my boyfriend is paranoid schizophrenia and bi polar, he takes seroquel and does illegal drugs would

Marie, Evie:

Tell him to take the medicine prescribed by his doctor.  Most experts believe that street drugs can be very detremental to anyone with a psychiatric condition.  It can be very dangerous to mix the two.

Some people with serious mental illnesses take street drugs because the prescribed medications are not working.  It's called "self medicating" and is a bad idea.

Robin

Hello marie evie,

Even if you boyfriend continues to take the street drugs, he should stay on his medication.  However, taking street drugs is a no-win situation and chances are a person won't recover if he continues to take illegal drugs.

Street drugs could actually CAUSE paranoia and other symptoms.

This is called "MICA": a mental illness-chemical abuse combination, and there are professionals trained to treat people with this dual diagnosis.  The two illnesses have to be treated together, by professionals who are well versed in this one-two combo.

Getting him into treatment is another story.

I wish you all the best.

Regards,

Chri

No doubt about it... but you can't force his decision, he needs to be helped to A: Realise

it is the right one & B: Be given help in the oppurtunity to succeed at it.

I have schizophrenia & possible Bi-Polar (the latter is undiognosed however) & from the

age of twelve I smoked pot until I became addicted heavily & took alot of acid & speed.

I became psychotic at eighteen & have struggled with it since. I was pretty much as

bad as one could be but I responded well to medication & yet still continued my drug

abuse until I was twenty four. I am now ninety five percent better than when I started

out but without stopping the drugs I would not have come even one tenth of the way

to better as I have... mental illness & drugs never mix but some are more vunerable to

it than other schizophrenics or mentally ill people... if it is extremely disturbing him then

he should know... he will become a new man without the drugs & feel more like himself

& far from being less of himself, he will feel more like himself. It is only the addiction to

the drugs that make him feel this is not so. Good luck... he's obviously a good man &

lucky that you care the way you do... be patient but don't let him forget or deny the

problem completely... open his mind up to the possibility & maybe he will wonder how

he would feel without the drugs... it will definately improve his situation. No easy task

though.

   Someone who's been there too.

so is mine ! please email me - kay10_xoxo@hotmail.com