![]() It is the beginning of a virtuous circle towards recovery. This enables a return to some more normal activities such as looking after themselves better and in turn further reduces anxiety. Next there will be a marked change in the way the person perceives their delusional thoughts in that, although they will continue to experience deluded thinking, they will no longer feel such an intense compulsion to engage with it. This is because most of the antipsychotics also have a tranquillising effect. One of the first effects that people with schizophrenia will notice when starting on an antipsychotic is a reduction in their anxiety levels. 10Īlthough we still don’t know exactly how these drugs affect the brain, the ways that they affect thinking is better understood. People with schizophrenia are, by and large, no worse at taking their medication than people with other chronic health problems such as diabetes or high blood pressure despite some alarmist reporting in the media. However, we should not become overly concerned with this problem. In general people with schizophrenia are no worse at taking their medication than people with other long term health conditions (Image: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock) This is a very difficult situation and one for which the only option may be compulsory medication given by injection in hospital or by the community psychiatric nurse (CPN). For instance in the case of a person who believes that they are being poisoned by their family they may become convinced that the medication is also a poison. One of the problems that people with paranoid delusions have around the taking of antipsychotic medication is that they may begin to focus their paranoid ideas on the medication. Of the typical antipsychotics Pimozide (Orax) has been found to be useful for paranoid delusions whereas of the atypicals, Risperidone and Clozapine have had good results. The first generation of antipsychotics had some unpleasant side effects and consequently it is now accepted practice in the UK to prescribe one of the second generation especially in new cases or where side effects have been experienced whilst on one of the first generation drugs. There are two types of antipsychotic available: the older, first generation called typicals and the modern, second generation called atypical. For more information about antipsychotics visit our information sheets on Modern Treatments and Coping with Side Effects. ![]() Exactly how these drugs work is not well understood: we simply don’t yet know. These medicines also help to prevent future relapses although this can’t be guaranteed. Some improvement in symptoms should be seen after a few weeks: if this doesn’t happen then the doctor may increase the dose or change to a different antipsychotic. And for some people the symptoms will disappear completely. About 70% of those people taking them will experience an improvement in their symptoms: some more so than others. The efficacy of these drugs in treating the positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as delusions and hallucinations is well established. Using one of the antipsychotic medications widely available in the UK is still the mainstay of treatment in the NHS. Modern atypical antipsychotic medicines for schizophrenia like risperidone are the mainstay of treatment for paranoia.
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