Hello everyone,
I’ve spent all my time on the forum for people with schizophrenia but I thought I might be able to help out a little bit over here in the family and caregiver forum. I can provide the perspective of someone with schizophrenia and that might help you understand your loved ones better.
I was diagnosed as a high functioning schizophrenic 18 years ago, back in 2004 while in University. I was working towards a B.Sc Biology but that all went to hell when I became psychotic and I had to drop out and get help.
I spent 5 months in a mental health facility getting better. I had auditory, visual and tactile hallucinations and I was delusional. I experience a little bit of the “flat effect” but negative symptoms and cognitive problems were never really a problem for me.
Back then they put me on a very high dose of medication, 40mg of Olanzapine (Zyprexa), and it knocked me on my ass. I couldn’t work or go back to school, I slept all the time, became extremely overweight (240lbs), developed diabetes (A1Cs of 8-9), my cholesterol and triglycerides were way too high, but the medication kept me stable, albeit at a cost to my physical health.
In 2019 I switched to 60mg of Lurasidone (Latuda), my physical health improved dramatically while keeping me stable, my diabetes is under control, I lost 80lbs and I am a healthy weight now. My cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar are all good. I have 2 part time jobs. One as a delivery driver and one as a freelance computer technician. I work about 20 hours a week, give or take. I am also on disability.
My cognition was never affected so I thought I may be able to help answer your questions about what it’s like to have schizophrenia in a coherent manner so you can develop a better understanding of what your family, friends or patients are going through.
Keep in mind every person with schizophrenia has different experiences but if I can help you understand what it’s like based on my experience then I’m happy to do so, you may be able to understand your loved ones better and provide better care.
There is an old saying…
“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, in practice there is”
What family, friends, caregivers, doctors, psychiatrists, therapists and other people in the general population have is a theoretical understanding of schizophrenia, but they will never know what it is like to actually have it, and while their intentions are good, that lack of practical experience with the disease can lead to a lot of misunderstanding, confusion and stigma. I’ve read a lot of that theory too, but I also have practical experience because I have schizophrenia. So I may be able to provide a perspective you can’t get by reading the literature.
Cheers!