Benefits and Side Effects of Schizophrenic Medication

The drugs commonly used for schizophrenia are antipsychotic drugs. This medicine is used to improve symptoms experienced by sufferers. Antipsychotic drugs usually have to be used long term, so schizophrenic patients and their families need to really understand the side effects that might arise. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects a person's feelings, thoughts and behavior. Symptoms that appear can be:

• Negative symptoms, such as loss of life motivation, difficulty concentrating, unable to show expression and feelings, no desire to care for themselves.
• Positive symptoms, such as hallucinating and having strong beliefs about things that are actually missing or wrong (delusional).
• Experiencing mindset disturbances, such as strange thought patterns that are difficult for others to understand.
• Difficult to remember (memory disturbance).
• Difficult to establish social relationships with others.
• Mood or moods that change easily.

Benefits of Antipsychotic Medications

Schizophrenia or antipsychotic drugs work by changing the activity of certain chemicals in the brain. There are drugs that are given in the form of oral medication, such as tablets, capsules, or syrup, and some are in injection form. Antipsychotic drugs can help reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia. The effects seen in schizophrenics after taking this drug include:

• Reduced hallucinations.
• Delusions begin to weaken and disappear after a few weeks.
• Reduced anxiety, guilt, tension, and difficulty concentrating.
• The ability to interact with other people for the better.

After 6 weeks of taking schizophrenia or antipsychotic drugs regularly, most sufferers will feel that their condition is generally much better than before. It should be understood that antipsychotic drugs can indeed help prevent recurrence and relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and delusions, but cannot cure schizophrenia completely. Most sufferers need to take drugs for a long time, even when there are no symptoms, so they don't recur. Taking antipsychotics in the recommended dosage regularly is expected to keep the mental and physical health condition of schizophrenics stable. That way, various therapies and other efforts undertaken, such as psychotherapy and support from the family, can provide optimal results.

Side Effects of Antipsychotic Drugs

Currently there are two categories of antipsychotic drugs, namely the first generation antipsychotic drugs (haloperidol and chlorpromazine) and the second generation (risperidone, olanzapine, and quetiapine). A mental health specialist (psychiatrist) will determine the type and dosage of the drug used based on the diagnosis and condition of the patient. Each drug has different side effects, but in general, side effects that may be caused by atypicotic drugs are:

Extrapyramidal Syndrome

This syndrome consists of a group of symptoms consisting of:

• Dystonia or muscles move uncontrollably, especially the muscles in the neck area. This condition can cause the head to look up or look back repeatedly, eyes glaze, tongue sticking out, and body posture is not reasonable.
• Akathisia, where the patient feels restless and continues to move the body.
• Tardive dyskinesias, which are characterized by the mouth repeatedly chewing or sucking.
• Symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease, such as trembling (tremor) and body movements

Symptoms of extrapyramidal syndrome are more common in schizophrenic patients using first generation antipsychotic drugs.

Other side effects

In addition to extrapyramidal syndrome, there are also several other side effects of schizophrenia drugs, such as:

• Increased body weight, and increased blood sugar and cholesterol levels. This effect is mainly caused by second generation antipsychotics.
• Dizzy.
• Limp.
• Blurred vision.
• Dry mouth.
• Heart beat.
• Skin rash.
• Libido disorders.

Uncomfortable side effects are one of the reasons many patients or families stop treatment of schizophrenia when symptoms begin to improve. But keep in mind, these drugs are not recommended to be stopped suddenly without the knowledge of the doctor, because it can trigger a recurrence of symptoms of schizophrenia. If the dose of the drug needs to be reduced to prevent the risk of side effects, the doctor will usually reduce it gradually. In addition, the side effects of antipsychotic drugs can be minimized by administering anticholinergic drugs, which are usually used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. It is important for schizophrenic patients to do a doctor's examination regularly and tell the development of symptoms, so that the drug dosage is adjusted to the patient's final condition. If the schizophrenia patient is difficult to communicate with, the family is expected to accompany them during the examination.