Harold Anderson3, why on earth would you do something like that? How did you actually manage to pull through, I mean, how was your recovery?
I’ve been feeling this heavy cloud of depression hanging over me lately too. Between the stress at university, keeping up with work, and just feeling like there aren't enough hours in the day, I can't seem to get any decent sleep. The people I hang out with can tell I'm struggling, but they tend to keep their distance—maybe because they don't want to overstep, or maybe because they honestly just have no clue how to reach out or help.
I find myself spiraling into these dark thoughts about what happens if everything falls apart—if I lose my job, get kicked out of college, get denied disability benefits, or if I lose my mom. What am I supposed to do then?
Should I just fill up the bathtub with warm water, climb in, and slit my wrists, or maybe just go out to the shed in the backyard and hang myself?
I’m not joking or being dramatic here; I am seriously thinking about this.🤦
Lately, this story has been dominating every single combat sports outlet out there, including all the major American news sites that cover the fighting scene. Honestly, looking through the comments section is pretty terrifying; people are just hurling insults like thief, fraud, addict, or coward everywhere you look. He mentioned that the whole situation has turned into a complete nightmare for him and that he’s feeling somewhat desperate. Apparently, he had been using growth hormone to deal with an untreated shoulder injury. Then, the anti-doping agents showed up at his door demanding a urine sample, and shortly after, he announced his retirement. Now, he’s being branded as a doper. His mistake was failing to notify the proper authorities about what he was taking and why he needed it. It’s possible they might have cleared him to fight if they had known the medical reasoning beforehand—that does happen sometimes—but instead, he’s stuck in this incredibly awkward spot. And since we Americans tend to be our own harshest critics, we're turning on him too. I’ve always held this guy in high regard and think he’s actually quite sharp, so I’m genuinely baffled by how he could make such a massive oversight. Still, his career remains incredibly impressive, even if it ends with this dark cloud hanging over it. I really feel for him. 👎
Larry Lewis said:That girl who ended up in bed with you the very same night she left her late boyfriend behind... well, she was absolutely wasted on pills, both snorted and swallowed, but she did mention to me that you weren't exactly acting like much of a "genius" yourself.🙂
And I can't help but wonder what was going through her head when she climbed into bed next to me.😛
I didn't exactly argue, though it’s hard to be certain given that she was completely hammered and totally out of it. ☕
David Vaughn75 said:Well, I just checked, and just like you said, the Zyprexa warnings say one thing, but the Oleanz warnings say what I was talking about. One of my psychiatrists actually told me straight up that having two beers wouldn't kill me.
The real kicker is that alcohol just weakens the whole effect of antipsychotics, so getting wasted is definitely a bad move.
Honestly, it all seems to be incredibly individual. For some people, even a tiny amount causes problems, while others might handle a bit more without much trouble.
Some folks are even allergic to alcohol, so they feel sick even if they aren't drinking much AP.
Every now and then, I might have a little something—maybe a glass of beer or some white wine—but I never let myself get drunk.
Nicole Barrett76 said:I had no idea one needed to snort 20 or 30 of them; I was under the impression that 5 or 6 would suffice.
To be perfectly honest, I’ve never actually gone down that road myself, so I wouldn't be the best person to tell you what kind of dose works best. I have seen what other people tend to do, though, so maybe someone with a bit more experience can chime in...
Nicole Barrett76 said:Might you consider attempting to obtain Zypresica and Akineton?
Are you under the impression that it would give you some kind of high or something similar?
I’m not quite sure if you've misunderstood what Akineton is actually for, but it's typically prescribed to help manage those muscle spasms that can happen when someone is taking certain antipsychotics. Usually, we're talking about just one or two tablets.
That being said, there are always a few "geniuses" in this community who decide to swallow or snort ten or twenty pills at once just to chase an euphoric feeling. Honestly, that's just a textbook case of misusing psychotropic drugs.😁
David Vaughn75 said:I mean, looking at the Zypresica label, it just says it makes you drowsy if you drink. It doesn't explicitly say "do not consume" anywhere else.
but man, you definitely shouldn't be hitting the bar if you're on antidepressants.
To be honest, Zypresica makes me feel drowsy even without any alcohol involved.
I'm pretty sure I saw somewhere in the Zypresica paperwork that it affects the central nervous system—basically the brain—which is why mixing it with booze is such a bad idea.
It’s pretty much the same deal with most psychiatric medications.
Alcohol is detrimental regardless, though I don't personally miss it, and I don't regret having to cut back on drinking given my health issues and the meds I'm on. It's especially tough for anyone dealing with schizophrenia.
I mean, what's the point of risking your health just for a little fun? Even after just a small glass of red wine, I start getting these headaches, and I can't tell if that's because of the medication, because I rarely drink anymore and my tolerance is gone, or honestly, probably both.
