I’m not quite new to being on antipsychotics but I’ve been on them for almost two years now. I was just wonder how did any of you feel about starting them, any physical problems and did you attempt to quit them? Also how do you feel about them now?
Thanks
I started on the pills but kept going off them. I was on Olanzapine, respiradone, and ambilify. Each time I went off them I ended up in the hospital. I ended up in the hospital 7times. They then put me on the injection Invega sustenna 50mg and I have been stable on it for 2 years. The side effects I have are lumps at the injection site and insomnia. There could be more side effects that I am unaware of. Right now I feel like I want to go back to pills but I don’t think my pdoc will let me because I was non compliant before. I just take it one day at a time. What pills are you taking now?
The truth is that I need AP’s to be able to function.
I also need to be on a mood stabilizer namely Depakote.
If I’m not on these meds I simply cease to function and I become so delusional and paranoid that I become dangerous towards others.
I recently had abilify added to my seroquel.
i was force medicated, apparently i lacked capacity to make my own decisions after being sectioned
@apple144 that sounds like a good combo. I am going to ask to go back on abilify. I heard its weight neutral. I heard Seroquel is also good too.
I was very ashamed to need antipsychotics. I weaned off of them only to realize I feel better with them. I have had different issues with different meds. When having a problem with a med I always call to see my pdoc to make changes. But I had one AP, Geodon, that didn’t cause tons of side effects for a couple years. Eventually it caused insomnia. I tried a new AP and I can sleep now. It’s important to communicate all this with your doctor. Also, I’ve switched pdocs 3 times in 5 years. Be willing to switch docs if it means being heard and understood so you can get on the best meds possible.
Seroquel will pack the weight on you. I tried it one time. Made me psychotic. I can’t take it but my wife took it for sleep and she gained a whole bunch of weight only in her belly. She looked 14 months pregnant.
I have to take antipsychotics or I get suicidal and psychotic. Hallucinating crazy stuff and I lose my memory so I don’t know what I am doing. When you don’t remember half the time you are awake that’s a scary feeling.
I have hurt myself before and won’t intentionally do it again but I am just glad the last time I quit my meds that I didn’t hurt anyone else.
I couldn’t live with that. If you are schizophrenic you need to take your meds not for yourself but for everyone else.
Without APs I would be in a straight jacket in a rubber room.
How did you feel about starting them?
I was hesitant. I questioned if I needed them, if I would rely on them when I should be working in other ways to get better, and how they would affect me.
Any physical problems?
Yes. Many. Here are some examples.
Abilify-mania
Olanzapine-weight gain
Geodon-unhelpful and ineffective
And with many, I was tired.
Did you attempt to quit them?
No. I know how I was before them. I know how I was in between them. I know how I get during medication changes. It’s all terrible. I have an amazing doctor, and I trust him. I love my family, and taking medication is an act of love for them.
How do you feel about them now?
They are necessary for me to have less hallucinations, lower highs and higher lows, and an edge to know and trust reality.
I’ve been taking AP’s since about 1981. I did not want to take them at first but after being on them for a few years I accepted I needed them. . I’ve tried going off meds a few times and I would say that I barely avoided a relapse. I’m one of the lucky ones in that regard.
In fact about 4 years ago due to some bad luck and bad timing I had to go about 5 days without my meds. The old psychotic, shaky, weak, weird feelings started up again but luckily I finally got my usual meds and it nipped the problem in the bud.
I’ve been on this forum a long time and I’ve seen so many people relapse from stopping their meds. I also see that the people who take their meds seem to do better than those that don’t. There are exceptions but the majority seem to be helped by meds.
Side effects. Well, in the beginning of my illness I was on heavy doses of a med called Prolixen. It really sedated me and I was 21 years old and I should have had all the energy in the world but instead the meds slowed me down immensely, especially at work.
It took years but I’m finally at a point now where I could function fine and not even really notice side-effects. I got switched to risperidone about 12 years ago and I go into work three days a week and take care of the business of living and I don’t even notice any more.
