Time for antipsycotics to kick in?

How long does it take for antipsycotics to kick in for a first time user? (Approx.)

It depends on the person.

For me it took months to make some real effect.

yeah me too, first time psychosis about a month. second time, about 2 months.

I am on Haldol. In the hospital setting, I’ve seen it turn a floridly psychotic person (including myself) around in a matter of hours. It is no longer first-line treatment, but Haldol and some of the other typicals can have an almost immediate effect. Some of the new ones take a long time to work (or work at all). That’s just my experience and results. Your mileage may vary.

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Is there any clues to when your friend leaves the hospital?

No not really. It is his first time in so they are doing a more thourough check. I just pray he will come back well :pray:

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i believe my antipsychotics are not the reason i got better. but if it was due to them that i stopped hearing voices and having delusions then… are you prepared?.. about 1.5 years.

You took them for 1.5 yrs before it kicked in?!

yep, you heard me right.

wow. why do you wanna stop meds if it took so much time to get back to reality?!

I think it also depends on the medication. I take latuda, which is supposed to work pretty quickly, from my understanding. I’ve been taking 40mg for two months. It’s beginning to help. Doc is increasing to 60mg next time I see her.

because i know its not due to meds that i had this whole experience of improvement. infact when i had my dose of xeplion reduced by half i had less voices than on a higher dosage.

I don’t know what to tell you. I had a relapse while on meds. I wouldn’t risk jeopardizing my life like that. what do you think helped you in your recovery?

It varies with the drug, the dosage, the individual… When I was on risperidone it took a week, now I am on orap it takes a month to get fully stable.

some stuff you and many other people wouldnt take seriously. but even if we stick to science then you cant deny that either the meds, if they were truly effective, would kick in alot earlier(like during the time i was in hospital) or i wouldnt experience an improvement when my meds get cut back. ive also had some other strange effects when in hospital, among many. its very unusual and has nothing to do with this subject but i lost the feeling one has when filling(eating or drinking) your stomach and regained it not because of the meds but like 1 year after having had the schizophrenia. i believe that i had to live through this whole bad and awful time because i had such a sweet life prior to it.

aww come on. You can’t say that. I know this illness has changed all of us but nobody deserves it.

whatever your reason may be, just be cautious. It’s not something you can take risks with. If you lose your sanity, you might lose another year or so of your life in another reality. Wish you good health.

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I think most of the oral APs take about 8 weeks to kick in, because they have to build up in your system. That said, I started noticing differences within the first week I was on Geodon. It just took a while to fully start helping.

im certain ill be fine. thanks for the wishes and advice. :+1:

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Took about 3 months for me…

Hours. Doctors in the hospital I was in said it was the first time they saw AP kick in so fast, which doesn’t say much in their favor, I gess.