A man in his 50s was brought to the clinic by his older sister.
He was disheveled, his skin darkened from the sun, and he occasionally smiled to himself.
He has schizophrenia, which started in his 20s. His condition has been unstable over the years, and he’s been receiving medication from a general practitioner (GP).
When his condition is stable, he behaves like anyone else.
However, if he forgets to take his medication for two to three weeks, the symptoms return:
- He begins talking to himself
- Wanders outside without coming home
- Answers questions incoherently
- Laughs to himself for no reason
Since their parents passed away, his care has fallen to his older sister.
She has her own responsibilities—working and taking care of her own family.
Despite her efforts to remind him to take his medication every day, it’s an exhausting routine, year after year.
It’s inevitable that there are times when she forgets.
And when that happens, her brother relapses, leaving her constantly anxious and unable to relax.
💬 “Schizophrenia is like this: when one person gets sick, the whole family has to worry around the clock.”
While schizophrenia is indeed a challenging and unfortunate illness, psychiatry offers many treatment options that can greatly help both patients and their families.
For this gentleman, after seeing us, we switched his treatment to an injectable medication—a single injection that lasts for a whole month.
Now, instead of his sister having to ensure he takes his medication every night,
she just needs to bring him to the clinic once a month for the injection.
A few months later, his sister no longer needed to accompany him.
His condition had stabilized to the point where he could ride his motorbike to the clinic by himself.
And after a few more months, he even managed to find a job and start living independently.
I imagine his sister must feel a mixture of emotions looking back at the past few decades.
On one hand, she’s relieved and grateful that her brother is now stable, and she no longer needs to monitor him daily.
On the other hand, she may regret that this more convenient treatment wasn’t introduced earlier—sparing her and their parents 30 years of stress and exhaustion.
It’s worth noting:
Not every patient will achieve 100% recovery like this man.
Individual responses to treatment vary, and not everyone tolerates medications well.
But for us doctors, witnessing such successful outcomes is truly fulfilling.
💡 Did You Know?
- Schizophrenia treatments include both oral medications and long-acting injectable options.
- Some advanced (but more expensive) injections can last up to 3 months.
- Receiving injections doesn’t mean the condition is more severe—the medication is the same; it’s simply a different route of administration.
by Dr. Lim Po Ting
A Psychiatrist in Penang
