My son just turned 40. My how time flies! He lives in a board and care and I see him briefly once a week and then about every 4 to 6 weeks he spends a weekend with us. He wears his clothes big and baggy, but this last visit I noticed a drastic weight loss. Also he is always thirsty. I’ve read these could be symptoms of diabetes. Anyone else have a schizophrenic child with diabetes? He does not like doctor visits, but I told him I’ll be making an appointment for him. He’ll be resistant. I’m very concerned about his physical health.
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First, welcome to the community of fellow caregivers in this daily adventure. I’m not familiar with diabetes being a common factor for SZ patients. but I know the cocktail of meds that many SZ patients are on can cause various side effects. You’ve come to the right place.
Many atypical antipsychotics have side effects of metabolic syndrome which is a combination of high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, so if your loved one is being treated with one of these, heart disease and type 2 diabetes are possibilities. My psychiatrist would not treat me unless I had regular cholesterol and other tests, and I’ve experienced all three of these to varying degrees and manage them with medications, diet and exercise. This said, there are many possible reasons for these symptoms. I have found a low-carb diet has these same side effects, while doing the opposite to my blood sugar. I also lost a lot of weight after developing a systemic autoimmune disease. You really can’t be sure of anything without blood testing.
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Maggotbrane - your posts are always so insightful. Especially knowing your background. Thank you for sharing your experiences with all of us. Your posting name doesn’t match your actual brain!!!
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@Sando thanks. There is a story behind my username, as with much of what I post there is thought and deliberation to much that I do.
See the following link to learn more:
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