[ItchyHaunt]

I am discouraged about medication. I also know that I really probably shouldn't be. But I am. And I don't know what to do about it. See, the thing is, I need medication for psychosis. So I have been trying to find an antipsychotic that will help me. I have only taken one so far - Risperdal - and I've waited 39 days to see if it will work. I'm tired of waiting. It's not helping. At least, I don't notice any difference anyways.

I am beginning to think that nothing will work - and that's the weird part. It's not like I've burned through a bunch of antipsychotics. But for some reason I'm feeling very pessimistic about this whole medication thing. Starting to think nothing will work, medication is all just a scam, a way for drug companies to make more money, etc. I don't want to feel this way. I want to believe that something will help me, but I don't.

I suspect that part of this is because of my lousy therapist that I currently have (getting a new one). I keep telling her that the medication is not working and that I would like to try another one. She keeps telling me that it is. She tells me to just be patient and quit being so negative. I'm not trying to be negative! I'm telling you the truth! I don't notice a difference when I take Risperdal as opposed to when I'm not taking it! Thankfully I started lactating while one it, so now I have to come off it. But if it weren't for that, I'm afraid that I'd still be left with no other medication to try. WTF?! So, yeah, I kinda think she's part of the reason why I think it's all just a ****ing scam.

So, can anyone out there give me some hope? Cause I could really use some right now. I really do want to believe that the medication can help me. I don't expect it to make my life perfect, I just expect it to make it more bearable. Can it do that?

[bipolarmedstudent]

Here is the truth about anti-psychotics for schizophrenia:

1/3 of people with schizophrenia will respond very well to anti-psychotics (lead a fully functional life with minimal or no relapses)

1/3 of people with schizophrenia will respond moderately well to anti-psychotics (they will be functional for stretches of time, but relapse periodically...this is called a 'relapse-remitting' disease course)

1/3 of people with schizophrenia will be chronic non-responders to anti-psychotics (never really able to hold down a job and support themselves)

Now, I'm not sure if you have schizophrenia or some other kind of psychotic disorder, so that changes things a bit. Also, the response rate depends on what kinds of psychotic symptoms you have. The general rule of thumb is that 'positive' symptoms (hallucinations, delusions) tend to respond very well to anti-psychotics, whereas 'negative' symptoms (flat affect, anhedonia, low mood, lack of motivation, social isolation, poverty of speech) generally don't respond well to anti-psychotics.

Also, keep in mind, you have only tried ONE anti-psychotic. There are plenty more anti-psychotics out there for you to try. Don't throw in the towel now!

But, 39 days is an awfully long time to wait to see if an anti-psychotic is working for you. Anti-psychotics generally start working within a few days. You should know by the end of a week or so (maybe two weeks) if it's going to work for your psychosis or not. 39 days is really excessive. Talk to your psychiatrist about this, but if she is ultimately unwilling to budge, you may need to look for a different psychiatrist who is more pro-active about finding a medication that works for you.

I don't know if that gave you hope. Looking back over my post, it didn't really paint the most hopeful picture, did it? hah.

If you want me to give you a better idea of the chance that your psychosis will respond to meds, I need you to answer some questions:

1. What is your diagnosis exactly? What kind of psychotic disorder do you have?
2. What are your symptoms? Do you have only positive symptoms or also negative symptoms?
3. How old are you? Are you male or female?
4. How long have you been having psychotic symptoms for?
5. What dose of risperdal were you taking?
6. Did the risperdal help *at all* with your symptoms? Why do you say it didn't work? What symptoms did you continue having while on the risperdal, and how severe?

[Porcupine_girl]

Dear itchyhaunt,
It really sounds like your psychiatrist is useless. I suggest finding a new one who is good asap. Its very important for u to trust ur doctor. If the med is not working after a week nevermind 40 days the dose needs to be changed, or u need to start a new drug.

Psychiatric medications are scientifically proven to help patients so no they are not a hoax. It may take some time and patience to find the right kind of medication for u but once you have you will never look back, it really can change your life. Just because some practitioners are incompetent doesn't mean the drugs are too.

