Hello everyone,
I am student at faculty of veterinary medicine . every day and every year, I became worse and worse in study. I was diagnosed as i have simple schizophrenia since 8 years. i am so late in my study. i took so so so many different medicines. i only felt good not bad one year through all this period. then i relapsed about last four years. so i stopped taking medicines about a year ago and really i do not feel big difference so i still do not want to take medicines again. i gave up to graduate from veterinary medicine although i still want and although i am at last years but i am not sure. the only thing that may give me hope that i want to study anything else that may require 8 months. it is my last hope. so please any tips, any advice, anything how to concentrate, understand and memorize well everyday for only 8 months without medications of schizophrenia? ( really i am 100% sure that i do not want to take them again )
sorry for bad english
and so many thanks in advance
What are your symptoms for schizophrenia?
since about 9 or 10 years, i experienced laughing alot. i make signals with my fingers like i write words when i walk or stay. i ignore my appearance and my clothes. i can not concentrate on my study or understand anything although i was smart and inteligent before. my family say i have strange thoughts about religion. i withdraw and isolated from my family and others who visit us. all my doctors said simple schizophrenia but last days i read also about schizo-affective disorder and i feel that i have its symptoms also.
I can’t function for long without medications and I would not advise others to try. Those who can function without antipsychotics are so rare they are statistical outliers. I can tell you that with patience and effort you can become very high-functioning on medication.
What kind of symptoms are the worst for you?
I mostly suffer positive symptoms and am not medicated.
For a while I was able to just stay in my routine, smoke a lot of cannabis, and be mostly okay,
But now even that is starting to deteriorate and I’m going to see a doctor about medication and therapy next month.
I think the option to take or not to take medicine depends on how and to what extent you suffer the illness.
If you are posting this question here, its a pretty strong case that you may need some.
Well, routine is important. I went outside of mine this weekend and am paying for it now. For meds, look at the newer ones, not the older, sedating crap. I had very good results on Geodon, but your mileage may vary.
Therapy, yes. Also, particulary because you are so high-functioning, definitely look into CBT. I think it will help you go the farthest on the fewest meds.
Your story sounds very familiar to me. I know a woman on another site who is an active veterinarian, and who has had schizoaffective disorder for the past fifteen years. So just know that your dreams are still possible.
CBT, DBT and neurofeedback are the three main treatments that don’t use medication. I used neurofeedback exclusively when I needed to take a break from meds. I lasted 6 years before I crashed hard. I was able to graduate and work full time for a while. But, eventually, my symptoms got overwhelming and I needed to revisit the idea of meds. I got lucky my second time trying meds, because I found the right one for me. That was Geodon, but the right med for you might be something different. But if you’re not ready to look for it yet, I understand. I’ve been there.
Sarcosine is a supplement that helps with negative symptoms (disorganized thought, difficulty concentrating, lack of motivation, etc). I have taken it for about a year and I love it. With Sarcosine, I remember to shower every day!
May I ask what meds you have tried so far, and what side effects you’ve suffered from?
Thanks, homie!
I’ve done CBT and I still implement those practices everyday.
Its really the only thing that has ever made a serious impact on my life. And hopefully the medication has changed for the better since last time I tried.
I feel like I’ve taken everything, but I know I haven’t, plus they have to have some new stuff.
Hah. I had you figured for CBT. Awesome. Good to know my pattern filters are still working.
There is also the DNA test they can do to tell you which meds you’ll respond best to. Some of the companies offer financial aid, since insurance doesn’t currently cover the tests.
Financial assistance programs:
https://genesight.com/clinicians/billing-and-insurance/
no one can notice any symptoms except my family because i live with them. now i rarely laugh. i stopped making signals.only sometimes i am not comfortable with headache. i do not care about all because no one can notice and it does not affect my study but the worst symptom for me that i can not study, concentrate, understand well. and so slow in understanding while studying. and this always was my case even with 7 years medications. now i do not feel big difference after about one and half year even i feel improvement at other sides. so i hope i can be one of the persons who treated without medications
thanks so much for your reply. it really gave me great hope. i took medicines for 7 years. i can not remember the first medicines but at the last three years, i took olapex ( olanzapine ) which the only medicine made me improve for only one year in my study and may be everything then i relapsed. then i took Solian, aripeprex, Serdolect. and i became worse then i left all.
about side effects: so long sleep, indolence even i can not go outside home, increase prolactin 3 times as normal and more. all of that with no any improvement. best wishes with your medicines. i may try again if treatment without medications not help me
i really appreciate
I am forgetful and use postit notes to help me remember things i would not remember on my own. I put them in obvious places. i have also helped myself before by setting a regular schedule. maybe having a set time to study would help you?
Going off meds is really hard, I used to do weekly therapy for years before I was able to just go back to work. Finding a doctor willing to reduce without just changing meds. I had to keep smoking since that was the most common reason for relapsing. Defently not the best thing I could do in the world, but I couldn’t even leave my house when I was on all the meds.
Coping skills, coping skills, coping skills…
Alot of the time was I just need the therapist to talk to about the most random stuff… once I talked just about the ride I just did there because I was so fascinated about 2 motorcycle riders in front of me on the way.
Lots of time finding all your triggers so you know when it’s going to happen, and leave before it gets past that line of breaking. Most of the time it was something random from weeks before that never left my head.
Life still isn’t perfect and free from symptoms, they still come full force from time to time, but knowing what can cause it and when it’s coming helps. My main release has been watching youtube videos, but this site has been amazing!
If your still thinking about it, I do hope anything I said could be useful to you.
thanks so much for your reply
thanks so much for your helpful reply