I'm 43 and schizophrenic. According to the statistics, I'll be dead in 17 years

That is the title of this article I am reviewing today. "'You’ve got a choice. You can either buy cigarettes, or get food to see you through the week. For most people it’s a no-brainer. Of course you’d buy food. But if you’re suffering from schizophrenia, living on the disability support pension and facing other psycho-social challenges, then the choice isn’t so clear. 'Some of my patients will choose cigarettes over food, my clinical specialist nurse told me. They also drink huge amounts of coffee. I’ve even seen people eating dried coffee from the tin.' So what’s going on here? I’m schizophrenic, and aside from dealing with the symptoms of the illness, there’s another statistic which I’m struggling to come to grips with. People with schizophrenia tend to live between 14 and 20 years less than the general community. 'With schizophrenia, my thoughts can be like pieces of a mismatched jigsaw puzzle'  Joshua Gliddon

People are often afraid to ask questions about my illness. In Schizophrenia Awareness Week, I want to set the record straight – it’s nothing to fear Every year, 9,000 Australians with a serious mental illness will die prematurely. We face higher incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, very high levels of unemployment, and many of us are in temporary housing. It’s not a good mix.

I’m also 43. The average life expectancy for a non-Indigenous Australian male is around 80 years, a bit longer for women. I smoke, and weigh more than I should. According to the statistics, I’ve got about another 17 years left in me. That’s quite sobering." That is the truth when I smoked most of my social security check went on cigarettes and I was thin for that reason. Coffee I had to quit because I drank so much it affected the Moban I was taking and my symptoms would show up. For me coffee was harder to quit than cigarettes my body went through changes when I quit.  Now that I am on Geodon I can drink coffee again but I do not crave like before I only have two cups in the morning and that is enough for me now.
The article goes on to say: "Professor Amanda Baker, a senior researcher at the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) specialising in schizophrenia, told me there are a number of reasons why people with schizophrenia have reduced life expectancies. The big ones are poor lifestyle, unemployment and social isolation. She said that around 85% of people with schizophrenia smoke, compared with approximately 20% of the general population. One of the main reasons people smoke, she said, is that the medications used to treat the illness are often sedative and dulling, and so people use tobacco and caffeine heavily because they’re stimulants. The medications also have other side effects. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, the anti-psychotics used to treat schizophrenia have a negative effect on metabolism. When I was first put on Olanzapine, a potent anti-psychotic, I put on about 25 kilos in a matter of months. I’ve moved onto a different medication since then, but it’s also weight unfriendly, and despite doing moderate exercise, I’ve never been able to shake the weight I gained. According to Baker, until recently there wasn’t a lot of attention paid to the physical health aspects of serious mental illness. Clinicians didn’t discourage patients from smoking because there was a pervasive attitude that you 'don’t upset the schizophrenics.'" When I quit smoking I put on a lot of weight I lost a lot by walking although the most recently lost was because of the three surgeries for lung cancer. I am trying not to put it back on again.
The article ends: "Not so long ago it was also OK to smoke in psychiatric institutions. Public facilities have clamped down on that, but smoking is still common in private hospitals.
Is there anything that can be done?  'People with schizophrenia are generally more dependent, and have less coping skills than the general population, and that makes it very hard for them to give up or make lifestyle changes,' Baker said. Brain’s immune cells hyperactive in schizophrenia New research links the onset of psychosis to the brain’s inflammatory response.  So the initiative needs to come from both patients and their care team. While psychiatrists in the past were only focused on medication and the mind, these days, said Baker, they are being encouraged to have a wider view of their patient’s health, both physical and mental. What needs to happen is a greater focus by clinicians on the overall wellbeing of their patients. Baker said this is finally occurring. 'Psychiatrists are being encouraged to look after the physical, as well as mental health of their patients, and that means addressing smoking, as well as diet and exercise,' she said. That’s a good start, but for the meantime, people with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia will continue to die young. And that is a major downside of being sick.'" I know if they pass this new tax on cigarettes it is the mental ill that some just will not quit and use all their money to buy the cigarettes.  I know I used to be the same way.  I had  a reason to quit because I wanted my granddaughter to always come over my house.  My daughter did not want her around smoking.  Which I see now was good.

Healthy Active Lives (HeAL): tackling premature death in young people with psychosis

It is still in the news they are still talking about people with mental illness dying 15- 20 years younger than the rest of the population. This story talks about young people with mental illness and how they want to battle them dying early. “Compared to their peers who have not experienced psychosis, young people with psychosis face a number of preventable health inequalities.”  These inequalities are preventable they say.We already know they die earlier than the rest of the people without psychosis. 
 

·         A lifespan shortened by about 15-20 years. 

·          2-3 times the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease making it the single most common cause of premature death (more so than suicide).

·         2-3 times the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.

·         3-4 times the likelihood of being a smoker

I can make sure I do not get diabetes and stay a nonsmoker as I quit fifteen years ago.  I just have to make sure I take my walks.  I am battling losing weight it comes off slowly which I hope is good.They would like to get rid of the stigma and prejudice that prevent young people who have psychosis from leading healthy lives and they have ambitious targets for the next five years they would like to see that.


·         90% of young people experiencing a first episode of psychosis and their families or supporters are satisfied that they made treatment choices informed by an understanding of their risks for future obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

·         Within a month of starting treatment, 90% have a documented assessment which includes risks for future obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

·         All young people receive a regular review of their medication to mimimise the development of complications of obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

·         75% gain no more than 7% of their pre-illness weight two years after starting antipsychotic treatment.

·         75% maintain blood glucose, lipid profile and blood pressure within the normal range two years after initiating antipsychotic treatment.

·         2 years after the onset of psychosis

·         90% receive health promotion advice on healthy eating, tobacco and substance use, dental care and sexual health.

·         Fewer than 30% smoke tobacco

·         More than 50% engage in appropriate physical activity.

I know for me before I gained weight I was a smoker and when I quit I started buying more food because I was low income and all my money before went on cigarettes.  I had never weighed before than more than 150 pounds.I hope this works for the young people who get a mental illness.  “I should not lose the physical health I possess, as a consequence of my mental illness, or my care and treatment.”  To have a good mind from the medication you should not have to compromise your health. I remember when I did not weigh as much I would walk just a little farther than I do now and I always stayed thin.  Now I have to fight to lose any weight.  Although I will not give up especially since I do not want diabetes.