July 30, 2025 • 30 mins
Methylene blue might be the most intriguing medical compound you've never heard of—unless you've been scrolling through TikTok lately. Kevin and Colmie dive deep into this fascinating substance that began life as a simple cloth dye in 1876 before finding its way into medicine.
The contrast between scientific reality and social media hype creates a compelling narrative. While the FDA has approved methylene blue for only one rare blood disorder (methemoglobinemia), researchers are conducting over 1,200 clinical trials involving some 2,800 participants to explore its potential in treating everything from Alzheimer's disease to cancer. Meanwhile, influencers are promoting it as an anti-aging miracle and cognitive enhancer—the real-life version of the fictional "limitless" drug.
Kevin and Colmie carefully separate scientific fact from dangerous fiction, explaining how methylene blue functions as both a diagnostic tool and potential treatment. They outline the serious risks of self-experimentation, particularly for people with G6PD deficiency or those taking antidepressants, where interactions can be life-threatening. Their thoughtful exploration highlights a crucial message about trusting medical professionals over social media trends when it comes to health decisions.
The hosts also share details about their podcast's annual contest, inviting listeners to send fan mail for a chance to win personalized artwork. Their warm, conversational approach makes complex medical information accessible while emphasizing the importance of evidence-based medicine over trending health fads. Whether you're curious about cutting-edge medical research or concerned about harmful health trends circulating online, this episode offers valuable insights delivered with care and humor.
The circle app is free to use app available in the App Store or Play Store.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kevin (00:00):
Sounds right.
Welcome to our podcast.
When Life Gives you Lemons, I'mKevin.
Palmi (00:06):
And I'm Palmi.
We consider ourselvesdisability advocates and intend
to spotlight some disabilityissues and things we find
interesting that we frequentlyencounter when we're out and
about.
Also some history on disabilitythat we find interesting.
Welcome back, guys.
This is when Life Gives youLemons.
Kevin (00:28):
And this week we're talking about methylene blue.
Palmi (00:34):
And why are we talking about this, Kevin?
Kevin (00:36):
Well, one of the websites that we've previously mentioned
or recommended is calledAccessible Go.
They invest quite a bit intowhat they're doing.
They have purchased a communityapplication that you can sign
(00:56):
up for.
It's called the CircleCommunity.
Once you get into Circle andyou can choose your community,
you look for the accessible gocommunity and in that they have
several subcategories, liketravelers, just miscellaneous
(01:19):
questions, what have you and, uh, those folks have in the past
been very frequently active andanswer my questions about, say,
a certain disability condition Idon't have.
Palmi (01:38):
Yeah, and we use that app for when we travel about and
make reservations and stuff likethat, so it's been very helpful
for us, yeah it has been veryhelpful.
Okay, so it was methylene blue.
Is that what you said?
Methylene blue, yes, Methyleneblue, sorry.
Kevin (01:55):
Most commonly, assuming you've been.
Almost all of us have been tothe doctors.
Almost all of this has beendone by doctors.
But if they've used a wryimaging or really any sort of
imaging with contrast, methyleneblue is what they're using.
Palmi (02:16):
So I didn't know anything about it.
So it was very interesting andapparently it's.
Kevin (02:27):
I know you hate this topic, or I hate this word, but
it is kind of trending right now.
Yeah, trending is one of thecounter-trenders and we'll get
more into that later.
Palmi (02:35):
So methylene blue it is known as methylene-ism.
Kevin (02:41):
Let's talk a little bit about that story.
First About what it's history.
Yeah, that's what.
A little bit about its historyfirst About what.
Its history.
Palmi (02:47):
Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.
It started out as a cloth dye.
Back in 1876.
Kevin (02:56):
Yeah, and it you know previously, blue and purple were
, kind of by default, a littlebit more expensive than other
colors, so not that many peoplecould get it.
So in the 19th century chemistswere being tried by well, let's
(03:22):
see what we can come up with todo things cheaper in this area.
Palmi (03:30):
And dye things blue and purple.
And it's classified as a salt.
It's a salt, yeah yeah.
And they used it as a dyeoriginally to dye different
things with, but then later on,they realized that it luminized
luminous and light and theystarted using it in medicines
(03:56):
Right away.
Originally they used it to helpwith urinary tract infections
and malaria, but then othermedicines came about and were
more effective than it was.
It took longer for it to cure,right, right now.
Kevin (04:19):
I'm just going to throw this out there, it may fit in
better later.
Or this other it may fit inbetter later, but it's involved
in over 1,200 clinical trialsRight now.
Currently those are eitherongoing clinical trials or
playing critical trials.
(04:39):
I think, polly, you mentionedthat 2,800 individuals are
involved in those trials rightnow.
So obviously, because they likelarge numbers and studies, all
the studies are not ongoing.
They just have them planned outperhaps or in the stages of
(05:04):
being planned no, I haven'tmentioned that yet, but we were
going to do that later.
Palmi (05:09):
So, um, but right now, like he said, it's really.
Um, we've mentioned it wastrending, but it's also very,
very uh, it's an old medicinethat's becoming very popular in
the medical community right now.
Like, like Kevin said, it's outthere and they're starting to
discover it has a lot of rightnow.
