Anyone stopped their meds? Did your negative symptoms improve off meds? I stopped meds for 2yrs, I was much more active physically but I wasn’t really functional maybe bcz of positive symptoms.
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My negatives were far worse off meds.
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I would like an answer to this question as well. I’m curious as to how much is sz and how much is meds.
I don’t have an answer myself because I’ve been on meds since my negative symptoms have been noticeable to me.
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I had a similar experience, @Aziz .
Went off meds, felt energized but the positives came back. But the upside was that after resuming treatment I ended up with less negatives than before.
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Yes. It got really bad and I got really depressed and suicidal. If not taking them helped negative symptoms I wouldn’t start taking the meds again.
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Since negatives disappeared,
I have energy and rapid thoughts.
Before, i had poverty of thought
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Yeah, I still have some off meds, but they’re better without the meds amplifying them.
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This is my story… My first episode happened in September 2011., I was taking meds for six months, I stopped taking meds in March 2012.(because i wanted to try live without them like before, I thought my episode was something that happened once and on meds I was tired without concentration and working memory for studying, I was sleeping 12h etc. ), then I needed about six months to be able to study and work as before (I noticed some improvement after month, but it took 6 months for me to be fully ready for my college. Then I realized that I can study like before and I was feeling happy and so motivated (my failure motivated me to be the best), so I was studying from 8 to 12h daily (in average 10h daily) and, of course, finished that academic year (2012/2013) with best grades (ten grades A, only one B) and my life was normal (even though I had some financial problems in family etc.). My trigger for my first psychotic episode (in 2011) was falling in love with wrong girl and her rejecting me, even though it happened once and I thought it was my school for life and I will never do the same mistake again, something similar happened later, too, and that was my trigger for every of my three episodes I had. …So, in beginning of 2014 I was falling in love with another girl and after three months something motivated me to only send her some stupid messages (nothing illegal, nasty or something similar, just “hi” and something like that) , and after situation didn’t go as I expected, that (sort of) rejection was beginning of my second episode. So I was off meds firstly from March 2012 to April 2014, then I take few pills (I wasn’t hospitalized in my second episode) and returned home for few months, and in June 2014. I noticed I feel a bit better, and after month or two I was again fully ready for my college. In that 2014/2015 academic year I continued with best grades and got my undergraduate degree. I continued living without my meds (it was normal life with motivation, energy, concentration, working memory, emotions etc.) until August 2017., but I had my third psychotic episode (again because of rejection of girl) from end of December 2016 to my hospitalization in August 2017, after that, I’m on meds, also, I’m unable to study or work, but waiting for some new meds for my big comeback, I have hope for SEP-363856. 
In short: on meds from 09/2011 to 03/2012 (unable to study or work), off meds from 04/2012 to 04/2014 (feeling normal), then I took few (2-3) pills in 04/2014, from 05/2014 to 12/2016 off meds (feeling normal from 07/2014 in that period), from 01/2017 to 08/2017 off meds but usually psychotic during that time, from 08/2017 on meds but unable to study or work and waiting for new meds such as SEP-363856.
P.S. This is my longest post on this forum.
…and edit (after I read it few times): Simple answer: I had negative symptoms off meds but only during my psychotic episodes and then I had positive symptoms, too, but on meds I have sort of negative symptoms or maybe it could be called side effects of meds (being unable to study or work because I’m tired, my working memory is not so good, concentration also, I don’t have energy even though I usually sleep 10-11h etc.)
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Did you try Abilify? My negatuve symptoms were better on it than all other aps but still not as good as off meds. I did 5 semesters of university while on it and graduated. After some years on Abilify I developped the multiple addictions that the FDA and Health Canada warned about with Abilify so I switched to Latuda.
These addictions stopped but I developped worse negative symptoms maybe bcz Abilify is a partial dopamine agonist and Latuda isnt. Then switched to Risperdal as on Latud I had akathisia, nausea, insomnia and some positive symptoms. I was able to work full time a low stress job while on Latuda.
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I’m now on Abilify Maintena 300mg monthly, but I still feel tired, without energy etc., but yes, Abilify is better for me than Zyprexa, paliperidone or some other meds I tried before.
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I think you are confusing lethargy on medications with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. I couldn’t get out of the bed on Risperdal, it may be a side effect rather than a negative symptom. Check with your doctor and make sure whether what you are thinking are negative symptoms are actually negative symptoms.
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Yes, I am off meds now and still have negatives. Less than with the meds.
Disclaimer- my therapist, nurse, and pdoc were aware of going off meds. Do not just quit, you need to taper with supervision to help prevent psychosis.
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Good luck being med free @anon4362788 . I wish I felt I could get away with that.
I’m pretty lucky, I admit that. My symptoms. I have always been low key and manageable off meds before a major psychotic break a few years ago. But if I feel myself going sideways, it is back to meds.
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I wouldn’t sleep without my medication; and the voices would still be there, they might get worse; and would wear me down into suicide or suicidal thoughts.
I have schizophrenia, regardless of if I’m on medication or not.
However, they help with anxiety and agitation.
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He said I have negative symptoms, he tried Wellbutrin and wanted to prescribe Abilify again as my negative symptoms were better on it. Wellbutrin didnt work and I refused the Abilify as it caused me addictions in the past. Then he refered me to ergotherapy but I didnt like it, couldnt do what they asked me to do. He told me to accept my negative symptoms and to try to be happy and in peace with them.
Ergotherapy is occupational therapy, kinda like a psychologist who motivates me and who organizes my life, I already know how to do that so it was useless as my problem is medical and not psychological. My psychiatrist gave up and referred me to my family Dr saying I dont need a psychiatrist anymore as I am too stable to need one.
I have only negative and cognitive symptoms and it get worse if I stop or reduce my daily thyroid medication levothyroxine. Thyroid hormone have a major role in these. This is why lithium medication for bipolar positives like mania and hypomania make thyroid function go low. So its worth to check if thyroid hormone level is in optimal range. Another thing which greatly help for energy is vitamin D.
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I guess I do more things off meds in an average day, but they tend to be more unimportant or useless than what I do on meds.
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Last summer I switched AP’s to Abilify. My pdoc put me on a really low dose. My motivation came back, and I became angry and fearful, along with hallucinating. So I guess I was more emotional.
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