Schizophrenia Treatments and Medications

Mood changes, hallucinations, and depression can be difficult to deal with emotionally and physically. These are just some of the symptoms of schizophrenia, a mental illness that affects how a person thinks and feels. Appropriate schizophrenia treatment can help to manage symptoms.

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a severe mood disorder that affects how someone behaves, thinks, and feels. It’s a chronic condition that can’t be cured, but it can be treated with medications, lifestyle changes, and psychotherapy.

People with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations, delusions, and altered speech or behavior. Schizophrenia can even cause depression and make people want to socially isolate themselves.

Doctors and researchers don’t know the exact cause of schizophrenia, but it’s thought that genetics, altered brain chemistry, and the environment are contributing factors. It’s estimated that there are over 200,000 cases of schizophrenia per year in the United States. Most people with schizophrenia will require lifelong treatment to effectively manage their symptoms.

How is schizophrenia diagnosed?

First, a doctor or psychiatrist will give a complete medical exam. A doctor will ask for a medical history, do a physical exam, and run medical tests to rule out other mental disorders like bipolar disorder.

A mental health professional or doctor will be looking for specific symptoms during a medical exam and will want to know if you have experienced any of the following:

• Hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that aren’t real)

• Delusions (false beliefs that don’t have anything to do with real life)

• Depression

• Social withdrawing

• Disorganized speech

• Disorganized behavior

• Paranoia

• Inflated feelings of self-worth

• Difficulty concentrating

• Decreased social skills

The best way to prepare for your complete medical exam is to write down any symptoms you’ve been having and as much of your personal and family medical history as you can.

A diagnosis of schizophrenia is rare for children, but anyone can get it. Men often show signs of schizophrenia before women. Right now, there isn’t a cure for schizophrenia, but it can be managed with lifelong treatment plans.

Schizophrenia treatment options

Once you or someone you know has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, the next step is finding an appropriate treatment plan. Treatment of schizophrenia is focused on reducing the severity and frequency of psychotic symptoms. "The best treatment for schizophrenia is a comprehensive program of social support, goal setting, patient empowerment, medication, and a detailed plan for when things aren’t going well", says Caroline Fisher, MD, Germane & Wise. These are some of the most popular treatment options for schizophrenia:

• Therapy

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Focuses on how to deal with triggers and how to manage psychotic episodes.

  • Personal psychotherapy: Focuses on how to control thoughts and behaviors.

  • Family psychoeducational intervention: Involves the patient, family, and clinician, with a focus on education regarding the disease.

  • Cognitive enhancement therapy (CET): Focuses on how to organize thoughts and concentrate better.

  • Rehabilitation: Focuses on teaching people how to live with schizophrenia and involves counseling, support groups, social skills training, and psychosocial treatment plans.

• Electroconvulsive therapy: Small electric shocks are delivered to the brain while the person is asleep to help improve mood and behavior.

• Medications: Antipsychotics are the most commonly prescribed medication for schizophrenia.

These are just some of the treatment options for managing schizophrenia symptoms. The best way to determine what type of treatment will work best for you is to talk with your doctor or psychiatrist.

Schizophrenia medications

Schizophrenia is most commonly treated with antipsychotic drugs. Some antipsychotics need to be taken orally, and some need to be injected by a medical professional. Injectable antipsychotics tend to last longer and don’t need to be taken daily, but they must be administered by a medical professional.

Antipsychotics work by helping control neurotransmitters in the brain like dopamine and serotonin. By controlling neurotransmitters, antipsychotics help reduce schizophrenia symptoms.

First-generation antipsychotics

First-generation antipsychotics are an older group of medications that treat positive symptoms of schizophrenia, like hallucinations, delusions, and other cognitive symptoms. These are some examples of first-generation antipsychotics:

• Haldol (haloperidol)

• Prolixin (fluphenazine)

• Thorazine (chlorpromazine)

• Trilafon (perphenazine)

Antipsychotics can cause anxiety, nausea, dizziness, and more serious side effects like seizures and mood changes.

Second-generation antipsychotics

Second-generation antipsychotics are a newer group of medications that help treat negative symptoms of schizophrenia, like a lack of social engagement or trouble concentrating. These are some second-generation antipsychotics:

• Latuda (lurasidone hydrochloride)

• Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate)

• Abilify (aripiprazole)

• Invega Trinza (paliperidone palmitate)

• Invega Sustenna (paliperidone palmitate)

• Zyprexa (olanzapine)

• Clozaril (clozapine)

• Risperdal (risperidone)

• Geodon (ziprasidone)

• Fanapt (iloperidone)

• Saphris (asenapine)

Antipsychotic medications can cause headaches, chills, numbness, anxiety, nausea, and more serious side effects like mood changes and seizures.

What is the best medication for schizophrenia?

Psychiatrists often prescribe antipsychotic medications for people with schizophrenia. The specific type of antipsychotic you’ll need will depend on your individual symptoms, age, and medical history. Your psychiatrist can help you decide what medication is best for you. Here are some of the most commonly prescribed antipsychotics for schizophrenia.

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The best medication for schizophrenia