I have decided to taper my med and stop it for ever

DX'd - Other
1

I have decided to taper my med and stop it for ever if everything goes fine since my doctor lowered haldol from 10 to 0.5 in multiple months which was quick and I had not a single symptom and she says probably you don’t have schizophrenia and you might have heard voices previous time because you stopped your med suddenly (I was diagnosed with psychosis before, therefore unfortunately a doctor put me on antipsychotics, “is there any other med or therapy for psychosis when you don’t hear any voices by the way?”) “Do you have any recommendation for me or is there anybody who tapered antipsychotics for ever successfully?”

5 Likes
2

Im hoping to start the process of tapering off my rexulti soon. Gotta talk to the pdoc about it in a couple weeks.

1 Like
3

I’ve been off APs for about half a year, so that’s hardly forever. I could still hit the ditch and need to return to those meds. I use CBT and conventional therapy to help cope with my positive symptoms, including voices and delusional thinking. PLEASE make sure you have a good support network in place as you’ll be the last person to know if your insight is blown. Also, be prepared to do what your supports ask even if you don’t like it - they’ll be asking for good reasons.

Best of luck.

2 Likes
4

Thank you for your recommendation. I have a few questions:

  1. What is your original diagnosis? Mine was psychosis without hearing voices(NOT schizophrenia in the first place), once I stopped APs I started to hear voices the first time…

  2. When did you start to hear voices, you completely quit or was on a lower dosage coming down? And what is name of you med and the dosage you started to hear voices when you were tapering off?

  3. Did you taper very very gradual? what was your plan because it should be very gradual and by 3/4 dosage down each time, else most probably it doesn’t work, APs are very strange meds…
    I am now on haldol 0.5 and I am doing completely OK with no symptom, and plan is 3 months on it, then 3/4 of 0.5 another 3 months, then 0.25 again 3 months, and last 3 months 1/4 of 0.5 which is 0.125mg and then after a year stop!

  4. Don’t you think therapy is useful at all? :-/

Thank you!

5

Good luck to you be sure you taper it off very gradual and in little dosages, talk with a APs tapering specialist first :slight_smile:

1 Like
6

I had stopped AP maybe two or three times. I went back on due to insomnia. Otherwise didn’t have much difficulty.

2 Likes
7

Do you have schizophrenia? Didn’t have any other symptoms other than insomnia?!

8

Don’t have schizophrenia. It was psychosis with just ideas of reference.

1 Like
9

What do you mean by “ideas of reference”?!

10

Everyone is talking about me, they are speaking in code words thing.

11

Ah I see, never heard voices? Even when stopped AP?
I stopped it suddenly and started to hear voices, although I also had only psychosis.
Now, I am not sure if it was psychosis or schizophrenia…

12

No. I did get small episodes after a year and half of being AP free. Which got better on their own.

I stopped meds when doc told me to. It was his decision. Which turned out really well I think.

Don’t get bogged down by diagnostic labels. You are getting treatment based on symptoms after all.

1 Like
13

Sorry but was it episode of hearing voices or you talk about psychosis?

14

Just ideas of reference. There were no voices.

1 Like
15

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.