Podcasts about effexor

Julie sits down with Nancy Spano, author of "Stroke of Love." Nancy shares her deeply moving story as a stroke and cancer survivor, wife, mother, and advocate. The episode dives deep into Nancy's near-death experience, her remarkable recovery, and the life-changing lessons she gained. Listeners will hear about the symptoms Nancy experienced before her stroke, the emotional impact on her family, and how her brush with death gave her a renewed sense of purpose.Nancy Spano's Story: www.strokeoflovebook.comNancy suffered a stroke at age 46 in 2019.She describes the week leading up to her stroke, highlighting changes in her vision, behavior, and cognitive functions.Nancy recounts her near-death experience, including a profound spiritual moment where she felt guided to return and share her story.Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke (as experienced by Nancy). Recognizing stroke symptoms early is crucial. Nancy's story highlights real-world warning signs that saved her life: Vision Changes:Nancy experienced loss of peripheral vision in her right eye. She noticed she couldn't parallel park as usual (even referencing, “I couldn't parallel park because I couldn't. The peripheral vision in my right eye was gone.”).Personality & Cognitive Changes:Her personality shifted—becoming irritable, frustrated, and more detached than usual. Her husband noticed the change (“My personality was changing... I wanted to unzip myself from myself.”).Difficulty with Everyday Tasks:Nancy found herself unable to perform ordinary activities. She sat down to clean her vacuum but couldn't remember how, leading to fear and frustration.Confusion in Familiar Settings:Grocery shopping became overwhelming—she forgot why she was there, what she needed, and became anxious when unable to process labeled aisles.Sudden Physical Symptoms:She lost control over the right side of her body, experiencing paralysis and an inability to use her right arm and leg.Panic Attacks and Emotional Overwhelm:Nancy describes a panic attack in the store, feeling the urge to curl up and cry.Seizure and Loss of Awareness:As her husband called 911, Nancy experienced a seizure and drifted in and out of consciousness.Medical CausesNancy's stroke was ultimately linked to high blood pressure exacerbated by a medication (Effexor). She notes she was not informed about the risk or need to monitor blood pressure on this medication.Why Awareness MattersNancy's journey underscores the importance of recognizing and acting on stroke symptoms, especially in younger individuals or those who might dismiss early warning signs. Quick response saved Nancy's life.Common Signs of Stroke to Watch For (based on Nancy's account and general medical advice):Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg—especially on one side of the bodySudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understandingSudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyesSudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordinationSevere headache with no known causeIf you or a loved one experience these symptoms, call 911 immediately. Time is critical.LEARN MORE HERE: Stroke Of Love

In this interview, Brooke Siem, who is the author of a memoir on antidepressant withdrawal, May Cause Side Effects, interviews her mother, Dee Barbash, to discuss the circumstances that led to Brooke being prescribed a cocktail of antidepressants at the age of 15. Today, her mother is a therapist who helps her clients taper from psychiatric medications – a profession that she took up after she came to understand the harms that Brooke suffered from having been prescribed these drugs for 15 years. *** Thank you for being with us to listen to the podcast and read our articles this year. MIA is funded entirely by reader donations. If you value MIA, please help us continue to survive and grow. To find the Mad in America podcast on your preferred podcast player, click here © Mad in America 2024. Produced by James Moore

In this episode, Tristan J. Barber, MA, MD, FRCP, and Glenn J. Treisman, MD, PhD, discuss the importance of screening, diagnosing, and treating PTSD in people with HIV. They illustrate their discussion through a patient case and provide strategies for accomplishing this, sharing their own experiences and approaches to thinking about PTSD, structuring appointments, and integrating care. Presenters:Tristan J. Barber, MA, MD, FRCPConsultant in HIV MedicineRoyal Free London NHS Foundation TrustHonorary Associate ProfessorInstitute for Global HealthUniversity College LondonLondon, United KingdomGlenn J. Treisman, MD, PhDEugene Meyer III Professor of Psychiatry and MedicineJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimore, MarylandDownloadable slides:https://bit.ly/4dBu929Program:https://bit.ly/3WB2VCO

These are some Venlafaxine stories that will make you quiver...

Dr. Ira Spector, PhD is CEO and a Co-Founder of SFA Therapeutics ( https://sfatherapeutics.com/ ), a microbiome-derived biopharma company focused on new advancements in the treatment inflammatory diseases. Dr. Spector is an experienced drug developer, with over 30 years of experience. He has helped develop 34 approved drugs, including Enbrel, Effexor, Protonix, Prevenar-13, Mylotarg at Wyeth/Pfizer, where he was Vice President of Clinical Operations and Vice-Chief of Development. At Allergan, Dr. Spector helped develop Ozurdex for Diabetic Macular Edema and Retinal Venous Occlusion, Botox for Overactive Bladder, Botox for Chronic Migraine, Juvederm XL and Botox for Cerebral Palsy. Prior to Wyeth, he was Vice President and Partner at the PA Consulting Group. Before founding SFA Therapeutics, Dr. Spector was Executive Vice President of Analytics & Consulting at ICON. Dr. Spector holds BS degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from Washington University, where he was a Langsdorf Fellow, an MBA from Drexel University, and a PhD in Health Sciences from UMDNJ. Support the show

Welcome back to our weekend Cabral HouseCall shows! This is where we answer our community's wellness, weight loss, and anti-aging questions to help people get back on track! Check out today's questions:    Stacy: For about 3 months now my throat feels like someone's foot is on my neck, every time I eat or drink anything even drinking water cause this sensation. It started first with feeling nasal congestion when I ate laying down. But for over 1 month I was congested and I took many over the counter drugs and nothing helped. I went to an ENT and now symptoms are much better. However, my throat and head flared up and sometimes my ears feel congestion . I have some regurgitation but very little to no mucus. I don't think it's what I'm eating since I have been on an anti-inflammatory diet since Sept 1. The sensation starts when I feel hungry or after I eat or drink. I've tried protonix, omeprazole and H2 blockers was on it for about 6 weeks and felt even more pressure in my head.    Marcia: Hi Dr Cabral, Could you please talk about what material of clothing is non-toxic and safest to wear? And would it be possible to list the worst offenders, that way I'll know which materials to absolutely avoid? Also, do you have any favorite non-toxic clothing brands? Thank you so much! Big fan of your content. Your book "The Rain Barrel Effect" should be required reading for everyone. It was such an eye opener for me.   Katie: Hi Dr Cabral, I recently have come off the anti anxiety pill effexor .35mg (been off it for about 3 months now) and I am finding I cannot wake up in the morning for the life of me. I set 12 alarms and still cannot get up, and it's really messing with my life. I also never feel refreshed when I finally do end up waking up. I didn't have this issue while being on that pill and am really struggling. Thanks for your help !   Erin: DNS question: i use this every morning as my breakfast. I have struggled over the years (and specifically more in the fall and i know it's the environmental allergies in my area this time year)….struggle with high heart rate at night, extremely bloated stomach/gassy, and overall just feeling awful in the middle of the night. I ran out of my protein powder for over a week and this went away. As soon as i started it again, back these symptoms came. I have tested this multiple times now to comfirm. Is this the b vitamins? What is happening here…it is driving me crazy and i am desperate to figure out what is happening   Thank you for tuning into today's Cabral HouseCall and be sure to check back tomorrow where we answer more of our community's questions!    - - - Show Notes and Resources: StephenCabral.com/2906 - - - Get a FREE Copy of Dr. Cabral's Book: The Rain Barrel Effect - - - Join the Community & Get Your Questions Answered: CabralSupportGroup.com - - - Dr. Cabral's Most Popular At-Home Lab Tests: > Complete Minerals & Metals Test (Test for mineral imbalances & heavy metal toxicity) - - - > Complete Candida, Metabolic & Vitamins Test (Test for 75 biomarkers including yeast & bacterial gut overgrowth, as well as vitamin levels) - - - > Complete Stress, Mood & Metabolism Test (Discover your complete thyroid, adrenal, hormone, vitamin D & insulin levels) - - - > Complete Food Sensitivity Test (Find out your hidden food sensitivities) - - - > Complete Omega-3 & Inflammation Test (Discover your levels of inflammation related to your omega-6 to omega-3 levels) - - - Get Your Question Answered On An Upcoming HouseCall: StephenCabral.com/askcabral - - - Would You Take 30 Seconds To Rate & Review The Cabral Concept? The best way to help me spread our mission of true natural health is to pass on the good word, and I read and appreciate every review!  

Join us for our first SNRI episode! We will be discussing both Effexor and Pristiq!

Dr. Jeffrey James discusses Hypothyroidism with Dr. Ben Weitz. [If you enjoy this podcast, please give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, so more people will find The Rational Wellness Podcast. Also check out the video version on my WeitzChiro YouTube page.]    Podcast Highlights 3:17  Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common form of low functioning thyroid or hypothyroidism.  Dr. James noted that he has seen hundreds of women suffering with hypothyroidism and most of these women don't even get tested for Hashimoto's, since from the perspective of conventional medicine, if the woman has low functioning thyroid/high TSH levels, they will be treated with Synthroid or levothyroxine, which is synthetic thyroid hormone.  If it has an autoimmune origin, it doesn't change the pharmaceutical outcome.  But if you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis you have an immune system problem rather than a primary thyroid problem. We need to try to understand what would cause your immune system to dysregulate and want to attack your own body tissues?  Unfortunately, once you have one autoimmune disorder, you're 50% more likely to develop another one.  Dr. James explained that a lot of women complain that they're exhausted, they're putting on weight, they've got brain fog, they're losing their hair, they're constipated, their skin is dry, they've got brain fog, they have this constellation of symptoms, and they're cold.  When they go to their doctor, out comes the prescription for Synthroid.  Unfortunately a majority of women end up back in their doctor's office after a few months or a few years and they don't feel any better.  Their primary MD or endocrinologist then tries to dial in their TSH.  If they are depressed, then they get prescribed an antidepressant like Effexor or Cymbalta. If they have headaches, they get prescribed Imitrex.  If their blood pressure goes up, they are prescribed antihypertensive medications like Lisinopril or Amlopidipine or hydrochlorothiazide.  Dr. James sees a lot of these women who feel like they are not being seen or their complaints are not being addressed by their physician.  9:10  Functional Medicine practitioners are not simply treating each symptom with a pharmaceutical drug to ameliorate that symptom but are looking at your underlying metabolism, physiology, endocrinology as well as the root causes of the autoimmunity that is often driving these imbalances that can often be corrected with diet and lifestyle changes.  The patient with hypothyroidism could have an underlying GI infection or a biotoxin illness. They could have a genetic susceptibility to not being able to process mycotoxins that are either in their environment or that are in their foods that they're eating. They could have a Lyme infection. They could have a viral infection or a gut infection, a parasite or a bacterial infection in their gut that's driving an immunological response.  Any of these things can create a low level inflammatory response that can affect thyroid production, conversion, or uptake, all of which create symptoms that are very similar.  From a Functional Medicine perspective we want to see which way the physiology is tilting and we want to see if their lab values are optimal and not just normal or not.  11:05  The medical system in our country where once per year you go in for a physical exam with very minimal testing only to look for a pharmaceutical intervention is a failed system. Just look at how poor the health of our country is.  We need to test more widely to see how well our bodies are functioning.  For thyroid, we need to look at not just TSH but total T4 and T3, free T4 and Free T3, and reverse T3 as well as the thyroid antibodies. We need to trace everything back to the mitochondria of the cell and how our bodies produce energy.  We eat a meal and breathe some oxygen in and that glucose and oxygen mashes up against the mitochondria to produce ATP.

Huge shout out to our girl Amy because her birthday was yesterday. She does go on her date… was there a 2nd? She did her walk on the beach, but not what she expected. Angie goes to a winery that makes you feel like you are no longer in North Carolina. They catch up on House of Villains and Love Island Games has started. Yes, trashy TV is what they love. Have a great weekend! See you all next week. New episodes every Friday! CHEERS! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/champs-and-shade-po/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/champs-and-shade-po/support

Like to know more about MIA, its mission or rethinking psychiatry more broadly? On our podcast, MIA founder Robert Whitaker will answer your questions. Email questions to askmia@madinamerica.com by November 10 and we will pick a selection. *** Brooke Siem is a writer, speaker, and advocate for the safe de-prescribing of psychiatric drugs. Her work on antidepressant withdrawal has appeared in The Washington Post, the New York Post, Psychology Today, and many more. She is also an award-winning chef and Food Network Chopped Champion. In this interview, we talk about her experiences of withdrawal from a cocktail of psychiatric drugs and her debut memoir, May Cause Side Effects, published in 2022 which is one of the first books on antidepressant withdrawal to make it to the mass market. *** Thank you for being with us to listen to the podcast and read our articles this year. MIA is funded entirely by reader donations. If you value MIA, please help us continue to survive and grow. Mad in America podcasts and reports are made possible, in part, by a grant from the Thomas Jobe Fund. To find the Mad in America podcast on your preferred podcast player, click here  

L'appréhension de prendre des médicaments est compréhensible. Ne vous inquiétez pas, c'est une béquille pour vous aider, vous soutenir à aller mieux pendant quelques temps. Chaque individu est différent, la durée de prise sera variable d'une personne à une autre. Chaque chose en son temps et surtout pas d'arrêt soudain sans avoir consulter au préalable un médecin.  

Dr. Mindy answers questions aboout Ozempic Booty, Hives, Endometrol polyp, Hormone pellets, lumps, Effexor, Mono, ticks, Poison Ivy, Mounjaro, brown recluse bite and weight lossSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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In this Q&A Karen answers listeners' questions on all things hormones and weight loss.  maymoon_design When you refer to HRT are these natural or synthetic hormones? I am having a very hard time with hot flushes. janelleminto Can HRT cause/ contribute to a thickening in the lining of the uterus? I recently had surgery to remove this and wondered if the hormones could be a cause. lcavazza66 If I struggle with progesterone replacement, is it ok to just use estrogen and testosterone? I can't sleep, gain weight and struggle with progesterone. I had severe PMDD when I was younger prior to partial hysterectomy. Labs show estrogen dominance but adding progesterone makes me feel worse. Kimdixonwiley How do you know how much HRT to prescribe when Canadian blood work only gives Estrogen and Progesterone not actual numbers? Carol What serology test should I get if I have been in menopause for 2 years. Estrogen will be low but what are the levels we are hoping to achieve for both estrogen and progesterone? If supplementing how often should we check this - serology and with the Dutch? Md say levels will fluctuate so they don't want to do testing - how can we make our case to them to get it done? How do I know a progesterone is bioidentical? Jennifer Hi Karen, I love your podcast as you are so informative! I'm 46 and have been on my current hrt for 6 months. I experienced a lot of side effects at the beginning of my hrt. I had migraines and felt depressed and extremely emotional. This went on for months and was debilitating. So my provider put me on the following treatment to assist with the symptoms stating I was really estrogen dominant and needed more progesterone. I have noticed I feel better when I'm not taking any progesterone during my period. Is it possible to have too much progesterone and then have adverse effects? I don't feel like I'm reaping any of the benefits so many others have with progesterone.  Pam Hi Karen! I'm 59 and was diagnosed with Hashimoto's in my early 20s after my 1st child. I'm just wondering if something is off b/c it seems like my hair is really thinning. I'm taking Armour Thyroid 90 mg daily. My doctor says everything is normal. I'm also struggling with weight loss resistance. I know this is a lot but would really appreciate any insight you may have. I love listening to your podcasts, I learn so much! Thanks for all you do and know that you're making a difference in the lives of many!   KK Hi Karen! After listening to your podcast a couple of years ago, I got my hormones checked and found a Functional Practitioner to go over my health - she confirmed I was in Menopause and that my Progesterone was flat-lining, my Testosterone and Estrogen were low.  My question is, Should I be getting better results? I still struggle with quality sleep and maintaining lubrication and holding onto menopausal weight, I have still been having DHEA (50mg per day). My practitioner believes that the DHEA is better to boost than Progesterone or Testosterone. Should I expect better results or am I being ridiculous?   Luhu Hi Karen, Your number one fan here :) Studying with FDN to become a practitioner, very well-versed in gut health, hormones, etc but cannot figure out my own body since menopause! When my estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone all went very low—6 for E and T, I gained weight all over and can't lose it. Also developed chronic gut issues in menopause despite no gluten, no dairy, no sugar, (no fun!). SO Q: I started on the estrogen patch applying one half of the .025 dose, next day I added the next half, felt so much more energy and felt like I started losing lbs but quickly developed heartburn/reflux and felt a little overstimulated (maybe an adhesive ingredient in the patch? I'm very sensitive), I also felt some discomfort in my liver/gallbladder area even though I support both. I waited 3 weeks before adding progesterone due to past issues (ok'd by DR), then applied Quicksilver Scientific's topical progesterone 8mg and all hell broke loose. Within 2 days I retained so much water, and looked like I'd gained another 10lbs, belly got so swollen from diaphragm down and I felt weird pinching-like gas pains in ribs under right breast and then it moved to under left breast and the heartburn/reflux got worse. I had to stop both hormones :(. Please help, what do you think is going on with my body? Jean clark I'm almost 54 (bday in May) my local naturopath prescribed bio-identical hormone replacement without having me do a hormone test first. Should I be taking a hormone test before just going ahead with a prescription? It is all so confusing. Thanks!! Anonymous What is your morning routine? What time do you eat breakfast and what do you eat? Do you drink coffee? Could not eating breakfast actually raise your blood sugar? Anonymous Hi Karen, I was wondering how your experience with Fully Vital hair growth system has been? Thank you, Gail Anonymous How does one determine when it's appropriate to use 50/50 Biest or use only estradiol? (I'm referring to your Nov 18/22 podcast with Dr. Felice Gersh.) Thank you! Milly Hi Karen, Thanks for taking my question. I started transdermal testosterone to optimize my levels last November, we're still trying to find that sweet spot as it's still plummeting per my January report where it was at 8.  I'm due to go at the end of February to check on testosterone levels again, I'm sure (I hope) my doctor is going to check my other hormone levels to see where I'm at. Also, per my last lipid panels (Sep 2022) my total cholesterol and LDL levels have gone out of range for the first time. Taking all this into consideration, what would be the best day of the cycle to test ALL my hormones assuming I get my cycle eventually? Thank you, Milly Hi Karen, thanks so much for all the amazing information you share. My question is about heart palpitations. I'm 40 and the last few months they have been getting pretty intense the last half of my cycle so I'm pretty sure they are hormone related. I recently had a Dutch test in December and my estrone and estradiol were above range, estriol was in range. Estrogen is favoring the 2OH pathway but my methylation activity is low. Progesterone was in range. I've been using oral and the bio labs progesterone cream for more than two years now and it has helped with many symptoms, especially sleep. Besides the heart palpitations, I also get irritable around my cycle and again after ovulation. Feel pretty good besides that. Any ideas as to what's causing the sudden increase in heart palpitations? Thanks so much for your help! Gates 44 I guess my question is should mild symptoms be addressed? I have hot flashes that are bad for a few months then subside for a month or two. I have dry skin but I live in Canada so dry harsh winters, have had dry skin for years. I do have a low sex drive, but again I never had a high one either. Yes I do have more trouble sleeping for sure, but not sure that is enough to go on a drug. So please answer me should I do something or not? I am 56 years old and had an ablation done almost 17 years ago, so have not had a period since I was 39. Ira What is the window to start hrt and how long can you stay on hrt to get the full benefits? Do you believe by doing extended fasting (24+hrs) you do lose lean muscle tissue? Kathie Hi Karen, In trying to balance hormones, I've had some occasional bleeding. A recent biopsy was clear of anything being an issue. Is it normal to have a “period” with hrt? My regime has been a .25/1 mg estradiol/testosterone troche in the a.m., and 200mg progesterone in pm for about two months. In that time, I've had a period two times as well. Thank you! Sally I'm 49 years old and recently had a hysterectomy sparing my ovaries. I've suffered from extremely heavy periods for years and even through a year of chemo for brain cancer. My OB/GYN wanted to put me on birth control or the Mirena but I refused as I've attempted BC over the years with poor results. I had a terrible episode of anxiety/depression and cognition issues so she sent me to a psychiatrist and they put me on antidepressants which have helped some. Finally, she ordered a D&C due to the uncontrollable bleeding and precancerous cells were found hence the hysterectomy in late December. I spoke with her about hormone replacement and she said I'd probably be better off without it because my hormones made me so miserable with the fluctuations throughout my lifetime I went to my PCP because I couldn't sleep and she gave me Trazadone and said just wait and my hormones would settle. Then I talked to the Psychiatrist and told her about the temperature irregularities (inability to control my body temperature) and she increased my Effexor saying it had a vasomotor response. I'm a little fed up with all of the women doctors (all in their midlife and my OB is part of NAMS) giving me the runaround. I'm not crazy. I've medically been through a lot but this should be easy. I thought at first that the multiple brain surgeries had messed up my mind but after listening to you I think it's probably just my hormones. Thank you, Karen Anonymous Lots of talk about hormone replacement therapy at the beginning of transferring through perimenopause to menopause. My question to you is, what are the options for an almost 60-year-old who is past 10 years of being in menopause? We are still concerned about the future health of the heart, bones, brain, etc. Also, where can I find published current studies or research proving that bio-identical hormone replacement theory is safe? I would like to present to my doctor as she is a nonbeliever. Thank you!   Beth Hi Karen, I have been on Estrogen replacement since age 36 when I had a total hysterectomy with bilateral ovaries removed due to aggressive endometriosis at the time. I'm now 55, and I've struggled with 15 pounds of too much weight ever since. My libido sucks, Intercourse is painful, I'm a professional insomniac and have been dependent on magnesium supplements and Trazadone to help me sleep for 10 years! and I also have low energy. I'm thinking I need to address my hormone therapy, currently, it's an Estradiol patch of 0.037mg changed every 3 days. I really would love your help. I have been eating a green Mediterranean diet and avoided sweets and processed foods for the last 3 months, cut alcohol 

Treating Bipolar Disorder A disorder associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs. The exact cause of bipolar disorder isn't known, but a combination of genetics, environment, and altered brain structure and chemistry may play a critical role. Manic episodes may include symptoms such as high energy, reduced need for sleep or food and loss of touch with reality. Depressive episodes may include symptoms such as low energy, low motivation, and loss of interest in daily activities. Mood episodes last days to months at a time and may also be associated with suicidal thoughts. Treatment is usually lifelong and often involves a combination of medications and therapy. Very common There are More than 3 million US cases per year Treatment can help, but this condition can't be cured It is a Chronic Condition: it can last for years or be lifelong It Requires a medical diagnosis Lab tests or imaging not required Very often medication is required  Medications such as Effexor or Proxac have been known to help  

My friend Sarah joins me to discuss psilocybin in recovery! If you like the show consider buying us a coffee ko-fi.com/clownhospitalpod

Hey everyone! Welcome to today's episode of the Wright Conversations Podcast! For today's episode, I am going to be talking about my journey with depression, jumping between various treatments, and the moment I found relief. I'll also be getting into the process of doing ketamine treatments, how they saved my life, and how it's going today.   Let's delve in!   In this Episode You'll Learn: [06:37] The depression diagnosis. [13:27] Switching from Lexapro to Effexor. [15:53] And then Covid hit. [18:50] Getting on to Remeron. [21:14] The next wave of depression. [24:21] Starting ketamine treatments. [29:02] The first infusion. [31:56] Feeling like myself again.   Quotes: “It was so scary to be stuck in a brain that was telling me lies.” [25:57] “The healthier I get mentally, the more I realized that the feeling of surrendering is really positive.” [27:16] “Not one things is a silver bullet.” [32:06]   Connect with Rachel Wright Website:            https://rachelwrightnyc.com Instagram:          @thewright_rachel Twitter:              @thewrightrachel   WIN A FREE INTIMACY AFTER DARK DECK!   Get 30% OFF the NEW After Dark Deck! Use Promo Code: Rachel   Get your Zumio Discount!   Call to Action Please if you love this episode, and know someone else who is a passionate soul on a mission just like you share it with your friends and others. To help this podcast grow please leave an iTunes review and don't forget to subscribe.

