manageable schizophrenia?!

Howdy,
My 21-yr-old son was diagnosed with schizophrenia in November of 2005. He had pretty much stopped eating, drank excessive amounts of water, was "seeing death" over his left shoulder, was "being sent jokes by a friend" from brain to brain, was hyper-sensitive to "noise" (i.e., people talking), "smell" (things the rest of us couldn't smell), touch (didn't want to be touched at all!), and light, believed in the omnipotence of a local psychic, had trouble concentrating, and had unpredictable episodes of rage.

He agreed, reluctantly, to see a psychiatrist, who diagnosed schizophrenia and put him on Olanzapine. It was unbearably sedating. Saw another psychiatrist, who agreed that he was schizophrenic and put him on Risperdal. My son took it for a couple of weeks and then said, "This is b.s." and stopped. The psychiatrist said, "Either you continue medicating him secretly, or he's going to end up in a mental institution." So I did, continuing with the Risperdal until, six months later, he was developing...TARDIVE DYSKINESIA!!!! (This despite a relatively low dose of 4 mg/day.) Talked to another psychiatrist, who suggested Abilify. Switched to that and he was doing quite well...until April 4 of this year, when he found out about the medication and stopped taking it cold turkey.

All three anti-psychotics appeared to stabilize his moods and helped him think more clearly, eat normally, and not hallucinate. The "delusions" changed...stopped seeing the psychic, joined a cult...but were not interrupting his life in a major way. (Except that the cult dictates that people should never reach orgasm, and he is subject to "wet dreams" which he interprets as a sign of his vileness and failure as a human being.) So when he took himself off them, I was expecting a psychotic break...

But it's been over three months, and his moods are PERFECTLY STABLE, the hallucinations haven't returned AT ALL, and his delusions are no better or worse. (And "delusions" may be an unfair term--it's belief in a cult. It's more a "strange religious belief.")

I have no idea what to think.

Sometimes he "spaces out" in the middle of a conversation, but apart from that and his self-hatred for having wet dreams, he's relatively "normal."

Are there cases of schizophrenia that become manageable for no particular reason? Or is it likely that a psychotic break is coming soon? He's never actually had one...the two psychiatrists said that he was heading in that direction when the medication began. I understand that there's a form of schizophrenia that lasts only six months. But...if that's what he had (and I medicated him for an extra year or so), why doesn't he now return to his pre-morbid state? Before becoming symptomatic in late 2005, no way would he have been following a cult leader...

Most doctors say that while there are many forms of schizophrenia and that severity varies from patient to patient, "maintenance medication" is always needed. So far, though, that doesn't appear to be the case.

Or is it much too soon to say that?

Thanks for any input!!!!!

Confused Mom

Hi there

How u getting on with ur son now? I cn really sympathise with ur decision and hope the relationship comes out OK. Sometimes psychics can scare people into exactly the state u describe - it doesn't necessarily mean that they r schizophrenic but it can look a lot like it. The difference between a breakdown like this is that once the source of the stress is removed the symptoms clear up. Symptoms hv 2 last 4 at least 6 months b4 a diagnosis of schizophrenia as it is a long term condition.

Just looking at the text, u don't seem 2 mention that ur son heard voices or hallucinated and the delusions seem 2 hv come from a real instance - believe me people like psychics can be very very persuasive and most people hv some belief in paranormal - added 2 that it cn be a potent mix. Even a sceptical stance is enough 2 really pull in someone. It sounds like ur boy ws targeted and groomed - yes thats what they do get right inside people's heads - by this person and became a very frightened young man. It sounds as if he talks 2 you about what is going on in his life right now which is good. Do u think that without this person those problems wd hv occured just the same? Hs he ever explained how and why he feels like he does. U mentioned he became oversensitive 2 his environment. However, were any of those sensitivities there b4, just in a milder form?

What history of mental illness is in ur family? Is there any likelihood of autism or aspergers anywhere in the family. That might xplain why he reacted so much to that one antipsychotic with tardive dyskynesia. Some of them can make that so much worse. I really think u need a second opinion as far as the psychiatrist is concerned. Or preferably a new psychiatrist thb. Hope this gets better 4u both.

