Antipsychotics

Post Reply New Topic

I have been prescribed antipsychotics several times in my life to treat depression together with antidepressants - basically to bring me out of my shell and stop certain negative thoughts rather than for any positive psychotic symptom (I am not schizophrenic). It is very noticeable that when I take them I start to talk to people more, it becomes easier to talk and to find the right thing to say. Its not just a case of them working against shyness, but really making me more sociable. Most have horrible side effects (weight gain and tiredness), but the one I am taking now - Abilify - is like a miracle drug - no side effects, increased concentration (this was a problem during my depression) and this improved sociability. I have to wonder what this drug is doing to my brain. Is it making me more NT? Do people still find me strange even though I talk now and am not in my own world so much?

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has taken antipsychotics (and this one in particular) and whether it also improved certain AS symptoms. On the other hand it could just be making me more relaxed and happy, and less stressed, which in turn makes things easier and less likely that AS symptoms show.

I had horrible side effects with Abilify. Almost every one listed I had. I had pain, heart issues, sweating, muscle rigidity, everything imaginable. I have also taken Risperdal and now I'm on Geodon.

I have taken them.

And I find it really, really strange that suddenly people are reporting increased sociability on them.

No autistic person I heard (and I heard from them a lot) used to report that in particular. They reported a whole lot of things, mostly bad, a few good, but not just "increased sociability" for no apparent reason.

I'm starting to wonder if the marketing of it as doing that (which is very recent) is making it come true for some people. (And the only reason it is marketed as that, is because neuroleptics were used to stop aggression in autistic people, so neuroleptics got associated with autism, and then suddenly some doctors started claiming they increased sociability since autism was supposedly about sociability levels.)

I took Abilify for a short time...and I hated it. Antipsychotics do nothing to help me and the side effects are dreadful. That was
before I finally got a cprrect diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. Now, I only take a small amount of Valium for anxiety like when I have stress at exam time at college...or something else that might cause me to feel anxiety.

I'm afraid I'll get agranulocytosis or diabetes, among other things.

I had an acquaintance who was AS with borderline schizophrenia, though he was able to carry on in a hi-tech job, was married and had a family. He was taking Risperdal and Geodon, and they both made him very tired. He used to sneak naps in during the day.

I am AS with borderline schizophrenia accordin to my doctor. I believe I am AS and bipolar.

It's probably due to something that is called 'placebo' effect. If anything antipsychotics decrease information processing and are more likely to reduce social skills.

What's probably happening is the effect of expectation, believing that there will be a positive effect may influence their judgment of (social) situations and their own involvement in it.

I take an anti psychotic called Invega. It used to help a lot with my weird symptoms. It actually controlled my multiple personalities even though medicine is not supposed to help with that kind of thing. It also helped with my thoughts but recently those thoughts started to come back and it is annoying. I get thought insertion from aliens and it bothers me. The medicine also helps with my hallucinations which I haven't had for a very long time and I am happy with that. I also tried Abilify and some others and they worked for awhile and suddenly stopped like the Invega did. I am getting side effects from some pills over the past 1-2 years but I don't know which ones to blame for my weight gain and tiredness. I have tried almost every pill you can imagine. All do the same thing as mentioned before. In case you are wondering, thre lovely doctors diagnosed me with Schizoaffective Disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Autism among many other things.

Heck, maybe the OP is a forward-thinking marketing guy. No offense.

I've tried Zyprexa in the past on two occasions but I refused to take it more than once because of the side-effects plus I don't want to get a tardive dyskinesia (look it up and be afraid!), diabetes, postural hypotension, fatigue, seizures, memory problems etc. A specialist I went to about Asperger's recommended Risperdal but I refused to take it due to the awful side effect profile.

Anti-psychotics are serious drugs and should not be used for anything short of schizophrenia, delusional disorder, or BPD. It is ridiculous that some doctors would rather prescribe Zyprexa than clonazepam or diazepam. I think the logic here is that BZs are potentially addictive, ergo they should not be prescribed to anyone. I am not a professional but in my personal experience BZs are not psychologically addictive unless you have addictive tendencies (alcoholism, drug abuse).

And even then, sometimes the problems outweigh the benefits.