Hour 1 * Guest: Lowell Nelson – CampaignForLiberty.org – RonPaulInstitute.org * We wish you a ‘Happy Memorial Day,' – We hope you take a moment to reflect on why Memorial Day exists. * Repentance is the sovereign remedy to our problems. * What's Biden's Endgame in Ukraine? – Ron Paul. * “There is a reason our Constitution grants war powers to the legislative branch. Forcing Members of the House and Senate to declare the US to be in a state of war also enables them – through the powers of the purse-string – to define the goals of the war and particularly what a victory looks like. That prevents the kind of mission-creep ahd shifting objectives that have characterized our endless wars in the 21st century – including this current proxy war with Russia.” * “Isn't it time to stand up and demand that both parties in Congress start asking some hard questions?” * Utah CD3 Debate last Thursday. * Hardening Soft Targets – Eric Peters, LewRockwell.com * “Get your kids out of government schools.” – In a home school, parents can provide better protection for their children–physically and emotionally. They will thus sidestep the Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) that is woven into the fabric of public school curricula. Instead, they will learn the basics–reading, writing, and arithmetic. They will learn history. And they will learn to THINK–perhaps the most important skill one can acquire. * Why I Took a Gun to School. * At the web site, DrugAwareness.org, is an illuminating account of a young man (Corey Baadsgaard) who took a gun to school and held 24 of his classmates hostage for about 20 minutes. He didn't know what he was doing. He had been taking Paxil for eight months, and was being switched to Effexor. That morning, he didn't feel well, so he decided to go back to bed until later in the morning. Next thing he knew he was in juvenile detention. Fortunately, he hadn't killed anyone. * Ann Blake Tracy served as the Executive Director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness. She authored a book titled “Prozac: Panacea or Pandora?” For the past 30 years, this coalition has been collecting stories of people who have suffered from the use and abuse of these drugs. * There is another reason for an increase in the number of mass public shootings in recent years–pharmaceutical drugs – Antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, and Luvox. There is, at DrugAwareness.org, an alphabetical list of over 300 anti-depressants. They are mind-altering drugs. Hour 2 * Guest: Dr. Scott Bradley – To Preserve The Nation – FreedomsRisingSun.com * Is the pen more powerful than the sword? * The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Alma 30 verse 5: “And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.” * The Chosen (TV series) 2017 – The Chosen is a television drama based on the life of Jesus of Nazareth, created, directed and co-written by American filmmaker Dallas Jenkins. It is the first multi-season series about the life of Jesus, and season one was the top crowd-funded TV series or film project of all time. * Why Haven't More People Seen ‘The Chosen'? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/loving-liberty/support

* Guest: Lowell Nelson - CampaignForLiberty.org - RonPaulInstitute.org * We wish you a 'Happy Memorial Day,' - We hope you take a moment to reflect on why Memorial Day exists. * Repentance is the sovereign remedy to our problems. * What's Biden's Endgame in Ukraine? - Ron Paul. * "There is a reason our Constitution grants war powers to the legislative branch. Forcing Members of the House and Senate to declare the US to be in a state of war also enables them - through the powers of the purse-string - to define the goals of the war and particularly what a victory looks like. That prevents the kind of mission-creep ahd shifting objectives that have characterized our endless wars in the 21st century - including this current proxy war with Russia." * "Isn't it time to stand up and demand that both parties in Congress start asking some hard questions?" * Utah CD3 Debate last Thursday. * Hardening Soft Targets - Eric Peters, LewRockwell.com * "Get your kids out of government schools." - In a home school, parents can provide better protection for their children--physically and emotionally. They will thus sidestep the Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) that is woven into the fabric of public school curricula. Instead, they will learn the basics--reading, writing, and arithmetic. They will learn history. And they will learn to THINK--perhaps the most important skill one can acquire. * Why I Took a Gun to School. * At the web site, DrugAwareness.org, is an illuminating account of a young man (Corey Baadsgaard) who took a gun to school and held 24 of his classmates hostage for about 20 minutes. He didn't know what he was doing. He had been taking Paxil for eight months, and was being switched to Effexor. That morning, he didn't feel well, so he decided to go back to bed until later in the morning. Next thing he knew he was in juvenile detention. Fortunately, he hadn't killed anyone. * Ann Blake Tracy served as the Executive Director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness. She authored a book titled "Prozac: Panacea or Pandora?" For the past 30 years, this coalition has been collecting stories of people who have suffered from the use and abuse of these drugs. * There is another reason for an increase in the number of mass public shootings in recent years--pharmaceutical drugs - Antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, and Luvox. There is, at DrugAwareness.org, an alphabetical list of over 300 anti-depressants. They are mind-altering drugs.

Since the launch of this podcast, we have been promising to interview a mental health specialist to talk about perimenopausal anxiety and depression, and just in time for Mental Health Awareness Month, we got the best one ever! Donna Klassen is not only a licensed clinical social worker with more than 30 years of experience, she is the co-founder and CEO of Let's Talk Menopause, a nonprofit organization invested in changing the conversation around menopause so women get the information they need and the healthcare they deserve. Donna is candid, fast-talking, and FUN, so cozy up as we chat about radical acceptance, meds that help with hot flashes,  oophorectomies, and hippocampuses. Or is it hippocampi? Let's Talk Menopause websiteInsta: @letstalkmenopauseFacebook: @LetsTalkMenopauseTwitter: @LTMenopauseDonna Klassen WebsiteWhat is the Link Between Menopause and Anxiety?Pristiq and Effexor are antidepressants that can help with hot flashesDr. Rachel Rubin - UrogynecologistReplay past talks on Let's Talk Menopausehttps://www.myalloy.com/Check out OUR WEBSITESupport the show

This week I'm keeping things light hearted while I detox from Effexor. I'm chatting about Kanye West's Jeen-yuhs, Euphoria, the Super Bowl LVI half-time show, Sex and the City's season finale of And Just Like That, and Hulu's Pam & Tommy!Make sure you are following me on Instagram & TikTok

Winter in Vegas, Effexor Side Effects, Being the" New Guy" - Episode 31. In episode 31 Pete talks about their first winter in Las Vegas, how being the “ new guy” in a group can be challenging and his not so great experience with a. Drug called Effexor. Thank you all for coming out this week!

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Tookey is joined by Dr. Zach April to discuss the members of the SNRI class of medicines. This includes duloxetine (Cymbalta), venlafaxine (Effexor), desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) and others.  A disclaimer, we're providing general guidance but everyone is different and you should always discuss with your health care professional management of any disease and therapy before trying anything you discover from a source on the internet (including this podcast) 

Stephanie Kilroy and Nancy Ellwood are badass b*tches who have overcome breast cancer and rectal cancer, and who are determined to laugh about the good ("We were surrounded by family and friends"), the bad ("I went through menopause twice!"), and the ugly ("I had a bag of liquid poop hanging off my body"). Tune in for a candid chat about doodies, doobies, dildos, and how it always comes back to Dirty Dancing.Steph: Valley Forge and Montgomery County, PANancy: Arcadia PublishingChick MissionBreastcancer.org: Effexor for treatment of hot flashesNY Times: Should Your Cocktail Carry a Cancer Warning?The Body Keeps the ScoreHeal DocumentaryWhat can I do to reduce my odds of being diagnosed with breast cancer?Most common cancers in women and how to detect them earlyVessel HealthCheck out our websiteSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/circlingthedrainpodcast)

Join Dr. Peter to go way below the surface and find the hidden meanings of obsessions, compulsions and OCD.  Through poetry and quotes, he invites you into the painful, distressing, fearful and misunderstood world of those who suffer from OCD.  He defines obsessions and compulsions, discusses the different types of each, and evaluates two conventional treatments and one alternative treatment for OCD.  Most importantly, he discusses the deepest natural causes of OCD, which are almost always disregarded in conventional treatment, which focuses primarily on the symptoms.   Lead-in OCD is not a disease that bothers; it is a disease that tortures. - Author: J.J. Keeler   “It can look like still waters on the outside while a hurricane is swirling in your mind.” — Marcie Barber Phares  Poetry or word picture (prayer of the scrupulous)  Aditi Apr 2017  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  OCD.  That is what we are addressing today. Here is what OCD is like for Toni Neville -- she says:  “It's like being controlled by a puppeteer. Every time you try and just walk away he pulls you back. Are you sure the stove is off and everything is unplugged? Back up we go. Are you sure your hands are as clean as they can get? Back ya go. Are you sure the doors are securely locked? Back down we go. How many people have touched this object? Wash your hands again.”  Introduction We are together in this great adventure, this podcast, Interior Integration for Catholics, we are journeying together, and I am honored to be able to spend this time with you.   I am Dr. Peter Malinoski, clinical psychologist and passionate Catholic and together, we are taking on the tough topics that matter to you.   We bring the best of psychology and human formation and harmonize it with the perennial truths of the Catholic Faith.    Interior Integration for Catholics is part of our broader outreach, Souls and Hearts bringing the best of psychology grounded in a Catholic worldview to you and the rest of the world through our website soulsandhearts.com  Today, we are getting into obsessions and compulsions -- a really deep dive into what's really going on with these experiences.  I know many of you were expecting me to discuss scrupulosity today -- And you know what?  I was expecting I would be discussing scrupulosity well, but in order to have that discussion of scrupulosity  be well-founded, we really need to get into understanding obsessions and compulsions first.  I have to bring you up to speed on obessions and compulsions before we get into scrupulosity, and there is a lot to know The questions we will be covering about obsessions and compulsions. What are Obsession and Compulsions? Getting into definitions.   Also What are the different types of obsessions and compulsions, the different forms that obsessions and compulsions can take What is the experience of OCD like?  From those who have suffered it.   Who suffers from obsessions and compulsions -- how common are they?  Who is at risk?  Why do obsessions and compulsions start and why do they keep going?  How do we overcome obsessions and compulsions?  How do we resolve them?   What does the secular literature say are the best treatments"  -- Medication and a particular kind of therapy called Exposure and Response Prevention Alternatives   Can we find not just a descriptive diagnosis, but a proscriptive conceptualization that gives a direction for healing, resolving the obsessions and compulsions  Not just symptom management. Definitions  Obsessions  DSM-5: Obsessions are defined by (1) and (2): Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or impulses that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and unwanted, and that in most individuals cause marked anxiety or distress.  The individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action (i.e., by performing a compulsion).  Not pleasurable   Involuntary My compulsive thoughts aren't even thoughts, they're absolute certainties and obeying them isn't a choice. - Author: Paul Rudnick  To resist a compulsion with willpower alone is to hold back an avalanche by melting the snow with a candle. It just keeps coming and coming and coming. - Author: David Adam   Individual works to neutralize the obsession with another thought or a compulsion.   From the International OCD Foundation:  Obsessions are thoughts, images or impulses that occur over and over again and feel outside of the person's control. Individuals with OCD do not want to have these thoughts and find them disturbing. In most cases, people with OCD realize that these thoughts don't make any sense.  Obsessions are typically accompanied by intense and uncomfortable feelings such as fear, disgust, doubt, or a feeling that things have to be done in a way that is “just right.” In the context of OCD, obsessions are time consuming and get in the way of important activities the person values.  Common Obsessions  Sources What is OCD? Article by the International OCD Foundation on their website  WebMD article How Do I Know if I Have OCD? By Danny Bonvissuto February 19. 2020  Northpointrecovery.com blog What Types of OCD Are There? Get the Breakdown Here by the Northpoint Staff from May 3, 2019  Article entitled Common Types of OCD: Subtypes, Their Symptoms and the Best Treatment by Patrick Carey dated July 6, 2021 on treatmyocd.com   Contamination Body fluids --- blood, urine, saliva, feces -   I gave my baby niece a serious illness when I held her --  I'm sure I got a disease from using the public restroom.   Germs for communicable diseases -- may be afraid to shake hands, worried about catching gonorrhea  Environmental contaminants -- radiation, asbestos  Household chemicals -- cleaners, solvents  Dirt  If you put the wrong foods in your body, you are contaminated and dirty and your stomach swells. Then the voice says, Why did you do that? Don't you know better? Ugly and wicked, you are disgusting to me. - Author: Bethany Pierce   Losing Control Giving in to an impulse to harm yourself --  I could jump in front of this bus right now.   Fear of acting on an impulse to harm others -- what if I stabbed my child with this knife?  Fear of violent or horrific images in your mind  Fear of shouting out insults or obscenities --  Fear of stealing things   Harm Fear of being responsible for some terrible event (causing a fire at an office building)  Fear of harming others because of not being careful enough (leaving a stick in your yard that fell from a tree in a wind storm that may trip and hurt an neighbor child)   Relationships Doubts about romantic partner -- is she the right one for me?  Is there a better one I am supposed to find?  What if we are not meant to be together, but we wind up marrying each other?  Is my partner faithful?   Unwanted Sexual Thoughts Forbidden or perverse sexual thoughts or images  Sexual obsessions involving children  Obsessions about aggressive sexual behavior toward others   Obsessions related to perfectionism Concern about evenness or exactness   need for things to be in their place Arranging things in a particular way before leaving home   Concern with a need to know or remember  Inability to decide whether to keep or discard things  Fear of losing things  Fear of making a mistake -- may need excessive encouragement from others  Needing to make sure that your action is just right -- I need to start this email over, something is not wright with the wording.   Obsessions about your Sexual Orientation Obsessions about being embarrassed in a public situation Getting a non-communicable disease such as cancer Superstitious ideas such as unlucky numbers or certain colors Religious Obsessions (Scrupulosity) Concern with offending God  Concerns about blasphemy  Concerns about right and wrong, morality.   Compulsions  Definitions  DSM-5 Compulsions are defined by (1) and (2): Repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.  The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety or distress, or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent, or are clearly excessive.  Most people with OCD have both obsessions and compulsions.   From the International OCD Foundation Compulsions are the second part of obsessive compulsive disorder. These are repetitive behaviors or thoughts that a person uses with the intention of neutralizing, counteracting, or making their obsessions go away. People with OCD realize this is only a temporary solution but without a better way to cope they rely on the compulsion as a temporary escape. Compulsions can also include avoiding situations that trigger obsessions. Compulsions are time consuming and get in the way of important activities the person values.   Common Compulsions in OCD  Sources What is OCD? Article by the International OCD Foundation on their website  WebMD article How Do I Know if I Have OCD? By Danny Bonvissuto February 19. 2020  Northpointrecovery.com blog What Types of OCD Are There? Get the Breakdown Here by the Northpoit Staff from May 3, 2019  Article entitled Common Types of OCD: Subtypes, Their Symptoms and the Best Treatment by Patrick Carey dated July 6, 2021   Washing and Cleaning Washing hands excessively or in a certain way  Excessive showering, bathing, toothbrushing, grooming  Cleaning items or objects excessively   Checking Checking that you did not or will not harm anyone  Checking that you did not or will not harm yourself  Checking that nothing terrible happened  Checking that you did not make a mistake  Checking specific parts of your body   Repeating Re-reading or re-writing   Repeating routine activities Going in and out of doors  Getting up and down from chairs   Repeating body movements Tapping  Touching  Blinking   Repeating activities in multiples Doing things three times, because three is a good, right or safe number   Mental Compulsions Mental review of events to prevent harm (to oneself others, to prevent terrible consequences)  Praying to prevent harm (to oneself others, to prevent terrible consequences)  Counting while performing a task to end on a “good,” “right,” or “safe” number  Cancelling” or “Undoing” (example: replacing a “bad” word with a “good” word to cancel it out)    Putting things in order or arranging things until it “feels right” or are in perfect symmetry Telling asking or confessing to get reassurance Avoiding situations that might trigger your obsessions  Obsessions and Compulsions go together  The vicious cycle of OCD -- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) at helpguide.org Obsessive thought  --  I could stab my nephew with this knife.  Anxiety -- that would be a terrible thing to happen, I can't let that happen  Compulsion -- Locking all the knives away, checking to make sure they are all accounted for when your sibling and her family are visiting  Temporary relief -- the knives are all there.  “A physical sensation crawls up my arm as I avoid compulsions. But if I complete it, the world resets itself for a moment like everything will be just fine. But only for a moment.” —  Mardy M. Berlinger Harm Obsession     Compulsion:  Keeping all knives hidden away somewhere What if I killed my nephew and I just can't remember?  Repeatedly going back to check if you ran someone over DSM-5 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both:  The obsessions or compulsions are time-consuming (e.g., take more than 1 hour per day) or cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.  The obsessive-compulsive symptoms are not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition.  The disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder   Specify if: With good or fair insight: The individual recognizes that obsessive-compulsive disorder beliefs are definitely or probably not true or that they may or may not be true.  With poor insight:  The individual thinks obsessive-compulsive disorder beliefs are probably true.  With absent insight/delusional beliefs: The individual is completely convinced that obsessive-compulsive disorder beliefs are true. 4%  With Tic disorder up to 30%   What is the experience of OCD Poem By Forti.no   Quotes: “You lose time. You lose entire blocks of your day to obsessive thoughts or actions. I spend so much time finishing songs in my car before I can get out or redoing my entire shower routine because I lost count of how many times I scrubbed my left arm.” — Kelly Hill  “Ever seen ‘Inside Out'? With OCD, it's like Doubt has its own control console.” — Josey Eloy Franco  “Imagine all your worst thoughts as a soundtrack running through your mind 24/7, day after day.” — Adam Walker Cleveland  “Picture standing in a room filled with flies and pouring a bottle of syrup over yourself. The flies constantly swarm about you, buzzing around your head and in your face. You swat and swat, but they keep coming. The flies are like obsessional thoughts — you can't stop them, you just have to fend them off. The swatting is like compulsions — you can't resist the urge to do it, even though you know it won't really keep the flies at bay more than for a brief moment.” — Cheryl Little Sutton  “It's like you have two brains — a rational brain and an irrational brain. And they're constantly fighting.” — Emilie Ford   Who 12 month prevalence is 1.2% with international prevalence rates from 1.1 to 1.8%  NIH Women have a higher prevalence 1.8% than men 0.5%.  Males more affected in childhood.  Lifetime prevalence 2.3%   Risk Factors:  DSM-5  Temperamental Factors Greater internalizing symptoms  Higher negative emotionality  Behavioral inhibition   Environmental Factors Childhood physical abuse  Childhood sexual abuse  Other stressful or traumatic events   Genetic Monozygotic concordance rates --.57  Dizygotic concordance rates .22   Physiological  Dysfunction in the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and striatum have been implicated.   Streptococcal infection can precede the development of OCD symptoms in children Therapy  Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) -- Developed originally in the 1970s Stanley Rachman's work a type of behavioral therapy  that exposes the person to situations that provoke their obsessions causing distress, usually anxiety which leads to  the urge to engage in the compulsion  that gives them the temporary relief.   The goal of ERP is to break the cycle of obsessions --> anxiety --> compulsion --> temporary relief.  So you are exposed to you anxiety provoking stimulus, and have the obsession, but you prevent the compulsive response, and you don't get the temporary relief.  Basic premise: As individuals confront their fears and no longer engage in their escape response, they will eventually reduce their anxiety. The goal is to habituate, or get used to the feelings of the obsessions, without having to engage in the compulsive behavior.  This increases the capacity to handle discomfort and anxiety.  Then one is no longer reinforced by the temporary anxiety relief that the compulsion provides.   Patrick Carey writes that: Any behavior that engages with the obsession– e.g. asking for reassurance, avoidance, rumination– reinforces it. By preventing these behaviors, ERP teaches people that they can tolerate their distress without turning to compulsions. It thereby drains obsessions of their power.  Division 12 of the APA   Essence of therapy: Individuals with OCD repeatedly confront the thoughts, images, objects, and situations that make them anxious and/or start their obsessions in a systematic fashion, without performing compulsive behaviors that typically serve to reduce anxiety. Through this process, the individual learns that there is nothing to fear and the obsessions no longer cause distress. From the IOCDF :  With ERP, the difference is that when you make the choice to confront your anxiety and obsessions you must also make a commitment to not give in and engage in the compulsive behavior. When you don't do the compulsive behaviors, over time you will actually feel a drop in your anxiety level. This natural drop in anxiety that happens when you stay “exposed” and “prevent” the compulsive “response” is called habituation. Instead, a person is forced to confront their obsessive thoughts relentlessly. The goal is to make the sufferer so accustomed to their obsessions that they no longer feel tempted to engage in soothing compulsions. Types of Exposure -- GoodTherapy.org article Imaginal Exposure: In this type of exposure, a person in therapy is asked to mentally confront the fear or situation by picturing it in one's mind. For example, a person with agoraphobia, a fear of crowded places, might imagine standing in a crowded mall.  In Vivo Exposure: When using this type of exposure, a person is exposed to real-life objects and scenarios. For example, a person with a fear of flying might go to the airport and watch a plane take off.  Virtual Reality Exposure: This type of exposure combines elements of both imaginal and in vivo exposure so that a person is placed in situations that appear real but are actually fabricated. For example, someone who has a fear of heights—acrophobia—might participate in a virtual simulation of climbing down a fire escape.   Steven Pence, and colleagues in a 2010 article in the American Journal of Psychotherapy:  "When exposures go wrong: Troubleshooting guidelines for managing difficult scenarios that arise in Exposure-based treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder The present article reviews five issues that occur in therapy but have been minimally discussed in the OCD treatment literature:  1) when clients fail to habituate to their anxiety -- they don't calm down2) when clients misjudge how much anxiety an exposure will actually cause3) when incidental exposures happen in session -- other fears in the fear hierarchy intrude.  4) when mental or covert rituals interfere with treatment -- covert compulsive behaviors5) when clients demonstrate exceptionally high anxiety sensitivity.  Stacey Smith Counseling at stacysmithcounseling.com -- ERP failures Utilizing safety behaviors  Not sitting with the anxiety until it dissipates -- distracting yourself  Not working through all the irrational, unhelpful thoughts  Not practicing often enough.   ERP criticisms  Can be really unpleasant for clients -- repeated exposures to terrifying stimuli -- can there be a better way? Concerns about safety and security   Concerns about flooding with anxiety  Ben Blum: Inside the Revolutionary Treatment That Could Change Psychotherapy Forever  elemental.medium.com July 21, 2020 Robert Fox is haunted by a memory of a germophobic woman with OCD whom he met once while she was hospitalized. As part of her ERP therapy, the therapists took her into the bathroom and had her wipe her hands over the toilet and sink and then rub them through her hair. She wasn't permitted to shower until the next morning.   Concerns about dropout rates.   Dropout rate of 18.7% across 21 ERP studies with 1400 participants Clarissa Ong and colleagues in 2016 article in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders Dropout rate of 10% among youth for ERP in a 2019 meta-analysis by Carly Johnco and her colleagues in the Journal "Depression and Anxiety" 11 randomized trials I'm concerned that it doesn't go deep enough  Not getting to root causes -- staying at the symptom level -- seeing symptoms as nonsensical One thing which I can't stress enough is that OCD is completely nonsensical and will not listen to reason. This is one of the most frightening things about having it. I knew that to anyone I told, there are Salvador Dali paintings that make more sense. - Author: Joe Wells   What is the fear really about.  Let's not just ignore it.  Fear is a response to something. Tracing back layers, going back through grief and anger, all the way to shame.  Shame episodes 37-49.   Doesn't get to any spiritual issues Medication  International OCD Foundation Drugs and dosages High doses are often needed for these drugs to work in most people.   Research suggests that the following doses may be needed:  fluvoxamine (Luvox®) – up to 300 mg/day  fluoxetine (Prozac®) – 40-80 mg/day  sertraline (Zoloft®) – up to 200 mg/day   paroxetine (Paxil®) – 40-60 mg/day   citalopram (Celexa®) – up to 40 mg/day*   clomipramine (Anafranil®) – up to 250 mg/day  escitalopram (Lexapro®) – up to 40 mg/day   venlafaxine (Effexor®) – up to 375 mg/day   How Do These Medications Work?  From the International OCD Foundation.  It remains unclear as to how these particular drugs help OCD. The good news is that after decades of research, we know how to treat patients, even though we do not know exactly why our treatments work. We do know that each of these medications affect a chemical in the brain called serotonin. Serotonin is used by the brain as a messenger. If your brain does not have enough serotonin, then the nerves in your brain might not be communicating right. Adding these medications to your body can help boost your serotonin and get your brain back on track.   Discussion of conventional approaches  Medication  I am not a physician -- I'm a psychologist and I don't have prescription privileges I don't give advice on medication choices or on dosages or anything like that.  If you think your medication is helping your OCD, I'm not going to argue with you about that --  I don't want to try to dissuade anyone from taking medication for psychological issues if they think it's helping them.   Here's the thing, though.  So much of your thinking about medication depends on what you see as the cause of the problem It makes sense to take medication if you think the obsessions and compulsions pop up because of chemical imbalances.   You take the medication to restore the chemical balance and reduce the symptoms.  So many of treatments for OCD treat the obsessions and compulsions as meaningless, as irrational, as just the random epiphenomena of consciousness, or just as nonsensical expressions of miswiring in the brain or just the effects of poorly balanced neurochemical in the brain.     And so these approaches, like ERP that and medication that target the obsessions and compulsions for eradication, that seek to vanquish them result in multiple problems  I think that is a major, major mistake.   And here is what I want to emphasize.  Obsessions and Compulsions are symptoms.  They are symptoms.  Obsessions and compulsions, as painful and as debilitating as they are for many people, those obsessions and compulsions are not the primary problem.  They are the effects of the primary problem.  Obsessions and compulsions happen late in the causal chain.  I see meaning in every obsession and in every compulsion.  I see a message in every obsession and compulsion.  A cry for help, a signal of deeper distress.   There are cases in which a psychological problem can be purely or primarily organic -- due to a medical condition -- for example due to head trauma that causes brain damage.  Or a brain tumor on the pituitary gland that disrupts your whole endocrine system, resulting in mood swings. But, Most of the time, though, psychological symptoms have psychological causes.   As a Catholic psychologist, I want to move much further back in the causal chain.  I want to address and resolve the underlying issues that give rise to the obsessions in the first place.   Self Help  Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) at helpguide.org  Identify your triggers Can help you anticipate your urges  Create a solid mental picture and then make a mental note. Tell yourself, “The window is now closed,” or “I can see that the oven is turned off.”  When the urge to check arises later, you will find it easier to re-label it as “just an obsessive thought.”   Learn to resist OCD compulsions by repeatedly exposing yourself to your OCD triggers, you can learn to resist the urge to complete your compulsive rituals --  exposure and response prevention (ERP)  Build your fear ladder -- working your way up to more and more frightening things.   Resist the urge to do your compulsive behavior The anxiety will fade You're not going to lose control or have a breakdown Practice Challenge Obsessive thoughts Thoughts are just thoughts   Write down obsessive thoughts and compulsions Writing it all down will help you see just how repetitive your obsessions are.  Writing down the same phrase or urge hundreds of times will help it lose its power.  Writing thoughts down is much harder work than simply thinking them, so your obsessive thoughts are likely to disappear sooner.   Challenge your obsessive thoughts. Use your worry period to challenge negative or intrusive thoughts by asking yourself What's the evidence that the thought is true? That it's not true? Have I confused a thought with a fact?   Is there a more positive, realistic way of looking at the situation?  What's the probability that what I'm scared of will actually happen? If the probability is low, what are some more likely outcomes?   Is the thought helpful? How will obsessing about it help me and how will it hurt me?   What would I say to a friend who had this thought?   Create an OCD worry period. Rather than trying to suppress obsessions or compulsions, develop the habit of rescheduling them. Choose one or two 10-minute “worry periods” each day, time you can devote to obsessing.  During your worry period, focus only on negative thoughts or urges. Don't try to correct them. At the end of the worry period, take a few calming breaths, let the obsessive thoughts go, and return to your normal activities. The rest of the day, however, is to be designated free of obsessions.  When thoughts come into your head during the day, write them down and “postpone” them to your worry period.   Create a tape of your OCD obsessions or intrusive thoughts. Focus on one specific thought or obsession and record it to a tape recorder or smartphone.  Recount the obsessive phrase, sentence, or story exactly as it comes into your mind.  Play the tape back to yourself, over and over for a 45-minute period each day, until listening to the obsession no longer causes you to feel highly distressed.   By continuously confronting your worry or obsession you will gradually become less anxious. You can then repeat the exercise for a different obsession.   Reach our for support Stay connected to family and friends.  Join an OCD support group.  Manage Stress Quickly self-soothe and relieve anxiety symptoms by making use of one or more of your physical senses—sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste—or movement. You might try listening to a favorite piece of music, looking at a treasured photo, savoring a cup of tea, or stroking a pet.   Practice relaxation techniques. Mindful meditation, yoga, deep breathing, and other relaxation techniques can help lower your overall stress and tension levels and help you manage your urges. For best results, try practicing a relaxation technique regularly. Lifestyle changes Exercise regularly  Get enough sleep  Avoid alcohol and nicotine   Not sure this is going to work.  Doesn't get to root causes.   IFS as an alternative From Verywellmind.com  What is Internal Family Systems?  By Theodora Blanchfield, August 22, 2021    What Is Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy? Internal family systems, or IFS, is a type of therapy that believes we are all made up of several parts or sub-personalities. It draws from structural, strategic, narrative, and Bowenian types of family therapy. The founder, Dr. Richard Schwartz, thought of the mind as an inner family and began applying techniques to individuals that he usually used with families.  The underlying concept of this theory is that we all have several parts living within us that fulfill both healthy and unhealthy roles. Life events or trauma, however, can force us out of those healthy roles into extreme roles. The good news is that these internal roles are not static and can change with time and work. The goal of IFS therapy is to achieve balance within the internal system and to differentiate and elevate the self so it can be an effective leader in the system.   Parts:  Separate, independently operating personalities within us, each with own unique prominent needs, roles in our lives, emotions, body sensations, guiding beliefs and assumptions, typical thoughts, intentions, desires, attitudes, impulses, interpersonal style, and world view.  Each part also has an image of God and also its own approach to sexuality.  Robert Falconer calls them insiders.  Robert Fox and Alessio Rizzo  have done the most work with IFS to work with obsessions and compulsions.    Sources IFS and Hope with OCD with Alessio Rizzo and Robert Fox -- Episode 102 of Tammy Sollenberger's podcast The One Inside -- September 17, 2021  Podcast IFS Talks:  Hosts Aníbal Henriques & Tisha Shull  A Talk with Robert Fox on OCD-types -- Robert Fox   February 20, 2021   Robert Fox, IFS therapist with OCD  Ben Blum: Inside the Revolutionary Treatment That Could Change Psychotherapy Forever  elemental.medium.com July 21, 2020 https://elemental.medium.com/inside-the-revolutionary-treatment-that-could-change-psychotherapy-forever-8be035d54770   Robert Fox, a therapist in Woburn, Massachusetts, also wishes more people knew about IFS. Diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder at age 21 after a lifetime of unusual compulsions, he spent 23 years receiving the standard care: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure response prevention (ERP). Neither had much effect, especially ERP, which involved repeatedly exposing himself to things he was anxious about in the hopes of gradually habituating to them. “When you think about it, it's a very painful method of therapy,” he says. Fox discovered IFS in 2008. Before, he had always been encouraged to think of his compulsions as meaningless pathologies. Now, for the first time, they began making sense to him as the behavior of protectors who were trying to manage the underlying shame and fear of exiles. After two particularly powerful unburdenings, his symptoms abated by 95% and stayed that way. “[OCD] used to be almost like kryptonite around my neck when I would have serious flare-ups,” he says. “I feel a lot of freedom and peace and I really owe it to Dick [Schwartz] and the model.” Concerns about ERP  ERP doesn't bring the curiosity -- why did this happen?   Obsessions are not irrational and Compulsions are not meaningless Alessio Rizzo Conventional OCD diagnosis and treatment ERP and medication -- nothing points back to underlying causes. Alessio Rizzo:  Evidence-based approaches for OCD that work -- they work by drawing a manager part into a role of suppressing OCD symptoms  Needing to continue ERP.   Causes:  Fox Repressed anger. -- not a parent who could witness   Intense shame that is dissociated Shame from childhood -- exiled  Shame from the OCD itself.  -- sarcasm from others, especially from his older brother.   “OCD is like having a bully stuck inside your head and nobody else can see it.” — Krissy McDermott   We hide what we are ashamed of -- not easy to treat.   Fox on his treatment:  Right. I didn't see it myself until one day I was out for a walk with my dog Gizmo around my block, walking around the block with him and I had been to all these lectures about shame and I was walking one day and all of a sudden it was like, it just came to me “Holy, Holy, Holy shit. I carry that shame.” And it was like a dark cloud that was overhead and just kind of followed me wherever I went. And it was actually not an awful thing to realize. That's what had been basically walking around on my back for so long. It was this deep shame. In agreement with how central I think shame is to OCD Obsessions and compulsions develop gradually and experiment with different ways of drawing attention away from the intensity of underlying experience.  All happens in silence in the inner world.   An obsession or compulsion distracts us from the pain of an exile.  If I'm worrying about the gas in the lawnmower overflowing and blowing up the house -- takes me away from the shame of feeling inadequate at work.   Needs to be powerful enough to hijack my mind So many layers of protectors  -- takes time Alessio Rizzo Post dated March 3, 2021 entitled "IFS and OCD -- A Comparison Between CBT and IFS for OCD.  https://www.therapywithalessio.com/articles/ifs-and-ocd-how-does-the-ifs-method-work-for-ocd In IFS, we use the language of parts to describe how we function. As a consequence, the OCD is considered a part of the person. This means that, even if the OCD seems quite a strong presence in the client's life, there is much more to a person than OCD.  At this stage CBT and IFS might look similar because CBT also encourages clients to label the anxieties and the intrusive thoughts that form the OCD and not engage with them.  The main difference between CBT and IFS is in how we relate to the OCD part.  One of the foundational elements of IFS is that all parts are welcome, and, therefore, the OCD part is not dismissed or ignored, but it is respected. Respect does not mean that the client will believe the content of intrusive thoughts or that they will follow up on whatever behaviour the OCD wants. IFS gives us a way to make sure that there is enough safety and calm before offering respect to the OCD part. This might take a different amount of attempts depending on the severity of the OCD, and on the strength of the relationship between therapist and client.  Healing OCD with IFS  The main difference between CBT and IFS is in the definition of “cure” of OCD.  CBT therapy has the ultimate goal of empowering the client to overcome OCD thoughts and anxieties by never engaging with them or by using exposure therapy to demonstrate that the OCD fears and obsessions have got no evidence to exist.  IFS believes that healing is the result of the re-organisation of parts so that extreme behaviour is substituted by more functional ways of thinking and acting, and, above all, IFS aims at healing the traumatic events that have led to the development of OCD symptoms.    The result of healing the trauma that fuels OCD is a spontaneous decrease of OCD anxieties and intrusive thoughts and, in my opinion, this form of healing is preferable to the one described by CBT. Using IFS language, the CBT approach aims at creating a new part in the system that is tasked with managing the OCD, while there is no attention paid to discovery and healing of the trauma that is fueling the OCD.Choosing the method that best suits you There is no way of saying what method works best for a person.  Therapy outcomes depend on many factors and not only on the method used. Sometimes the quality of the therapeutic relationship is the biggest healing factor, and it is ultimately up to the client to find the best combination of therapist and method that can best suit them. Colleen West, LMFT LMFT  December 20 post on her website colleenwest.com  Treating OCD with Internal Family Systems Parts Work Just a word about treating OCD with IFS versus Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Treating obsessive and compulsive parts with IFS is diametrically opposed to treating it in the Exposure and Response Prevention, the most commonly recommended approach. IFS treats OCD parts as what they are--managers and fire fighters, they have jobs to do. If you can help the exiles underneath these protectors, there will be less need for the OCD behaviors. (This might be complicated if there are still constant stressors in the client's life, for which they need the protection.)   IFS does work, and I have successfully treated people with full blown OCD who now have about 5% of their original symptoms only during moments of high stress, and they do not consider themselves OCD anymore. These clients have been helped by taking SSRIs as well, which I will say more about below.ERP works to suppress those same protectors that IFS seeks to understand/care for. It does "work", as people get a strategy for the thoughts that are driving them nuts, but the folks I know who have gone through this treatment find they have to do their 'homework' forever or the OCD comes back, and they always feel it threatening. In short, it is stressful, and the fight is never over.For anyone doing ERP, they have to commit fully to that approach, the homework is hours a day, and one cannot be halfhearted about it or it won't work. The good thing about ERP is that it gives people some control, which they strongly desire, because they feel so powerless. Next episode Episode 87, will come out on December 6, 2022 Scrupulosity --  I have such a different take -- Scrupulosity is what happens with perfectionism and OCD get religion.   Spiritual and Psychological elements.   In the last episode we really got into understanding perfectionism.  In this episode, we worked on really getting to know about obsessions and compulsions.  Next episode, we get much more into scrupulosity.  My own battle with scrupulosity.   Remember, you as a listener can call me on my cell any Tuesday or Thursday from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM.  I've set that time aside for you.  317.567.9594.  (repeat) or email me at crisis@soulsandhearts.com.  Resilient Catholics Community.  Talked a lot about it in episode 84, two episodes ago.  We now have 106 on the waiting list.  Reopening the community on December 1 for those on the waiting list first.  Can learn a lot more about the RCC and you can sign up at soulsandhearts.com/rcc.  We have had heavy demand.  We may have to limit how many we bring in.  I am working to clear time in my calendar to review the Initial Measures Kits and help new members through the onboarding process -- all the individual attention takes time.  I'm also hiring more staff to help.   Pray for me.  Humility.  Childlike trust   Invocations        

Caz is an open book with a ton of chapters: a non-binary disability advocate kink-loving trauma survivor pain/pleasure early wayfinder who left live sex shows for the dating apps. The extraordinary roads they had to navigate led them to know themselves intimately, and helped them learn to accept, manage, and finally enjoy bodily pain. Caz is a 40-year-old, non-binary person who was assigned female at birth. They describe themselves as queer, non-monogamous and single. They've had a hysterectomy, so they no longer have a period but believe that hormonally they are probably peri-menopausal. They grew up in the United States and describe their body as curvy. Caz is a disability activist, and is particularly involved in education around sexuality for people with disabilities, including kink activities. You can find them on Instagram at www.instagram.com/cazkilljoy   Bookmark moments: 5:07 - Caz shares an early memory of sexual pleasure, when they caught masturbating in the living room around age 4-5. They were quickly escorted to their bedroom and the behavior was not encouraged. 8:37 - Caz has their first sexually partnered experience at age 13-14 which is mostly positive, but it triggers memories of early molestation. They seek therapy, learn how to navigate clitoral sensitivity, and treat numbness. 14:57 - Caz shares the outline of their medical issues. It started at age 21, when their legs were being held back while being fisted, causing lasting injury that spawned serious compound issues. 20:50 - The pleasure/pain balance leads to their interest in kink. Navigating the pain itself becomes a factor. They find themselves in an abusive relationship, and then a libido-mismatched rebound. 26:15 - Caz talks about learning how to orgasm while weaning off Effexor. 30:04 - Caz shares that the bent toward kink has been lifelong, and describes a childhood fantasy with masturbation taskmasters. They describe early kink explorations, pain/pleasure antecedents in self-harm, and using that as an emotional management strategy. 37:15 - They transition into BDSM as an avenue of positive personal control. Self-education starts in an alcove at Border's Books. 48:06 - Caz talks about early same-sex interactions; some of them were non-consensual. The first consensual one was in their early 20's. They knew something was “off” about their gender and felt most comfortable in drag. 55:40 - Caz opens up about non-binary dating, and what life and sex look like today. They have a long-term friend with benefits with whom they became pandemic partners and have recently returned to the apps. 1:04:45 - Caz talks about accessibility and kink spaces.   The Lowdown: Caz answers rapid-fire questions about period sex while, number of partners, race, toys, positions, re-naming reverse cowgirl, initiating sex, being active vs passive, clit stimulation vs penetration, physical therapy, breast/chest play, orgasming from penetration vs masturbating, preferred kind of touch, hard red lines, forced orgasm edging, porn use, making porn, live sex shows, Onlyfans, hair vs bare, group sex, giving oral sex, swallowing, receiving oral, smell and taste, ass play, kink limits, dirty talk, laughter, confusing sexual urges, favorite body parts, least favorite, getting more oral, and advice to one's former self.   Patreon: All archived Good Girls Talk About Sex audio extras are now available for FREE!  They can be accessed at www.patreon.com/goodgirlstalkaboutsex.  I've done this because not everyone has the means to pay for access, and I know this additional material can be deeply important for some listeners. But creating this show isn't free, so if you'd like to support the work I do, I am grateful for your contributions at www.patreon.com/goodgirlstalkaboutsex.   BE PART OF THE SHOW: Rate this pod: Leave a rating and review at RateThisPodcast.com/goodgirls   Have a question or comment - Leave a voicemail for Leah at 720-GOOD-SEX (720-466-3739) - this is a voicemail-only line, so I promise you won't have to talk to someone in person!   Be a guest on the show - I'd love to talk with you! Fill out the form at www.leahcarey.com/guest   FOLLOW LEAH: Instagram - www.instagram.com/goodgirlstalk YouTube - www.youtube.com/goodgirlstalk Leah's website - www.leahcarey.com Podcast website - www.goodgirlstalk.com   WORK WITH LEAH: Individual and couples coaching - www.leahcarey.com/coaching   EPISODE CREDITS: Host / Producer – Leah Carey (email) Audio Editor – Gretchen Kilby Administrative Support - Lara O'Connor, Maria Franco Transcript creation – Jan Acielo Music – Nazar Rybak

The amazing Dr. Ahna Brutlag is back with a myriad of things that are bad for your cat. We answer the question, to make them vomit or not and discuss the seriousness of grape intoxication. Cats have a strange connection to Effexor pills and love fish oil even if it contains dangerous levels of Vit D. Whatever your cat eats, the pet poison hotline is there for you!

Antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, stimulants.....READY SET GO!Med cheat sheetSSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)-- Prozac, Lexapro, Paxil, Celexa, Zoloft, Luvox, Trintellix, Viibryd-- They are generally NOT antidepressantsMainly helpful for OCD, body dysmorphia,  panic (if not from trauma), depression if postpartum or fueled by neuroticism or ruminative anxietySNRIs (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors)-- Effexor/venlafaxine, Cymbalta/duloxetineMostly helpful for combined depression/anxiety, especially with insomniaWellbutrin/bupropion-- very stimulating (prison crack!), true antidepressant; can trigger/worsen anxietyMAO  (monoamine oxidase) inhibitors-- powerful antidepressants, lots of side effects and med interactionsLamictal/lamotrigine-- definitely ALL THAT and a bag of chips (see My Desert Island Meds in Season 1)Atypical antipsychotics-  Abilify/aripiprazole, Latuda/lurasidone, Seroquel/quetiapine, Saphris/asenapine, Vraylar/cariprazine, Risperdal/risperidone, Zyprexa/olanzapine, Geodon/ziprasidone, Invega/paliperidone Generally good mood stabilizers (in contrast to the putative "mood stabilizers" below); typically more helpful for severe depression and bipolar disorder than true psychosis (Zyprexa and Risperdal excepted)"Mood stabilizers"- (big misnomer, most effective for  mania/agitation, not depression)-- Depakote/valproic acid, Trileptal/oxcarbazepine, Tegretol/carbamazepineLithium- it's not clozapine, but gets the silver medal as a true mood stabilizer (see My Desert Island Meds in Season 1)Clozapine- the winner of the psychiatric med decathlon in most every event; needs weekly blood monitoring and has a few very serious potential side effectsBenzodiazepines- Xanax/alprazolam; Klonopin/clonazepam, Librium/chlordiazepoxide, Ativan/lorazepam, Valium/diazepamStimulants- Adderall/amphetamine; Vyvanse; Ritalin/Concerta/Focalin/methylphenidateAmphetamines are more euphoria-inducing, thus more abused and addictive and also tend to have more side effects; both amphetamines and methylphenidate are roughly equally effective for ADD/ADHDBFTAhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

In this episode I interview Attorney Michael Mosher who has 30 years of experience. Mr. Mosher has an extensive background in pharmacokinetics, the adverse reactions of various drugs as well as the proper administration of each psychotropic drug including anxiolytics (eg. Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin), hypnotics (Halcion, Dalmane, Restoril), stimulants (eg. Ritalin, dexedrine, Adderall), anticonvulsants (eg. Tegretol, Depakote, Neurontin), antidepressants (eg. all the SSRIs, Effexor and the tricyclic antidepressants), and neuroleptics, (eg. Zyprexa, Risperdal, Seroquil, Abilify). Mr. Mosher has also settled numerous cases against doctors and drug companies involving illnesses and damage due to addiction/dependence via the use of Xanax, Klonopin and other benzodiazepines as well as injuries resulting from SSRIs.

Purpose: Showing how powerful a holistic and integrative approach can be for Effexor XR withdrawal. Peter shares his unbelievable healing journey coming off Effexor XR and how he faced and overcame two simultaneous, catastrophic challenges—his own cancer and the death of his mother from cancer--weathering both catastrophic events without depression! The holistic healing held!For more about Dr. Lee, please visit:Website: www.holisticpsychiatrist.comYouTube: The Holistic PsychiatristClick on the Holistic Updates Sign up for weekly stories and insights: Holistic UpdatesTo schedule consultations or appointments, call her office at 240-437-7600The content provided by this podcast is for informational purposes only and has not been approved by the U.S. FDA. This podcast is not intended to provide personal medical advice, which should be obtained from a medical professional.

In this epi, our little Scorpio Sun Sign, KT garbz, talks overcoming Anorexia Nervosa as a 10 year old. Prozac, psychotherapy, Swiss body therapy, Bacterial Vaginosis, Effexor, going on and off pillz, panic attacks, and intergenerational living are also mentioned. Finally, the existential question coursing through the veins of this epi -- does not taking pills make you pure (question mark)-- is never answered. Dr. Gary Sapphire shoutout. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/liza-chapa/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/liza-chapa/support

In this week's episode of Five @ Five, Dr. Rogers answers YOUR questions! This week's questions: 1. Dr. Rogers, what is your opinion regarding using a nasal rinse for sinus problems? 2. If you have been taking Effexor for 3 years, can you start adderall for your ADD (as an adult)? 3. Can you use Filler under the eyes? 4. Will Dr. Rogers test RT3 (reverse T3)? Will he prescribe liothyronine (T3)? I have been attempting to follow "Stop the Thyroid Madness" protocol for some time but I know of no one in this area who is knowledgeable about treating hypothyroidism even my current doctor who claims to be "integrative." 5. Can you correct a gummy smile with Botox? What did you think of this episode of the podcast? Let us know by leaving a review! Connect with Performance Medicine! Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://performancemedicine.net/doctors-note-sign-up/ Facebook: @PMedicine Instagram: @PerformancemedicineTN YouTube: Performance Medicine Audio

Until I started doing this podcast, I was mostly ignorant to the extent of the harm sometimes caused by psychiatric and antibiotic medications. In spite of my own 2 week experience with disabling withdrawal symptoms from an antidepressant 20 years ago, and contemporary reports of withdrawal symptoms from friends and clients, I still had no idea how pervasive - and sometimes permanent - these brain injuries were. As frightening as that was to learn, the prescriptions for psychiatric medication for depression and anxiety have soared in during the COVID pandemic.  And let’s face it folks, we are still in the early stages of the pandemic - if we get blue skies with double rainbows we may have a vaccine in 18 months, but that’s really wishful thinking - the global economy has taken an unprecedented hit, and that means many people’s jobs and financial security are going to be at further risk. This will only add to the feelings of anxiety -- but let’s be clear, it is normal to feel anxious about how the world is suddenly changing in so many ways. Learning coping skills, having strategies to feel more safe in an unknown future, and using supportive relationships are natural ways to feel better about feeling anxious. In this episode, we hear what happened to Jocelyn Pedersen after taking a benzodiazepine for less than a week. Jocelyn was so physically sick from the benzo brain injury, she had to spend much of the time horizontal on the floor with her baby while her neighbour’s helped with household chores. Jocelyn’s body was a complete mess: she couldn’t sleep, eat, watch tv, read, her bowels were dysfunctional and she was losing weight fast. That’s just the start of Jocelyn’s journey with benzodiazepine medications -- a medication journey, as Jocelyn describes, that goes through madness. Jocelyn’s health care experience is a textbook example of how the medical system pushes psychiatric medications without understanding how the meds can cause brain injury. This often leads to doctors denying side effects or withdrawal symptoms, effectively gaslighting the patient, psychologizing physical symptoms, and pathologizing human emotions. It was a long arduous road for Jocelyn to get back to her usual high functioning self, and along the way she started sharing her experiences and what she learned and now Jocelyn has a large following on social media. On her YouTube channel Benzo Brains, Jocelyn shares real world information about benzodiazepines and strategies on successfully managing the withdrawal symptoms. Jocelyn has just written a memoir about her experiences with benzos and the health care system called “Seeds of Hope: A Journey Through Medication and Madness Toward Meaning”. Available on Amazon: https://t.co/267G0VaBiz?amp=1 Connect with Jocelyn Pedersen: People can pre-order Seeds of Hope: A Journey Through Medication and Madness Toward Meaning through moongladepress.com and when it's released June 1st on Amazon.com: https://t.co/267G0VaBiz?amp=1My channel is YouTube.com/c/BenzoBrainsSome other helpful resources are benzoreform.orgbenzoinfo.combenzo.org.uk/manualcouncilforsustainablehealing.org SHOW NOTES:   About Jocelyn Pedersen: After experiencing a severe injury to her brain and body from prescription medications, Jocelyn co-founded the non-profit, Benzodiazepine Information Coalition. She is a speaker at CME's and continuing education courses for doctors and healthcare providers on the dangers of benzodiazepines and how to help patients safely withdraw. Jocelyn is also subject in the upcoming As Prescribed documentary film and the author of Seeds of Hope: a Journey through medication and madness toward meaning. When she's not busy managing her Benzo Brains YouTube channel or serving as an advisor to The Alliance for Benzodiazepine Best Practices and The Council for Sustainable Healing, you can find her rocking out to big band music and forcing her kids to watch MGM musicals with her. 0:06:00 Jocelyn grew up in Pueblo, Colorado and her childhood was mixture of good and bad things, mental and physical abuse - but also grew up with a lot of spiritual support at Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints and it stabilized her and taught her to overcome 0:07:00 Jocelyn got an academic scholarship to Brigham Young University so she moved to Utah and she loved college and graduated with a BS (Bachelor of Science) in childhood educations - college was a way to escape and re-start her life 0:08:00 Jocelyn got married and they moved to North Carolina and they had their first baby, but he passed away, so they decided to move closer to family for support and moved to Utah 0:09:00 Jocelyn started teaching at a local school for 2 years until she got pregnant again - she writes about her experience in her memoir that will be released in June: "Seeds of Hope: A Journey through medication and madness toward meaning" -- a couple of years later she had another baby, a girl to go with a boy 0:10:00 Jocelyn's father was a chiropractor so she grew up with a healthy distrust of allo medicine - but her story really starts when Jocelyn sought out a sleeping pill from her doctor - her baby daughter was in the hospital with meningitis, and then her toddler son was admitted to the hospital twice, so Jocelyn was not getting enough sleep - the economy was bad at the time, her husband was out of work 0:11:00 The doctor prescribed Ambien and assured Jocelyn it wouldn't pass through her breast milk to her baby - Jocelyn doesn't like taking medications, but thought she'd take it temporarily to get back into her sleep cycle 0:12:00 But within a couple of days, Jocelyn could tell her baby daughter was being affected by the Ambien - after 5 or 6 days Jocelyn stopped the Ambien and that's when things fell apart and her insomnia got much worse, she had ringing in her ears, running to the bathroom all the time, couldn't eat, losing weight, couldn't read a book, watch tv, and suddenly also had pain and couldn't even go for a walk 0:13:00 Jocelyn had a bunch of tests done but they all came back normal, so no explanation, except being told 'you have post partum depression', or 'you're having a nervous breakdwon', or 'you have anxiety' - but Jocelyn knew about depression from the death of her first baby, and this wasn't that 0:14:00 After about 4 months of literally lying on the floor with her baby and neighbours coming by to help - Jocelyn had been a high energy person: running, yoga, working out - but then she started to get suicidal thoughts 0:15:00 Jocelyn was told by the doctor she had major depressive disorder and an anxiety disorder and was given Effexor and Ativan - the first day she took the meds she slept well for the first time in 4 months - only later would Jocelyn realize that Ativan is practically the same as Ambien 0:16:00 So the Ativan stabilized the injury from the Ambien - originally Jocelyn was only to take the Ativan for a brief period, but the doctor increased the dose to 2 mg - 'it was like magic', Jocelyn felt better, like her old self, except for the pain, which was diagnosed as Fibromyalgia, and she was given Cymbalta for the pain - so for the most port Jocelyn was able to lead a normal life, she was a believer that she must have needed the meds 0:17:00 Jocelyn had studied and learned a lot about natural medicine and didn't like the idea of continuing to take Cymbalta, and it put weight on her 0:18:00 But the doctor would say, 'don't stop the Cymbalta until you've stopped the Ativan, now Lorazepam - but every time she tried to cut down, her symptoms would get worse, she couldn't sleep - so she stayed on them for another 3 years - but eventually tried to wean off again - she did stop progesterone cold turkey and got really sick 0:19:00 Her blood pressure sky rocketed, she gained a lot of weight, and falling asleep in the middle of the day - so she cold turkeyed it and the first time she experienced full on crazy, shaking all the time, and couldn't function 0:20:00 Jocelyn realized later the Cymbalta had really messed with her blood sugar and that's why she had put on so much weight - Jocelyn successfully weaned of the Cymbalta, but was still taking Lorazepam at night, but she and her husband wanted to have another baby but the literature said that Lorazepam could cause birth defects - they decided to go ahead and try to have another baby and that Jocelyn would try to taper off the Lorazepam 0:21:00 But Jocelyn later learned it doesn't really cause birth defects, but can cause of miscarriages if stopped to fast - Jocelyn did get pregnant and started to taper by 1/8th 0:22:00 Just cutting an 1/8th of a mg caused intense disabling symptoms: couldn't shower, read, watch tv, losing weight, and anxiety of a whole other dimension 0:23:00 It was torture, and then she had to cut the dose again, and then again - by the time Jocelyn got to half way she was ready to give up and kill herself because she couldn't handle the unending torture - luckily her husband started researching online - because Jocelyn couldn't - and found BenzoBuddies.org and Benzo.org.uk and he found the Ashton Manual, which a lot of people use to withdraw 0:24:00 They realized that Jocelyn wasn't crazy and that a lot of people were having the same experiences - and Jocelyn was probably tapering too fast - Ativan has a half life, so Jocelyn would experience sudden symptom onsets daily - so she switched to a longer lasting benzo to complete her taper 0:25:00 At the time, Jocelyn was too sick to go to the doctor - the next time she saw a doctor was at the ER when she thought she was having a miscarriage - they brought the Ashton Manual and requested Valium to stabilize Jocelyn, the doctor was resistant but finally agreed 0:26:00 The Valium provided some relief, but it was still hell and she didn't feel like she was going to take her own life - her family has seen Jocelyn struggle with Ambien withdrawal a few years before, and hearing the testimonials of others, helped them all to understand 0:27:00 Jocelyn had been drug injured with Ambien, but misdiagnosed with anxiety and depression - Jocelyn's doctor, a friend of the family, did not recognize withdrawal symptoms of Ambien 0:28:00 Jocelyn did have a miscarriage, which she is thankful for in some ways as she wasn't well enough to take care of a newborn at the time - Jocelyn continued to taper 0:29:00 Jocelyn tried various versions of tapering before discovering water titration, which she shows how to do on her YouTube channel - she had learned that in Facebook support groups - Jocelyn did reach out to mainstream medicine, she has a chapter in her book called 'Physician Heal Thyself' - all the doctors thought they knew about withdrawal, but none of them did, and none of them had read the Ashton Manual 0:30:00 One doctor told Jocelyn that she just couldn't handle being a Mom and should take some Prozac - the only doctor who was reasonable was Jocelyn's family doctor, but all he was willing to do was to prescribe the Valium 0:31:00 But when he was gone and Jocelyn had to deal with one of the other providers at his clinic, she was given the 3rd degree every time - it took Jocelyn about 18 months to taper off 13 mg dose of Valium - the newer benzos are many multiples more powerful then Valium, yet its the the Valium doctors are hesitant to prescribe 0:32:00 Jocelyn had to learn to accept where she was during the taper, that she had a brain injury - she also had support with the kids during the day, when her son started back to school... 0:33:00 she reached out to people in her church community and a different family came over each day to help her - Jocelyn does not know how she could have managed without community support because her husband was working 2 jobs 0:34:00 The big turning point for Jocelyn was finding a functional medicine doctor, a ND (Naturopathic Doctor) - she found one in her area and helped her with her benzo belly - he did tests that allopathic doctors don't do 0:35:00 He was able to pinpoint deficiencies - she started on a high protein diet because she was hypoglecemic - after about a week on his protocol Jocelyn started improving a lot, sleeping well 0:36:00 Then her son was prescribed an antibiotic and it injured him - it was like deja vu: once again no doctor is believing them - turns out her son developed an autoimmune illness and is allergic to everything - he was a normal boy, running and playing, then suddenly he's in a wheelchair and crying out in pain every few minutes 0:37:00 The paedeatric allergist said her son always had the autoimmune illness, refused to believe it was caused by an antibiotic - but the functional medicine doctor was able to help cut down on the inflammation and allergic reactions, but they are still figuring it out - he has a lot of trauma from that, and from a Mom who was disabled twice in his life - Jocelyn had to learn not to give power to health providers, and to heal herself 0:38:00 Yoga, meditation, diet, stem cell therapy for trigeminal pain -- nerve pain in her face -- it literally hurt to breath - the stem cell was very helpful, but she has to go back every 4 months or so as the pain comes back 0:39:00 How can someone help you if they don't even believe you? -- some doctors are open, but plenty are just closed minded 0:40:00 During her taper, Jocelyn was asked to be a moderator of a Facebook group, so she helped people find resources - then another friend asked her start another group to help people apply for disability or medical malpractice suits or correct medical records - Jocelyn realized they needed some 'weight' behind them, as they were 'just' sick patients, so Jocelyn suggested they start a non-profit 0:41:00 The Benzodiazepine Information Coalition - but then her son got sick and she had to step back to care for and home school him - but it was toward the end of her taper that she made her first Youtube video, just for her friends in the support group - and it got lots of shares - then when she was frustrated with doctors she made another video and that was picked up by Mad in America, and things just picked up 0:42:00 Her videos help people with brain injuries and their families get the support then needed - her Youtube channel is Benzo Brains - Jocelyn is doing really well. now, living life fully - she does get more stressed out physically 0:43:00 Her body is kind of delicate now, but she is really happy, with peace and joy - but if she doesn't get enough sleep or eat write, a dark blanket descends on her brain, but she knows it is only temporary - but it is painful having a son who is still suffering, but she's not coming from a place of fear 0:44:00 Jocelyn believes the suicidal thoughts that came from withdrawal are product of the medications causing the repeated thought 'kill yourself, kill yourself, kill yourself' 0:45:00 Most of the people dealing with withdrawal are good people, just doing what your doctor told you - Jocelyn was asked to speak in 2017 at the benzodaizipine medical symposium for doctors 0:46:00 Jocelyn met a lot of wonderful people, including a woman, a benzo survivor, who asked Jocelyn to write a book - initially Jocelyn declined but then thought it could be a good tool to get the message out there 0:47:00 It took a while to write while taking care of kids and her own healing journey, but it will be published June 1st - Seeds of Hope: A journey through madness, medication and meaning - she wants to give people hope that are in the same situation 0:48:00 The publisher approached Jocelyn to write the book - some of her benzo awareness efforts have been black balled by google or facebook or youtube 0:49:00 Obviously there are forces out there they do not want this information in the public spere, but Jocelyn believes there also people out there that know something is wrong - benzo perscriptions have increased 10 fold over the last decade - doctors are just substituting benzos for opiates - so big pharma's profits increased by 10 fold - since COVID, anxiety meds prescriptions have increased 34% 0:50:00 Alliance of Benzo Best Practices is a group of doctors who understand, and researchers who want to do research for the FDA to change recommendations, and to re-educate doctors on these drugs 0:51:00 The stuff pharma puts out, does not warn people about what these drugs can do   Connect with Jocelyn Pedersen:   People can pre-order Seeds of Hope: A Journey Through Medication and Madness Toward Meaning through moongladepress.com and when it's released June 1st on Amazon.com: https://t.co/267G0VaBiz?amp=1My channel is YouTube.com/c/BenzoBrainsSome other helpful resources are benzoreform.orgbenzoinfo.combenzo.org.uk/manualcouncilforsustainablehealing.org   Be a podcast patron Support Medical Error Interviews on Patreon by becoming a Patron for $2 / month for audio versions.  Premium Patrons get access to video versions of podcasts for $5 / month. Be my Guest I am always looking for guests to share their medical error experiences so we help bring awareness and make patients safer. If you are a survivor, a victim’s surviving family member, a health care worker, advocate, researcher or policy maker and you would like to share your experiences, please send me an email with a brief description:  RemediesPodcast@gmail.com  Need a Counsellor? Like me, many of my clients at Remedies Counseling have experienced the often devastating effects of medical error. If you need a counsellor for your experience with medical error, or living with a chronic illness(es), I offer online video counseling appointments. **For my health and life balance, I limit my number of counseling clients.**  Email me to learn more or book an appointment:  RemediesOnlineCounseling@gmail.com Scott Simpson:  Counsellor + Patient Advocate + (former) Triathlete I am a counsellor, patient advocate, and - before I became sick and disabled - a passionate triathlete. Work hard. Train hard. Rest hard. I have been living with HIV since 1998. I was the first person living with HIV to compete at the triathlon world championships. Thanks to research and access to medications, HIV is not a problem in my life. I have been living with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) since 2012, and thanks in part to medical error, it is a big problem in my life. Counseling / Research I first became aware of the ubiquitousness of medical error during a decade of community based research working with the HIV Prevention Lab at Ryerson University, where I co-authored two research papers on a counseling intervention for people living with HIV, here and here.  Patient participants would often report varying degrees of medical neglect, error and harms as part of their counseling sessions. Patient Advocacy I am co-founder of the ME patient advocacy non-profit Millions Missing Canada, and on the Executive Committee of the Interdisciplinary Canadian Collaborative Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Research Network. I am also a patient advisor for Health Quality Ontario’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, and member of Patients for Patient Safety Canada. Medical Error Interviews podcast and vidcast emerged to give voice to victims, witnesses and participants in this hidden epidemic so we can create change toward a safer health care system. My golden retriever Gladys is a constant source of love and joy. I hope to be well enough again one day to race triathlons again. Or even shovel the snow off the sidewalk.

