I do not want to take anti psychotics. How many of you have been able to function for long periods of time without medication?
You pay a price for everything and the price I pay for enough function to live a realized life is small change indeedy!
Sadly, for the majority, it’s meds till cure. If your young I’d be hopeful to see some amazing progress in your lifetime. I’m 47. I’ve lived in the era after we were let out of mental institutions. I probably won’t see the cure but you never know!
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I function at a pretty high level but I can never sleep and the paranoia is bad. Are you able to work a job while on medication?
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I have in the past. These days I live an off the grid life on the pension. It’s ok for now but may change in the future.
Sleeping is a priority if your working. Talk to your doc. Might pay to take some sleepers as regularity helps tremendously!
Paranoia is hard if your working. That is the positives and relief is the meds for most. You may need an adjustment. It’s always a journey getting best function out of less side effects and sedation but it’s a balance you can find!
It’s not all doom and gloom. I don’t work but others here are on meds for life and work!
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Hopefully it is not all gloom and doom. I hope to finish college one day. My paranoia makes it hard. Just got to figure out the right meds I guess.
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yeah i find paranoia makes it hard to socialize healthy when it acts up. i went from a stronger ap to a lighter one cause of side effecrs and my physical health but it barely contains episodal paranoia. it’s been a balancing act for me with MI and physical health.
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Have you ever tried them?
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Yes, full-time and it is a job with a high cognitive load. I also run my own part-time business and volunteer a lot. I’m med-compliant.
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After my first breakdown I went into remission and managed to stay off meds for five years but in 2012 had a relapse and now on meds ever since. Each time I try to come off them I relapse so I need them now to keep stable.
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God only knows where i would be without meds… Probably dead…
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Yeah, same here. I’m done messing with my meds.
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I relapse hard on medication I can’t even imagine what it would be off of them.
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I had that problem for years, but it does get better!
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Yes I have tried seroquel. I hate it
Thanks everyone for the replies. That is awesome pixel that gives me hope for the future.
APs can suck, but the alternative is usually worth. Mental health is critical, so take care of yourself, even if it means putting up with medication. A lot of people on the site take APs and still work. When I was on a higher dose of Saphris, it really helped with my paranoia. On a lower dose or off of it, I feel like I am being followed, am going to get kidnapped, will be gunned down in public, and have snipers watching the back of my house. It makes it difficult to function.
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I barely leave my house because I feel I am being followed everywhere. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. I just try to convince myself it’s not real. Today is not that bad but it’s up and down like a rollercoaster.
I get that. While I’m thinking things like that, I realize that I am probably having paranoid thoughts, but there’s a voice in the back of my head saying, “But what if this time it’s real?”.
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I haven’t been on an AP in almost a year now. Unfortunately it is not pleasant and I have gradually realized that I do need to be on one. So long as my life is simple and minimally stressful, I am fine, but obviously life is not like that all of the time. When there is stress then I can be thrown into pure hell when my psychosis acts up like I have been recently. I’m still functional during, but I suffer badly. So I’m still trying to find a good AP.
Also I am literally a danger to myself off depakote because I get insane constant mood swings and horrific depressive episodes that leave me suicidal and I’ve harmed myself before. So I’d never even think of going off if I haven’t had a major depressive episode since starting it which is amazing to me.
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Why did you stop taking your AP? I read your bio it says that you are in college did it make it harder. I hope I’ll be able to get a degree eventually only took two classes last semester and I can’t believe I actually made it through. The work is easy but my symptoms make it very difficult to even be there.