Are there any alternatives to medication?

I’m fairly certain that I’m schizophrenic, but haven’t yet been properly diagnosed. I visited my GP recently and they agreed it was very likely I am, so I’ve now been referred to a psychiatrist. I’m worried about taking any medication I might be prescribed though. I’d like to hear how medication has helped you (or not) and if anyone has had success with any other types of therapy. Thanks!

I’m on 40mg of Latuda…

I’m schizophrenic. It’s helping. I no longer think Muhammad Ali is going to pick me up in a Limo and fly me to Europe to address the United Nations.

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Latuda is great. Everyone responds to meds differently. Watch out for Zyprexa for weight gain, risperdal for prolactin issues and male breast growth, Geodon for long qt interval and heart conditions. Each med has its side effects. Some people argue that those three meds work for them but those are the main side effects. Abilify and Latuda are the newest medicines and have been vetted for side effects other than akathisia. Unfortunately they are more expensive. The akathisia can go away if you use meds to manage it. There’s a whole slew of research by these meds and what receptors they hit. This is why they cause problems certain receptors are dangerous to block.

Schizophrenia is believed to be caused by a LOT of things going funky and not working right in your brain…without medication all those things go wrong over longer periods of time and your prognosis gets worse and worse :confused: The earlier you start antipsychotics, the better you will be down the road. Someone who doesn’t ever take them, by the time they’re 40 or older is going to constantly be in a highly psychotic state…and meds won’t be as effective for them…Most effective method of treatment is actually meds+therapy. (Note that therapy alone=not nearly as effective for those w sz)

Learned all that in my neuropsychopharmacology class :confused: Without meds schizophrenic functioning declines over time.

I posted a little “guide” on different APs in the medication section if you’re interested! (Though if you have a good psychiatrist they will go over your options with you and inform you on the different meds) I’m very sorry for your (possible) diagnosis and wish you best of luck.

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Not picking a fight, I promise, but where you learn stuff can have an effect on what you’re taught. There is a lot of information out there and it’s important to get information from as many sources as possible. I am 36 years not- medicated sz, and it’s true that I’ve paid a price. All I would say is that taking all things in your specific situation into consideration, learning as much about meds vs no meds is important. Either way it’s daunting just starting out and I wish you well, @pumpkin818.

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No I definitely agree with you. However I’ve also learned from numerous other psych classes and read books and research articles that have said that for the majority of those with schizophrenia, a functional life without medication is incredibly difficult.

Still I respect your choice and would love to hear your story. You very rarely hear personal experiences of sz individuals who successfully live without meds.

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I’m in a very similar boat right now, and seeing a psychiatrist in 10 days. I’ve had unpleasant experiences with meds, and having my mind messed with in general is pretty intimidating, but I also take note of people who have found the rights med(s) for them, and who are living better lives and don’t have horrendous side effects. So it seems to be a journey of finding the right one(s) for you at the right dosage(s) for you, a case where the journey might really suck, but the reward at the end appears to be significant. As far as APs go so far I have tried Zyprexa and it didn’t go well, but there are still others to try.

Taking the med’s is a big step. Most of them have side effects like weight gain and reduction in creativity, among others. There are two classes of anti-psychotic medications, the type of medications most used to treat schizophrenia. The med’s can have different effects on different people, but there are general trends in the way people respond to the drugs. The two classes of anti-psychotic drugs are “typical” and “atypical”. Generally speaking, most people find the “typical” anti-psychotics much more deadening and unpleasant to take than the “atypicals”, though I have talked to people for whom that wasn’t the case. The typical med’s were invented much earlier than the atypicals, and doctors are less likely to prescribe them, though (I hate to say it.) they are more effective in treating symptoms. The atypicals are slower to act and less unpleasant, but they do control symptoms, and doctors are more likely to prescribe them these days. It stands to reason that a med. that suppresses dopamine, one of the neurotransmiters most associated with feeling pleasure, is going to make the person who takes it feel bad. The typical antipsychotics are Moban, Stellazine, Mellaril, Navane, Haldol, Prolixin, and I think a couple of others. The atypicals are Zyprexa, Geodon, Seroquel, Fanapt, Clozaril, and a few others I can’t remember. The atypicals are probably just as bad about weight gain as the typicals. All the antipsychotics generally have a weakening effect on the body, though I have talked to people who were able to be body builders even though they took antipsychotics. That definitely isn’t the case with me. I knew a guy who could take any amount of Stellazine and it did nothing to him. That drug put me flat on my back. All the antipsychotics tend to disrupt the body’s temperature regulation mechanisms so that you are more susceptible to heat stroke in summer and hypothermia in winter. That’s made working outside in the weather or in a hot factory impossible for me.
I sometimes wonder if I could have made it without antipsychotic medication, but now that I am on them I don’t think I can come off. It’s never worked when I tried that.