When 2020 goes low, Kelly and Maria get high- ya dig? We're catching up on UFOs, Murder Hornets, Dog DNA, Exploding Head Syndrome, MS complications, drive-by birthday parties, the plague of protestors, and everything in between. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/sanityfair)

Show Notes: Speaker 1: (00:00) Welcome innovators, the simplified integration podcast. This is Dr. Andrew Wells and welcome to episode number 18 scale like a pro with special guests, Warren Phillips, Speaker 2: (00:12) Leonardo da Vinci once said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication and I agree. You see the problem with the way that most consulting groups approach medical integration is anything but simple. In fact, it's the exact opposite. It's expensive, it's complicated and quite frankly it's exhausting. Enough is enough. There are far too many amazing integrated clinics that are struggling. Well, I'm on a mission to change that. What I've come to find from over five years working with integrative practices is that simplicity really is the secret. The old saying of less is more is true. Through a streamlined approach, I was able to create multiple successful seven-figure integrated clinics and now I'm going to show you how you can do the same. Join me as I share with you the secrets to successful medical integration and practice growth. Join me on a journey to greater sophistication through innovation. I'm Dr. Andrew Wells and welcome to the simplified integration podcast. Speaker 1: (01:10) All right, welcome back everybody. First of all, I want to give a special thank you to my guest, Warren Phillips. Warren, welcome to the simplified integration podcast. Um, first of all, thank you cause I know you're a super busy guy and so I appreciate you taking the time to be on here and share, uh, your brain with us. And I'm really excited because I know that you have an awesome mind for business and also for marketing and I really appreciate you spending this time to, to help other doctors. So if you don't mind, can you give me a little bit of background about who you are and what you do? Speaker 3: (01:42) Well, Andrew, first of all, it's my honor to be here. My heart is, has always been to see other people become successful. And the most, the people that I believe should be the most successful people in the world are practitioners who put their hearts on the line every day and exchange a lot of value sometimes for not adjust, reward, um, all the time. And I like to see that as well, like them to have that great value exchange. And so, you know, my, my background, uh, you know, it's kind of an interesting one. I've been in the coaching, uh, functional medicine, functional nutrition space since 2005 teaching seminars and educating practitioners on systems supplementation, business marketing. This has definitely been my passion for a very long time. And since then, obviously my entrepreneur, entrepreneurial mind has definitely expanded into many other areas in the health and wellness space. Speaker 3: (02:35) But my heart always has been and always will be for the practitioner. So how did that happen and why is that? Well, pretty simply I got very sick cleaning up hazardous waste for living as an environmental consultant in Missoula, Montana, where I didn't have any answers. And back then there wasn't the internet, there wasn't the summits, they wasn't, there wasn't podcasts. None of this. Everything was still on tape, you know, or you had to get it from a university. And the universities really even weren't, didn't exist either. So I was very sick. I had to sell everything. I had moved back into my parents' basement, riddled with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, sleeplessness, gut issues, weight gain. I was 210 pounds. Oh my hopes and dreams of getting married and having a family and living that American dream were taken from me. And, but I was a scientist, right? Speaker 3: (03:20) Mass degree published scientists. I'm like, there's gotta be a cause. So, you know, 50 diff, different doctor visits, later, psychologists, medical doctors, designed Tris, physical therapists, you name it. Uh, I was there and the best they could offer me was Effexor and pain meds for the chronic pain, wearing a whiplash donut to bed, um, yelling at God, saying what the F, you know, what's going on with my life? Why is this happening to me? And then later, you know, through research and connecting with great practitioners, I was able to, in the functional medicine space, able to find out that it was the heavy metals, in fact. And it was kind of my gut, but there was no research on it. It was the heavy metals that was making me sick. So once I tested that, and literally even when I did my first urine toxic heavy metal challenge test, I sent a split test to my analytical lab in Idaho that I use for a sample analysis for hazardous waste cleanup and identification just to prove to me that this was real cause I thought the labs were lying to me. So I sent a split sample of my urine. So I was a huge skeptic. And then I became a massive believer. I had a conversion experience, if you will. And I went nuts. I decided, man, we have to take this information to the world. People are suffering and doctors need to be empowered all over the world with this information. And that's how I landed in this space. And then what I found my niche was, was the marketing side and the business side of growing organizations. Speaker 1: (04:51) Well, thank you. You know, I had a chance to meet you, um, in November at your last live it to lead an event. And I actually went there for two reasons. Number one is I had heard of, uh, I know you worked with dr Pompa pretty closely and I had heard of him for a long time and I knew he had did great work but I just didn't know like what I didn't know too much about functional medicine or the or the protocols he was using with his doctors and patients. And so I went there for that reason. But I also, uh, heard about you and half the reason I went because I heard of this guy named Warren Phillips and the way that you're described to me was he's kind of like the, like the wizard of Oz, this guy that works sort of behind the scenes that helps these practices and doctors get these principles out to other people as I'm like, I got to meet this guy and it's, you know, it's amazing. Speaker 1: (05:34) You tell me that story about how you were sick and didn't have energy and your health was failing. Cause when I saw you at that event, dude, you're like bouncing off the walls. I was like, man, like this guy's got a ton of energy. And I remember thinking like, I want that because at that time I didn't tell you this, but when I went to that event, like I had, I was struggling with chronic fatigue, brain fog, not a lot of energy. And I was using a caffeine, try to prop myself up for the day and at that event and listening to dr [inaudible], immediately at that event, I started fasting, which I had never done before. And I'd kind of experimented with intermit intermittent fasting, but didn't really know how it worked and all. So all of these pieces came together. And at that event I started fasting. I read that, um, beyond fastening book that, uh, dr Pompa wrote. And man, I, I, it's amazing man. My energy levels and my clarity, my mental clarity are through the roof. Like, I don't remember being, feeling this good in a long, long time. So I know what you guys do works. Obviously it's worked for you. It's working for me. I still haven't done the five day fast yet. I'm, I've chickened out every time I lead into it. Speaker 3: (06:34) Yeah, it's more of a mental game, but you're getting fat adapted. You know, your, your cells are turning over. They're dying and rebuilding beautiful cells and you're repeating those cells. So you're, you're going to get there. But, uh, the, there is a fear factor there but it's a good one, right? Yeah. My fear factor of my daughter is getting her thumb out of her mouth. You know, yours is going to be a little bit on the fasting and so we all have her down. Speaker 1: (06:57) I'm working on that thumb thing with my son right now. He's three and a half years old. He refuses to get rid of it. But uh, yeah man. So thank you. First of all, thanks for like, I wouldn't have known about this. I wouldn't feel as good as I do right now if not for you guys in the work that you do. And so this, um, this podcast is a, is part five and a five part series and the purpose of this series is for doctors to understand that when they're thinking about integration that there is not this one size fits all solution for integration. And I sent out a survey to my list just a few weeks ago and it was a, it was a two part survey. One survey was a question for doctors who have yet to integrate. And, and by the way like this, this, you can plug in integration, you can plug in functional medicine, you can plug in high volume chiropractic, whatever, like service. Speaker 1: (07:43) You can plug it into this, the survey. And my question was, if you haven't integrated already, why not? And the number one response by far, I think the statute like 87% was doctors were afraid, uh, for financial reasons. It's too expensive to get in. It's too expensive to run and it's not profitable anymore. So that was the number one response. The second row, the second survey I sent out at the same time was for doctors who are already integrated. What is the biggest challenge that you're finding? And the response was different. The response was all across the board. Doctors were saying, um, it's expensive. It's a, it's a beast to run. So it's incredibly bloated. It's complicated. Uh, doctors have a tough time wrapping their minds around how third, third payers work. Medicare and private insurance, they struggle with that. They struggle with leading a big team. Speaker 1: (08:32) And so they've, you know, these doctors decide to integrate and, but they don't realize how challenging it can be when you bring something like that into your practice. So these were things that I had known and suspected, but it was nice to hear from doctors who have, who've actually done it. So, um, what I want to do today is talk about, um, number one what it means to integrate, but also if you're only back up a minute there, when I talk about integration, this is what doctors don't understand is that there are really like three different paths to integration. And so sometimes when doctors say integration is, they have this idea of what it is in their mind. So it's kind of like this. I, I was, uh, over the summer I was helping a friend, um, build a porch on his house and he had this really bad headache. Speaker 1: (09:14) And I said, dude, let me adjust you. I can help you with your headache. And this guy is, he's kind of a conservative guy. He's like, ah. He's like, I'm not, I'm not into chiropractic, no offense. But he's like, I tried it once. Bad experience. Uh, I don't really think that's appropriate. And I said, okay, well Jay just let you just think about this. I said, I've adjusted tens of thousands of people, I help people with headaches all the time. Uh, it's super simple and really safe. So if you, if you change your mind, let me know. I think I can help you with that headache. And he said, okay, I appreciate that. And so like an hour later we're hammering nails in the house and he goes, you know what, I can't stand this headache anymore. I don't want to take medicine. He goes, just do what you do. Speaker 1: (09:51) Give me an adjustment. So I laid him down on a piece of plywood in his backyard and I felt his neck gave him an adjustment and he's like, all right, let me know when you're going to do it. Cause he was nervous and I said, it's done already. This lay down for, you know, get up when you're ready. He goes, what do you mean it's done? I said, it's done. You're adjusted. And he goes, that's it. I'm like, yeah, that's it. And so he stands up, he goes, he goes, wow. He goes, my headaches gone. And I'm like, really? Are you just saying that to make me feel good or is your headache gone? He goes, no, it's completely gone. He's like, that's freaking amazing. He goes, I didn't know that's what it was. And I'm like, yeah, that's, that's chiropractic. So he didn't, he didn't know what he didn't know. Speaker 1: (10:25) He had this bad experience years ago. I did, would never do chiropractic again. And then this one adjustment fixed it. And this guy is like a big mountain biker. Whenever he falls off his bike, he comes to my house, I adjust him and he feels better. So the same thing is true with integration. You know, you hear stories of people who have been ruined in practice with integration. They struggle with it. They're losing money, they go bankrupt. And I'm like, I don't want that for myself and my practice. But a lot of doctors don't realize there's all kinds of different niches with integration. So the first path, and this is kind of if you, if you're jumping on this podcast, on episode 18 this episode, go back and listen to the previous four episodes. So the first path and integration is what I call the simplified integration. Speaker 1: (11:05) This is adding for what for most doctors is what is a part time system. So we use regenerative medicine to help people with joint pain without drugs and surgery. It's a system you can run part-time. Doctors can start this program for less than 10,000 bucks. You can get it up and running in less than 90 days. It's super simple. It's a great way to add a high five to low six figure income for most doctors. So that's the simplest way to do it. You don't have to monkey with insurance or anything like that. The second path is when, this is for doctors who want more from their integrated practice. So this is when we strategically add insurance services that make sense. So, not like, you know, a lot of integrated clinics. I've been guilty of this. We had like 25 different therapies we added in her office, like a super complicated system to run. Speaker 1: (11:49) It was crazy and you don't have to do that. So you can still a smart integrated practice where you're offering a few insurance services, which helps the patient reduce their costs. It helps build up your revenue and it doesn't have to be a complicated system. So then there's part three and more, and this is why I have you on this podcast. Part three is for doctors who say who are already integrated, or maybe they have the business chops to say, all right, I'm at this level now I want to get to this level. So maybe that means they want to double their practice or they want to open a second, third clinic, they want to make a bunch of money. That's what we want to talk about today on this podcast. So let's talk about first of all, what scaling means and scaling in in my definition, is different than growth. Speaker 1: (12:31) So practice growth is when you, let's say for example you're seeing a hundred patient visits a week and you want to grow that to a hundred or a hundred, 175 most doctors can do that with a little, some marketing tweaks, maybe improving their case management, maybe working a little more efficiently or harder. You don't need to scale your practice to do that, but if you want to reach a different level of success, scaling is when you're increasing your output, your sales, your volume, but doing it in a cost effective way and so you're doing it in a way that doesn't blow up your practice or ruin what you owe. It's already working well on your office. Does it, would you say that's a fair description? Worn of, of, of scaling? Speaker 3: (13:08) Yeah, I mean scale, you know, scale to me like growth and scale. I mean they kind of go hand in hand. Um, and, and my thought process but you know, it's celebrated. Um, growth can have consequence consequences. You can always grow. But do you have the systems, the staff, the team to handle that growth? Right. I would say scaling is more of a systematic approach where you, like you said, where you're limiting a lot of those pitfalls. I just want to grow. I want to blow up my practice. That's, that's the growth mindset. Um, a scaling mindset to me would be one that's more systematic, uh, a systematic approach so that you, you have a goal you have in mind, uh, of what you want to do, what you want to achieve and then you, you properly staff and integrate the things that you want to go to get there in a systematic way. So scaling is more of a, a systematic growth is more of a um, a mindset. Speaker 1: (14:06) Yeah, I totally agree. And when you're adding, so doctors typically will think about that after the fact. So after they've integrated, after they've done functional medicine, it's like, all right, I have all these moving parts. How do I make it, how do I remove the bottlenecks? How do I make this thing actually work in a meaningful way? And so, so for doctors listening to this and they want to scale, like is there a, is there a right time to scale it? And if so, how do you know when it's the right time to scale? Speaker 3: (14:31) No, I mean I think everything comes down to mindset and I'm going to keep going back there, right? I think you need to be the type of person that doesn't have fear, right? Because you, you said at the beginning, why don't people, why don't doctors integrate fear? Right. And I've been coaching doctors a long time and some of their, the two biggest things that stop them from scaling or integrating or hiring or you know, all of that, it comes down to ego, right? And the ego, not like I'm, I'm the, I'm the man necessarily, but you know, who's going to take care of my patients as much as well as I can. They, they're only gonna like me. You know, those are just self limiting beliefs. Um, when it comes to, especially chiropractic, I can see that because some are more talented than others and have more experience and I can see that they care for their patients deeply. Speaker 3: (15:20) But it really comes down to a growth mindset where you want to train and equip others to be great, not just you be great, right? You just have to shift that. So, um, and you know, so you've got to have not have that, uh, that, that ego or actually, which is in a lot of respects is lack of confidence in yourself, in your, in your ability to lead. And then the other piece to that is fear. So if you're, if you've a fearful mindset and all you're doing is worrying about, so you're in the stock market for instance, for example, I don't invest in stocks. And the reason why is I can't control that. I can control my business output in a lot of other things, but I don't want to be looking and gambling with money. So I have, I have a fear of that. Speaker 3: (16:08) So I avoid it. It's not something that's gonna motivate me or give me energy in that moment to do something great. So if you're fearful, um, you have to initially get over that fear. And sometimes that, um, C type personalities, uh, practitioners, they need education. They need to get all their I's dotted and their T's crossed. And then there's the entrepreneurial, uh, practitioner who go all in and sometimes fall flat on their face and go bankrupt. Right? But then they get back up again and do it again and then they integrate correctly instead of quickly. So a lot of people do things quickly instead of correctly because they're, they do have, um, an unlimited, uh, mindset. They've done some personal work or they may be born that way. But in the process, one of those mistakes in a growth mindset versus a scaling mindset is that you do something and you're thinking growth, growth, growth. But you don't have the systems and individuals around you and processes. And then in your growth, you destroy your current team and business. So those are some of the things that I see over and over again. And so, you know, I don't know if that leads you into another question, but that's kind of, you know, where, where I land, um, you know, after 15 years of doing this, Speaker 1: (17:24) yeah. You know what you're saying, having the right systems and people around you, you brought up an idea and I've been really lucky in the fact that I've had great people around me for a long time. And, and one of the, um, the keys I think to my success over time is that I'm always plugging into resources. So I always have at least one coach or mentor. I'm always reading at least a couple of books and, and learning new ideas. And what I remember when we went from a cash chiropractic office to a massive, you're, we're running to a seven figure integrated clinics. Had I not had the right people, the right coaches, I'm not only pouring into me, but pointing out all the glaring roadblocks I had. Like I, I didn't know anything about business management, even with a business degree. I had no idea where my blind spots were, where the bottlenecks in my business were. Speaker 1: (18:09) And to be honest, it would have, if I had figured it out, it would have taken me a long, long time to do it. And so very true. Very true. And it's like, I like Tony Robinson. He's like, he's, he always says, you know, I've been a butcher his quote, but don't reinvent the wheel if someone's done it before you just copy what they're doing. And that's, that's always been my mindset. I just, all right, someone's done it better than I could probably do it. I want to copy what they're doing. And so I think doctors who are planning on scaling, I think that's just a critical part of their approach to it is not only having, okay, I want to do this functional medicine or this regenerative medicine program, but who's going to help me get to that level? I want to get to a [inaudible] Speaker 3: (18:47) I can talk to like I have the, when I'm teaching on organizational growth, I have my forties. Um, you know, and there's more to it than this. I mean there's, there's other technical aspects, but I have the forties talent team, uh, team, actually, sorry, I wrote it down here. Talent, team time, tenacity, and there's teaching spots and all of that scale. So if you are of the, you want to scale your business, you want to add, um, you know, more modalities, more insurance, um, because as soon as you go from a cash integrated clinic to a medical, more of the, the billing side, that's a whole different ballgame you have, you've opened up a lot more liability. There's lots of things that go on. I'm not an expert integrating. You are right. I'm an expert at scaling and growing businesses and marketing, right? And cause I believe marketing is everything. Speaker 3: (19:38) Even if you were a, a horrible chiropractor, which nobody on this call is, but even if you were, I could market you and make you successful. I wouldn't feel as good about it. If your heart was right and you weren't the best, I'd be okay with it because it's all about your heart and your intention. Because I believe a lot of being a practitioner and being effective as a practitioner, again, mindset, your intention, your love for that individual, you are the placebo, if you will. You can transform someone's life with your word, with your intentions, with your love, giving them hope. That is the key to a good practitioner. If you're in it for just for the money, it's a little harder, right? And you're really going to have to put those and that's okay. Right? But you have to put those personality types and know the right ones. Speaker 3: (20:19) I use ideal ideal coaching. Um, I think, uh, Allen miners group, I really do a personality profiling on the types of people that I hire. Um, even if it's an internal personal assistant to a functional medicine practitioner that we're placing into a clinic, however that is. So it really comes down to, um, you know, those four, in my opinion, when you're building a rock star team to scale, it doesn't, it really has nothing to do with you. Um, it has your all over it, but it's a scaling, a business really scaling, let's say, not just seven figures. You can seven-figure yourself a little bit all by yourself being a decent manager. Um, rewarding your clients well, having a good, um, you know, culture in your office. But you know, let's look at five to $10 million, right? Let's look at a really big functional medicine slash integrated, you know, STEM cell, like big time clinic, right? Speaker 3: (21:17) With multiple modalities, multiple practitioners. Let's really get there. How do you go from a million to say, two to 5 million and that really comes down to the team you have around you that are implementing these systems that you're, that you're learning from someone like you or you know, an integrated clinic. You really need to have the forties, you've got to have, you've got to find the right talent. You've got to find the, the, the front desk person that has the right personality, that's smiling and loving on people instead of yelling at them because they missed their appointment, right? You guys know this stuff, but you really have to have the right talent. You need to hire and find that talent and not hire your friends, not your family members that really hire the positions that you need within your organization to help you scale in. The more you hire the right people and the more you're removed from that organizational structure where you're the base, they're the top your doctors, the people serving the front lines and your marketing team. Speaker 3: (22:17) And as you go down, you're at the bottom. Really, you're just, the scaling. Scaling is, is looking up, looking and loving. Um, of course it's your end user right there that you're delivering the results that you promised, that they're gonna, that you promise them. So there are the very top, and then you have your administrative staff and it comes down to your executive team and then down to you as the founder, right? So you, you have to have the talent and then you, once you find the right talent space, you want to have a Michael Jordan, you know, practitioner. You want to hire a, um, who I met and I'm spacing his name, who was his protector? Dennis Rodman, right? You're creating this talented team. Then you bring them into a team, you get them working together. Um, say, Hey Dennis, this is your, your spot, Michael. Speaker 3: (23:01) This is what you do. Um, you know, Michael Piffen, this is what, I don't know if it's Michael Pippin or whatever, you know, you do this, this is your job. This is your, this is your lane. And, and put them in a box that they can Excel in that don't give them a job or a, or a position in which they're not going to be successful. Because the bottom line is everyone wants to be successful. Everyone wants to add value. That's why they're working for you because they want security. It's not normally money. You have to pay a good compensation, but they want to be successful. What they want to do, they want to add value. They want to be brilliant, and you have to provide environment for them. So the failure of a, of, of your talent is really back down to you as the leadership role. Are you giving them the resources, training, and coaching that they need to be successful in their position? And are you putting the right people to create this team that wants to win the Superbowl, right? Are you creating an environment in which they're brilliant and they can be positive, positive, amazing environment where they can make mistakes and learn and grow like a child. Um, if they've never done this before. Right? So Speaker 1: (24:05) that's a really good point. Like that that I think is a huge, huge, huge point that you're bringing up as you like. I think everyone can hire people like talent that they think will, will do a good job and you don't know until they actually do it. But then it's up to us to make sure that we'd give them the right expectations and to make sure that if they make a mistake, they know what the mistake was and how to correct it. And so one, one thing that I didn't know when we integrated was, um, I, I never knew what a policy was like a written policy or I, I had no idea what a, like an employee manual was. Cause we, I always like lead and manage from the seat of my pants. And if you hear me say it enough times, like you'll also repeat what I'm saying. Speaker 1: (24:41) But when we integrated, I couldn't do that cause we had 12 employees and I couldn't micromanage each and every employee. So, uh, one of the systems I learned was everything that you want your employee to do, it should be written down. So for example, if you have that front desk staff that you mentioned and they're bubbly and warm and nice, they have the right character, well what do you want them to say when they answer the phone? Because that's going to affect your conversions. And so we would write a script for that. And so when we'd hired that person, it's like, here's the script, follow the script, um, be yourself, but this is what we want you to say. And then to that, uh, that post, we would add a statistic and that we would track those statistics. So how do you measure it? So you're taking these like intangible things and things you want your staff to do, but how do you make it measurable so you can see it on a piece of paper? Speaker 1: (25:25) And so for example, when we'd have uh, um, uh, new leads calling in, let's say we had a hundred leads calling in a month, we would want 70% of those leads to convert into a patient appointment. So if it was 40% or 50%, or like, okay, what's going on with Mary this week, our stats are way down. She must be going off the script. And sure enough like that's, she was saying something different or having having a bad week or there's something that we could help coach her through or lead her through. And so, um, that was, uh, so that that concept of policies and written scripts and having an employee handbook, they can actually reference saying, okay, this is what Dr. Wells wants me to do. It's right here on a piece of paper and we can always reference that. So it took some of the ambiguity out of, all right, we're going to be a great team, but how do you actually, like what, what does that look like? Speaker 3: (26:09) Yeah. That, that's the, that's the classic like entrepreneurial mindset, right? If you're an entrepreneurial practitioner, and many of you are that there's been an entrepreneur and a business owner, but if it's not measurable, it's not real, right? And accomplishment is a big deal in an organizational structure. You want them to be free thinking, brilliant people, but you want them to accomplish, you want to create a system for their box. So they have measured results because the numbers do not lie, right? So you see this a lot in a structure and they'll see how much money there they're making, right? That you're doing, and they might see your numbers and you're being transparent. I think you should be transparent with your numbers, um, to a degree. And they will think they deserve more. Well, it's not based on what someone deserves. It's based on what they accomplish. Speaker 3: (26:56) And if you don't have measurable results in four conversions for these things and you can't manage, um, and then you don't have a group of, uh, team members that will respond properly. So even though I'm not a basketball player, the results remain right? If Michael Jordan, if everybody's doing the right thing, your numbers will be great. Michael will put, you know, points on the board. If Dennis is doing what he's doing and Michael Pippins is doing what he's doing and they're all who's doing the block shots, who's, you know, making sure that this guy isn't scoring like you really need. And that's all essentially script. It's a game plan that you have to happen. It's a measurable number. What is what, how many people did you convert? Well, that's how many, you know, Michael Jordan, you know, or you know, whatever. Right? So that that measurable place takes a lot of the MB and ambiguity. I can't say that word. Speaker 1: (27:50) Ambiguity. Yup. Speaker 3: (27:51) Ambiguity out of your management, right? Because it's not personal, right? You have a great family, a great culture, and some of these big organizations that I, that I walk into, everything is all numbers. And that's really good. Especially for the new generation. They, the millennials, they love. And that's a lot of your workforce now. They love numbers. They love accountability. They love to do well. They'd love to get rewarded, right? They love, they'd love culture, you know? And that's the businesses that are really skyrocketing today. And you need to build that in. So without that you're, you're managing, uh, your, your manager managing nothing. You're managing emotion and you can't imagine you can't manage emotion. Speaker 1: (28:30) Absolutely. Yeah. So that was, so that was the second tee. So you had, you had a talent, the second tea being was at teach. Speaker 3: (28:37) Yeah. Talent and teams. So you're getting your team together and then you have, it takes time. Right. So, so if you're integrating, for example, you have to be patient with this award winning team, you have to give them time to win. And one of the mistakes that people say, you know, is right, right out of the gate. They don't take self responsibility for the team and giving them time to learn and love and appreciate each other and to learn their positions. And they just fire them and they say they're not any good. Right. No self responsibilities from the business owner. Is there any good they're not doing, I tell them to do. They're bad, right? No self responsibility. No, you didn't train them correctly. You don't have the right systems to them. Right. You didn't take, you didn't give them time to learn, right? Because when you build a super bowl winning team, or if you're going to win the NBA finals, right? Speaker 3: (29:26) It doesn't happen overnight. It's intended. It's a longterm play, right? You're not thinking six months out, you're thinking three, four years out to win, right? And you communicate that to your team. We're going to win. We're going to be $5 million integrated clinic four years from now, and this is how we're going to get here. Here's the team you, you project and you create systems to get there. It doesn't happen overnight. So you have to have that, that time factor. And then the last T, which is the most important T out of any T that you ever have in your life, even better than green tea, is tenacity. Um, all research shows that if you want to win at anything in life, if you want to be super successful, if you want to have impact and disrupt, uh, anything, you know, whether it's the healthcare system, whether, you know, I love being disrupted and you have to be tenacious. Speaker 3: (30:21) You have to have a tenacious attitude that you are going to win eventually, that you're not going to give up the first year, that your numbers aren't as good as they are. You're always shifting, educating and working and thinking in a positive way that we are going to win. We are going to win the Superbowl and nothing's going to stop. You have to have that as as a leader underneath you are speaking that into existence and you have to be tenacious no matter what happens cause you can make mistakes. As a matter of fact, you're going to make a lot of mistakes in your practice. Sometimes it may almost cost you your business sometimes. Sometimes it will, sometimes it won't. But if you react to that as a learning opportunity, what did I do wrong? How can I integrate that now into my life and how can I use this learning integrated force. Speaker 3: (31:11) I'm Tony beets from gold rush. You know I love this quote because lessons cost good lessons costs lots. So the more it costs you, it sometimes the better it is for your life and effects. What this mindset, when you can overcome things like a muscle and train it, it becomes integrated into your neurology. And you could go to that next level like, so when I'm building businesses, it was like the, the, the, the star, right? That everyone says seven-figure practice, right? I like the burst their bubble and say the local Starbucks is having a bigger effect on your community than you at seven figures quit that think four, five figures. Think five years out. Think scale. How am I going to get there? Who do I need to hire? How can I get myself out of the road? What can I do to empower more people in leadership? Speaker 3: (32:03) What can I do for my team? It's going to give them the tools that they need to win the super bowl of my community that I can impact this community with today's functional medicine integrative strategy. This stuff works. I'm using it, right? Um, and I'm coaching, uh, like Harry Adelson's going big, right? He's an integrated, uh, naturopathic doctor. I'm helping him with his, uh, premier release of his documentary. He's going big. He's not just thinking small, he's thinking big. He's thinking global. He's doing a huge documentary and book release. That could be some of you listening to this, right? But you have to start somewhere before you get there, right? But you'd have to think longterm, what is my longterm goals and strategies? And are you tenacious enough to get there? So it comes right back to your mindset, right? Do you have a coach that's going to give you the strength that you need, that you may not have yourself? You may not have those skills, but how do you get them? Well, you can read a book, but more importantly, have someone to guide you through someone to be your Sherpa. If you will, do climb that mountain so that you don't die, that you don't bankrupt your business, that you don't, uh, make a billing mistake that puts you at liability. You don't want to do that on your own, right? You do want to have a guide so that you know, part of the answer, Speaker 1: (33:18) I love it, man. [inaudible] or do you have any like resources, uh, on how to do that? Cause I think that's a, that's a very vague question. But that fourth tee that you just talked about, tenacity. I think that a lot of doctors want that, but they don't know what it is, how do identify it or how to get after it. And, and my answer to that would be, I, you know, I think you needed some solid people around you to help either tease that out and then to help drive you through that, those, uh, those tough periods in your business. But what, what would you suggest to a doctor who like, yeah, I want that. I know it's within me, but I don't really know what that is at this point. Speaker 3: (33:54) Yeah. You know, it's tough. You know, you can have conversations with a lot of dots and sometimes it's quite frustrating because you try to bring them to that realization of self responsibility. You try to ask them questions and really have to listen to their answers to see if they're, if they are ready. So, uh, cause a lot of the times it's more, yeah, I can do this. I'm the best I can, I can scale. But the word I is really the, the most dangerous thing if it's coming out of your mouth. Um, if they have an I mindset, that's a big red flag for yourself. So look and say, why am I saying I, you know, why am I not saying we? Why am I not, um, um, elevating others over myself? What is it within me? What happened? You know, what's broken within me? Speaker 3: (34:41) Not to think in a way to get there, right? And to have a, not just a tenacious heart, but a loving, tenacious heart, right? I mean, you can, you can win just with tenacity. Don't get me wrong. You know, you really can Senate tenacity. Angela Duckworth, you can read the book, her book on grit. Uh, that's a really, really good resource to understand that. And it really shows, it doesn't, it's not, it's not how talented or smart you are, uh, necessarily. Um, to when it really comes down to that, to that, um, tenacious mindset. I think a lot of that is, um, it can be grown in cultured, um, through removing limiting beliefs through removing, uh, understanding that you're all brilliant. Like that's another thing that I can speak to everyone listening today. It's like you're thinking brilliant, not in an egotistical way, but you are right and you need to realize that you are, you need to realize how gifted and talented you are. Speaker 3: (35:33) You have to realize that you work really thinking hard to be here, you know, to spend the time listening to this podcast. But so has the people around you, they're also equally as brilliant. They equally need the same love and you know, accolades that you do to get out of, out of the bed every day. But if you're tenacious, you really don't need as much, right? Because you have a goal in mind and you want to win. You know, some of the resources, you know, you just got to get personal work done. You know, you really got to go and find, get to a place where you don't have those limiting beliefs that you know you can get somewhere and you know it's going to be hard. Like marriage for example, right? If you go into marriage, and a lot of us have done this, I did not. Speaker 3: (36:18) You know, fortunately you go into marriage thinking it's going to be easy and fun and you look at it for something to help you be happier. But it's quite the opposite. It's a reflection to make you better, right? It's an opportunity for you to change and adapt and grow and become tenacious, right? And if you go into it with that aspect, you have a beautiful marriage that improves. And it's what can I do? How can I change the language I'm using with my wife? How can I be stronger? How can I change how I'm acting? Who cares what she does? But when you do that, your family grows, right? But it takes hard work and tenacity and self-responsibility. So if you don't have self-responsibility, you think it's all about you, you know? And that's normal. Just don't get me wrong. I still think that right? Speaker 3: (37:04) On a daily basis, I'm evolving just like everyone else in the year, but from a principal standpoint, that's the stuff that escalates your life and your business. It really starts with you and I and a tenacious, loving, kind accepting you, and that is in your marketing. Oh my gosh. It comes from me. You know, at the end of the day that love that attention, you have to have that I believe, to really scale and grow a large business because otherwise you're going to have problems. If your team doesn't like you, you're going to get in trouble with them, right? They're going to come back and become your predators. So here's a big, here's a big deal. As you scale and grow, you talked about policies. Let me just wrap a bow around that because that's a big thing. Don't expect your employees always to behave if you don't have an employee policy. Speaker 3: (37:54) If you don't have non-disclosures, and I've, I've made millions and millions of dollars in mistakes. I've had employees come back and try to blackmail, you know me out of money reporting lies and doing all the crazy stuff. Why? Because I trusted them to be always good and kind. And the reality is not everyone is good and kind. Most are, but you've got to play the game. Like there is going to be a black sheep in the family of your organization that some point that's coming in and once your power, right, if you don't have an personality profile can, can fix that, right? You can find those people, right? And not hire them. They're more of a you and they're going to want to be you and you. You don't want that, right? There's only not to say that you're the, you know, the end all Beto but you really are the, the controller of the organizational structure and you want to create a culture. Speaker 3: (38:46) So long story short, make sure you get non-disclosures. Make sure you use attorneys, you know, do all that stuff. And if you can't afford that, then you know, start saving up, right? Because you and you can write, there's all kinds of ways to get money. I was talking to a business owner the other day, they're like, I can't afford a conventional loan to buy out. You know, this other partner in a business, but they have no foresight to say there's like 10 different other ways for you to funded by that business. You know, through a conventional loan in a bank, right? So there's lots of ways to get there. So the tenacity person would say, I need this much money. I need a hundred grand to start this, this integrated, you know, this next movement I want to get, you know, make sure my billing and all that stuff that's going to cost you like a hundred grand, right? Speaker 3: (39:29) Where are you going to get that money? You can sell fund. Usually you can, if you have a successful clinic, don't. If you want to grow, you know, don't invest into lifestyle, invest back into your business. A hundred grand should be nothing for you. But say you don't, right? Where do you get it? There's lots of ways to get at a tenacious person. We'll find the money to meet the goal. And I also believe that, you know, from a, from a spiritual standpoint, if you're going to do good in the world, I believe God in the universe will bring you the right people and the resources to do that. So that intention, that love and heart man, really important, um, for resources and that energy that you have, that you put out into the world to attract the people into your team, into your world, they're going to help you do something really big, really scaling, beating the crap out of Starbucks. You know, you're going to be, you know, 10 X would have Starbucks can be in your community, right? And thinking much bigger and longterm. Speaker 1: (40:21) Man, I don't know if it was the, uh, the thing that brought manager levels up or just being around you guys. Just it. Dude, it's amazing just to connect with you on this podcast. It's just listening to you and listening to these principles that you're teaching and that you've learned over the years. And in some of these I've learned, um, are so true and so helpful and so needed in our profession. Um, and I, and to wrap this podcast up or, and I'm just really, really grateful for you to be on here. And, um, one of the things, if you're listening, one of the things Warren said, I asked him before this podcast, I said, well, what do you want to do? You have something you want to promote? And Warren said, no, I'm not here to promote. I just wanna help doctors. But I do want you to promote what you do because I think doctors need to be plugged in to the work that you're doing and the services that you guys offer our profession because they're incredibly valuable. Speaker 1: (41:06) And I, again, I came to your seminar for personal reasons. I wanted to get healthier, I wanted more energy. I thought maybe you guys could provide that. But also I just wanted to be around people that, um, put these, these principles that we just talked about into practice because it's, it's uplifting. Um, this last half hour of you and I talking is like, I'm way up here now. My energy levels are way up here, so thank you for that. Um, and so what are, uh, what are some ways that doctors can connect with you guys and the health centers of future, um, maybe just coming out to a limit to lead an event. Can you maybe talk about that? Speaker 3: (41:39) Yeah, I mean, w we've been coaching, uh, practitioners and we're getting more into the integrated space as well. We have, um, you know, we have some resources on sourcing, on really good exosomes and things like that, that I've told you about. So some of the new things that we're doing with, with dr Raffi, so we're getting into the integrated space, but our, our seminars, uh, you know, are, are more functional medicine in nature, business marketing, teaching the fasting principles, the things that, that really move the needle in, in people's health, you know. So that's, that's first and foremost is what our events are about is like what's going to really get people well, what's going to compliment your integrative practice, uh, you know, post, you know, STEM cell treatment, how can you get a topic G naturally so that you get better clinical results. And that's a big thing. Speaker 3: (42:21) You can measure that right, that's measurable and integrate about how much they come back in. And then you can add some of the diet, the fasting, some supplements, um, that we have for, you know, STEM cell production and autophagy. And adding that in and seeing how it changes, you know, uh, the results in your clinic. And we have other regenerative clinics do that with us. So on my one of our, you know, sites you could go to and there's a free, uh, somewhere on the site. I think it's a bar, um, right down below, um, the website for the free just to get an idea of what our seminars look like and the energy that we bring. It's HCF instant access. Um, dot com I believe is the link that I gave you, but you can go to HCF, H H as in Harry, Charlie, Frank HCF, seminars.com. Speaker 3: (43:10) And you can also, there's a probably a green like bar that they can click on and it has, you know, Joseph Macola is on there and a few other practitioners that have brought the heat, um, you know, on different, different topics and you can see us and what we're doing and with clinics and you know, uh, what this energy is all about and we're, you know, it's definitely a movement for us, right? It's definitely, we want to not just empower every practitioner but the, the right practitioner that has a similar heart because congruency is key with everything that you do. So the doctors that we attract really have to be congruent and crazy like we are in this area. Right? Um, I wouldn't say we're the crazy integrated, you know, opposites. We have an integrated office, um, that we, um, one I wanted to launch with you actually I was thinking about because I don't want to reinvent the wheel, you know, a heck of a lot more about integration than we do. Speaker 3: (44:01) But we do have one. Um, we're launching in California, we're adding, you know, a lot of the modalities like the pulse and the, you know, the STEM cell machine and a lot of these different, you know, cash, uh, cash cows if you will. And they work and they help people. So we, we do a little bit of that. So they have those vendors and things that are events. But at the end of the day, guys, what I shared with you really just comes down to you and your mindset and where you're at personally. That's the foundation of all your success in life, in business. And until you get there, I really, you gotta have those, those, those moments in time where there's a major shift, everyone needs to shift. You've got to take a big shift, right? You have to shift your mindset. You have to ship from a growth to upscale mindset, something that's sustainable. Speaker 3: (44:51) You really got to get wrap your head around that. And what does that look like and who are you going to find to help you get there? Right? So that's, that's my end game. Yeah. You can come to one of our events. That would be awesome. Our next one, um, we actually put off a really trying to, we used to do two a year and we're, we're putting off the next one probably till nine months, but the end of the day there's a lot of work that you can do personal, right? Podcasts, you can listen to coaches, you can hire, you can work with, uh, you know, dr Andrew here. There's so many ways for you to find a path to greatness. Cause all of you want to be great. You all want to have success in life but don't, it takes work and tenacity doesn't have to be hard. You can glide through your circumstances. You don't have to strive, you know, you can glide through life. But that, that's right up here guys. It's right between your right between your eyes. And that's where I, at the end of the day, if I could say anything to inspire you guys is work on you and then everything else will flow out of that and your own health. Speaker 1: (45:48) Absolutely. Yeah. So as we wrap up here, docs, if you're, if you're considering scaling, if you're maybe in the scaling process and realize, Holy cow, I didn't know what I was getting into and you need help with these things at any point, please reach out to me if you need help. And that's um, info@integrationsecrets.com, um, our email addresses on our website. And if I'm not the person to help you, I will be happy to refer you out to other people who can help coach you, mentor you, uh, help you through not only the mind, some for some of you, it's the mindset stuff. For some of you just need the tactical part. What are the steps to, to scale properly. And if you need that help, I'll be happy to point you in the right direction. So, uh, Warren Phillips, thank you so much again for being on. I really appreciate you. You're awesome man. You have a great heart. You're one of the smartest people I think I've ever met in our profession. I really appreciate you sharing this time and your knowledge with us. So thanks everybody and Oh, go ahead, Speaker 3: (46:37) owner's mind. Speaker 1: (46:38) Thanks man. And we'll look forward to seeing you guys on the next episode. Bye bye. Speaker 2: (46:43) Hey innovators. Thanks for listening to the simplified integration podcast. Fact that you're listening tells me that you're like me, someone who loves simplicity. And the truth is those who embrace simplicity are some of the greatest innovators. So hope you got a ton of value. From what we covered on today's episode. Be sure to subscribe and share with other docs that you feel could benefit from greater sophistication through simplification and innovation. If you've got specific questions that you'd like answered on this podcast or you've got specific topics that you'd like me to discuss, just shoot me an email at info@integrationsecrets.com Speaker 1: (47:19) that's info@integrationsecrets.com.

