Schizophrenics/Bipolar sufferers-what is the best medication that's helped you???

thanks will get some tomorrow

Exercise, sunlight and getting the hell of sugar helped my mood swings significantly.

>> If I had a kid like that, I would put him on land that he could not escape, and let him know that is all God provided ... and put the rest in God's hands. If he asked for help, I would help. > Quoting: Anonymous Coward 694654 Well I am glad you don't have a kid 'like that' then. He wouldn't ask for help ever because mentally ill people rarely admit that they have a problem & never believe they need help.

Well, hunger does amazing things. If he is so helpless as to not do anything when he is starving, then why bother living? The whole point was to let him deal with nature, and work things out for himself. Nobody knows better than he how to meet his challenges. I NEVER saw anyone helped by shrinks, to the contrary.

Interestingly, primitive cultures don't seem to have these problems.

He survived for 2 months on the streets in Sydney just fine but I am his mother & want him to life a long, happy, fulfilling life & that wasn't it. If you had read just up a bit you would get the gist of what the long term goals are

The brains develops in large part in response to bio-feedback. That is the gist of my post. People bordering on sanity can go one way or the other depending on their biofeedback, and babying pushes them toward insanity. Personal responsibility for their survival pushes them toward sanity.

No, you wrote that you search a Medication
to fight this Episodes!

We used Ketamine "Offlabel".

true!!
He was a very difficult birth & has been noticeably different from a very early age, was diagnosed with autistic tendencies & DEPRESSION at 3!! & aspergers at 12

I never said put him on the streets, I said give him a place where he has a choice to provide for himself or die. A place where he can grow things, and provide soap, etc, but make his life a his own personal responsibility.

ohhhh silly me will keep researching thanks :)

& where would you suggest?? Something I as a single parent without a job at the moment can afford to take him to??

I have to much experience on this, I was on Zeprexa for about a year and it rearly ruined me totally. NONE in my opinion also. In my opinion Schizophrenia can be just 2 or more realities overlapping, or even a hightened sense of ESP. And since i learnedd this I'm a lot more in control because I know whats going on (maybe don't tell your son any of this, there a time and a place) I know how hard it is, and scary that your responsible for your son and these decisions, Just go with your gut and don't let doctors bully you into anything that doesn't feel right! Good luck, hope your son finds his way :-)

I tell ya I lived with my ex who had schizo-effective disorder ( both Schizophrenic and bipolar diagnosed) they tried every kind of med that you can imagine and I monitored everything he was on over the course of 20 yrs very intensely trying to help him.
The thing that worked best for him was Valium ..it made him calm, reasonable and actually nice to all of the rest of our family..but the Drs dont want to give it for very long because it can be addictive.

He also gets seraquil its an anti psychotic which they have him on a ton of to keep him from his thoughts of hurting people.

I also noticed that his diet and hydration could effect how he acted,felt and how often he cycled. by cycle I mean my ex would act fairly normal and fine and then he would have periods that it was very apparent that the mental illness was in control and if there was extra stress in our lives for any reason he would cycle more rapidly between emotions. He also had periods of active highs and do nothing lows.

I learned to look for and pay attention to patterns and found out that he was cycling during certain times of the year/seasons as well as when stressful to him situation where introduced and also during the onset of certain holidays/birthdays.

Sorry this is so long I just have a ton of experience with this illness. I do believe diet is a factor and can help with clarity and the thinking process but also trauma can be what caused the schizophrenia in the first place. So that is something that needs to be dealt with if there is any. It can be any type of trauma that the brain was unable to deal with.

With my ex he was actually molested as a child by several family members and had a family that didn't care.

TONS & TONS of WORK!
Had a late teen who was the son of a friend of ours stay with us and as long as he was occupied he was awesome!
Whether it be video game or work- which was much better to keep his attention, he was the model citizen.
He was working as a furniture mover working 12-14 hours per day 7 days a week and he loved it and of course the money.
Soon as the company laid off their workers he became bored and got into trouble and is serving 20 years for arson- he burned down an abandoned already falling down house...
But physical labor is the best thing for that type of mental issue and just like the Chinese Proverb about the little demon a man made his "pet", if you let him be idle he'll have the neighbor kid roasting on a spit when you get home!

thanks I will keep this in mind

Well, I think being landless is a big no-no. If you are confined to 4 walls, I guess I would begin by giving him his own room, and make him responsible for his own laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. Use basic work/reward dynamics. But, having dealt with manic-depressives and many Effexor types in the past, I saw that it only handicapped them, and made them worse and worse over time. I don't think much can replace nature and the natural challenges. A 4 walled environment is maddening even if you are sane. Maybe there is some kind of camp in the outback for people with mental problems where they can be given the opportunity to provide for themselves. If not, maybe you could even make it your new business.