Hi, Sagitta:
Thanks so much for your ideas! My husband (at the time...marriage didn't survive stress) thought exactly the same thing and was making some very good points. Yes, my son was definitely hallucinating, but everything related to a couple of books by Carlos Castaneda that he was totally obsessed with at the time. So his dad said, "If he got it out of a book, it can't be schizophrenia." But the voices were there too, and that was unrelated--he said a friend was sending him jokes. And the psychic was later; by the time he started up with that, he was emaciated, barely sleeping, and highly irritable.

And later, he switched form obsession with the psychic to obsession with the weird religious beliefs.

It always seems, though, as though his problems revolve around obsession with SOMETHING; I wonder if that might indicate a different mental illness? I'm thinking "psychotic disorder"...

You're absolutely right about the anti-psychotics, and one of the psychiatrists (the ones we parents were seeing after he refused to get anywhere near another doctor) said, "Don't worry--a young man will never get tardive dyskinesia while taking Risperdal, unless it's a misdiagnosis."

So when he DID get it, I kept thinking, "Was he misdiagnosed?" It sure would be great if we could take him, and not just his story, to another doctor!!!

We get along great and he was incredibly loving when he found out I'd be "poisoning" him for all those months. He didn't get mad AT ALL. I kept thinking, "Now the rage is going to come back full force" but to this day, he rarely gets mad at all.

An unmedicated schizophrenic who never gets mad...HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!

Thanks again for your input. Sometimes, people with experience come up with ideas that a doctor hasn't thought of.

No problem - jus glad some of it ws helpful. And thanks 4 adding more. It might be an idea 2 find a psychiatrist or dr who specialises in learning disabilities so that he/she can find out exactly what is in the picture as a whole. One advantage of this wd be that if there ws anything say aspergers or adhd ur son should never again be misdiagnosed without this also being considered.

U also mentioned in ur first post that he tends 2 zone out, u notice when ur speaking 2 him. That is certainly an Asperger's trait and cn also be part of the picture with ADHD and dyslexia and also epilepsy. It's because there's too much information going in and u have 2 shut down a little 2 process it if that makes any sense.

It's so great that he doesn't blame u 4 the food stuff. I don't know if that's ever been standard practice in any part of psychiatry but I wd be surprised. It just seems an incredibly bad idea with lots of potential 4 disaster. I agree that someone who actually hd sz wd be incredibly suspicious after that.

The obsessiveness and the fact that the hallucinations were only related to one specific thing don't sound like sz. It's a general condition. do u think there might be more than one condition? If ur son's willing I definitely think it's definitely worth going 2 a dr who knows what they're doing and getting a proper assessment done. All the best.

Ingrid Marquez wrote:We get along great and he was incredibly loving when he found out I'd be "poisoning" him for all those months. He didn't get mad AT ALL. I kept thinking, "Now the rage is going to come back full force" but to this day, he rarely gets mad at all.

An unmedicated schizophrenic who never gets mad...HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!

It's actually rarer than one who does get mad.

There are also people who have one schizophrenic episode and once medicated never have another, even if they come off the drugs. Then there are people who are at risk of another psychotic break if not medicated, people have have more acute psychotic breaks even though they are medicated, and those whose symptoms are never fully controlled by drugs.

Schizophrenia is a sort of umbrella term; not only are there different experiences and outcomes within the term schizophrenia, there are also forms of psychosis that while similar in etiology to schizophrenia are not schizophrenia, and won't follow the expected symptomology. Is that a word? Not sure. Hope you get what I mean though.

The best approach is maybe not to label your son, but deal with what symptoms arise as and if they do. He doesn't sound like he truly fits the schizophrenia daignosis, s hopefully this was a case of the doctor jumping to conclusions. Wish you all the best, and hope he has a good life.

Thanks, Sagitta and Isme!
I forgot to answer one question: there is no schizophrenia on either side of the family, but my ex definitely has "borderline personality disorder" (uncontrollable impulsiveness, violence, inappropriate sexual behavior, compulsive spending--all much milder now that he's on Prozac), and my ex's father definitely had a similar condition.

