Meds turned me into a fat zombie
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The meds make the problem go away but cause their own problems so you stop them to get rid of the problems they cause hoping your old problems dont come back.
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I quit my meds because they had horrible side effects and no longer worked, but with a doctors approval. I then started a new med that has no side effects and works even better,
People should be able to talk about quitting, sometimes it is necessary because of the side effects of the current medication, and sometimes they want to know how to deal with withdrawal symptoms if they have them. The topic shouldnāt be banned, there are legitimate issues to be discussed.
But all that said, quitting meds is a roll of the dice because in most cases people will become psychotic again.
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I have lost schizophrenic friends due to quitting antipsychotics or switching nothing can change it now. But I have learned my lesson for me its antipsychotics for life.
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I think some people who post here are anti psychiatry trolls. Not every poster is legit.
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I stopped taking meds enough times to know for my self I need them.
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The reason why people want off is that it would be a much better life off meds, that is, if you donāt relapse.
I was foolish enough to try and work full time, taking only 2,5mg olanzapine for about 3 yearsā¦horrible insomnia, and questionable mental health.
I slept about 3 hours on average 3 years straight because of this. I swear it almost killed me because of the sleep deprevation. I still have aftereffects from this stunt now many years later. My physical health is not what it used to be. All that because I couldnāt face the fact that I no longer would be able to work a full time job if I were to take care of my health.
I was a bit unlucky with my pdoc as well. In the beginning I wanted to go on 2,5mg and he supported me. Then later when I started mentioning that sleep was becoming a issue he didnāt urge me to up my dose for some reason. Eventually I had to get another doctor because my health was going down hill. First thing new doc does is to up my dose to 10mg so I could get proper sleep. Later I worked myself down to 5mg, but that is about as far as I can go if I want to get proper sleep.
So a lot of these antipsychotics are no joke. Even if you have been stable for a long time, it can still be hazardous to get off them. If you donāt sleep you will suffer.
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What if you didnāt try and work. What if you just relaxed and took great care of your mental health. Would you of managed without antipsychotics?
No. I have tried to go off a few times, but I donāt think work has much to do with me having delusions. Except I know it is a very bad idea to go to work if I am in relapse territory.
Actually I consider work therapeutic as long as itās work that I donāt mind doing. I think I would have a hard time sitting home all the time, but thatās also because I have a very little social network. Right now Iām being evaluated for partial disability. It looks like Iām in store for about 50-70% disability. But I hope to get better and be able to work more later.