Reply #9: I too have a sister w/schizophrenia

[Shiraz]

also a brother and an autistic son who probably suffers some of the same symtoms as schizophrenia although we don't know for sure because he is non-verbal. I have watched my sister for years with and with-out meds. I agree she is way better with them. However , I think a lot more research could be done to understand exactly what could help medibolically. The side effects of the drugs can be debilitating. I think meds should be a last resort not the 1st line of treatment. I have recently been under pressure to put my son who just turned 14 on these drugs because he is "becoming hard to handle" I recently purchased a book called The Natural Medicine guide to schizophrenia by Stephanie Marohn and it states over and over that B vitamins can really help not to replace all meds but maybe reduce the dosages. There is a need for more research in this area.