It is important to take your medication as prescribed and return to your doctor for regular follow-up appointments. If you feel you are not getting adequate relief from your symptoms, tell your doctor or pharmacist as there may be a need for a dosage or medication change. If you still hear voices while on the medication, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the medication isn’t working anymore. Many patients describe the voices as having stopped or being “muted” after several weeks however, it is possible to continue to hear voices after an adequate trial with your medication.
Auditory hallucinations causes full#
It may take four to six weeks to receive the full benefit of the medication. After one to two weeks with the correct medication, voices begin to decrease and may continue to improve throughout the length of treatment. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia include lack of self-care, decreased thoughts or speech, inability to feel pleasure, social withdrawal and the inability to express emotion.Īntipsychotics reduce auditory hallucinations primarily by blocking the brain chemical dopamine from working in specific parts of your brain. Other positive symptoms that may occur include disorganized thoughts, visual hallucinations (seeing things that aren’t there), delusions (strongly held false beliefs) and acute anxiety (pacing, restlessness, agitation). Hearing voices (having auditory hallucinations) is what is called a positive symptom of schizophrenia.
Does this mean the medication is not working anymore?Īntipsychotic medications can help reduce positive and negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia.
The medication helps, but sometimes I still hear the voices. I started to take an antipsychotic to help with my symptoms. Part of my mental illness makes me hear voices.