I have schizophrenia, I am 20 year old male. I have been taking oleanz rt from 4.5 months. I don't experience any symptoms of the disease anymore, how long I need to continue the medicine and if it is lifelong, can it damage my liver or kidneys?

Dr. Saranya DevanathanPsychiatrist48yrs exp

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Dear Lybrate User, Nice to hear that you are responding well to oleanz rt. I don't know the dose. Schizophrenia is a lifelong disorder needing lifelong medicines. Because of your age and good response to treatment, yours may be first episode psychosis. Please discuss with your psychiatrist about stopping the medicines. If she/he asks you to take for long term, please follow up with her/him every 2-3 months so that she/he can assess the long term side effect of the tablet. All the psychiatrist know the long term side effects. Once they observe the side effect, they will reduce the dose, add another drug or change the drug or manage psychosocially. Oleanz does not damage liver or kidneys by itself. Because oleanz increases sleep and appetite, you may put on weight. Obesity in the long run can cause lipid (cholesterol) disturbance and diabetes. These diseases may affect liver and kidney. Since you are young and can exercise well, you may keep the weight under control to avoid such problem in future.  

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Dr. Saul PereiraPsychologist48yrs exp

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Schizophrenia is a very complex and difficult disease to treat, even with medication. All psychotropic medicines have side-effects: that is inescapable. But I suspect that you are depending entirely on medication when in reality you need to combine it with counseling or therapy. In therapy you will learn a lot of coping mechanisms and techniques to remain functional and lead a close-to-normal life. You will also learn about emotions and how they can impact your condition adversely. Expressing emotions in an appropriate manner will equip you for life. Talking and sharing about the many disturbing thoughts and learning to understand yourself and moderate your responses will go a long way towards normalizing and training your mind. Exercise must be a regular part of your life for various reasons. Put yourself on a productive and strict schedule. The idle mind is the devil's workshop for sure, and more so for a schizophrenic. Of course medications for long use will have side-effects but you can't worry about that. If you want to get well and can remain episode-free for at least three years you could be weaned off of the medication in small doses by your doctor.  

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