What this really shows too is how desperate we all are to help people we love get through these illnesses.
Our family’s current success story is based in medical and psychosocial treatment per evidence-based treatment guidelines here in the US. Things are going really well now, so much less distress for beloved family member, though I know there is no cure. Yet?
I consider myself a success story. My story is a very sad one, full of many years of suffering, but now the suffering turned into joy. I am willing to share what I have learned along the way, because I think that everyone deserves a new chance at life. That is why I am writing this post. There is life beyond schizo. Hard to notice it though through all the darkness we had to go through. Thank you for this opportunity!
@BlueSolarWater - At the beginning did you accept your illness? Is there any advice you can give to us with loved ones who do not have insight about thier illness?
Thank you!
How did you get through the darkness?
Hi DianeR and Hereandhere. Accept it for now. The way out is by actively searching for the way out, with all heart. The person needs to realize some things. Prayer is needed ! Also friends/family which will stay and help. Also accept with blessings and gratitude whatever shows up in your life, good or bad. Realize that there is nothing outside, only inside. Accept the medication because if you don’t there will be side effects. Expect that this is a temporary phase and that you will be sane again (this is a tough one).
If you have loved ones that have passed away go and pray there also. During each thought that scares you drink water. The more you drink the better. Remember toilet breaks. Wash feet and legs each morning and put any kind of oil(cooking, essential etc) at the wrists. If possible do this before starting your day. Accept with thanks any blessings anything new in your life, also be thankful for any part of you that is free from illness. Don’t start with all steps at once because you will stumble. Try to do the feet 1st, then add something new each 2-3 days. Also have compassion for people arround you and try to find love for them if you can.
you’re welcome! While healing, stay alert for scam calls. Calls from unknown good people will not happen at this stage.
Dear Administrator,
My son had the surgery on January 9. Schizophrenia is gone forever. He felt the difference 4 hours right after the surgery. It is amazing what this doctor does. My son need only 100 mg of quetiapina to help him sleep. He can have a normal conversation, he is not lacked of emotions, and he does not have any depression or anxiety. I wished all of these people with this terrible sickness had the chance to live a normal life. This doctor has 42 year of experience and people from around the world go to Guayaquil, Ecuador to get cured.
I just wanted to let you know this important fact that had surprised his doctor and nurses in USA, they can’t believe how he can smile and have a conversation with them. They even want to present him to the other doctors of this mental health clinic.
Best regards,
Zuly Zappala (Gigi)
Gigi - Schizophrenia is an episodic illness - it comes and goes in terms of its severity over a period of months - so your son may just be in the normal cycle of lesser symptoms. The medication he is still taking is an antipsychotic so he’s still on his medications. Only time (years of seeing how your son does) will tell if this surgery did anything of any value - and a sample size of “1” is useless from a predictive standpoint.
I hope you son does well, but there is no evidence that this surgery does anything other than make the doctor a richer person.
In USA there is no cure yet but There is cure to schizophrenia in Guayaquil, Ecuador by Dr. Jose Mackliff, my son got cured with a surgery in Ecuador and I saw other cases. People from everywhere in the world go there since he is the only one who does it. My son had the surgery in January 9 of this year and you can see the difference already.
I am highly skeptical of this treatment. As the Admin says, sz is cyclical. It’s only been 1 month since he’s had the surgery. That said, I how he continues to improve with the medication.
Olivia,
My brother is experiencing psychosis for the past 3 months.
Reading that how your brother got better within few months is such a great hope for me.
I know it’s been almost 2 years since your comment. I want to see how is your brother doing now?
Sorry for the delay… I really took an interest in this group when he was doing poorly, leeched the support, and when he started doing better, I stopped checking my account.
In answer to your question, my brother did not end up recovering for good as I probably thought when I wrote my last post… he has had multiple psychotic episodes since then and has gone through several jobs. He seems to have one episode per year, and it takes months and months for him to recover and start over. I am happy to say that currently he is doing allright… he has maintained a normal, college degree-level job for the past few months and seems to be meeting their expirations enough to not get fired. He is living with our mother. He sees friends on the weekends, golfs any chance he can, almost daily after work, and actively pursues hobbies like learning guitar. He goes on dates that I’m pretty sure he meets on Tinder, but the relationships don’t seem to go very far as of yet.
There have been some highs and lows the past few years… the key seems to be for him to consistently take his meds. He seems to have major setbacks even if he just goes a few days without taking his meds, and it takes him much much longer to recover. Every time he has setbacks, he goes back to the same obsessions he had during previous psychotic episodes (wanting to sue certain institutions, being obsessed by how he was wronged by an old professor, etc)…
About 1.5 years ago, he had a major episode and ended up maxing out his credit card to fly to New York for unknown reasons, and when he got there he had no idea, or at least wasn’t able to explain, what he was doing there. When he finally got to the rest of my family (where he was meant to be traveling to originally for a family vacation in Florida), he spent the whole trip convinced my mom was a witch, and the rest of us spent the trip trying to get him emergency medication from a local pharmacy. It may sound as if he was on drugs, but fortunately he does not have that often co-occurring illness.
The bright side is that he seems to do ok when he consistently takes his meds. I can’t say that he is the same as he was before this all set in, he’s not… I still love him and he still has many of the traits of his old self. I would say he is more self-absorbed than he was before, and I don’t mean it in a condescending way, it’s just that he is less naturally inclined to think of others and more preoccupied by himself and his inner world. Sometimes when I see him he is present and seems like his old self, fully engaged, and some times he has an air of permanent distraction. However, he still maintains a job, hobbies, and a social life… and time will tell what the future holds. My hope is he will be able to live independently and share his life with someone whom he loves and who loves him in return.