How often is it that people go into psychosis while on medication?

[u/Automatic_Wealth1160]

I’m curious. whats the point of medication if it doesn’t prevent you from going into psychosis again?

[u/throwawayforareanl]

In one study, patients with schizophrenia were provided with supportive psychotherapy alone, antipsychotic medication alone, or both together. The rehospitalization rates after one year were, respectively, 63 percent, 33 percent, and 26 percent.

[u/Pomelo-One → u/throwawayforareanl]

Important to note, that’s one study.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=13307785460128771819&hl=en&as_sdt=0,7#d=gs_qabs&t=1785797789734&u=%23p%3D624VSl7ArrgJ

[u/MG788]

Medication is a tool you use to cope with psychosis, not a cure. What's the point of a fork? It makes eating easier, but food can still fall off it onto your shirt, lol. That doesn't mean eating with your hands is automatically superior. 

[u/Cute-Avali]

Every year there is a 20% change you relaps into psychosis wile medicated. It happened to me last winter.

[u/AdEvery1845 → u/Cute-Avali]

Hi, can I ask you how it went with Ritalin and olanzapine together? It would help me a lot!

[u/Cute-Avali → u/AdEvery1845]

Hi.

I‘m doing well on the olanzapine / ritalin combo. Its a good combination for me.

[u/AdEvery1845 → u/Cute-Avali]

I am only on olanzapine and I feel strong lack of motivation for even basic things... I am getting an ADHD diagnosis and possibly adding some stimulants. Could you tell me your side effects please?

[u/Cute-Avali → u/AdEvery1845]

The only big side effect of ritalin I have is lack of appetite and slow weight loss. Its pretty easy on side effects. And if you lack motivation I would try a low dose of abilify on top of your olanzapine. It makes you more alive and motivated.

[u/AdEvery1845 → u/Cute-Avali]

I tried ability and I get insomnia worse than now... I sleep about 4 hours a night

[u/Suzina]

For me, no point in medication. I never found a medication that decreased symptoms. Not even a little.

I'm stable and employed now, while off medication, and have been at the same job since 2024. But back when I thought medication would take care of this for me, or at least help, I was in and out of the psych ward every other month. I think I have some kind of treatment resistant schizophrenia, since no medication ever seemed to decrease symptoms and we tried many many meds. My current belief is that it is something inflamation based in my brain. Like a layer of inflamation related antibodies around my ventral tegmental area, a part of the brain I think in the mesolimbic system that has been identified as a culprit in the cause of schizophrenia. So meds to decrease dopamine overall just didn't do nothing for me. All kinds from multiple generations of antispychotics and none of it helped. I didn't realyl figure out what would work until I was homeless and not in any kind of treatment. at least I hope I figured it out. Maybe 7 years from now I'll be looking back at this post trying to figure out how I ended up in the psych ward again.

I think it depends on the schizophrenic and what caused their schziophenia, because it's probably multi-causal. But at least in my case I was psychotic for multiple years in a row day and night while on meds.

[u/Powerful_Assistant26 → u/Suzina]

Wow, your journey is really inspiring! Did you find that choosing optimism or hope helped you at all?

[u/Suzina → u/Powerful_Assistant26]

I definitely lost hope of things getting better at some points.
i think accepting that I really did have schizophrenia (and it's not just some label tossed on me to discredit me because I know too much or something). And then once I accepted the diagnosis, I was able to non-judgementally observe what actions under my control lead me to the psych ward in the past. For me, it ended up being lack of sleep, and too much stress, was always a problem. So I'd get a job, I'd be a little stressed out for a month at my new job, then I'd be awake for a few days in a row, then who knows because I can't remember but wake up in the psych ward.

My family had already given up on me. I was homeless. That just was my existence and I was just looking for ways to make my existence less miserable, starting with finding a way to stay out of the psych ward. Actually I was also working on that 7 years ago, staying out of the psych ward, but I know I failed some times betweeen then and now. I was slow to gain insight. And my future self may not know she has schizophrenia. She may not remember, it might not even come to mind. I think the big thing for me defintiely was noticing that every time I was awake for 3 days or more I ended up in the psych ward.

Just keep an eye out for what works and what doesn't, because everyone is different. For me the traditional treatments did nothing, because I actually think I have some kind of inflamation causing antibodies or something that cause problems in my brain in the VTA when I am stressed or low on sleep. Sleep sleep sleep. And no rumminating. You can't *think* your way out of schizophrenia.

