Hi Leslieslsa,

The medication alleviates the positive symptoms of schizophrenia rather than the negative symptoms, such as: paranoia, delusions, hallucinations [hearing voices or seeing things that don't exist].  The negative symptoms, like blunt affect, lack of motivation and diminished hope can be treated with therapy, coping skills, and goal-setting.

The good thing is, you are aware that what's going in is the result of the schizophrenia, which is a real medical condition.  This insight will serve you well.  Too many people diagnosed with schizophrenia lack this insight, so you should rest easier knowing that you have insight.

Now, to answer your immediate question:  not all drugs relieve all symptoms at all times.  A person can have residual symptoms yet function well enough to go to school, work, hold down a job, be in relationships.  The number-one positive coping skill for dealing with the schizophrenia is to go out in the world and be able to have friendships, structure your time and have a routine, do the things you would do if you didn't have schizophrenia.  Taking the medication and using therapy as an adjunct to medication will help you be able to take the steps in this direction.

Slowly, with time, it is possible that your residual symptoms will stop or at least fade away to such a degree that they are minimal.  If they don't go away, developing coping skills to deal with them will be of great benefit.  It is possible that symptoms will linger but how you think of yoruself changes so that when you have a symptom, you're not upset about having it.

I urge you to read Dave Robbins' SharePosts here, and to write your own SharePosts.  Click on the blue "Connect" menu on the top of this page and click "Create a SharePost."  These are blog entries where you talk as much or as little as your comfortable with, about your experiences living with schizophrenia.  You can even invent a screen name to keep your identifying information private.

Again, it takes time.  I've been in recovery from schizophrenia for 22 years, and I can tell you that it's not always easy living with lingering anxieties or worries.  What do I do?  I cut myself some slack, I forgive myself, I accept that I have schizophrenia and this is part of what it's like to have this medical condition.

It is also possible that in time, you will not have these linghering feelings or symptoms or thoughts.  Give yourself as much time as you need to recover.  I can't tell you how long it will take because that differs for each person.  It takes at least a year after you get sick to deal with all the feelings you have about the diagnosis and your new, changed life.  That much I can tell you.  Will it take five years to get the symptoms under control?  Ten years?  Hopefully not that long, yet I can tell you of a woman whose anxieties faded after many years.  So there is hope.

There is hope.

Keep up a positive spirit.

Regards,

Christina