Posted by med_empowered on May 4, 2008, at 5:16:50
In reply to dealing with someone who is Schizophrenic HELP!, posted by ultra on May 4, 2008, at 1:23:15
I'm just putting that out there since a) his symptoms come and go and b) with bipolar and schizoaffective, you can sometimes stabilize people on anticonvulsants and/or lithium, which a lot of people prefer to the antipsychotics.
That said: when you're dealing with Severe Mental Illness, you need a combo of things...meds are almost always used, at least for a while...therapy is a good thing, sometimes...and depending on his employment situation, vocational rehab and/or training might be useful.
Some schizophrenic people also benefit from social skills training; that may or may not be something your boyfriend could use.I don't know what to tell you to do if he's not taking meds or doing therapy. Do you know **WHY** he won't take meds? If its side-effects (and often thats a big f*cking deal, even w/ the new meds), that needs to be addressed somehow. He might respond well to lower doses or need add-on meds like a minor tranquilizer (ativan, valium, klonopin, etc.) or a beta blocker (propranolol) or an anticholinergic to make the med(s) bearable.
If he has schizophrenia with a "moody" aspect, a mood stabilizer like Lamictal, Depakote, Lithium, etc. might be worth a try, with or without an antipsychotic.
As for getting him to go onto meds...I don't know what to say. Some people with psychotic illness learn to self-regulate; they learn to control stressors and only take meds either in low doses or even just when-needed to control acute symptoms. If your boyfriend is capable of that level of insight and self-control, that might be a good option to at least take the edge off of his condition.I'm sorry about your situation. Could you keep us here posted on what's going on?
poster:med_empowered
thread:827087
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080430/msgs/827097.html