How long it takes?
I read it’s even possible to quit cold turkey.
I would love to taper it in two years.
I know, I know, it’s dangerous, though my health is good as possible now.
I have this idea to talk soon about this with my pdoc.
I have my own ideas about why I don’t want meds anymore.
I’m using Vraylar. When I tried to taper down, not to none, but just a reduced dose, I was on abilify, however.
When I tried to get my pdoc during this time to take let me go off altogether, I believe she said that she had never seen anyone, diagnosed with schizophrenia, with multiple episodes successfully get off meds without a relapse.
The point I’m trying to make , I guess, is that your chances of success are small.
I had been stable for years when I tried to reduce, went about a year at a reduced dose and then had a psychotic break that lasted for several months. Fortunately, when I asked my pdoc to get completely off during this period, she recommended we switch to Vrayler. And also fortunately, my delusions played along and agreed that this was the thing to do. So with this med, I was able to completely work my way back out of psychosis.
There are, of course, these new fangled methods of trying to overcome schizophrenia, but they are just theory at this point, I think.
And most likely, IMO, similar to CBD, which basically was lauded by many as a cure all and ended up with limited uses.
But this is all my own conjecture. The more convincing argument should probably be what my pdoc told me. She is around my age, 50, and has never seen it successfully done in someone like me long term.
I know how strong the pull of wanting to try is , though, and I can’t stop you.
As far as pregnancy goes, there are multiple schizophrenics that have had babies here, so perhaps they would be a better source of information about what they did to have successful pregnancies.
I had only one very long episode which was basically few days after amphetamine huge dose. (Before that I was feeling worse everytime I smoked weed) so it’s definitely drug induced. Atleast 80-90%
I would like to write a longer response, though I feel lots of negativity here…
my pdoc wants to stop meds one day. She don’t believe it’s actual SZ. That’s all I can say for now.
Time will show. Maybe I am going to live without meds, maybe I won’t.
All people around me says I am definitely alright. That’s a big motivation for me. Almost 6 years I am fully stable… overall it’s hard to say what’s going to happen until I will stop meds.
** adding one thing. My parents believe it was two seperate psychoses, but overal it was more like a one long, just at certain moments I was doing less bad, and at other moments way more bad.
On 2018 I started standing on my feet, and till that day I am stable.
I hope everything makes sense here, bc my english is not always well spoken 
Well, that might be a different story. One episode psychosis that your pdoc doesnt think is sz has a significantly higher chance than someone in my position.
Not at all. I tried it as well. It’s not negativity , it’s just experience and being realistic. Someone in my situation has very little chance of successfully coming off meds until, if and when, a better method for dealing with schizophrenia is developed and proven. I am not holding my breath.
Sorry for being rude.
I know I would explain my situation 10x time better if I was speaking in my native language.
Yes, my pdoc does not believe it’s actual SZ, and she repeated for several times that what I have is overall very mild. (She even used term pseudoneurotic sz, just as explanation for my symptoms - which are more anxiety and OCD things these days)
Also, I truly had a very long period of feeling ill, (psychosis) and during that time even meds were unhelpful. But when I got better I truly got better
Not at all. its fine.
Maybe you can do it. I don’t know. I’m not your pdoc. I just know what mine told me in my situation. And I know how I failed to do so myself.
Good luck.
I should also point out that it is also possible for schizophrenics to come off and have symptoms and be able to deal with them. As some do, but coming off medications with no symptoms is pretty unlikely at this point in time, for multiple episode schizophrenics, IMO.
Like said if you didnt have multiple episodes, theres a good chance youle recover. or are already recovered.
I tapered off of it last year and then wound up needing to go back on. I started to lose insight without it.
Im four days late for depot and feel irrate as f**k
I stupidly missed my appointment because i didn’t think i needed it, how wrong could i be? Im getting it next week for certain now. Never again
I believe you in the fact that if you used street drugs then that easily could be the cause of your illness. And if you just had one episode then that could mean that you could go of your meds in the near future.
My life situation is the exact opposite as I’m likely to go into psychosis after just tapping meds and I have multiply episodes that were not triggered by street drugs so I agree with my GP in the fact that I suffer from psychosis + mania that get worse without appropriate medication and treatment.
You’ll probably recover better from drug induced schizophrenia then a more organic form. Trust your doctor if they don’t think you have it you might not actually. Just do what they think. Recovery and benefit from meds tapers off a lot at the 5 year point. Not a lot of evidence either way.
My english is not perfect here… may I ask you what do you mean?
I agree with what you said. My pdoc believes there’s a possibility for me to live without meds and I will try it out
I think I dropped 1.5mg a week for 4 weeks
My understanding is that this particular med is in your system for quite some time
But I was tapering up on Clozapine, and don’t know whether that had a part to play
Thanks for insights. 
I read that vraylar can be tapered anytime. Still, I have this idea to taper slowly. When I will be on 1.5 mg, then I will stop.
Some studies found if you have been taking antipsychotics for a very long period of time then subjective wellness is not better or worse being on them vs stopping them. Most randomised controlled trials only go for a number of years because they only have a certain amount of funding. So after 5 years should you still be on antipsychotics is an open question the scientific literature doesn’t really answer.
Clinical observations by doctors would say yes but they are biased towards medication also. The answer isn’t clear cut. To be fair though most of the time stopping medication means living with symptoms
I think Vraylar is a strange drug. I’m on 1.5 mg and when i have increased dosage to 3 i feel depressed. On the other hand if i drop my 1.5 mg i also feel more depressed. As I understand it, vraylar acts more like a dopamine agonist in a low dose (1.5 mg). In higher dosages it works mores as a dopamine antagonist. Please correct me if i wrong.