14. Traumatic Brain Injury with Dr. Mark Gordon

Episode Summary

Today’s guest is Dr. Mark Gordon, a neuroendocrinologist who has pioneered the hormonal and nutritional approaches to diagnosing and treating TBI. TBIs are commonly caused by concussions from sports injuries, falling and hitting your head, and whiplash from car accidents. TBIs create depression, insomnia, psychosis, anxiety, difficulty coping with stress, anger outburst, and more. Symptoms can appear years after the original injury. Within our active and veteran military populations TBIs sustained during training and in combat are a tragic underlying cause of depression and suicide. Dr. Gordon discusses his work with patients and what he’s doing through the US Veterans Health Administration to help active duty and military veterans heal from TBIs.

Key Takeaways To Tune In For

• [00:42] What commonly causes TBI
• [02:32] Dr. Gordon’s struggle with depression, cognitive impairment, and mood swings and how that led him to become interested in TBI.
• [04:36] Brain hormones and neurosteroids that regulate how we experience the world
• [05:46] Current approach to brain injuries
• [06:30] How COVID-19 and other virus affect the brain
• [07:12] Inflammation in the brain as the second phase of injury that creates the psychiatric conditions people experience
• [07:30] Dr. Gordon’s approach to identifying underlying deficits in hormones that are produced in the brain or other parts of the body
• [08:45] Laboratory tests used and how they’re interpreted
• [12:21] Dr. Gordon’s work with active-duty military and veterans and why the military community suffers from high rates of homelessness, depression, and suicide
• [14:37] The VA System is not looking at the causation and how they approach symptoms of TBI
• [15:00] Why the long term use of antidepressants can cause horrible side effects
• [16:31] Ex-Green Beret, Andrew Marr, who was on a multitude of medication and drinking a bit, and how Dr. Gordon’s approach changed his life and opened the gate to Special Ops soldiers seeking out this treatment approach
• [20:30] Dr. Gordon has adjusted his approach to getting better results for his patients with the help of the data he’s been collecting
• [22:18] All about treatment-resistant depression and how past trauma can affect you years later
• [23:30] Hormones that have been found to be treatment-resistant
• [26:45] Why nutrition is important when dealing with TBI
• [28:30] How testosterone can drop inflammation in the body
• [30:09] Free testosterone is the key to our health
• [31:45] Dr. Gordon’s parting words

Resources talked about in this episode

• Guest website – TBI Help Now
• Guest social media – Warrior Angels Foundation’s Facebook

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