When i was on Invega i was able to work, now seemingly stronger haldol ap i cant and i dont knoe ehat to think. Does anybody else lost their ability to work over time?
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Yes. The needs I have has affected the type of job I can hold. In December I lost my job. Thankfully I have found a better job that meets my needs.
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I have trouble waking up in the morning :(. Sometimes I don’t make it, it sucks to leave your coworkers hanging… They havent fired me yet though.
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Yes I had to resign from my latest job due to stress-related sz symptoms. I had some disappointments on a personal level which compounded the sh1tty moment. Now I am stable again but still unemployed.
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I worked for many years but over time it got harder and harder. I kept taking easier and easier jobs but it just kept being more than I could handle finally my last job I was just a cashier for a casino for 5 years. I knew the job very well but I couldn’t even handle that anymore. One day I had a line of customers and I had a breakdown. I had to call the supervising floor attendant over to take over my cage. That was the last shift I worked. I went out on disability and never made it back to work. They held my job for me for a year and finally had to hire someone to replace me. But told me I could come back anytime. I miss the place but I just can’t do it anymore. The stress of interacting with people all day is too much.
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I worked 1 10 hour day since am starting meds 10 years ago.
Dialogue kept telling me to leave the building. So that’s what I did on day 2 of the job.
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I have had over 60 jobs in my lifetime, im 52, but now I can’t hold a job anymore. My psychiatrist said it’s time to stop and go on disability.
I like to work, and hope in the future to get a sheltered job.
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The only time I was able to work for a long time 1y+ is when I was on Latuda 80mg. On Abilify I had about 10 jobs but the max I lasted was 1 month as a VR video games bug reporter for Oculus. It was the funniest job I have ever had in my life.
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I worked at many different jobs continuously for 23 years. And I haven’t worked in the last 23 years either. I am no longer able to hold onto a job.
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I was an analyst for a marketing company.
It was run by a family friend, but he sold the company to an American corporate, and it changed so much I had to leave
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I don’t buy into this “stronger/weaker” ap nonsense. Just gotta try different ones and see what works best for you as a unique individual.
I was on Olanzapine, which is considered one of the strongest AP’s and affects 17 different receptors in your brain. It didn’t work nearly as good as Lurasidine which is considered a “weaker” AP. And I was on a really high dose of Olanzapine and am on a fairly low dose of Lurasidone.
Lurasidone is the best AP I have tried…
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I’ve currently been working part time for 2 months. But I’m running into issues. It’s hard to go in every day. All I do is clean dishes and cutting boards and occasionally help customers. My family is so proud of me, but I’m struggling to keep this going. I’m starting to get traped in a delusion. I told my case worker about that today. Luckiky I got approved for disability just in case. I just think my AP isn’t strong enough anymore.
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Yes, I am more focused on stress and pacing myself now. I much prefer some kind of work than nothing. If I lose the job I have then I would plan to do volunteer work.
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Yea I think there are exceptions. Olanzapine is supposed, according to studies, to be stronger than risperdal and much stronger than Abilify. Olanzapine never worked for me, I was still fully psychotic on 15mg + Seroquel and had insomnia. 15-20mg Abilify worked a lot better for positive symptoms. Now even better 0 positive symptoms 0 mania on 6mg Risperdal.
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Lurasidone was better than olanzapine for my positive symptoms but I was still half psychotic with paranoia, irritability, anger etc on it even on 120mg. Also had really bad akathisia, insomnia and nausea. Somehow I managed to work full time during the year I was on it but it was torture.
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So far I’ve never been fired and haven’t lost my ability to work yet. (Knock on wood!!)
In my opinion if a med makes you less functional than you would be off it there is no point to that med. The goal of medication is to make you functional AND symptom free not just symptom free. Maybe you could try a med change??
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It can get tough, bad days and good days.
The employer usually lets you go when you have too many bad days.
Yes. People still don’t understand mental illness. The number of co-workers that tell me to do street drugs is baffling. I feel like telling them that’s the very first thing psychiatrists suspect when you start showing symptoms of sz, but most I just save face. I’ve quit so many jobs without notice I’ve run out of places to apply to. I’ve had an old co-worker come up to me on the street and threaten to kick my ass if I didn’t reapply to my old job cause I “offended” somebody. He told me I had done a “bad job”. Why he’d want me to come back is beyond me. Strangely the jobs that you do really want my family wants me to quit cause afterall I’ll do anything to keep them.
The following saying sums up my problem with work, “if you’re not busy you should be cleaning.”
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Doing something? Get a broom! 
The keep busy for sake of looking busy mindset has always baffled me.
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