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Chris Palmer, MD


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I just finished watching a youtube interview with Dr. Chris Palmer.  He is a Harvard trained Psychiatrist and has seen positive results from using a ketogenic diet as a medical intervention for his patients.  He has a book coming out later this year.  I checked out his website and thought that it might be helpful for some people.

 

https://www.chrispalmermd.com/

2012-present - Escitalopram currently 2.55 mg

Supplements:  Daytime- Green Lipped Mussel 1200mg, Omega-3s 1710mg, Wheat Germ Oil 770mg, Sodium Butyrate 1.2g, Phosphatidylcholine 2600mg, Multi-Min 2 tablets, Liposomal Glutathione 4 pumps, Probiotic 1 capsule, Beyond Balance herbal tinctures for lyme and gut healing (including one only taken during menstruation); Nighttime - L-theanine 200mg, melatonin 1mg, magnesium glycinate 400mg.

History:

2012-2017- Escitalopram 10mg

2017-2020 - Escitalopram 5mg

07/2019-11/2019 - Valium 10mg, every 2-3 days, then stopped

11/2020 - Stopped Escitalopram 5mg abruptly (crashed January 2021)

1/2021-12/2021 - Escitalopram Reinstated 2.5mg to 5 to 10 to 7.5 and then started slow taper

1/2021-2/2021 - Ativan .5mg - Took 13.5 pills over the course of 22 days and stopped

2/2021-9/2021  Hydroxyzine - 50-100mg tapering down to .8mg, then cross-tapered to Claritin and stopped

9/2021-9/2022 - Claritin 5 mg (tapered off)

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  • Moderator Emeritus

I watched the Youtube video the other day.

 

Dr. Chris Palmer - 'The Ketogenic Diet in Neurology and Psychiatry'

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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Nice!  This is the interview I watched.  It looks like there might be a few others out there.  In this one, he discusses psych meds, particularly the harm that they cause some people when starting them and the extreme difficulty he's encountered in trying to help people slowly taper off them.

 

Dr Chris Palmer

 

YT video title:  Dr. Shawn Baker Podcast | Revero

 

 

Edited by ChessieCat
added video title

2012-present - Escitalopram currently 2.55 mg

Supplements:  Daytime- Green Lipped Mussel 1200mg, Omega-3s 1710mg, Wheat Germ Oil 770mg, Sodium Butyrate 1.2g, Phosphatidylcholine 2600mg, Multi-Min 2 tablets, Liposomal Glutathione 4 pumps, Probiotic 1 capsule, Beyond Balance herbal tinctures for lyme and gut healing (including one only taken during menstruation); Nighttime - L-theanine 200mg, melatonin 1mg, magnesium glycinate 400mg.

History:

2012-2017- Escitalopram 10mg

2017-2020 - Escitalopram 5mg

07/2019-11/2019 - Valium 10mg, every 2-3 days, then stopped

11/2020 - Stopped Escitalopram 5mg abruptly (crashed January 2021)

1/2021-12/2021 - Escitalopram Reinstated 2.5mg to 5 to 10 to 7.5 and then started slow taper

1/2021-2/2021 - Ativan .5mg - Took 13.5 pills over the course of 22 days and stopped

2/2021-9/2021  Hydroxyzine - 50-100mg tapering down to .8mg, then cross-tapered to Claritin and stopped

9/2021-9/2022 - Claritin 5 mg (tapered off)

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  • Moderator Emeritus

I have been watching/listening to a lot of low carb/keto things since October last year and some people have mentioned that their mental clarity has improved after cutting the carbs.  This might simply be because they have reversed their insulin resistance and their blood flow to the brain has increased (diabetes --> reduced blood flow to feet, kidneys, eyes, slow healing of sores, so you would think that the brain would be affected).  I'm not sure if I've heard it anywhere or if I'm just making a connection.

 

I heard an interview with this a guy who started going blind (he had bleeding) and had to have needles in his eyes.  He changed to low carb/keto and he hasn't had to have the injections anymore.  I don't know how long he was on it before things improved but I am fairly certain it was only a few months.  With low carb I got my Hba1c from 7.0 to 5.2 in only 3 months, no fasting, no drugs, just cutting out the majority of sugar and carbs.  I do still have certain things in small amounts to keep my food tasting okay, because if I don't like what I'm eating I'm not going to stick to it.

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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  • 6 months later...

I finished reading the book "Brain Energy" by Dr. Chris Palmer (https://brainenergy.com/).

 

It fits with my experience of antidepressant withdrawal syndrome and provides an explanation for what happened to me.

 

The basic idea is that mental illness is a metabolic disorder, more specifically, the mitochondrial dysfunction.  When mitochondria aren't functioning properly, all sorts of systems in the body are impacted, so numerous mental and physical symptoms can result.

