By: london2z

london2z — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:36:21 +0000

In certain cases, like my sister’s, naturopathic remedies seem to be the answer. But since she has already been on the antipsych medications for 12 years, she needs to have the natural therapies combined with the antipsychs. Several months ago, my sister went into another of her schizoaffective disorder-related relapses. Deciding that this would be a good opportunity to try something different, and wanting to grant her wishes to get off the antipsych medications, I began tapering her off those antipsych meds that were giving her negative side-effects, and at the same time, started her on herbal therapies. After the tapering was over, I began with the detox vitamins and Omega-3. She improved every day for about 5 weeks, and then crashed. Within two days after nosediving, she was almost catatonic. She wouldn’t eat, or take her vitamins and herbs, or even get out of bed. The paramedics had to come and haul her away. The antipsych meds had finally left her system. She was admitted to the hospital, and within only two weeks, stabilized on her old antipsych’s, she left the hospital. (They took her off the herbs and vitamins while in the hospital). I’m pretty sure, had she not been put back on the antipsychs, that she would have lapsed into complete catatonia. Well, now she has a naturopath, and it was found that she is gluten-intolerant and dairy-sensitive. So all these years she has been eating foods she’s allergic to! She’s feeling much better, now, with the new diet, plus 7-KETO-DHEA, Isocort, and vitamin/herb therapies, (including Natur-throid). Combined with the pharmaceuticals, (the side-effects from which have subsided). Now I realize I should have combined the natural supplements with the meds, without tapering off the meds. Actually, I should have consulted a naturopath at the start. So in this situation, I believe there is a place for the drugs.
I believe that everyone is right, to some extent. (Except for those who think that the meds are always needed in every case, or those who think that the meds are never needed in any case). For example, for some patients, psychotherapy may be the only way. For others, maybe some other alternative treatments would be better. And it is argued that no treatment would be preferable for yet others. But for someone like my sister, who has had a problem with physical imbalances, such as hypothyroid since her premature birth, a naturopathic regimen is, I believe, essential. Everyone is different. You have to treat each one on a case by case basis. And had she been started on natural therapies 12 years ago, INSTEAD of the psych meds, then she probably never would have needed the meds to begin with. Of-course she needs the meds, now, because she has been on them for so long.

Comments on: Children & Antipsychotic Medication

By: london2z