I give you that, there are scans that show brain deterioration from SZ but not diagnosis…
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At the very least, both antipsychotic and psychotropic drugs such as Risperdal and Seroquel exacerbate hyponatremia, but may cause it also. There’s published evidence of this fact. My son’s sodium level was down to 114 when he was brought by ambulance to the hospital, very ill. At 110 most common symptoms are brain swelling, seizures, coma and death. Normal sodium levels are in the 135-140 range. It took many days to normalize his levels. It has to be done very slowly to keep the patient from going into shock or worse.
I don’t understand why you are arguing the point of “no antipsychotics” with the people on this post. My husband is diagnosed with SZ and has been in a out of hospitals over the last 3.5 years and is currently in jail because his illness won’t allow him to make rational decisions. His biggest problem is his lack of insight; if your son is not willing to admit he has a mental condition then how will CBT help him if he thinks there is nothing wrong. My husband too has a very high IQ and also owned a business for 11 years but none of that matters now. What does matter is the treatment he needs. He is currently sitting in jail refusing medication and the only reason he is in jail right now is because he refused to go to court, even in jail, he refused to go to court which is irrational. I do not know what the right answer is for you but I think it is just like everything…one day coffee is bad for you and then next day it is not depending on which doctor you talk to. If your son thinks this is the right path for him-not taking antipsychotics, then that is his choice but CBT when someone is in psychosis is a complete waste of time and money and the longer he stays in psychosis, the worse it will be. I hope things work out for him.
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I’m not sure how you came up with the idea of me arguing with people. What I’ve posted on here is factual. Everyone is entitled to read or believe what they want. Geez. Calm down. My son almost died, and from now on I’ll be much more careful to get as much information as I’m able before something like this happens again. I don’t expect others to understand how painful and difficult it has been, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what we just did.
And it takes more than one psychiatrist to make the diagnosis. Two or more have to agree.
Could you share the published data that states that sz can only be successfully treated with drugs? I’m curious where you got that information. The information I’ve read states that there have been cases where that’s not necessary.
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Thank you so much for your words of hope and encouragement. It breaks my heart that there are so many families dealing with this. I sincerely wish you and your son & family the best. I’ve found there’s so much disinformation out there! A family friend of ours is an experienced psychologist and therapist. He’s been arming us with sources and information we might not otherwise have access to, so we are more hopeful than ever now. I’m so grateful. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I hope I can help others see it too. 
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BTW I was given reading material on Sarcosine. It’s actually being used at drug treatment centers along with super healthy diet, after testing toxicity for heavy metals etc. many people have had very successful results. I’m all for helping the body heal itself. 
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Thank you for your kind words. i would love to get some of the information that you are receiving.
Today was another great day where my son showed curiosity and appreciation at our visit to a regional ART MUSEUM!! It was amazing, but also there were aspects of my son’s demeanor that were unsettling, almost feeling hypo-manic in moments, not washing and refusing to put on clean clothes. Then this evening he suggested we let go of the ayurvedic practioner so he could mix his own concoctions - Yikes.
One day at a time, one moment of ‘meeting’ at a time. i really cannot get ahead of myself, with thinking success is absolute. I
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I was just reminded of the Open Dialogue approach to mental illness in Finland, and how successful it has been! It’s a good idea to follow advice of those who have actually been successful, I always say. Look it up when you have time. It will encourage you and give you hope. I’ve read there’s at least one such center in the U.S., in New York, but there may be more locations added as they see the successful outcomes. As for us, we are still awaiting the judge’s decision as to our son’s mental commitment (with or without a Jarvis order). The hearing was this past Thursday, but we were fortunate to get a really compassionate judge who has had over 20 yrs experience, and he is very careful and willing to weigh the parents’ testimony along with recommendations of the court psychiatrist and county attorney.
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I don’t know how you cope. Do they refuse all medication? Depot injections have been the magic potion for my son. The longer he’s on them, the more he recovers. He considered coming off them recently in order to reduce his dose, but then decided by himself that he would resume them. His first depot was imposed on him, though. He was detained and they made it clear he wasn’t getting out anytime soon if he didn’t promise to stick with them for six months.
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It looks good and it’s fairly similar to the Early Intervention Teams we have over here in the UK. And, as I said, my family and community have been largely supportive so we have had more or less that treatment. My son recently chose to continue on his AP because he is still getting better. Now he is working on getting his concentration and cognitive skills back. He lives on his own in London. I live a few hundred miles away but we speak every three or four days.
I wonder how you could pull something like the Finnish system off in the US as your health system seems a little piecemeal and expensive compared with ours in the UK and the Finnish system, like ours, demands intensive help at the earliest possible stage.
(Are you in the US?)
Nope, they eat many meds with no issue as they know something is horribly wrong… The meds are not very affective…
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GSSP: I noticed a picture you posted earlier has your family members taking Invega Sustenna 117 mg. Is there a reason they arent getting the higher dosage?
My son just started the injection recently, and he’s prescribed at 156 mg for the next few months, assuming he accepts…
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Because this is the largest dose mail order will fill plus it dont really work…
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You’ve probably seen this then. There is so much info on this site a lone!
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Yay!!! Yes, this site has an amazing amount of info. So glad we are in the age of the internet. Best to you.
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From what I read Sarcosine is doing great. Not to be taken with Clozapine I understand
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I decided to create an account here, just to respond to your son’s condition.
