Can you live life without meds (I have paranoid schizophrenia without hallucinations)?
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I have paranoid schizophrenia without hallucinations too. I need meds. If I don’t take them I just drift into a dreamworld and become a danger to myself and others.
You may have to take meds for life. But that’s ok 
. Lots of people have to take meds for life for various conditions not just schizophrenia.
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Without meds I will become highly delusional and paranoid.
I will become a danger to myself and others.
I need the meds.
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Yep, it’s a life filled with unicorns, leprauchauns, and four-leaf clover.
(Sarcasm alert.)
I’d say your odds of managing the illness without medication are less than 5% and I’m probably still being too optimistic.
Sorry.
I will probably need medication for life. I’m not thrilled, but it’s better than being homeless, like I was prior to meds.
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No i can not live without meds. I have tryed and failed too many times. I think meds are good to me.
That’s never a good approach to taking good care of your own health. You don’t have to mindlessly accept everything they say, but you do need to trust your doctors if you want to recover well.
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I heard some people manage from my pdoc but it just depends on the person and the severity of the illness.
I don’t know how it works with those diagnosed with sz sza, but me as someone diagnosed with psychosis I was given the option by my psychiatrist to taper off after a certain set of time to see how it goes under their supervision.
The one thing I do wonder is if it’s bad in general to keep trying again and again and again… to come off meds, I wonder if that does something to the effectiveness of meds to do their job, and in making the positive symptoms more resistant.
I can but not happily. I can function off too but it takes extreme effort so I can’t function as well as I can on medication. Overall my quality of life, functioning and academic performance is vastly higher on meds than off.
The only sensible approach is to do this under medical supervision. FWIW, I’ve tried your approach several times and every attempt has ended in psychosis and heartache for my family. I don’t mess with my meds unless there are extenuating circumstances and you can bet I’m on the phone to a doctor letting them know what happened as soon as is practical.
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I was recently evaluated by a neurophysiologist as part of a study I was involved in. It was a two-hour computerized exam. I came out at the 91st percentile for my gender, age, and education. I’ve also been mostly med-compliant (APs and ADs) since 1993. I’m regarded as the highest functioning person in my office in terms of attention to detail and ability to memorize intricate insurance policy wordings.
Stop blaming the meds.
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On meds I live by myself, I’m a full-time student, I’m social and I have a boyfriend. The non-med alternative is to be dependent on others to function in my daily life, to not be able to work or study (or even relax and watch a movie), not be able to handle a relationship, and to live an isolated and lonely existence. I’d call this recovery. It didn’t come with meds alone, but it would never have happened without them.
There’s a lot of research on this. They know much more about this than you do. And they’re not tricking you just so they can harm your brain.
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Unfortunately, there are major risks associated with most meds. When you’re one of the unlucky ones, the meds might have made things much worse. But doctors still prescribe them because, overall, they help people more than they hurt them. It’s the risk we all take. But don’t encourage others to ignore their doctor’s advice based on your own bad experiences. That’s not a very prosocial thing to do.
It’s not my intention to encourage others, just my own opinion.
If that is how it has come across I apologise. I have deleted my posts…
@Looking4Hope Based on the reactions of others, I’d follow the consensus rather than my frustrations that are not yours or anyone else’s problems to concern yourself. If you saw what I had written, just ignore it. Putting it loosely it’s a pretty extremist viewpoint and I wouldn’t blame @mods for banning me for posting too candidly ■■■■■■■■ that has nothing to do with you or your situation.
I won’t post again.
Don’t worry, we won’t ban you. We’ve had worse, and I can’t blame you for being frustrated. I’m sorry you have had such a bad experience with your meds and I hope your doctors find a way to help you.
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I limped along most of my life Unmedicated. If someone had taken the time to help properly, I might not be a failed author with nothing to do but watch my husband go downhill physically. Be a caretaker of him and my one daughter. I might have a way to have supported them better with more good experiences and better therapy
Screw limping along.
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