Renegade Psych

Here, I break down the topic of this month, Debunking the Neuron Doctrine. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to the information we've presented here, if you'd like to be a guest to the show, or if you have general comments, questions, or suggestions, email us at  Renegad...

Enjoy some of the best clips from our upcoming series on Debunking the Neuron Doctrine with Dr. Jaime Shoup, MD. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to the information we've presented here, if you'd like to be a guest to the show, or if you have general comments, questions...

Here, we learn a little bit more about Rif's personal life, followed by an interesting discussion while he is giving us his financial disclosures about the historical and current relationship between doctors and pharmaceutical companies. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges...

This is a cool segment where Dr. El-Mallakh tells us a little about his experience using lithium to treat acne, and again discusses another very cool mechanism of action.  We also talk about some possible solutions to bad research. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to th...

Here, as always, we give our closing thoughts on lithium and its underutilization in the field of psychiatry, especially in American psychiatry, followed by a song by a local Louisville artist, Jack Rabbit and the Dirty Hares, called "Lying on Sunday." Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, question...

This is probably the most exciting episode of this series, in my opinion.  Here, we talk about historical and more current research on some of the benefits of lithium microdosing (larger doses than are present in our environment - micrograms, but 30-50 times lower than doses used in severe bipolar illness).  Potential benefits include slowing the progression of various types of dementia, as an ant...

Here, Dr. El-Mallakh and I review the side effect profile of lithium at high doses (900+ mg per day), which include thyroid, kidney, and toxicity risks.  However, patients prefer lithium over other mood stabilizers, and because the majority of us are exposed to lithium at low levels regularly through our water supply and various foodstuffs (cereal, potatoes, tomatoes, etc.), lithium at lower doses...

In this episode, we discuss the FDA approval process, the impact of Pharmaceutical influence, and how this affects lithium's underutilization.  We talk about Industry-sponsored vs NIH studies and the problems with not publishing negative data.  Finally, Dr. El-Mallakh and I go back and forth trying to find some middle ground in our opinions by weighing the benefits of pharmaceutical influence with...

In this section, we discuss the history of lithium's medicinal use, from Australian psychiatrist John Cade's discovery of its' superior effectiveness in manic-depressive illness, through the Lithium Chloride catastrophe and eventual FDA approval in the United States. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any com...

This episode is not for the faint of heart; while Dr. El-Mallakh does a good job of trying to explain things in a down-to-Earth way, it may be overly academic for some of our non-medical listeners.  I review some of the historical origins of lithium use, prior to its' utilization as a medication, and Dr. El-Mallakh discusses some theories around how and why it works so well in Bipolar Illness, and...

Lithium is a natural element found in our environment all around us, in our water supply, in some of the food we eat, in the dirt we walk on, and it is BY FAR, one of the most useful medications in all of psychiatry, yet its' use has decreased precipitously over the last few decades, even in treatment of Bipolar Spectrum Illness, which some psychiatrists jokingly dub, 'Lithium-Deficiency Disorder....

Here, I introduce Dr. Rifaat El-Mallakh, a world-renowned expert and researcher in bipolar illness, or manic-depressive illness.  His background is fascinating and really lends credence to his status as an expert in the field.  I have personally spent a lot of time working with Dr. El-Mallakh and can vouch that he cares a hell of a lot about his patients and advancing his own, and the field's, und...

This is the initial episode of our series on Lithium, featuring world-renowned Bipolar Disorder expert, Dr. Rifaat El-Mallakh, MD.  Here, I monologue an introduction to the series and tease some of the information and topics Dr. El-Mallakh and I will be discussing further. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have a...

Here, I introduce my guest for this series, pharmacist Michael Shuman, PharmD.  Michael has worked in several different areas of psychiatric pharmacy, including in multiple inpatient and outpatient settings.  He currently works in the inpatient state hospital system and provides tremendous patient care to those with severe mental illness. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check...

Join me with pharmacist, Michael Shuman, PharmD, for our next series on DTCA and Marketing of Healthcare.  DTCA stands for Direct-To-Consumer-Advertising, of medications and diagnoses, to the American public.  Our stance is this has had a tremendously negative impact on the quality of American healthcare, and has likely contributed to falling life expectancy and polypharmacy, or being on too many...

Enjoy this explanation and teaser of what's to come in my new mental health/medical podcast, Renegade Psych. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to the information we've presented here, if you'd like to be a guest to the show, or if you have general comments, questions, or...

Here, we reveal some of the actual clinical trial data about Aducanumab and Lecanamab, two Alzheimer's drugs that lowered the bar of FDA approval to an all-time low, revealing an absolute disregard for safety and efficacy of novel drugs and their potential negative impact on the American public. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Reneg...

We discuss the historical transition from before DTCA to its emergence in the 1980s, and subsequent legislation that allowed it to flourish in the mid-to-late 1990s. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to the information we've presented here, if you'd like to be a guest to...

In this segment, we discuss what DTCA is, different types of pharmaceutical ads, and the role of marketing in the American, and New Zealand's, healthcare system, the only two countries in the world where DTCA of pharmaceutical products is legal. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or ch...

Our rant from this series is about the drug Vioxx's scandal from the early 2000s, a drug that has been implicated as contributing to hundreds of thousands of deaths and disabilities, and one in which Merck prioritized profits over Americans' health outcomes. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, qu...

Join Michael and I for our closing thoughts on the subject of DTCA and Marketing in Healthcare and stick around after for a listen to a local Louisville artist, Jack Rabbit and the Dirty Hares, with their song, 'Wyoming.' Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to the informat...

Here, we discuss some possible solutions to the problems posed by DTCA and marketing of healthcare, outside of the obvious solution of banning DTCA, which we don't have much faith will happen anytime soon in the United States. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to the inf...

Join us to discuss some pertinent examples of bad research and problems with the FDA Approval process, especially in mental health and with psychiatric medications. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to the information we've presented here, if you'd like to be a guest to...

These are a few segments pieced together that talk about Sexual Side Effects of psychiatric medications.  We reveal a company that has tried to hijack and market one of the major side effects of SSRI antidepressants as a treatment for premature ejaculation, at the expense of potentially numbing sexual pleasure and sensation for months or even years.  This example of how companies prioritize profit...

Here, Michael gives us a little bit of insight into his personal life and hobbies. Thanks for listening.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @Renegadepsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to the information we've presented here, if you'd like to be a guest to the show, or if you have general comments, questions, or suggestions, email us at ...