Do you always have to take medication for the voices?

Yes I do. I have been taking meds for 29 years because of voices and other symptoms. Meds are one part that keep my voices at bay. Keeping active both physically and mentally help. Distractions help..music, television. Don't use illegal drugs or drink alcohol. If I were to stop my meds, (I have no intention to), I would get psychotic fast, the voices would bombard me.

Meds are a good tool. But as you see there is a whole toolbox.

I do.  The longest I have "lasted" w/o voices was about 3 months.  But usually within 2 weeks the voices & music start up again.  Also if I am not taking the meds, I feel run down physically, probably because I do not sleep as well.

Carolyn

Hello,

I understand your may not want to take medication if you don't have to.  Also, you may feel upset that you need to take meds.  Rest assured, there's no shame in having schizophrenia.  There are hundreds of thousands of people diagnosed with this illness who do well and go on to achieve their goals in life precisely because they take the medication every day as prescribed.

Schizophrenia is a medical condition that requires life-long management with medication, sometimes therapy as an adjunct [and therapy is a great tool in the toolbox] and support from peers, friends and family.

So that even if the medication doesn't alleviate all your symptoms, the fact that you're on medication prevents further loss of brain tissue and helps you maintain your functionality, which would decrease sharply if you were not on the meds.

I'm proud to take the meds because they gave me back my life.

Best regards,

Christina