Topic - Get positive to have a baby Depression and infertility.  There's new research with two very important findings for those trying to conceive.  First is that men in the relationship should work to stay positive. Depression in the male partner can significantly lower the chances of conception.  Males being treated for major depression are 60% less likely to conceive. Depression wasn't an issue with females and conception. The second finding is that women who are taking Effexor, Serzone, Remeron or Trazodone for depression are about 3 and a half times more likely to have a first-trimester pregnancy loss than those who weren't taking an antidepressant.  Be prepared. Do some research about the role of depression and being treated for it and have candid conversations with your doctors about how these factors play a role in becoming a parent. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/drclaudia/message

EPISODE #327 Anti-Depressants and Mass Shootings Pt. 2 Richard welcomes an expert in serotonergic medications to talk about the possible violent side effects of anti-depressant medications. GUEST: Dr. Ann Blake Tracy is the director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness. She has specialized for 22 years in adverse reactions to serotonergic medications (Antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Effexor, Celexa, Lexapro, Cymbalta, Pristiq, Serzone, Anafranil, etc. and the diet pills Fen-Phen, and Redux and the newer Atypical Anti-psychotic medications such as Zyprexa, Geodon, Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel, etc.) and has testified before the FDA and congressional subcommittee members on Prozac. She has testified since 1992 as an expert witness in Prozac and other SSRI related court cases around the world. Her first book on the issue was published in 1991. During the last twenty years she has participated in innumerable radio, television, newspaper and magazine interviews on this subject. She is the author of Prozac: Panacea or Pandora?   PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!! C60EVO.COMThe Secret is out about this powerful anti-oxidant. The Purest C60 available is ESS60.  Buy Direct from the SourceUse the Code RS1SPEC for special discount. Ancient Life Oil Organic, Non GMO CBD Oil.  Big Relief in a Little Bottle! The Ferrari of CBD products. Strange Planet's Fullscript Dispensary - an online service offering hundreds of professional supplement brands, personal care items, essential oils, pet care products and much more. Nature Grade, Science Made!   Life Change and Formula 13 Teas  All Organic, No Caffeine, Non GMO!  More Energy!  Order now, use the code 'unlimited' and your first purchase ships for free.

EPISODE #325 Anti-Depressants and Mass Shootings Richard welcomes an expert in serotonergic medications to talk about the possible violent side effects of anti-depressant medications. GUEST: Dr. Ann Blake Tracy is the director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness. She has specialized for 22 years in adverse reactions to serotonergic medications (Antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Effexor, Celexa, Lexapro, Cymbalta, Pristiq, Serzone, Anafranil, etc. and the diet pills Fen-Phen, and Redux and the newer Atypical Anti-psychotic medications such as Zyprexa, Geodon, Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel, etc.) and has testified before the FDA and congressional subcommittee members on Prozac. She has testified since 1992 as an expert witness in Prozac and other SSRI related court cases around the world. Her first book on the issue was published in 1991. During the last twenty years she has participated in innumerable radio, television, newspaper and magazine interviews on this subject. She is the author of Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? WEBSITES:   PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!! Ancient Life Oil Organic, Non GMO CBD Oil.  Big Relief in a Little Bottle! The Ferrari of CBD products. C60EVO.COM The Secret is out about this powerful anti-oxidant. The Purest C60 available is ESS60.  Buy Direct from the SourceUse the Code RS1SPEC for special discount. Strange Planet's Fullscript Dispensary - an online service offering hundreds of professional supplement brands, personal care items, essential oils, pet care products and much more. Nature Grade, Science Made!   Life Change and Formula 13 Teas  All Organic, No Caffeine, Non GMO!  More Energy!  Order now, use the code 'unlimited' and your first purchase ships for free.

