40.1 The Tylenol-Autism Controversy

Join Renegade Psych as Roman Wyden (ADHD is Over podcast and book) and I delve into Part 3 of the topic of ADHD in America, where we utilize 100x more ADHD medications than the rest of the world's combined average, and the vast majority of the world's overall amphetamine stimulant usage.  Roman is motivated by personal experience and found himself at a crossroads when his 7-year old's teacher and principal advised Roman and his then-wife that their child would need to be treated for ADHD in order to remain in the school due to behavioral problems.  This just didn't sit right with Roman and it launched him onto his latest mission of understanding ADHD and appropriate treatments for it aside from just prescribing stimulants or non-stimulant medications.  As a concerned and caring father, it's easy to see the passion Roman has shine through in this conversation... another parent just trying to decide what's best for their kid in a sea of conflicting information on ADHD and its treatment options.  Is some of this conflicting information DRIVEN by big pharmaceutical interests that profit off of medication treatment of ADHD?  I mean, WE (in the US) prescribe, BY A LARGE MARGIN, more amphetamines than any other country in the world, and it begs the questions... Are we overtreating and overmedicating ADHD here in the United States?  Join us for this 3-part series where we dive deeper into the nuance around this REAL neurobiological phenomenon AND the REAL manipulative side of research and science promoting stimulant treatment for all who 'meet the ADHD criteria' (not to be confused with actually evaluating for dopamine deficiency in the frontal lobe of the individual's brain).  ENJOY! If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

Join Renegade Psych as Roman Wyden (ADHD is Over podcast and book) delve into the topic of ADHD in America, where we utilize 100x more ADHD medications than the rest of the world's combined average, and the vast majority of the world's overall amphetamine stimulant usage.  Roman is motivated by personal experience and found himself at a crossroads when his 7-year old's teacher and principal advised Roman and his then-wife that their child would need to be treated for ADHD in order to remain in the school due to behavioral problems.  This just didn't sit right with Roman and it launched him onto his latest mission of understanding ADHD and appropriate treatments for it aside from just prescribing stimulants or non-stimulant medications.  As a concerned and caring father, it's easy to see the passion Roman has shine through in this conversation... another parent just trying to decide what's best for their kid in a sea of conflicting information on ADHD and its treatment options.  Is some of this conflicting information DRIVEN by big pharmaceutical interests that profit off of medication treatment of ADHD?  I mean, WE (in the US) prescribe, BY A LARGE MARGIN, more amphetamines than any other country in the world, and it begs the questions... Are we overtreating and overmedicating ADHD here in the United States?  Join us for this 3-part series where we dive deeper into the nuance around this REAL neurobiological phenomenon AND the REAL manipulative side of research and science promoting stimulant treatment for all who 'meet the ADHD criteria' (not to be confused with actually evaluating for dopamine deficiency in the frontal lobe of the individual's brain).  ENJOY! If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

Join Renegade Psych as Roman Wyden (ADHD is Over podcast and book) delve into the topic of ADHD in America, where we utilize 100x more medications than the rest of the world combined in treating ADHD.  Roman found himself at a crossroads when his 7-year olds teacher and principal advised his child would need to be treated for ADHD in order to remain in the school due to behavioral problems.  This just didn't sit right with Roman and it launched him onto his latest mission of understanding ADHD and appropriate treatments for it aside from just prescribing stimulants or non-stimulant medications.  As a concerned and caring father, it's easy to see the passion Roman has shine through in this conversation... another parent just trying to decide what's best for their kid in a sea of conflicting information on ADHD and its treatment options.  Is some of this conflicting information DRIVEN by big pharmaceutical interests that profit off of medication treatment of ADHD?  I mean, WE (in the US) prescribe, BY A LARGE MARGIN, more amphetamines than any other country in the world, and it begs the questions... Are we overtreating and overmedicating ADHD here in the United States?  Join us for this 3-part series where we dive deeper into the nuance around this REAL neurobiological phenomenon AND the REAL manipulative side of research and science promoting stimulant treatment for all who 'meet the ADHD criteria' (not to be confused with actually evaluating for dopamine deficiency in the frontal lobe of the individual's brain).  ENJOY! If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