(05:31):
The FDA approves it for twothings, and I'm going to need
help and we're not even surewe're saying it right but the
FDA approves it for a specificdisease, and this disease is a
rare blood disease where thehemoglobin can't carry oxygen
properly.
Kevin, you want to try to shootout this.
Kevin (05:53):
I'm going to take a stab at it I won't scare and see I'm
wrong, but it's methylmogamemiaMethamog, methamog.
Palmi (06:01):
Methamog.
Kevin (06:01):
Methamog, methamog, methamog, methamog, methamog,
methamog, methamog, methamog.
Palmi (06:08):
Methamog, methamog, methamog, methamog, methamog,
methamog, methamog, methamog,methamog, methamog, meth.
So that right now is the onlyFDA approval as medicine that it
is approved for.
However, like Kevin said,there's all kinds of studies
(06:31):
right now where they think itmight be very helpful, and the
reason it's kind of a big thingright now is because a lot of
influencers on TikTok areclaiming that it has because of
this ability to take oxygen.
To carry oxygen properlythrough your body is kind of
(06:52):
what happens when you, when wewere younger and it happened.
We do less of that as we age,so they've clicked onto this and
figured out that maybe it's ananti aging clicked onto this and
figured out that maybe it's ananti-aging.
I want to say the big pharmadoes want you to know about it.
(07:12):
It's like a secret.
You know, like a youth, what isit?
Everybody's looking for thefountain of youth.
Yeah, so that's the big TikTokthing going around right now,
but it's really controversialbecause it is an actual medicine
and there are side effects.
When you use something likethis, when it's not used for
what it's meant for, becausethere specifically is a side
(07:38):
effect, there is.
They've proven that.
If you have a Sorry, there'slots of research done here.
Kevin did a lot of research onthis and I'm trying to fumble
through it here.
Do you remember what the Iremember Okay so people with
(08:01):
G6PH deficiency, which is acommon genetic condition, can
suffer serious side effects,like anemia and jaundice, from
even a small dosage.
And it can also dangerouslyinteract with antidepressants,
which is pretty popular in thissociety right now, and
(08:23):
potentially lead to serotoninsyndrome, which I think that
means, like depression, causesmajor depression.
So you know there, you wouldn'twant to take this.
People are doing this.
It's called going off label.
This it's called um going offlabel and um just kind of
(08:51):
experimenting with this on theirown and this I guess supposedly
this is happening on um x orformerly twitter, and it's being
discussed about anti-agingremedies and cognitive
enhancements and stuff like thatas of right in July 2025.
It's been reported to increaseenergy, focus and mental clarity
while using it and boost yourbrain power and pairs
(09:16):
mitochondria.
So these claims have not beenbacked up by any robust clinical
evidence or considered and areconsidered experimental, with
warnings about potential risk tokidney disease, dna harm and
also warnings about possibledeath.
So again, we've told you thisseveral times in our podcast
(09:40):
previously we are not doctors,we don't claim to to be, we have
no medical experiencewhatsoever, but and we only do
research via the web, web,internet, which we all know, you
know the web internet is notalways perfect, so we influencer
(10:07):
is telling you to do it.
Kevin (10:11):
You might want to consult somebody that knows a little
bit more than the influencer.
The influencer on social mediais making money online.
They're usually making money bytheir videos they post on.
Palmi (10:30):
Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook.
Kevin (10:39):
You know, all the platforms for the kind of thing
have reward systems or monetaryrewards, or they could just be
paid by whoever to say whateverright, but it certainly does
look like it may be a very umpositive uh drug once all the
(11:06):
research has been done.
Yeah, A lot of times aftermedical research is done and
something gets removed for use,the doctors will know that it is
, you know, treating, say,convulsions and epilepsy.
(11:27):
In my case I don't haveepilepsy but I share a drug with
epileptics because it reducesmy muscular contractions,
involuntary muscularcontractions, which I guess is
kind of like a mild seizure, Iguess you could say.
Palmi (11:53):
Or loss of muscle control .
Basically.
Kevin (11:53):
Lots of controlled my muscles.
But the drug I'm taking, really, when a doctor just a general
doctor, not a movement disorderspecialist who knows it may have
more than one use, sees thatyou'll say oh you're epileptic.
(12:19):
And I'll have to get that longexplanation.
Palmi (12:24):
no, and also it's used for depression and stuff like
that.
So sometimes it's confusing.
I take a drug that is a drugthat they use for depression,
but I use it to enlarge myesophagus because one of the
side effects is it enlarges youresophagus.
(12:46):
So a lot of times doctors usethe side effects that they they
find that happen in a drug likethat and use use the side effect
as long as the there's no, nocounter effects, um, based from
you using it like that.
So that's what I use mine foris my esophagus is uh, it closes
(13:08):
up and so I use it to enlargemy esophagus.
So I don't have, I have GERDs,and so it closes and enlarges my
esophagus.
So you never know what a drugis and you hear these drug
advertisements on TV about allthe side effects you know on
every drug that's out there.
So every drug has a side effect.
Kevin (13:33):
And, if I'm not mistaken, the FDA requires when they
submit a drug for testing theyhave to list like 10 side
effects, even if there are zero.
