Cognative ability after first acute attack vs before

Is there any research that shows your cognitive ability decreases after your first acute attack?

When you compare the before acute window and the after acute window (when medications are working)

Does the acute attack of schizophrenia cause a dumbing down of the affected person?

Since my first acute attack that lasted for about 4 months (I am newly diagnosed) the medication seems to have stabilized me (no problems knock on wood) I wonder if it has dumbed me down..

I wonder about my ability to handle more complex tasks, I wonder if I am up to getting back in the work force, I wonder if I am ready or If I need more time to recover from the acute attack.. I wonder if I will ever be 100% where I was?

It has been 3 months since the acute attack and healing on a cognitive / motor level has been slow and frustrating... I would go part of the day and be mentally and physically exhausted is this normal? Over time it has gotten better... Early on it was difficult to sit down and comprehend a document I needed to read / sign is this normal? Part of it may have been the high dosage of prolixin (bad stuff) I was on not sure...

Now I can read, write, comprehend carry out mental task and go through the day with out exhausting my cognitive fuel.

The resperidone makes me tired I therefore lowered my dosage with agreement from my doctor and this seems to have helped with the sedative effect.

Even at a lower dose I still feel like I am going to pass out when I get up suddenly due to a blood pressure drop caused by the med (this frustrates me)

I was a employed programmer / DBA before the acute attack and the illness derailed me.

I am thinking about learning a new language such as Java to see if my mind has the cognitive ability to focus to such a degree, learn, memorize and utilize such a skill set..

Any insight would be appreciated.

I'm a programmer too. I'm on Risperdal too - 3 1/2 mg a day. I don't feel that my cognitive skills have suffered because of this illness or my medication to that extent. Probably the opposite actually over time.

At first... I could not even think about going back to work. I was totally messed up in my delusional thinking and I had voices and visual distortions. However, over time... say 5 years.... I've learned to manage the illness very well. Well enough to start up a video game studio which I now run. I've learned C++, C#, VB, Objective-C... and that was while having this illness. I was originally an environmental artist. Worked on a few AAA games but had to quit when the illness hit.

So life goes on.... might take you a few months or years to get back to your level but it will happen. And then you will probably go on to do much greater and vaster things.

Just give it time... and take your time. You don't want a relapse. Take this time to take stock of things. Little by little you can begin to take steps toward your future.

Cya laters.

After my psychotic break I had a horrible time. I couldn't remember once sentence I'd read, I forgot how old I was, I forgot how to spell my name....it sucked.

Amazingly, after being stable for a short period on meds, not only is all of that gone, but I've been memorizing numbers like never before. (my memory has never been great) I no longer have trouble remembering birthdays....I've memorized my fiance's and two friends' college ID numbers and passwords, as well as their other login info....(I do all of their school loan/financial aid stuff, b/c they still don't know how, lol). It's interesting, really. I can remember papers I wrote for my composition class several months ago. I can remember articles I read. I can remember electrical diagrams I've drawn up for school.

I think it's probably normal to have some sort of cognitive problem right after an attack, during the recovery period, and while getting adjusted to meds. But I do believe that in time, you'll be as good as new.

It seems like its different for people depending on their subjectivities. I actually did my greatest work while symptoms were managable, but present. I have always been able to stay grounded in reality, even if my writing is talking about off reality at one point. While on risperdal, my writing has waned, not considerably just the enthusiasm isnt there because it takes extra energy to do it. And the extra creative spark isnt there. You can try changing your medication to a less dehabilitating one.

"When I was young, I encountered a dangerous divinity, and I do not wish to give an account to anyone of what, at that time, ran across my soul -- of good things as well as bad things. Thus, I learned at times to keep silent, and also that one has to learn to speak, in order to be silent the right way; that a man with backgrounds has to have foregrounds -- be it for others, be it for himself -- for the foregrounds are necessary, in order to recover from oneself, and to make it possible for others to live with us."
Friedrich Nietzsche 1885

I think he was manic.