@steewith2ees: risperidone and invega are different in a few ways but share similar aspects. i have taken both in pill form and the invega in injection. there was a big difference between the invega pill and shot. the pill was very sedating, the injection very debilitating. i find that risperidone was more multifaceted where invega was very direct and specific internally speaking.
i have taken olanzapine in pill form when it was a couple years new on the market, it's pretty effective. i've found others who have had positive interactions from it but some do find it most intolerable. i agree much with what you say on the effects of older psych meds as well as the efficacy of zyprexa (what olanzapine is also known as) and how injections are an option though not always treated with due process. sometimes today people are put on injections right away without knowing if they are right for the person (especially if they don't need them due to psychotic breaks. doctors need to be more aware in this one aspect and learn how to better asses that this is what's happening when a patient comes in the E.R. as it doesn't require them to be an expert in the mental health field). i think it's best to start with the pill form and if that works then move up to the injection. if the pill doesn't work then obviously the injection is not going to work plus the effects/withdrawals are much easier to deal with and it leaves a persons system much quicker. but what do i know.
you make more sense with your experience than many professionals that i have met or heard of. i like the advancements science has made in understanding how the brain works but i do not believe it knows enough yet. sometimes a lil information can be a dangerous thing and i think that is what has happened here. they target such a crucial receptor with the best of intentions but what they end up doing is essentially breaking your legs and then telling you to run. they overwhelm and disable the receptor instead of learning how to activate it to work or not to work at certain key times. much like the blanketing technique of the old AP's when they opened the asylum doors up and let people out among the public. they were effective to a degree but much work is still needed. (i have taken two of those old AP's, crikey.)
i say a lot of this and it's repetitive to some who have heard it but psychiatry is still very young, only about 100 years since those new phychotropics were put out on the market. more time is needed for science to work out the details and further their understanding. do not get me wrong, i neither advocate for or against psychiatry and psych meds, only what works to alleviate what is a hindrance in someones life. sometimes vitamins, other paths in life or different kinds of therapy are involved and are effective. like i said, it's what works that is important. (thankfully they finally got the part about cognitive behavioral therapy and it's counterpart right)
sometimes nurses see something doctors don't, they are underutilized imho. no worries, i don't judge. i'm part stoner and part tweaker. i've been successful at abstaining from meth as much as i have in my life. thanks for sharing and your experience has gotten you farther than you think, it was a nice reality check for me when i wasn't being mindful. no easy task.
@Inds: another person who made a full recovery, i will add it to the list. yes, neuroplasticity and other factors dealing with age does help to some degree in healing faster. there are always exceptions as well. btw very well said.