Palmi (13:46):
Right.
They have to like Well anythingthat may happen has to be
listed.
Kevin (13:51):
They have to like get creative and say well, this guy
had food poisoning, so he couldsay diarrhea and nausea.
Yeah, and they kind of have twothey could talk about.
Palmi (14:04):
Methylene blue is also used as a diagnostic tool.
It's used in lymph nodedissections and to test for
urinary tract leaks and forfistulas.
Kevin (14:18):
So it is used because it does it lights up very nicely
when used in imaging for tissueRight Because it does flow
(14:39):
around, get lodged in tissue andthe image they get back out of
that how ice tissue.
They may not have been able tosee clearly without it.
Palmi (14:50):
So there's lots of good hope that this will have lots of
good stuff happen in the future.
But as we said, you know, don'tbe experimenting with it on
yourself right now.
Kevin (15:01):
As of right now, in 2025, it's got one disease it can
treat and anything beyond thatthat talk to your doctor and get
the real scoop so it says it'sterminal uh half-life is 5 to 24
(15:22):
hours.
Palmi (15:23):
When given interveniously , monitoring is recommended,
especially in uh.
Apparently they use it inveterinary uses where it can
cause oxidization damage in redblood cells, particularly in
cats.
And then there's also onemedical, non-medical application
(15:46):
they use it in aquaculture totreat fungal infections,
bacterias, viruses and nitratepoisoning in fish.
Kevin (15:58):
Okay, it's also used as a dye in the treatment of some of
these conditions, but it'sstrictly used as a dye.
I say again, I'm going tomutilate some words that I'm not
(16:21):
familiar with.
So, infosfamide-inducedencephalopathy, which is a rare
chemo-related brain toxicity,again, it's administered in the
(16:45):
affected area, in the affectedarea to highlight what tissues
may have been affected by, I'massuming it was some sort of
chemotherapy, and it's also usedto explore early stage
(17:06):
Alzheimer's.
Ie what tissue of the brain hasalready been affected?
Palmi (17:11):
or not.
Kevin (17:13):
In other words, they can get MRIs that show your brain's
blue without a functional FRI,which is a whole other ball of
wax, you know, where the part ofyour brain lights up that's
being used, which can take quitea while because I'm sure there
(17:35):
are many parts that evolved intesting in Alzheimer's On this.
They just see, okay, whattissue's not looking normal,
right, what tissue is notlooking normal?
Palmi (17:51):
Right what tissue is affected by being lit up for
some reason.
So those are areas that they'rehoping that the research will
help is Alzheimer's disease andcognitive decline.
Kevin (18:03):
It's also used in what's called the BLOSH trial, which is
being used in concert withother drugs in critical care to
treat septic shock.
Palmi (18:19):
And septic shock.
I didn't know what it is, butit's organ injury or damage,
infection with low bloodpressure, abnormally in cell and
then also in cancer treatment.
The early phase trials areassessing the potential of
(18:43):
enhancing chemotherapychemotherapy or acting as a
radio sensitivity in cancerslike glioblastism and breast
cancer.
And then neuropsychologic andmetabolic disorders.
Some studies are investigatingthey're investigating its role
(19:05):
in mood regulation andmitochondria function and
oxidative studies, stressstudies and, as we said before,
over 2,800 individuals areparticipating in the related
studies, trials on using the.
(19:27):
So I think it's as clear as mud.
Kevin (19:33):
Well, I'm reading this one part.
It basically is saying the samething you said, but it's not
mentioning TikTok or influencersor trending or anything like
that.
It's being touted as alimitless drug.
Palmi (19:54):
A what?
Kevin (19:55):
Limitless drug.
Palmi (19:57):
Yeah, well, that's what their hopes are in the future
with all these trials.
Kevin (20:00):
Yeah, I think they're trying to find the limits, so
it's not necessarily going to bea limitless drug anymore.
Palmi (20:09):
Yeah, I hope so.
We're always in hope.
I mean you and I.
I mean we're out here looking.
I mean right now you have anend-of-life diagnosis.
I mean right now you have anend-of-life diagnosis, so you're
always hoping that somethingcomes up and they have this
miracle cure that will cure.
I mean there's hundreds ofthousands of people like you
(20:31):
that are hoping for a miraclecure.
Kevin (20:35):
Well, the bottom line in my case is, if they were to find
a cure and stop it, great, butit's not going to cure me, so to
speak.
It's not going to make thedamage that's been done be
undone.
Palmi (20:54):
No, no, never know.
Kevin (20:57):
We'll see.
Palmi (20:59):
If you're going to have hope, you might as well have
100% hope.
Yes, might as well, go for thebrass ring.
Kevin (21:06):
I'm going to hope my fairy godmother comes by and
snaps her fingers and saysBibbidi-bobbidi-boo, you get the
whole pumpkin and I just get acomplete life do-over.
How's that?
Palmi (21:22):
Might as well go for it.
Hope is not limited.
Might as well go for it all.
So final thoughts guys, ifyou're considering methylene
blue, especially off-label uses,consult your healthcare
provider.
The evidence leads towards it'sbeing safe for that one
(21:44):
specific disease that we can'tpronounce, but other uses are
debated and need more research.
