became frightening. The moment she noticed she wasn't asleep, panic would take over. Her heart would race. Her body would react as if something was wrong. Nights became something to fear. Sleep became something she felt she had to make happen. She tried everything — supplements, routines, changes to her environment, and eventually medication. But nothing brought consistent relief. Her days started revolving around sleep. Avoiding things. Planning everything around the night ahead. Trying harder, doing more — all in the hope that sleep would finally come. But the harder she tried, the more difficult it became. What began to shift things for Courtney wasn't another strategy — it was a different way of understanding what was happening. A realization that nothing was broken. That her body already knew how to sleep. And that the struggle itself might be what was keeping her stuck. From there, things didn't change overnight. It took time. Practice. Setbacks. Learning how to respond differently to difficult nights and the thoughts and feelings that came with them. But slowly, something began to change. She started trusting her body again. Sleep became less of a battle. And instead of her life revolving around sleep, she was putting more of her energy into the things that mattered to her each day — and insomnia lost its power and its influence. Click here for a full transcript of this episode. Transcript Martin: Welcome to the Insomnia Coach Podcast. My name is Martin Reed. I believe that by changing how we respond to insomnia and all the difficult thoughts and feelings that come with it, we can move away from struggling with insomnia and toward living the life we want to live. Martin: The content of this podcast is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. The statements and opinions expressed by guests are their own and are not necessarily endorsed by Insomnia Coach LLC. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied. Martin: Okay, Courtney, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to come onto the podcast. Courtney: Thank you very much for having me on. Martin: It’s great to have you on. Let’s start right at the beginning as always. When did your sleep problems first begin, and what do you feel caused those initial issues with sleep? Courtney: So I think what caused the insomnia battle that I dealt with was some background things that got, had, had gone on in my life. For example my mom has always struggled with sleep, so I have wondered if there’s a genetic component to that. Even as a kid, I’ve just always been more sensitive to my environment. Courtney: For example if I went to a friend’s house, I wouldn’t sleep very well. There was times I’d have my mom come and get me because I wasn’t sleeping. Probably get really anxious if the, if we’re traveling, I don’t sleep well, if the room is too hot, I don’t sleep well. Just things like that. Just very sensitive to shifts in my environment. Courtney: And then in 2020 is when I began my battle with insomnia. What also added into that was just some unhelpful beliefs about sleep that I just picked up from the media. Courtney: For example, like I feel like there’s a lot of times that they’ll do a study or they’ll release an article that doesn’t tell the full story, but is enough to cause fear in you about insomnia. So for example, if someone doesn’t get seven to nine hours a night, that could lead to whatever catastrophic thing or. Courtney: Insomniacs are, you know, shown to struggle with, you know, fill in the blank there. So I had that kind of fearful mindset already. And then yeah, you just add in. My husband and I had our first child in 2019. Around that time I was struggling with an un untreated anxiety disorder, and I was trying to muscle my way through that. Courtney: And then, as you know, the years progressed. We had some family and relational tension and my husband has some job changes due to the pandemic that happened, let alone the pandemic itself and the fear around that. So there was just a lot of lifestyle changes at that time that I think I had a hard time with, and I just never slowed down to kind of process that or make space for that. Courtney: And I think my body was trying to communicate that to me through anxiety, but I just didn’t slow down to listen. And then it, it. Overflowed into a, a sleep disorder or insomnia right around 2020. And I’ve struggled with that for quite a few years and finally I’m in a better place where I feel like I can talk about it having been on the other side of it. Martin: So it sounds like for you, concern or a focus or issues with sleep was always something that was kind of with you, maybe perhaps more in the background. It would show up every now and then, but then in 2020 around then there was lots of change going on. Lots of stresses, lots of different stuff happening and so the sleep issues resurfaced, but this time it felt different. Courtney: Yes. There was just a few nights that I started waking up at like 3:00 AM just wide awake. And I was like, huh, this is weird. And then it started getting more and more frequent, and there was a few nights that I did not sleep at all. And what shifted was my focus on it and my fear around it. So I started becoming very fearful, like, what is wrong with me that I can’t sleep? So as that fear grew, I started to become more fearful of nighttime. Courtney: And it was on the week of Halloween. There was a few nights that I, I didn’t sleep at all. Like, I would lay down at night and I, I lay there for maybe about 15 minutes or so, and it’s like, as soon as I was aware, oh, I’m not sleeping yet, I would instantly have a panic attack. I mean, I was sweating, my heart was racing. Courtney: I was in full panic mode. I had my, I called my dad up ’cause he lives, you know, nearby. And my husband stayed with our son and I had him take me to the emergency room at about 3:00 AM just panic stricken. Courtney: And I didn’t even know, I just, I needed help and I didn’t know where to go. So he took me there and I mean, I went in and I was just like, I just can’t sleep. I, I can’t sleep. And I’m sure they thought. You know, I was on something ’cause they ran a full drug screen and of course that came back clean. I was just panic stricken, severe anxiety. Courtney: But it probably looked to them like I was taking a stimulant of some kind. ’cause how else, like, would I end up there? Not able to sleep. But unfortunately, like they didn’t really have any answers for me. I remember talking with the nurse and just telling her my story and she acknowledged, she’s like, you’ve been through a lot of life change and, you know, that can contribute to this. Courtney: But there was no real like, help. I think they gave me two Benadryl and I think that made me doze off for an hour in the ER while I was waiting to be discharged. And I think that only came from the fact that they were treating me for something like they were taking care of me. So I feel like I could like come down a little bit and then went home and I don’t think I slept the rest of the night after that. Courtney: The next morning I think I crashed on the couch for maybe an hour, and then the following Thursday, I ha ended up having my husband take me into the emergency room. ‘Cause we had stayed at my parents’ house that night and so they were with my son and my husband took me in and I was again just begging them to help me sleep. Courtney: Prior to that I was able to get in with the local psychiatrist’s office and I think I went to them that Thursday and, you know, they gave me medication and they gave me an anti-anxiety medic medication. And then also she called it a heavy hitter sleep medication. I think it was Restoril, which is an older generation drug. Courtney: And I was like, okay, this will do it for me. And she was pretty confident. She’s like, well, you know, put you on this for a very limited time, maybe two weeks. And we’ll see how that goes. So I went home that Thursday night and I took it and it didn’t help. And I, so I can’t even tell you the fear, the shame, the confusion of, they gave me a heavy hitter as she put it, sleep medication. Courtney: And that was not enough to help me sleep. So hence, I, I ended up back in the ER and all they could do was give me another dose of that, just because I think you were allowed to take two and that was the maximum. So I, from then on, I was taking the maximum dose of that much longer than the two weeks. And so I felt completely just weak, broken alone, confu, I mean, anything you can think of in a dark season like that, I felt it because I was like, this is not helping. Courtney: Like this is the strongest that they have and this is not enough to knock me out, like, what is wrong with me? Martin: Well that was a really difficult situation that you were going through. And so the way it sounds like it was different, apart from the obvious in terms of the visits to the emergency room, was when the sleep issue showed up. Martin: This time around, they, they felt different. Like you were waking up during the night and sleep just wasn’t getting back on track like it was in the past. So that led to some understandable concern ’cause you’re a human being. But then the more that concern raised. Perhaps there was like more pressure to make sleep happen, more effort to make sleep happen more trying. Martin: And then that in turn just made it more difficult until it reached this crescendo where you’re just kind of, you can’t try any harder. And then we’re told, well, this, this is the most powerful medication we have. This will make sleep happen. And when that isn’t working, especially after you’ve been told that, then you’re feeling really alone out of options. Martin: Confused, scared, as you said, you can feel broken and it just makes it just even so much more difficult and scary. Courtney: Yes. And so what even made it worse was I was back in the psychiatrist’s office a few days later and I think she was very concerned that I had to take the maximum dose. And that it wasn’t helping. Courtney: So on top of that, on top of the anxiety medication, on top of the heavy sleep medication, she prescribed a anti-psychotic, not because I was psychotic, but because it was also used off-label as a a sleep to induce sleep. So she’s like, maybe this com, you know, combined with the Restoril, will help you go back to the one pill, the one dose, and then you don’t have to take the two. Courtney: We can get you off of it faster. Well, I wish that was the case, but I still had to take the two, I had to take the anti-psychotic and I was on it longer than the two weeks. So then that snowballed into fear of dependency on the medication. And I will say I was dependent on it because it got to a point where if I even thought, okay, maybe I can try to not take it tonight, I would instantly have anxiety. Courtney: So. After, after, you know, the, the hospital trips and the trips to the, the psychiatrist, I, the medicine did help temporarily. There was a couple nights that knocked me out for like 10 hours. So I was taking everything that they gave me and I, I got some sleep, but it was like, one night would be 10 hours and then the next night, you know, I might get four hours and then another night I would make that up, like my body would sleep longer. Courtney: So it was kind of like a rollercoaster of sleep. I just had the hardest time getting balanced again. Martin: So it sounds as though you felt just really dependent on all these different medications. But at the same time you felt that this was just unsustainable, like continuing to take this much medication, especially when it wasn’t even generating consistently good sleep for you. Martin: But as far as you are concerned, you had no other options. Courtney: Exactly, yes. And so it was hard because the, the other feelings, it wasn’t just about the sleep anymore. So there was nights that I would get up and just go for a walk around our neighborhood at like 3:00 AM And I, I remember thinking, this is like so weird how like, physically I am up walking in the dark when everybody else is asleep and I should be asleep, but I can’t. Courtney: And then emotionally I’m in the same place. Like I’m dealing with something that no one around me knows what to do with. I, you know, I remember talking to family and friends and even my husband just like, you know, they were telling me, oh, have you tried melatonin? Have you tried lavender? Have you tried CBD oil? Courtney: And I’m like, yes, I’ve done all of it. But they just, they don’t know. And I remember my husband saying maybe try not to think about it. And so then I’m like, okay, maybe he’s right. Courtney: Maybe I just need to not think so much about it. And that’s when I was, I lay down at night and I would try to control my thoughts and I would try to, I started changing my environment because I was of course researching everything, being a problem solver. And I’m like, okay, so I need to, you know, wear the blue light glasses. Courtney: I need to not drink coffee afternoon. I