I think I’m doing fine despite depression & schiz, had depression for over a decade but I’d say my looks hold up even with the 25kg extra weight from zyprexa. I am only 26 too
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I used to be a very “cute” girl. Now, after years and years of this sza illness and possibly also due to taking meds all of my adult life, I am now just an ugly old lady. I accept it though. Can’t be good looking forever.
My son lost his movie star looks from meds, over a span of just a nine month hospitalization. It was so sad to see. And the effect of it on him emotionally was terrible.
Well I’ve been on AP’s on and off (off because I naively thought I didn’t need them anymore) for a few years. Olanzapine made me gain weight but overall my looks haven’t changed. Are you someone who self neglects a lot due to lack of motivation due to the sz? Sometimes I do and I notice a change then.
I used to be considered a very good looking kid and young man.
Now thanks to years living with this horrible disorder and decades of med use, I now look tired and old - puffy and old.
My eyes look vacant.
Yes I am neglectful of my looks due to meds. When I was a teenager and young adult, I cared very much about my looks, but as I grew older, I didn’t care anymore. I guess that is normal enough. Recently, I have started to care more though. I have been buying up to date fashions and wearing them.
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Well that’s a good start. Sometimes a little self love goes a long way to making us feel better. I’m no super model myself but I try to be kind to myself. Good for you for making the effort.
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For twenty years, I was obese and nothing in the clothes stores ever fit me, so, I grew to not care about clothes. For twenty years I wore “fat girl” clothes and those clothes don’t look good on anybody. Now, I have lost the weight and I am keeping it off too, so, recently, I decided to get some fashionable clothes.
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Yes Manitoba. We have the best fishing
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i saved money by asking for a higher dose and only taking a lower dose. doctor was fine with it. i just needed extra meds incase the lower dose didn’t work out. next time I’ll probably ask for a higher dosage then if that doesn’t work I’ll ask for a lower dosage but keep extra just incase i need the higher dosage rinse repeat. i just never feel better after all there is no cure.
I’m 30 and still look like I’m in my early 20s but I’ve only been on psych meds for a year and a half. My weight has yoyo-ed during that time. I’m hoping to lose about 20-30 pounds.
I look not too bad I think so far - at least when I am stable, which the last two months I can safely say I have been after over a year of trying new AP’s without much success.
I started taking illicit drugs when I was 11/12 and managed to stop them when I was 17 just before I started getting MH issues.
I think I looked worse in those days than I do now.
I did put on lots of weight, but I have managed to start losing some of that now. I have taken a couple of years but I have lost about half of the drug induced weight just by eating differently, and reducing my intake of sugar and food more generally. Refusing to carry on taking Olanzapine was the best decision I ever made.
I guess to keep looking good you need to exercise a lot and probably eat organic foods and lots of fruit and veg. My issue is I cannot do any of this stuff at the moment as all I do is work and sleep - food is just functional to me and I doubt I will ever be proactive enough to go to the gym.
Dear @SkinnyMe, I have the same anguish. Me too I find that the depression and the negatives are worse for our looks, than the sz. I havesz friends without depression and they are not so marked as me… Me, I am depressed since kid and even before the meds, my friends were talking behind my back, that I am ugly. I always knew its my bad mood, my emotional torture, cause I was a sweet kid. The meds also changed me. They gave me double chin, big cheeks and I really lost my features. Sometimes we end up by looking the same on those meds I find…
But don’t feel bad about it. We still can live happily like this. People get all kind of illnesses which change them. My mom was changed when she lost her thyroid, it changed her in weight and in her face and she said she lost the interest of the men too…
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But there’s one thing too. I am not sure if its true, but my best friend, who is sz too, says that she knows that the aps maintain us to look younger than our age. Just like some dope lol…
You look absolutely amazing! I’d be proud to look like you when I’m older!
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