Key point is it is only usedfor that one disease a condition
where blood cannot carry oxygenwell disease, a condition where
blood cannot carry oxygen welland it seems likely to be
effective for only that purposeat this time.
Proven for that purpose at thistime.
(22:05):
Research suggests that it haspotential benefits for
microchondric functions andresearch suggests it may have
potential benefits for cognitivehealth.
But these uses are not yetproven or FDA approved.
These controversies aroundoff-label uses like anti-aging,
(22:31):
with some claiming benefits andothers warning of risks like
kidney diseases, kidney damage.
So approach these with cautionor just don't approach them,
would be my suggestion.
Uh, it can cause side, seriousside effects like headaches and
nausea.
It's risky for people with thesix g6 ph deficiency, which who
(22:54):
knows?
If you have that until suddenlyyou have, you have terrible
side effects.
Or those with certainmedications.
So medical advice is essentialbefore you do anything like that
.
Kevin (23:08):
Definitely.
I'm assuming it might beassociated also with either a
dietary restriction, maybe anallergy or something like that.
Palmi (23:28):
Well it's your DNA.
Kevin (23:29):
So yeah, People don't know what's in their DNA until
you have DNA tests.
If you have an allergicreaction, to say bee stings, you
don't necessarily know whichgene causes that.
So a doctor may, becausebecause doctors read this kind
(23:49):
of stuff.
Palmi (23:51):
But it may be too late after you've done it.
Kevin (23:53):
I doubt they make the words as badly as we do.
Palmi (23:58):
That's why we weren't doctors.
Yeah, okay, so let weren'tdoctors.
Yeah, okay, so let's do somehouse cleaning.
Housekeeping, sorry, housecleaning, that's my job.
Kevin (24:08):
If you're house cleaning, call me.
Palmi (24:11):
Don't call me, I'm not involved in this business
whatsoever.
I'm not cleaning either, aslast year.
Kevin (24:19):
This year we're going to give away a prize at the end of
the season.
The way you enter it is bysending us fan mail and with
that fan mail.
you have to provide us with away to contact you via email
(24:40):
should you win this contest.
Email address is a good one, aslong as you check your email
regularly.
If you happen to switch emailproviders, just update us,
update us.
So we do not keep email.
We don do not keep email.
We don't have any emailmarketing campaigns.
(25:04):
We don't have any sponsors.
We don't have any commercials.
We don't.
Palmi (25:13):
But we do have a very nice niece who is our artist,
our in-house artist, and thisyear she would like to do
something a little morepersonalized to the winner and
so she has requested that we dothe the drawing a little earlier
in the season.
So we will draw earlier in theseason so you get those entries
in right away, so we can get.
(25:34):
Um, we, as we've told youbefore, we're going to to end in
November this year, right,kevin?
Kevin (25:41):
Yes.
Palmi (25:42):
So get those entries in and then, so she has time to,
she wants to have yoursuggestion of what you would
like your pitcher your notpitcher, what is it called Art
Art to have in it.
And so she has time to produceit and then get it to you.
Kevin (26:06):
Okay, now I'm going to simplify that a little bit.
She likes to do the thingsPombi said, but she also likes
to do things you like.
Palmi (26:21):
Right, so she wants your personality in it.
Kevin (26:24):
Yeah.
Palmi (26:27):
If you like horses, if you like cats, if you like dogs,
I'm going to use a betterexample.
Kevin (26:34):
Okay, for example, on our Facebook page for Lesser Ruiz,
I've been using pictures fromvarious users doing things they
enjoy to do.
Palmi (26:48):
Oh yeah.
Kevin (26:49):
That would be an excellent example of something
she'd like to include in there.
Palmi (26:55):
If you're a wheelchair racer, maybe a toy in the
background, or a trophy orwhatever.
Or if you're're a wheelchairracer.
Kevin (27:09):
Maybe a toy in the background or a trophy or
whatever, or if you're in awheelchair or if you have a
favorite hobby or activity, andnot to make anybody paranoid but
she's also a member of ourFacebook page, so she sees those
images and she's perfectlyhappy working with them.
But we basically want to do ourdrawing before the last episode
(27:32):
.
Doing our drawing in the lastepisode caused us a lot of
problems.
Last year she did a very fancywatercolor which then she
shipped, and she's a man y'all.
So we're talking snow,apparently.
(27:53):
The government hasn't confirmedthis, but my theory is her
postal because she showed it viathe Postal Service bought the
insurance of the whole nineyards, actually went out of her
way to buy a dice frame to putit in.
Palmi (28:15):
I don't think she's buying a frame this year because
it broke into 100 billionpieces and it was ruined by ice
and snow.
It never made it past Maine.
Kevin (28:27):
I don't think, and since she made a painting that was
watercolor.
You can imagine what happens tothat painting when the snow
gets in the package with it.
The snow melts when they bringit in and open up the package.
Palmi (28:47):
It was not what it started to be.
Kevin (28:48):
Yeah, so basically that painting was ruined and she had
to start all over again.
Palmi (28:55):
So that was not nice for her to have to redo.
Kevin (28:58):
So we don't want to get in the rush situation we were in
last year.
Right, oh, my God.