I've talked to someone who wrote in a book once, that when she went into the psych ward she was crazy, but by the time she got out she was both crazy and sick. Meaning, the drugs didn't make her stop hallucinating, or get rid of her delusions, they just slowed her down, made her more confused, and did awful things to her body that made her feel sick. And too often people with those sorts of conditions are not listened to about the side-effects because they're not considered credible, or because doctors find them (the person, not their "symptoms") more "manageable" if they're heavily drugged.

The way I heard it when I was dxed with schizophrenia, and I don't know where they got this statistic, it was thrown at me by a psych professional, but they said that a third "got better" with drugs, a third didn't "get better" regardless of what you did or didn't do to them, and a third "got better" without drugs. I doubt it's that simple, but I bet it really is true that it's only a minority that experience good effects from those drugs, and from what I've heard from people who do experience effects they consider good from them, even then sometimes the bad effects make them not worth it.

I actually sometimes get mild hallucinations from that kind of drug. I've talked to others who've had the same thing happen. And when I was in the psych system, a friend's dad worked in that system too in some capacity, and he said that he saw a lot of elderly people who were not "crazy" to begin with, but they would give them these same drugs to "settle them down" and they just got "crazier and crazier" on the drugs, but not if they discontinued them. But they too often saw the symptoms while on the drugs as a sign they "needed" them in the first place. So I wouldn't be shocked if some people dxed as psychotic had hallucinations get worse on the drugs, but then who would believe them?

I have been prescribed antipsychotics several times in my life to treat depression together with antidepressants - basically to bring me out of my shell and stop certain negative thoughts rather than for any positive psychotic symptom (I am not schizophrenic). It is very noticeable that when I take them I start to talk to people more, it becomes easier to talk and to find the right thing to say. Its not just a case of them working against shyness, but really making me more sociable.



Well, most of the anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, antipsychotic / neuroleptic medications for various mental disorders are indeed very effective especially in bringing the related mental-disorder symptoms under control, though by artificial means rather than the natural ways. And I am glad to know that you are getting positive curative benefits from the related drugs that you are taking.



Most have horrible side effects (weight gain and tiredness), but the one I am taking now - Abilify - is like a miracle drug - no side effects, increased concentration (this was a problem during my depression) and this improved sociability.



Next, it is worthy to take note that any western medications, especially the ones meant for mental disorders, well, they are just like the double-edged swords whereby the greater are their initial curative benefits, the larger would be their subsequent unwanted side effects, which are sometimes irreversibly disastrous. And in terms of Abilify, please consider the following related medical website giving details about this particular medication :


http://www.drugs.com/abilify.html



I have to wonder what this drug is doing to my brain. Is it making me more NT? Do people still find me strange even though I talk now and am not in my own world so much?



Well, please refer to the following excerpt which is quoted from the related medical website above :



What is Abilify?


Abilify is an antipsychotic medication. It works by changing the actions of chemicals in the brain.

Abilify is used to treat the symptoms of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic depression). It is also used together with other medications to treat major depressive disorder in adults.

Abilify may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.



Well, in terms of 'it It works by changing the actions of chemicals in the brain', that actually means the medical interferrences / influences of the related drugs on the synaptic activities of the neurons and brain cells in the brains. and this is achieved by artificially controlling the level of the related neurotransmitters chemicals as well as their activities in the brains of the particular persons. As a result, this well serve to a artificially suppress / block all the negative nerve impulses which arise from ones negative perceptions, negative senses and negative thoughts from getting sent to the brains.



It is very noticeable that when I take them I start to talk to people more, it becomes easier to talk and to find the right thing to say. Its not just a case of them working against shyness, but really making me more sociable.



And hence I believe that it's simply the reason why you would tend to experience all those positive curative effects from that particular drug through the artifical curative mechanisms explanined above.



"I would be interested to hear if anyone else has taken antipsychotics (and this one in particular) and whether it also improved certain AS symptoms. On the other hand it could just be making me more relaxed and happy, and less stressed, which in turn makes things easier and less likely that AS symptoms show."



Well, just like what I have mentioned above that western medications, especially the ones meant for mental disorders, whilst they are very effective in bringing most of the symptoms of mental disorders under control, they would also tend to have the downsides of all the undesirable disastrous neurological, neuromuscular and in the worst case scenario, neuro-degenerative side effects which may potentially inflict on the ones taking them. And hence, extreme precautions would need to be taken to safeguard their users against their potential disastrous side effects.



