Schizophrenia, Constipation, and Dysbiosis

Hi, My 24 year old son has a long term, chronic, severe case of schizophrenia with constipation and dysbiosis. He is unresponsive to multiple kinds of anti-psychotics (presently on clozapine) and therefore we want to focus more intensely on the constipation and dysbiosis factors. We think his schizophrenia is a result of gut microbe toxins. We came to this conclusion after:

1) 4 months on the SCD diet showed modest significant improvement. Unfortunately the gut microbes seemed to adapt so that the SCD alone no longer makes a difference.
2) Organic Acid urine tests showed microbial metabolites present.
3) Stool tests showed absence of good bacteria but bad bacteria (Citrobacter freundii and Proteus vulgaris) were found instead.
4) Various natural Antibiotics cause severe psychotic reactions believed to be die-off reactions.
5) He had very high levels of Antibiotics for ear infections as a toddler and the resulting sterilization of his gut microbes could plausibly be the cause of much of his disorder.

We are presently enhancing his bowel movements with Oxypowder . This seems to be beneficial with some moments each day seeming to be greatly improved. We think the Oxypowder may enhance the aerobic environment of the gut, but we still don't know enough about Oxypowder to know how long we can keep using it. Enema's have also helped, but Doctors want us to avoid enemas due to interactions with clozapine. Clozapine is a dangerous drug which can cause grand mal seizures, and other serious side effects. But clozapine also increases constipation.

Lots of exercise, 10 miles per day divided up in shorter walks throughout the day. Deep breathing seems to help some at difficult moments. He has his worst moments upon awakening, and after each meal. Thats when we do our most walking.

He has been on the SCD diet for over a year but has recently been going stronger on raw veggies. For a long time he hasn't been able to tolerate fruits due to high Sugar content. But we are trying to selectively give him fruits with lower Sugar content as fruit pectins are so helpful to constipation. We give him yogurt and probiotics regularly to build good bacteria. Have recently added ground flaxseed. Psyllium never seemed to help.

He is on orthomolecular prescribed vitamins and minerals but no real response to that so far. Doctors prescribed florastor for gut microbes, but it caused a die-off reaction. That was before we got him on Oxypowder , so I am tempted to try florastor again.

In the past he has had lots of sleep problems due to agitation and inability to fall asleep. Melatonin, valarian, and calcium/magnesium tablets have helped that a lot.

He remains very fragile with good parts of the day broken up by psychotic outbursts. My wife and I along with our other 4 children work together to take care of him at home. We try to build him up each day with prayer and hopeful encouragement in addition to other management factors.

We welcome any prayers, thoughts, and observations anyone may offer. And perhaps the difficulty of his case may provide insight for others. Our biggest concern at the moment is learning how to focus our attack on the bad bacteria without stirring up the devastating die-off reactions. We have a long term desire to take him of the anti-psychotic meds but are unsure of when and how fast to do it.

Ron
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