Weļl į would like to share my story, which is maybe not 100 percent success story, but still success. I am diagnozed f20.0, so paranoid schizophrenia. I myself am not sure do i really have it, but i surely had three psychotic breakdowns, in 2006,2017 and 2019. Well, i never heard voices, but psychotic breakdowns were hell, but i will not go Into details, those who know they know.
So after last episode i went to hospital, was diagnozed f20, before it was f23, and was put first on risperidon, then on xeplion. Actually reaction to risperidon was hell, į had terrible akathisia, could not sit or lie, just walk, later į could not even walk, but since į was not dying they decided i am good for xeplion.
First the dose was 75mg, and first months it felt like not too bad, but slowly i noticed myself getting dumb, and from that even i fought a lot į slowly went Into depression.
Then they gave me sertraline, but it changed nothing, į slowly started to have high anxiety, and troubled sleeping, so i went to hospital again and doctors said that it is negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and raised the dose to 150mg.
After leaving hospital i felt a bit better, į was given other drugs also, lorazepam was one of them, but i think it was just psychological, of course it is a bit better, since you leave that boring hospital.
I managed alone to record some music, which you can listen here: ishmalda.bancamp.com
But anyway depression lingered on and was getting worse day by day. Well you know it. I was already reading this thread, and puting all fault on xeplion, also i know from my own experience, cause after first two breakdowns į was given olanzapine, which also made me zombie and then depressed, but after three months of quiting, everything went fine.
It was not easy to persuade the doctors and family and friends that i want to quit xeplion, but i managed to do that, so last october i quit, first lowering the dose to 100mg, then 75mg, october was last injection.
First nothing changed and nothing changed for six months, after six seven months, it got worse i started have again troubled sleeping, anxiety, strong suicidal thougts, i was already bedridden, so my friends got worried and suggested to visit doctors again.
I was very desperate already, so i agreed. So they gave me again two Antidepresants mirtazapine and sertraline, and quetiapine, but low doses, after they added aripriprazole also low dose, 10mg.
And suddenly after 8 months of quiting xeplion, i started to feel well, everything changed in more or less two days.
Of course the question stays was this aripriprazole or not. But anyway the thing still troubles me that į did not get my fantasy back, i cannot create music, and mostly still am silent, but silence is power it is not a big deal. Important thing depression is over, i have again motivation, and don't think everything is shit..