need to do all, all of the things that, you know, I’m sure many people have talked about with you that you’ve discussed on your channel that other people have done. Like I did all of them, but the intention behind them was to induce sleep. So every time I did those things, it backfired. Courtney: And I think those things are, can be helpful if you’re trying to relax your body. If you’re trying to. I was actually just talking to my dad about this. He asked me about like a, a sleep supplement. I’m like, well, if you’re trying to, you know, support your body, great, but I think it can backfire. If you’re trying to induce sleep, if the goal is to make yourself sleep, that can be very problematic. Courtney: And that was my case. So it was just a very lonely place of people suggesting things and telling me things, and I’m like, I’ve done all of it. None of it works. Something’s wrong with me. Like I, I remember thinking my, something in my brain must have just broke. And when you look online about insomnia outside of the community that you have created, there’s not, there’s nothing that’s helpful. Courtney: So it was just, it was a very lonely place of trying to navigate this until I came across your channel. Martin: You made an insightful point there that all the things that you did for as long as the intention was to make a certain amount or a certain type of sleep happen. It was going to backfire because sleep is out of your direct control. Martin: But when you were going through this struggle, was, was that insight present? Like did you realize at the time that the more your intention was focused on trying to make sleep happen the more you seemed to struggle? Or was it more of a case of I’ve just gotta keep trying, sooner or later I’ll find something that works. Courtney: Yes. So initially I think I was just so frazzled that I was trying anything and everything, and I mean, I, it took me quite a while to come across your channel. I was looking at different, I was researching things, I was looking at different videos and for me personally, my faith is very important to me. Courtney: So I was looking thing, looking for things through that lens. And the first thing that I came across that was even a little bit helpful was there’s, there was this guy who was talking about his struggle with insomnia, and he talked about the importance of surrender. Courtney: And just for him, you know, he talked about just surrendering everything to God and giving up and not trying so hard. And that was enough for him. And I’m like, okay, I can, you know, I can do that. I can surrender. And, you know, I did have a night where I was like, all right, you know, if I’m never gonna sleep again, I can’t help it. Courtney: Like, I, I give up and, you know, but for me, and that helped for a little bit. The surrender or the acceptance did help for a little bit. But for me, I just, I needed more information. I’m someone who, I, I love to know the why behind why I’m doing things. I love to, you know, learn as much as I can. And so when I finally stumbled across your channel, you explained everything with the why behind it, why in insomnia develops, why your body’s doing what it’s doing, why your efforts are failing. Courtney: And I’m like, okay, this is, this is filling in the gaps that I have needed in order to move forward. Martin: Mm. So perhaps it’s education, perhaps that educational component of it. A greater understanding of where insomnia comes from, what keeps it alive, what gives it power and influence just felt reassuring. Martin: Now things started to make sense for you. Maybe you didn’t feel broken anymore. You realized that you weren’t broken, you were just stuck. And I think you made a good point too, because when we hear people talk about surrender or acceptance. That, that can be a new option that’s available to us. And like you said, you experimented with it but without that kind of understanding on, you know, why is this helpful? Martin: How is this helpful? It can make it harder to commit to that kind of approach. Courtney: Exactly, exactly. And so it was frustrating because like, everything that I was looking into felt like just a bandaid. And it, it, it was hard because the things that I was doing was not helping, like, it wasn’t addressing the root cause. Courtney: And, you know, I, I did everything I could. I had, there were nights my husband would stay up with me to talk with me. I had people praying for me. I was praying about it, like trying all the supplements and nothing like, you feel just helpless. You’re like, I’m doing all the right things. And in my mind, or in the way we’ve learned in our culture is if you try harder. Courtney: You will get results. Well, I’ve learned with anxiety and I’ve learned with insomnia, the opposite is true. The harder you try, the more your body’s like this is not gonna work very well. So it took me a while to get to that point, but I feel like once I did there was so much more freedom and I was able to take that pressure off. Martin: One thing that you touched upon earlier was how this wasn’t just an issue at nighttime, it would also be present in the daytime as well. When you were still tangled up in this struggle, how was this affecting your days? Courtney: It consumed my thoughts. So in the morning, okay, so for example, nowadays, like if I’m having a rough day and maybe I didn’t sleep well, I will tell my husband, Hey, you know, I’m having a rough day. Courtney: I didn’t, I maybe slept, you know, four or five hours, just bear with me. But back then. I would get up in the morning and be like, telling everybody, oh my gosh, I only slept two hours tonight. Last night I only slept an hour. I didn’t sleep at all. I was telling anybody and everybody just desperate. And my entire day looked like cultivating the day to support the night. Courtney: So not drinking coffee after noon, as I mentioned. Not over exerting myself because I didn’t wanna overstimulate myself to keep myself awake at night. There were times I stayed at home more often and just kind of avoided the things that I normally enjoy. I started worrying about what I was eating. Courtney: I started worrying about like how much screen time I had. I started worrying about how much I was outside. You know, anything that you can think of. Like I was doing all of that in order to try to provide myself the best opportunity to sleep that night. And it never worked. Martin: It’s almost like sleep or insomnia was in charge of your decisions each day. Martin: And so all your actions were intended to serve sleep rather than serve you and the life you wanted to live. And so not only was this kind of maintaining that struggle because none of that stuff really had much influence on sleep anyway, but it was making things even more difficult because then you’re getting pulled away from doing the stuff that’s important. Martin: Doing the stuff that matters, like through no fault of your own because you’re a problem solver, you’re trying to fix this. But it’s just a, a really clear illustration of how easy it is to get pulled into this struggle. And to find it consuming your attention, consuming your life, and just becoming increasingly more difficult the more you try to deal with it. Courtney: Yes, exactly. And it’s, it is just, it’s crazy how you can’t, like, you can’t even help it. It’s not like you’re intentionally trying to do that. You’re just trying to survive in that moment, and that’s what happens. Unfortunately, that’s the opposite of what needed to happen. So it’s just, it’s, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Courtney: It is such a confusing and lonely and just disorienting space to be in when you’re struggling with insomnia to that level. And then on top of that, it took me a while to realize that like the, the brain fog or forgetfulness or irritability or whatever I was struggling with during the day wasn’t necessarily because of the sleep that I lost. Courtney: It was because of the anxiety that was consuming me as well. Martin: Yeah, it’s, it’s just so difficult, isn’t it? Um, You mentioned that you listened to a podcast episode where someone talked about moving away from the, trying, from trying to make sleep happen, and that kind of prompted you to explore a new approach. Martin: So as you dove into that, and now as you reflect on that journey, what were some of the changes that you made to your way of approaching sleep and responding to insomnia and other thoughts and the feelings that can come with it that helped you move away from the struggle and got you to where you are today? Courtney: So definitely the education behind your videos, like the, the early videos that you’ve posted. I found that so helpful because I remember it was like a big breath of fresh air when you said something like insomnia is not the same thing as sleep deprivation. Therefore it doesn’t have the same effects and. Courtney: The second thing was your body is wise in that it will make up the sleep that you need through deep sleep. And even if you’re not getting the full eight hours that you would like to get, your body’s going to get the sleep then it needs. So it allowed me to kind of take a step back and be like, whoa, if I just, if I just let my body do what it is designed to do, maybe I can get back on track. Courtney: And so, yeah, just the, the, the initial moments of just surrendering to that and letting go and trusting the physiologic, the physiology of my body is what helped me to kind of loosen my grip a little bit. But I will say unfortunately for, well, in my mind, unfortunately it took a lot longer than I would’ve liked it to. Courtney: I would call that week of no sleep traumatic for me. I, I don’t use that term lightly, but I say that because I’ve come to learn that our bodies keep the score of things like they remember. And there are nights even now, you know, five years later where if I, I’ll be okay for a night or two, but if I go a little bit, you know, maybe three days more of just struggling, those, those fears start to creep back in. Courtney: And my body, it’s almost like I’m back in 2020 and I’m like, oh, okay, are we going back here? And that’s where, you know, for me, it helps to get out of bed to kind of separate myself from that environment and then go back downstairs. And I found coloring before bed during those times to be really helpful. Courtney: So I’ll get like an adult coloring book with like, you know, the intricate designs and I will sit there and color and that calms my body down. But allow, it also allows those thoughts to just be there, but I don’t have to pay attention to them. Something else that has been helpful is if I’m really struggling with like thoughts, I would just get my phone out real quick and I will just journal ’em. Courtney: I will just type ’em all out and there’s been nights I can’t even finish, finish journaling before I fall asleep. So there’s different, you know, tools and things I can do now to support myself to not go back to that place. But it took me a very, very long time. And a lot of, you know, I’ve heard the term relapses or setbacks or however you look at it, you can look at it as like, okay, this isn’t just another opportunity to take care of myself. Courtney: This is another opportunity to try to implement what I’ve learned and grow and teach my brain through behavior that I can move past this point. You know, I don’t have to go back to 2020, but it, it takes a long time. At least it did for me. Martin: Yeah, absolutely. I always like to think of this different approach as being skills-based. Martin: And so like with any skill, it’s gonna take time to get better at that skill, and it’s gonna require a lot of practice, a lot of ongoing practice. And there are gonna be times where it feels that that practice is useful and helpful. And there’s gonna be times when it feels like that practice isn’t doing anything. Martin: But what matters is just continuing to get the practice in if developing this new skill. Is important to you. And I like how you shared the, the educational component of it was just so reassuring that you learned that you don’t need to intervene with sleep. Like you don’t need to do anything to make it happen. Martin: Your body wants to take care of that by itself. So that just immediately takes so much of the pressure off, right? You don’t have to do anything anymore. With that, once you’ve got that understanding, I mean, is that, is that what that felt like for you? Courtney: Oh, yes. And it’s interesting how like. And the health circle of things like, you know, sleep gets grouped in with like, if you want to eat healthier, do all these things. Courtney: If you want to exercise, do all these things. If you wanna be healthier, do all these things. And then sleep gets thrown in there, like, make sure you’re getting your seven to nine hours. Make sure you’re practicing sleep hygiene and it gets grouped in there. But that’s the only thing that doesn’t work with effort. Courtney: So it took me a long time to unlearn that, that okay, sleep’s