My Medication Cocktail for Schizoaffective Disorder

I think I’m on a very good medication cocktail. There are several reasons why, but the funniest one is that when I typed “medication cocktail” into my notes on my phone as a story idea, the predictable word “hour” appeared. I was able to see the humor in that, and when I told my husband, Tom, about it, he said, “Medication happy hour!” and we both laughed. Ain’t love grand?

Why I’m on a Good Medication Cocktail for My Schizoaffective Disorder

So, let me tell you what kinds of medications I’m on. I am on an antidepressant, a mood stabilizer, an antipsychotic, and two vitamin supplements for my schizoaffective disorder, including my schizoaffective anxiety. Although things aren’t perfect (for example, my fear of driving and my fear of showering, and the weight gain), I’ve been on a good mix for years.

I mainly base this on the fact that I’ve been acting in a very reasonable manner since I’ve been on this particular mix of medications. Here are some examples of me not being reasonable in the past: I twice broke windows in my parents' house when I used to live there (I didn’t hurt anyone when I did this), I was extremely rude to retail workers, and, really, a lot of people, and my sleep cycle was reversed, to name a few things. And on my last antipsychotic, I developed symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Now, while I still have a lot of schizoaffective anxiety, I am able to control acting in a frenetic way. I don’t get into shouting matches with strangers. Maybe you think the medication cocktail I’m on now paralyzes me. Maybe being “spirited” and breaking things and yelling is being “liberated.” Well, I didn’t feel liberated. I felt really guilty after I did those things. One time I even went back to a store just to apologize. Anyway, who is liberated, really?

My Current Medication Cocktail Stopped My Schizoaffective Voices

The biggest way I think the medication cocktail I’m on is working for me is that I no longer hear voices. Schizoaffective voices were something that plagued me when I first got sick in my late teens, and now, they’re gone. To be specific, they went away once my mood stabilizer was within a therapeutic range. I have schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, which is why I need the mood stabilizer and why it helps with the voices. I suspect, however, that the whole cocktail works together to alleviate this symptom.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m a generally happy person, but I’m not angry all the time anymore, and I don’t have extreme OCD anymore. So maybe one can say I’ve reached “medication happy hour.”