Bipolarcast Episode 17: Dr. Shebani Sethi

[@beccaprice7108]

I've been reducing my antipsychotics with the help of my psychiatrist and therapist, following a therapeutic ketogenic diet - psychiatrist isn't all that interested in metabolic psychiatry, so I'm pretty much doing a lot of this on my own. I am now totally off all my psychiatric meds, with a 3 month trial period to see how I do without them.

[@ketobipolar]

Thank you for sharing Becca. We always recommend to only do this with close support from your psychiatrist and a dietician. It is a serious metabolic therapy like any other that needs support and close monitoring.

[@kitkeyser]

Make sure your medical professionals are aware of your medication status. It's very important to keep them in the loop. I wish you luck though. If you need advice please feel free to reach out.

[@lilyjane1011]

Far too much bio blablah.... I'm out!

[@BeatrizHatfield-vc4ig]

My son is slowly tapering off olanzapoo and shitalopram too. He has dietician and general practitioner.

[@jeanpaultongeren125]

how are you now

[@TemoteControl]

I got banned from bipolar Reddit groups for suggesting keto- even telling them to consult with a doctor. Sad.

[@dyaneharwood2023]

Dr. Sethi is one of my heroes! She's a remarkable visionary in the field of Metabolic Psychiatry. I've been doing a vegan ketogenic diet for the past 6 months to help my bipolar one/perimenopause symptoms. Developing my well-formulated ketogenic diet, with the guidance of Advanced Ketogenic Therapies founder/nutritionist Denise Potter, has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. However, this journey hasn't been all wine & roses! I've made some major mistakes from the get-go, and I hope to share what I've learned with as many people as possible. It's wonderful to know that doctors like Dr. Sethi exist - thanks so much for another insightful interview, Iain & Matt!

[@ketobipolar]

Thanks for the comment Dyane! So great to hear this is helping you :)

[@reload7344]

I have two daughters with bi-polar disorder. One is 15 and the other is 17. We are early in following the path laid out in the book, "The better Brain" by Bonnie J. Kaplan, Phd & Julia J. Rucklidge Phd. This book discusses difficancie of micronutrients that can be remedied via supplememtaion and diet. The intersting fact is the program is promoted by Dr. Charles Popper of Harvard University and he has used this protocol for over 20 years for BP sufferers. My belief is that my wife and I can really help our daughters combining both supplementation and the ketogenic diet together. We are just at the starting point of this journey as our daughters were both diagnosed last year. Medications have been iffy at best. I would be curious if you guys would review the book and subsequent story/studies it lays out. We all may learn something together.

[@johannaschwarz9825]

Have you consulted Dr. Chris Palmer's Book/Work "Brain Energy" and his groundbreaking studies on Metabolic Psychiaymtry at Harvard Medical School and the McLean Hospital he is affiliated with? As an Austrian/EU resident I could only attend a self-pay 2 week programme there ($ 60 000; QUITE expensive!)

[@reload7344]

@johannaschwarz9825 No, we have not because what we are doing seems to be working with my rapid cycling bi-polar daughter.

[@johannaschwarz9825]

What a coincidence! I have an almost 40-years history with ULTRA RAPID CYCLING BIPOLARITY 😮😢❤ which, in fact, developed from 3 isolated episodes (1987: 1989; 2005) around 2010 into the RAPID Cycling Form (at 48; full menopause - but over here, in Innsbruck, Austria 🇦🇹 EU, no one, neither my gynaecologists, nor psychiatrists EVER thought of applying a multidisciplinary approach (hormonal balancing, nutrition et al). I am truly desperate at the moment, and hoping for a clinic, preferably in Europe, where I could, finally, consume the metabolic approach to BD. All the best for you, and your daughters. I sometimes joke, it's the WORST, as well as the COOLEST disease😮😅😂❤

[@reload7344]

@johannaschwarz9825 My daughter has been on tje True hope supplements for 4 months. Over the last three weeks, 4 weeks, we have been reducing her meds, and she is alive and vibrant. She goes to the gym every day and has been developing a social life. She has likely had BP since she was 7 and is 15 now. Seriously, you should look up the company.

[@sharidesilva9178]

Just wanted to say thank you for this channel. Everyone who contributes to providing this information is making a difference. I am so greatful for the time and effort put into organising the podcast.

[@ketobipolar]

It's an absolute privilege to share information that can help people in such profound ways. We're grateful to you for watching.

[@timedowntube]

In an evolutionary sense considering the last 250,000 years, human diets built on starch didnt even exist until the second (yes second) agricultural revolution about 12,000 years ago, (avoiding starvation at times, aside) and the genetic degredation has been pretty contant since then. Teeth dont fit, mouths have shrunk and there are the many hidden changes. Nobody is actually suited to a starch diet for a whole lifetime and hyperinsulineamia is weirdly considered normal, as are the dieases of civilizatioin. (my background is Moleculart bBochem and Immunology)

[@heathersmith6177]

Another great podcast! I have been wanting to hear from Dr. Sethi. Thank you for providing the best interviews. Also for including pioneers in the field as well as patients who have had experience with the effects of the ketogenic diet on their own mental health.