the one thing I can just, you know, take, take my hands off of it. And I found that to be true with other people that I’ve known. It seems like the best sleepers I knew were the people that like could sleep by the, like my husband could sleep by a campfire outside, like, no, doesn’t need anything. Courtney: And so it’s those people that don’t even try that seem to sleep the best. Martin: Yeah. And that’s another great insight, isn’t it? Is just looking to what other people are doing. Especially those people that seem to have no issue or concern around sleep. They get great nights almost every night. What are you doing to make that happen? Martin: You ask that question, you kind of get this dumbfounded look right as they try and figure out what they’re doing, because the answer is they’re not doing anything. They’re just setting time aside for sleep to happen, and that’s it. So perhaps all this messaging around sleep, you know, get seven to nine hours of sleep. Martin: Maybe it should be make time for sleep, you know, make sufficient time for sleep. The issue is the people who are reading that kind of advice are the people who are struggling with sleep and then, and people with insomnia are often allotting even more time than necessary for sleep. And then setting themselves up for more wakefulness at night. Martin: So it’s, it again, it’s just so easy through no fault of our own, to just get pulled into this struggle with the kind of messaging around sleep that is predominant. Courtney: Yes. Yep. And then you add in the, the, like the fear behind it. Like the fear-based, if you don’t do this, this will happen. So then you feel even worse. Courtney: Like if I don’t, if I don’t get sleep soon, something bad’s gonna happen to me. So that’s why like during that week, I remember at one point I told my husband, I’m like, I just want them to admit me to the hospital. Check me in, send me up to, you know, the mental health floor wherever I need to go, and just, can they just knock me out? Courtney: Can I just sleep? Just to get, you know, get back into sleeping again. Because I thought if I don’t do that, I’m, my health is gonna self-destruct. Like this is harmful to my body, which puts you into fight or flight even more. And then, yeah, just the shame of, like I said, like walking out at night and looking around at the world and it’s dark and everybody’s sleeping and you’re like, what’s wrong with me? Courtney: Like, something’s wrong with me, that I’m not like everybody else, that I can’t sleep. And so that’s a whole nother component to this is those thoughts that creep in when you do lay down at night. And for the longest time I was just trying to control them. Like, don’t think about that. Think about something else. Courtney: Like try to be calmed down. I was trying to breathe, you know, do all the things and I learned, you know, through, you know, your resources that just letting those thoughts be there and let ’em float away, you know, just don’t get too over involved with them. That can relax your body. So you can go to. And then, yeah, another thing that was kind of counterintuitive was the sleep restriction, but that I think had the biggest impact for me is because I was trying to allot aot of time for sleep, but I was going to bed at like nine o’clock and I’d lay there for an hour and a half and that would just increase the anxiety to where I’m like, okay, what’s the minimum sleep I can get? Courtney: And so I would go to sleep at like, or I’d go up at like 10 or 10 30 when I noticed my eyes were actually drowsy and I would lay there and some nights I would fall right asleep. If I didn’t, I got back up and came downstairs. But that is what helped me to actually be tired enough to go to bed. But again, the message is, well, you have to, you know, you have to make sure you’re getting enough sleep, so you have to go to bed early. Courtney: And it just, it creates such a mess for people. I, ugh, I just feel bad for anyone going through it right now because I know I, I’m not too far removed to forget what that feels like. Martin: Absolutely. And it comes down against that theme of the more we chase after sleep, the more elusive it becomes. Martin: You mentioned that one thing that was really helpful for you was to open up a little bit more to whatever thoughts and feelings were showing up compared to trying to fight them, avoid them, resist them, control them, reason with them or anything else with them. And I think the, for a lot of us, this idea of opening up to what can be really scary, difficult, and uncomfortable thoughts and feelings can itself feel really scary, difficult, and uncomfortable. Martin: What was your experience like with that? What showed up for you when you first heard of this approach of opening up to this, these really difficult thoughts and feelings? Courtney: Oh my goodness. I just, I instantly flashed back to just laying there in bed with all these crazy thoughts in my head, but making time to allow that. Courtney: And I just remember thinking like, oh my goodness, if I do this, like, I’m gonna end up even worse. Like, I’m gonna end up even further into insomnia if I allow all this, all these feelings, and I don’t do something to try to calm them down. And it, it makes so much sense because as I’ve learned with anxiety slash insomnia, it’s that the more you try to control things, the worse it gets. Courtney: Because your anxious response is to get you to do something like it. Your body thinks it’s in danger. So the more you respond with trying to grab a hold of it and like do something, it’s gonna get worse. Where if you just kind of say, all right, I’m okay. I’m gonna lay here as uncomfortable as I am. Courtney: This is terrible, but I’m just gonna lay here and let them be. I’m gonna let these feelings be here over time they do pass. So it took, again, it takes time. I still have to practice that, but I’m much better at it than I was. But it does take time. Martin: it is definitely an ongoing practice. I think to get better skilled in experiencing the full range of human thoughts and feelings with less resistance making space for them to exist. I’m curious to hear from you what that first night or what the first few nights were like when you tried to practice this new approach of making space for that stuff to show up compared to that default response of resistance. Courtney: So it was. It was very, again, I would say a rollercoaster in those hours of like, you know, 10 30 to seven or whatever, I was in bed. Like initially I would be like, okay, this is uncomfortable, but I’m gonna try this. And I would try it and I would fit, I, I would feel myself relaxed and I would calm down. And then a new thought that would really jar me would come in or a new feeling. Courtney: And I’d be like, and then I’d have to do it again. So it was constantly, constantly grabbing a hold of those thoughts and being like, okay, you know, I’m just gonna let this be here. I don’t have to believe this, you know, this is what my body’s feeling, but my brain. And it helped for me to separate myself a little bit or create some distance between my, my identity and my brain. Courtney: Like my brain is the one, you know, churning out all these crazy thoughts. ’cause my body doesn’t feel safe right now. And that’s okay. That’s okay. But I am safe. I’m just gonna lay here. That would work and then I’d have to do it again. So it was a lot of rep repetition over and over. It wasn’t like a one and done, like tonight’s the night, I’m gonna challenge my thoughts or allow them to be there, or you know, breathe and calm down and I’m good. Courtney: It was repetition over and over again. Martin: That’s where I think a lot of us can give up because we can still have that, whether it’s, maybe it’s a little bit hidden away in the background or more of a covert goal of I’m practicing this in order to get rid of these thoughts and these feelings. So every time they kind of pop back you’re like, ah, this isn’t working. Martin: So I’m curious to hear from you with that very common experience of, I opened up to the thoughts, they felt like they were starting to lose their power. I got a little taste of how this could be helpful, but then again, another one would come in and I’ll be back to square one again. What prompted or motivated you to keep up with that practice to feel as though this was an approach that you wanted to commit to and develop skill in? Courtney: I would see incremental progress. Like I would see little glimmers of hope that I was working my way out of this. So, for example, like I said, with the emails, like I did see through the, the email practices I was putting into place, I would see incremental progress there. And I would do that with the thoughts as well. Courtney: And then there was a point where I, I just kept going back to, well, I can’t go back to the way it was because that got me nowhere. So there were weak moments where I’m like, I just needed, you know, I need to go back to trying harder, trying all the things, or maybe I should try different sleep medication. Courtney: And I would be like, well that didn’t get you anywhere. That’s not getting to the. So I think I would love to say it was this big, profound moment of like, breakthrough, but it really was just incremental progress that I saw in myself. Like I’ll never forget the one night I was sitting on the couch and I was drowsy because I had implemented sleep restriction and I was color, I was doing something calming before bed. Courtney: My husband and I had the TV on. I was just coloring and my eyes got drowsy. And I was like, normally at this time I’m getting hypervigilant. Like I’ll be tired during the day, but then nighttime comes and I’m wide awake. So when I got drowsy, that gave me hope. And so there were more things like that that happened along the way. Courtney: And then I remember nights where the thoughts weren’t as bad and I was like, okay, here’s my next step. So I, I saw little bits of progress along the way that kept me going. Martin: Yeah, you got like little hints that this was an approach that held some promise. You started to feel more sleepy as the night approached or as bedtime approached compared to more alert. Martin: And with those thoughts and those feelings, they were still showing up. But every now and then, perhaps they felt a little bit less powerful or a little bit less influential. Martin: We have to fight, we have to put effort into sleep. What medication can we explore? But you harnessed your experience. You drew on your superpower of self-reflection and your experience told you that that stuff doesn’t work. So. Your brain is suggesting that’s a route we should carry on pursuing. But you recognize it’s doing that ’cause it’s doing this job. Martin: It’s doing its job of looking out for you. But you knew from experience that that approach wasn’t getting you closer to where you wanted to be, so you wanted to stay committed to this approach of less resistance and building that skill and experiencing all this stuff with less of a struggle. Courtney: Exactly. Courtney: Yes. And I think when you mentioned the struggle, like my laying, laying in bed at night had become a place of struggle and just it felt like I was battling all night with my mind. And so I tried to make a point of not making my bed that place anymore. Courtney: So when I’m having those nights, I get outta bed and I come downstairs and I’ll journal or color or what have you, and try to do all that there, and then go back to bed when it’s calmer. Martin: So you withdrew from the battleground when you found yourself getting pulled into that fight. And this is another thing that some people can struggle with because they’re like, should I get out of bed? Martin: Should I stay in bed? And my answer is always, well, it’s really up to you. It doesn’t matter if you stay in bed or get out of bed. What matters is, are you engaged in a battle? And if you are, how might you withdraw from that battle? So you might want to color or read or watch TV in the living room, or you might want to do that in bed. Martin: It really doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re awake and you’re not fighting. You’re doing something other than battling away, struggling more, making things more difficult. Courtney: Yes. And that, you know, there’s that. I’ve read that somewhere. There’s a rule, you know, you don’t use your bed for anything but sleep because you don’t wanna create an association. Courtney: Well, on good nights, I can color in my bed, I can watch a show. I can read and I, there’s nights I can’t even get through a paragraph and I set it down, I’m out so I can, I can do activities in my bed and not associate it with anything. Courtney: But the night that, like you said, it is a struggle, I gotta get out of bed. I gotta go do that somewhere else. Because that is part of, I, how I think that that habit became created with insomnia is I would lay down at night in instant panic because my body was like, well this is, this is associated with