I’ve always taken the pills. Even when delusional I trusted the doctors and that has helped. It took a long time and a bit of trial and error to get to what worked. I stuffed that up by leaving a med that worked and coming back to it. Have to take way more to get the effective dose.
I’m 48. Could be symptoms lessening but I feel really good mentally these days. I don’t have the racing thoughts and paranoia I used to have. I tend to think…gawd. This is what normal people think like! Yeah I’m sedated but it’s not a bad cop. I’ve been on the same meds and dosages for well over 10 years now. Started late in 1999.
@TomCat I am the same way without my antipsychotic I would be hospitalized. I think I may just have to stay on Invega then since you said Seroquel packs the weight on. I have been stable for 2 years now, so maybe Invega will just be my antipsychotic for life. The only thing is I have to find a way to stop gaining 2lbs per month.
Been on meds for a long time and it has helped I feel. I hope I can take something to help with intrusive thoughts and voices. I don’t want to be a burden on my family. I wish I lived by myself a year ago maybe I would not have my problems. Now I am just paranoid.
The first time I was put on meds I didn’t even know why I was being put on meds. I was on Olanzapine and the Haldol injection and gained 30lbs and was sleeping 16 - 17 hours a day. I started going to the gym and I couldn’t lose the weight. I was seeing a psychiatrist and I just felt sedated and hopeless all the time. I eventually managed to start to feel better and got a job and around that time the psychiatrist closed down his practice to teach.
I ended up quitting the medication cold turkey and within a week I was firing on all cylinders and had my brain back. I lost all the weight and was healthy, productive and feeling good. I was walking a lot at my job which helped to keep me in shape. I went almost a year without any medications and eventually quit the job I was working. I thought I was over the illness and my parents also told me that I was doing really good.
Alas, the illness came back with full force and I eventually lost my mind. I almost died and finally got baker acted by my family for the 4th and I’m hoping was my final time. I was finally on a medication that I could tolerate and had less effects. During my recovery it took I believe 2 months for me to come back down to reality and then as I stabilized I got hit with a really bad depression.
After getting on antidepressants the depression finally cleared up and I started doing better but the whole time I was working as a cashier which helped to pass the time. I was also having sleep problems and have finally gotten the right medication at the right dose which has helped a lot. So overall I will need these medications for life. I don’t know what the long terms effects are but I try to stay as healthy as possible. I still live with my parents but I’m doing a lot better and without the medications I would be either dead or locked up in an insane asylum.
they are good and bad in the same time
How did you feel about starting them?
I had a combination of feelings. On one hand, i accepted that i needed them and was compliant. But on the other hand, there were days that i became angry. I didn’t want to believe i needed them, or that i needed to take medication for anything. I felt ashamed.
Any physical problems?
Olanzapine made me gain weight so i went off that
Quetiapine also made me gain weight (but not as bad as Olanzapine)
Aripiprazole made my depressive symptoms worse
Ziprasidone didn’t provide full coverage of my symptoms
I’ve had postural hypotension to the point where i nearly passed out, and now that i take Clozapine, i get hypersalivation
Did you attempt to quit them?
Sure. A couple of times, and each time i wound up back in hospital.
How do you feel about them now?
I’ve grown to accept that i need them. I can sit here and honestly say that this is the best i’ve felt in a long time, and it is thanks to the combination of medication i take. I remember what i was like without them - i’d rather be stable and content.
I started taking antipsychotics 14 years ago and I have never attempted to quit them. I know some people who have attempted to quit medication and all of them have been hospitalised.
I still need aripiprazole and memantine. If I’ll stop them one day, I don’t know. I have some worries about my health due to medications like diabetes.
I wish I didn’t have to take APs, but without them I become so detached and depressed I feel overwhelmed. It scares me how bad off I am with medicine. Still trying to find the right one though, doc called me treatment resistant. So far so good on zyprexa.
I want to stop taking them, abilify is making me restless and anxious. But I know if I do the voices will just come back and Ill be back to square one