“People respond individually to antipsychotic medications, although agitation and hallucinations usually improve within days and delusions usually improve within a few weeks… No one can tell beforehand exactly how a medication will affect a particular individual, and sometimes several medications must be tried before the right one is found.(3)” Although the medication process is discouraging, except when you find ones that work, it is worth how good life can be again. I really never want to go through the old drugs I did, and new ones that didn’t work, but I am loving life with what I have now. I know how hard life can be with out schizophrenia treated. It really scares me when people tell me to get off my medication. I went through so much with being drugged and different symptoms. There is no way I want to go through that again. I know how important it is to take them. I will never know how long I will need them but at this point the meds and medical friends are the answer.
“People with schizophrenia should work in partnership with their doctors to find the medications that control their symptoms best with the fewest side effects.(3)” Not only do you work with them, you get to play an important role with your doctor and improve your symptoms. They told me there was over twenty-seven drugs when I was first diagnosed. This means that you are not just taking drugs and finding out. It means that I myself tell them the difference. I try the doses and I help my doctor by telling her my various feelings. They normally tell me that I should try this and, if it works, take more, but if it feels worse take less. If that doesn’t lesson my symptoms then the doc will have me try something else. This is the only way; they get you better with today’s technology. It is important to trust the doctor to make it better.
“Learning and using coping mechanisms to address these problems allows people with schizophrenia to attend school, work, and socialize.(3)” I am not alone: there is help and hope. I can and have done well. I have learned how to survive, and I strongly believe that medication and treatment are the answer. The hard life was improved and I need to keep focus on what’s important.