Overview

It is outside Dr. Weyrich's scope to prescribe antipsychotic drugs to treat Schizophrenia, but Dr. Weyrich can provide adjunctive therapies that may be very beneficial, and allow the doctors prescribing antipsychotics to minimize the doses (and side effects).

Please see conventional, complementary, and alternative medical treatments for important background information regarding the different types of medical treatments discussed on this page. Naturopathic, Complementary, and Alternative treatments that may be considered include:

Etiology

Elevated urinary levels of 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA) and other markers of dysbiotic overgrowth with Clostridium spp. are common in schizophrenia [GP2008], and treating such individuals with antibiotics such as vancomycin can give remission of symptoms without the use of neuroleptic drugs [Shaw2008].

Some practitioners have noted an association between hypothyroidism and schizophrenia (as well as schizoid and affective psychoses); treatment of hypothyroidism appears to also rapidly (2 weeks) resolve schizophrenia [DeGroot1996], [Zondek1944b], [Starr2005, pg 124].

Some practitioners have noted an association with inflammatory process mediated by homocysteine [Rogers2008, pg 9]. Note that the common diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) increases homocysteine levels [Westphal2003  🕮 ].

Diagnosis

  • Basal body temperature below 97.8 degrees F, elevated TSH, or depressed T3 (suggests hypothyroidism).
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    Organic Acid Test (elevated markers for gut dysbiosis).

Differential Diagnosis

Treatment

A problem with treating many psychotic patients is that they do NOT want to be treated, and are uncooperative; therefore they are often forcibly treated by court order. Under these circumstances, it is difficult or impossible for Dr. Weyrich to intervene or provide complementary therapies.

Naturopathic, Complementary, and Alternative Treatments

Immune System Balancing

[McCulley2018, pg 62] reports that schizophrenia may be an autoimmune disorder, and proposes an approach to treating this disease, which should be supervised by a properly trained medical professional. Dr. Weyrich has considerable interest in this topic, but has not treated any cases of schizophrenia with Immune System Balancing.

Please see What is Immune System Balancing? for more information.

Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback has proven useful for treating schizophrenia. Dr. Weyrich has been certified in neurofeedback since 2008, and more recently completed an additional residency training program at ADD Clinic of Scottsdale, AZ. However, Dr. Weyrich has not treated any cases of schizophrenia with this technique.

Please see What is Neurofeedback? for more information.

Neurotransmitter Balancing

Neuro Research [Hinz2015] reports that Schizophrenia can be benefited by balancing neurotransmitter levels in the body.

Dr. Weyrich has been trained in neurotransmitter balancing protocols, but has not treated schizophrenia using this technique.

Please see What is Neurotransmitter Balancing? for more information.

References