7 replies to this topic

[thesearch4nzt48]

It's almost 5 am and I haven't slept since yesterday morning. The day was spent like almost all my days: trapped in my head, locked away in a dark room with the blinds down, haunted. Even on a beautiful sunny day, whilst taking a walk with a family member (no friends), I cannot enjoy it because I am partially dead and exist like a robot with damaged parts. I see full blown hallucinations and hear voices constantly. I used to be smart and write well but now it seems like...

I'm sorry but I really have to get some sleep. I have a story to tell about what happened to me but I'll have to continue tomorrow or the next day.

Quick question: is there a chance it will go back to how it was with an improved lifestyle and brain boosting supplements/nootropics?

My psychiatrist said that antipsychotics will make it all better but instead they seem to have made everything much worse. I have been trying to quit them but find that I can't. My psychiatrist said that antipsychotic med withdrawal doesn't exist and that antipsychotics don't cause brain damage but info (Robert Whitaker, Peter Breggin, etc) on the Internet says otherwise. What should I do? (BTW I secretly think my psychiatrist is in on a plot to turn me into a vegetable!) Please help.

[Adaptogen]

Unfortunately I do not know very much about treating schizophrenia so I won't be of much help.. but I am curious, what are the hallucinations like? What do you see and hear?

[golden1]

If schizophrenia hallucinations are anything like being awake for 5+ days then sounds will morph into whatever your brain feels like and visuals are dream like, but very realistic. For example at night I was seeing snow turn into animals and throw itself around like my mind was playing with it. I'm a very musical person, but regardless everything I heard would morph to a beat as if all the sound was playing to a musical score. White noise would sound exactly like random music playing that I'm familiar with and the same with muffled music. Silence is when the voices would appear, but it wasn't like people talking mostly other things like calling my name or almost decipherable whispering. Basically it was a lot like being partially dreaming. I'm only describing this to see if it's anything similar since I too am curious what schizophrenia hallucinations are like(or are they more like psychedelic visuals? or do you not have the experience to compare. thankz for feeding my curiousity).

To answer your question, the brain is incredibly complex, so for me to say either way is impossible especially without background info. However, I think the less you worry about if it will go back, the better. The important thing would be to just try to live as healthy as possible, stay positive(anxiety will hurt your brains ability to heal), and I would say if you're having hallucinations and hearing voices constantly to remember as a rule not to trust your senses without thinking about if the situation presented makes sense.

[boomer11]

I think that mindful meditation may be able to help to some extent. Google meditation in plain english to download a free ebook on how to do it and what it's all about. I'm also from the school of thought that medications should not be taken for psychiatric illnesses unless absolutely necessary (which it very well may be in your case, only you and your family know for sure if it's helping you). Your psychiatrist is not trying to kill you/do you harm (if you do believe that, remember it is a common delusion of psychosis), but generally health care professionals will prescribe medications without to deal with the problem on the surface instead of trying to solve the problem at its core.

Give it a shot, its helped me deal with stress and anxiety and get control of my thoughts. At the very least it should help with insomnia. Good luck and don't give up.

[Tom_]

Treatment of schizophrenia should be medication lead, providing the right diangosis has been made. In this case it likely has been, although you are showing more than a few signs of improvement from full blown acute psychosis (you have awareness).

Aripiprazole has a very novel mechanism of action on dopamine receptors (acting as an agonist). It is also quite activating rather than sedating. Nicotine has been found to be effective in the treatment of schizophrenia, although its not to my knowledge licensed anywhere, when used it patch form its not very addictive and side effects tend to be quite mild. Both of these are more likely to improve negitive symptoms of schizophrenia than any other antipsychotic. NAC, glysine, Omega 3, multi vitamins are all also likely to help. You COULD make an arguement for very careful use of a racetam.

Cognitive behavioual therapy and systemic therapy are the next most evidence based treatments. A psychiatrist or clinical psychologist would be best placed to chose which would be more effective in your case.

If you are having very severe sleeping problems, which you don't seem to have described (everyone will disagree with me I'm sure (if you are sitting in a room terrifed you are about to be attacked its quite ususal to fight sleep)) a polysomnogram might be indicated. Looking for abnormal REM & sleep related breathing disorders.

Mindfulness practice could be a double edged sword also causing further degeneration to cogntive function or it could improve metacognition, so I wouldn't recommend any kind of meditation unless you are doing it with someone.

Behavioural activation and desenitasation would also be important aspects of recovery both practiced by yourself and with someone. A regular vist by a healthcare assistant, nurse or occupational therapist could be really useful here.

Proper sleep hygine and seditive use (something like clonazapam on a PRN basis and melatonin to improve sleep onset and efficancy) could also be useful.

[KoolK3n]

Try Acetyl L-Cysteine. Few studies suggesting it works well for only the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

[Turnbuckle]

Abram Hoffer has recommended niacin for decades. Here is a poster who tried it. He includes links to Hoffer's work--

Hallo, I am 25 and I have been suffering from Schizophrenia for the past year and a half. I have done lots of research into possible alternative treatments and have found a very effective one. Niacin treatment. This was discovered by Abram Hoffer. He came up with the term Ortomolecular which means the right combination of vitamins to correct a molecular imbalance in the brain. I have just started on 1500mg today and already my only symptoms of paranoia are disappearing. The key is to get the niacin up to about 4000mg a day without the flushing effect. Ideally the patent should take as much niacin up to the point where they go red and then stop. The body gets used to this meaning no flush and eventually you raise it again until it goes red and you stop, and so on. I live in Ireland so I can discharge myself from the local clinic and taking drugs is not mandatory by law. I plan to leave the clinic soon to try Hoffers approach. Here are some good links that explain everything. I would not recommend going off of drugs and discharging yourself until you are confident that this will work.

[thesearch4nzt48]

I imagine that all schizophrenics are different in their experience with this illness. Or maybe not so different. In any case, I can only share with you what it's like for me.

I see and hear things similar to being partially in a dream state or some sort of drug trip. For example, as I was reading your posts I was hearing your voice (sound, tone etc), some where female others male, and at the same time I saw you. Of course I don't know you but my mind imagines it anyway.

This "imagining" is what schizophrenia is like, only there's no turn off switch. It happens constantly and at all times. I have some control though. I can imagine things at will and make things disappear. Try this: imagine an apple. Good. Now look at the room you're in and imagine that apple many times larger, floating in the air. If you can see it, then you're hallucinating. Quick question: were you seeing the actual room or did you take a mental picture of it and insert an apple? Haha. Anyway... as I type this, I hear you all talking amongst yourselves about me. I wish it would stop.

I think I need to be in a hospital.