The Importance Of Medication Compliance

I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when I was first hospitalized late in 1992. At the age of 19 I was put on a low dose of the anti-psychotic Navane -- 10mg. I couldn't stand being on the medicine because of the stigma of having to be dependent on anti-psychotics, so my psychiatrist and I worked together to taper me down to 1mg of Navane a day and then finally 0mg of Navane a day. Not surprisingly, after I got off the Navane I started to become psychotic. I thought I was a new incarnation of the Buddha because in part I was taking a Buddhism class and in part because I felt a "third eye" of electricity in the center of my forehead. Needless to say, three days later I was an inpatient in a psych ER near my University because I thought that the Feds were after me, and soon after I was on 40mg of Navane and zombified.

I have never been able to get back to those low doses of medication. To dream of getting on those low doses of medication is all I can do these days. What not to do is get off the medication totally after you have a breakdown, because if you do chances are you will have a relapse. Every relapse I've had has brought me down a peg in level of functioning. For example, after my first relapse I was able to read all day, but after my second relapse it was no longer possible to do that. Before and after my first relapse, I was a social person. After my second relapse I lost my social skills and was not able to carry on a conversation as I used to.

These days all I can do is wait and wait for better medications. I keep my eyes and ears peeled for news about new anti-psychotic medicines and wait for the "magic" one that will work wonders for me. Had I just stayed on a low dose of my old Navane, I would never have had to play this waiting game. My advice to those who have just had a psychotic break: STAY ON YOUR MEDS. Keep seeing your psychiatrist. Two out of three people will need to anyway, and do you really want to take the chance of deteriorating? This is not to say you can't lower your meds, but if you stay on a low dose of medication it is a lot safer than if you don't take any meds at all.

Even with staying on meds, the monthly relapse rates are estimated to be 3.5 percent per month. That rate of relapse rises to 11.0 percent per month for patients who have discontinued their medication. In plain English this means patients are three times more likely to relapse if they don't take their meds.

Good luck, stay well. Remember, mental health is the most important gift for a person with mental illness.