Exploring MenopauseToday Dr. Jean Marie McGowan joins us to talk about menopause. Jean Marie McGowan, MD NCMP FACP is an Internal Medicine physician with a special interest in Women’s Health. She attended the American University of the Caribbean for medical school and completed Internal Medicine residency, serving as chief resident, at the University of North Dakota in Fargo. Dr. McGowan started working for Sanford Health in the summer of 2016 and focused on improving women’s healthcare. She became a certified provider for menopause management by the North American Menopause Society and became Fellow of the American College of Physicians. She is director of the Pelvic Floor Clinic and co-director of the Preconception Clinic. In addition to seeing consults for menopause, polycystic ovarian syndrome and post-breast cancer treatment, she is a primary care physician. Dr. McGowan is associate faculty for the UND School of Medicine and clinical director for the Women’s Health rotation for medical students, residents, and fellows. She’s dedicated to educating the future generations of healthcare providers as well as the community to improve care for women. Dr. McGowan is also involved in research and won the inaugural Faculty Research Mentor of the Year in 2019 from UND Internal Medicine residents. Dr. McGowan grew up in Brooklyn, NY and currently lives in Fargo, North Dakota. Outside of work, she enjoys singing, running, and playing with her maltipoo, Minnie.Definitions:Menopause - occurs after the last menstrual period; a women has formally been through menopause when she has been free of periods for 12 months. Average age is 51.Perimenopause - the time preceding menopause, lasting about 2-4 years.Postmenopause - time following menopause.Surgical menopause - menopause that occurs after surgical intervention (removal of both ovaries). May have more severe symptoms.Premature ovarian insufficiency - when menopause occurs prior to age 40.Symptoms - can vary among women, starting 2-4 years prior to last menstrual period and often lasting 2-4 years after menopause (can be up to 10 years or longer)Perimenopausal: most common are vasomotor symptoms - hot flashes/flushes. Mood can also be impacted by progesterone and estrogen. This tends to be transient during the menopausal time frame.Decreased estrogen can cause changes in sleep, memory, vision, hearing, skin; vaginal dryness, urinary tract issues.Postmenopausal: vaginal dryness and urinary tract issues tend to continue. Avoid hot baths, certain wipes, irritating pads.Decreased estrogen also affects bone health, cholesterol, heart disease risk. These effects tend to be seen 10-15 years after menopause. Exercise, diet, smoking cessation, limiting alcohol consumption can help mitigate these.Diagnosis of menopause - hormone testing is not needed in most cases and is made based on cessation of periods, age. If considering premature ovarian insufficiency, hormone testing is indicated.Patients often note decreased sexual desire in the perimenopausal period. This is not related to age or menopause itself.Treatment:Vaginal drynessVaginal moisturizers & lubricants can help with painful intercourse. Good Clean Love & UberLube are some well balanced options.The only treatment is estrogen.Pelvic floor therapy can be effective for pelvic weakness, painful intercourse, and urinary symptoms. Beyond Kegels is a helpful book for pelvic weakness.Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is indicated for severe hot flashes and genitourinary syndrome of menopause (vaginal dryness / urinary symptoms). Start within 5-10 years of last menstrual period. Can benefit cholesterol, heart health, ovarian cancer risk. Should be avoided in women who have had a stroke, blood clot, or pulmonary embolism. Evaluate carefully in women who already have heart disease.Combination therapy: estrogen + progesterone, used for women who still have a uterus.Estrogen only therapy - lower risk of breast cancer than combination therapy.Come in pill, patch, vaginal ring, or combination of estrogen pill/patch and progesterone IUD. Estrogen dose is lower than what is found in oral contraceptives.Vasomotor symptoms: black cohash helps 30% of women who have tried it; it can affect the liver so caution should be taken.Bio-identical hormones: not regulated by the FDA, not proven to be effective. Not recommended and potentially dangerous.“Menopause” supplements - not proven to be effective.Paroxetine (Paxil) - FDA approved medication for hot flashes. Commonly prescribed for depression and anxiety. Side effect is weight gain. Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) can also help with hot flashes, as can venlafaxine (Effexor). Gabapentin, clonidine are other options.Weight gain, changes in body shape occur around menopause. Exercise (especially strengthening) and healthy diet will help. Many other menopause symptoms improve with exercise, healthy diet, and good sleep.The good news: not all women have all symptoms associated with menopause. The positives include no more periods to worry about, migraines may improve, autoimmune diseases may improve.References & Products:Good Clean Love MoisturizerUberLube LubricantBeyond Kegels by Janet HulmeNorth American Menopause Society website: www.menopause.orgCorrection: premenstrual dysphoric disorder is the syndrome of low mood or irritability prior to menstrual periodsFollow us on Facebook and Twitter:www.facebook.com/everythingdocwww.twitter.com/everythingdoc1

This week on MIA Radio, we interview US Navy Veteran and Co-Founder of Minority Veterans of America, Lindsay Church. Lindsay served from 2008-2012 as a Cryptologic Technician Interpretive (Linguist). During her time in the service, she attended language school at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA where she learned Persian-Farsi. After spending two years at a cyber intelligence command, she left the Navy and returned home to Seattle. Upon returning home, Lindsay attended the University of Washington where she earned her BA in Near Eastern Language and Civilization and Islamic Studies and an MA in International Studies – Middle East. At the University of Washington, Lindsay co-founded the office of Student Veteran Life, where she also served as the University Liaison for the Student Veterans of AmericaChapter there. In 2017, Lindsay started the Minority Veterans of America to ensure there is a community of support around the underrepresented veterans so that we may see the true diversity of the U.S. military reflected in our veteran communities. We discuss: How Lindsay was enlisted in 2008 under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and served all but three months of her time in the Navy under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. That Lindsay is a third-generation Navy veteran with many family members also serving. How during her Navy career she had multiple health issues arising from an inverted sternum, but a surgical procedure was botched and she experienced multiple complications, spending 5 days in ICU with a collapsed lung. How within 18 months of enlisting she had been prescribed 16 different medications including painkillers, antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs. How she then had to endure a number of further surgeries but managed to complete language school in spite of the surgeries and complications. Lindsay recalls being amazed that she is alive considering the cocktail of meds she was prescribed. How she came to be stuck for six months at a medical barracks in San Diego. That Lindsay got to a point in 2010 where she felt that she couldn’t go on. That she was being transitioned between Klonopin, Effexor, Valium and Zoloft almost every month which led to intense suicidal thoughts and how she considered jumping from a fifth-floor window. That she recalls asking for psychological support but instead only received more psychiatric drugs. How Lindsay made the decision in 2010 to get off the antidepressants and then in 2011 came off the opioids and has refused painkillers since, finally in 2012 she came off the anti-anxiety drugs. Lindsay says that it hurts to have realized that suicidal thoughts occurred during times of being switched between psychiatric medications, and changes her way of viewing past events in her life. How Lindsay notes that it is very easy to get referred into psychiatry and onto the drugs but very difficult to find appropriate psychological support. That Lindsay moved back to Seattle after leaving the Navy in 2012 and is thankful her mom is a veteran, as she helped her navigate the VA. How Lindsay’s experiences both with the military medical system but also witnessing pervasive misogyny, racism and homophobia in the American Legion, led her to resign her position and to co-found the Minority Veterans of America. How she found that female veterans are 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide than their civilian counterparts and LGBTQ veterans are 2 times more likely to die by suicide than their civilian counterparts. That she now works with people of color, women, LGBTQ and religious and non-religious minorities, many of whom are disenfranchised from the veteran community, so the goal is to bring people into a supportive community to break the isolation, because isolation is a killer. How important social engagement is to address the isolation felt by minority veteran communities. That as regards herself, she is working on reaching the person that she was five years ago when she didn’t think that she belonged or that her story was unique, or even worthy of even being told. That if readers want to know more they can visit MinorityVets.org which is a non-profit. How she feels that we don’t have another three to five years to address the suicide epidemic amongst the veteran community, Congressional action is needed now. Please Support Us: Our work is made possible by the generous support of our readers. To make a donation please visit this page. Thank you. https://www.madinamerica.com/donate/

Richard speaks with a court expert witness about the frightening connection between mass shootings and anti-depressant drugs.  In virtually all mass-shootings, the shooters were taking some type of anti-depressant or anti-psychotic medication. GUEST: Ann Blake-Tracy is the director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness. She has specialized for 22 years in adverse reactions to serotonergic medications (Antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Effexor, Celexa, Lexapro, Cymbalta, Pristiq, Serzone, Anafranil, etc. and the diet pills Fen-Phen, and Redux and the newer Atypical Anti-psychotic medications such as Zyprexa, Geodon, Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel, etc.) and has testified before the FDA and congressional subcommittee members on Prozac. Her first book on the issue, Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? was published in 1991

Santa Fe shooting: Texas governor confirms 10 people dead and 10 woundedGovernor Greg Abbott confirms the number of fatalities in a shooting at a high school about an hour south-east of Houston.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/18/texas-school-shooting-santa-fe-highAntidepressants Nightmareshttps://ssristories.orghttps://twitter.com/alexexumwww.alexexum.com

Santa Fe shooting: Texas governor confirms 10 people dead and 10 woundedGovernor Greg Abbott confirms the number of fatalities in a shooting at a high school about an hour south-east of Houston.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/18/texas-school-shooting-santa-fe-highAntidepressants Nightmareshttps://ssristories.orghttps://twitter.com/alexexumwww.alexexum.com

This week, we interview Laura Delano. Laura is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Inner Compass Initiative and The Withdrawal Project, which aim to create safe spaces for people to connect and the opportunity to learn about and be guided through the process of getting beyond the mental health system and off psychiatric drugs.  The passion she feels for the mission and vision of ICI arises from the fourteen years she spent lost in the mental health system and the journey that she’s been on since 2010, when she chose to leave behind a “mentally ill” identity and the various treatments that came with it, and gradually began to rediscover and reconnect with who she really was and what it means to suffer, struggle, and be human in this world.  Since becoming an “ex-patient”, Laura has been writing and speaking about her personal experiences and about the broader social and political issues sitting at the heart of “mental illness” and “mental health”. Since 2011, she has worked both within and beyond the mental health system. In the Boston area, she worked for nearly two years for a large community mental health organization, providing support to and advocating for the rights of individuals in emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, and institutional “group home” settings. After leaving the “inside” of the mental health system, she began consulting with individuals and families seeking help during the psychiatric drug withdrawal process. Laura has also given talks and workshops in Europe and across North America, facilitated mutual-aid groups for people in withdrawal, and organized various conferences and public events such as the Mad in America International Film Festival.  In this interview, we got time to talk about Laura’s personal experiences of the mental health system and what led her to co-found the Inner Compass Initiative and The Withdrawal Project. In this episode we discuss: Laura’s experiences as a patient in the mental health system, starting treatment aged thirteen and leaving the system behind aged 27. How she spent much of that time as a compliant patient, taking the medications and following the advice of her doctors. That, by 2010, she was on 5 medications (Lithium, Abilify, Lamictal, Effexor and Ativan) and had spent the last decade becoming worse and unable to properly engage with life. How she came to read Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker and that it was a profound moment of realisation. That Laura decided to take control of her life and became determined to get off the drugs as quickly as possible. How traumatic it was to come to the realisation that almost everything she had been told during treatment was overly simplistic or incorrect. That Laura did experience feelings of being a victim of psychiatry, but realised that this increased her emotional dependency on psychiatry and that it was necessary to move beyond that to feel free. That these experiences made Laura passionate about her own process of healing and rediscovering herself and helping others to find their way back to themselves after being psychiatrized. That as she healed she moved into a space of acceptance and gratitude and felt that the period around three years off the drugs was when she came to feel really alive and motivated again. That Laura feels that if we are going to move beyond the mental health system, it is about helping people to realise they don't need the mainstream system and point them to alternatives at a local level and creating physical spaces where people can come together. How Laura came to co-found The Inner Compass Initiative and The Withdrawal Project which aim to create safe spaces for people to connect and the opportunity to learn about and be guided through the process of getting beyond the mental health system and off psychiatric drugs. That The Withdrawal Project was highlighted in a recent New York Times article discussing antidepressant withdrawal. How ICI and TWP present information on many aspects of psychiatric drugs and withdrawal to help guide and inform people who do want to start the journey off their psychiatric drugs and away from the mental health system. That TWP connect is a free peer to peer networking platform that allows people to connect one on one with others who have similar experiences. How a similar peer to peer system is available on ICI to enable conversations about moving beyond the mental health system. That Laura wants to encourage people not to give up because we do heal from psychiatric drugs and that we need to spread that message far and wide. The need to both learn and unlearn when approaching how we take back our power and control of our lives after psychiatric treatment. How important it is to properly prepare before starting to taper from psychiatric drugs and how the Withdrawal Project can enable that preparation. The ‘speed paradox’ when coming off psychiatric drugs. How people can find out more about The Inner Compass Initiative and The Withdrawal Project. That Laura is keen to support local community initiatives to get underway. Relevant links: The Inner Compass Initiative The Withdrawal Project TWP Connect Learn about psychiatric drug withdrawal Inner Compass Initiative’s The Withdrawal Project Gets Mention in The New York Times—Is the Tide Finally Turning? The New York Times - Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit Read more about Laura’s journey into and out of the mental health system Laura’s presentation in Alaska, 2015 Anatomy of an epidemic by Robert Whitaker

Medicine loves guidelines. But everywhere else, guidelines are still underappreciated. Consider a recommendation, like “Try Lexapro!” Even if Lexapro is a good medication, it might not be a good medication for your situation. And even if it’s a good medication for your situation, it might fail for unpredictable reasons involving genetics and individual variability. So medicine uses guidelines – algorithms that eventually result in a recommendation. A typical guideline for treating depression might look like this (this is a very over-simplified version for an example only, NOT MEDICAL ADVICE): 1. Ask the patient if they have symptoms of bipolar disorder. If so, ignore everything else on here and move to the bipolar guideline. 2. If the depression seems more anxious, try Lexapro. Or if the depression seems more anergic, try Wellbutrin. 3. Wait one month. If it works perfectly, declare victory. If it works a little but not enough, increase the dose. If it doesn’t work at all, stop it and move on to the next step. 4. Try Zoloft, Remeron, or Effexor. Repeat Step 3. 5. Cycle through steps 3 and 4 until you either find something that works, or you and your patient agree that you don’t have enough time and patience to continue cycling through this tier of options and you want to try another tier with more risks in exchange for more potential benefits. 6. If the depression seems more melancholic, try Anafranil. Or if the depression seems more atypical, try Nardil. Or if your patient is on an earlier-tier medication that almost but not quite works, try augmenting with Abilify. Repeat Step 3. 7. Try electroconvulsive therapy. The end result might be the recommendation “try Lexapro!”, but you know where to go if that doesn’t work. A psychiatrist armed with this guideline can do much better work than one who just happens to know that Lexapro is the best antidepressant, even if Lexapro really is the best antidepressant. Whenever I’m hopelessly confused about what to do with a difficult patient, I find it really reassuring that I can go back to a guideline like this, put together by top psychiatrists working off the best evidence available. This makes it even more infuriating that there’s nothing like this for other areas I care about.

Kristen talks about her experience getting off of Effexor, the antidepressant she's been on for years (besides for a few months last year) and how it has effected her mood. She also talks about what other people's experiences have been getting off of their meds and ways to cope, psychedelics, and how being alone on New Year’s Eve might be as bad as it sounds. Please support the show at www.Patreon.com/KristenandChill. And, follow the podcast on Twitter @ChillMentally Instagram @KristenandChill. You can follow Kristen on Twitter @kristencarney And, on Instagram @KrisCarn --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/kristencommachill/message

Thank you for joining us for our 2nd Cabral HouseCall of the weekend! I’m looking forward to sharing with you some of our community’s questions that have come in over the past few weeks… Let’s get started! Rebecca: Hi Dr. Cabral, I am in the middle of doing the 21 day detox. After the first week of the detox, my menstrual period came and it was a week earlier than I was expecting it! My periods are usually pretty predictable - every 28-30 days. Can you explain why this happened during the detox? Thanks! Lindsey: What is your opinion on ingesting food grade Diatomaceous Earth for health benefits, such as improved hair skin and nails due to the high silica content, removal of parasites etc. thankyou! Priscilla: Hi Dr. Cabral, When my son was 3 1/2 (about two years ago), his eye started to turn in. At first it only happened every few days, then it was constant. We saw many different doctors with different opinions and finally found a functional medicine doctor/chiropractor. He put us on a plant based, gluten free and dairy free diet. We have seen some improvement, but very slow. Wondering if this is something you have ever heard of and what advise you would have? Thanks so much! Sandy: Confused about apple cider vinegar. Some say it is very beneficial to take before meals with water others warn it is not good to take on a regular basis. What is your thought on this issue. Thanks for your sincere dedication to help as many as possible to better health. Courtney: Hi Dr. Cabral and staff! My name is Courtnie and I have recently started listening to your podcast! I love the housecalls and have been considering sending in my questions there but you always remind us how much longer it will take to hear a response (thank you for that). Well, I’ve had a big problem with weight gain the past couple of years, 10-15 pounds, but I am a 5’1 girl and 10 pounds looks like a lot more on my height. I have really struggled with trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. I am on a birth control pill (which also helps with my acne that I have struggled with in the past but has recently started to clear up a lot), I had switched to an IUD, which I have recently taken out due to difficulties, and I am back on the pill. I lost weight with the IUD very quickly after insertion and then put it all back on almost immediately after switching back to the pill. I have recently switched to the lowest dose of estrogen pill that they offer in hopes that the estrogen is my issue. I have considered stopping the pill all together but I am afraid it will make my acne flare up. In addition, I eat fairly healthy and I workout 3-5 days a week. If you have any suggestions to offer, I would really appreciate it. Thank you for all that you do! Mark: I first discovered Dr. Cabral via a podcast search and am a subscriber to the Cabral Concept. I am writing to share information about myself and determine which of Dr. Cabral’s protocols may be best for me. About me: 53 years old 6’ 3” tall 235 lbs. which I believe is about 25-30 pounds overweight BMI: 29.4 I’m currently taking Effexor, irbesartin, pravastatin, omeprozale, Glucosamine and Chondroitin, and allergy meds. I use a CPAP machine to manage sleep apnea. I have osteoarthritis in both knees (right knee worse). On a scale of 1-10 (1=poor) my eating habits are probably a 6 on most days—not enough vegetables. Ice cream is my kryptonite. I have found that I can adhere to a 16:8 fast pretty easily and have been doing this for about four months. I lost 11 pounds pretty quickly, but have gained about 5lbs back I do not drink alcohol, but wonder if sugar is the replacement addiction that occurred when I quit drinking alcohol 15 years ago. I do not smoke. I was drinking too much diet cola, but recently quit it altogether. I was exercising but just had rotator cuff surgery so I am limited. I’d like to get a handle on my nutrition and am not sure where to start. What might you suggest in terms of a process for “starting over”? Should I Assess, Plan, Implement? If so, which assessment? Thank you for sharing your expertise. I look forward to hearing from you. Mark Laura: Hi Dr. Cabral, Thank you for all the information you share on your podcast. I always go to it when I need some inspiration, when I'm having a bad day and not feeling well. I am 35 years old and was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome about 4 years ago. I suffer from dry eyes, all over aches and pains in my joints and muscles, POTs symptoms, arms and legs fall asleep easily, exhaustion, inability to exercise much, etc. it's difficult to be so young and feel like I'm 90! It's also difficult to feel so differently than just a few years ago when I was running 4 miles a day a couple times a week. I miss the feeling of being refreshed after exercise. The other piece that has been difficult is that I want to have a family and haven't found the right guy for me and I think my illness over the last few years has held me back. I've been following many of your suggestions. I don't currently take any medications because I don't have faith that they will truly help me. I eat a mainly vegan diet at this point with some fish. Lots of green smoothies, omega 3s, daily nutrition supplement, gluten free, cut out foods that i can tell I'm sensitive too, lots of water, infrared sauna, meditation, etc. I get scared when I see that this is a lifelong condition that progresses. I want to believe that I can get better, but haven't seen that in 4 years. If my immune system has caused damage already to my eye glands and other parts of my body, is that really reversible? What suggestions do you have? Thank you again Anonymous: Hello Dr Cabral- Big fan of your podcast and the helpful knowledge and mindset you embody. I am suffering from some SIBO related autoimmunity and have a pesky issue I hope you can address. My anus is extremely itchy and is a constant nuisance even waking me up and causing me to sleep poorly. I have done parasite testing and am negative and assume (pun intended!) that the itching is related to SIBO and stomach/bacterial/food sensitivity issues. I am currently completing your bacterial/candida/SIBO 3 month protocol but am hoping you can help provide some immediate relief to the itchiness and help me get my life back, thank you for your time and support. Thank you for tuning into this weekend’s Cabral HouseCalls and be sure to check back tomorrow for our Mindset & Motivation Monday show to get your week started off right! - - - Show Notes & Resources: http://StephenCabral.com/646 - - - Get Your Question Answered: http://StephenCabral.com/askcabral    

Evan and I discuss OCD and things.

