Lived Experience Forum

[Shazab]

Hey all, just curious about what other people think about my situation, and obviously I'll take anything people say here with a grain of salt as this is the Internet but here goes. I'm currently 36 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia around 7 years ago, although I experienced the symptoms that lead to that diagnosis since I was around 14, I don't believe I've been delusional since I stopped smoking weed in 2000, however mostly since then I've experienced what I call voices, where it seems like people can implant thoughts into my mind and visa versa, obviously there's more to it but that gives you the gist of what lead to the diagnosis. Without my treating psychiatrist's knowledge I haven't taken any of my prescribed medication in the last 2 months and spent about 2 months before that tapering to get off the stuff, with very little result to my symptoms, I no longer experience the voices which has been my only positive symptom since before I started on the medication path, my wife however recently said she'd like me to go back on the medication because it might help with my empathy, however I'm not sure that's what it's for. So anyway, just curious what other people may think of my situation, both what my wife said and the fact that I'm off my medication and not experiencing symptoms. My apologies for the super long post

[Former-Member]

Hi Shazab,

I see you are new here so a warm welcome to the Sane forums, and it was fascinating to read your story of living with schizophrenia. I am one of the moderators on Sane, and FYI the forums are moderated 24/7 by trained social workers and counsellors. Our role is ensure that the forums are a safe and supportive space for people to connect with each other in an anonymous way, to stimulate discussion and to intervene should there be a breech of forum guidelines. If you haven't had a chance to read the guidelines yet, you can find them here

It sounds like you have a good understanding of the symptoms of your MI, and when you are declining. Great that you could give up the cannabis which could certainly trigger psychosis. Regarding your weaning off medication, we would always recommend that you do this under guidance of a GP or psychiatrist as meds are their area of expertise. If you wanted a second opinion, you could see a different psychiatrist. Usually people close to you, like partners, are the best observers of changes in mood and behaviour so I would take into account what your wife is saying. You are still experiencing some symptoms of schizophrenia but not as severe it seems. Consult with the experts!

Have a look around some of the other threads and you can do a subject search (e.g. schizophrenia treatment) in the search window to read other people's experiences. Just keep in mind that members are asked to not mention specific names of medications or service providers, and to not identify themselves beyond which state they live in.

Look forward to chatting with you more 🙂

kind regards,

Frog

[Shazab]

Thanks Frog, probably good advice about getting a second opinion, in regards to going off my medication without medical supervision it might have helped if I had found this forum earlier but all's well that ends well (so far) lol. Oh and thanks for letting me know about those rules, wouldn't have thought about not mentioning medications if someone had asked.