In such a connection, the neurological, neuromuscular and the neuro-degenerative side effects associated with such mental disorder-related medications would include Extrapyramidal Symptoms (EPS), Tardive Dysknesia (TD), Dystonia, Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS), Akathisia, Parkinsonism etc.



In such a connection, in terms of holistic approach for the treatment of mental disorder, I would suggest the other non-medicational factors / efforts to be included to complement the use of the related mental disorder-related medications, so as to deliver the far more genuine, permanent and sustainable healings for the ones suffering from such disorders



So, I would suggest the following holistic way to the healing of mental disorders : -



1/3 of medicational helps + 1/3 of psychotherapies, interactive, interpersonal, emotional, communication, conselling supports from the others + 1/3 of self-determinations, self-initiatives, self-controls, self-wills and self-disciplines to think positively, rationally, realistically and practically as well as to lead a normal and healthy life



These are actually the advices I have obtained from many neurologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists and psychologists as well as the very conclusions I have experienced myself.



Next, I must admit that it's quite arbitrary for me to do so in the first place. However, given the fact that there are more and more people nowadays, especially the ones having the mental disorders who would tend to rely heavlily, and if not completely, but at the same time, rather ignorantly upon medications as their sole and only means of dealing with their mental disorders, hence, by assigning the numerical proportion of '1/3' to each of those 3 variables for that 'equation' I'm just trying to convey a message to the intended readers that such factors as external psychotherapies, interactive / interpersonal, emotional / moral supports from the others as well as self-controls / self-efforts to think positively, they are just fairly as important as the medications when it comes to dealing with mental disorders.



Actually, in terms of mental disorders which may come along with hallucinations / delusions and other related symptoms, all those external aides of medications, psychotherapies, interactive, interpersonal and emotional supports etc, they are all meant for the same ultimate goal of bringing such disorders under control and there is simply no doubt for that.



Next, since it's the ones having mental disorders are the ones who are actually suffering from such illnesses, which arise from negative perceptions, negative feelings and negative thoughts formed in their own brains / minds (instead of other people's brains / minds), it would eventually necessitate they themselves to put in their very own self- efforts, having received both external medicational and interpersonal helps from the others, to exercise self-controls and self-disciplines on their own to direct their own brains for self-reasonings, self-introspections and self-rationalisings.



This is to say, for the self-cognition / thinkings psychological part of the ones having mental diorders to form those positive feelings and positive thoughts in their own minds on their very own, and then to naturally develop postitive behavioural / personality changes, such a cognitive thought / thinking process actually can hardly be 'dictated' by anyone else other than they themselves. In such connection, as to the cognitive / thinking abilities / processes of different individuals, one of the simplest examples will be the process of learning a knowledge or something else whereby a person can get the best text materials, teachers, lecturers, tutors etc to assist one in his / her learnings, however, it would still ultimately depend on the very cognitive ability / process pertaining to that particular person which is then the key decisive factor in determining whether the knowledge is successfully acquired in the end or not.



In short, those self-efforts (related to self-cognitions), in the very end, will eventually be very much essential, or rather the decisive factor in determining whether the persons having mental disorders will achieve improvements / recoveries for their mental conditions or not.



In such a connection, I would like to add that in terms of all those self-determinations, self-initiatives, self-controls, self-wills and self-disciplines to think positively, rationally, realistically and practically as well as to lead a normal and healthy life, great patience maybe would take a long way in trying to achieve that. However, once such goals are achieved, it would also mean that the people trouble with mental disorders are just achieving leaps and bounds further and further towards the ever-improving mental conditions and then to the final complete recovery of their very mental disorders in the end.



Lastly, such goals, instead of being just sheer fantasies, they are actually the very realistic ones which in fact have been achieved by lots of people, especially the ones with tremendous patience.

Had to take several antipsychotics for almost 10 years because was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. Most had horrible side effects. The only positive effect was a decrease in OCD traits. Have not tried Abilify though but will not try any more antipsychotics. Was allowed to stop taking these medicines 1 1/2 years ago and it has made my life much better.

