Dr. Sears,
Q: My best friend's son was just let out of the military with full benefits as they had caused his disability from poor medical care. He went into the military a normal young man and came out with schizophrenia. He had hurt his shoulder at his military job in Alaska, which needed immediate surgery, which they delayed for several months. Since he was in pain, they gave him many pain killers and sometimes two different ones at the same time. They did the surgery and gave him more pain medicines, which caused the drug-induced schizophrenia. He is doing a little better here in Florida under the care of a good doctor. My question is will fish oil help the schizophrenia? I know depression and schizophrenia are not the same. I don't want to recommend something to them, as they have all been through so much this year. Please advise. The young man is 5'8", is of normal weight and is 22 years old.
A: There are indications that schizophrenia also responds to high-dose fish oil. I would recommend at least 10 grams of EPA and DHA per day. It will also reduce the inflammatory pain, which was the initiating cause of his problems.