[@ketobipolar]

Thanks for listening Heather! Loved this interview, Dr. Sethi has been pioneering ketogenic metabolic therapy at her clinic since 2015, it was a privelege to speak with her. Exciting preliminary results from her keto trial for bipolar and schizophrenia: -30% reduction in central abdominal fat -11% drop in BMI -17% drop in cardiac inflammation -30% improvement in clinical global impression inventory (a psychiatric assessment) med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2022/11/metabolic-psychiatry.html

[@deborahthaler35]

Can't wait to listen!

[@ketobipolar]

Let us know your thoughts Deborah!

[@timedowntube]

My daughters BD had a long eating dissorder prior to the florrid BD emerging. I think she was "self medicating" by eating less because the carbs were so bad for her. Alas she wasnt replacing them with good fats at that point. We didnt know... Any therapies without drug company profits need lots of promotion by people getting results. Look at the success of the Carnivore community. They are disbelieved and even hated until people see them three years later in their underwaear looking fabulous and free of ilness..... The cooperation with physicians is the key A centre specialising in education and safe learning how to transition in a measured way is a no brainer. Perfect place for continual research also. Finding the money to get it funded will take a serious philanthropist Once it is set up, a constant video series (almost reality tv style) of its operation would be a great product that could help fund it.

[@nictegki]

Thank you so much! Thank you from Mexico!!!!

[@replaceablehead]

Lithium is amazing. The issue is lithium dosing is a delicate artform and most clinicians don't get near enough practice at it anymore.

[@NeseretBemient]

I agree with Dr.Shebani, that all factors and perspectives need to be considered in treating patients, including biological, nutritional, economical, psychosocial, and spiritual factors. I believe in a holistic approach is essential to understanding complex human beings with complex brains and backgrounds. As far as "home life" and trauma are concerned, a renowned traumatologist, John Briere, is said to have quipped that, if Complex PTSD were ever given its due - that is, if the role of dysfunctional parenting in adult psychological disorders was ever fully recognized, the DSM (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used by all mental health professionals), would shrink to the size of a thin pamphlet. We know from the field of epigenetics, there's no longer a debate of nature vs nurture, it's the interplay between both that results in the outcomes of illness and or wellness and resiliency. There are multiple factors at play that influence our health and state of mind. We need to be open to look at all the ways we can strengthen our brains and bodies. This is a good thing. It means there are many paths to wellness, not just one that we hyperfocus on and obsess over as "the answer" to everything. Medication has become a panaceia in western medicine and psychiatry, and although medication plays a critical role in helping people and even saving lives, it comes at a dear price for many. I speak about this from a deeply personal and vulnerable perspective on my KZbin channel entitled "The Cost of the Wrong Medications". I LOVE that Dr. Shebani shared section of the Hippocratic Oath that comes before the principle "do no harm", which apparently encourages proper nutrition, but also invites a more balanced overall approach to care. That's always the challenge for human beings, to refrain from judgement, to look at all sides, find the middle ground. In Buddhisim this is referred to as "walking the middle path." The path to becoming whole, and I like to refer to it as "returning to our wholeness" is a sacred, profound, multifaceted, and arduous process. It requires us to look within and without, in the spirit of curiosity, understanding, patience, persistence, discernment, wisdom, compassion, grace, and love. It is not for the faint of heart, and it is not a path to be approached lightly. We need to be open minded and willing to learn, grow, evolve, share, and admit our mistakes, change our perspectives, even when they are long-standing cherished core beliefs. This is what it means to be a healed healer, as suppose to a "wounded healer" or a scientist, physician, or psychiatrist. Less we forget, the first patient on the operating table is always our own SELF.

[@annaynely]

ACES is much harder to treat cuz we absorb the trauma we live + our parents' & environment trauma very deeply into our systems. Yes.

[@zivfriedman2312]

Getting patients on keto diet off the psychiatric drugs is not only due to their positive effects on the patients, it is mainly because of the side-effects from withdrawl since these are highly addictive substances, and taking a person off them, even a healthy individual, can have catastrophic consequences only because of withdrawl effects

[@marcwest1000]

Thank you Dr. Sethi. I love your passion when you talk about your work. ...'With your shinny eyes one could light up a dark village...' (This is a quote from: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGqvdKp_as54qKc). Thank you Matt and Iain for your great work on this podcast

[@ketobipolar]

Thanks for your comment Martin! Hope to see you at Keto Live in the summer!

[@annaynely]

Robert Sapolsky.

[@DigitalMarketingbyRozi]

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