the panic place. Courtney: You know what I mean? So that was a learning curve too. Martin: Yeah, absolutely. It, listening to you share that experience, really, you kind of just played around with some of this, this stuff, right? You gave it a try with an open and a curious mind. And with this understanding. You’re thinking, I’m just gonna see what I take from this. Martin: What am I gonna learn from this? Because we’re always gonna learn something from what we do. And so you’ve really learned what was a helpful way forward for you, and that kind of gave you that motivation or that impetus to keep you moving in that direction. So to, to bring this together, what you, what you’ve shared as the most helpful things was the educational component. Martin: You know, really understanding where insomnia comes from, what keeps it alive. And in short, it’s really all of our attempts to get rid of it. Ironically what keeps it alive. And you also learned how easy it is to get drawn into the struggle. And so when you are struggling, it’s not because you’re broken. Martin: It’s just because what you are understandably doing is you’re just kind of pumping insomnia full of oxygen in effect. You know, it is just kind of feeding the beast through no fault of your own. You found it really helpful to go to bed when you were sleepy, like finding it hard to stay awake rather than going to bed based on what time it was at night. Martin: And that led to less time awake or less time awake for potential struggle. You found it helpful to be aware or to cultivate an awareness of when you were struggling at night, when you were getting pulled into that battleground and with that awareness, you then chose to respond in a different way. So instead of putting effort into sleep fighting or avoiding thoughts and feelings, you’d do some coloring or you’d do some reading and you found it helpful most of the time to get outta bed to do that. Martin: And you found it helpful to practice opening up to whatever thoughts, whatever feelings are showing up, even though you might not want them to show up, there they are. You’re acknowledging them and you’re just allowing them to come and go to flow, to be an observer of them. And one way you did that, that you shared was you would just journal them, you would write them down, not as a way to kind of reason with them or change them, unless I’m wrong, in which case please correct me. Martin: But just as a way to acknowledge them. And it was almost a way that you were putting into practice this idea of opening up to the thoughts and feelings, just writing them down. Courtney: Yes. Yep. And I will say, yeah, it was both like there were nights I would journal just to get the thoughts outta my head. ’cause then they’re not spiraling while I’m laying there. Courtney: And there were nights that I would have old fears come back, like the old thoughts that I would write them down and then challenge them. Like for example. I feel like if I don’t sleep, I won’t be able to function tomorrow. And then I would be like, well, actually that’s not true because you have had many good days on, two hours, no hours of sleep. Courtney: And so for example, like a month ago, I had the first all night, or I’ll call it, you know, I was all night. I haven’t had one of those nights in years, but my husband and I were leaving for the airport that morning, I think at three 30. And so I was wired from packing and tra we were getting ready to travel. Courtney: I knew I, we had our flight we had to catch. So I gave myself a lot of compassion, like, this makes sense for you. Like, you know, this is, you’re about to travel. It’s the first time we left our boys at home. So there was a lot there. Like it made sense why my body would react that way. And yeah, you know, I, I think maybe I napped on the plane. Courtney: I don’t remember, but I tried not to pay too much attention to it and. Again, it was the first all nighter in years that I’ve had where I didn’t sleep all night long, but it was okay. Like I, we got there, we had our full day. I think I, we came back and I did take like an hour and a half nap or something, and then we went on with our evening and that night my body made up the sleep. Courtney: So I can have really good days, like if you’re struggling with insomnia, you can have normal days, you can function fine even if you don’t get sleep. So back to the thoughts, there was a lot of thoughts that I was able to challenge with the educational component that I found through your videos, which was very helpful. Martin: Yeah, I’m, I’m glad you mentioned that there are still times when sleep isn’t perfect or exactly as you want it to happen, because when we’re struggling, we might have that as our goal. You know, we just have a great night of sleep every single night. But the truth is that no human being has a great night of sleep every single night. Martin: The difference now is when sleep doesn’t go as you might want it to. It’s not this huge focus of your attention. It’s not something that creates a huge, difficult struggle and pulls you away from the life you want to live. Now it’s more like water off of a duck’s back. You know, it comes and it goes, and then you are moving on from it. Martin: It really has just lost all of its power and influence over you. And I do want to emphasize, you used the phrase self-compassion. And I think that’s huge because when we are struggling, we can be so hard on ourselves and mean to ourselves, and that doesn’t make things any easier. So giving ourselves some grace, some kindness can be immensely powerful. Martin: You discovered that thoughts are thoughts. They’re not more than thoughts. They’re not less than thoughts. They’re thoughts. So they’re not facts. Sometimes they might be true, but sometimes not. They’re not a reflection on who you are as a person. Martin: They’re not always an accurate prediction for the future. They’re not always an accurate reflection of the past. They’re thoughts. And so by listening to your thoughts being more open to them, it kind of came with that bonus that you were able to recognize, Hey, some of these thoughts aren’t even true. Martin: This thought is telling me that tomorrow is gonna be a disaster, but hang on a minute. The other day I had no sleep and I had a great day, or I had a good day, or an okay day. So you notice that with that acceptance, there’s a reminder that thoughts are nothing more or nothing less than thoughts, and you’ve got that separation too between your thoughts and your body. Martin: One thing you shared with us a little bit earlier was that as you practiced opening up, especially at first when it feels really scary, like what’s gonna happen if I start allowing these thoughts and these feelings to come in? It feels really uncomfortable. It can feel more and more intense. Then something happens, it kind of reaches a peak at some point, and then it kind of flows back down again. Martin: And you realize that even though it can feel really scary, really threatening your body is lying in the bed or on the couch in a safe place. So even though it feels very unsafe physically, you are safe. So with that openness and acknowledgement, you also got that reminder or that awareness that your thoughts are separate from your body. Martin: There was that detachment there, and that in turn can reduce some of their power and influence too. Courtney: Yes, and that’s something like I think with anxiety in general or insomnia, is like for someone like me who is, like I said, a recovering perfectionist type, the type A. You can have the bar set really high to where your idea of progress or success is. Courtney: I will never have a rough night again. I will not struggle with, you know, scary thoughts. My thoughts will balance out. I will be peaceful all the time, and that’s just not realistic, nor is that life and so much of our anxiety or other emotions or our body just responding to life. And so life is not perfect and that would be my encouragement to anyone struggling with it is maybe lower the bar a little bit. Courtney: I had to lower it many times to where, like I mentioned earlier, my idea of progress was just when my eyes got drowsy, like nowhere near a full night of sleep. But I was just happy with that. And so you can build on that versus trying to get your thoughts to be what you want them to be. Get your body to do what you want it to do all the time. Courtney: Because then what if that’s your standard? What happens when you do have a rough night, a couple, you know, down the road or a couple months, a couple years, for example? How are you gonna respond to that? So I even had that challenge last night. I had, you know, some troubling thoughts pop into my head and at first I was like, oh geez. Courtney: And I was really kind of dwelling on ’em, and I’m like, wait a minute, wait a minute. Just because I’m thinking it doesn’t mean it’s true, you know, separate a little bit. So it’s still a practice. But that I think is a huge part of insomnia is the thoughts that, that come in during those late nights when you’re, you feel like you are the only one awake in the world or in your neighborhood or wherever, and it’s dark and you are alone with the loud, intense thoughts and you just feel like you’re, you’re crazy. Courtney: You’re nuts because you can’t move past it. And really, like you said, you’re not broken. It’s just the dynamic of the situation. But you can separate and you can challenge them or write them down and. It will peak and it will, it will pass At some point. It will pass. Courtney: In the beginning, and I’m sure anyone who has struggled with this, can attest to this, that the beginning of anxiety is such a lonely place. And you feel so alone, like I mentioned, but then you start to hear from other people, especially on your channel. And it, it’s mind boggling to me how. Courtney: Insomnia starts and progresses is almost like a formula. Like we’re not alone because it almost plays out identically person to person, regardless of their job, where they live, if they’re a parent or not, if they’re married or not, if they’re male, female. It’s amazing to me how similar everyone’s experiences. Courtney: So you’re, it’s not, it’s not you, it’s the insomnia, if that makes sense. Or the response to it. Martin: One thing that you touched upon was how we’re measuring progress as we’re on this journey away from the struggle. Martin: Because for as long as we are measuring progress on sleep or what thoughts and feelings are showing up, we might be setting the stage for more struggle because our own experience probably tells us that we can’t directly control those things. So if we’re measuring how well we’re doing against something we can’t control there’s just so much potential to still be in that quicksand and not be free from the struggle. Martin: Looking for action based markers of progress can be more helpful. Like, am I doing more of the stuff that matters? Are the decisions I’m making more related to what I want to be doing or how I want to be protecting sleep or preparing for sleep? There’s so many potential markers of progress out there, but focusing on action based markers of progress can be really helpful because it keeps us focused on what is in our control. Martin: Which are our actions. Courtney: Yes. I remember like in the thick of it, there were days where I had said that, you know, the sleep consumed my thoughts. And I, I was walking around like a zombie in this in the sense of, all I thought about was I didn’t sleep last night. I probably won’t sleep tonight. And just like feeling so jealous of all my friends and family, like they’re sleeping with no problem. Courtney: Like, this is not my life right now. This is horrible. And now I, there’ll be nights I don’t sleep well and it’s like, oh yeah, I forgot I didn’t sleep that great last night. Okay. You know? It’s not always like that, but more often it is. And like I can look at my day and be like, oh, I had a great day. I laughed a lot. Courtney: I had a lot of joy. The weather was beautiful. I exercised, you know, I had a great day despite what my night looked like. Martin: There’s just so much in your life beyond sleep. Sleep is still a part of your life, but it’s not the main part or a huge part of your life anymore. It’s just one thing of many things. Martin: How long would you say it took for you to practice this new approach of less resistance, less effort, not trying to control sleep, thoughts, feelings, to get you to a place where you felt that you left the struggle behind, that you can now live your life independently of sleep, and even in the presence of whatever thoughts and feelings might choose to show up? Courtney: So let me see. For me, I think my full. Severe anxiety struggle was about two and a half to three years. So I had that, you know, under my belt before implementing these, these strategies. I wanna say it probably took me about six months, give or take to, to where I, I didn’t feel burdened by it anymore. Courtney: Now I will say the nights or