No person who was born blind has ever been diagnosed with schizophrenia

Re:No person who was born blind has ever been diagnosed with... by dsego on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @06:33PM (#22313936)

Do you have a diagnosis or have anyone in you family with this debilitating disease? Where do you find the nerve to post such misinformation as this? From personal experience, my family member who suffers from this condition has been hospitalized several times in psychosis and every time he comes out he is glad and happy that it's over and he is back to his normal self. The pharmacological therapy has horrible side effects but spreading FUD like this is way over the line. You also only list the older generation of medication, there are many new ones with less side-effects. Learn a bit a about the alternatives, the neurotoxic degenerative effects of the disease and the prognosis without treatment. With every new psychotic event there is less chance of getting the person back. And, yes they do MRIs and there are visible changes in the structure.

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Re:No person who was born blind has ever been diagnosed with... by Schiz08426 on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @07:45PM (#22314358)

I was diagnosed schizophrenic -- among other things -- in an in-patient program for children.

The parent is sensationalizing a good bit, but I agree with his overal point: treatment of schizphrenics -- and other "untouchables" syndromes -- is very poor.

Antipsychotics are hell. Full stop. Even for next-generation pharmaceuticals. Risperidone took away the delusions, and every other faucet of myself that made me human. Can it improve quality of life? Yes, it can. If the case is severe enough that the patient is endangering themselves or others (through violence or neglect), antipsychotics can sedate their impulses and delusions.

I would describe it as a short-term (if ceased within a reasonable timeframe) chemical lobotomy. No hyperbole.

I was lucky that I'm fairly educated, quick of mind, and primarily presented with negative symptoms (catatonic subset). Delusions and psychosis are transient, and I'm able to reflect on them, identify when they pop up, and not act on them.

For someone that is in a near-constant state of psychosis, antipsychotics are really al that can be done, but I personally would rather be dead, than a husk. If I were still on them, I probably wouldn't believe this because the drugs would take away some of my agency.

I'm now on a hefty dosage of a certain dopamine agonist, and it has improved my quality of life immensely. There are stil bugs, and psychosis and delusion are much more common now, but I have a good grasp on them and wouldn't want to to back to being a shel of a human.

It's dehumanizing and violates my dignity.

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Re:No person who was born blind has ever been diagnosed with... by dsego on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @08:27PM (#22314559)

I would disagree that the parent was just sensationalizing, they implied malice and thought-control by the "evil" doctors. There's no hidden agenda, no conspiracy. We don't know the illness well enough and the treatments are nasty. But the doctors are doing what they can to help people, and like you said, it does help. And the psychiatrists always try to lower the dosage to a minimum to avoid the terrible side-effects. From what I've seen haldol and leponex are nothing short of miracle drugs, they worked when all else failed. The disease is dehumanizing, not the treatment.

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Re:No person who was born blind has ever been diagnosed with... by kortex on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @08:24PM (#22314542)

I'm sure it depends wildly on region and class status, but parent comment is largely correct in parts of USA.

Haldol, Thorazine, and Depakote are older but still widely used, even for disorders like bipolar. Even atypical antipsychotics are still life-changing, personality altering, potentially diabetes-inducing heavy handed tools. You yourself admit the side effects are horrible. It's far from FUD. Be glad your family member is getting appropriate treatment.

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Re:No person who was born blind has ever been diagnosed with... by dsego on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @08:31PM (#22314581)

How is the parent both right and I should be glad my family member is getting treatment? This doesn't make sense. If the treatment is worse and used to control undesirable thought patterns (that's what the parent claims) than surely you mean to say the alternative is better? Ie, letting the illness take its course and the delusional thinking set in. Or what are you saying? Because it doesn't make much sense to me.

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