I want to go off meds

Because I’m not convinced I’m sza. I know I’ve talked about this before and I know it sound slike a bad idea to others. But why should I be on a med if I dont have sza? Does this mean my current medication isnt working? I dont experience hallucinations or delusions anymore. Just at night I hear things. But it’s when my eyes are closed so it’s probably hypnogic hallucinations. Which isnt sza.

1 Like

TAKE YOUR MEDS. 99% of us go thru this shite - and believe we dont need them and always regret it afterwards. You will literally lose more brain matter if you end up having another psychotic episode.

Surely you must have learnt by now - by reading the posts that crop up on this topic.

At the very least keep taking them - until you spoken to your doctor.
Please? You will regret it. I promise you.

2 Likes

The problem is I’ve had maybe 3 episodes. That’s really not enough to know if you have sza.

1 Like

Ok - i really dont know the differences between Sza, and sz, cos im a standard paranoid schizophrenic - but i know its not gonna end well.

You obviously have mental capacity to make decisions with full awareness - so im probably not gonna change your mind in saying your making a wrong decision.

But thats my advice.

3 Likes

Theres not a lot of differences besides mood differences

Sometimes I go through phases where I feel like I’m not schizophrenic at all. Then reality hits me when I least expect it and I realize why I’m disabled. But the during those phases I question myself about everything and start worrying about everything then reality hits and I realize I am. It’s an endless cycle. I’m to afraid to go off my meds your a brave soul if you do. Sometimes I fantasize about going back to work having friends living a productive life then reality hits me again and I’m humbled and I just count my blessings. But I really do feel like sometimes I’m not schizophrenic I think this disease plays tricks on you you have to be careful with it. I worry about everything so I obsess over if i am or if I’m not. I’m just going to stay on the damn medicine. Accept it and deal with being bored and lonely

2 Likes

It’s just a really bad idea to not take your medication as prescribed. Work with your doctor on this problem, tell him your thoughts and doubts and fears.
Leave the diagnosing up to the guys who went through 10+ years of college learning how to help people and have years of experience practicing psychology. These are powerful medications and not to be messed with. You’re probably not experiencing symptoms due to the medication!! If you go off them your symptoms may come roaring back at full force.

4 Likes

If you go of meds do it in small increments to minimize withdrawal and risk of relapse (even if you never had psychosis rapid withdrawal of antipsychotics can cause it). Also just 1 episode is enough for a sz/sza diagnosis. Good luck.

2 Likes

I’m with @77nick77 and @Naarai. You may be feeling better because of your medication, so going off of it without consulting a doctor isn’t the wisest decision. Also, most of us feel this way from time to time. I just posted something about this myself recently. Please talk to your doctor before making any decisions.

2 Likes

I have no desire to stop the medication I take. It makes me feel good. It gives a good antidepressant effect and works as a sleep medication. You’re not going to want to stop something that makes you feel good. I know what the benefit is and what the likely result would be if I didn’t take it. 150 mg of Seroquel I like it.

1 Like

It doesn’t have to fit a label, but 99% of people don’t hear hallucinations, so no matter what you call it, you have to accept that you have a condition that causes hallucinations.

I know some people can pull out stats that say up to 20% of people have hallucinated, but hearing a whisper once in your life isn’t the same as having people conversing in your head every single day. That level of suffering is reserved for people with conditions.

1 Like

I dont hallucinate like that though

I’ve gone through this at least two times. BAD IDEA. Relapsed

1 Like

I take black walnut, wormwood, cloves, garlic, myrhh and oregano it has worked well for me

@Mozart: Those are anti-parasitics. Do you have proof that you are experiencing a parasite problem? Like an MRI with brain cysts?

If you have had more than 1 psychotic episode, which you have, and it wasn’t drug induced, it is safe to say that you have a psychotic illness, whether that be schizophrenia, schizoaffective, bipolar or other. This means that you need to take your medication. Getting off the medication will only cause problems, trust me, I have been there before, as many of us have.

The last thing you want is to be on forced monthly injections instead of taking pills, as these doses are usually higher in comparison to the pill format previously given, and takes months for it to leave the system in case you are experiencing some unwanted side effects.
Injections also cost more and it will be very hard to convince your Pdoc to put you back on pill form.

1 Like

It’s a fallacy. The reason you don’t experience hallucinations or delusions is because you’re taking medication. If you stop taking them, most likely they’ll come back. So many people fall into this trap and then wonder why they relapse. Get a second opinion if that’s what it will take to ease your mind.

First of all, I do not recommend coming off of prescribed medication on your own. Many times, the reason a person is feeling well is largely due to the medication working as intended. Stopping the medication can have repercussions, often times not in the first day or even in the first week. It can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months before experiencing symptoms again after being off meds for that amount of time. Speaking from personal experience, the other thing that can happen is that just when people are beginning to accept you as a lucid and coherent person again, if you should experience symptoms, that could push them away again.

