I beleive that schizophrenia is not hereditary but is just a label. However it's a label that will only make life much worse for both her and everyone close to her and is to be avoided completely because it implies that she is mad. The increased anxiety of the label will make her panic attacks worse and more frequent. If she was taken to, say an endocrinologist, who did a 5 hr glucose tolerance test on her and found her to have unstable blood sugar or reactive hypoglycaemia, then she would be called a person with reactive hypoglycaemia, nothing to be frightened of and treated accordingly. If alternatively she was taken to a psychiatrist and diagnosed as schizophenic, the diagnosis itself would make things worse because of it's implications. People around her would become frightened of what she might do and she herself would become frightened of what she might do. They would keep an eye on her and she would feel she is being watched, They would deny watching her so as not to make her paranoid, however this would only make her more paranoid and distrustful although she would oscillate between distrust and feeling that maybe it IS her 'illness'and that she just imagines being watched. This situation just gets worse and worse with no end in site. She would certainly end up on an antipsychotic drug such as Abilify with a huge range of side effects, including obesity and diabetes 2 in a few years. She'd be institutionalised from time to time especially if she refuses to take her medication because of the side effects and even believe she is been deliberately poisoned. Hell on Earth for EVERYBODY.
If you suggested to her that she might have a blood sugar problem then she is going to react to that suggestion far more favourably than if you suggest she is schizophenic and be more amenable to a 5 hr GTT or simply go off refined sugar. But YOU go off refined sugar as well because it can't do either of you any harm and both of you will experience a lot less moodswing and you will relate much better to each other and build trust as a foundation stone. As to the ghosts, when a persons blood sugar goes down very low and it is inhibited from coming back up because of liver malfunction, substances can form in the bloodsteam and in the liver and possibly the brain which cause hallucinations, one being called adrenochrome and another orthomethyldopa. I can't remember the names of the ones formed in the liver. They cause the hallucinations of DT's with liver cirrhosis. As her blood sugar stabilises they will disappear. Another thing is that with shizophenics I know they often see people who they reckon are aliens, believe the man across the road is causing wars with his mind and so on because that have never learned as a child that these things are simply not possible. Now I know I'll get into trouble saying this but it is because their mothers have been so protective and done every thing for them, kept away from other kids who might influence them negatively etc. so that they never learn the basics of how society works and make their own decisions. It was RD Laing that said this originally and copped a lot of criticism, especially from feminists. However, what he did NOT SPELL OUT was that these mothers were protecting the child from sexual or violent abuse by the father, OR simply protecting the child from being influenced by the fathers ideas or beliefs, religious beliefs for instance, that the mother reckons are very detrimental to the child. Maybe your sister might talk to you about these things as you get closer to each other and as you both grew up in the same family so many things will be explained to both of you. If, on the other hand, she was diagnosed schizophrenic the very OPPOSITE would take place. Love is healing and it spreads. Mistrust is destuctive and it too spreads, poisoning everything in it's path.
For a complete guide on refined sugar see my Panic Attacks and Refined Sugar thread. I won't say good luck as it has nothing to do with luck but wisdom. Noddy.
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