[The lived experience of the women with schizophrenia taking antipsychotic medication].

PURPOSE This study was done to identify some natural meaning through the dosage experience of psychoactive drugs in women patients with schizophrenia. METHODS The Hermeneutic phenomenology written by van Manen was used. The period for data collection was from November 2009 to January 2010. This study took place in mental health hospitals and mental health centers in two cities in North Jeolla Province. Nine patients with schizophrenia participated. Data collection was done through individual in-depth interview. RESULTS The seven natural subjects demonstrated by participants from this study were 'Pills forcibly taken like veiled threats', 'A terrible side effect, a side effect rooted slowly', 'Shame which cannot be hidden as a woman', 'A bad medicine took away from motherhood', 'The fate of a wife who can't be equal', 'A struggle for the complete recovery without promise', and 'Participants want the future without medicine'. CONCLUSION The results of this study indicate that the urgent need to develop a safe and believable psychoactive drug for woman patients considering the time of menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and child raising.