Anyway, with all that being said, there is such a thing called “residual schizophrenia”. Usually, people diagnosed with schizophrenia who have lived without incident for ten years or more (often older patients) are the ones who are diagnosed with that. Honestly, I’ve only ever met two people with that diagnosis and both were doing fairly well in terms of holding a job and maintaining an acceptable place in modern society. One was a man in his early sixties, the other was a woman in her late 40’s.

It’s been over half a decade since I found this article. I actually found more than a few some years ago. Anyway, once in awhile, I read it again just to keep some hope alive that one day I can live a life without medication. One time, my acting psychiatrist gave me a chance to do so. I did well for about 18 months, then slowly regressed into a deluded reality. Last time I spoke with the psychiatrist he asked why I decided to go back on medication. I told him it is because they made life easier. I’ve been off meds for a few months now again. So far I’ve been okay. Not perfect and not as much improvements in being more productive and social than last time I tried living off of medication but I’m trying.

One thing I have to absolutely mention is that if your psychiatrist gives you a chance to try life off of medication… STAY AWAY FROM DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. I mean absolutely NO ILLICIT DRUGS AND NO ALCOHOL. I’m not against beer or even marijuana for that matter but as a person with a mental condition off of medication, I avoid anything that could alter my mind state. That and use all your coping strategies, methods, techniques whenever you feel any symptoms or are feeling upset. Also NEVER PHYSICALLY HARM ANYONE INCLUDING YOURSELF.

Also one more thing, learn to love yourself. I mean that. Accept who you are as a person whether on medication or off medication, symptomatic or not, you are still a person at the end of the day but you have to accept yourself as a person who is unique in the way the brain works. That doesn’t mean to feel lesser or superior than other people. Even regular people struggle. We might struggle with things that others feel are trivial, for example using public transportation can be stressful with strangers around sometimes having conversations about whatever. I mean using public transportation is a mundane thing for regular people. Sometimes during the first few days it was a little rough, but I saw it as a sort of adventure. Taking a shower can feel like a chore, but you have to take care of your hygiene even more so when off of medication.

Here is the article…

So in short, if you are to try life without medication, speak to your psychiatrist about it. My advice is don’t go for the “I want to be off of medication now.” talk. Instead ease your way into it, ask if you’ve showed signs of improvement. Stay with treatment for at least a year or two without any involuntary psychiatric holds, and then maybe you can talk about reducing the dose. Really don’t expect it to be from one month to another.

Now the most important things for being schizophrenic and off of medication…

NO ILLICIT DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. (I even avoid caffeine and nicotine now.)

DO NOT PHYSICALLY HARM ANYONE INCLUDING YOURSELF.

PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE.

Other important things:

Try to be productive or do something to improve who you are as a person.

Practice having patience.

Try to be a good person, do not be afraid to show sympathy for people with or without a mental illness.

Be kind to yourself, accept that there are things that difficult for us that are not for others, don’t let it bring you down.

This one is important in many rehabilitation programs, remember you are only ever really in control of yourself, do not lose control because of emotions.

Because we are diagnosed as having a mental illness, no matter what there will be moments in which even if you have been wronged, it will not matter, you will still be at fault if the situation escalates. cough Practice patience.

Anytime there is a slip, at least one person close to you will say, “It is probably because you are not taking your medication.” Or “Please take your medicine.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I’d be able to afford dinner at Red Lobster.

Remember, when off of medication you have to do your best mentally not to get upset, anytime you do there will likely be someone who will say it is because you are off your meds. Instead of lashing out, take it as an introspective moment. Think of what you did that brought that comment. Don’t lose your cool and instead take it as a learning experience to not make any similar mistakes. Even if you were wronged and made a retort, don’t retort next time. Take it in stride.

Lastly, and I think this is probably the most important one…

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP FROM A TRAINED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL SUCH AS A DOCTOR OR PSYCHIATRIST. Even if you are off meds if the symptoms become too difficult, get help.

I can only recommend a person come off medication with the approval of a medical professional.

So far this time around I’m not making as much progress as I was last time I was off of medication. Last time around, I enrolled in college classes again, I was living independently, using public transportation, buying my own groceries, and toilet paper… hah… you know the things normal people do? I’d even make my bed. I also lost a lot of weight.

This time around I haven’t enrolled in college or gone out much, but I’ve tried with baby steps I guess. Well, I still have much to improve. So long as I continue on my path to self improvement, I think I’m doing okay.

We all do. It’s just usually not a good idea. You seem to be asking permission to do so. Well I can’t stop you. I’ll just ask that if you do so and you find the psychosis returning don’t hesitate to restart the pills and don’t throw the medicine away for 2-3 months.