Hello! I'm a new member and a mum of a much loved 23 year old, recently diagnosed with Schizoeffective Disorder

Hi @Laeni

Welcome to the forums! I just wanted to send you a quick message to make you feel welcome. I do hope some of our friendly members will be able to connect with you soon, and help you through.

See you around the forums... 🙂

Hello @tacocat

Thanks very much for your reply.👍

Schizoeffective Disorder isn’t a common MHD, so it may be a while before someone in a similar position responds, as I don’t think there’s too many families out there living with it.

We are doing fine (enough), but would like to really understand this condition more in order to help support our son. It would be lovely to have a few other folks to communicate with who have experience in this area.

Thanks so much and have a great day. 🙂

I don’t have much family so am not in a similar situation but share the same diagnosis as your son.

I don’t know if this helps but there is a YouTube channel called “living well with schizophrenia”..and the creator is a young woman who also shares a similar diagnosis to us (schizoeffective disorder) she has been sharing her journey exploring treatment options and has found a ketogenic diet to be extremely beneficial for her.

it may sound silly or simple but I also find that the basics are key to staying well eg; diet and sleep

i personally find that just eating organic and cutting out inflammatory foods like processed stuff,sugar, wheat and dairy makes a huge difference for me. it also aids me with the vitality I need to better tolerate the horrible medications as well.

Since changing what I ate I have been able to safely taper to much less medication. And remain well on less.

I would not be able to function half aswell without a strict clean diet though.

I do also realise that some people might find it hard or wouldn’t be as motivated to change their diet.

I hope this helps

from chwi

Hi @chwi @Laeni ,

Welcome to the forums. Thank you for sharing a little about yourselves.

@chwi , I'm glad to hear some of the things that work for you. I don't have personal experience of schizophrenia, but I can see how it can potentially disrupt one's life. Good on you for finding what works.

@Laeni , what have you found helps your son sometimes? Is he well when he's on medication?

That's really helpful to know @chwi

Was the diet recommended by doctors? Or was it your own research? It's the first I've heard of it.

Hi @chwi

Lovely to hear from you, thanks so much for your reply. In one sense, this is some of the most encouraging information I’ve heard in a while - thank you.

As a family, we are pretty wholesome, low refined foods folks…so that lines up well with your experience. My son is gluten free and mostly dairy free. We tend to cook most things from fresh, organic produce when possible.

Thanks for the tip about the YouTube channel, I’ll check it out. 👍 Perhaps it will provide some further ideas…we might also circle back to a dieting or naturopath??

He’s not loving the meds, but in many ways they are helping. He has a monthly Depo and a combination of several oral meds too. We were just discussing his meds this evening and it’s prompted us to contact his Dr to see whether he’s ready for a slight reduction in the near future on account of him going okay. We will see what the Dr has to say. 🤷‍♀️

It’s been a lot to adjust to, but I’m proud of him for hanging in there and trying to make the best of it as he rebuilds with our support.

Thanks so much

Hi,

He is improved when on medication, but not completely. There is still some refinements of meds occurring, but overall he’s far more stable which has been terrific.

We are still in the early days of working out what helps. As @chwi suggested, I think diet is a solid component for him, along with supporting good sleep hygiene, regular exercise (both independently and with others) and developing or re-establishing some routines to support the above. It’s slow, but I can see some consistent progress starting to emerge.

One thing that he commented on as being beneficial this week was getting out of the city to the country for a change of pace and scenery. In fact, we both felt calmer! So this Saturday we have planned a hike in a lovely spot about an hour out of the city…something to look forward to.