the episodes I would have where I would have a couple nights in a row, I would start to get a little weary again and a little doubtful and a little nervous, but I would get through those. So despite those, or setting those to the side, I would say about six months. Martin: I’m really glad that you emphasized that there was still ups and downs along the way. It doesn’t mean that over the course of that six months, every day or every night was incrementally better than the previous ones. There were sometimes when things felt really good and other times where it felt like, oh, I’m getting pulled back into the struggle again. Martin: But what mattered was you just kept on with that practice. You acknowledged what was happening. Maybe you were being a bit kinder to yourself when you noticed that maybe you were getting pulled back into the struggle again and just refocusing your attention on acting in a way that you wanted to act in response, acting in a way that you knew was gonna be moving you closer or in the direction that you wanted to be heading. Courtney: Yes, yes. I remember in the thick of it too, like wondering how long it was gonna take me to feel better. And I remember hearing someone say, oh, it takes as long as it takes. And I was so frustrated by that. ’cause I’m like, I just want a number. Like, is this gonna be like a year? Is it like six months? Like what am I? Courtney: But it does, I mean, everybody’s different. Your body handles it differently. Like mine remembers very vividly what happened. So I, that I wouldn’t say presents a challenge, but like I said, I have to be more mindful than someone else might. So everybody’s different. But yeah, it’s just keeping in mind where you want to go and keep. Courtney: Keep going through what you’ve learned and holding close to the va, what you value about your life, and allowing the space and the compassion for the upsets or, you know, setbacks or whatever you would like to call those. Martin: How were you able to be patient with yourself when no doubt you wanted progress to happen like immediately, which is human nature. How did you practice being patient and just staying committed to the practice? Courtney: Yes, that was very challenging. Even with anxiety in general, I still struggle with being patient with myself initially because I do, like I said, I have unfortunately high standards for myself that I always have to lower. And so the nights of, you know, bad sleep or a really anxious day, I just constantly had to be like, okay, you know, I can’t, I can’t control this. Courtney: I just have to accept it. I will get through this. Like this will pass. Just constantly refocusing. But yeah, it was very hard because there’s so many days, even now with different things, I’m like, man, I’m still struggling with this aspect of something, or I haven’t moved past this yet. And again, that’s the initial response. Courtney: But then I have to, you know, kind of be mindful of that and respond with, I’m growing. Life is not perfect. Progress is not linear. And that kind of helps with the patience part. But it is very challenging, I will say that. Martin: So it sounds like when you felt impatient you reminded yourself that you are on a journey. Martin: You are learning that you are growing that you’re heading in the direction you want to be heading. And on any journey there’s gonna be ups and downs. What matters is just continuing on the journey if it feels like that journey matters. Courtney: Yes. One thing that like was frustrating for me is like, I would hear different success stories and of anything, like, you hear success stories or you read about ’em, and people don’t always share that they’re still working through things. Courtney: Sometimes it’s just like, oh, I struggle with this thing now I’m here on the other side of it, and life is great. So when you are like me and you’re still working through different things, it’s hard not to see that as a sign of failure and understand that that is the normal, it’s normal to ebb and flow and you know, like you said, sleep is not perfect. Courtney: It can’t be controlled, so you can’t gauge your progress off of that. Martin: Yeah, that’s a good reminder that we are never gonna reach this perfect end point moment in our life where everything is perfect for the rest of time. When we’re struggling, we often feel like, if only I can get rid of this one obstacle, then everything will be perfect. Martin: But the reality is once one obstacle goes away at least one more is gonna show up because life is a journey and that journey involves many obstacles. Courtney, I’m curious what would you say an average night is like for you these days? Courtney: Oh, I would say most nights I probably, I don’t know, I wander upstairs around like 9 30, 9 45, you know, and then I’ll get in bed and my husband will, I have chat real quick, and then he passes out within 30 seconds, which is amazing. Courtney: But I will grab my Kindle, read. It depends how tired I am. Read maybe a paragraph, maybe a page, and I’m out. Around 10 o’clock, 10 30, and I get up about six or six 30. And yeah, sleep. Sleep pretty good. I would say. Martin: I think what really stands out for me there is that there’s no kind of mention of, well, I come home I, I turn all the lights down in my house, I make sure the thermostat is set to a certain temperature. Martin: I put on some blue blocking glasses. I drink some warm milk. You know, there’s, there’s just nothing there. It was just, I wander up to bed I talk to my husband for a bit, I read and then I get outta bed in the morning. There was just like nothing else. There’s none of that effort. None of that trying, none of the, the rules, none of the rituals. Courtney: Yeah. And I’ll say, you know, there are a couple, you know, nights here and there where like recently I was anxious in general about different things, and I was like. Struggling with some night sweats and just feeling on edge and maybe some vivid dreams. And so I got up and came downstairs and just got some water and sat for a minute and went back up to bed. Courtney: And those are the nights that, like I said, I just had to be more mindful that, you know, maybe through my anxiety, my body’s trying to tell me to slow down or pay attention to something. But it’s not an indication now of like, oh, something, you’re gonna go back there. You’re doing something wrong. It’s because I know most nights are like what I just told you prior to that. Martin: You’ve got a normal human brain that’s gonna generate anxiety and all different thoughts and feelings from time to time. Now they’re just not pulling you into so much of a struggle. You’ve got that skill in your back pocket now to kind of acknowledge them to make space for them. Martin: To be kind to yourself and to not feel as though you have to do anything with them because they are thoughts and they are feelings. And ultimately you get to choose how to respond to them. Courtney: Yeah. And that’s something that is super beneficial about this insomnia journey is not only have I learned to how to relate to my thoughts at nighttime, but during the day, ’cause there’s, you know, during the day I’ll just be going through my day like anybody else would. Courtney: And I’m sure anyone can relate when you get a crazy thought that pops into your head and you know, before it could really jar me and it could cause anxiety or something like that. But now I’m just like, oh, okay, that’s just a thought. Like, doesn’t mean it’s true. So the benefit I think of this insomnia journey is it can benefit all areas of your life. Courtney: You learn some skills that can apply to everything. Martin: As you become less of an opponent to certain thoughts and feelings, they become less distracting. So they can show up during the day. You are able to just quickly acknowledge them and refocus on where you are, what you’re doing, what you want to be doing, rather than, you know, the magnifying glass comes out and you’ve got some, a pair of tweezers and you’re kind of looking through that thought and it’s just the whole focus of your attention. Martin: And you miss out on the whole world around you. You’re missing out on where you are and what you’re doing. Courtney: Yes. Yep. Exactly. Same as like the insomnia monster, if you will. The more attention you give to it, the more it grows. And same with those thoughts that pop into your head. The more attention you give to them, the more they can get, they can really grab a hold of you and then you’re dwelling on them. Courtney: I just remembered, I never shared how I was able to get off the sleep medication because that can be a huge source of shame and like struggle is the sleep medications themselves. So coming from someone who was on three and I, and that was just at one time, like there was a lot of adjustments, made a lot of changes. Courtney: What did it for me was tolerating those uncomfortable thoughts because I told myself, okay. As I try to decrease my dosage and wean off of this, this is gonna create some really uncomfortable feelings and thoughts and I, it’s okay. This is expected. So it did. And as I expected that to happen
Listen without ads here: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast Tickets for Dopeywood 2: https://www.showclix.com/event/dopeywood-2026 This week on Dopey's Greatest Hits! Brace Belden's first episode (Patreon poll winner). We share Ray Brown's "Home Sweet Heroin" parody origin (Nikki Sixx drama), Dopey music history (UltiScrub, Good So Bad, Fentanyl J, Damon), and teases the NEW Spotify page. Plays old voicemails: Matt Wiedemeier Carroll (Waiting for Tonight 5-year anniversary, 117 days sober) and Kimber King (ketamine freakout, 20 months sober). Reads Spotify comments on Fentanyl Jay ep (love/hate, prison update, negative "murderer" email). Eric Poppismurff responds (benzo info, resources). Then the highlights of Brace: a raw, wide-ranging conversation with Brace (punk rocker, communist, podcaster of TrueAnon, heroin/meth addict in recovery). Brace opens up about his life: early punk obsession (Black Sabbath to Ramones/Misfits at 12), first drug use (salvia at 11–12, hill fire/arrest, weed soon after), mom's suicide at 6 (coke addict, depression), compartmentalization as coping mechanism. Teen years in continuation school (smoking allowed, flower shop credits), first opiates (Vicodin/Percocet at 17), OxyContin discovery after moving out, transition to heroin in Tenderloin ($10 high), Dr. Z dealer (SRO, pigeon shooting, jail), Jacques (MS heroin dealer), stealing from flower shops/girlfriend, arrest for $9 meth buy, rehab cycles, basement apartment gutter snipes/clonidine kick. Later Syrian resistance (2015–2016, 7 months fighting ISIS with Kurds, no opiates there, ketamine for wounds), return (lied to everyone), brewery job/union campaign, TrueAnon start (2019), ongoing sleep struggle (melatonin bullshit, trazodone dreams, Benadryl suggestion). All that and tons and tons more on a brand new episode of that good old dopey show! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We've covered the timeline. We've covered the evidence. We've covered the charges. But today we're going somewhere different—inside Eric Richins' experience of being married to Kouri.This isn't speculation. It's documented.According to court filings, Eric discovered in 2020 that Kouri had allegedly stolen nearly $500,000 from him—forging his signature, draining accounts, funneling money from his business. When he confronted her, she allegedly promised to pay it back. She never did.Eric met with divorce attorneys. Created a secret trust. Changed his life insurance beneficiary. And according to his family, he stayed anyway—because he had three sons and no exit that didn't lead back to her.On Valentine's Day 2022, prosecutors say Kouri left Eric a sandwich while she spent the day with her alleged boyfriend. Eric took one bite. Hives. Couldn't breathe. EpiPen. Bottle of Benadryl. When he woke up, he called a friend: "I think my wife tried to poison me."He went home that night. Eighteen days later, he was dead.This episode examines the psychological patterns documented in the Kouri Richins case—the alleged financial exploitation, the compartmentalization, the victim narrative that prosecutors say never broke even after Eric's death. We look at what forensic psychologists say about these behavioral profiles and why so many people trapped in similar relationships will recognize every detail.If you've followed this case from the beginning, this is the episode that puts it all in perspective. Eric Richins isn't just a victim. He's a warning.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #KouriRichinsCase #UtahMurderTrial #FentanylPoisoning #NarcissisticAbuse #PsychologicalAbuse #TrueCrime #CoerciveControl
Dr. Long has written a book, "Sleep Habits Journal: Practices, Prayers & Devotions to Ease Your Sleepless Nights." We discuss insomnia which I have as a subdisorder of fibromyalgia and the various ways to address it. Melatonin vs Benadryl and Magnesium Glycinate.
