I am just curious about other peoples experience with meds and psychotic breaks. I have had a total of 3 episodes. The first one defined my illness and the other 2 have been since then. I have not had one in 11 months.
I went on meds immediately with my first episode. I had no control of my behavior but the meds helped me gain control. I started on 2mg risperidone. I stayed on that dose until my big bad episode where I lost total control and had a suicide attempt. I had another episode right after the suicide attempt. It was mainly paranoia based. My meds have only been upped after the suicide attempt. I felt very vulnerable and was scared and they upped my dose to 4mg. I couldn’t tolreate that and it went back down to 2mg and eventually 1mg which is where I sit now. My belabored point is that my pdoc doesn’t (neccessarily) think that my dose is going to prevent an episode. I have been on a low dose for almost a year and free of episodes. In fact, I am on a lower dose than when I first became mentally ill. I will note, though, that my delusion has stayed the same the whole time.
Did they automatically up your meds with an episode? Did they wean it back down later? what have they done with your eds with each episode? if anything…
Doctors sometimes up doses to the max when in hospitals.
Some pdocs prescribe risperidone at 10mg if seriously ill
4mg was to high for me 2mg was ok but still was all to much for me
What matters is that your episodes have stopped, you may have the same views but thats you.
Hope this answer helps
Yea they up the dose for about three months and then try to lower it again. The goal is to control your symptoms with the lowest possible dose of atypicals. Because they aren’t really good for us.
My psychiatrist upped my doses after my Hospital Stays.
The Hospital kept me on low doses intentionally so that it would make sure that I would go back.
Ummm I wasn’t medicated until I’d already had 3 major episodes…once I started meds I didn’t have any more episodes. When I quit meds I noticed a spike in my symptoms but they gradually went back to normal. I haven’t had any psychotic episodes since before I started medication.
@Anna You’re not on meds? what were you on before? How much? How bad were your episodes? Were they true psychotic breaks? I am really surprised you’re episode free off meds. I’d love to achieve that
I have a lamictal induced psychosis, (dangerous stuff)
i took zyprexa on it 7 years ago and got very sick, it triggered very severe episodes, life threathening, and abilify saved me
and low dose seroquel
To me they were pretty awful. In my first one it lasted like a year and I was horribly paranoid, up every night with vivid tactile hallucinations of being sexually/physically abused by demons, believed devil was going to kidnap me and take me to hell to impregnate me w antichrist, was reading messages in the clouds and believed they were the devils agents, was talking to god, angels, demons, ghosts, etc. Did a ton of bizarre things to keep myself safe, was also having visual hallucinations, it was just insane. My other two weren’t as bad and were shorter, just 2-3 months, and one I believed I was going to be a warrior in the apocalypse and that another demon had come to harass me, was up all night repeating bible verses again, running around the apartment at night being chased by the demon, scratching at my head to stop the voices, going to church every day trying to ward them off…then the third one I was terrified people were going to hurt me and hid in my apartment and then thought people would climb in through the window (I’m on the 9th floor) and that people on the internet were watching me through cameras.
So yeah not good. I’ve been on Abilify (10 mg, wasn’t very effective), Risperidone (2 mg? Don’t remember but it worked very well) and Latuda (40 mg? I don’t even know it was a lower dose though. Maybe 80 mg actually).
I’m high functioning and also have many good coping mechanisms that I built up from a lifetime of dealing w these symptoms. Last night I woke up w paranoia and saw a demented alien/scarecrow thing staring at me w its head backwards and upside down and I laughed and called it a b**** lol.
I’m impressed with your level of functioning. I would be very scared to go off meds. However, there have been people with Delusional Disorder that have gone off meds successfully. My primary symptom is my delusion but I still may be sz. Pdoc is calling it Delusional Disorder which has higher chance of recovery and going off meds. We’ll see. I need meds for my paranoia right now. I HATE paranoia! It’s awful. Truly awful.
Paranoia is the worst and my favorite part of being on meds was that it took the paranoia away.
Good luck to you I hope things improve someday!
Thank you 
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