How can you survive Schizoaffective Disorder without medication?!

How can you survive Schizoaffective Disorder without medication?

I currently am out of all my medicine and cannot afford more right now. Can I survive a few more days and will I have withdrawal effects?

Hi there,

The answers to both your questions are yes and yes. But let me qualify my anwer.

A diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder means two things:

!. You have demonstrated typical symptoms similar to persons with schizophrenia, particularly psychotic features, i.e some sensory/perceptual distortion of reality.

2. There is an affective component to your disorder, i.e you currently have some kind of mood distortion.

Unless all your symptoms have sufficiently stabilized, you are not yet ready to be weaned off medication, if that option is in your best interests.

You did not say what medication(s) you have been on , or for how long, so a clear assessment is difficult at this time.

Please check with your doctor or keep in touch with him or her until you can get further medications for this particular disorder. Your condition is not without a cure, but for lots of people a remission of all negative symptoms does not happen without a drug regimen for life. By the way, it's all a matter of perspective, a total remission of your symptoms is a more appropriate and realistic goal and outcome objective than to wean oneself off of one's essential med's especially if they are working well.

There are excellent meds on the market and a drug regimen with current technology and advances may not always be necessary, but for now it does seem to be essential, unless you don't mind quitting work, relationships and generally feeling lousy and 'off the wall' all the time.

Don't despair but please take your meds. I know they may be expensive and not worth it but compared with the alternatives, I strongly advise against quitting your meds.

In several cases stopping 'cold turkey' or weaning onself off one's meds does not help i.e. the nervous system does not automatically correct itself as you would like to think. It does seem to recognise the new deficiency in certain neurochemicals in the brain and brain activity changes.

Some people claim to be able to stop 'cold turkey' with in-
significant side effects to their feeling, thinking, motivation, energy and behaviour but these claims in large part and over a sufficient interval have yet to be verified by the medical profession in general and the psychiatric branch in particualar.

Also some of the older class of anti-psychotics do tend to be addictive so if you've been on them for some time now you will very likely experience several negative side effects.

Try first to stabilize your mood i.e. the anxiety and associated depression, along with any residual psychotic features before you even think of trying to be weaned off your meds.
Nevertheless, if you're determined to continue without your med's for now see for yourself what symptoms you experience and how you handle them.

Remember to always keep the line of communication open to your psychiatrist, psychologist and /or GP and best of luck in your journey.

Love and regards.


P.S.
Jesus Christ said something interesting almost 2000 years ago "Everything is possible for him or her who believes." Never give up hope, your answer may some day be just around the corner.

My assement of this disorder also like bipolar disorder is that it may take up to ten (10) years of continuous therapy and drug regimen for persons to stabilize and/or arrive at a point in which all symptoms are in remission. Again do the research, read any psychology book or text that you can and keep in touch with your doctor, I cannot stress this enough.