“Is there a cure for schizophrenia?”
Is schizophrenia curable in people with medications? Or, do schizophrenic patients have to take their meds everyday, for the rest of their lives, to manage their symptoms?
9 Answers
Unfortunately no cure but some people can remain at relatively good functioning
Dear Asker,
I am not your doctor and the following is not medical advice. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for schizophrenia. There is ongoing research to better our treatments and understanding of schizophrenia. A comprehensive treatment plan with a multimodal approach include medication, therapy, social worker
/ case management services, vocational engagement / training, family support, partial / day programs can be useful. There is a range of functional level in people with schizophrenia, however for the highest likelihood of stability, treatment including use of medication is typically life-long. Take care.
I am not your doctor and the following is not medical advice. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for schizophrenia. There is ongoing research to better our treatments and understanding of schizophrenia. A comprehensive treatment plan with a multimodal approach include medication, therapy, social worker
/ case management services, vocational engagement / training, family support, partial / day programs can be useful. There is a range of functional level in people with schizophrenia, however for the highest likelihood of stability, treatment including use of medication is typically life-long. Take care.
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that requires psychotropic and psychosocial treatment, along with other wrap around services to prevent lapses, hospitalization and long term disability and thus live a more productive life. Hope this was helpful.
The target symptoms of schizophrenia require medication management to maintain remission. The assessment of patient strength and coping skill enhancement should be a part of the treatment plan to ensure maximal role functioning to anchor self esteem and manage stress.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for Schizophrenia, and medication treatment needs to be lifelong. The good news is that there are many effective medications currently available for the treatment of Schizophrenia--several of which are available in injectable forms--and new medications for Schizophrenia are coming down the pipeline each year. Injectable medications for Schizophrenic patients are important, as these patients are notoriously medication-noncompliant with oral medications (pills), which has dire consequences as outlined below.
The key to successful treatment of Schizophrenia--and avoidance of progression (permanent worsening over time) of the illness--is to treat early and to treat aggressively. The longer a Schizophrenic patient is symptomatic prior to the initiation of treatment, and or if treatment isn't sufficiently aggressive (thereby allowing some symptoms to persist), the poorer the long-term outcome for the patient. There is a concept known as the "kindling effect" which refers to the fact that the more symptomatic a psychiatric patient remains, and the more time the brain spends in any pathologic psychiatric state (including Schizophrenia/psychosis): the more quickly and severely the illness will progress (irreversibly), and the more treatment-resistant the illness will become.
It is unfortunate, but many Schizophrenic patients do not receive the treatment they need, either due to lack of resources, or an unwillingness to participate in treatment. A large proportion of these patients wind up incarcerated, where they are treated with older, less-effective medications (if they're treated at all), and where they're often severely victimized by other prisoners.
If you suspect a person may have any type of mental illness, including Schizophrenia, please do what you can to help them get a complete psychiatric evaluation performed by a qualified psychiatrist. All psychiatric illnesses have a significantly better long-term prognosis if treated early and appropriately. Just waiting a few months can make a significant difference in a patients long-term prognosis, and thus quality of life.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Sincerely,
Lisa Fairweather, D.O.
The key to successful treatment of Schizophrenia--and avoidance of progression (permanent worsening over time) of the illness--is to treat early and to treat aggressively. The longer a Schizophrenic patient is symptomatic prior to the initiation of treatment, and or if treatment isn't sufficiently aggressive (thereby allowing some symptoms to persist), the poorer the long-term outcome for the patient. There is a concept known as the "kindling effect" which refers to the fact that the more symptomatic a psychiatric patient remains, and the more time the brain spends in any pathologic psychiatric state (including Schizophrenia/psychosis): the more quickly and severely the illness will progress (irreversibly), and the more treatment-resistant the illness will become.
It is unfortunate, but many Schizophrenic patients do not receive the treatment they need, either due to lack of resources, or an unwillingness to participate in treatment. A large proportion of these patients wind up incarcerated, where they are treated with older, less-effective medications (if they're treated at all), and where they're often severely victimized by other prisoners.
If you suspect a person may have any type of mental illness, including Schizophrenia, please do what you can to help them get a complete psychiatric evaluation performed by a qualified psychiatrist. All psychiatric illnesses have a significantly better long-term prognosis if treated early and appropriately. Just waiting a few months can make a significant difference in a patients long-term prognosis, and thus quality of life.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Sincerely,
Lisa Fairweather, D.O.
In addition to medicines, there are ways of helping engaging in life. Medicines can only do so much.
Unfortunately, so far we have not been able to find a cure for schizophrenia. Although positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as delusions, hallucinations tend to get better as one ages for unknown reasons. But they will still present with negative symptoms such as apathy, lack of emotion, poor social functioning, etc;
Symptoms of Schizophrenia can be controlled with the help of treatment/medications. Persons diagnosed with schizophrenia need to take medications on daily basis and due to chronicity, treatment is life. Some of the medications are available in long acting injectable forms, which can be administered once a month.
Everybody is individual, but usually it will require lifelong medication, much like type 1 diabetes.
