The Neurology Lounge Podcast: Randye Speaks with Dr. Ibrahim Imam

This is Episode 46 of this informative podcast.

From the show notes: (British spellings of some words :))

“Our conversation chronicled her experience of witnessing and managing her son’s struggles with schizophrenia. She highlighted the long prodrome of adolescent behavioural and mood changes which she pointed out typifies the onset of the illness in boys as opposed to girls.

She discussed many of the other early indicators of the illness which the family and his teachers normalised and explained away as adolescent adjustment, and these included social isolation, paranoid and grandiose ideas, odd behaviours.

We also discussed the progression of Ben’s illness as he performed poorly academically and dropped out of school, and as he struggled to maintain his family relationships and friendships.

Randye also explored the long journey they took to getting a diagnosis, and longer still to get effective treatments, delays she argues contribute to poorer outcomes in schizophrenia. She discussed his different treatments, and his struggles to adhere to them. Other themes we covered are the familial and environmental vulnerabilities to schizophrenia, its social triggers, the stigma of mental illness, how to support families coping with schizophrenia, and the importance of maintaining hope.”