You know we got to replace this.
You know a lot of her did do it.
Palmi (29:10):
She did it as a favor for us, because she enjoys doing it
, so we don't want it to be ahassle for her.
Kevin (29:16):
So all right, is that it?
That's about it Okay.
I'm sure people that's going tobe.
Palmi (29:23):
Okay so big enough.
Send in your suggestions andfan mail and let us know what
ideas you would like to hearabout on our podcast.
Kevin (29:33):
next episode your fan mail is always welcome, all
right, be it a suggestion or toenter the contest.
But entering the contest, we doneed to know a name or an email
address, who we're talking to.
So until next time, guys, seeyou later.
(29:57):
Until next episode, take thoselemons and make your own
lemonade.
Sounds right.
Welcome to our podcast.
When Life Gives you Lemons, I'mKevin.
Palmi (00:06):
And I'm Palmi.
We consider ourselvesdisability advocates and intend
to spotlight some disabilityissues and things we find
interesting that we frequentlyencounter when we're out and
about.
Also some history on disabilitythat we find interesting.
Welcome back, guys.
This is when Life Gives youLemons.
Kevin (00:28):
And this week we're talking about methylene blue.
Palmi (00:34):
And why are we talking about this, Kevin?
Kevin (00:36):
Well, one of the websites that we've previously mentioned
or recommended is calledAccessible Go.
They invest quite a bit intowhat they're doing.
They have purchased a communityapplication that you can sign
(00:56):
up for.
It's called the CircleCommunity.
Once you get into Circle andyou can choose your community,
you look for the accessible gocommunity and in that they have
several subcategories, liketravelers, just miscellaneous
(01:19):
questions, what have you and, uh, those folks have in the past
been very frequently active andanswer my questions about, say,
a certain disability condition Idon't have.
Palmi (01:38):
Yeah, and we use that app for when we travel about and
make reservations and stuff likethat, so it's been very helpful
for us, yeah it has been veryhelpful.
Okay, so it was methylene blue.
Is that what you said?
Methylene blue, yes, Methyleneblue, sorry.
Kevin (01:55):
Most commonly, assuming you've been.
Almost all of us have been tothe doctors.
Almost all of this has beendone by doctors.
But if they've used a wryimaging or really any sort of
imaging with contrast, methyleneblue is what they're using.
Palmi (02:16):
So I didn't know anything about it.
So it was very interesting andapparently it's.
Kevin (02:27):
I know you hate this topic, or I hate this word, but
it is kind of trending right now.
Yeah, trending is one of thecounter-trenders and we'll get
more into that later.
Palmi (02:35):
So methylene blue it is known as methylene-ism.
Kevin (02:41):
Let's talk a little bit about that story.
First About what it's history.
Yeah, that's what.
A little bit about its historyfirst About what.
Its history.
Palmi (02:47):
Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.
It started out as a cloth dye.
Back in 1876.
Kevin (02:56):
Yeah, and it you know previously, blue and purple were
, kind of by default, a littlebit more expensive than other
colors, so not that many peoplecould get it.
So in the 19th century chemistswere being tried by well, let's
(03:22):
see what we can come up with todo things cheaper in this area.
Palmi (03:30):
And dye things blue and purple.
And it's classified as a salt.
It's a salt, yeah yeah.
And they used it as a dyeoriginally to dye different
things with, but then later on,they realized that it luminized
luminous and light and theystarted using it in medicines
(03:56):
Right away.
Originally they used it to helpwith urinary tract infections
and malaria, but then othermedicines came about and were
more effective than it was.
It took longer for it to cure,right, right now.
Kevin (04:19):
I'm just going to throw this out there, it may fit in
better later.
Or this other it may fit inbetter later, but it's involved
in over 1,200 clinical trialsRight now.
Currently those are eitherongoing clinical trials or
playing critical trials.
(04:39):
I think, polly, you mentionedthat 2,800 individuals are
involved in those trials rightnow.
So obviously, because they likelarge numbers and studies, all
the studies are not ongoing.
They just have them planned outperhaps or in the stages of
(05:04):
being planned no, I haven'tmentioned that yet, but we were
going to do that later.
Palmi (05:09):
So, um, but right now, like he said, it's really.
Um, we've mentioned it wastrending, but it's also very,
very uh, it's an old medicinethat's becoming very popular in
the medical community right now.
Like, like Kevin said, it's outthere and they're starting to
discover it has a lot of rightnow.
(05:31):
The FDA approves it for twothings, and I'm going to need
help and we're not even surewe're saying it right but the
FDA approves it for a specificdisease, and this disease is a
rare blood disease where thehemoglobin can't carry oxygen
properly.
Kevin, you want to try to shootout this.
Kevin (05:53):
I'm going to take a stab at it I won't scare and see I'm
wrong, but it's methylmogamemiaMethamog, methamog.
Palmi (06:01):
Methamog.
Kevin (06:01):
Methamog, methamog, methamog, methamog, methamog,
methamog, methamog, methamog.
Palmi (06:08):
Methamog, methamog, methamog, methamog, methamog,
methamog, methamog, methamog,methamog, methamog, meth.
So that right now is the onlyFDA approval as medicine that it
is approved for.
