Posted:
06/2025
In remission from
Schizophrenia
Started Journey
02/2024
Social Links
"There has been a tremendous amount of improvement since I began using ketogenic therapies...I am social and engaged with the people in my life! I also have the motivation to play/work at a job that I love."
Paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions
Keto diet, exercise, meditation
My psychiatrist, talk therapist, and a keto coach are my care team. I meet with my psychiatrist every 3 months (now that I am in remission), my talk therapist once a month, and my keto coach before I fast. I talk to my psychiatrist about my medication during our appointments. I gradually tapered down my antipsychotics with her help over 9-10 months.
I get bloodwork done once a year. I choose from the blood labs on Metabolic Mind’s website. They suggested using Own Your Labs. I was able to save some money this way. I take electrolytes each morning. Those are the only supplements I take right now. I will probably take vitamin D when the winter comes again.
I have followed ketovore, carnivore, and Mediterranean keto. All of these diets worked for me. I switch between them based on the food I am craving. I find that intermittent fasting helps me. I try to eat 8 hours a day and fast for 16 hours. I bring whipped cream to social events in case people think I am “missing out” on dessert, and I drink tea if I am at a social event late at night. I aim for 70% fat, 20% protein, and 10 % carbs. (I am usually around 3-5% carbs so these percentages change slightly each day.) I stay at 20-25 g net carbs per day.
I use a KetoMojo to measure ketones. I tested 2 times a day when I first started eating according to a medical ketogenic diet. I aimed for 1 mmol/L or higher.
My sleep quality improved drastically once I started volunteering and I became employed. I gradually increase the amount of activity in my day with volunteering, employment, and exercise. I have a routine wake time of 5 AM and a bedtime of 9 PM. I sleep extra on the weekend.
I do Pilates, I bike to Pilates, and I walk my dog.
I do not ever smoke or drink. It was not particularly hard for me to manage these challenges. I would occasionally drink a glass of wine when I was experiencing hallucinations when I was not medicated or on a medical ketogenic diet. I figured out on my own that the glass of wine did not reduce my hallucinations.
After a medical ketogenic diet, Yoga Nidra is the best strategy I have found for building emotional resilience and long-term well-being. Engaging with the community has also helped me a lot. I love being social now.
I get bloodwork done once a year. I read Dr. Casey Means book, Good Energy, which helped me understand how to calculate my tricglyceride-to-HDL ratio (to get an idea of whether I had insulin resistance).