[ImMentallyILL]

One doctor decided that I have psychosis which I don't. I was put on risperdal which gave me permanent side effects and made me feel groggy. I feel sorry for you because you're trying to fix your problem. It looks like you are new to the whole doctor thing and let me welcome you to hell. You have no idea what you're going to encounter in the future with your diagnoses of psychosis.

These doctors are going to give you a hard time and make you feel like a retard. Get ready to waste years of your life trying achieve that perfect feeling. You are going to be on every antipsychotic possible. Your therapist could careless about you, she's going to feed you pills fo you could be quiet. Therapists are in it for the money it's all a scam...I hope you're not paying for this crap.

These are my opinions don't let me change your mind on my horrible experience with doctors. Good luck

[Porcupine_girl]

Mentally Ill, that is not true.
It may have been hell for you but it has also been heaven for many people.
I dont know what kind of Drs you go to but the Drs I see are not like that.
There is no such thing as a perfect feeling, so if your trying to get that you will be disappointed.

Maybe some therapists are the way you say they are, but not all of them are like that. I know many of them who really do care and make helping people get better their life.

But I am sorry for your bad experience.

The thing with meds is that it's trial and error until you find the one for you, and then you've got to get to the right dose for you, so it does take time. I had to come off of risperidone because of the side effects at a really small dose. My 2nd med thankfully is working for me - abilify/aripiprazole - but I had to get to 10mg and wait 4 weeks before the voices went away, so it doesn't always happen straight away. (I have psychotic depression by the way.)

All the best with finding both a med and a Pdoc that helps.

*Willow*

[fishsandwich]

Originally Posted by bipolarmedstudent

Here is the truth about anti-psychotics for schizophrenia:

1/3 of people with schizophrenia will respond very well to anti-psychotics (lead a fully functional life with minimal or no relapses)

1/3 of people with schizophrenia will respond moderately well to anti-psychotics (they will be functional for stretches of time, but relapse periodically...this is called a 'relapse-remitting' disease course)

1/3 of people with schizophrenia will be chronic non-responders to anti-psychotics (never really able to hold down a job and support themselves)

There are also a fair number of people with schizophrenia who cope reasonably to exceptionally well without any kind of anti-psychotic/psychiatric drug treatment.

[esmeo]

Hi, I think the phycologist they work in a very convenient mode, that is, giving drugs to people, they treat as it was a science, when other things should be envolved.
There are levels and levels on working on that, and the relativist of medications are alawys going to use that argument. But the thing is, there are so many other options to try to make things better, to look for a treatment, then pills, It is sad to see that if you think about most questions and answers around here are, what pills should I take? A: I think Planax is good, but you should ask your therapist. and then the guy stopped shaking his legs (it worked) I think that it sad.

I think you should start trying to see first how is your routine like and try to take control of it. ( and youre going to have to think about how do you fill your time, which things are you going to do tomorrow, and to set some goals for this year) that is step number 1
2- Try to drink camomile tea, it is a way to do some active and calm yourself a little bit.

[Immaculata]

I have had an incredible Psychiatric PA who was gone out if her way to educate me by giving me books and teaching me about how meds work. She has been willing, after my own prompting and reasearch to try WAY out of the box off label therapies.

I know the dunces that are out there (i worked as a chaplin in a Psych-hospital and have spent many days in them as a patient ). We use to joke about how many PDocs are PDocs because they couldnt get into any other residency programs. BUT there really are some amazing, caring Docs and PAs that want you to get better. The big trick is finding them.

I would say, and this is just me, any doc who told me to stop being negative would fall into the dunce category. I know that, for me, being negative is part of my mental illness and when I am being that way it means something is wrong and needs attention. Its like telling someone with highblood pressure, "stop having high blood pressure!" Bogus, I think.

Keep asking around: your other docs even if they have nothing to do with mental illnesses, especially docs that you like because as my grandma use to say, "birds of a feather flock together."

The hopelessness of it all can be so yucky I know.

