I went off invega injection after being on for 4 years. I went off under dr supervision too and ten months later I also had a relapse. I felt better being off antipsychotics but I got psychosis again full blast! So now I know I know I have schizoaffective there is no question in my mind. Two bouts of psychosis in 5 years. So for me. I know I need the medication. I ruined relationships during psychosis. That I can’t repair.
2022-03-04 00:03:24 +0000 UTC
Thank you for being so reai in this difficult issue!
2022-02-28 09:49:05 +0000 UTC
I hope that at some point mankind can find the root causes of these brain diseases and find effective cures other than drugs that dampen the symptoms. Until that time these brain disease will not be very fun.
2022-02-28 00:58:36 +0000 UTC
What doctors are not so eager to tell us is that withdrawals from medication create the very symptoms of our disease. So any reduction however small is going to throw you off balance. We are addicted to the chemistry that the pills are offering. I reduced my anti-psychotic in half during the warm months of last year when I was feeling strong. When winter came I reached again for that morning dose that I had eliminated to get me through the cold months. I will try the same this year. But I know each time I reduce I have to be strong enough to deal with symptoms of my illness. Its a hard truth and I think the plan to get off of meds is at the minimum a multi year plan. I suggest that you keep getting your full dose prescribed so that you are in control of how much you take. If the doctor changes your prescription you are set on a path that you do not have control of. Toughest thing in the world!
2022-02-27 23:23:46 +0000 UTC
i’m sort of the opposite dilemma right now, ive been off my schizoaffective meds for almost a year and some days when im really struggling but still have insight i consider getting back on them but the back and forth is so strong. i also wish for the possibility of just taking meds as needed all the time. my mindset after initial withdrawal was, “i will go to the hospital whenever i’m in a long crisis and get stabilized with meds if i need to and then quit again once im back home.” now a year after my last hospital trip and almost a year free from meds, im getting clarity that its not that simple. trying to find a psychiatrist who doesnt think they know my schizoaffective better than i do is the goal im gearing up for right now, if my current goal in experimenting with herbal and mushroom (not psilocybin, lol!) supplements is not a lasting success. this video made me feel less alone today, everyone’s grappling with meds is unique but the fact that someone shared their own struggle today was a real comfort. maybe just two sides of the same coin.
2022-02-27 22:53:37 +0000 UTC
If you really think you need to do it, I hope you will succeed. But I also want to say that I had the exact same way of thinking of whether or not I really need the meds etc, I finally got off them and I had a relapse. I don’t want to be negative and I’m sure you have done more research than me, but just wanted to send a note of caution but keeping my hopes up for you if that’s the choice you have made…
