Yes he had delusions and heard voices and said he could read peoples thoughts. Since he’s been on vraylar everything has stopped. But he just gets into trouble when he gets the other narcotics!
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My son says the negative affects are like us watching tv in color and he had to watch it on b/w. He doesn’t really “feel” anything. No creativity. Doesn’t want to listen or dance to his music. He just kinda goes through the motions of life. That is why it is so hard to keep most ppl who suffer from any form of mi on their meds. But the alternative is so life threatening! They just can’t see it. My son takes lamictal, lithium, depacot, xanax, percocet, vraylar and lunesta. In my opinion he is over medicated! In the past I had to research all the drugs he was taking and educated myself on the pros and cons. At one point he was taking 13 pills a day. Come to find out over half the meds he was taking were for the same thing and the side effects were what we were trying to treat!! I think it’s time for me to do some research again! We are their best advocates! And this forum is a really good place to gather info and opinions from others who have been down this same road!
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He will cause other family members to lose jobs also:
It’s not just the SZ, it’s the personality disorder that comes with the disorder. Reaching out to family members who have high profile (or just regular jobs but post on the Internet). Educating family members is frustrating as they may attack you blaming the caregiver/family member on getting him to stop. Inform them to get Restraining Orders when the incident happens. Substance abuse is just a way of them self medicating to mask their symptoms. Harm to others is a real concern by attacking them through “freedom of speech” by calling them, yelling at them, calling their businesses and saying they’re horrible people. The sooner you take action (as family members are not always warm and fuzzy to the parent), the sooner legal actions such as restraining orders may help you and others.
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Does your son take anything to counteract extrapyramidal side effects?
As of right now he thankfully hasn’t had any. He did experience some with other meds like seroquel and some other one that started with a d. But there have been so many I can’t remember. I just remember the shaking and his top lip would draw up like in a snarl. As soon as we noticed, he would be off that and onto the next. But so far with this vraylar we haven’t seen any of that. Thank the Lord!
My son’s pdoc has always prescribed cogentin when he has been on meds that could potentially cause EPS
Yes my son was on that also at one time but the side effects started to out weigh the benefits so his pdoc took him off. That’s the problem with all these meds! The side effects and long term damage to their organs can sometimes be worse than the mi itself!!
I just saw your response - thank you so much for sharing!
It sounds like you’d be in good shape if you get could get him off the narcotics. Please let us know what happens when he goes in for the “surprise” visit where his dr wants him to bring in his meds. Maybe that will be the beginning of something?
Do you mind telling me what dosage he’s on & how long before the symptoms started to go away?
And, does he usually need lower or higher dosages of meds?
I understand this one is fairly gradual, so I’m trying to be patient.
We’re only on the third full day, so too early to know how well it’s going to work, but at least he’s in a good mood and not sedated or agitated - just normal energy levels.
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I also have a 32 yr old son who is sz, who is a drug addict on K2, synthetic marijuana. He also blames me for everything he does wrong. He is in and out of jail, he even says if I don’t give him money, it’d be my fault if he gets arrested. It’s very hurtful and devastating to me when he attempts to manipulate me, but I’m now coming to same realization that I will no longer enable him. His mental illness has torn apart my family. I pray we all get thru this. It helps with everyone’s support and knowing we’re not alone.
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That is really good to hear! That is how it is supposed to be! Sounds like it is going to work really well for your son! My son started on 1.5 mg for one day and then went to the 3mg daily.
Unfortunately, my son will not be going to see the dr tomorrow. When they called him this afternoon to tell him off the appointment he lied and told them he was out of town. Since he is 31, my hands are tied. All I could do was let them know he was lying. And he is refusing to take any kind of anti physchotic med. We are out of the vraylar samples now and despite the fact they were working so well for him, he says he is still not going to take it bc he does not want to gain any weight!
As for dosage, any med he has been on, once they get the right dosage figured out, he stays at that dosage. Doesn’t go up or down. However, the biggest problem we face is KEEPING them on the meds! Easy to do when they are minors, not so much once they become adults.
Keep us posted on how your son is doing on the vraylar. Also if you don’t mind me asking, how old is he and when was he diagnosed?
Praying 
for all our families!!
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Trust me! I feel your pain and know it all too well!! Most days I can handle what he throws at me by reminding myself that it is the mi that is talking and not my son. But when I am weak from my migraines it seems that’s when he comes on the strongest and its really hard to regain my footing when I’m too weak to even lift my head. I listened to the song called Worn by Tenth Avenue North today and just cried! Cuz that’s exactly how I feel!! WORN!!
But i continue to pray daily for all of us and our families!!
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He is 27, and had his first psychotic break at 15.
We took him to the ER because the school insisted. I knew he wasn’t sleeping, but when they called to pick him up, I didn’t know he was paranoid/delusional. In fact, I didn’t even know what psychotic meant.
They were sure it was just drugs.
He tested clean, but our local psych hospital did not have a bed for a juvenile, didn’t explain anything to me, and was scary enough to make me go crazy, so we brought him home, got him to eat & sleep & it went away in a few days.
Repeat at 17 - this time, we took him to his pediatrician’s office. They said panic attacks, gave him some valium, and said to get him to a psychiatrist. By the time we got him in to see anyone, he was better, but was diagnosed with depression & anxiety & put on some meds for that.
Repeat at 18 - diagnosis major depression with psychotic features, and then seroquel that didn’t work followed by Zyprexa that did - and he’s had breakthrough symptoms since them, but no more full-blown breaks until now.
However, he has been living in the middle of psychosis & normalcy where he has very limited social functioning due to his anxiety - nothing but opiates has ever touched that - and that is very disabling on its own.
To be 100% honest, I’m bribing my son with some things that he likes to make sure he takes his pills. I’ll see if he follows my bluff and tries to stop because then we’re going to have a major power struggle, but that’s OK too. Both he’s my soft spots, but that it’s not like I can’t change that. I’m pretty tough with everyone else, so I can learn to be tough with him too if need be.
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I’m sorry you are dealing with addiction and mental illness. The MI is bad enough in and of itself. Hugs to you and remember to take care of yourself.
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Thank you for your prayers.
I am so relieved to read your post.
I don’t want to go into details, but my job as a Dental Hygienist
was put in jeopardy when my son came to my office
and hit an older woman who was tending to her mother in a wheelchair.
I came back from lunch to see him in handcuffs being put
into a police cruiser.
What anguish this disease causes!
Merci beacooup for your bravery posting today.
Vermont Woman
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I’m sorry you had to go through that. Did they take him to the hospital?
No, he went to jail. Here in Vermont being in jail has shortened and state and town police are trained in mental health handling. The admission to hospital was quick, however.
Merci for your reply.
Maple Woman
So the narcotics were the cause?