So I read that some people call antipsychotics a chemical lobotomy is this true? Is taking our meds like getting a lobotomy for us? I think these people don’t understand but I see it often when talking about antipsychotics
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It’s not nearly as bad as a lobotomy, if I remember right the origin of that phrase is from when really really high doses of typical AP’s were incredibly common and there were profound cognitive side effects
Medications may actually form new neural links so it’s not damaging like a lobotomy. Still. It’s not the most refined process. I think after 20 years of meds have helped my brain. I have way less paranoia and racing thoughts and I’d say it’s been a positive thing. Might not be as smart as I used to be but that isn’t a problem.
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It depends on the type of medicine and the dosage. The only AP that ever made me feel like I had a “chemical lobotomy” was Seroquel. My current AP, Zyprexa, doesn’t make me feel that way. I’m on a pretty small dose, 7.5mg, so that’s a big factor.
It’s definitely not dangerous like an actual lobotomy though. Those were terrible times when people would perform transorbital lobotomies, just awful. Those operations went out of fashion with the advent of Thorazine IIRC.
Lobotomy didn’t fix anything and it removed your chance of getting better with meds and your intelligence completely. Meds now are actually effective in treating positive symptoms without seriously affecting intelligence.
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I’ve been on medication for forty years. If this is a lobotomy, then it’s the slowest one in history. I think that term is used more for dramatic effect in arguments against medication.
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Not really. You can be left feeling zombified by higher doses that are necessary when you’re suffering from profound positive symptoms, but over time your treatment team will fine-tune a dose that works for you without disabling you. This is in most cases. For the treatment resistant (hi!) this can take longer and is frustrating as heck.
I’ve been on APs for over a quarter century. I have a day job that is very demanding cognitively and I am able to handle it just fine (I’m an insurance broker). A lot of what you read about chemical lobotomies is just crap posted by the anti-med anti-psych trolls trying to frighten people. You can ignore them and take your meds with the confidence that they will improve your health.
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Chlorpromazine/Thorazine, the first AP discovered accidentally in the 50’s was called at that time “chemical lobotomy” by pdocs because it had the same effect that lobotomy on patients. Today ‘s APs are less strong than the first generation : can we still call them chemical lobotomy? Probably yes because their mechanisms of action remain the same. It’ s all about disconnecting overactivated frontal lobe. The difference is that psychosurgery is definitive whereas medication are transient.
I’m not sure…
Dunno what a lobotomy feels like. It sounds horrific though.
I feel like it is, my dr told me my symptoms I apparantly have and not the other way round. My mind is blank sometimes and nothing brings joy anymore. I can’t immerse myself in drawing or series now I have read antipsychotics mess up the reward system so this makes sense.
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