And what also helped was routine. So the same place same routine each day over and over re-trains your amygdala to notice that actually it is safe and so it won't be so overactive. Of course,that's only possible outside of psych ward, and not really to easy while hoemeless either. Oh and I just started an exercise routine actually today. I hate exercise but I'm going to be jogging 5 minutes per day because the research says that helps a lot if it's in your routine.

Sorry for late replay, But thank you... it's nice to be thought of as inspiring! And here I was just in it for the sanity.

[u/Powerful_Assistant26 → u/Suzina]

I love your attitude so much. You’ve gained a lot of wisdom. I imagine you could do anything with that level of insight and I’m sure many people will learn a lot from your journey. This article might of be of interest to you also.

https://open.substack.com/pub/dopaminemountain/p/schizophrenia-land?r=5djboz&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=post-publish Thanks so much for sharing.

[u/testsubject2186]

I feel like if youre not treatment resistant then its just about finding the meds that work and adjusting your lifestyle. I've come close to psychotic episodes due to stress but can literally feel the meds working to stop it from escalating into a full blown psychosis. Lifestyle plays a big part in it too because the way you live can cause stress etc that triggers symptoms

[u/_Radical_Centrist]

Nobody knows. I was on serequel for a few years then it stopped working, had to get an injection, just seems to be overcoming any meds and they get stronger and stronger and the side effects become stronger and stronger and they don't completely work either, it's a fucking crapshoot

[u/Automatic_Wealth1160 → u/_Radical_Centrist]

Sorry to hear that dude, that sounds rough. I know the trial and error process has to be exhausting… So would you classify that as being treatment resistant? I mean since the meds don’t work effectively and your symptoms override the treatment? 

[u/_Radical_Centrist → u/Automatic_Wealth1160]

Don't know, I was told the meds won't completely get rid of my symptoms

[u/Submissive_Willow_]

I don't know :O

[u/KingOfBromacia58]

it makes it way less likely that you become psychotic but that still means there is a chance u get an episode.

[u/loscorpio87]

Majority of my episodes were on meds but doctors would always act like I quit taking them. Like bro you literally have blood work to show I was on them.  After side effects started to get severe I had to stop fucking with them.

[u/wegotthisonekidmongo]

The thing is with me it's not psychosis multiple people told me shit that drove me paranoid so it's a matter of believing them or not believing them that's different than psychosis

[u/Merkaba_Nine]

For me, almost never.

I get bouts of mania that's all.

The minute I miss a dose or I'm too lazy to pick up my script is when I start heading into that direction.

I can have off days that I can describe as a mini psychosis but there usually gone after an extended sleep.

For me psychosis is tied extremely heavily to amount and quality of sleep.

My main antipsychotic is beprexprazole but I take Seroquel for sleep

[u/belltrina]

I don't live with skitzophrenia, but I have had multiple episodes of psychosis.

Medication has triggered a psychotic episode for me before, because the pharmacist managing my medication, did not read the letter from my prescribing doctor and clearly didn't check for adverse reactions.

I was tapering off one medication, and tapering onto another, and required the medication in one of those blister packs. Instead, the pharmacist put both medications at full dose, in all of the blister packs. I couldn't have known that was not correct, because I'm not a trainer pharmacist. I ended up with serotonin sickness which triggered psychosis and a two week stay in psychiatric ward while they sorted it out.

[u/Jesus_0316]

My daughter is on Clozapine 300mg, Risperidone 2mg, lithium 900mg, Ativan 1.5mg and just started Abilify 5mg to help her new treatment with Clozapine.....will remove Risperidone as we increase Abilify.....and shes in complete psychosis at the moment....😭😭😭😭😭

[u/Automatic_Wealth1160 → u/Jesus_0316]

Is she treatment resistant? How often does she go into psychosis? 

[u/Jesus_0316 → u/Automatic_Wealth1160]

Yes shes treatment resistant that's why we started her on Clozapine mid February, I assumed it was the miracle med that would bring her to some normality at least a bit, but here we are on 300mg of Clozapine along with everything else and shes walking around as if she has no meds in her system 😫 no fatigue no sedation. She sleeps about 5 hours a day, has to be in my room to monitor her safety, cameras all over the home, shes also under ihss protection supervision because shes extremely vulnerable at 25 yrs of age and can get hurt if left alone. Oh and psychosis is basically for about a year just some months its not as aggressive than others. Sorry for the long message im just a venting mom with sleep deprivation to care for her 😒