It takes 4-5 days for me to crash. It sucks and it’s not worth it, but I 100% understand the temptation. Also, I ALWAYS question my diagnosis when it comes time that I don’t wanna take meds or don’t think I need them. Chances are, you probably need them.
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Is it normal to not be on meds for like 7 months, and not feel any different? I’m starting to wonder if I even have this illness. Ironically, the only thing that has helped me was taking an Antibiotic(that crosses the BBB) when I have insane amounts of fear, and different sense of what’s going on. Ironically, my symptoms(Positive) get extremely worse, then I feel literally sick(physical symptoms), throw up(I think)within like 10 minutes, and have to immediately take a Zypreza, which obviously has never helped(nor as any AP). I did feel somewhat better in the morning. My Chronic physical illness got some better. My positive symptoms were less, as well as my OCD(which happened as soon as I got my current physical illness).The Positive symptoms started a week after I had a minor podiatric operation. I think it all correlates but, usually I only had like one pill(I took the rest during off times, but to no avail). Honestly, looking at all of this, I think it is Toxoplasmosis. This can cause of said symptoms.
Well I was sick of “being poisoned” by APs and wanted my sexuality back so I had a talk with my psychiatrist and she agreed. Then a nurse called me and said I can go cold turkey or taper. I chose taper. Over the course of 6 months I was tapering, i was on invega palmitate every 4 weeks, so it got changed to every 6 weeks, then moved to 2mg risperidone tablets every night and then 1mg. I started feeling weird on starting that 1mg tablet. At first I started getting panic attacks and confusion state. I didn’t think it was schizophrenia, I thought I was going to be fine. On 6th month I started being psychotic with certain time during the day. Slowly my delusions become stronger, I started to wander around the time. Flirt with people randomly. Talking with strangers and not counting my money. I started to lose track of time, voices started creeping on and I started to drink a lot of alcohol and quit my job randomly. My sister booked me a ticket and somehow managed to go back to my home country and was hospitalized instantly and got put back on the initial 75 invega dose.
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On the side note, I went off of Paliperidone Injections for 7 months before I felt any different. There really wasn’t any tapering.
I would go to the 2mg Risperadone, every night, since you were feeling pretty fine at that. Typically, with the smaller dosages, you won’t be affected by the side affects as much. Balance, just in case, really is key. The antibiotic I took was bactrim. It’s very Empirical and works on nearly everything(except viruses, but who knows?). Erythromycin didn’t do anything, but that didn’t cross the BBB. Seriously, I can’t prescribe or give medical advice, but I would recommend getting test for Toxoplasmosis. My test was negative, but I haven’t done the CSF one yet. There is also a hypothesis going around that your body just gets used to the disease and does the minimum, but necessary work to keep the infection at bay. Unfortunately, if the infection survives, it can persist as tiny, nearly indestructible cysts that can cause Schizophrenia, OCD, ADHD, and even supposedly Bipolar Disorder. There was a study in at which over 100 newly diagnosed patients with schizophrenia were tested and 40% of them had positive antibodies of Toxoplasmosis Gondii.
Uhhh yeah probably took like a month for me. 2 weeks in some cases.
Depending on what form and type of med you’re on as well as what stressors you have in your life currently, the time to relapse may vary widely.
Rule of thumb is if you’ve had more than one psychotic episode, it is very very very unlikely that you will just stop having them, and probably need to be on meds the rest of your life.
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Around 6 months. Time without medication was literally hell.
I can’t go longer than a month without meds until I’m in serious trouble, and it takes just as long if not longer to get well again after going back on them. Not something I plan on repeating.`
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I’m worried I’m off antipsychotics due to change in diagnosis but in the middle of a lockdown with limited access to mental health services just incase I do go into psychosis
I was getting a time released shot of Prolixin, and then the staff where I lived quit giving me any drugs. All I can say is that it seemed like about nine months before I started having symptoms again. Up until then I was pretty together.
I think it’s a willpower thing.I went off meds one year and how many months and never relapse.I could have hold on more,so regret I didnt
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Remember the crisis lines. Do you have friends you could call? Take it easy and take care.
@anon4362788 zombie thread
I used only 0.5mg haldol for 1.5 years and before that 1mg for a year. I relapsed now. My mum died and some other bad things happened. A guy seducing me in a scary way, someone starting a discussion about demons when i quit contact with them, etc.
Whatever it might be you think that you been misdiagnosed - temporal psychosis, drug induced psychosis, stress induced psychosis. It is most likely still schizophrenia, leave diagnosis to professionals. The mistake I made I thought I had drug induced psychosis, the initial diagnosis was that because I told them the drugs I used over couple years, but they forgot to ask what I used hard-core drug previously. So after my schizophrenia diagnosis I had fetish like thinking that I had just drug psychosis and I would be fine without meds, turned out that I was wrong
More valuable than gold — I would never go off life happens really fast and scary without meds…
Sorry just saw this. Yes I do have the crisis line I suppose but for me all they have done is told me to breathe… maybe they’d do more for psychosis
how do u get ur sexuality back on APs? what do you mean by getting it back?
Without meds I am instantly paranoid, delusional and hallucinate but I stayed med free for a year until I had psychosis and tried to kill myself. I ended up in the emergency hospital and then transferred to mental hospital. Not worth it.
I mean getting the full effects of dopamine. On APs I rarely have an urge to talk to a girl, I start I often ghost her in few days. I don’t do masturbation marathons that guys do when they are not on medication. I rarely wake up with erection now and I really need to watch hard-core porn with physical stimulation to get it up. When I stopped APs I started to ejaculate fully, organs where felt even the initial pleasure. I could maintain erection while standing up and woke up rock hard and stayed like that for at least 10 minutes. I was starting to flirt to girls and actually making connection. I finally could what feeling in love feels again. While on antipsychotics I never feel I love someone or feel attracted to
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