Not to brag or anything, but back in high school, I was drinking every single Saturday, not to mention all those school trips and birthday parties. But, well, those were different times altogether...
Brian Young5 said:Sorry for crashing this private conversation, but I have to ask: is it actually safe to drink alcohol while you're on regular antipsychotic meds? Especially hard liquor. 😲I’m not judging, I’m just asking out of curiosity. As someone who’s gone sober and is currently on Seroquel, I keep having these dreams where I’m blissfully high on THC. It’s not like those paranoid trips, either—it’s pure euphoria. Maybe it’s just nostalgia, or some deep-seated craving to finally shut off the noise and get back to some kind of paradise. 🙂).
And if that’s actually the case, what kind of dosage are we talking about?
Is smoking weed or hash allowed in public housing complexes?
It’s a no-go! Plenty of people on this thread have mentioned that before. I actually know a guy struggling with psychosis who had a full relapse simply because he drank too much, despite being strictly consistent with his medication. These are pretty much the only medications where you absolutely cannot mix them with alcohol, mainly because both the meds and the booze hit your central nervous system, and when they interact, they act like a whole different kind of drug: 😲 and don't even get me started on marijuana ☕
Honestly, guys, I’ve been in a total fog the last couple of days.
I pulled two back-to-back night shifts over the weekend, and I just can't seem to shake this exhaustion.
The anxiety and depression are hitting pretty hard right now; I have zero desire to socialize, I'm just retreating into my own shell, and I can't find the motivation to do anything at all. Even at work, I haven't been my usual friendly self like everyone else, though I'm still making sure my tasks get done properly.
I'm going to try to force myself to tackle at least the absolute essentials, but man, it's a real struggle..
Larry Lewis, any chance you could share a little bit of that oil? Just a tiny bit, please 🙂
Robin Lopez2 said:Unless we're talking about psychosis, then maybe—otherwise, there's no chance at all.
When I asked my psychiatrist how long I'd be on these pills, he just told me: "Be grateful that good medications actually exist!" So, looks like I'll be taking antipsychotics until the day I die.
I guess I'll be on them for life too, along with plenty of others in this group—you're certainly not alone in this.
If someone has dealt with multiple psychotic episodes and isn't looking at a full recovery, staying on medication indefinitely is just the reality we live in. Trying to quit them and still function like a normal person feels more like science fiction than actual medicine.
Maybe one day they'll stumble upon a miracle cure for schizophrenia, or perhaps we'll all just pack up and move to another planet together. That's about as much hope as I have.
Not really related to the topic at hand, but I was just wondering about your username—who exactly is that referring to?
I'm surprised you didn't go with John von Neumann instead; he was one of those once-in-a-generation geniuses. Honestly, I'd probably argue he was even more brilliant than Tesla, though he doesn't get nearly as much hype around here as Tesla does.
I was actually just discussing this exact point with my doctor. They mentioned how everyone’s biology is different—some people respond much better to lower doses, while others really need a moderate dose to feel any relief. Looking back at my own experience, when I went through my worst psychotic episode back in 2009, even the maximum dose of Risperdal wasn't enough to stabilize me, so they ended up adding 100 mg of Lexapro to the mix. As I started feeling more like myself, we gradually tapered both the Risperdal and the Lexapro down, though about three years ago, the Lexapro was eventually swapped out for Zyprexa. So, that's pretty much the whole saga 🙂 It is definitely possible to take two antipsychotics, but usually, the individual doses are kept lower so that when you add them together, it effectively equals one stronger dose.
Larry Lewis said:I'm crossing my fingers that the Azolar does its job; I've heard good things about it.
Forgive me if I sound alarmist, but what you mentioned regarding the extreme fatigue and those sleepless nights is not something to take lightly, and I truly hope your doctor is treating it with the gravity it deserves.
I'm hoping for the best too.
I've dealt with occasional sleep issues for a long time now, though I know people dealing with milder conditions like depression face similar struggles. At the same time, I personally know plenty of folks living with schizophrenia who sleep perfectly fine, and I'm sincerely hoping you happen to be one of those 😉lucky ones.
Larry Lewis said:Hang in there, Harold Anderson3, my friend. 👍
Thanks, 😉
So, instead of Zyprexa, my doctor decided to put me on Azolar at 10 mg since it doesn't seem quite as "numbing" and shouldn't drain my energy levels quite as much.
We actually went through the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and despite how terrible I feel subjectively, it turns out I'm dealing with a milder form of depression—meaning things haven't crossed the line into actual suicidal attempts, and I'm not experiencing physical symptoms like digestive issues or getting exhausted instantly. Regarding my tendency to oversleep sometimes, she suggested it might be a way of escaping responsibilities or real-world problems through sleep. It’s certainly easier to just drift off than to face everything head-on, though there are times when my fatigue feels genuinely unbearable, even if I’ve slept plenty. Then there are those periods where I'll stay up all night and somehow still feel fine. This mood swinging really messes with my sleep patterns, making it either too much or almost non-existent.
