Depression
Veterans Who Depend on Mental Health Care Keep L…
by Vernal Coleman, Topher Sanders, Joel Jacobs and Eric Umansky, photography by Benjamin Rasmussen for ProPublica This story was originally published by ProPublica. As Jason Beaman recounts hi…
Does Junk Food in the Diet Affect Children’…
Children in North America eat a lot of junk food. A study notes that nearly half of the calories consumed by Canadian preschoolers come from ultraprocessed foods. The investigators wanted to know whet…
Can Lithium in Water or a Supplement Prevent Alz…
The chances are good that you are exposed to some lithium almost every day of your life. That's because this natural element is plentiful in nature. It is found in rocks and soil all over the earth. T…
Unexpected GLP-1 Side Effects: Fragile Bones to …
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound are transforming medicine. They help people with type-2 diabetes control blood sugar and often lead to dramatic weight loss. Researchers are als…
Can You Overcome Depression with Exercise?
Over 40 million Americans take antidepressant medications. Millions more take anti-anxiety agents. For many people, these drugs are lifelines. Studies suggest that regular physical activity can help o…
DMT and Psilocybin: New Faster Hope for Treating…
For decades, people struggling with major depression have been told to take antidepressants every day, often for years, hoping for modest relief and bracing for side effects. It can take several weeks…
Is Pharma’s Narrow View of Depression Immo…
Dennis Miller, R.Ph. is a retired chain store pharmacist. His book, The Shocking Truth About Pharmacy: A Pharmacist Reveals All the Disturbing Secrets, can be downloaded in its entirety at Amazon for …
Bupropion Helps With Mood, Sex and Quitting Smok…
Bupropion (Wellbutrin) was first approved by the FDA in 1985 to treat depression. It remains a totally unique antidepressant. There is no similar antidepressant on the market. Unlike SSRI and SNRI ant…
How to Fight Back Against SAD This Winter
As the weather changes from a welcome chill in the air to wet and nasty to cold and icy, many people discover that they are spending more time inside. During short days, they get relatively little sun…
Show 1460: Calming Chronic Inflammation Without …
Inflammation is a double-edged sword. When you have a sudden injury or infection, your body responds by calling immune cells to the site of the problem. It may become red, swollen and painful, but all…
Mental Health Funding Chaos Puts Lives at Risk…
For 24 chaotic hours this week, the nation’s mental health system was thrown into mental health funding chaos. Thousands of programs that provide addiction treatment, crisis services, school-based c…
Exercise Is Effective Treatment for Psychologica…
Depression is debilitating, so it deserves prompt and effective treatment. Most physicians do that by writing a prescription for an antidepressant. At last count, nearly 50 million Americans swallow a…
Show 1456: Beyond the Label: The Transformative …
Do you know someone who has struggled for years to meet deadlines or manage their time? Perhaps you have a smart friend who just never did well in school (or possibly at work) because they couldn’t …
GLP-1 Depression Warning: Weight-Loss Drugs May …
Weight loss drugs such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) continue to set record sales. Most people assume that the side effects of medicines prescribed for weight l…
Bioidentical Hormones: Estrogen, Progesterone &#…
The FDA is removing the boxed warning from hormone replacement therapy (HRT). What about the bioidentical hormones? Does the green light for HRT include the bioidentical hormones estrogen, progesteron…
How To Stop Venlafaxine: Very, VERY Slowly!
It has taken the medical profession a very long time to acknowledge that many of the most popular drugs in the pharmacy can cause a kind of dependence. By that we mean such drugs can precipitate serio…
Problems with Generic Wellbutrin (Bupropion)? No…
Eighteen years ago we received a message from J. in Danville, New York about her antidepressant--generic Wellbutrin (bupropion). She said: "I have been taking Budeprion XL 300 mg for three months inst…
The Amazingly Variable Downsides of Antidepressa…
At last count, nearly 50 million Americans swallow an antidepressant medication daily. The top 6 drugs are in order: sertraline (Zoloft), escitalopram (Lexapro), bupropion (Wellbutrin), fluoxetine (Pr…
Ketogenic Diet Advantages and Disadvantages
Although the ketogenic diet is now in vogue, it is by no means a new phenomenon. Doctors began prescribing ketogenic diets containing few if any carbohydrates in the early 1920s. At that time, they ha…
Does More Screen Time Pose Hazards for Kids?
