I don't know about the whole "20 years" thing because I didn't clarify with my pdoc, but I wonder if my pdoc meant that the guy kept refusing to see a psychiatrist for 20+ years. Not like what spikes was suggesting where he was seeing one for 20 years and kept refusing meds. But who knows. Maybe the guy *was* seeing a pdoc for 20 years.

It is possible that my pdoc grossly exaggerated the IQ reduction -- I don't know -- but I don't know enough about antipsychotic use vs the kindling theory to actually know whether or not this is even possible. From the brief research I did, though, I saw measured data on grey matter destruction from antipsychotics (particularly first gens, but some second gens too) via MRI analysis. Such studies suggested that the grey matter reduction from long-term antipsychotic use was worse than what would happen if you didn't take antipsychotics at all. Said study was conducted over the course of 20 years, while nearly every other study spanned 3 years at most. However, the whole "this schizophrenic guy's IQ reduced by like 50 billion points" was my pdoc's counter argument, and I couldn't find any evidence of a "significant" IQ reduction. I'm not denying that untreated Sz causes brain damage, but I couldn't find anything with regards to a significant IQ drop to the brink of mental retardation.