As for school, I'm planning to switch from Electrical Engineering to a slightly less intense Mechatronics track, and a colleague of my doctor's who works over at MIT might be able to help me navigate that transition.
Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see what kind of difference switching from Zyprexa to Azolar makes.
Since my diagnosis is F20.0, and you can't technically suffer from both depression and schizophrenia at the same time, I figured I’d share my situation here. So, as I mentioned before, I am being treated for schizophrenia, but the depressive symptoms are incredibly intense. In fact, they are really my only real struggle right now, mostly because I don't experience any of the "positive" symptoms at all. My current medication regimen includes antipsychotics like Risperdal Consta (25 mg) and Zyprexa (5-10mg), along with an antidepressant, Alventia XL (150 mg). On top of the depression, my sleep is a total mess; I either sleep way too much or not nearly enough, and there are plenty of nights where I just don't sleep at all. Keeping up with my studies is becoming an uphill battle—I'm currently at MIT studying electrical engineering—and the university doesn't seem to have much empathy for mental health struggles, so I'll probably have to drop out soon. Since my highest level of education is just high school, I'm feeling pretty lost regarding job prospects; everything feels so uncertain right now. I live with my mom and my grandmother; my mom also carries an F20.0 diagnosis and has been retired since she was 35 (she's 52 now). I think my depression is a mix of internal factors and a reaction to a pretty heavy environment around me. Every once in a while, I have these brief windows where I feel somewhat "alive" and can actually handle my responsibilities, but most of the time, I'm just struggling through the depression and the constant negative thoughts. Sometimes I find myself thinking it might have been better if I had never been born, because life just feels like a continuous grind, and honestly, my mother isn't really in a position to be a parent. I talk to my father occasionally, but he has his own family now and doesn't really care to understand what I'm going through. He remarried and has two new kids; I lived with him until I was 18, when I moved in with my mom because things were getting really difficult with my stepmother. I'm 28 now. Looking ahead, I feel like I'm just spiraling further, and I can't see a way out of this. There are moments when my thinking feels sharp and intelligent, but other times, I feel completely incapable of doing anything productive. I have a regular check-up with my psychiatrist today at 2:00 PM, and I plan to lay everything out for her, though I'm not even sure if help is possible in a situation like this. To be honest, as I'm typing this, I'm right on the verge of tears, but that's nothing new for me. The thought of suicide crosses my mind sometimes, but I know it would be a massive tragedy—not necessarily for me, since I feel quite numb toward myself, but for my mom and grandma. That's why I try so hard to push those thoughts away. But living like this doesn't lead anywhere either, except toward a complete breakdown. The hardest part is that these issues have been dragging on for years, and there's just no sign that anything is ever going to get better.
When will they actually join, or if they even want to enter the European Union at all?
It feels to me like neither they nor the rest of Europe are really pulling for it. Besides, people there seem to be doing just fine without being part of the union.
Laura Castillo6 said:John Nash has passed away at 86, leaving his wife behind. He was easily one of the most famous figures dealing with schizophrenia out there. I feel like I remember reading somewhere that he actually decided to stop taking his medication altogether, though I should probably take that with a grain of salt.
Rest in peace to a truly beautiful mind.😢
He did step away from his medication, but I think he actually had some valid points there; back when he was first diagnosed, the side effects from the available drugs were incredibly harsh—sometimes honestly feeling worse than the condition itself. He eventually found his own way to manage things without relying on pills, though you could still see the struggle in his speech and mannerisms, as if he couldn't entirely mask the reality of what he was going through.
Of course, modern medications still come with their own set of side effects, but they aren't nearly as debilitating as they used to be, which makes it much harder to justify walking away from treatment when it's clearly necessary.
Just wanted to let you guys know that I won’t be running late. We have a shorter shift this Saturday and wrap up around 1:00 PM, so I’ll actually have enough time to head home, clean up, and change out of my work clothes. I definitely don't want to show up looking like I just crawled off a construction site only to be running behind schedule anyway. 😵
goldengardener51 said:Diego—please, just ignore the trolls who pop in here solely to stir up trouble.👍
I'm honestly not sure why this is being brought up; I don't actually know Paul White80 in real life, we haven't really chatted on the forum either, so I'm a bit puzzled by all of this...
hiddenwalker30 said:I just wonder how much we'll actually get to talk; restlesstiger49 and Crime have already staked out their spots right next to me. 🤣
It doesn't really matter though, because at the end of the day, we'll get to meet each other, and that’s what truly counts 😉