If youre on such a low dose and have no symptoms, do you think theyd let you go off meds? I was just thinking this whole thing was tempoary until i got better.
Any stories of going med free and surviving?
Who is “they”? I can quit anytime. I have no records.
Let’s make July- Aug off meds month. For those willingly nuts
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The problem with stopping meds is that you’ll refuse taking them once you’re sick again and you will need a higher dose and a stronger med.
I have been there, stopped for a year. I refused to take meds after, 4 cops forced me to go to mental hospital where they forced me to take meds.
My pdoc is fine with me not taking any. But I have other coping skills and other treatment plans. But I do have med just in case.
I also have almost no positive symptoms any more for the past couple years without meds
My pdoc said she has patients that risk it and others that play it safe. She said I am in the risk taking category lol
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How long have you been taking it for before you went off meds
I’ve a history. Depressive break with paranoid overtones to major break with psychosis. It’s not really in my future and after initial diagnosis it just isn’t brought up. There is a big percentage of people who recover from 1st episode psychosis and don’t need meds. Most folk around here if your multiepisodic or get breakthroughs then it’s meds for life or till a cure.
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I’ve been on a low dose with no symptoms with extended periods for the last two years. Doc had me try going off my APs to see if the Amyloban 3399 could carry the load. Big fat nope there. Positive symptoms were ramping up within weeks and I would have lost insight by the end of the second month if I had kept going. I’m on APs for life, but that’s okay. I’m doing really well and frankly no one ever thought I’d be where I am. I’m calling this a win.
Edit: You can go off meds any time you like. You can also suffer the consequences of your decisions any time you like as well.
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I needed a laugh. Just got diagnosed schizoaffective with bi-polar today. Was originally ptsd/ocd/MDD. My wife said she’d ban me from the forum if I went off my meds. Lol
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When I first got diagnosed with schizophrenia I was told the meds would be for life. However they did help me come off them after about 5 years and no psychotic symptoms. I started to get symptoms (not psyhcosis) but feeling very unselttled and emotionally unstable so I went back on them both times I tried to come off… now I am off the antispychotics but things changed.
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I take my meds voluntarily. Thank God.
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I had a Doctor years ago said I did not need meds. I ended up in hospital a few months later. she was wrong
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I’ve been off olanzapine since the 17th when my depot was due. I’m doing just fine and am waiting for the side effects to wear off.
I don’t dare come off meds.
Ended up in the hospital 4 years ago because of switching meds.
I was involuntarily committed for over a month.
Short answer is no.
Long answer is if you were living symptom free and getting on with life well they would look at reducing your dosage slowly. Over time hypothetically you could come off it. But chances are that doesn’t happen for 99% of patients.
Yeah I lived med free and survived but I had to go back on them because I otherwise wasn’t doing too well.
I tried and quickly went crazy. Now, ten years later, I’m still barely surviving on high doses. Trying to go off that first time ruined everything for me.
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I never actually had any med help, so I’m gonna say it like this, I’ve not had any APs, ADs or mood stabilizers since March 2019. I have not been put in psych ward, but I am med resistant so my current pdoc and I are doing this. I take 4mg of xanax a day, set times. Been since October. We up the dosage as I get worse, and since she looked into lumateperone for me and saw too many bad interactions for me, I’m not allowed to try that. I just have to do a 45 min appt every 4-8 weeks, but can call anytime if i need higher xanax. I have to keep talking to my therapist, she doesn’t care about what, but it’s so those two can get together and see my worst times and if we can find triggers.
She also know I have drinks and says I can have 3 a week, I’m a wine cooler or screwdriver drinker, but I have my rules on if I drink I don’t drink until it’s been 12 hours from last sip.
We as a team, adding my husband into pdoc and therapist, have decided I cannot healthily go into a psych ward again because I was sexually assaulted at the last was I was at, and I’ve been out since March 2008. I had 5 visits from June 2007 until March 2008. All same facility, but my husband was able to get my GP to get me out once she knew everything that happened at all visits.
I’m not gonna say it’s easy, but we also think if we get my RSD and osteoarthritis pain under control that a lot may change.
But I did go off my meds back with the old doc in March, no permission, and I now have the letter from the center saying she was let go for patient mistreatment and causing harm. So going to the board with the system, then also her license board, paid off. And my current pdoc showed me about 30 pages of notes added while she wasn’t supposed to access my file anymore. And we are told that since old doc put in it can’t be removed but she addendumed and put what ■■■■■■■■was put in.
I have my 3 kids at home and my husband works 3rd shift. I go nowhere alone, ever, esp doc appts. And my husband I have him ok anything drastic, like they were talking ECT and I said no right then, but he asked for a week to research…still a no, lol.
If you’ve got support, have pretty good awareness of what’s real and not, I think you can do it if you work it out with a pdoc and supportive people.
12 hours from last sip? That’s not very long. Shouldn’t it be like 20… 
I went off meds for five years after my first three years of sza and had only slight residual symptoms which I barely noticed.
But then I relapsed and my sza came back and ever since I’ve been on meds.
I tried several times to come off meds but landed up in hospital some of those times, and other times I had to increase my dose myself.
I have a cycle of episodes and stability. Every time I’m stable I reduce my meds but when I relapse I have to increase them again.
It looks like I am on them for life now.
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