Hello Rena,

You daughter must speak with your psychiatrist on this matter, and be honest with the doctor and tell him that she isn't taking her medication as prescribed.

Eight percent of the patients who discontinue drug treatment relapse within one year.  The majority of people diagnosed with schizophrenia have to be in drug treatment the rest of their lives.  Partial compliance, which you have stated is the case with your daughter, is the prime culprit in medications not working.  If she takes her medication every day as prescribed, she will have a better outcome.

For a clear-eyed look at orthomolecular therapy, read the Spring 2008 issue of Schizophrenia Digest.  It is suggested that this treatment works when other treatments have failed, or when medications fail to work for patients despite numerous trials and types of meds taken.  Even then, orthomolecular therapy is often used in conjunction with traditional meds, not as a replacement.

You have to ask yourself why your ex-husband [EX]-husband is so dead set against the medication.  Does your daughter live with him?  Is that what you would like for your daughter?  Everyone I know who goes off her or his meds has gotten psychotic again, and with repeated episodes, it will be harder to bounce back and retain one's previous level of functionality.

Do you feel your daughter is doing at all well enough to consider going off meds?  That was my mistake, and three months later, I relapsed and had to be hospitalized and put on the medication again.  If your daughter decides she wants to risk this [and I don't advise doing so], she will have to work with her psychiatrist to be weaned off, and even then there's no guarantee she won't have an episode.  The psychiatrist will determine the best course of action should your daughter choose this route.

Also, studies about treatment options in other countries may not have been replicated anywhere else, and you have to consider whether, all things being equal, right here right now it's wise for your daughter to discontinue her medication.

Empirical observation, that is, my having seen with my own eyes that people who discontinue meds fail to live full, productive lives in the long term, warrants I caution you about this decision.

Psychotherapy used in conjunction with antipsychotics can do wonders in a person's treatment, especially cognitive therapy, which aims to help the patient cope better with his or her symptoms.

Is your daughter having symptoms now?  It's probably because of her partial compliance.

Proceed with care.

Respectfully,

Chris

Hi Rena,

There are entire groups of individuals who collectively advocate for the treatment of Schizophrenia without the use of 'drugs'.  That sort of thinking had it's inception in the early 1950's much to the chagrin of a great many mental health workers.  There are, as you likely know, a multiplicity of factors that determine not only whether medication will be prescribed for a particular individual suffering from mental illness but also what dose the doctor feels will have a positive effect. Also,  it's most unlikely that a doctor will prescribe a drug without also outlining a much broader treatment program that includes psychotherapy. 

I can only speak personally when I say - it's the very rarest of instances where I've seen anyone with properly diagnosed case of schizophrenia improve at all without the addition of medication being added to their treatment regimen.

I would also wonder why your ex-husband (unless he has some serious training in psychiatry and/or psychology and/or social work) would be advocating a treatment process that is known to be frought with problems.  It's very simplistic to render a rather 'glib' argument about the amount of money pharmaceutical companies make on drug production for mental illness; however, the same argument would be viable for drug production to treat cancers or other serious illnesses.  Yet, you certainly don't hear nearly the number of people who are holistically inclined suggesting that cancer sufferers simply change their diets or add certain vitamins to their diet in order to achieve a curative effect.  As said by the previous individual - I'd definitely proceed with extreme caution and if it's more comforting you might seek out a second opinion from another professional vis-a-vis the efficacy of drug treatment for your child.  Good luck.