Do you have to take meds for life and do you think the side effects outweigh the symptoms?
Iām lucky I donāt have too many side-affectsā¦and they help a lot. Iām one of the lucky ones. But I need meds for life. Sometimes I contemplate with the idea of getting off meds, but then I wake up the next morning and say āI need my medsā. I feel each and every pill I take makes me stronger. Thatās maybe an illusion but with every pill I get stronger, itās a good illusion to have.
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which med are you on, i quit a month ago but i think i need to start taking them again
abilify 20 mgā¦it has less side-affects than most meds and @anon93437440 posted an article a couple weeks ago that itās on average the most effective medā¦but everyones different
Iām also on 20mg of Abilify. Itās really made my day-to-day life bearable and kept me on an even keel now for over a year and a half.
Itās given me a bit of a gut, and slightly affected my libido, but neither to the extreme. Canāt say Iāve noted any other side effects other than those two. I crashed 5 times in the past, so I consider myself to be a āliferā on medication.
Meds 4 life! Like how the kids say it!
Thatās something you have to discuss with your Doctor(S). I donāt take meds but I consulted with my doc first. I tried meds for a year and antipsychotics give me extreme Somnolence (even the ones that have a reduced chance to). So I literally couldnāt do anything on them, I fell down the stairs 6 times and really hurt myself several times because I was out of it all the time. My quality of life was severely reduced . I had to see a therapist once a week for 6 months (now as needed). Basically itās ā ā ā ā ā ā ā hard work.
Low dose of meds for life. Side-effects are tolerable for the most part.
I have been on meds for all but one of the last 41 years though not always taking them as regularly as I should(being on depot has made a big difference in that respect). I often ask myself whether I need them but am swayed by the thought that,contrary to antipsychiatry propaganda, they donāt prescribe these drugs lightly.
Itās very likely for me and for others here that our loved ones, nurses, pdocs can see things about us, that necessitate use of medication, that we struggle to see ourselves.
In terms of side effects Iām fairly lucky ie weight gain and intermittent mild/sub akathisia and mouth clicking.
My psychiatrist says itās meds for life for me. Iād like to try going it alone just to test the waters.
My side effects are mild compared to some. Iām on Invega tablets, 12mg.
Meds for life for me.
No real side effects apart from weight gain that I canāt lose 
Have tried a lot of APs and only a few I can tolerate.
Probably for life. I take 10mg of Loxapine. Not many side effects. Only thing that got rid of the voices. I also drink a lot. So I am trying to really think about that and I may have to increase my dosage. Sleep very well when I take this at night. If I take it during the day I am pretty sleepy and can hardly walk right. Also started taking vitamin d3 which I think is helping my concentration. Also, the loxapine makes me able to be very nice and patient.
Most likely for life side effects is tiredness weight gain and ed Iām on invega
dont really have side effects except no libido so ill be on meds for now
Itās simple really. When I developed the disorder I lost the ability to sleep. I donāt think I would have made it through my 20ās without the meds. So even though I will likely die from the side effects I would have to say itās prolonged my life.
Im on high dose meds and I still get breakthrough symptoms. I envy ppl on here who can manage on low to average doses, high doses make me a zombie. For me the psychosis is frightening and unbearable not at all pleasant so I willingly take the meds. I think they improve my cognition at low to average doses and they have eliminated most of my negative symptoms.
I told my neices donāt touch my happy pills otherwise you will die
My pshychiatrist in hospital said a few years to me.
Its been about two.
But Ive had other periods of being on meds and hospitalised.
Abilify for me seemed to make me sicker than i was but i know that it helps other people (they say so).
It may depend what medicine and what individual and what point in time.
yeah ill have to be medicated for life. my antipsychotics dont really help me but i donnt really have side effects. so its whatever. maybe they are helping but i still have a lot of thought problems daily
Today I could control delusions for the first time in life. I kept saying
donāt collect delusions
collect thoughts and memories
I use Abilify 15 mg every night
Memantine 5 mg twice daily - morning 5 mg - evening 5 mg
Melatonin 6 mg
I will start Rasagiline 1 mg from September 15th 2016 and I donāt take L-theanine regularly, it is already present in melatonin supplement.