I’m taking my son to the doctor to have blood work done to test for gluten sensitivity and/or celiacs disease. Should I also request that they test him for toxoplasma gondii? Is there anything else he should have labs ran for?
@Cat_Nip since your son had taken atypical APs in the past, I’d consider getting lipid levels (cholesterol, triglycerides etc.) and blood glucose or A1C tests. I’m sorry, I remember your son’s doctor was considering Haldol, but I don’t recall if that’s his current medication.
Regular blood pressure, lipid and glucose monitoring is important for anyone on long-term atypical antipsychotics. Baseline EKGs aren’t a bad idea either.
Yes he is on haldol. They did labs and an EKG when he first started taking it but no one has suggested checking them again which is strange since he’s been on it since March. I had forgotten about the possibility of the meds raising cholesterol levels! Thanks!
Haldol is one of the few typical AP medications still commonly prescribed, and as such it’s less likely to cause metabolic problems like the atypicals. My understanding is that metabolic syndromes can linger after medications that cause them are withdrawn, however, so double-checking can be a good idea.
People with SZ are known to be prone to heart diseases and other life-shortening illnesses, so regular screening and doctors visits are a good idea regardless. I have been screened for celiac disease myself, but not for gluten sensitivities for reasons outside of my SZA. Depending on his age, a PSA baseline test is a good idea regardless of his illness while you are drawing blood.
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Thanks @Maggotbrane ! Sorry for the delay! For some reason I’m not getting notifications in my email anymore when I get a response to a post.