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

[Laeni]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. I have joined in the hopes of finding some other parents/families of young adult children living with Schizoeffective Disorder. We live near Perth in WA and so far, we haven't been able to connect with any other families navigating life with this complex mental health disorder in the mix.

If there are any other families out there, it would be great to hear from you. 🙂

Thanks so much. 🦋

[tacocat]

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... 🙂

[Laeni]

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. 🙂

[chwi]

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

[tyme]

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? 

[chwi]

Sadly he likely doesn’t have a choice when it comes to medication.
Due to our authoritarian care model.
But he can certainly tell you if he feels better when eating better quality foods that’s also something he can repeat at his own will whenever he feels necessary.

[tyme]

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.

[chwi]

Hahaha do you need a doctor to tell you that eating healthier is better for you?

If you are referring to my previous post about the YouTube channel “living well with schizophrenia” the young woman is doing a medically supervised “ketogenic” diet.
There is another channel called “metabolic mind” with more info on keto diets for mental conditions.

[chwi]

P.s. your probably better to ask a dietician, nutritionist, naturopath or even an integrative doctor for dietary advice as your general practitioner may likely not be that interested in food.

[Laeni]

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