FAQ/Help |
Calendar |
Search |
Member
Member Since Jul 2021
Location: North America
Posts: 191
2 1 hugs
given |
#1
As long as one stays on it, does any antipsychotic medication work for psychosis? My progress fluctuates because of my "desire" to "try something different". I would find a combination of medication that was working for me, and then I would sabotage it - without realizing this - by changing my regimen with my doctor's approval. I am on 30mg Olanzapine and 30mg Lexapro right now. I have been on this exact regimen for about three months. But only recently did I start taking my Lexapro as directed. That is, either in the morning or whenever I wake up.
|
Reply With Quote |
Monster on the Hill
Member Since Sep 2020
Location: by the river
Posts: 4,123
(SuperPoster!)
3 4,829 hugs
given |
#2
Yes, you have to consistently take your meds at about the same time every day for them to work. They can take up to a couple months to work depending on which med it is (certain antipsychotics like Zyprexa should work a lot quicker).
--- I would do the same thing. I would find something that worked and find a minor fault and tell my doc I want to try something different. I've been on the same combo for a month now and it's working so I'm going to actively try not to do that. __________________ Live life for nothing but that sweet sweet melody. |
Reply With Quote |
*Beth*
|
Student of Life
Member Since Mar 2014
Location: South America
Posts: 4,658
10 2,911 hugs
given |
#3
Yeah, I would do this a lot in the past (and it's hard to deal with even now). I would switch things, raise dosages on my own, and it never ended too well. I learned that I should follow my doctor's instructions (pretty much exactly). But that's not to say you don't have a voice in the doctor-patient relationship. Of course, the patient ought to have a voice, and an important one, at that, because it's you who is dealing with the effects of the medications, you who is dealing with the symptoms of an illness, etc. I think the main takeaway for me is that I need to be super assertive during psych appointments. And I take them really seriously now (the appointments). Anyway, it might be a good idea to just list your meds and keep a kind of log or journal about how you feel on them on a daily basis. I do this pretty much every day. Just because I cannot stand when my doctor and I make a medicine switch that is based on pretenses that don't really reflect the facts of how I feel.
__________________ "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!” |
Reply With Quote |
*Beth*
|
catches the flowers
Member Since Jul 2019
Location: Downtown Vibes, California
Posts: 15,701
(SuperPoster!)
4 23.7k hugs
given |
#4
What Boots and WA posted, yes. But I will add that there have been many times over the 30-plus years I've been on meds when I've needed to alter a dose not because I wasn't being "compliant," but because there was absolutely no way to contact my prescriber or even an advice nurse for at least 3 days and I was experiencing a side effect that was intolerable (such as nausea/vomiting). Sorry, but I'm not going to be puking my guts out for days until I can get someone's approval to change a dose or stop a medication.
I believe there are other reasons to alter med doses, but I will also say that it does depend upon how much experience one has with psych medication. Then too, when my prescriber says, "Let me know right away if you feel like we need to change the dose on your medication" - and I call, but the receptionist tells me the prescriber doesn't have an appointment available until next week, well, I'm going to do what I need to do. I probably shouldn't have replied to your question because the entire psych med system burns me. Bottom line - yes, taking your meds at the same time every day is very important. I think the log or journal idea is a smart one. __________________ |
Reply With Quote |