Items Tagged With Schizophrenia

Currently, there is no way to prevent schizophrenia.

You may be able to prevent or reduce the number of relapses. Being aware of the signs of relapse can help you or your family members seek prompt treatment, which may reduce the severity of the relapse.

Things you can do to prevent relapse include:

• Reducing stress in your life, which may decrease the number of relapses you have. For more information, see the topic Stress Management.
• Avoiding using alcohol or illegal drugs.
• Learning the first signs of relapse and seeking help early.
• Taking medications as prescribed.

Surgery for schizophrenia is rarely needed.

Symptoms of schizophrenia are divided into two groups: positive and negative.

Negative symptoms include:

• Inability to experience pleasure. This is a common symptom in schizophrenia and includes difficulty enjoying activities that once brought pleasure, such as playing golf or visiting with friends.
• Lack of emotion. This can lead to few friendships or social contacts. Showing little facial expression, having poor eye contact, and slowed speech are characteristic.
• Loss of motivation to succeed or accomplish goals. Job or school performance problems are common.
• Problems focusing or paying attention, difficulty processing information, confusion, and fragmented thoughts.

Negative symptoms usually occur first and can be confused with other health problems such as depression or substance abuse. Substance abuse often occurs before the symptoms of schizophrenia become apparent.⁶

Positive symptoms include:

• Hallucinations. These usually involve hearing noises or voices, but they can involve all the senses-seeing, tasting, touching, hearing, or smelling something that is not there.
• Delusions. These are firmly held but false beliefs. Some common experiences include thinking you are a powerful person, or that you are being persecuted or chased by the police or by demons.
• Disordered (confused) thinking and speech that does not make any sense. Examples include inappropriate responses to questions, not being able to respond with enough information, or always giving a one-word reply to questions.
• Bizarre or disorganized behavior. Usually the behavior involves being overly excited, angry, or unresponsive to other people. It may also include bizarre body movements, such as rocking back and forth or grimacing repeatedly.
• Self-neglect, such as poor hygiene, wearing dirty clothes, or neglecting living space until it becomes untidy or cluttered.
• Inappropriate emotions, such as smiling when speaking of sad topics or laughing for no reason.

Some people with schizophrenia also have unusual symptoms, such as jerking eye movements.

Other symptoms can occur, depending on the type of schizophrenia you have:

• Paranoid schizophrenia causes unreasonable fears due to misinterpretations of what is going on around you.
• Catatonic schizophrenia causes peculiar behaviors such as standing in an awkward position for long periods of time.
• Disorganized schizophrenia causes unusual speech and behavior, such as making up words or constantly rhyming words.

Symptoms of schizophrenia usually emerge during adolescence or early adulthood and may appear suddenly or develop gradually. When symptoms develop gradually, they may be misdiagnosed with other conditions with similar symptoms, such as bipolar disorder or substance abuse (which commonly occurs with schizophrenia).

Being diagnosed with schizophrenia can be terrifying and devastating. Learning more about the disease, including learning what types of treatment are available, and finding a support network through family and community services may provide some relief and encouragement. Unfortunately, people with schizophrenia often do not seek treatment or they stop treatment due to unpleasant side effects of medications or lack of support. Treatment is also more difficult when symptoms are not caught early on.

The goals of treatment are to eliminate symptoms, reduce the number of relapses, and reduce the severity of the illness.⁸ Improving the level of social function and relationships is also important. Treatment for schizophrenia is lifelong and includes medications, professional counseling, and support from family or community services.

Medications are the most effective treatment, and it is important to continue to take them as prescribed by your doctor. If you discontinue treatment, your quality of life will suffer, and it may take a long time to return to an acceptable level of functioning.

Initial treatment

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia (such as lack of emotion or loss of motivation) usually occur first and can be confused with other health problems such as depression or substance abuse. Substance abuse often occurs before the symptoms of schizophrenia become apparent.⁶ Negative symptoms can be difficult to treat and often do not respond well to medications. They can also be disabling, because the symptoms are long-lasting and reduce the motivation to perform daily tasks or relate to others.

Medicines used most often to treat schizophrenia include:⁹

• First-generation antipsychotics, such as haloperidol (Haldol) or chlorpromazine (Thorazine), which are used to reduce anxiety and agitation, and to stop delusions and hallucinations. These medications can be very effective, but they often have significant side effects, such as tardive dyskinesia, which is a condition that causes uncontrolled body movements.
• Second-generation antipsychotics, such as risperidone (Risperdal), paliperidone (Invega), olanzapine (Zyprexa), ziprasidone (Geodon), and quetiapine (Seroquel). These medications effectively treat symptoms of schizophrenia and may help reduce the risk for relapse.
  • Clozapine, such as Clozaril or Leponex, is usually considered a second-generation antipsychotic. This drug is approved in the United States for treating suicidal behavior associated with schizophrenia. But in the U.S., your doctor will need special authorization to prescribe clozapine for schizophrenia symptoms, and special monitoring is needed when clozapine is used.

Other medications may be added to help reduce other symptoms, such as:

• Lithium carbonate, such as Lithobid, Lithane, and Eskalith, to regulate moods.
• Antianxiety medications, such as alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (for example, Valium), to reduce anxiety and nervousness.
• Anticonvulsant medications, such as carbamazepine (for example, Tegretol) and valproate (for example, Depakote), to reduce symptoms during relapse.
• Antidepressant medications, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (for example, Zoloft or Celexa) or tricyclic antidepressants (for example, Pamelor), to reduce symptoms of depression.