Do you find that all your symptoms go away or is it more that they lessen? And what about side effects?
Depends to the antipsychotic. If it works, it is better than being off them. If it doesn’t work, it will just act as a sleeping pill/sugar pill.
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APs are an exchange.
You get less symptoms at the price of some of your sentience.
For some, it’s worth it.
For others, it’s not.
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The worse regimens of 4-9 pills make me way crazier then not taking any. However it’s better for me to take 1 or 2 pills at night to manage my mental illness.
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It’s not a question of worth it or not though? I mean if you get psychotic you have no choice but to take the meds. (or at least some people)
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It depends on the situation and the person. This question has no hard and fast answer due to that.
I’ve been on and am now off. I’m off because I am a LOT better than I was a few years ago. If I became very symptomatic again,I’d go back on.
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When I was off meds before I got diagnosed my life was pure hell. Went through four years of taking and switching meds then feeling better then quitting meds then having to go back to the psych ward every year. I finally asked for an injection in 2019 and only had to go back to the psych ward once a few months later to increase the dose. I’ve been doing pretty good since then. I’ve just had some depression but I got more of my antidepressant last month and feel better now. It’s definitely better to take meds in my opinion.
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If I wasn’t on my AP’s I’d have severe homicidal and suicidal ideation and negative symptoms, voices etc. I’d struggle too much off of them and need hospital a lot.
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Without meds, I am truly crazy. Lots of delusional thinking, very irrational, paranoid, seeing people (hallucinations) everywhere when they aren’t real, thinking I’m being haunted, thinking I’m being monitored, thinking everybody is out to get me, etc. Without meds, I am not as calm. I could start freaking out about something trivial, or freaking out because I see some different meaning behind things.
On meds, I’m pretty calm. I think much more clearly. I don’t think I’m having any delusions, currently. I do see things, like black spirit animals, who run past in my peripheral vision. I see bugs a few times, each day. But I can tell they aren’t real, because they disappear after a couple of seconds. I’m also not suicidal. I haven’t been for a while now. My mood still goes up and down, a bit, but not nearly as bad as without my mood stabilizer.
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Without meds, I basically enter a dream world and become a danger to myself and others.
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Same here, off meds I enter a dream world or more like a waking nightmare.
I too become a danger to myself and others because of my paranoid delusions.
It’s horrifying
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Off meds I´m normal until it happens (when meds wear off)… then I usually go on meds.
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I just get negative symptoms on meds, what’s it like off meds I will find out in a couple of months
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When I was on other meds I still spent a great deal of time in the hospital…I was always making suicidal threats or attempts and hurting myself enough to require stitches. Since I’ve been on clozapine I function much better and have only been in the H seven total days this year. I hate clozapine’s side effects (eating, sleeping, and salivating) but it’s well worth it to have this increased quality of life.
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Are you going off them by choice or something else? I hope the transition is smooth and the result is manageable for you!!
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@taiga It completely stopped the animals and birds sending me messages. It stopped Satan from visiting me. It stopped me from thinking I was a prophetess.
However, it did not stop Navy SEALs from following, recording, and judging me. People report on me to them as well. I’m very paranoid.
I’ve tried almost every single AP without that going away. Even at the highest doses.
What’s it like for you?
Choice with doctors approval
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I am off antipsychotic meds from about a month. But only taking sodium valpirate tablet daily. Not feeling any symptoms. Watching for few months more.
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My positives are gone atm on my current APs. Negatives are not. Sleep is okay for the past week, too. That’s an especially nice change.
I was off meds for a year, or thereabouts. I saw a lot of shadow people moving when I’d go downstairs, but none came to my room, and it became a safe space. I was manic, couldn’t sleep, and made poor decisions as a result. After a hospital visit, I got back on meds, though we’ve adjusted them a lot.
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I only went of APs once. Felt good, was able to work full-time. 6 months later I was in the hospital again.
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