Independent medical expert answers
on psychiatry and psychology

Alternative medicine for schizophrenia

Written by: Fabio Piccini, doctor and Jungian psychotherapist, in charge of the "Centre for Eating Disorders Therapy" at the "Malatesta Novello" Clinic in Cesena. Works privately in Rimini and Chiavari. E-mail:
First version: 22 Jul 2008. Latest version: 01 Dec 2010.

Abstract:

I´m schizophrenic and I´m sick and tired of eating drugs every day and suffer from their side effects. Couldn´t I quit medications and switch to alternative medicine's remedies such as Bach flowers?

Question:

I'm schizophrenic and I'm sick and tired of eating drugs every day and suffer from their side effects. Couldn't I quit medications and switch to alternative medicine such as homeopathic remedies and Bach flowers?

Answer:

I understand your concern but, in schizophrenia, some drug therapy is mandatory, and must be taken regularly and precisely.

Until now, there is no clinical evidence about any effectiveness of any alternative medicine method, such as homeopathy, or Bach flowers therapy. Instead, neuroleptics are still the best and most effective option in drug treatment.

Psychotherapy has been successful in a few very publiciset cases, but they are exceptional cases, and require an enormous amout of time and resources, and still may not be very effective.

Neuroleptica relieve the positive (delusions and hallucinations) and negative (affective flattening, apathy, mutism, motor impairment) symptoms of schizophrenia giving patients a better understanding of their disease and a deeper self-consciousness and thus they contribute to allow patients a better life quality. Of course they have some side effects, but these effects can be reduced to a minimum by using the latest products at the minimum effective dose.

If you are bothered by some of the side effects, you'd better see your psychiatrist and ask him how you could modify your drug therapy towards a better compliance with less side effects.

Don't forget that a better co-operation between patient and doctor will give better results in terms of symptom relief and less side effects.

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