Oh boy, Irene, if you\u2019re asking me about the best medications, and if I actually knew the answer, I\u2019d be first in line to win the Nobel Peace Prize!\u00a0 There are many drugs that are quite effective in controlling the symptoms of schizophrenia.\u00a0 Unfortunately, people who suffer from schizophrenia aren\u2019t all from the same \u201ccookie-cutter.\u201d Michael, for example, was initially prescribed Risperdal which is considered to be a wonderful medication.\u00a0 But it had little effect on him.\u00a0 Later he was prescribed Abilify, which over a period of time, with small and gradual increases in dosage proved to be the miracle for our family.\u00a0 In spite of the terrible side effects Michael suffered from Abilify, this drug brought him back to us—complete and whole!\u00a0 I often wonder if he might have had worse side effects from a different medication. There isn\u2019t a day that goes by that my husband and I aren\u2019t grateful to the scientist who discovered it.\u00a0 My NAMI mothers\u2019 children are all on different drugs that are working quite well for them, and they\u2019re also grateful!\u00a0 Often, the first drug prescribed, or even the second won\u2019t be effective to alleviate symptoms.\u00a0 The journey back is almost always through experimentation with medications and dosages, until the right formula is found.<\/p>\n
In my mind, the first and best thing that parents can do, is to find a psychiatrist who is willing to talk to them, and make them feel comfortable. By luck, we happened upon meeting Dr. Kim, who was on call the night of Mike\u2019s first hospitalization.<\/p>\n
We were fortunate that by numbers alone, we had many family members who were great resources for help as Michael made his recovery.\u00a0 It has occurred to me many times that other parents don\u2019t always have the same support system.\u00a0 What happens to a single or divorced parent who has absolutely no family assistance when their child suddenly becomes psychotic?<\/p>\n
First, getting a knowledgeable psychiatrist is absolutely essential.\u00a0 Usually, the physician has a number of \u201chelpers\u201d including psychologists who might be helpful in cognitive therapy, case-managers who could direct a parent to additional resources, nurses who answer questions regarding medications, and employment specialists who can find your child gainful work, once recovered. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Asking a whole lot of questions about additional help and services that are offered will help you to know if you\u2019re in the \u201cright place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recovery from any type of brain injury takes time to heal.\u00a0\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s a stroke, traumatic head injury, or schizophrenia, it takes time.\u00a0 But it can happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What are the best drugs and treatment for schizophrenia? Oh boy, Irene, if you\u2019re asking me about the best medications, and if I actually knew the answer, I\u2019d be first in line to win the Nobel Peace Prize!\u00a0 There are many drugs that are quite effective in controlling the symptoms of schizophrenia.\u00a0 Unfortunately, people who … Continue reading Drugs & Treatments<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-32","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.susiedunham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.susiedunham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.susiedunham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.susiedunham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.susiedunham.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.susiedunham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34,"href":"http:\/\/www.susiedunham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/32\/revisions\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.susiedunham.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}