"Some schizophrenia patients can cope without medication"

DX'd - Other
41

But, some people are able to reduce doses over time.

Has anyone accomplished that here? Reducing doses over a period of time and then being fully functional?

42

Some can and have.

Anything is possible.

43

Oh yeah. My initial dosage was on par with “nuke the site from orbit” as they tried to stabilize me. Now I can get by on a maintenance dose of Geodon some days.

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44

I have reduced my meds over time. I am still on them though. I have no psychotic symptoms thus far.

45

I was first given APs when I was 16-19

Lost contact with MH services at 19, and I was off meds until I was 23

At first it was drug induced psychosis, but I got clean and had a relapse at 23 so they then called it Paranoid Schizophrenia

Bottom line is I coped well without meds for nearly 4 years after my 1st episode

What triggered my 2nd episode was college stress

During the 4 years I was landscaping and was very low stress

As soon as I did something mentally intensive it was a slippery slope

Been on meds ever since. But not sure if I can come off

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46

I can’t relate to it. Any time I miss a week’s worth of med’s I get in trouble.

47

I probably could because my hallucinations don’t bother me to much anymore, I’m desensitized to them at this point but don’t like them and tend to have awful delusional thinking and get paranoid so I stay on my meds… I’ve been bad enough I can’t stand it so I stay on my meds

48

i dont think the sz forum represents 100% of the sz population. its rare enough to have sz but even rarer to find this site. i believe 30% might actually do ok off meds but there are plenty of sz’s and varied cases and symptoms and severity, outside of this forum i see way more sz’s who dont take meds or are against meds than i see that are on them

49

IDK, I think the members here are a good cross section of schizophrenics from around the world. And read velociraptors post. He’s been on here since 1999 and I’ve been on a number of years. I mean you may be right and the article may be right but I just don’t see it. Like I said, I don’t think they’re lying or making up those statistics; but I just question them.

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50

As @shutterbug & @Bowens have stated, reducing dosage over time is possible. However, being a fully functional schizophrenic with symptoms still requires a daily intake of anti-psychotic medication even if the dose is small.

51

That’s not necessarily true whatsoever

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52

Go read the DSM5.

53

I guess I’ll find out if I can function without the daily APs. Tapering down to zero. I’ve cranked up the CBT exercises.

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54

Oh thank God I hope that’s true…I went 8 months without it but eventually relapsed…I’m coming up on my 10tg year just about. I hope it subsides lol gonna stay with medication until I’m sure tho

55

Which says what?
I don’t take meds because I function much better without them, on them I was non functional

56

I didn’t say meds may not worsen negatives but its also possible that you have negatives off meds. Studies say 73% of those with negatives experience them before being on meds. Meds may make them worse.

57

I do, I’m not fully functional now, but antipsychotics made negative symptoms much worse.

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58

Why is it required?

59

I currently work and so I need these anti-psychotics to keep me sane so that I can do my job duties without the voices in my head.

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60

I’d say that sz people who manage without medication may on average have less need for support than people who have to take meds to ward off debilitating symptoms.

So there might not be very many members here who can do it, but I’m sure they are out there.