Hi Linda,
I have Schizophrenia, with two sisters who are Schizophrenic. (one died a long time ago)
I had bulimia when i was 14 and again at age 30 when i spent 3 months in hospital.
I’ve been slim or overweight - currently obese but stable - from AP’s that cause weight gain. perhaps you can try Zyprexa if he is compliant enough. The stuff has a warning on it that it can cause diabetes due to eating too much… i was Always hungry on it when i took it in my 20’s
when in hospital age 30 i wanted to be slim and to be a yoga teacher. my portions were tiny and i had the idea to eat stuff like jelly babies and a single beer, (on leave) and making myself sick 15 times in a row, just this was for weight loss… it did not last long… somehow the medication got into my system and stopped it
that was - i think pure bulimia
i was in hospital a year later for 288 days and for quite a long time thought that i had cancer and that my stomach had split off from my oesophagus. If I ate nuts i believed they would end up between my ribs. I had no real option but not to eat as it was going into some cavity in my body … this was not that long lived but i was quite a low weight again. Then Bulimia kicked off again and I threw all meds they could give me up - so that i could get rid of the food
i thought i was being compliant by waiting 45 mins after taking meds - didn’t know it takes a lot longer to get into the system
I was eventuallygiven injectables and they saved my life.
other times in the community i could not cook for myself (just inability to take care of myself) i couldn’t manage making toast!
I would eat a working man’s lunch (I’m F) by having a coke, a packet of crisps and a tuna sandwich.
that was literally all i was eating.
I’ve seen my youngest sister (late onset) become anorexic with her delusions (anorexic first in her teens)
I think it was mainly because she is non compliant and will only eat vegan food. She is away at the moment trying to live independently again. She now has 2 months off alcohol and cigarettes and was gaining slowly when she left for London. I think she could not keep anything down. She knew she was underweight and actually saw it and purposefully gained.
I’m sorry to hear about your son.
I hope this is some insight.
on a note - My sisters neither of them had a job since diagnosis.
I have worked sporadically - part time (4 - 16hrs) and once when i was off meds and vegan yoga queen a 35 h a week job and then lost my mind - see above - low stress jobs like farm hand, charity shop (volunteering), receptionist (volunteering) or i studied quite a bit on and off (i frequently became unwell because of a stress with the job and had to go to hospital for a while on 2 other occasions
Things like this along the way (the work) have given me a more fulfilling life. It is difficult with a very strong work ethic not to.
I had it knocked out of me but at the same time i met my now husband. I think without the experiences i would not have achieved a healthy marriage, but taking care of the house and food is enough for me.
I’ve found therapy very useful.
getting out into the world is something i have always strived for … other things have tried are running (mum coach) and theatre for the substance misuse and mentally unwell and people otherwise socially isolated. This led me to writing and i almost killed myself trying to put on my own play - but had prior successes with sketches…
I’ve not been unwell for more than a few hours at a time for over 13 years
30 - 33ish is a time when a lot of schizophrenics become stable
This has been the case for me.
I’m not much good really at encouraging words but i hope that i haven’t offended and have helped and haven’t gone on too long!