CreepGeeks Podcast Episode 354 INTRO You're listening to CreepGeeks Podcast! This is Season 10, Episode 354 York County Wendigo, Vermont UAP Team, Treasure Hunting Indiana Jones, Irish Exorcism, and the return of Albuquerque vs Florida! Welcome to CreepGeeks Podcast! We broadcast paranormal news and share our strange experiences from our underground bunker in the mountains of Western North Carolina. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY BARLEY'S BITES Barley's Bites Barley's Bites is dedicated to providing top-quality, home-made dog treats for every doggo to enjoy. Our treats are made from fresh, healthy ingredients without any harmful chemicals, ensuring your pet receives the best nutrition possible. Jack loves them, and the dog neighbors approve. Made in New Mexico! Thanks, Kristen and Dave, for sending Jack and us some tasty treats! Your favorite anomalous podcast hosts are Greg and Omi Want to support the podcast? Join us on Patreon: CreepGeeks Paranormal and Weird News is creating Humorous Paranormal Podcasts, Interviews, and Videos! Get our new Swag in our Amazon Merch Store: https://amzn.to/3IWwM1x Get Starlink for Rural Internet Access- Starlink | Residential Hey Everyone. You can call the show and leave us a message! 1-575-208-4025 Use Amazon Prime's Free Trial! Did you know YOU can support the CreepGeeks Podcast with little to no effort? It won't cost you anything! When you shop on Amazon.com using our affiliate link, we receive a small percentage. It doesn't change your price at all. It helps us keep the coffee and gas flowing in the Albino Rhino! CreepGeeks Podcast is an Amazon Affiliate CheapGeek and CreepGeeks Amazon Page's Amazon Page Support the Show: CreepGeeks Swag Shop! Website- CREEPGEEKS PARANORMAL AND WEIRD NEWS Hey everyone! Help us out! Rate us on iTunes! CreepGeeks Paranormal and Weird News Podcast on Apple WARNING: This Podcast May Contain Bioengineered and Cell-Cultivated Food Products. Stanley Milford Navajo Rangers Book- The Paranormal Ranger: A chilling memoir of investigations into the paranormal in Navajoland https://amzn.to/3ZhzG8m Interested in Past Lives or Past Life's Journeying- RC Baranowski. Past Life Journeying: Exploring Past, Between, and Future Lives Past Life Journeying: Exploring Past, Between, and Future Lives - Kindle edition by Baranowski, R. C.. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Over on our Patreon- Patron's Messages- Welcome, Patrons and new Patrons- New Lake Shawnee Haunted Amusement Park Video is available! Brown Mountain Lights Brown Mountain Lights Geological Survey- Here's a thought: Are Brown Mountain Lights caused by lithium? 1-800 Number Comments- Fate Magazine - Fate Magazine Did you know that #creepgeeks is ranked- FeedSpot- 10 Best North Carolina News Podcasts You Must Follow in 2025 10 Best North Carolina Technology Podcasts You Must Follow in 2025 GoodPods- Best Fortean Podcasts [2025] Top 3 Shows - Goodpods Best Bigfoot Podcasts [2025] Top 30 Shows - Goodpods Greg's Pen Tangent -The Sharpie S-Gel in Copper: https://amzn.to/4gNatda CreepGeeks Podcast NEWS: Omi- Into the Shadows of McDowell County Haunted Hollers of McDowell County What are we doing, what're we up to? CreepGeeks Podcast has won its copyright debacle. Digital Audio Player: FIIO Snowsky Echo Mini https://amzn.to/4n8rQYh Omi is a big-time artist and busy. North Carolina artist creates 'Bluebirds of Hope' from glass shattered by Helene | Fox Weather One Artist Picks Up the Pieces | Our State Greg is pushing forward in his quest to own his own digital content. Greg celebrated his YouTube Channel's 15th birthday! Last Episode FollowUp: LADY Follow Up- Mast Cells and Histamines How interesting that y'all were talking about mast cells and histamine on last's night show. Just a little rabbit hole for you: The condition that you were speaking of last night - an allergic reaction to extreme cold - is called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). The condition Omi was speaking about with fingers turning various shades of white, blue, and purple during temperature changes is called Raynaud's. Both MCAS and Raynaud's are co-morbids of a congenital condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). EDS is a connective tissue disease and has over 10 subtypes, with hypermobile EDS (hEDS) being the most common. The top co-morbidities for EDS are MCAS, chronic inflammatory conditions such as migraine, interstitial cystitis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); and dysautonomia. MCAS is an absolute nightmare to live with as literally anything can set it off: food, temperature changes, stress, a mosquito bite, solar weather, someone marinating in their perfume or cologne, dust, & etc. Reactions can range from sneezing and itchiness to anaphylaxis - just as you said. I am all too familiar with this condition as my daughter, youngest son, and myself all suffer from it. In fact, with the ice storm that hit NC weekend before last, the youngest son was out playing in it and when he came in his cheeks were a bright red. I immediately gave him Benadryl. The next morning when he woke up, not only had the Benadryl not touched it, his eyes, lips, and cheeks were swollen like he'd been beat up. That was a trip to the ER. And the scary part of MCAS is that it is not consistent. One week you can eat chicken and it's fine; the next week, you're off to the ER. There is literally no way to know how, if, or when your mast cells are going to have a hissy fit. All that said, it is interesting to note that histamine, which is elevated during an MCAS event, can exit the body through multiple means including sweat. Histamine reacts to electrostatic fields and in some cases has been the reason why some folks can perform telekinesis. Russian Leonid Leonidovich Vasiliev conducted research and found that a woman by the name of Nina Kulagina, who was thought to be telekinetic, had high amounts of histamine on her skin from sweat (body detoxifying), and that was interacting with the electrostatic field on the objects she was attempting to move, and was thus the reason she was able to move items viz., she wasn't telekinetic. Vasiliey's works are available if you want to nerd out on it: • Mysterious Phenomena of the Human Psyche (1959) • Experiments in Mental Suggestion (1963) • Experiments in Distant Influence (1976) Or, if you want to take a shortcut and hear about it in a five-minute deal and more eloquent fashion, skip to the 57:20 mark on this episode of Art Bell's Midnight in the Desert: https://youtu.be/vy_Aa-7b8n4?si=6oPS6Y7XQtDrjD73 You also mentioned evolution, or de-evolution in the human body, and genetic entropy is another rabbit hole one can go down. Mainline science and medicine don't like genetic entropy and have tried very hard to debunk it because it doesn't fit their narrative. Anyhoo, thank you for letting me nerd out. Have a good one. Art Bell | Midnight in the Desert | Loyd Auerbach: Parapsychology, Hauntings & the Unexplained Last Episode FollowUp: LADY THAT LEFT US A MESSAGE NEWS: Cobain Death ruled a homicide UFO /UAP Ohio, are y'all okay? Ohio residents have a one in 89 chance of reporting an alien abduction Who's got the highest abduction account numbers? New Hampshire with 2% and Idaho with 1.9%... Vermont Lawmaker Calls for UAP Task Force to Investigate UFO incidents Montana Tech professor teaches class that takes serious look at UFO phenomenon A Florida Man, an Albuquerque Woman, or Some dummy from NC? Guessing game! Suspect bites police dog and gets charged with felony assault, officials say Two Words: Iguana Tacos Stray balls attack woman, property, neighbors Throws Dr Pepper, Moons Teenagers, arrested at McDonalds Not a guess Coffee shop near Charlotte had seances + a coffin. It closed after 'endless threats' Paranormal: Irish family forced to undergo exorcism as ghost of baby haunts them Weird: Six earthquakes in ten days…It's not LA, it's South Carolina British Museum to hire real Indiana Jones! Cryptid: York County Wendigo Sightings (Soap Box) Food: Doritos Orange Dye makes Rats Transparent Be Safe out there y'all. New Food Recalls ranging from Salmon, Hamburger, Chips Ahoy…all the stuff you'd eat tomorrow. *AD BREAK* READ: If you like this podcast, subscribe on YouTube, follow on Spotify, review on Apple podcasts, support on Patreon, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @CreepGeeks. LIBSYN AD *AD BREAK* Bumper Music- SHOW TOPICS: AD- Want to Start your own podcast? https://signup.libsyn.com/?promo_code=CREEP Looking for something unique and spooky? Check out Omi's new Etsy, CraftedIntent: CraftedIntent: Simultaneously BeSpoke and Spooky. by CraftedIntent Want CreepGeeks Paranormal Investigator stickers? Check them out here: CraftedIntent - Etsy Check out Omi's new Lucky Crystal Skull Creations: Lucky Crystal Skull: Random Mini Resin Skull With Gemstones - Etsy Get Something From Amazon Prime! 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SPONSORS: - Sponsored by Pepsi. Go try Pepsi Zero Sugar today. Let Your Taste Decide. - Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/BEARS. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. - Get 10% off your first month of BlueChew Gold with code BEARS at https://bluechew.com - Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at https://shopify.com/bears - Sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off at https://BetterHelp.com/bears - Head to https://factormeals.com/bears50off and use code bears50off to get 50 percent off and free breakfast for a year. - Get up to 55% off at https://Babbel.com/BEARS. This week on Two Bears, One Cave, Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer spiral gloriously through brand loyalty, fast-food hot takes, donuts, Super Bowl commercials, health scares, and the kind of brutally honest conversations only best friends can have. The Bears break down why Pepsi Zero Sugar might actually be better than Coke Zero, debate McDonald's fries vs. literally everyone else, and revisit classic brand wars like Burger King vs. McDonald's and Dunkin' vs. Krispy Kreme. From Blooming Onion horror stories to why you should never order seafood at a steakhouse, this episode is packed with food takes that will absolutely start arguments. Bert also opens up about his recent blood clot scare, panic attacks, medications, and how the experience completely shifted his perspective on health, mortality, and gratitude. The guys also talk sleep apnea machines, Benadryl addictions, Mounjaro side effects, testosterone confusion, and why medical advice somehow never agrees ever. Plus: donut shop conspiracies in Los Angeles, Cambodian vs. Vietnamese sandwich excellence, Krispy Kreme's wild history, Instagram's “fatties eating” algorithm, tracking down Ari Shaffir in the jungle, and why the 2 Bears 5K might literally save lives. 2 Bears, 1 Cave Ep. 324 https://tomsegura.com/tour https://www.bertbertbert.com/tour https://store.ymhstudios.com Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:06 - Brand Wars 00:07:07 - Weight Loss Drugs 00:14:58 - Pepsi Challenge 00:22:40 - I Bought A Donut Shop 00:39:22 - Coin Pusher 00:40:54 - 2 Bears 5K Is Back! 00:45:13 - Bert's Blood Clot 00:49:38 - Where In The World Is Ari Shaffir? 00:54:39 - Black Appreciation 01:00:41 - Wrap Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this week's Keepin It Real, Cam's family got a new puppy. It's been nearly ten years since they got their last dog and much of his memory of having a puppy is gone. The memories are coming back fast. ----- We got a puppy. Her name is Rosie. She's a doodle of some sort. And while I say "we" got a puppy, truth be told, my wife got herself a puppy and the family will share it with her. My wife stalked Rosie down when the litter was one week old. It was in Hudson, Indiana and she found it through an online search using something called puppyfinder.com. Rosie came from a litter that had its own web page. Long gone are the days of classified ads in the newspaper announcing free puppies to anyone who can come get them. Rosie has a microchip. She has papers, or something like that. And I don't have the courage to ask my wife how much she cost. My wife drove twenty hours round trip with a night in a hotel to get her. And Rosie is the boss of our house right now. I'm unsure if she is our pet or if we are her pet. If a pet is defined as an animal that brings joy and entertainment, then we are most definitely her pet. Any whine from the dog gets someone's full attention. Whenever she goes for a toy, someone is there to help her play with it. And she has wipers. She uses the bathroom with reckless abandon, and someone is there to wipe it up and wipe her up. No sultan or pharaoh ever had it so good. She sleeps sporadically. We take turns getting up with her throughout the night, me standing outside in the cold in the dark in my underwear saying things in a high-pitched dog voice that I hope will goad her in to going to the bathroom. "Be a good girl. Be a good girl, Rosie. You know you need to go. Go ahead. Be a good girl. Squat, please. Squat. Please." Then I bring her back to her crate and get back into my warm bed, hoping she won't whine. Long ago, when our kids wouldn't go to sleep, we'd feed them Benadryl. However, get caught drugging a dog so that it will sleep will call out the pet gestapo. People will tolerate some sort of non-traditional methods of raising your children. But get caught doing something considered unusual to a dog and whew! People will take your pet from you then burn your house down. Puppies are, though, perhaps the cutest animals on the planet. But they require vigilance. And surveillance. My wife has paid and subscribed to an app on how to raise puppies and train dogs. It says we aren't to tell the puppy No until they're older. I didn't ask my wife if there were fine print telling us to throw our common sense out the window. But we have, in favor of an app. Thankfully the app has not prohibited me from hollering WHAT ARE YOU CHEWING NOW. Or DON'T BITE THAT DON'T BITE THAT DON'T BITE THAT. Or WAIT WAIT LET ME GET YOU OUTSIDE. Or saying to my wife, "I think it's your turn to wipe it up." I'm Cam Marston, just trying to keep it real.
