My daughter switched over to Latuda about two weeks ago and it has made a HUGE difference for her. I am starting to see signs of her old self come back.
One of the earliest symptoms of schizophrenia was that she stopped reading books. She was a voracious reader before (reading 2 or 3 books a week), and she hadn’t read a book in almost two years. But three days ago, she pulled a book off the shelf and read it in two days. She was ecstatic! I don’t know when the last time was that I saw her so happy. Probably before she got sick.
It makes this mama’s heart glad to see a real smile from her after so long. I forgot how much I missed it.
It does get pretty good reviews overall (average 7/10), which is pretty impressive considering most people don’t review something unless it didn’t go well:
Hey, that’s great for you guys. I too, was a voracious reader before I became schizophrenic. Afterward, I rarely read a book for pleasure. Now I’m at the point where I will read magazines or read news online. I know I could read a book if I wanted to, but I rarely do.
One bit of good news for me is that when I take college courses I barely have a problem with reading textbooks. And funny enough, I am actually a better writer than I was before I got sick. In fact, when I took a Humanities course a couple of years ago I had to write a 1000 word essay that involved comparing different religions; how they are their different and how they are alike. My college professor gave me a perfect score and he gave me a glowing critique and he asked my permission to use my essay in all his future classes as an example of how an essay should be written!
I take online courses. Maybe in the future your daughter will be able to do an online course. I find that sitting in the comfort of my own home while munching on some crackers and having soothing music on in the background and doing my schoolwork is easier than sitting in a crowded classroom. Congrats to your daughter.
I’m glad to hear that you are able to do coursework without trouble. I’ve been a little concerned for my daughter when she gets to that level of schooling. Hearing of people’s positive experiences gives me hope.
Right now I have a GPA of an even 3.0.
I’ve gotten a few F grades for classes, a few A grades, a few B grades. Getting an F does not mean overall failure just like getting fired from a job doesn’t mean that you will never succeed. I’ve been fired many times, at other jobs I was one of the top workers.
Yes, as a parent, I also got the sense of my son being “back” once the medication took effect. It is really joyful. Before, it was like I could see him, he was there, but he was in a pool underwater and we couldn’t communicate.