Since my son absolutely refuses to see another doctor, it makes sense to follow the advice to not think in terms of a diagnosis but to observe SYMPTOMS. That's good advice even when one does have a diagnosis--especially when it's something as variable as "schizophrenia."

Much obliged!

XO

Howdy,
A couple of months ago, I posted a description of my supposedly schizophrenic son's weird state--not exactly well, but not psychotic either--when off his medicine.

He's in exactly the same state now, no better or worse. It's been five unmedicated months now. He gets agitated and upset over things voices that are too loud (even if we're whispering), but is quite considerate and APOLOGIZES after complaining. Don't know if he realizes that no one is actually raising his voice...He spends about 8 hours a day in his room "meditating," and has a strange way of holding one arm across his stomach at all times. These are, of course, just my observations; surely a lot more is going on inside his brain.

But the "good" news is that he was hospitalized against his will (I don't have the details straight--he was either attacked or attacked someone, and the police realized he wasn't mentally sound) and had some fine doctors observing him during the 72 hour hold. They say it's "residual schizophrenia."

So my question...don't know if Sagitta and Isme are still around, but it's for anyone who's seen someone with this form of the disease...is WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT NOW?

Surely the answer is "you'll have to wait and see," but have you ever known anyone with this variant? Did the person stay that way forever, get better, or get worse?

Thanks!

Still Confused Mom

When I was 21 I had all my extreme testing. The PhD. who tested me admitted she was dx-ed "shizophrenic" as a young adult. Now she's obviously a very successful, highly-recommended psychologist who does tests (and makes bank). She was great.

Shizophrenia has also been helped 1,000x over by great nutrition. This has been documented numerous times. All of the excitotoxins (msg, aspartame - they are in thousands of products) as well as other additives, dyes, and just white sugar alone (which includes breads, etc) are also linked to issues, even manic depression. It makes sense when you understand these issues. OR just a heavy metal imbalance will wreak havoc on you, and cause psychosis.

Honest to God, don't put too much emphasis on the "sickness" or the meds. OR the conventional doctors. I went both routes extensively, and have studied it immensely. Your son can easily be fine.

Hi, Ertarox:
I appreciate your positive attitude and would like to consider my son fine--but he isn't happy at all. Not unhappy either--just absent. (They call it "flat affect," I believe.) Spends most of the day meditating, has no friends, rarely smiles, worries about his little sister constantly...I'd say he definitely has some residual "negative symptoms."

But I can't argue with him when it comes to anti-psychotics; in his case, they were doing more harm than good.

So I took him to a homeopath and he has the medicine, but refuses to tell me whether or not he takes it (and that sounds like a "no"). I'm figuring maybe homeopathy could help with non-psychotic, emotional elements (but he would have to cooperate).

In general, though, it is good to consider him, and everyone else, "fine"--as in doing our best under the circumstances. Thanks for writing!

Confused Mom

Confused Mom wrote:Hi, Ertarox:
I appreciate your positive attitude and would like to consider my son fine--but he isn't happy at all. Not unhappy either--just absent. (They call it "flat affect," I believe.) Spends most of the day meditating, has no friends, rarely smiles, worries about his little sister constantly...I'd say he definitely has some residual "negative symptoms."

But I can't argue with him when it comes to anti-psychotics; in his case, they were doing more harm than good.

So I took him to a homeopath and he has the medicine, but refuses to tell me whether or not he takes it (and that sounds like a "no"). I'm figuring maybe homeopathy could help with non-psychotic, emotional elements (but he would have to cooperate).

In general, though, it is good to consider him, and everyone else, "fine"--as in doing our best under the circumstances. Thanks for writing!

Confused Mom

Hey There.

I think you misread me a bit. I'm not saying your son is fine. His symptoms are real. Surely he's not happy (which defines way more than just your son or just the mentally ill, as an aside).

Homeopathy is a great start, I guess, but I have not heard of it helping as much with mental health. I have studied it less than diet, herbs and other modalities, though.

I said diet is a culprit. As well as other things....