Are we diagnosing allergies all wrong? Join pediatric allergist and clinical immunologist Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman as we debunk common myths in allergy management. We dive deep into why patient history matters more than testing, the danger of using Benadryl, and the life-changing impact of early food introduction. Dr. Abdurrahman also discusses the "diversity gap" in Canadian healthcare, explaining why cultural sensitivity and representation are vital for better patient outcomes. Whether you're a parent, a medical professional, or someone living with allergies, this episode offers a masterclass in modern immunology and health equity. In this episode, we cover: Early Food Introduction: How to reduce allergy risks in infants. Allergy vs. Intolerance: Clearing up the most common misconceptions. The Specialist Shortage: Why Canada needs more pediatric allergists. Cultural Sensitivity: Why representation in medicine saves lives. Learn how to advocate for better care and understand the critical role of social media in spreading accurate allergy awareness. More about Dr. Abdurrahman: Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman, president of the Ontario Medical Association, is an allergist and clinical immunologist, advocating for health equity, medical innovation and inclusive leadership. She brings a strong background in biostatistics and a deep commitment to systemic change. Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman (she/her) is the president of the Ontario Medical Association and a practising allergist and clinical immunologist in the Greater Toronto Area. She serves as an assistant clinical professor of the School of Medicine at the Toronto Metropolitan University and an adjunct assistant clinical professor in pediatrics at McMaster University. Dr. Abdurrahman earned her doctorate of medicine from the University of Toronto. She completed her pediatrics residency and subspecialty training in allergy and clinical immunology at McMaster University. She also holds a master's degree in statistics, with a specialization in biostatistics. She is deeply committed to advancing health and has been a key contributor to the Black Scientists Taskforce on COVID-19 Vaccination Equity and the Black Health & Vaccine Initiative, in partnership with the Black Physicians' Association of Ontario. Beyond equity work, Dr. Abdurrahman is passionate about the intersection of technology and medicine. She is dedicated to leveraging innovation to enhance patient care and is a strong advocate for advancing the medical profession through inclusive leadership and systemic change. https://www.oma.org/expert-advice/request-a-physician-speaker/speakers-search/dr-zainab-abdurrahman/ https://www.qandaallergy.ca/post/dr-a-explains-the-concerns-about-older-sedating-antihistamines Keywords pediatric allergy, immunology, health equity, representation in medicine, food allergies, EpiPen, allergy diagnosis, cultural considerations, adult allergies, social media awareness * Listen on Apple Podcasts – : The Gritty Nurse Podcast on Apple Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-gritty-nurse/id1493290782 * Watch on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@thegrittynursepodcast Stay Connected: Website: grittynurse.com Instagram: @grittynursepod TikTok: @thegrittynursepodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064212216482 X (Twitter): @GrittyNurse Collaborations & Inquiries: For sponsorship opportunities or to book Amie for speaking engagements, visit: grittynurse.com/contact Thank you to Hospital News for being a collaborative partner with the Gritty Nurse! www.hospitalnews.com
A Virginia Beach judge has accepted an insanity plea in the death of a two-year-old girl who was poisoned with Benadryl. A suspect accused of robbing a credit union on the University of Houston campus is now facing a growing list of violent felony charges, as investigators reveal new details about how the robber disguised himself during the heist. Drew Nelson reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Folks, on this week's all new ep we hear about someone trying to bring their cat in the HOV lane, why garlic mouthwash is the best for bad breath, how StubHub accidentally promoted the metal band 'Lamb of God' as a church Christmas show, why hundreds of Victorian shoes washed up on a beach, and how a relative of the Dodo was spotted in the rainforestBUY ELI'S NEW STAND UP ALBUM HERE: https://eliyudin.bandcamp.com/album/humble-offeringOR WATCH IT HERE: https://tinyurl.com/2wwdrpjcBecome a patron for weekly bonus eps and more stuff! :www.patreon.com/whatatimepodCheck out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/whatatimetobealiveGet one of our t-shirts, or other merch, using this link! https://whatatimepod.bigcartel.com/whatatimepod.comJoin our Discord chat here:discord.gg/jx7rB7JTheme music by Naughty Professor: https://www.naughtyprofessormusic.com/@pattymo // @kathbarbadoro // @eliyudin// @whatatimepod©2025 What A Time LLC
In this episode, Adam and Tom dive deep into the fogginess that entrepreneurs experience when they lose clarity in their businesses. They explore how to clear that fog not with Benadryl, but with truth, intention, and aligned action. The conversation is a powerful reflection on the importance of letting go of excuses, embracing reality, and fully stepping into who you are right now, rather than waiting for the “perfect moment.”
Is this the worst animated holiday special of all time? Paul, Jason, and June brave the longest 43 minutes of their lives to find out! This week we're talkin' 1991's The Christmas Tree, a direct-to-video holiday cartoon about an orphanage owner with a gambling problem and a tree named Mrs. Hopewell. They discuss the bizarre narration, the kids who seem to be drugged with Benadryl, the Mayor's job responsibilities, Judy caring more about a tree than her missing daughter, what drives Mrs. Mavilda, Santa Claus' lightning powers, and so much more. Plus, Paul drops new childhood stories about his dryland mushing hobby and more! Watch The Christmas Tree for free on Tubi. The Deep Dive Christmas Spectacular streams live on Dec 5th! Get tix here and use code HOWDIE for $5 off. • Our holiday virtual livestream is on Dec 10th! Get tix at veeps.events/hdtgm• Go to hdtgm.com for tour dates, merch, FAQs, and more• Have a Last Looks correction or omission? Call 619-PAULASK to leave us a voicemail!• Submit your Last Looks theme song to us here• Join the HDTGM conversation on Discord: discord.gg/hdtgm• Buy merch at howdidthisgetmade.dashery.com/• Order Paul's book about his childhood: Joyful Recollections of Trauma• Shop our new hat collection at podswag.com• Paul's Discord: discord.gg/paulscheer• Paul's YouTube page: youtube.com/paulscheer• Follow Paul on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/paulscheer• Subscribe to Enter The Dark Web w/ Paul & Rob Huebel: youtube.com/@enterthedarkweb• Listen to Unspooled with Paul & Amy Nicholson: unspooledpodcast.com• Listen to The Deep Dive with June & Jessica St. Clair: thedeepdiveacademy.com/podcast• Instagram: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & @junediane• Twitter: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & msjunediane • Jason is not on social media• Episode transcripts available at how-did-this-get-made.simplecast.com/episodesGet access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using the link: siriusxm.com/hdtgm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ever wish your bag could calm a flare before it starts? We empty our real spoonie survival kits and show exactly how we plan for pain spikes, long waits, and the kind of detours that come with chronic illness. From compact pain tools to mood-lifting comforts, you'll hear how we choose items that solve predictable problems—then scale up for travel without hauling a suitcase.We start with the everyday carry essentials: hand sanitizer, lens wipes, and multiple lip care options because dry mouth and dehydration hit hard. Ginger chews help with nausea and jitters, while compression gloves and lidocaine patches offer quick relief for aching hands and joints. We share why a sanitizer-pen is a genius hybrid, how a tiny bio stick helps settle the gut, and why two forms of Benadryl can be a lifesaver. Snacks matter just as much: roasted nuts, protein bars, and freeze-dried fruit keep energy stable when appointments run long. A favorite verse card in the wallet can reset a spiral faster than you'd think.Then we move beyond purses to the systems that keep us steady at home and on the go. A nightstand or chair-side kit holds electrolytes, dry mouth lozenges, and a dedicated snack box so you don't need to stand when flaring. Caregivers will find easy wins: labeled drawers, a ready-to-grab travel tote, and a weekly pill organizer that flips to show what's been taken. For longer outings, we add a TENS unit, trigger point tool, multiple electrolyte formats (powders, chews, capsules, even pickle juice), and a bento-style snack so eating doesn't feel like a chore. The goal is predictability, not perfection—small, smart choices that make hard days workable.If you're building your first kit or upgrading an old one, we've got practical packing lists, product ideas, and simple routines that reduce stress and decision fatigue. Tell us what we missed, share your favorite items, and help other spoonies build their own safety nets. Subscribe, leave a review, and drop your must-carry pick—what's the one item you never leave home without?Send us a text Keep your spoons close and support system closer.Support the showSupport:https://rarepatientvoice.com/Myspooniesisters/https://www.etsy.com/shop/MySpoonieSistershttps://www.graceandable.com/?bg_ref=980:nzTyG6c9zK (Use code GAJen10) Website: https://myspooniesisters.com/ Discount Codes: GIANT Microbes | Gag Gifts, Teacher Gifts, Doctor Gifts, Gifts for Girlfriends and Boyfriends code SPOONIE20 for 20% off
From lighting yourself on fire to the Benadryl challenge, The Jubal Show dives into the wildest and most dangerous TikTok stunts ever attempted. Which viral challenge tops the list, and why are people still doing them? Tune in to find out which trends are putting lives (and brain cells) at risk and which one you might actually remember doing yourself. You can find every podcast we have, including the full show every weekday right here…➡︎ https://thejubalshow.com/podcasts The Jubal Show is everywhere, and also these places: Website ➡︎ https://thejubalshow.com Instagram ➡︎ https://instagram.com/thejubalshow X/Twitter ➡︎ https://twitter.com/thejubalshow Tiktok ➡︎ https://www.tiktok.com/@the.jubal.show Facebook ➡︎ https://facebook.com/thejubalshow YouTube ➡︎ https://www.youtube.com/@JubalFresh Support the show: https://the-jubal-show.beehiiv.com/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Most people assume that if a drug sits on the shelf at Costco or Walgreens, it must be pretty safe. But what if some of the most common over-the-counter (OTC) medications are among the riskiest drugs in America? On this episode of Vitality Radio, Jared exposes the hidden dangers behind everyday pain relievers, sleep aids, and heartburn drugs—medicines that cause thousands of deaths every year when misused or taken long-term. You'll learn how a drug becomes “OTC,” what happens when pharmaceutical companies push for that switch, and why the FDA's approval process might not tell the whole story. Jared dives into the startling realities of PPIs like Prilosec, NSAIDs like ibuprofen, and acetaminophen (Tylenol)—uncovering their risks to the liver, kidneys, bones, and brain. He also discusses how marketing convinces consumers these drugs are harmless. Finally, Jared offers a resource for safe, natural alternatives for reflux, pain, inflammation, sleep, and immune support—options that nourish the body instead of depleting it. This episode will change the way you look at “harmless” OTC drugs and help you take real control of your health.Just Ingredients Lemon Swish Protein Powder Vitality Radio POW! Product of the Week $29.99 per bag (regular price $59.99) with PROMO CODE: POW15Additional Information:#341: Your Digestive Health Supplement User's Guide. From IBS to Acid Reflux - Learn How to Balance Your Gut Health With Natural Products. #522: Q&A Show #5 - Jared Answers Your Questions About Energy and Sleep!#471: Boosting Your Immune System Ahead of Winter #553: Boswellia & Curcumin: Nature's Dream Team for Pain & Inflammation with Dr. Lexi LochVisit the podcast website here: VitalityRadio.comYou can follow @vitalitynutritionbountiful and @vitalityradio on Instagram, or Vitality Radio and Vitality Nutrition on Facebook. Join us also in the Vitality Radio Podcast Listener Community on Facebook. Shop the products that Jared mentions at vitalitynutrition.com. Let us know your thoughts about this episode using the hashtag #vitalityradio and please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you!Just a reminder that this podcast is for educational purposes only. The FDA has not evaluated the podcast. The information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The advice given is not intended to replace the advice of your medical professional.