However, like Kevin said,there's all kinds of studies
(06:31):
right now where they think itmight be very helpful, and the
reason it's kind of a big thingright now is because a lot of
influencers on TikTok areclaiming that it has because of
this ability to take oxygen.
To carry oxygen properlythrough your body is kind of
(06:52):
what happens when you, when wewere younger and it happened.
We do less of that as we age,so they've clicked onto this and
figured out that maybe it's ananti aging clicked onto this and
figured out that maybe it's ananti-aging.
I want to say the big pharmadoes want you to know about it.
(07:12):
It's like a secret.
You know, like a youth, what isit?
Everybody's looking for thefountain of youth.
Yeah, so that's the big TikTokthing going around right now,
but it's really controversialbecause it is an actual medicine
and there are side effects.
When you use something likethis, when it's not used for
what it's meant for, becausethere specifically is a side
(07:38):
effect, there is.
They've proven that.
If you have a Sorry, there'slots of research done here.
Kevin did a lot of research onthis and I'm trying to fumble
through it here.
Do you remember what the Iremember Okay so people with
(08:01):
G6PH deficiency, which is acommon genetic condition, can
suffer serious side effects,like anemia and jaundice, from
even a small dosage.
And it can also dangerouslyinteract with antidepressants,
which is pretty popular in thissociety right now, and
(08:23):
potentially lead to serotoninsyndrome, which I think that
means, like depression, causesmajor depression.
So you know there, you wouldn'twant to take this.
People are doing this.
It's called going off label.
This it's called um going offlabel and um just kind of
(08:51):
experimenting with this on theirown and this I guess supposedly
this is happening on um x orformerly twitter, and it's being
discussed about anti-agingremedies and cognitive
enhancements and stuff like thatas of right in July 2025.
It's been reported to increaseenergy, focus and mental clarity
while using it and boost yourbrain power and pairs
(09:16):
mitochondria.
So these claims have not beenbacked up by any robust clinical
evidence or considered and areconsidered experimental, with
warnings about potential risk tokidney disease, dna harm and
also warnings about possibledeath.
So again, we've told you thisseveral times in our podcast
(09:40):
previously we are not doctors,we don't claim to to be, we have
no medical experiencewhatsoever, but and we only do
research via the web, web,internet, which we all know, you
know the web internet is notalways perfect, so we influencer
(10:07):
is telling you to do it.
Kevin (10:11):
You might want to consult somebody that knows a little
bit more than the influencer.
The influencer on social mediais making money online.
They're usually making money bytheir videos they post on.
Palmi (10:30):
Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook.
Kevin (10:39):
You know, all the platforms for the kind of thing
have reward systems or monetaryrewards, or they could just be
paid by whoever to say whateverright, but it certainly does
look like it may be a very umpositive uh drug once all the
(11:06):
research has been done.
Yeah, A lot of times aftermedical research is done and
something gets removed for use,the doctors will know that it is
, you know, treating, say,convulsions and epilepsy.
(11:27):
In my case I don't haveepilepsy but I share a drug with
epileptics because it reducesmy muscular contractions,
involuntary muscularcontractions, which I guess is
kind of like a mild seizure, Iguess you could say.
Palmi (11:53):
Or loss of muscle control .
Basically.
Kevin (11:53):
Lots of controlled my muscles.
But the drug I'm taking, really, when a doctor just a general
doctor, not a movement disorderspecialist who knows it may have
more than one use, sees thatyou'll say oh you're epileptic.
(12:19):
And I'll have to get that longexplanation.
Palmi (12:24):
no, and also it's used for depression and stuff like
that.
So sometimes it's confusing.
I take a drug that is a drugthat they use for depression,
but I use it to enlarge myesophagus because one of the
side effects is it enlarges youresophagus.
(12:46):
So a lot of times doctors usethe side effects that they they
find that happen in a drug likethat and use use the side effect
as long as the there's no, nocounter effects, um, based from
you using it like that.
So that's what I use mine foris my esophagus is uh, it closes
(13:08):
up and so I use it to enlargemy esophagus.
So I don't have, I have GERDs,and so it closes and enlarges my
esophagus.
So you never know what a drugis and you hear these drug
advertisements on TV about allthe side effects you know on
every drug that's out there.
So every drug has a side effect.
Kevin (13:33):
And, if I'm not mistaken, the FDA requires when they
submit a drug for testing theyhave to list like 10 side
effects, even if there are zero.
Palmi (13:46):
Right.
They have to like Well anythingthat may happen has to be
listed.
Kevin (13:51):
They have to like get creative and say well, this guy
had food poisoning, so he couldsay diarrhea and nausea.
Yeah, and they kind of have twothey could talk about.
Palmi (14:04):
Methylene blue is also used as a diagnostic tool.
It's used in lymph nodedissections and to test for
urinary tract leaks and forfistulas.
Kevin (14:18):
So it is used because it does it lights up very nicely
when used in imaging for tissueRight Because it does flow
(14:39):
around, get lodged in tissue andthe image they get back out of
that how ice tissue.
They may not have been able tosee clearly without it.
Palmi (14:50):
So there's lots of good hope that this will have lots of
good stuff happen in the future.