I was diagnosed Bipolar Schizo-Affective with Psychosis back in 2007. I have been unmedicated since early 2010 and have not been institutionalized since early 2015. It has been a long journey. I have a feeling that your son’s issues might be possible gut issues. Have him see a Gastroenterologist. Be careful though if he gets any CT scan with an iodine contrast. He might react to it with a psychotic episode like I did. Benadryl helped address that issue though. I just wouldn’t want to keep depending on Benadryl though, since it can cause Dementia issues in the future.
About 9 months ago I was using Lysol to clean the bathroom regularly. The fan in there wasn’t really working all that well. One day I decided to clean the house a bit. I decided to start with the bathroom and work my way outward. I used Windex on all the mirrors and then I used Kaboom to clean the bathtub & shower. I left the bathroom fan on and closed the bathroom door so the bathroom fan could release the fumes outside the vent. I then decided to use the Swiffer mop on the wooden floors throughout the house. About half way through swiffing the house I started hearing what sounded to be maybe God & the Devil talking to me. It was a rather frightening experience. Very overwhelming. I would suggest your son to incorporate probiotics into his diet and fermented foods to help with possible gut issues created from the Lysol he used which may have destroyed some of his gut stability. Things like Kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir, miso, soy sauce, etc. The gut & brain connection was big many years ago until they decided to make magic pills for profits instead. Since they get a bunch of lawsuits though and these magic pills are proven to be nothing much more than inconclusive for the most part, these healthcare professionals are starting to once again admit the gut-brain connection once again. You should also tell him to see an allergist as well so he can see if he is allergic to any food or environmental things. Stress is also related to the gut-brain connection as well, which can also impact his well being. If he drinks too much water, like I used to, then he might be causing electrolyte issues as well. He should invest in some Redmond sea salt for trace minerals and have a sensible amount each day, instead of table salt. He should also get his vitamin D, Magnesium, and B vitamins in proper order as well. He should increase his vegetables intake. Red kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, red bell peppers, book choy, cauliflower, mushrooms and more. Steamed so it won’t be too rough on his digestive system. Maybe no longer than 6 minutes. I’d avoid all cooking oils and stick to just butter, if needed. Have him invest in some high quality fish oil with around 1,000mg EPA in it. Maybe even take some food enzymes and a digestion helping probiotic pill before/between meals. Have him eat foods like cashews, walnuts & pumpkin seeds. He should avoid coffee at all costs for now too since it depletes a big amount of nutrients. He should make sure to aim for 8 hours sleep as well. He needs to properly manage his food/water intake/sleep/stress levels. In my life, so far, one or more of these things out of order has caused every one of my episodes. He should try to stick to organic foods as well. I ended up being diagnosed with minor Colitis, IBS & had a 23.4 Saccharomyces IGG which is considered a bit too high, which 75% of people with Crohn’s disease have issues with. I have pinpointed possible main culprits being chlorinated tap water from drinking/inhaled through showering & fortified bread products that have chemicals that poorly replace proper nutrients like folic acid in place as folate for one. Plus glyphosate is an issue as well due to its impact on the shikimate pathway, which can impact our gut bacteria in very negative ways. So yeah, tell him no tap water usage whatsoever, and he may want to avoid all fortified foods. Tell him to go get checked out. I believe your son’s issue is not really mental issues as a source of his issues. I believe them to be medical, like mine. Oh, and have him get his GGT level checked as well. A low GGT is meaningless to some doctors, but to some who actually know about nutritional science, then it can mean possibly issues with Magnesium deficiency. I had a brain MRI taken about 1 1/2 years ago and it came up 100% normal. At the time I was sad because I was expecting to find a source there for my issues in the past. Now though, it makes me all the more know that it was indeed unaddressed medical issues. There’s a lot of doctors who simply don’t care to fix things permanently, or they are out of a job. Then there are the others who simply are not educated enough on these matters, believe it or not.
Oh, and I think was initially set off my sensitive gut issues was from being on multiple antibiotics to treat an MRSA staph infection that I picked up from a combination of bad things: poor practice of tweezing nose hairs at the time instead of trimming them, picking up lunch trash off the ground as part of my job duties for that day (without gloves) & going to work that day already with a very stuffy head & terrible runny nose. All it took was one wipe off my nose and, bam, ended up in the hospital for like 3 weeks, for a time with no hope, due to the first 4 or 5 antibiotics not taking affect. The 6th or 7th one finally worked and I got better and was sent home. It was only a few months time after that when I started getting serious psychiatric issues for the first time in my life, that ended up institutionalizing me off and on for 3 years. Not a single medication tried actually satisfied me enough to be considered a “cure” or a good enough fix to me. They all failed to meet any of my standards of sufficiency. Some worse than others.
List of meds taken between 2007 - 2011:
Prozac (fluoxetine)
Risperdal
Seroqeul
Depakote
Geodon
Lithium
Invega
Zyprexa (olanzapine)
Ativan
Haldol
Benadryl
Abilify
Valproic acid (valproate)
Lamical (lamotrigine)
Clozapine
(There may have been more, but these are the ones I recall from memory)
Oh, and I’m quite smart as well, just like your son. Don’t put your faith 100% in your average doctor like some of these other people do. Go to the actual studies themselves and learn for yourself, like I have been doing for the last 2 years or so. I’ve learned so much that I think I should maybe get an honorary Associates Degree, at least. There’s a lot of shady things that are pushed under the table in modern day healthcare. I’m ashamed at the fear that some of these doctors have about revealing the truth of these matters. I’m wondering if they feel good knowing all the suffering going on today that they could fix, simply by telling the truth. Money isn’t everything.
Good luck. I hope your son gets to enjoy his life in peace as if he never had a breakdown in time. Oh…and I used to work construction myself. So many coincidences. Take care, you and him both. Peace.
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