Send us a textEverybody brags about “grinding” on four hours of sleep—until their brain turns into mashed potatoes. Peaches sits down with Dr. Leah Kaylor, the FBI's resident sleep assassin, to expose every lie you've ever believed about “sleep aids.” From Benadryl brain fog and melatonin overdoses to why your “one beer to chill” actually nukes your REM cycle, this one's a brutal wake-up call. Leah demolishes the “I'll sleep when I'm dead” crowd and drops science that'll make your caffeine addiction blush. If you're a high performer running on fumes, this episode's your intervention.⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – The Lie You Tell Yourself About Sleep 02:45 – Why Peaches' Guest Works for the Freakin' FBI 05:10 – If Sleep Were a Drug—You'd Be Hooked 09:20 – Melatonin: Legal Candy, Stupid Choice 14:40 – Benadryl, Dementia & Dumb Decisions 26:00 – Booze vs. REM Sleep: Who Wins? (Hint: Not You) 33:10 – Caffeine: The Most Socially Acceptable Drug 38:00 – The Wind-Down Routine You're Too “Tough” to Try 44:00 – Waking Up at 3AM? You're Doing It Wrong 47:00 – Cool Beds & Hot Science: Fixing Your Sleep Game 49:00 – The Book, The Doc, and the Final Gut Punch
Listen to the full episode: https://youtu.be/trGbcAqF2dA?si=qG5E_F-gP4x8qQhp Why do you wake up at 3:30 AM and can't fall back asleep? In this Fitness Friday episode on the Habits and Hustle podcast, Michael Breus, the Sleep Doctor, says it's not your fault. We unpack the science of why everyone wakes up between 1-3 AM, the shocking Alzheimer's connection to Benadryl, and why CBN (not CBD) is the cannabis compound that actually helps sleep. Plus: the truth about melatonin, why magnesium beats most sleep aids, and the supplement deficiencies sabotaging your rest. Dr. Michael Breus is a clinical psychologist and one of only 168 psychologists in the world board-certified in sleep medicine. Known as "The Sleep Doctor," he's the author of five books including Sleep, Drink, Breathe and has treated celebrities from Carson Daly to Paris Hilton to DJ Steve Aoki. What we discuss: Why every human wakes up between 1-3 AM The 4-7-8 breathing technique Navy SEALs use to lower heart rate below 60 Yoga nidra gives you 20 minutes of sleep benefit for every hour of rest Regular Benadryl/ZzzQuil use directly linked to Alzheimer's disease CBD does nothing for sleep. What actually reduces nighttime awakenings The three deficiencies destroying your sleep Why melatonin affects birth control, SSRIs, and is NOT for children Natural alternatives to melatonin Thank you to our sponsor: Therasage: Head over to therasage.com and use code Be Bold for 15% off Air Doctor: Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code HUSTLE for up to $300 off and a 3-year warranty on air purifiers. Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code Jen at checkout. Momentous: Shop this link and use code Jen for 20% off Manna Vitality: Visit mannavitality.com and use code JENNIFER20 for 20% off your order Prolon: Get 30% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their 5-Day Program! Just visit https://prolonlife.com/JENNIFERCOHEN and use code JENNIFERCOHEN to claim your discount and your bonus gift. Find more from Dr. Michael Breus: Website:https://sleepdoctor.com/ Books: https://sleepdoctor.com/books Find more from Jen: Website: https://www.jennifercohen.com/ Instagram: @therealjencohen Books: https://www.jennifercohen.com/books Speaking: https://www.jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements
Send us a textAfternoon delight? Twilight tryst? Calendar alert at 1PM sharp?
Clair Maples, DVM joins the show for a refresher course on first aid for hunting dogs using Paradigm Sporting Dog field kits. Clair and Travis walk through Clair's handmade field kit & truck kits, discussing the tools in each kit and how to use them. They also discuss several topics like rattlesnake bites & Benadryl, removing porcupine quills, stapling a dog in the field, mean seeds, when to go to the vet, tailgate checks, how & when to use Hunt.Vet, and being prepared with a plan for emergencies in the field. @paradigmsportingdog Presented by: Walton's (waltons.com/) OnX Maps (onxmaps.com/) Aluma Trailers (alumaklm.com) GAIM Hunting & Shooting Simulator (https://alnk.to/74wKReb) Compeer Home (compeerhome.com) Federal Premium Ammunition (federalpremium.com/) Hunt North Dakota (helloND.com/) Lucky Duck Premium Decoys (luckyduck.com/) & Samaritan Tire (samaritantire.com/)
Benadryl's active ingredient, diphenhydramine, is now considered outdated and unsafe, with researchers urging that it be removed from over-the-counter use The drug causes strong sedation, impaired memory, and slower reaction times, with studies showing it affects driving performance more than alcohol Older adults face lingering grogginess for up to 18 hours, while children risk unpredictable reactions, including agitation, coma, or heart problems if overdosed Other countries have already restricted access, and medical authorities warn against its use in children, highlighting safer alternatives and lifestyle strategies Natural approaches like vitamin C, quercetin, whole foods, restorative sleep, and stress management help balance histamine and reduce allergy symptoms without dangerous side effects
Some things in healthcare are forgivable mistakes. This wasn't one of them. Kristin and I dive into the shocking story of a group of healthcare workers who thought it was a good idea to post exam-room paper from pelvic exams online. Spoiler: they're not working in medicine anymore. But the fallout reveals something bigger, the fragile state of public trust in doctors and what happens when we keep shooting ourselves in the foot on social media. From trust erosion to the silent majority who never comment but always scroll, from a VIP invite to a hallucinogenic retreat in Spain (yes, really), all the way to an impromptu crash course on antihistamines, you'll see how one bad decision sparks a conversation that medicine can't afford to ignore. Takeaways: The Social Media Disaster – Why one group of healthcare workers instantly lost their careers. Trust is Everything – The word medicine should focus on for the next decade. The Silent Majority – Why the people who don't comment may matter most online. Ayahuasca VIP Invite – The bizarre email that landed in my inbox. Histamine 101 – A surprisingly nerdy deep dive into why Benadryl makes you sleepy. — To Get Tickets to Wife & Death: You can visit Glaucomflecken.com/live We want to hear YOUR stories (and medical puns)! Shoot us an email and say hi! knockknockhi@human-content.com Can't get enough of us? Shucks. You can support the show on Patreon for early episode access, exclusive bonus shows, livestream hangouts, and much more! – http://www.patreon.com/glaucomflecken Also, be sure to check out the newsletter: https://glaucomflecken.com/glauc-to-me/ If you are interested in buying a book from one of our guests, check them all out here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/dr.glaucomflecken If you want more information on models I use: Anatomy Warehouse provides for the best, crafting custom anatomical products, medical simulation kits and presentation models that create a lasting educational impact. For more information go to Anatomy Warehouse DOT com. Link: https://anatomywarehouse.com/?aff=14 Plus for 15% off use code: Glaucomflecken15 -- A friendly reminder from the G's and Tarsus: If you want to learn more about Demodex Blepharitis, making an appointment with your eye doctor for an eyelid exam can help you know for sure. Visit http://www.EyelidCheck.com for more information. Today's episode is brought to you by DAX Copilot from Microsoft. DAX Copilot is your AI assistant for automating clinical documentation and workflows helping you be more efficient and reduce the administrative burdens that cause us to feel overwhelmed and burnt out. To learn more about how DAX Copilot can help improve healthcare experiences for both you and your patients visit aka.ms/knockknockhi. Produced by Human Content Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Andy's out running 100 miles, so Dom brings in Rachel Entrekin to co-pilot this month's episode. Together they spiral through a truly unhinged game of “Would You Rather,” debating if espresso + Benadryl is a performance enhancer, and why 13,200 Bottles of Beer on the Wall might be the ultimate race soundtrack. Then Jimmy Elam drops by to talk about popping his 200-mile cherry at the Mammoth, haunted belt buckles, and his strategies for mid-run pee breaks. Along the way, we cover mystery pacers, bad juju, and the eternal question: is this all training, or just a really weird kink? Big thanks to Tantrums hydration packs: engineered to haul fluids, fuel, and the consequences of your choices.
Episode 1 of Rob's podcast featuring his fishing companions. In this installment, Rob talks about the importance of having a fishing buddy, defines what a fishing buddy is, and shares tips on how and where to find one. You'll listen to anecdotes explaining why Rob has stopped organizing trips, what constitutes a poor fishing buddy, and the qualities you should look for in a fishing buddies. The second part will highlight the individuals and stories about those Rob has fished with over the years and why Tom should always carry Benadryl. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Contributor: Ricky Dhaliwal, MD Educational Pearls: Angioedema in anaphylaxis Histamine and mast cell-mediated pathway Treatment: First line: epinephrine for vasoconstriction and bronchodilation Second line: H1 and H2 antihistamines such as Benadryl and famotidine ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema Different pathway from anaphylaxis ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema is mediated by bradykinins Therefore, anaphylaxis medications are not beneficial in patients with ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema Leading cause of drug-induced angioedema in the US Patients most commonly present with swelling of the lips, tongue, or face Treatment: Airway management: varies depending on the severity and progression of the presentation If awake nasointubation is required, LMX is a 5% lidocaine water-soluble solution that provides anesthesia to the oropharynx Medications: Icatibant is a synthetic bradykinin B2-receptor antagonist that can be used in acute treatment Tranexamic acid (TXA) inhibits the plasmin-dependent formation of bradykinin, but the data on this treatment are mixed and limited Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is thought to degrade high levels of bradykinin with subsequent resolution of angioedema Discontinue ACE inhibitor References Bork K, Wulff K, Hardt J, Witzke G, Staubach P. Hereditary angioedema caused by missense mutations in the factor XII gene: clinical features, trigger factors, and therapy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Jul;124(1):129-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2009.03.038. Epub 2009 May 27. PMID: 19477491. Bova M, Guilarte M, Sala-Cunill A, Borrelli P, Rizzelli GM, Zanichelli A. Treatment of ACEI-related angioedema with icatibant: a case series. Intern Emerg Med. 2015 Apr;10(3):345-50. doi: 10.1007/s11739-015-1205-9. Epub 2015 Feb 10. PMID: 25666515. Karim MY, Masood A. Fresh-frozen plasma as a treatment for life-threatening ACE-inhibitor angioedema. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2002 Feb;109(2):370-1. doi: 10.1067/mai.2002.121313. PMID: 11842313. Pathak GN, Truong TM, Chakraborty A, Rao B, Monteleone C. Tranexamic acid for angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-induced angioedema. Clin Exp Emerg Med. 2024 Mar;11(1):94-99. doi: 10.15441/ceem.23.051. Epub 2023 Aug 1. PMID: 37525579; PMCID: PMC11009700. Simons FE. First-aid treatment of anaphylaxis to food: focus on epinephrine. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004 May;113(5):837-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2004.01.769. Erratum in: J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004 Jun;113(6):1039. Dosage error in article text. PMID: 15131564. Summarized by Meg Joyce, MS2 | Edited by Meg Joyce & Jorge Chalit, OMS4 Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate/
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