But as we said, you know, don'tbe experimenting with it on
yourself right now.
Kevin (15:01):
As of right now, in 2025, it's got one disease it can
treat and anything beyond thatthat talk to your doctor and get
the real scoop so it says it'sterminal uh half-life is 5 to 24
(15:22):
hours.
Palmi (15:23):
When given interveniously , monitoring is recommended,
especially in uh.
Apparently they use it inveterinary uses where it can
cause oxidization damage in redblood cells, particularly in
cats.
And then there's also onemedical, non-medical application
(15:46):
they use it in aquaculture totreat fungal infections,
bacterias, viruses and nitratepoisoning in fish.
Kevin (15:58):
Okay, it's also used as a dye in the treatment of some of
these conditions, but it'sstrictly used as a dye.
I say again, I'm going tomutilate some words that I'm not
(16:21):
familiar with.
So, infosfamide-inducedencephalopathy, which is a rare
chemo-related brain toxicity,again, it's administered in the
(16:45):
affected area, in the affectedarea to highlight what tissues
may have been affected by, I'massuming it was some sort of
chemotherapy, and it's also usedto explore early stage
(17:06):
Alzheimer's.
Ie what tissue of the brain hasalready been affected?
Palmi (17:11):
or not.
Kevin (17:13):
In other words, they can get MRIs that show your brain's
blue without a functional FRI,which is a whole other ball of
wax, you know, where the part ofyour brain lights up that's
being used, which can take quitea while because I'm sure there
(17:35):
are many parts that evolved intesting in Alzheimer's On this.
They just see, okay, whattissue's not looking normal,
right, what tissue is notlooking normal?
Palmi (17:51):
Right what tissue is affected by being lit up for
some reason.
So those are areas that they'rehoping that the research will
help is Alzheimer's disease andcognitive decline.
Kevin (18:03):
It's also used in what's called the BLOSH trial, which is
being used in concert withother drugs in critical care to
treat septic shock.
Palmi (18:19):
And septic shock.
I didn't know what it is, butit's organ injury or damage,
infection with low bloodpressure, abnormally in cell and
then also in cancer treatment.
The early phase trials areassessing the potential of
(18:43):
enhancing chemotherapychemotherapy or acting as a
radio sensitivity in cancerslike glioblastism and breast
cancer.
And then neuropsychologic andmetabolic disorders.
Some studies are investigatingthey're investigating its role
(19:05):
in mood regulation andmitochondria function and
oxidative studies, stressstudies and, as we said before,
over 2,800 individuals areparticipating in the related
studies, trials on using the.
(19:27):
So I think it's as clear as mud.
Kevin (19:33):
Well, I'm reading this one part.
It basically is saying the samething you said, but it's not
mentioning TikTok or influencersor trending or anything like
that.
It's being touted as alimitless drug.
Palmi (19:54):
A what?
Kevin (19:55):
Limitless drug.
Palmi (19:57):
Yeah, well, that's what their hopes are in the future
with all these trials.
Kevin (20:00):
Yeah, I think they're trying to find the limits, so
it's not necessarily going to bea limitless drug anymore.
Palmi (20:09):
Yeah, I hope so.
We're always in hope.
I mean you and I.
I mean we're out here looking.
I mean right now you have anend-of-life diagnosis.
I mean right now you have anend-of-life diagnosis, so you're
always hoping that somethingcomes up and they have this
miracle cure that will cure.
I mean there's hundreds ofthousands of people like you
(20:31):
that are hoping for a miraclecure.
Kevin (20:35):
Well, the bottom line in my case is, if they were to find
a cure and stop it, great, butit's not going to cure me, so to
speak.
It's not going to make thedamage that's been done be
undone.
Palmi (20:54):
No, no, never know.
Kevin (20:57):
We'll see.
Palmi (20:59):
If you're going to have hope, you might as well have
100% hope.
Yes, might as well, go for thebrass ring.
Kevin (21:06):
I'm going to hope my fairy godmother comes by and
snaps her fingers and saysBibbidi-bobbidi-boo, you get the
whole pumpkin and I just get acomplete life do-over.
How's that?
Palmi (21:22):
Might as well go for it.
Hope is not limited.
Might as well go for it all.
So final thoughts guys, ifyou're considering methylene
blue, especially off-label uses,consult your healthcare
provider.
The evidence leads towards it'sbeing safe for that one
(21:44):
specific disease that we can'tpronounce, but other uses are
debated and need more research.
Key point is it is only usedfor that one disease a condition
where blood cannot carry oxygenwell disease, a condition where
blood cannot carry oxygen welland it seems likely to be
effective for only that purposeat this time.
Proven for that purpose at thistime.
(22:05):
Research suggests that it haspotential benefits for
microchondric functions andresearch suggests it may have
potential benefits for cognitivehealth.
But these uses are not yetproven or FDA approved.
These controversies aroundoff-label uses like anti-aging,
(22:31):
with some claiming benefits andothers warning of risks like
kidney diseases, kidney damage.
So approach these with cautionor just don't approach them,
would be my suggestion.
Uh, it can cause side, seriousside effects like headaches and
nausea.
It's risky for people with thesix g6 ph deficiency, which who
(22:54):
knows?
