Is it true that sz brains degenerate faster than normal brains?

DX'd - Other
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I read that online and some users here said its true. I believe sz was called dementia praecox before it was renamed to sz.

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I wish people would quit bringing up that term. It was coined like a 150 years ago. It was changed well over 100 years ago.

They use to use leaches to drain peoples blood too. Bloodletting in general used to be a common practice. Maybe we should question our current cancer treatments in favor of bloodletting as well?

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I think it’s true for psychosis In general.
The meds also affect our cognition in hard hitting ways.

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But you said there may be brain tissue loss due to psychosis.

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Yea I also wonder if the meds cause brain tissue loss. They found its true in monkeys.

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And there may be. But I don’t believe calling Schizophrenia premature dementia is at all accurate. It is not inevitable that you will develop dementia because you are sz. The title of dementia praecox just rubs me the wrong way. Sorry if I was a little abrasive.

Look at velociraptor ,for example, in his 50’s who has had it most of his life and still as sharp as a tack.

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Yea he’s high functioning and he said he’s an outlier, not a good example of a schizophrenic. I didn’t mean that sz is as severe as dementia but perhaps a mild form of dementia as in sz there is mild to moderate loss of cognition.

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I don’t know @Aziz . I’m 48. Even though I think I may have suffered a cognitive hit in the early stages of sz, I don’t believe that I am anywhere near dementia stage. I’m willing to concede that a lot of sz suffer from cognitive issues but I don’t think it’s inevitable to develop anything like “dementia praecox” implies.

If you don’t like my example of velociraptor…how about Headspark? Another sz that is pretty sharp.

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I mean the average schizophrenic can’t work, 85% are on disability and don’t work.

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That isn’t all due to cognitive decline. Negative and positive symptoms also play a role in that. Many sz get paranoid when stressed out by work for example. Also, many sz have motivation issues probably due to both sz negatives and meds.

I would bet there are very few sz they are so cognitively impaired that they are incapable of work. At least the ones on this forum. I’m sure that there are more severe cases out there though.

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I feel like I am getting worse, I am less and less functional.

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12

Well the less you do the more you will deteriorate. It happens to people that retire and do nothing.

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Then why I gain back my functioning when I take Ldopa? These meds are damaging dopamine receptors or blocking too much dopamine.

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Because your boosting your brain and it seems to help.

But in general if you don’t keep some sort of activity up you deteriorate as a person.

For example people kept in isolation deteriorate.

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What if I can’t because of low dopamine?

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Well your typing on here. So atleast that’s some activity? Your conversation skills are good

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Hey, now – I wanna consider myself sharp as a tack, too! I’m not working since this past August, but I am actively taking steps to remedy that. My cognitive testing did show memory decline, but I attribute that to my current extreme depression. For years, I was that annoying person who remembered every single detail of an event, down to what people were wearing.

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I need more but can’t.

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Lol. Sorry that I did not use you as an example @Pandy :crazy_face:.

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Hahaha!! Just my arrogance talking. Notice how none of that has declined…

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