Parents have been concerned about screen time for several years. Social media has become hugely popular among teens and young adults. Does it hold dangers for younger people? Is there a link between s…
Show 1447: Falls, Fractures and Fatalities: Surp…
This week, we start the show with an interview with epidemiologist Thomas Farley, MD, MPH. His essay in JAMA Health Forum (Aug. 8, 2025) describes why older Americans are dying of falls at an alarming…
Young Woman Suffers Long-lasting Sertraline Side…
When a healthcare provider gets ready to offer a patient a prescription, there are a few questions they should answer before the transaction is complete. Patients should know what they are taking and …
How To Stop Duloxetine (Cymbalta) Without Withdr…
Based on what we hear from readers of our syndicated newspaper column and visitors to this website, most patients are not warned about how to stop duloxetine (Cymbalta). Perhaps the prescriber assumes…
Rediscovering Low-Dose Lithium for Mood Disorder…
Lithium is a chemical element that is widespread in nature. You can find it in the earth's crust, in water and even in the food you eat. Depending upon where you live, there is a good chance that ther…
Rx for Disaster: Why Common Meds Are Silently Ki…
Americans are dying from an invisible killer far faster than their counterparts in rest of the developed world. These deaths are mostly unreported and ignored by the healthcare system. I am referring …
Will a Free Lunch Influence Your Doctor’s …
Ask most physicians whether a free lunch from a drug company would affect their prescribing patterns and the chances are pretty good that they would say no. Some would be highly insulted by the very i…
Antidepressant Withdrawal: A Scandal the FDA and…
When most people hear the word "withdrawal" they think of drug abuse. Alcoholics who stop drinking suddenly can experience delirium tremens or the DTs. Going "cold turkey" after injecting heroin for w…
Should Women Worry About Antidepressants During …
When women are pregnant, they frequently worry that something they swallow will harm the developing baby. The debate about antidepressants during pregnancy has been going on a long time. Now, an FDA p…
Do You Trust Prescription Drug Ads? A Harris Pol…
Do you watch television? If so, you have almost inevitably seen commercials for medications we hope you will never need. If you are like a lot of our visitors, you are sick and tired of prescription d…
Show 1437: Why Modern Life Breaks Our Brains and…
In this episode, we acknowledge the many reasons that people may be feeling anxious or depressed. It often seems that current conditions are designed to break our brains. Perhaps that’s why 60 milli…
Antidepressant Sertraline Withdrawal Feels Like …
Doctors have been prescribing tranquilizers and anti-anxiety agents for centuries. Antidepressants are more recent. They weren't discovered until the 1950s. When a doctor prescribes so-called anxiolyt…
Are There Different Ways to Help a New Type of D…
According to the CDC, 16 million adults will suffer from depression this year. This illness has a negative impact on mood, thinking and behavior. It takes the joy out of activities that are normally p…
Do Psychological Benefits from Psilocybin Last?
Eight years ago, scientists at New York University Langone Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University described an extraordinary pilot study. Both research groups reported that cancer patients could …
Ketamine for Surgery Lifts Depression – Too Mu…
Sometimes patients discover a new use for an old drug on their own. It’s what we call serendipity. The Oxford Reference defines serendipity as: “The occurrence and development of events by chance…
Trapped in Treatment: Antidepressant Research Ha…
According to investigative journalist Gardiner Harris in his book, No More Tears, "Purdue first built OxyContin into a sales and addiction juggernaut in large measure because the company promised doct…
Are Men Taking Prostate Drugs More Likely to Be …
Medications to shrink an enlarged prostate may contribute to depression. Doctors have not previously recognized this possible side effect for men taking prostate drugs. What Do Prostate Drugs Do? Drug…
MAO Inhibitors Are Oldies but Goodies for Stubbo…
Psychiatrists estimate that depression affects as many as 1 out of 10 Americans. Teenagers and young adults are even more vulnerable, with as many as 17% impacted. There are ongoing questions about th…
Show 1188: The Healing Potential of Psychedelic …
Many indigenous peoples around the world have developed traditional uses for psychedelic compounds. In Western medicine, these were mostly unknown until Albert Hoffmann synthesized LSD (lysergic acid …
Why You Should Eat the Mediterranean Way
The Mediterranean diet has been associated with a number of health benefits. We have written previously about studies showing that a Mediterranean-style eating plan can protect the brain, reduce arthr…
Do Antidepressants Prevent Pain Relief After Sur…
Surgery can be quite painful. Thank goodness for anesthesia! Imagine what it would be like if you had to have an appendectomy or knee replacement surgery while wide awake. Ouch! Fortunately, you can s…