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"Living with Schizophrenia, Care and Recovery"

About: Sligo/Leitrim Mental Health Services / Sligo Adult Community Mental Health Services

(as a service user),

I'm an out patient here in Sligo, West Ireland.  I've been trying my hardest the past 2 years since my last experience/delusion to take my recovery seriously.  Prior to the episode I didn't fully believe I suffered from Schizophrenia for sure as I've experimented with a quite a few substances up to the last time I was hospitalised and believed I may have been misdiagnosed.  My doctor before I was transferred to a new team; in my opinion over medicated me and was quite unreasonable.  I was 3 stone heavier on my current weight, very dissociated and lacking sufficient care.  I'd tell the doctor I can't function properly and the doctor would say it's because I'm doing nothing. 

My only escape from harsh reality was to use but that said I had to get off everything if I was going to give it a shot at coming off the medication that was highly unsuited to me.   I told the services I was coming off the injection to which they didn't make a huge argument.  10 months passed problem free and when the last of the medication was leaving my system (long half life) shortly after things got a little bit dicy.  

One thing lead to another and I remember passing a violin player in town thinking it was a good bye for me.  I thought I was so far gone from substance abuse the town was saying good bye and that I was better off.  I thought my sister and one of the finest I' was fond of at the time was murdered, that I had brain tumor and other stuff that didn't make too much sense but that I believed at the time and I took an ld50 of my medication because of this.  Shortly after been flushed clear of the medication and revived for want of a better word I was hospitalised and committed a few weeks later.

I met a very sound and genuine doctor under a new team named Misam who within two weeks had me stabilized along with the help of the new team and hospital staff.  I worked really hard and got up to make my bed while there, exercised and tried my best to get on with everyone there. I think it was around 8 days I stayed there before been discharged.  

So with this in mind a lot comes down to the doctors and a lot comes down to the patient taking their recovery seriously but I just feel if somethings not agreeing with someone simply try the alternatives because life is short and I know these things take time but I genuinely think it was worth the delusion to get the sufficient treatment Eoin's team has given me along with all members such as Brian the O.T etc. 

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