Last edited by Vimse on 01 May 2009, 2:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

Had to take several antipsychotics for almost 10 years because was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. Most had horrible side effects.



Well, in that case, I believe that the neurologists would be able to help mitigate some of the neurological side effects of the antipsychotics / neuroleptics and other medications related to mental disorders.



Otherwise, maybe one could seek helps as well from the alternative medicines such as acupuncture, massage and other physiotherapies, chiropractic etc.

"Have not tried Abilify though but will not try any more antipsychotics. Was allowed to stop taking these medicines 1 1/2 years ago and it has made my life much better."



Next, please consider the following excerpts quoted from my prior post :



"So, I would suggest the following holistic way to the healing of mental disorders : -



1/3 of medicational helps + 1/3 of psychotherapies, interactive, interpersonal, emotional, communication, conselling supports from the others + 1/3 of self-determinations, self-initiatives, self-controls, self-wills and self-disciplines to think positively, rationally, realistically and practically as well as to lead a normal and healthy life"



"These are actually the advices I have obtained from many neurologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists and psychologists as well as the very conclusions I have experienced myself."



"Next, I must admit that it's quite arbitrary for me to do so in the first place. However, given the fact that there are more and more people nowadays, especially the ones having the mental disorders who would tend to rely heavlily, and if not completely, but at the same time, rather ignorantly upon medications as their sole and only means of dealing with their mental disorders, hence, by assigning the numerical proportion of '1/3' to each of those 3 variables for that 'equation' I'm just trying to convey a message to the intended readers that such factors as external psychotherapies, interactive / interpersonal, emotional / moral supports from the others as well as self-controls / self-efforts to think positively, they are just fairly as important as the medications when it comes to dealing with mental disorders."



"Actually, in terms of mental disorders which may come along with hallucinations / delusions and other related symptoms, all those external aides of medications, psychotherapies, interactive, interpersonal and emotional supports etc, they are all meant for the same ultimate goal of bringing such disorders under control and there is simply no doubt for that."



Next, since it's the ones having mental disorders are the ones who are actually suffering from such illnesses, which arise from negative perceptions, negative feelings and negative thoughts formed in their own brains / minds (instead of other people's brains / minds), it would eventually necessitate they themselves to put in their very own self- efforts, having received both external medicational and interpersonal helps from the others, to exercise self-controls and self-disciplines on their own to direct their own brains for self-reasonings, self-introspections and self-rationalisings.



This is to say, for the self-cognition / thinkings psychological part of the ones having mental diorders to form those positive feelings and positive thoughts in their own minds on their very own, and then to naturally develop postitive behavioural / personality changes, such a cognitive thought / thinking process actually can hardly be 'dictated' by anyone else other than they themselves. In such connection, as to the cognitive / thinking abilities / processes of different individuals, one of the simplest examples will be the process of learning a knowledge or something else whereby a person can get the best text materials, teachers, lecturers, tutors etc to assist one in his / her learnings, however, it would still ultimately depend on the very cognitive ability / process pertaining to that particular person which is then the key decisive factor in determining whether the knowledge is successfully acquired in the end or not.



In short, those self-efforts (related to self-cognitions), in the very end, will eventually be very much essential, or rather the decisive factor in determining whether the persons having mental disorders will achieve improvements / recoveries for their mental conditions or not.



In such a connection, I would like to add that in terms of all those self-determinations, self-initiatives, self-controls, self-wills and self-disciplines to think positively, rationally, realistically and practically as well as to lead a normal and healthy life, great patience maybe would take a long way in trying to achieve that. However, once such goals are achieved, it would also mean that the people trouble with mental disorders are just achieving leaps and bounds further and further towards the ever-improving mental conditions and then to the final complete recovery of their very mental disorders in the end.



Lastly, such goals, instead of being just sheer fantasies, they are actually the very realistic ones which in fact have been achieved by lots of people, especially the ones with tremendous patience."



Well, antipsychotics / neuroleptics, anti-anxiety, anti-depressant and other medications meant for the treatments of mental disorders are generally ok, as long as they are correctly used for the treatment of the the right symptoms / disorders and not over-relied upon to the point of sheer abuse. As such, please refer to the related excerpts above regarding the holistic approach to the treatment of mental disorders.