[choocha]

Hi. 39 days is long enough to know whether something is working, especially if you have tried changing the dosage etc. It is time for you to try something new. I know it is a struggle, I can relate, but I don't believe it's all a scam etc. I do believe there are those of us out there with chemical imbalances which need addressing, using meds. It sucks but it's just a matter of time & patience, trying different meds, adjusting dosages, & trying different combinations of meds together also is a big part of it. I do believe when you get the right one, dose, combo etc; you will notice the difference, dramatically. This has happened for me before, in the past, just not right now. They stopped working so I'm back on the merry-go-round again. Anway, I wish you luck, I have faith you'll find one you like. You just have to keep trying + another important tip is to listen to your body. Please do not give up. I know how much it sucks but imagine the time when you can live life to the fullest again. All the best! Please keep us posted on how you go. Take care xo

[choocha]

Hi, me again. Another thing: please don't listen to the negative paranoid people. There is nearly always a solution. It's just about perseverance. You just need the right balance of good doc's, right meds, healthy living, positive mind.

[fishsandwich]

Actually, it's not just negative and paranoid people who are anti-medications. There is an entire movement of people (myself included) who were seriously harmed by the drugs. There is also substantial evidence that the drugs, if not complete shams, suffer from a significant lack of scientific evidence for their efficacy -- and a few were at the centre of some rather alarming scandals.

Some people are helped by the drugging, some are not. Some think their life is saved by the drugs, some think the drugs ended their life. It's not always a matter of finding the "right" one.

[venusss]

Originally Posted by fishsandwich

Actually, it's not just negative and paranoid people who are anti-medications. There is an entire movement of people (myself included) who were seriously harmed by the drugs. There is also substantial evidence that the drugs, if not complete shams, suffer from a significant lack of scientific evidence for their efficacy -- and a few were at the centre of some rather alarming scandals.

Some people are helped by the drugging, some are not. Some think their life is saved by the drugs, some think the drugs ended their life. It's not always a matter of finding the "right" one.

Yeah.
Sometimes I think that advicing person who reacts badly to meds to keep on trying is like advicing somebody to keep on eating food they are allergic to.

The fear-mongering goes both ways. Pro-meds people will tell horror stories about how non-med route can kill....

[Confusedinomicon]

I wonder if mood illnesses have, inpart, to do with the food that is consumed and a lack of supportive community.

[Jazz007]

Originally Posted by ItchyHaunt

I am discouraged about medication. I also know that I really probably shouldn't be. But I am. And I don't know what to do about it. See, the thing is, I need medication for psychosis. So I have been trying to find an antipsychotic that will help me. I have only taken one so far - Risperdal - and I've waited 39 days to see if it will work. I'm tired of waiting. It's not helping. At least, I don't notice any difference anyways.

I am beginning to think that nothing will work - and that's the weird part. It's not like I've burned through a bunch of antipsychotics. But for some reason I'm feeling very pessimistic about this whole medication thing. Starting to think nothing will work, medication is all just a scam, a way for drug companies to make more money, etc. I don't want to feel this way. I want to believe that something will help me, but I don't.

I suspect that part of this is because of my lousy therapist that I currently have (getting a new one). I keep telling her that the medication is not working and that I would like to try another one. She keeps telling me that it is. She tells me to just be patient and quit being so negative. I'm not trying to be negative! I'm telling you the truth! I don't notice a difference when I take Risperdal as opposed to when I'm not taking it! Thankfully I started lactating while one it, so now I have to come off it. But if it weren't for that, I'm afraid that I'd still be left with no other medication to try. WTF?! So, yeah, I kinda think she's part of the reason why I think it's all just a ****ing scam.

So, can anyone out there give me some hope? Cause I could really use some right now. I really do want to believe that the medication can help me. I don't expect it to make my life perfect, I just expect it to make it more bearable. Can it do that?

*********************************************************
Im kinda going through the same thing u are. I am on 5 different meds and they r not working. I feel like a geniue pig I've been on so many different meds. On a more helpful note, the docs will eventually find the right formula of meds to help you. I'm being impatient on waiting for my right combination, but I know it takes time. But it doesn't help when the docs are like give it a few more weeks. Enough already and give me something that works!

[ickydog2006]

Just wanted to add there is hope, but there is no guarantee. It has taken years to figure out what meds work best for me but it has been worth it.