Yes, I am in agreement with #22354166 :)

I agree with #16233071 also :) We all agree - hope you listen :)

Ive been taking truehope emp for 3 months now. It's worked wonders but cost quite a bit.

thank you for your contribution. The only trauma my son has ever talked about was when he was about 8 he went to visit his father who had a new girlfriend. He told Nick to come inside (so he could play good daddy to new gf) when my son refused his father told him "I never want to f*cking see you again"

BUT.... I just realised it could be the time he 'experimented' sexually with another male & I kept getting the feeling he may have gone further than he had intended & I kept feeling a darkness come over me when I'd walk past his bedroom while he was sleeping as though he was disappointed/disgusted with his actions. The nightmares started very shortly after & his first psychotic episode was a month later (at his dads place)

A caution about meditation with certain internal makeups.
Meditation isn't simply calming. It can make a person even more vulnerable to losing it.
In a protected meditation program (no external pressures) 1 week or 1 month, afterwhich one woman returned home and stabbed her cats with a knife (none died thanks to a friend of mine).
Another lady was hospitalized in a psych unit. Meditation can make delusions loom in supersized 3D.
I've seen outward expressions of more challenged people mentally on 4 occasions.

I'm talking the simplest least trippy meditation practice.
Sometimes not everyone can do it or find benefit...there is just too much going on inside and not for everybody.

I can't get him motivated while he is on this darn court ordered depo medication so until I get his meds changed on the 27th this is a no go ( me asking him to help in the garden is basically what caused his last melt down)

Your welcome, and maybe you could do some research yourself into what im saying and if you agree it could be just the answer your looking for. Bare in mind no doctor will even entertain these ideas! Someting you can do when your son isnt around is burn sage, it comes in bunches tied with string. Burn it as insence all over you home especially in your sons room, burn it so the house is filled with smoke and banish any negative energies fom interfering with your son and his mind. It has a very strong smell like cannibis so u'll need hours so he doesnt suspect anything. You DO NOT want to get into the reason's why you did it with him.. It might be helpful but like I said go with your gut and if you have any questions you can message me. I know its a scary time for you but i'm living proof there is a way back, stay strong :-)

Thank you!!! I think this is the way to go once I get him off the depo :)

Ultimate blessings to you all

We have a 43 year old daughter who was diagnosed HDD and Depression
NOPE......
It becomes clear when she drinks alcohol, that she is either a bipolar or paranoid schizo.
She has called the police before in the past and CONVINCED THE DIMWITTED AZ COPS THAT WE WERE (HER PARENTS_ WERE FIGHTING AND TTHEY TOOK US IN AND SHE WENT ON A TWO WEEK MIND BENDER!!!!
Thanks for all your testimonies, bless all of us with peace and peace of mind!

He obviously doesn't have the discipline for real meditation. No drugs, lots of work, and a natural environment with accountability for his own survival. I will end with that. Sorry for all my posts. Shrinks kill.

He's staying with my parents for a few days at the moment so I will see if I can get some sage down town tomorrow. Thank you very much

So sorry you and your son is going through this Op. I am schizoaffective myself which means I meet the diagnosis of both schizophrenia and bipolar. I have not found any mood stabilizers that has helped me and the only anti psychotic that has helped me was perphenazine. Something that does help tho is for him to have a hobby, something to do with his free time. The day program I went to encouraged us to do this and it helped all of this. Also have him learn some techniques for reducing stress like deep breathing. That will help because everyone I knew with a mental illness, if they are stressed it makes the symptoms worse.

Agree^^^ and very much so. NO POT.

I had a neighbor with schizophrenic episodes in and out cyclically. Life stressors would push her into some bad episodes, no meds, wouldn't allow any outside help with her life.

She self-medicated with pot, turned violent, got as much glass as she could find and smashed it all over the driveway and destroyed all her furniture with a hammer.

All this because the illness made her go on spending sprees with clothes and then not be able to pay her rent.

Brilliant woman actually. Highly intuitive. 38 years old. Boy was I relieved when she had to move in with her mother 50 miles away.

thank you, I have never heard of perphenazine before. Do you remember what dosage helped you most? The minute my son is off this horrible drug he is on now I will try all the helpful suggestions I have been given in this thread but as I have said at this particular stage I can't get him interested in ANYTHING :( This is the only drug he has been on that has basically zombified him & left him with no motivation whatsoever. He has even avoided his best friends who have stood by him through all of this & haven't wavered in their support. I will keep in mind the stress as I'm sure I have contributed to that myself & admit I do get naggy though I don't mean to.
All the very best to you