Interesting
I was never the most sociable either
And when I was high or drunk I turned into someone else
But yeah overall my cognitive function in general was better for me back 15 years ago
I think clozapine might be too strong for me now, will see
I hope I can regain better cognitive function 
My cognition is much better on meds than when psychotic off meds but I think before sz it was better
I feel exactly like that too Aziz.
Is there anybody who doesn’t use med? And does he hear voices? If so, for how long? And how does he deal with it?
Ive only ever taken antipsychotics for up to 5-6 months at a time. But im an odd case im guessing as I never was initially put on them for psychosis due to some antipsychiatry stuff in the fam at the time. So I too was not interested in it despite the symptoms.
So i went 9 years without ever trying them for an episode. The last one it definitely helped tamp things down. So i just take them if theres a serious episode and that last one was pretty awful.
Currently I seem to be in some sort of partial remission state as I havent really heard voices in over a year and my moods been stable for a few months. Thats the best its ever been.
I have bipolar 1. I imagine with schizophrenia with chronic psychosis you may need the meds for life.
I came across this video yesterday. Not sure if I’m allowed to share this kind of thing…from what I’ve read, most people with SZ need meds. Always consult with a doctor before making a major decision.
Martin’s Experience Managing Schizophrenia Without Medication - YouTube
I thought I had so much potential when I turned 17… then 19 hit and wtfff
You’re premorbid iq is predicitive of your recovery and might not lower a significant amount post disease onset. So in actuality you still have that potential you haven used. That said iq ect isn’t predictive of real world success
I’ve gone off many times. It’s never worked out for me. The longest I went was a month. I get pretty sick and it seems to come back every time I get off the meds. Luckily I found an older one that has taken away my voices. I figured I’d always have them since I did for 14 years with invega and every other newer medication. The side effects on this older med are almost non existent too. I’m religious about taking my them though these days.
Hard to tell my voices seem to be pressed down completely by the medicine im on id have to quit my medication and see for myself but im too scared so i wont
What are symptoms you experience without meds?
I absolutely rely on meds, to provide me with stability that I discovered dissipates in three days, without meds. I take 25mg of Olanzapine daily, and recently went without them as an experiment, and three days later I had become fully psychotic and self-harmed, because of a transient belief in what my AVH were saying to me. Having said this, I still assert that they meds are only marginally efficacious, despite the strong support that some people attribute to them, but even if only taking the edge off, it is that edge that is so essential in our wellbeing, safety, lucidity, and stable performance.
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Elogial I had exactly the same pains when I lowered my Qutiapine for some days. I learned a lesson from that experiment so now I know what happens if I play around with my pills. Besides of that I think that 800 mg Qutiapine is equivalent to 30 mg Zyprexa.
I only lasted 3 days off meds, before my AVH convinced me of something untrue (outright lies), and not having been taking meds, I gave it a lot more belief than it deserved. I ended up in ICU. It’s not that the meds get rid of AVH, it’s that the continual AVH I experience change in veracity subject to the meds. I take 20mg Olanzapine daily