If you have that until suddenlyyou have, you have terrible
side effects.
Or those with certainmedications.
So medical advice is essentialbefore you do anything like that
.
Kevin (23:08):
Definitely.
I'm assuming it might beassociated also with either a
dietary restriction, maybe anallergy or something like that.
Palmi (23:28):
Well it's your DNA.
Kevin (23:29):
So yeah, People don't know what's in their DNA until
you have DNA tests.
If you have an allergicreaction, to say bee stings, you
don't necessarily know whichgene causes that.
So a doctor may, becausebecause doctors read this kind
(23:49):
of stuff.
Palmi (23:51):
But it may be too late after you've done it.
Kevin (23:53):
I doubt they make the words as badly as we do.
Palmi (23:58):
That's why we weren't doctors.
Yeah, okay, so let weren'tdoctors.
Yeah, okay, so let's do somehouse cleaning.
Housekeeping, sorry, housecleaning, that's my job.
Kevin (24:08):
If you're house cleaning, call me.
Palmi (24:11):
Don't call me, I'm not involved in this business
whatsoever.
I'm not cleaning either, aslast year.
Kevin (24:19):
This year we're going to give away a prize at the end of
the season.
The way you enter it is bysending us fan mail and with
that fan mail.
you have to provide us with away to contact you via email
(24:40):
should you win this contest.
Email address is a good one, aslong as you check your email
regularly.
If you happen to switch emailproviders, just update us,
update us.
So we do not keep email.
We don do not keep email.
We don't have any emailmarketing campaigns.
(25:04):
We don't have any sponsors.
We don't have any commercials.
We don't.
Palmi (25:13):
But we do have a very nice niece who is our artist,
our in-house artist, and thisyear she would like to do
something a little morepersonalized to the winner and
so she has requested that we dothe the drawing a little earlier
in the season.
So we will draw earlier in theseason so you get those entries
in right away, so we can get.
(25:34):
Um, we, as we've told youbefore, we're going to to end in
November this year, right,kevin?
Kevin (25:41):
Yes.
Palmi (25:42):
So get those entries in and then, so she has time to,
she wants to have yoursuggestion of what you would
like your pitcher your notpitcher, what is it called Art
Art to have in it.
And so she has time to produceit and then get it to you.
Kevin (26:06):
Okay, now I'm going to simplify that a little bit.
She likes to do the thingsPombi said, but she also likes
to do things you like.
Palmi (26:21):
Right, so she wants your personality in it.
Kevin (26:24):
Yeah.
Palmi (26:27):
If you like horses, if you like cats, if you like dogs,
I'm going to use a betterexample.
Kevin (26:34):
Okay, for example, on our Facebook page for Lesser Ruiz,
I've been using pictures fromvarious users doing things they
enjoy to do.
Palmi (26:48):
Oh yeah.
Kevin (26:49):
That would be an excellent example of something
she'd like to include in there.
Palmi (26:55):
If you're a wheelchair racer, maybe a toy in the
background, or a trophy orwhatever.
Or if you're're a wheelchairracer.
Kevin (27:09):
Maybe a toy in the background or a trophy or
whatever, or if you're in awheelchair or if you have a
favorite hobby or activity, andnot to make anybody paranoid but
she's also a member of ourFacebook page, so she sees those
images and she's perfectlyhappy working with them.
But we basically want to do ourdrawing before the last episode
(27:32):
.
Doing our drawing in the lastepisode caused us a lot of
problems.
Last year she did a very fancywatercolor which then she
shipped, and she's a man y'all.
So we're talking snow,apparently.
(27:53):
The government hasn't confirmedthis, but my theory is her
postal because she showed it viathe Postal Service bought the
insurance of the whole nineyards, actually went out of her
way to buy a dice frame to putit in.
Palmi (28:15):
I don't think she's buying a frame this year because
it broke into 100 billionpieces and it was ruined by ice
and snow.
It never made it past Maine.
Kevin (28:27):
I don't think, and since she made a painting that was
watercolor.
You can imagine what happens tothat painting when the snow
gets in the package with it.
The snow melts when they bringit in and open up the package.
Palmi (28:47):
It was not what it started to be.
Kevin (28:48):
Yeah, so basically that painting was ruined and she had
to start all over again.
Palmi (28:55):
So that was not nice for her to have to redo.
Kevin (28:58):
So we don't want to get in the rush situation we were in
last year.
Right, oh, my God.
You know we got to replace this.
You know a lot of her did do it.
Palmi (29:10):
She did it as a favor for us, because she enjoys doing it
, so we don't want it to be ahassle for her.
Kevin (29:16):
So all right, is that it?
That's about it Okay.
I'm sure people that's going tobe.
Palmi (29:23):
Okay so big enough.
Send in your suggestions andfan mail and let us know what
ideas you would like to hearabout on our podcast.
Kevin (29:33):
next episode your fan mail is always welcome, all
right, be it a suggestion or toenter the contest.
But entering the contest, we doneed to know a name or an email
address, who we're talking to.
So until next time, guys, seeyou later.
(29:57):
Until next episode, take thoselemons and make your own
lemonade.
Host
Jetheswaran Gunasekaran
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