Join Connor (YouTube editor) and I as he asks me to answer Reddit's mental health questions. If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

Join us as I break down the Tylenol assocation with Autism research that's been a hot topic in the news lately.  Don't fall victim to the unilateral takes presented in the media.  The research is important, but also does not come close to proving a causation between Tylenol use during pregnancy and the later development of autism.  Come appreciate the nuance around this conversation with Renegade Psych! If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

Thanks for joining RP today for Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Matt Bernstein, MD and psychiatrist, whose personal experience with his sons' rapid development of OCD-like symptoms and subsequent failures of traditional psychiatric treatment modalities piqued his curiosity to think outside of the box and explore the high-benefit/low-risk promise of a ketogenic diet (low carb) on mental health.  In Part 2, Dr. Bernstein delves more into his personal and professional experiences with transformative ketogenic diets.  We further discuss the harmful role of sugar and insulin resistance in the gut and brain... It's almost like our entire body is connected to itself and affected by what we fuel it with... What a novel concept!  If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

Thanks for joining RP today for a conversation with Dr. Matt Bernstein, MD and psychiatrist, whose personal experience with his sons' rapid development of OCD-like symptoms and subsequent failures of traditional psychiatric treatment modalities piquing his curiosity to think outside of the box and explore the benefits of a ketogenic diet (low carb) on mental health.  His transformative experience changed the way he practices psychiatry and he emphasizes the tremendous potential benefits of ketogenesis balanced against a relatively minimal risk profile.  I really enjoyed this conversation, come back next week for PArt 2!!! If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

Thanks for joining RP for a 2025 clinical research update on Lithium.  If you missed it, Harvard just released their findings of a new multi-phase study investigating lithium's potential use in Alzheimer's as a biomarker to predict disease before it becomes clinically obvious, and also its' potential to TREAT ALZHEIMER's (and potentially other forms of dementia as well).  With ongoing trials in Parkinson's, long COVID, post-stroke and brain injuries, and beyond, chronic and low-dose lithium use may be the future answer to optimizing brain health. We'll expand on some of the findings in next week's episode! Hope you enjoy! If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

Thanks for joining RP for my series interviewing David Cohen, PhD, MSW, about the state of mental healthcare in the United States today.  In Part 3, David and I argue about lithium's therapeutic window (though he does acknowledge the potential benefits of low doses) and we further discuss the broken healthcare system. While David and I agree on most issues including fundamentally that our healthcare system is broken, our conversation at times was a bit contentious back and forth due to disagreements about where we should be practicing in the space between the full-bore biologic psychiatry movement and the anti-psychiatry movement.  While most psychotropic medications have limited effectiveness and overstated safety, some meds stand out above the rest.  I fear that taking an all-or-nothing approach to the use of medications and/or knowledge about what we're treating has inherent dangers, just as over-medicating the shit out of our entire population also brings negative outcomes.  Hope you enjoy! If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

Thanks for joining RP for my series interviewing David Cohen, PhD, MSW, about the state of mental healthcare in the United States today.  In Part 2, David and I discuss the over-diagnosis of ADHD and rapid inflation of diagnosis and medication use over the last 20-30 years (the US utilizes 90+% of the world's amphetamines, and the vast majority of all pharmaceuticals treating ADHD compared to the rest of the world), as well as the invalidity of the DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is notably NOT AT ALL statistical, and mongers up diagnoses that aren't unique from other mental health diagnoses.  This is a common trick used by big pharma to push an idea about a diagnosis in order to lay the foundation for their drug that is utilized to 'treat' the diagnosis (which, let's be real, usually ends up as a treatment of a couple of the symptoms of the diagnosis and then they call it 'statistically significant' of an effect and obtain FDA approval.  While David and I agree on most issues including fundamentally that our healthcare system is broken, our conversation at times was a bit contentious back and forth due to disagreements about where we should be practicing in the space between the full-bore biologic psychiatry movement and the anti-psychiatry movement.  While most psychotropic medications have limited effectiveness and overstated safety, some meds stand out above the rest.  I fear that taking an all-or-nothing approach to the use of medications and/or knowledge about what we're treating has inherent dangers, just as over-medicating the shit out of our entire population also brings negative outcomes.  If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  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 [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment