I don't normally talk about this but I think it might help you so...

What is your experience growing up through your teens up to adulthood.
It's been a confusing and terrifying hell, to be blunt. I started hallucinating and having delusional thinking as a young child, and when I hit the age of ten things got more out of control. By the time I was 14 I wound up in the hospital and diagnosed with psychosis. Then after a suicide attempt at the age of 15 I was hospitalized at a much more competent facility and I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I didn't think I was sick, I only realized that I actually have an illness in this past year. It took awhile, but things have gotten better since I got some insight. As for how I got it? I don't know. I was hospitalized this year yet again for a severe psychotic break and maybe it was the Saphris I was on, because after I'd taken that it was like, "oh, I do have schizophrenia." I couldn't stay on that drug though because the atypical anti-psychotics are just bad for me. The older ones give me WAY less side effects than the new ones that are supposedly better. Unfortunately, I've never gotten into any kind of remission. Like you said the meds don't seem to really WORK, they just make things tolerable... but then there's side effects and all that crap.

Did it get worse? Did you know what was going on in your head? Are you living on your own or still at home?

Mine has absolutely gotten worse. When I was 14 I had a feeling something was really wrong, but I didn't know what it was. After the age of 15 I quickly lost all of the little insight I had. I thought everyone else was crazy! Now I have at least some insight into what's going on inside my head, but I still lose insight the more psychotic I get. I still live at home. I've never been able to learn how to drive or anything because even without the hallucinations, delusions, and thought disorganization, my cognitive issues are so bad that I just can't do stuff like that. I graduated from high school with good marks but I haven't attempted college because school can all too easily put me right back in the hospital for psychosis.

If you have anymore questions or want more detail about anything don't hesitate to ask. I have a soft spot for people who had an early onset and for the people that love them. I'm in half a mind to type up my whole story with my illness and post it in hopes that maybe someone would benefit from it.