Posted by Amelia_in_StPaul on April 22, 2009, at 13:06:46
In reply to Re: Same old medication, same old results » Amelia_in_StPaul, posted by NurseHotFlash on April 22, 2009, at 8:17:44
Ah, well I'm depressed and anxious and etc. so I'm mentally ill. :) Your original post said that your son has no positive symptoms, while the negative symptoms are still there but not a big deal. So I guess my question is, what are you looking for? It sounds as though you are looking for total remission? Unfortunately, for many people with schizophrenia, that won't happen. It's a matter of adjusting to who one has become rather than looking back to who one was. If you can't leave well enough alone (in your words), I would propose that you want to see something that isn't going to happen--reversal, total remission, your old son back.
Hallelujah that the positive symptoms are gone!! Negative symptoms--those can be tough, but the doctor has your son on something that helps--Abilify. Usually an antidepressant is added for negative symptoms and Abilify is used as an AD.
Your doctor, as you said, wants your son to remain stable. Screwing with his meds, putting him on something else just to try it, is the fastest way to potentially destabilize him. That means more psychosis and a big risk that when he is finally stabilized, those positive symptoms that WERE gone? Back. And worse than ever. And not in remission, even back on the old medication.
Does your son exercise? Have hobbies? Have you tried supplements? Lao Tzu, I think, recently posted about studies about ginko biloba as an adjunct to meds. I wouldn't try supplements without talking to your doctor, but I think its at least worth a shot.
Good luck NHF. Schizophrenia can be a devastating disease, so I know its hard, but think honestly about risks vs. benefits. My sister has had schizophrenia for 20 years. She is on Haldol, as I think I said. And her positive symptoms are not gone. But to try something else would be to risk the modicum of stability she has achieved--it could tilt her back into full psychosis, and she could run away again, only this time, end up dead. It is tough to see, tougher for her to endure, but the risks aren't worth it.
New medications and treatments are being explored, so by virtue of changes in psychiatry itself, no, your son may not have to be on the same meds forever. But for now, for these years, he should be. It's what's keeping him stable.
poster:Amelia_in_StPaul
thread:847310
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20081229/msgs/892153.html