 

According to Palmer, here are some of the things that impact metabolic function:

  • Medications
  • Inflammation
  • Sleep
  • Food
  • Drugs and Alcohol
  • Physical activity
  • Trauma

According to Palmer, there are a number of metabolic interventions that could help, including:

  • Regulating sleep
  • Light therapy
  • Addressing nutritional deficiencies
  • Removing allergens and toxins
  • Fasting
  • Mediterranean diet
  • Ketogenic diet (the one used to treat Epilepsy)
  • Avoiding antibiotic exposure
  • Avoiding highly processed foods
  • Probiotics / improving gut microbiome
  • Exercise
  • Psychotherapy
  • Developing close relationships

I'm pretty sure all of these interventions are discussed on this website daily! 

 

Palmer is clear that those struggling with mental illness should work with their doctors and other practitioners to implement any intervention.  Palmer also notes that "stopping psychiatric medications can be difficult and dangerous." More than once.

 

Depending on where you are in your recovery process, if you are able to read and synthesize information, this is a good read that lays the groundwork for future research.

2012-present - Escitalopram currently 2.55 mg

Supplements:  Daytime- Green Lipped Mussel 1200mg, Omega-3s 1710mg, Wheat Germ Oil 770mg, Sodium Butyrate 1.2g, Phosphatidylcholine 2600mg, Multi-Min 2 tablets, Liposomal Glutathione 4 pumps, Probiotic 1 capsule, Beyond Balance herbal tinctures for lyme and gut healing (including one only taken during menstruation); Nighttime - L-theanine 200mg, melatonin 1mg, magnesium glycinate 400mg.

History:

2012-2017- Escitalopram 10mg

2017-2020 - Escitalopram 5mg

07/2019-11/2019 - Valium 10mg, every 2-3 days, then stopped

11/2020 - Stopped Escitalopram 5mg abruptly (crashed January 2021)

1/2021-12/2021 - Escitalopram Reinstated 2.5mg to 5 to 10 to 7.5 and then started slow taper

1/2021-2/2021 - Ativan .5mg - Took 13.5 pills over the course of 22 days and stopped

2/2021-9/2021  Hydroxyzine - 50-100mg tapering down to .8mg, then cross-tapered to Claritin and stopped

9/2021-9/2022 - Claritin 5 mg (tapered off)

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  • 2 months later...

Just thought I would chime in with some personal experience.  A ketogenic diet during the end of a pregnancy helped me control gestational diabetes. I should have stayed with it, but didn't.

 

Recently I was on a carnivore diet to experiment with an autoimmune issue. Not only did it help with that, I suddenly had very noticeable reduced inflammation in my joints, more energy, better sleep, and weight loss that balanced out after losing close to 35 lbs. And incredibly, my previous mood/hormones that were steadily getting worse as I am perimenopausal were drastically improved (as in disappeared) including pms acne. This was done during a very stressful time in life (grieving the loss of a parent while caregiving another with dementia). So to have these results were desperately needed definitely welcomed.

 

Although it's not strictly ketogenic nor pure carnivore (somewhere in between), I can really tell a difference in all problem areas when I go off track occasionally.

2001-2023 Alcohol use; 2022-2023 Alcohol Harm Reduction (self-taper); Feb 5, 2023 Last drink

Feb 8, 2023 Alcohol withdrawal; ER/hospital; involuntary hold. 

Feb 13 Involuntary rehab. Lexapro 10 mg; Zyprexa 5 mg; Trazodone 100 mg

March 8 & 9 No drugs taken (prescription was delayed); March 10 - Resumed all drugs 

 Zyprexa taper 2023 March 28--> 4.5 mg; April 25 -->4.05mg; May 23 -->3.65 mg

June 20-->3.47 mg; July 4 -->3.28 mg; July 25 -->3.12 mg; Aug 8 --> 2.8 mg; Aug 22 --> 2.63 mg;

Sept. 6 --> 2.5 mg (holding) 

Trazodone taper 2023 Sept 19--> 90 mg; Nov. 7 --> 85.5 mg (holding) 

Lexapro taper 2023 Oct. 25--> 9.5 mg; Nov. 7 --> 9 mg

 

Supplements: magnesium glycinate, omega-3 fish oil

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Not sure if this has been posted before, but here he is as a guest on Mikhaila Peterson's podcast.

2001-2023 Alcohol use; 2022-2023 Alcohol Harm Reduction (self-taper); Feb 5, 2023 Last drink

Feb 8, 2023 Alcohol withdrawal; ER/hospital; involuntary hold. 

Feb 13 Involuntary rehab. Lexapro 10 mg; Zyprexa 5 mg; Trazodone 100 mg

March 8 & 9 No drugs taken (prescription was delayed); March 10 - Resumed all drugs 

 Zyprexa taper 2023 March 28--> 4.5 mg; April 25 -->4.05mg; May 23 -->3.65 mg

June 20-->3.47 mg; July 4 -->3.28 mg; July 25 -->3.12 mg; Aug 8 --> 2.8 mg; Aug 22 --> 2.63 mg;

Sept. 6 --> 2.5 mg (holding) 

Trazodone taper 2023 Sept 19--> 90 mg; Nov. 7 --> 85.5 mg (holding) 

Lexapro taper 2023 Oct. 25--> 9.5 mg; Nov. 7 --> 9 mg

 

Supplements: magnesium glycinate, omega-3 fish oil

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