What is your medication acceptance story?
Did you try a bunch and finally settle on one, or did you just come to acceptance with the side effects you get?
Are you satisfied with your AP?
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I tried different APs until I settled on the most beneficial.
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In a nutshell:
Switched from Abilify to Seroquel because I couldn’t tolerate Abilify.
Then
Switched back to Abilify from Seroquel as I couldn’t tolerate Seroquel.
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I just settled on the one they gave me at the psych ward that lets you smoke
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Went on zyprexa. Tried to switch to 3 other AP’s because of side effects, but couldn’t tolerate any of them.
Side effects are bad to the point I think the drug causes more mental problems than it solves. I say that because I haven’t had positive symptoms to speak of for years.
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Started with olanzapine at 20/21. Didn’t take it seriously. Kept this up with all meds, finally in 2022 I was put on a Aripiprazole depot and took the time to understand my feelings and wishes of life and how to combine the two to make it more harmonious - the result was one thing alone; I HAVE to accept medication.
People on this forum inspired me, from every corner of the world - you guys showed me medical compliance is the logical and correct response. Schizophrenia is a real illness and not a psychological concept
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I’ve been on everything, from first-gen APs to the latest second-gen APs. Right now i accept that i have to take Cobenfy, i still have some positives and it doesn’t really affect the negatives. I miss clozapine, it was the best med for me, but too many cardiac side effects. I’ve accepted that I’ll always need some type of med.
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I lost track of all the antipsychotics I’ve been on. I just do what I’m told.
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I’ve been on a bunch of APs since I was 20 years old, I’m now 60
My very first AP was a heavy hitting old fashioned typical called Navane that shitt turned me into a robotic zombie.
I got off that drug after a year or so and didn’t take any meds at all for many years.
My next Antipsychotic that I was on was Abilify when it first came out.
Then other drugs like Zyprexa, Seroquel XR, Invega, Vraylar just to mention a few.
Nothing worked out until I got on Risperidone
That and Depakote are my Wonder drugs
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I think I tried most over a couple of decades. Finally realized that I am treatment resistant and the high dosage of any med needed to remove my positive symptoms is profoundly disabling. I stopped being a bxxch about therapy and got on board, put real effort into it. Now with CBT, DBT, etc., I can easily manage a level of positive symptoms that would have caused me to relapse decades ago while just taking a maintenance dose of APs. I need just enough medication to maintain insight. With insight and therapy tricks I am able to push the positive symptoms to the side and enjoy my life.
I have much better quality of life with this approach (less meds but more symptoms) than I did with the approach all of my doctors preferred (aiming for few/no symptoms but completely disabled by med side-effects).
Diet. Exercise. Select supplements. Growth mindset. Journling. Ongoing therapy (in person and self-directed). Lower doses of meds as prescribed. Complete transparency with doctors. That’s my path.
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I’ve never been able to get used to any of them. But of the five antipsychotics I’ve taken throughout my life, none have been “mild” in their effects. Perhaps Seroquel or Clozapine will be my last option.
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My story is Aripiprazole 20mg and Bupron 150 SR in which I am making it alive.
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Fortunately, Ive always accepted that medication is beneficial. I came from a nursing background, so Ive seen the good (and sometimes the bad) that meds can do.
I tried Aripiprazole, before it failed to work. Then I tried Risperidone, but it gave me severe heart palps. Then I tried Olanzapine, and it hurt my head. Then they tried Haloperidol but they cranked it so high I could not function. Then came Amisulpride - ahhh peace for 4 years. Then it failed to work. So they recently tried Clozapine, and sadly this also hurt my head and sent my vitals/BP sky high. Im now back on a low dose of Haloperidol and so far so good.
So how does my account tally against my view of so-called pro-medication? The point is, there is something for everyone, even though you may need to try a few first. Statistically, most of us will find relief fairly quickly and simply. Others, not so much.
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