Taking Psychiatric Medication Forever--Forever?

Hi Natalie :) I was relieved when I was first diagnosed and told there were medications to get the bipolar under control. I agree with you; I am definitely better on the meds than off of them. I've been fortunate in that I have had only a few medication changes; I think that helps me keep compliant since the results and hope have been seen sooner than when having to often change meds. Thanks for the post.

I will have to take an anti-depressant for the rest of my life. I tried to go without one year. It was a really bad year and I do not ever want to experience that hell again.

I don’t think the use of these antipsychotics is a bad thing at all and yes this medication can have adverse effects so do allot of prescription drugs. I have found that in looking at schizophrenia and antipsychotics we have the opportunity to use interventions like medication in a more effective way when antipsychotics are used in conjunction with psychosocial therapy strategies. Adverse effects on teenagers like diabetes and weight gain are irrelevant when looking at the overall effectiveness of the drug. I also propose that the medication could be used less if a psychosocial therapy is used.
As seen in Tarrier and Bobes (2000) article interventions to help schizophrenia patients to cope with life are needed in different ways, whether it is antipsychotic medication to alleviate symptoms, or psychosocial interventions for example cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for psychoeducation. Psychosocial therapies play a major role in managing a patient’s subjective experiences and helping patients understand their condition and as a result accept their treatment regimens and consequently they get the best responses from their treatment (Tarrier & Bobes 2000). Tarrier and Bobes (2000) reason that psychosocial therapies are paramount to intervention success; this is because it can control behaviour in patients making it easier for them to be cared for and can also relieve stress. These behaviour programs affect lifestyle and are midstream interventions.
The use of medication to treat psychosis is based on what is called the dopamine hypothesis that proposes that psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with excessive amounts of dopamine neurotransmitter in the brain, but this does not apply to all cases (Moncrieff et al. 2009). Antipsychotics given to schizophrenia patients alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia by inhibiting dopamine release (Moncrieff et al. 2009). This method is proximal and downstream as it is directly influential on lifestyle and behaviour.
I believe that although these medications have adverse effects but if they are coupled with positive engagement of psychosocial therapies we might be able to reduce the use of these anti psychotics and therefore there will be less use for all patients including teenagers.
References
Moncrieff, J 2009, ‘A Critique of the Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia and Psychosis’, Harvard Review of Psychiatry, vol. 17, no. 3, retrieved 6 May 2012, Academic Search Complete.
Tarrier, n and Bobes, J 2000, ‘The importance of psychosocial interventions and the patient involvement in the treatment of schizophrenia’, International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, vol. 4, no. 1, retrieved 6 may 2012, Academic search Complete.