About Schizophrenia
- Introduction to Schizophrenia
- Diagnosing Schizophrenia
- Schizophrenia Prognosis
- Effects and Complications
- Can Schizophrenia be Prevented?
- Schizophrenia Risk Factors
- What Causes Schizophrenia?
- History of Schizophrenia
- Childhood Schizophrenia
- Schizophrenia Statistics
Schizophrenia Treatment
Drugs for Schizophrenia Treatment
- Conventional Antipsychotics
- Atypical Antipsychotics
- Supplements
Schizophrenia Types
- Residual Schizophrenia
- Hebephrenic Schizophrenia
- Disorganized Schizophrenia
- Paranoid Schizophrenia
- Undifferentiated Schizophrenia
- Catatonic Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia Symptoms
- Managing Symptoms
- Hearing Voices
- Schizophrenia Delusions
- Schizophrenia and Suicide
- Movement Disorders
Related Conditions
- Split Personality
- Anxiety and Schizophrenia
- Depression and Schizophrenia
- Bipolar Disorder
- Brief Psychotic Disorder
- Shared Psychotic Disorder
- Schizotypal Personality Disorder
- Schizophreniform Disorder
- Schizoid Personality
- Delusional Disorder
- Substance Abuse
- Schizoaffective Disorder
- Schizophrenia and Self Injury
Living With Schizophrenia
- Family Relationships
- Schizophrenia and Homelessness
- Schizophrenia and The Workplace
- Schizophrenia and Violence
- Schizophrenia and Hallucinations
im taking 20mg of prozac, and I couldnt sleep at night because of weird dreams or too much energy or thinking too much. So im also now taking 50mg of seroquel at night to sleep. I was diagnosed with having schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. Ive tried all of the other atypical medications to treat schizophrenia and I suffered alot from tardive diskenesia, and had to discontinue. Seroquel is the only one that doesnt give me tardive diskenesia, but it does give me akathisia at doses within the range of 150mg and up. The prozac is making me a little bit more happy, but ive noticed that im a little slow in thinking and my reactions. Ive done a little research about the meds im taking, and I know that seroquel affects dopamine and serotonin, and some of the mechanisms of seroquel are still unknown, also that its major side effect is sedation which is great for me. But I want to be more alert, and I want to try another antidepressant other than prozac which is an ssri. I was wondering if I should take an ssnri such as effexor. I know that dopamine affects my schizophrenia, but what does serotonin and noripinephrine have to do with my illness, would taking an ssnri affect my schizophrenia?
Since my training is in clinical psychology and not medicine / psychiatry, I cannot advise you regarding which medications you should take. I encourage you to discuss trying a different antidepressant (such as an ssnri) with your prescriber.
However, I can answer, to some degree, your question regarding what serotonin and norepinephrine have to do with schizophrenia (which is what I assume you meant by "my illness").
There has been a lot of research regarding the role of serotonin in schizophrenia, and while it is not yet fully understood, it is definitely believed to play a role in the disorder. Some believe its role has more to do with the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
Norepinephrine has also been suspected to play a role, but to the best of my knowledge research thus far has not been conclusive.
The brain is very complex and there is much about it, and schizophrenia, that is still unknown. As new medications are developed and technology advances, new theories emerge and older ones are refined or discarded with regards to schizophrenia.
Dr. Cheryl Lane