Q: my daughter has undifferentiated schizophrenia,can someone share your experience with me and what kids of meds are good this kind of disorder..
Hi grace,
I took Stelazine (no weight gain, intense drowsiness in the morning) for 20 years and had no symptoms while I was on it. The drug stopped working as effectively as it had and in April 2007 my psychiatrist switched me to Geodon which has been like a miracle drug. I've written in here that it's as close to a cure as I'll come in this lifetime, and a woman exocoriated me for linking the word cure with the Geodon. However anyone who has a great life because of her meds I feel would be justified in claiming this. The drugs DO NOT cure us, how3ever, they often give us a life worth living. Which is the life I have now: no symptoms, a Masters degree, two jobs and a third job on the side, my own co-op apartment, membership on the board of a non-profit, and so on.
Not all drugs work equally well for all people though, so sometimes it comes down to trial-and-error and trying the new drugs as they hit the market to find out which drug works best, as was what happened for Carolyn. Latuda appears to be weight-neutral and it is thought to have a more favorable metabolic profile.
The main thing to remember is that even if you daughter has a mild form of SZ, she will need to remain on some kind of SZ drug to get the best chance for a good life. I've been in remission from SZ for over 19 years, and this is because I take the medication every day as prescribed. I missed only one dose on the day I had to get a medical procedure.
I hope this gives you hope.
Regards,
Christina
I don't know that anyone can say, "this worked for me; therefore it will work well for your daughter." We each respond to these medications to a greater or lesser degree. And side effects vary greatly from person to person.
I have schizophrenia and have taken Trilafon, Haldol, Risperdal, Clozapine, Seroquel, Zyprea, Abilify, Geodon, Saphris, and now Latuda. And in many ways, it has been a transition from worst to best. Latuda helps with both positive and negative symptoms. Specifically, I am back to feeling the energy of my youth (I am 53 now). I no longer sleep 12-14 hrs a day and sit in a stupor the rest of the day. I sleep a normal 8 hrs every night w/o nightmares. I am eating normally, although I would like to lose a bit of the weight that Zyprexa added. One of the best effects is that I no longer feel the great weight of social anxiety. Yes, I am still introverted and reclusive, but I no longer feel people are watching me and talking about me and am able to go to the occasional party and church gatherings. I am able to live on my own in an apartment, but I cannot work. No hallucinations, no psychotic thinking, none of that anymore.
But the lack of constant fatigue, I would have to say, is the biggest plus with Latuda. Saphris also worked wonders but I had trouble with isomnia and regularly slept 6 or less hours a night, which is not enough for me. And it made me very anxious and hypomanic, which I'm sure neither of you want. But as I said, she might react differently to any of these antipsychotics than I have.
Probably the best thing to do is to check online and see which of the older antipsychotics and the newer ones have the lowest side effect profile, which has been shown most effective, and so on, and go thus armed to your daughter's psychiatrist with her. Keep in mind that the newest of them will not have undergone as rigorous a comparison in studies to date. Present to the doc what appears to be a logical choice, from your research, and ask if your daughter might get relief and improvement from that particular medication. If he refuses to let her try anything new, it might be time to consult another psychiatrist for a second opinion. Or he might have a valid reason for not changing. In all events, he should be willing to discuss the matter with you and your daughter.
If your daughter is uncomfortable with taking you into the doctor's consultation room with her, then write the doctor a note expressing your opinion and concern and let your daughter read it (no need for secrecy and paranoia here) then hand it to the doctor yourself and ask that he read it before he talks to your daughter. Make the letter very succinct and to the point so he can see see exactly why you are writing. Thank him for his consideration of your request.
Please let us know how things are going.
Hi Grace-
I get a bi monthly injection of Prolixin Decanoate and take 12.5 mgs of Prolixin (oral) daily and 30mgs of Abilify daily. I also have Electoconvulsive therapy and that has been a great help to reducing my symptoms.
Psychotherapy can be helpful too and I find art therapy a great help.
My best friend has taken Clozapine for 16 years now (she has schixoaffective disorder) and this drug has kept her out of the hospital for 15 years.
I don't know if these meds/treatments will help your daughter or not but theyhave helped me a lot andddd the Clozapine has been like a miracle drug for my friend.
What are your daughter's symptoms?
I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. My symptoms are paranoia, auditory hallucinations, anger, some preoccupation with morbid thoughts,and
social isolation. The meds and treatments I have used have lessened my symptoms and now I have a life again. I know not every medication or treatment works the same for every person. I am just saying that these tretments have been successful at reducing my symptoms. Feel free to contact me on this site if you have any questions, okay?
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Thank u so much for writing back, my daugther was diagnose in feb 2011, spent 6 weeks in a mental clinic, she was on different meds but did not responde to any, the pychiatrist told me about clozapine but i refuse cause is very dangerous, when she was out of the clinic she was on haldol, ativan, lithium and other for the stiffness, but still she was complaining so much, she wanted to die, she was put on abilify but still not improvement, i decide it to take her of the meds and i made a terrible mistake in the begining all her bad symtoms went away, but then ishe started declining and she refuse to go to the pychiatrist, the same day she had the appt she knocks in my door in the morning and with a grin on her face came to my side of the bed and stab me on my face getting me on my eyebrow, i was in shock cause of her action, so i was confused at that moment and i just wento to the hospital for stiches and my daugther instead of calling crisis she called the police and they took her to juveline dentention, know i have a hard time getting her admited again to to clinic, the phychiatrist that visit the detention was going to recomend for my daughter to be place in mental hospital for a year, know i have court tomorrow and im not sure if this is the right thing to do, im lost, her intake probation officer is helping, she refuses to take meds at this moment, can they force her to if she is in a mental clinic? i will write down the meds u have mention here..sorry my english is not perfect..thanks again