So since march 2018 I have been on meds. From april till now I have received a 100mg depot injection of paliperidone. My psychiatrist wants me to stay on meds for the rest of my life and is willing to reduce down to 50mg of paliperidone from January. I hate the side effects such as erectile dysfunction, possible weight gain, and future diabetes/metabolism disorders so I have decided I am going to come off my medication. Tomorrow I am going to ask my Doctor for 0.5mg tablets of risperidone which I will take for a month before lowering down to 0.25 risperidone for another 2 weeks after. Then I will stop all medication just before February. What are your thoughts guys? Is the chance if relapse high. I’ve had two psychotic episodes so far and was hospitalized both times. I really don’t want the symptoms to come back. If I feel psychosis coming back I will get back on the meds straight away.
I tried weaning off my meds earlier this year, with the approval of my doctor. I understand the desire to try. For me, it ended horribly before I even got all the way down. I know this is something most people need to try for themselves though, so I guess my advice is to stay in constant communication with your doctor.
Go very slow. Like, I would wait at least three months before each step down. Even longer, if you start having withdrawal symptoms. This is the rest of your life you’re talking about. You won’t lose much by taking a few more months to make sure you get it right.
Report any increase in symptoms to your doctor immediately. Don’t be afraid to step back up temporarily, and don’t be afraid of admitting if it doesn’t work out. Most of us end up needing meds for life. Ultimately, it’s your decision, but there are ways of minimizing the risk of permanent damage to yourself.
mods, eliminating members, we need stable authority.
You should also be aware of the risks, before trying. Each time you go off meds and relapse, your original med and dose is less likely to work again. So you might end up on an even higher dose to get the same relief.
Additionally, every psychotic episode causes brain damage. The brains of schizophrenic patients tend to have 1-10% less gray matter than healthy brains. It is possible to regain some of these losses through cognitive training, but it takes a lot of effort, and the rehabilitation programs that do so tend to be expensive.
I had to try coming off for myself too. Didn’t work out.
Now I am maxed out on meds and can’t afford another relapse.
Good luck. 
Huh? I don’t know what you’re on about…
Yeah, I’ve read about the brain damage from psychosis. Thanks
where;s the confusion?>
the mods on this site are mentally ill, only admin brother is well mentally.
Oh I see. Yeah I guess moderators should be people who don’t have schizophrenia.
Going off antipsychotics is a losing gamble, as it’s easy for you to start “losing the plot” and going psychotic without them, especially if you’ve done that before repeatedly.
I’d switch to Invega pills though, the side effects are more mild.
I don’t think Invega pills are available in the UK. Paliperidone is the metabolite of risperidone, and I’ve had risperidone before so hopefully I should be ok on it. The only downside to risperidone is at a higher dosage (not sure how many mg it was) it gave me nosebleeds.
Yes yes yes yes YES. Same here.
Well, if you’re referring to the DECEASED one, I guess he’s probably as calm as one can get now.
Coming off meds doesn’t work for most people. If you want to try, that is your choice. Just beware it probably will end in disaster eventually.
Good luck
Why is everyone being injected with high doses of invega. Sad
After I got hospitalized with my 1st and only psychotic episode I had 1 year that I didn’t say anything to my doctor about hearing voices.
I went to college again and the 1st semester was he’ll and I end up failling most of the classes on the 2nd semester. It was bad, I studied all the time and the grades were just enough to get approved(on the 1st). Then on 2nd year I made the choice to start the meds due to my bad grades. My grades on 2nd year and 3rd(1st semester) got really better. Then I needed a readjust.
Long story short, it’s easier to your brain function with meds, but I agree sometimes we need to see that for ourselves 
I suppose it is only natural to want to try a life without medication, especially if you are getting some undesirable side effects, but i wouldn’t recommend it. The risk of relapse is just too high, and as others have said on here, there is the risk of cognitive decline with each psychotic episode. I’ve tried going off medications in the past and i’ve always relapsed. Each time it has been harder to recover. Now i take my medication religiously. Side effects can be annoying though. I would talk to your pdoc about the side effects and see if there is some way they can help you with them. For example - my Clozapine causes me to hypersalivate or produce too much saliva, especially at night. I’ve now got some atropine drops which has really helped with controlling that side effect. They may be able to sort something out similar for you. Either way, whatever you decide, good luck.
I think that no medication is unlikely to work. I tried it once with no success. Alternatively, you could try finding the lowest effective dose under the guidance of a pdoc.
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