From what I’ve read, for most people with schizophrenia there are no alternative treatments that work as well as medication. I don’t know a lot about alternative methods. Some schizophrenia researchers may claim vitamins or minerals or herbs can help and there are some other alternative methods out there.

These treatments may work with some people but they don’t help the majority. Since schizophrenia was first identified and labled about a hundred years ago, there have been various treatments or “cures” that seemed like good ideas at the time but they soon became failures.

Some were pretty radical, I guess most people know a little bit about lobotomys or have at least heard the word mentioned. In the forties or fifties this was touted as the miracle cure for schizophrenia. It involved sticking a wire through the patients eye socket and into their brain and swirling it around and destroying the frontal lobe. This treatment actually worked on some people, but it actually turned other people into vegetables who as a result of this treatment they had to be institutionalized for the rest of their lives.

That’s the thing about even the most failed radical cures or alternative treatments for schizophrenia, they will work for a small percentage of patients but not for the majority. You can research alternative methods and you may find one that works for you but don’t get your hopes too high. Some could actually harm you so be careful.

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Hi and welcome. First of all I would like to stay that if you’re in the prodromal phase and not yet full blown psychotic you should definitely get on meds so that wont happen, trust me you don’t want that to happen.
It’s completely losing your mind and the chance for losing part of yourself in the process increases, as it increases lost of brain tissue and cognitive abilities too. I used to have an excelent memory, now I forget things a lot. Besides from the traumatic events that happened while I was full blown psychotic.

Second, there’s a lot of meds out there, I was one of the lucky ones, the med I’m on is a good med for me, I’m free from delusions and hallucinations. I’m on a monthly shot of Invega Sustenna, one of the atypicals as crimby explained to you.

Good luck, better meds will come in the future too. It’s not the worse time in the world to have sz.

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Medication is the best thing that’s happened to me since I got ill. There are side-effects but I can deal with those. You need to find the right meds, some might be horrible for you, others might be very good.

What about meds for negative symptoms?

Unfortunately, if you have Schizophrenia, there are No real Alternatives - Its pretty much going to be Medications (Antipsychotics).

All of these Meds are going to have side effects, its just a matter of what you are willing to tolerate.

I would start researching these meds - familiarize yourself with them.

Best of luck to you @pumpkin818

I don’t mean to sound so close minded, but without meds there is no recovery, period.

Sadly we haven’t covered any of those yet. We might, I’m not sure. I’ll ask my professor about it. It’s so complicated because if the dopamine theory is right for what causes positive symptoms, the issue is you have too much dopamine in one area of your brain and not enough in this other area. The not enough in the other area causes negative symptoms. They’re trying to figure out how to work on both separately but that ain’t easy. If you try to decrease dopamine production like normal AP’s do you’re probably gonna exacerbate negative symptoms…if you try to increase dopamine in that area that lacks it you get treated negative symptoms but your positive symptoms are gonna spike…

Brains are hard @.@

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I used to think that way, until my brother, diagnosed with stereotypical paranoid schizophrenia, ran out of options for meds that might work for him. Heading for horrible suffering around the corner, he went on B-Vitamins as a long-shot to see if it would even temporarily help, and it has helped. Have you tried B-Vitamins?

You may want to get that checked out. It could be nothing. Could be SZ. Could be brain tumours. Only a medical doctor can tell you.

As to your original question, my alternatives are insanity, homelessness, and death. I’m very high-functioning on meds, except for having a bit of trouble fitting in exercise. I work, am married, am raising a child.

Piel.

People HAVE recovered and come off their meds, it is possible. Look on youtube “when the voices fell silent”.