Have you lost your

…intelligence due to antipsychotic meds or a psychotic illness? I used to remember everything without difficulty, could have a deep conversation with someone or listen to someone explain something complex, could binge on a TV show without difficulty or sit through a whole movie without losing focus, and could work 40 hours per week without a problem.

I feel like my brain doesn’t work well anymore. I can’t remember a lot of things and it’s problematic in my life. I only work 20 hours per week and I struggle with it because it’s hard to focus and think.

Do you have trouble thinking, focusing, or remembering? Do you think it’s caused by your meds, a slow decline in your illness, or acutely by a psychotic break in your history?

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SZ can cause cognitive symptoms but all positive, negative and cognitive symptoms of SZ reduce intelligence. I don’t believe its from meds because I went a whole year medfree and still had positive, negative and cognitive symptoms.

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Yes, I think I suffer from moderately severe cognitive symptoms.

Yes I do, even typing I will forget how much of the word I have typed, hard to follow TV shows and movies, I sleep way more than I used to and lack motivation

I also have trouble thinking, concentrating, remembering, it’s very annoying or distressing.

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Which antipsychotic do you take?

Yes, I have lost a lot of “intelligence” due to schizophrenia. I often forget things right after they just happened, causing a lot of distress to me. I also can’t focus much on things like I used to; often times I lose memory of things due to my lack of focus.

I think the majority of it comes down to lack of focus and lack of memory.

I’m on Invega Sustenna, 156mg injection every 4 weeks.

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I have trouble figuring out word math problems. I have problems figuring out money change. I have trouble sitting through a whole movie if it is too long. I cannot memorize musical pieces on the piano. Not even very, very simple pieces like, Mary Had a Little Lamb.

I don’t believe that all this is due to medication. I believe it is all due to many years of psychosis.

When I was a young girl and a young woman, I had a photographic memory. I could read a book and repeat it all back to you practically verbatim. I scored in the top 1% in the U.S. in reading comprehension on national standardized tests. No kidding! Now, all of that is long gone at age 60. How I miss my intellectual powers!

I have the same problems, except I don’t work at all.

I was quite intelligent as a kid, then i grew op, my MI worsened, and all of a sudden i was stupid, in skills, socially, morals, and everything else, then i got on a small dose Zyprexa and slowly i grew less stupid. Then i stopped zyprexa due to circumstances, now i’m on abilify, but might turn back to small dose zyprexa.

I am happy with my cognition but I have other problems.
I am off medications and with them I would be dead or moribund now.

How does your meds kill you?

@Aziz, it has a detrimental effect on a person’s cardiovascular system among other things.
It increases the chance of cancer, cardiovascular illness and diabetes.
And it lowers your level of stamina.

Where did you read this? I don’t exercise, I am 280lb and have no such issues after 9 years on meds.
Drs won’t prescribe them if that was true.

And their benefits highly outweights their side effects.

@Chess24 stop with the anti med stuff.

I feel exactly the same way. I noticed it happening right around the time I started getting sick, so I’m sure it’s the illness and not the medication

unmedicated psychosis is the worst i guarantee , i have not been taking meds and my cognitive function has been severely declining, it is no joke and very terrible you would think. Basically i can’t learn any thing or comprehend/ process things that require use of higher function part of the brain. It is terrible ,psychosis without meds. basically u become a mentally ■■■■■■■■ to a degree u can’t believe.

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