So I’ve been reading about it and some places say it’s sz that causes a series of symptoms such as lack of motivation or Isolation, etc. Do you think those might be caused by meds? Meds reduce dopamine which is what creates motivation so it would make sense to me.
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I think mainly schizophrenia. But meds can add to it as well.
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I think it goes both ways.
Schizophrenia lowers dopamine in some areas just like it raises dopamine in other parts.
I was even worse when it came to motivation and isolation before I got on meds.
Plus, my impulse control was shite.
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Both unfortunately 
meds can aggravate negative symptoms that are already there due to the illness because most meds aren’t designed to treat negatives. However newer APs with less extreme dopamine blockade are less likely to do so or won’t do so as severely.
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I really struggle with this. Then when I am motivated I am so overwhelmed I don’t know what to do.
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It’s both in my opinion.
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for me it’s the meds. I was never even close to being “lazy” before I started taking anti-psychotics.
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Like they said it can both ways. For me after i got on meds i lost my motivation and interest in things in general. I have phases where i try things and they work out for a little while but eventually my lack of interest kicks in and thats tide to my motivation and overall physical energy. For example i was going to the gym and walking everyday recently. But then i lost interest and just stopped doing both as intense as i started out. Lately i have been skateboarding for the past three days but idk how long ill stick with it. Ill know if i have low motivation and interest when i get weened off in the next year or 3. Until then ill have too deal 
but what ever i guess
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In my case it’s mainly the meds BUT the illness also contributes to the negatives.
For everyone it’s a bit different.
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In my case, it’s both the illness and the meds.
Its both I think. Even when I was off medicine I couldn’t find motivation to do anything.
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For me it’s still both but if I don’t take or take them late I have zero motivation
A newsgroup comment of mine about 5 weeks after starting Consta in 2009.
Had my injection on Wednesday.My care co ordinator who usually gives me
my injection thinks i might need to see my consultant again. I explained
to her that although the injection helps me to be less paranoid and
prone to weird thoughts it
doesn’t do much for my lack of motivation- that sometimes i don’t get
dressed for several days at a time and don’t like going out of my flat much.She thinks i might be depressed.I told her i don’t feel as though i’m
depressed,that i either feel too little ie blah/grey or feel too much
ie negative emotions.
When i explained further(that the lack of motivation/not wanting to get
dressed etc had been going on for quite a while) she said the lack of
motivation sounds like a chronic rather than acute problem and could be
a negative symptom of my illness.I wondered what she meant by negative symptom of my illness as currently
as far as i know i’m dxed personality disorder NOS and i associate
positive and negative symptoms with schizophrenia and schizoaffective(my
previous dx- mixed type) .
So obviously the lack of motivation preceded being on the Consta and getting regular meds. It may be though that meds tend to exacerbate what the illness is already causing .
Nowadays things are better but I still don’t go out much. I have little ambition and drive and struggle to think of future goals . I spend the vast majority of my waking hours on the computer .
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personally i dont take anything right now. and my motivation is very low.
but meds can make it worse
The illness definitely causes negative symptoms, and I struggle with this a lot. However, the AP’s are known as major tranquilizers so they probably don’t help.
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I would say that Haldol definitely decrease my motivation. I don’t know how motivated I was before I started taking Haldol, but that drug totally demoralized me. I did nothing while I was on that drug.
I think for me it’s mostly the sza
If I don’t take my olanzapine dose i feel more dead
And if I don’t take my amisulpride I get agitated and jumbled up and I don’t know about motivation when my mind is hyped up. Maybe I get too much then crash. Mood swings worse then.
Jno it’s the SZ itself. The meds actually stablize your dopamine not decrease it. IT ONLY decrease it Back to a stable level if your over producing it. IT WILL increase it back to a stable level if you under producing it. But dopamine isn’t the only brain neurotransmitter that can do motivation. Dopamine has so many different uses in the brain. Sz actually depending on how Severe cause s way worse effects if you have dopaminergic faults. Such as social anxiety, Cognitive deficits, lack of motivation, self denial, Delusions. Inability to concentrate. So on so Fourth. Better to get the meds you need thank to live the lowest quality life All SZ Suffers are too familiar with.
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