Is your life improved by meds and by how much?

Medications
1

I only have experience with Abilify and it hasn’t helped much.

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2

I have stayed out of the hospital since 2012. Couldn’t have done that without meds. But life ain’t grand but it’s a lot better than it used to be.

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3

Have you ever considered continually trying new medications until you find one that eliminates all of your symptoms?

4

Hell to the no. I am sure there is something better but every time I try going off Geodon for something else I end up in a hospital. I take Latuda also. So I get a double bang.

I hate hospitals but if I start experimenting with meds I would prefer to be in one.

5

What about staying on geodon and latuda and adding a third?

6

I would consider that. For sure.

7

My husband said it got to the point I wasn’t functional before meds. I showered and took care of hygiene, but I wasn’t working much. I was upset all the time from my voices and delusions. I had lost contact with my extended family and friends. I thought my husband was cheating on me with no proof. I thought I had to file for divorce. I was having false memories.

All of that is gone on Geodon. I hear just one voice now. I’m at work 32 hours a week. My friendships and family relationships are restored.

I hope you can find a medication that works.

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8

Cool. I find I get so lethargic with sz that I end up forgetting to try a new medication when it is ultimately the best decision for me. Like I get so fixated on executing my limited daily routine every day and because my memory is so bad I just flat out don’t consider/remember to switch meds unless I get outside intervention.

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9

Thanks, I hope so too. It’s only been 2-3 years since my psychosis has really started manifesting itself so I’m quite new to all of this.

10

@Drake , I’m on Abilify too. It’s kept me out of hospital for the last 8 years.

I was a hospital frequent flyer before that.

I started on 10mg but that wasn’t enough, and my quality of life was pretty poor. My dose was increased to 15mg which helped a lot.

What dose of Abilify are you on ?

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12

Until I went to the ER May 24 2022 I have been out of the hospital since October 20, 2008. Being consistent with my meds has kept me out of the hospital.

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13

I have found meds that eliminate all of my symptoms at higher doses. They are also overly sedating, strip away my higher cognitive functions, and leave me feeling like a zombie. I sit around and do nothing.

That’s not living.

I find I am better when I have just enough meds to make my positive symptoms manageable and help me maintain my insight that what I hear and believe aren’t real. This let me have a life back (family, kid, career, etc.).

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14

30mg. I’ve tried all the doses.

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15

Meds improved my life by 50%. I need another 50%.

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16

Without medication I guarantee I would not have 38 years of employment under my belt. I also doubt I would have ever attended college like I did. I was a psychotic wreck before I got on medication. Now I can live semi independently and function. I’ve had schizophrenia 42 years. There’s no way I could picture being off medication for 42 years. It’s not possible to imagine because it’s an impossible scenario. Meds gave me my life.

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17

What were your false memories like?

How did they differ from real memories?

18

I’m on coffee and cigarettes.

19

My false memories were like a scene that played in my head. It was more like I was being shown something and then I thought, hey I forgot that happened. I was having delusions about mind clearing spells happening on me. So, I thought my mind had been cleared of the memory and my mind was showing me a scene so I could see what happened. Not sure if this explains it well.

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20

Well, I used to be on crack and heroin but now the hardest drug I do is diet soda.

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21

I see

So do you mean they are visions?

I have suppressed memories coming up but they feel like a continuation of what I always knew happened. I always remembered bits of the nights in question. The 'new’memories feel no different besides been profound encounters and not shooting pool and having a laugh like I always knew I did before one of them.

Example:

21 years ago I left a pool room to get a pint and had a total blackout even though I wasn’t that drunk. It freaked me out at the time.

Last September i recalled what happened.

On the way to the bar I bumped into someone and had an important conversation. After it I left and forgot my bag.

Are yours like that?