Have you or someone close to you ever been diagnosed with depression or some other mental disorder? Was psychiatric intervention sought out as a means by which to overcome it? Did talk therapy alone work, or did your doctor recommend further treatment in the form of a pharmaceutical solution? If you went on meds, were you told you might need them for the rest of your life? And if you did, in fact, take the medication, was it effective? When you decided it was time to stop taking it, did you experience side effects? I sure did. I've been down this road before, and it's one I would certainly like to avoid taking again. That's why I tracked down this episode's guest, Dr. Kelly Brogan. I wanted to find out what the hell what 'depression' and 'anxiety' actually are, and to discover which lifestyle, dietary, and spiritual solutions might not only be more efficient, but also much safer than the Big Pharma merry go round. Kelly Brogan is one of the nations leading psychiatrists and has helped thousands of patients find natural, practical solutions to depression and other mental and emotional issues through her private practice, and well as in her wildly popular online programs. You will be shocked to find out some of the shockingly limited success rates of traditional, allopathic treatment modalities, and crude (and often inaccurate) methods of diagnosis. But more than anything, what you will gain from this episode is a deeper understanding of the human condition, including our deep-seeded need for human connection, love, and a spiritual orientation to our life experience. It turns out that many of us who have been misdiagnosed and over-medicated are not in fact 'broken' and in need of medical intervention, but rather we are stuck. Since we're not broken, we don’t need fixing. We just need to get unstuck. We need to learn how to orient ourselves in the world in a way that does not necessitate masking and dumbing our discomfort, but rather learning how to live and love our way through it. Listen and learn. Then pass this show along to someone you know who could use a little boost of hope. To your health, Luke For more about today's episode Listen on YouTube! Topics Discussed on today's Episode: What is the root cause of depression and mental disorders? Is depression actually a disease? What about anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia and other mood issues? The spiritual underlying causes How disconnection from our tribal roots makes us vulnerable to mental disorders We explore something called ‘the rat park studies’ which prove that addiction is based on lack of love and connection Why is our culture so terrified of emotional pain? How we can use Kundalini yoga, and meditation to help with emotional and mental issues What’s the deal with the whole serotonin deficiency issue? Is it a real thing? Was I addicted to the drug Effexor? What do anti-depressants actually do to the brain? Do they ever work? What are other solutions we can sick out before going to medication How people with serious mental problems can naturally overcome deep seeded issues How to safely get off of anti-depressants Can eating red meat cure women of depression? How environmental toxins in food and our environment are one of the leading causes of mental and emotional disorders The dangers of eating sugar Why gluten, dairy, soy and GMO’s are so dangerous when it comes to our mental health and well-being Lifestyle recommendations   MY 90-DAY LIFESTYLE DESIGN COACHING PROGRAM Your opportunity to work with me one-on-one. Upgrade your life through my proven system of revolutionary mental, physical and emotional transformation. Only 2 spots available. Apply now for a 15-minute assessment call.    THIS SHOW IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: ORGANIFI. This product has changed the green juice game for me. A green powdered superfood that comes in portable packets perfect for travel, keeping in your car or bag. On-demand instant green juice that is alkalizing, energizing and gives you mental clarity. What else is so special about it? Zero glycemic index & comes with all 11 most important superfoods: turmeric, chlorella, wheat grass, spirulina, mint, moringa, ashwagandha, lemon, beets, coconut, matcha green tea. Awesome stuff! Save 20% using coupon code "LIFESTYLIST" AND...  JOOVV. Red light therapy device. Once your body absorbs this light it converts into cellular energy which kicks off a series of metabolic events like the formation of new capillaries, elevated production of collagen and the release of ATP, which is stuff the stuff that gives you shit-tons of energy. It also repairs sun damage and wrinkles, it enhances muscle recovery and peak performance, heals acne and other blemishes, speeds up wound healing, fades scars and stretch marks, and increases testosterone production. Red light therapy has been approved by the FDA, no woo woo here folks.  footbed. Save $25 using coupon code "LIFESTYLIST" HELP SUPPORT THIS SHOW! Starting and growing a podcast requires a ton of time, energy, and money. Do you appreciate this information, and want to support my mission to deliver as much life enhancing information as possible to as many people as possible? The easiest, and most effective way you can help is to do this: 1. Go to Lukestorey.com/support and donate towards show production costs 2. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes 3. Write us a review in iTunes 4. Share this show with 1 friend right now You’d be amazed how much these four simple steps do to help us grow! Here’s the magic link for reviews. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, and joining me on this journey we call life.

This week, we have a special episode to join in with the events being held for World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day. World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day seeks to raise global awareness of iatrogenic benzodiazepine dependence, the dangers of its adverse effects and the associated withdrawal syndrome, which can last for years. To give some context around the issues with Benzodiazepines, we have three interviews in this episode. Firstly we talk to Professor Malcolm Lader who is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry from Kings College London and is globally recognised as an expert on Benzodiazepines. Following that we talk with Jocelyn Pedersen. Jocelyn is a US based campaigner who shares her own experiences with Benzodiazepines and talks also about her views of the medical response to the issues of dependance and iatrogenic harm. Finally, we talk to Barry Haslam. Barry is a veteran UK campaigner who shares his experiences and also what we should be doing to help those dependant or damaged from use of these medications. Barry has been instrumental in raising awareness and taking action for last 30 years and is well known in political and medical circles. Interview 1, Professor Malcolm Lader In this interview we discuss: ▪Professor Lader’s training in medicine and how he specialised in psychopharmacology and psychiatry ▪That he went on to become involved in research, particularly around tranquilliser dependance and adverse effects ▪How Benzodiazepines were created in the 1950s, replacing Barbiturates because they were generally safer in overdose ▪That the first Benzodiazepine created was Librium (Chlordiazepoxide) soon followed by Valium (Diazepam) ▪That for a time, Valium was the most widely prescribed drug on the planet ▪That the advantages are that Benzodiazepines are relatively safe in overdose but they can result in dependance (likely a 1 in three chance) at therapeutic doses ▪That by 1975, Professor Lader’s Addiction Research Unit at the Maudsley hospital in London were becoming increasingly concerned by the number of people who were being referred to them for specialist help ▪How this led to Professor Lader’s famous quote on a BBC Radio 4 interview that it was “easier to withdraw people from Heroin than from Benzodiazepines” ▪That Opioid withdrawal caused an acute, very unpleasant withdrawal experience but Benzodiazepines caused a protracted withdrawal that was actually more difficult for many people to deal with ▪How they were left with patients who had successfully withdrawn from Opioids like Heroin but were still having trouble with the Benzodiazepines like Ativan ▪How the British Medical Association have only recently become engaged in the issues of dependance and withdrawal to give advice to their members (General Practitioners) ▪That the regulators don’t have sufficient influence to get doctors to prescribe Benzodiazepines in a more responsible way ▪That much of the long term use of psychiatric medications comes down to lack of monitoring of patients by doctors ▪That there have been cases where long term prescribing of Benzodiazepines has been seen to be negligent on the doctors part and that this has led to some out of court settlements ▪That the treatment of dependance is not simple or straight forward so it is much better to educate GPs upfront to intervene before people have the chance to become dependant ▪How we are now repeating some of the same mistakes made with Benzodiazepine prescribing with Opioid analgesics and antidepressants too ▪That the increase in prescribing of psychiatric drugs is partly down to greater recognition of mental health difficulties but also that we do not have enough people trained in non pharmacological interventions ▪That Pharmacists can play a pivotal role in monitoring, advising and supporting patients ▪How Professor Lader became involved in the educational resource the Lader-Ashton organisation ▪That Professor Lader welcomes this second Benzodiazepine Awareness Day because knowledge and education about the related issues is important ▪That people who are currently taking a Benzodiazepine should make themselves aware of the risks and benefits and talk to their prescriber if they are concerned ▪The concerns around the lack of research in this area and that we need ring fenced money to better understand how best to help and support dependant patients ▪That the prediction of the efficacy of psychiatric drugs from biochemistry to animal experiments to human treatment is very poor, so the Pharmaceutical industry is losing interest in psychotropic drugs ▪That psychiatric drugs largely offer symptomatic relief and so their usefulness is limited and we also need to focus on the safety issues Interview 2, Jocelyn Pedersen In this interview we discuss: ▪How Jocelyn first came into contact with benzodiazepines, having had family illness difficulties and finding that she suffered with insomnia but wanting something that was safe to take while pregnant ▪How her doctor recommended the nonbenzodiazepine tranquilliser Ambien (Zolpiden) which Jocelyn used for less than a week because she felt that it was affecting the baby ▪How Jocelyn, after stopping the Ambien even after such a short usage period, found that she couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat or even do basic things like reading or watching TV ▪That Jocelyn, in trying to explain the wide range of symptoms she was experiencing had a range of physical examinations and tests that all came back negative ▪That doctors explained away her constellation of symptoms as postpartum depression ▪How doctors then prescribed the Benzodiazepine Ativan at 1mg and Effexor, telling her to only take the Ativan until the Effexor ‘kicked in’ ▪That, for Jocelyn, the Effexor never did ‘kick in’ because she was suffering Benzodiazepine withdrawal ▪That upon doubling the dose of Ativan, Jocelyn felt better but she knew that it was only meant for short term use ▪How she found that every time she tried to reduce, even by a small amount like 0.25mg, she was unable to function ▪How three years later, Jocelyn decided it was time to get off the Ativan because she was suffering other health issues ▪How Jocelyn realised that Benzodiazepines like Ativan are teratogens and dangerous in the first months of pregnancy and that being pregnant, Jocelyn had no option but to withdraw ▪That on starting her tapering, Jocelyn was unable to do much else but writhe on the floor in agony, describing even a small reduction as “descending into hell” ▪How Jocelyn’s husband, having found online support groups like Benzo.org.uk realised that what was happening was Benzo withdrawal ▪That Jocelyn, then suffering a miscarriage, ended up in the ER, begging the ER doctor to switch her over to Valium ▪That Jocelyn then spent the next year and a half tapering from Valium ▪How Jocelyn then started to join online support groups, learning how to do a proper taper like that recommended by Professor Heather Ashton ▪That it is very difficult to communicate to friends and family members what is happening, with many assuming it is merely depression or anxiety ▪That it is important to avoid the use of addiction terminology, because people struggling with withdrawal have more in common with those that have a traumatic brain injury or neurological damage ▪That often the only thing between someone and even more suffering is the Benzodiazepine, so it’s not as simple as just wanting to get off ▪That it has been just over two years since Jocelyn finished her taper and there has been considerable improvement but there are still lingering effects ▪That changing her diet made a significant difference to Jocelyn’s health and wellbeing ▪How Jocelyn became involved with campaigning and started her own YouTube channel BenzoBrains ▪How she wanted to be able to add some validity when approaching legislators and lawyers so she founded the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, a non profit organisation ▪How these and other groups help to educate medical professionals, particularly in terms of avoiding addiction terminology but also to provide guidance on the right approach to take with someone who is dependant ▪How Jocelyn observes some mistakes in how doctors treat those who are iatrogenically harmed, particularly doctors who suddenly stop prescribing because they are worried about the legal aspects, this can leave a dependant person in a very difficult place ▪Secondly while doctors may be cautious about Benzodiazepines, they still readily prescribe other psychiatric medications and even recommend them to treat Benzodiazepine withdrawal effects ▪That a total ban or strict regulation and control of prescribing is an approach which would harm many people who are dependant ▪That what patients need is the proper information to help them successfully and safely get off the drugs ▪That people taking Benzodiazepines shouldn’t be scared by the horror stories but should take time to educate themselves and to accept that the path to being drug free might not be easy but healing is a journey and takes time ▪Jocelyn’s involvement with the forthcoming documentary film: As Prescribed directed by Holly Hardman ▪That much of the funding in this area of research goes to addiction services rather than specifically to help someone who is dependant ▪The difficulty that some people have in accepting that they may be dependant on a prescribed medication ▪The disempowering nature of the message that someone has to take a medication for life and that they have a chronic health condition ▪The message that Jocelyn has for people is that they are capable of more than they know and they can get through the experiences of withdrawal and be stronger for it Interview 3, Barry Haslam In this interview we discuss: ▪How Barry came into contact with Benzodiazepines in 1976 when he had a stress related breakdown due to the combined pressure of working full time  and studying ▪That Barry has no memory of the period 1976 to 1986 and he has had to piece together what happened from medical records and the recollections of family members ▪How a doctor put Barry firstly on Librium (Chlordiazepoxide), followed by a number of antidepressants and also Valium for a time ▪How Barry ended up on a huge dose of 30mg of Ativan (Lorazepam) per day ▪This happened because Barry was experiencing withdrawal effects because of tolerance to the drugs but the doctors didn’t recognise these effects so increased the dosage in response ▪That Barry suffered such powerful daily headaches that he ended up taking 12 opiate painkillers per day in addition to the Ativan ▪That in December 1985, Barry, suffering uncharacteristic aggression, felt that enough was enough and he had to quit the drugs ▪That he had some psychological support when he first started to withdraw but for the majority of the time he did it alone ▪How he dropped from 30mg to 2mg of Ativan in 9 months as well as stopping the opiate painkillers ▪For the last period he transferred to Valium (Diazepam) which took 5 months to come off ▪He did this with no guidance and very little support because the doctors had abandoned him ▪How he experienced many unpleasant physical symptoms including violent daily vomiting, hallucinations, feeling of things crawling under his skin and lost half of his bodyweight ▪How Barry feels that it was the love and support of his wife and family that got him through that 15 months of hell ▪That there is virtually nowhere for people struggling with withdrawal to go to get help and support ▪That these issues receive far less attention and funding than alcohol or nicotine dependance ▪That Barry feels that the health services are too frightened of litigation and that prevents them from directly addressing theses issues ▪How Barry joined an organisation called Oldham Tranx, a peer support group run by drug dependant patients and how Barry became chairman ▪How the local paper, the Oldham Chronicle supported Barry in his campaigning ▪How Addiction Dependency Solutions (now called One Recovery) started to help people in 2004 and is the first NHS funded facility in the UK ▪That we should get Government policy makers in the Department of Health to issue guidance to all local Clinical Commissioning Groups to ensure that similar services are set up across the country and in other parts of the world too ▪We should introduce peer support groups based on the model already in place in Oldham ▪How Professor Heather Ashton ran a withdrawal clinic in Newcastle for twelve years and learned a great deal from the patients experiences ▪That putting these services in place would save lives, Barry estimates that in the UK alone 20,000 lives have been lost since 1960 due to suicide, poisoning and road traffic accidents related to Benzodiazepine use ▪How Barry missed out on his daughters growing up because of the memory loss caused by the drugs up but now can enjoy seeing his three grandchildren grow into adults ▪How Barry has met so many good people in the community of those who needed help and support and that gives him the drive to continue campaigning ▪That even many years after the drugs have been stopped, they can continue to cause a range of health problems ▪That we need hard, clinical evidence of the damage cause by Benzodiazepine drugs as part of the evidence base for future legislative action ▪That this is national problem and needs to be tackled by national governments ▪That dependant patients should continue to put their experience back into the system and that will help society ▪Barry’s wish to have recognised the selfless and tireless work of Professor Heather Ashton including her withdrawal protocols that are used worldwide and that the British Government have never formally recognised her great service and the lives that she saved ▪That every doctors surgery should have a copy of Professor Asthon’s Benzodiazepine withdrawal manual ▪That Barry wants to pay tribute to all of those who have taken their own lives because of Benzodiazepines, either because the horrors of withdrawal or the increased suicidal thinking To listen on Mad in America: https://goo.gl/tyyLmt Podcast show notes: https://goo.gl/QU9XLU To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

Rosemond is lifestyle/divorce blogger. She has been sharing tales of divorce, dating and life after divorce since 2014. When she is not writing, she enjoys lying in the fetal possession and obsessing about her hair. Follow her journey at www.roundandroundrosie.com or follow her on Twitter @RoundItRosie

Mental health is a sorely overlooked part of life in American society. We are continuously bombarded with weapons of mass consumption designed to make us feel worthless without the next shiny new phone, and as soon as we feel depressed from this spiritual oppression, we are prescribed pills to make the feelings go away It's enough to drive a motherfucker batshit crazy!  I've had my own struggles with clinical depression and managed to manage my symptoms through a lot of therapy, a lot of weed, exercise, and creativity. It takes a lot of work, but I can't look down or judge people who don't find the same results without medication. My friend and fellow comic Jimmy Son sat down with me to discuss his experience with psychiatrists, staying on and going off his meds, and more!   Songs Money- Pink Floyd Mission Statement- Weird Al Institutionalized- Suicidal Tendencies Normal- Gucci Mane 

Dr. James Dunn, Urogynecologist speaks with our live audience on menopause and other issues affecting women's health.  Treatments discussed include hormone replacement therapy with estrogens alone, estrogen with progesterone, Effexor (venlafaxine), Prozac(fluoxetine) and other SSRI anti-depressants, and natural remedies like black cohosh and soy isoflavins. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/medicallyspeakingradio/message

Dec 31, 2014 Podcast: Krill Oil vs. Fish Oil, How To Get Your Period Back, Yoga vs. Swimming, How To Reverse Damage Caused By Antidepressants, and Open Water Swimming 101. Have a podcast question for Ben? Click the tab on the right, use the Contact button on the app, call 1-877-209-9439, Skype “pacificfit” or use the “” form... but be prepared to wait - we prioritize audio questions over text questions. ----------------------------------------------------- News Flashes: You can receive these News Flashes (and more) every single day, if you follow Ben on , and . Pregnant? ----------------------------------------------------- Special Announcements: This podcast is brought to you by Onnit. . You save 10% at . The Obstacle Dominator training plan - has launched. Click here to get it now. This is going to make you tough as nails, give you a third lung, change your workouts forever, and thrust you into the fittest 99% of the population (probably the craziest and most nefarious thing Ben has ever created). January 30th - 31st, 2015: Ben will be speaking in Dubai - Talise Fitness and Jumeirah Emirates Towers, proudly invite you to take part in an exclusive two day seminar held by the renowned nutrition and fitness expert, best selling author, coach, speaker, ex-bodybuilder and Ironman triathlete, Ben Greenfield. March 6-9, 2015: Come on with Ben Greenfield and family! Use code BEN10 to save 10% when you book this cruise to a private island in the Bahamas for the ultimate tropical Spartan Race. This cruise includes free travel for kids and a kid's Spartan race, along with a sprint Spartan for the adults, tons of partying, beautiful beaches and new, exclusive island challenges. April 24-26th, 2015: . Below is just a taste of what to expect at this can't-miss conference that is the Who's Who gathering of the Paleo movement, with world-class speakers including best-selling authors, physicians, nutritionists, research scientists, professional athletes, trainers, sustainability and food activists, biohackers, and more. Grab this package that comes with a tech shirt, a beanie and a water bottle. And of course, this week's top iTunes review - gets some BG Fitness swag straight from Ben - ! ----------------------------------------------------- Listener Q&A: As compiled, deciphered, edited and sometimes read by , the Podcast Sidekick and Audio Ninja. Krill Oil vs. Fish Oil Randy says: Krill oil or fish oil? Which is best and why? Break it down for him. In my response I recommend: -Superessentials or Thorne EPA, both How To Get Your Period Back Pepper says: She liked your answer in Episode 301 to the question about coming off birth control. She has had trouble regulating her menstrual cycle since coming off Yasmin and is wonder what you think of Chasteberry as a way to help fix her cycle? In my response I recommend: - Yoga vs. Swimming Alice says: She is a 2:50 marathoner. She runs high mileage (80 miles a week) and her coach likes to give her swim workouts 3 times a week. She is burnt out on swimming (and it is winter and cold) and would rather do some hot yoga instead. Can she do hot yoga 3 times a week (intense, 1hr Flow classes) instead of the swims? Which would be more beneficial? In my response I recommend: - (GREEN1 gives 20% discount) How To Reverse Damage Caused By Antidepressants Brian says: He has been on antidepressants for the last 10 years. For the last 5 years he was on heavy doses of Lexapro and Effexor. It worked well, did its job and he has been off for a couple years but he feels like his mental acuity is down and his sleep patterns are a wreck. Is there a way to put together a program to detox or if there are doctors who can handle this? Is this actually a thing? In my response I recommend: - book - is a real expert when it comes to neurotransmitter repletion therapy, and I’d highly recommend you , read the or speak with a licensed Kalish practitioner prior to experimenting too much with this stuff. Another very good resource to learn more about neurotransmitter repletion is . Open Water Swimming 101 Stephen says: He would like to get into more open water swimming. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina where it doesn't get too cold - water temp into the low 50s. Could you talk a little about hypothermia in connection with exercise? At what point should he be using a wetsuit? What style of wetsuit? Also do you have any wetsuit brand recommendations? In my response I recommend: - -

This month, we talk about the drug, Effexor, getting linked to birth injuries. Plus, we review a case in California about a cyclist who pleaded guilty a manslaughter case after hitting a pedestrian.

This month, we talk about the drug, Effexor, getting linked to birth injuries. Plus, we review a case in California about a cyclist who pleaded guilty a manslaughter case after hitting a pedestrian. The post Effexor Linked to Birth Injuries and Cyclist Pleads Guilty in Manslaughter Case – Podcast first appeared on Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

With tracks from Federleicht, Studio, Marlow, LCD Soundsystem, DJ T., San Soda, King DJ, Jatoma, Michael Jackson, The Glimmers, Chilly, C Beams, Andy Ash, Erdbeerschnitzel, Modern Amusement, Two Dogs In A House, Newworldaquarium, Soul Center and Nina Kraviz. Contact: dj@ribeaud.ch.

Guest: Stephen C. Ellen, MD Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Today we have many options to treat depression: the SSRIs, Cymbalta, Effexor, Emsam, Wellbutrin, just to name a few. How do you know when to move beyond the SSRIs? When is it time to refer to a psychiatrist? What if there are no psychiatrists available to your patients? Host Dr. Leslie Lundt welcomes Dr. Stephen Ellen to discuss the new age of psychopharmacological treatment of depression.