Lilibet
Southern Oregon
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2013
- Messages
- 19,648
- Reaction score
- 82,275
KCL, I've been reading your blog and your posts here about John. It moved me to go read on Wikipedia about Schizophrenia and I ran across the following quote that made me wonder if John's smoking means that he needs a higher dosage of whatever meds he is on.
"It is of interest that cigarette smoking affects liver function such that the antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia are broken down in the blood stream more quickly. This means that smokers with schizophrenia need slightly higher doses of antipsychotic drugs in order for them to be effective than do their non-smoking counterparts.[citation needed]"
This is also talked about a little in another Wikipedia article "Schizophrenia and Smoking":
"Though smoking may help relieve symptoms of schizophrenia, smoking also counteracts the effects of antipsychotic medication. Smoking results in faster metabolism of antipsychotics, which results in smokers being prescribed higher doses. Studies are unclear as to whether changes in smoking are caused by changes in symptoms, side effects of medication, or primary effects of medication.[2][3]"
You probably already know all of this, but on the off chance that you don't, I thought it might be a missing piece to the puzzle. I'm SO not suggesting that you take John's cigarettes away! :noooo: Just doing a little accidental sleuthing and wondering if they need to raise his meds dose.
I really feel the frustration you and Karmiclaw have discussed about the apathy and inattention to detail in the medical field. It drives me nuts, and I'm not dealing with anything as frustrating as you are! I think they must be too overloaded and overwhelmed to think straight. John is sooooo fortunate to have you.
I hope it helps to know we care. And I wish you a wonderful vacation. :seeya:
"It is of interest that cigarette smoking affects liver function such that the antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia are broken down in the blood stream more quickly. This means that smokers with schizophrenia need slightly higher doses of antipsychotic drugs in order for them to be effective than do their non-smoking counterparts.[citation needed]"
This is also talked about a little in another Wikipedia article "Schizophrenia and Smoking":
"Though smoking may help relieve symptoms of schizophrenia, smoking also counteracts the effects of antipsychotic medication. Smoking results in faster metabolism of antipsychotics, which results in smokers being prescribed higher doses. Studies are unclear as to whether changes in smoking are caused by changes in symptoms, side effects of medication, or primary effects of medication.[2][3]"
You probably already know all of this, but on the off chance that you don't, I thought it might be a missing piece to the puzzle. I'm SO not suggesting that you take John's cigarettes away! :noooo: Just doing a little accidental sleuthing and wondering if they need to raise his meds dose.
I really feel the frustration you and Karmiclaw have discussed about the apathy and inattention to detail in the medical field. It drives me nuts, and I'm not dealing with anything as frustrating as you are! I think they must be too overloaded and overwhelmed to think straight. John is sooooo fortunate to have you.
I hope it helps to know we care. And I wish you a wonderful vacation. :seeya: