Posts by Dave
Robin Williams dies…of what? Reprise
We already know that Robin Williams was surgically treated for a heart problem, that he had what mainstream medicine calls a depressive disorder. Today we learn from his wife that he also had Parkinson’s disease. As I write in Beyond Mental Illness, the immune system can be pathologically activated to contribute to depression not only from infections but also from stress. Lyme disease is one of the infections that has been linked to depression, Parkinson’s and heart disease, not to mention MS and ALS. This is not to suggest that Williams had Lyme disease, but it is to suggest that the current stove-piped diagnoses so prevalent in medicine and, especially...
Read MoreRobin Williams dies…of what?
How sad to lose such a talented comic before his time. Mrs Doubtfire is a favorite of many. My favorite is the simple and charming cult classic, Popeye. As I watched the expert talking heads on TV discussing his dual diagnosis, I feel compelled to throw in my two cents so here it is. Conventional Wisdom says two psychiatric diseases, a depressive disorder and an addictive disorder contributed to his death. His depression may have worsened due to heart surgery. In Beyond Mental Illness I argue that oxidative stress plays a role in both depression and heart disease. Depression doesn’t cause heart problems. Depression and heart problems can be a result of, among...
Read MoreNo Lyme? Now What?
The second Advance labs test taken in November between episodes came back showing no evidence of spirochetes. What does this mean? I had the opportunity to meet innovative health care providers Dr David Martz and Dr Neil Rawlins at the Physicians Roundtable conference in March. Dr Martz successfully treated his ALS with IV Rocephin. He had (has?) Lyme disease. Dr Rawlins is an OB GYN doctor from Washington State who is highly knowledgeable about methylation, a subject I discuss in Beyond Mental Illness. During a social event, I told both of them of Chris’s remarkable 19 month period of stability, the longest ever since his first psychotic episode in 1999. During much...
Read MoreThe whole truth, and nothing but the “psychiatric” truth
Now that the books are finally out the door, it is time to give a progress report. While taking the antibiotics, supplements and antibiotics, Chris had a 19 month run of good health during which time he held a job, not a small accomplishment, given his previous history of multiple episodes. He had been doing so well that his psychiatrist slowly took him off the Haldol while continuing with Depakote and Seroquel. She recommended that he stop taking the antibiotics. I argued that until we knew that the infections were gone, I thought he should stay on them. Chris maintained his compliance with his psychiatrists treatment program, but did not take his antibiotics,...
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