It can get better. I was given heavy, involuntary shock at age 20 and 23...both times in well-regarded hospitals. Minimal aftercare.

I had --serious-- memory problems and all sorts of problems obviously related to heavy handed shock "treatments." I miraculously recovered, so now at least the IQ estimate is up to baseline and my overall functioning is good.

Seroquel can be harsh. For me, even low(ish) doses slowed me down too much. Since I must take a tranquilizer for the foreseeable future, I'm on a high dose of Abilify. Not ideal, but I tolerate it well.

Lithium and the anti-epileptics can be rough, too. Actually...so can benzodiazpines, sleeping pills, even some antidepressants. Psychiatry isn't exactly good for your brain a lot of times.

But, yeah...hope. If I can recover and function OK, then there's hope for anybody. Really. I'd say just watch out for (over)sedation, watch the doses of your prescribed drugs, and also...see if you can get an AIMS test (its a test to look for tardive dyskinesia).

Older literature indicates that people with mood problems get TD more than people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia. The TD tends to be more severe in mood disorders, too. Thing is...a lot of times, if you get TD, you'll also have a measurable degree of cognitive decline ("tardive dementia"). Docs always talk about TD like it doesn't happen or its not a big deal, but it can be a very, very big deal.

Hope I didn't scare you. Just thought I'd throw some things out there for you.