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Mental Health Coming off Invega Sustenna (paliperidone)

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Is mania a withdrawal effect of coming off Invega and other APs?

I'm not sure it's such a bad thing to have mania though, it's debatable.
 
Yes it can be.

Hypomania is a more mild version of mania that isn't as extreme. It's not as harmful. Full-blown mania is very intense. What goes up must come down.
 
Are there any antidepressants that work for the side effects of the invega? I've tried Prozac, Bupropion, and Zyprexa. None of these worked for me. Not on anything now.
 
I think starkid said he was on Wellbutrin. It's a pretty good one in a way (especially since it can help with smoking cessation), but in very few cases it will fuck up a person's sleep patterns to the point where you'll end up like me - sleeping an hour, waking up, sleeping an hour, waking up and so on.
 
That's another name for Bupropion, what I took. All it did was make me feel weird. And if you drink you get a seizure on that. It made me feel like I wasn't sleeping at all. I can't deal with that.
 
All the other antidepressants I can think of are just bad news all around. Like Celexa. That shit made me want to kill people. And I had this strong urge to sharpen my teeth with a bastard file. I thought I was becoming a vampire. Strange how medications do that. Last time I was on a high dose of Abilify, I literally had symptoms of someone who has porphyria... weakness and sensitivity to sunlight comes to mind.
 
Don't think antedepressants are the way forward, getting through the first 2 half lifes is brutal and I would probably have tried one if I had been offered, but you've just got to try and get through the days the best you can knowing that it will get easier eventually.
L dopa and 5hpt might make the suffering a bit easier, but I'm not sure anything can penetrate the poison during the first few months, I couldn't even handle alcohol for the first 3 and a half months and had a mega panic attack when I tried drinking a month off the poison that put me off drinking until christmas. Even weed doesn't feel the same and I get a rushy feeling off it and don't get the same chilled out feeling that I used to get.
I did take procycledine for the first 3 months to cope with the akasithia and twitching leg that thankfully cleared up, but getting off the procycledine wasn't that easy and I had to taper off it. During that time I tried diazipam and a beta blocker and that just made me even more depressed and probably upset my CNS even more.
An antedepressant is just going to mess your thinking up more than the poison already does imo, although I've never tried one, but there are enough scare sories on the internet to put me off and the withdrawal sounds bad.
I'm 5 months off the poison, 3 half lifes and the brutal depression has lifted although I still get the odd feeling of doom its nowhere near as severe as those first few months and I'm able to chill out at night with a few beers. I'm trying to stay off the weed for a good few months until I feel the poison is all out my system and I have recovered my life, want to really give it a year because I've read you can be suceptable to return symptoms for the first 10 months coming off an AP and I don't want to go through this again in my lifetime.
You've just got to believe in the science and not crack up, 5 or 6 half lifes and the poison will be out your system and you should feel normal and probably mentally stronger for having gone through the experience, at least thats what I'm hoping for.
 
Bad Robot said:
Don't think antedepressants are the way forward, getting through the first 2 half lifes is brutal and I would probably have tried one if I had been offered, but you've just got to try and get through the days the best you can knowing that it will get easier eventually.
L dopa and 5hpt might make the suffering a bit easier, but I'm not sure anything can penetrate the poison during the first few months, I couldn't even handle alcohol for the first 3 and a half months and had a mega panic attack when I tried drinking a month off the poison that put me off drinking until christmas. Even weed doesn't feel the same and I get a rushy feeling off it and don't get the same chilled out feeling that I used to get.
I did take procycledine for the first 3 months to cope with the akasithia and twitching leg that thankfully cleared up, but getting off the procycledine wasn't that easy and I had to taper off it. During that time I tried diazipam and a beta blocker and that just made me even more depressed and probably upset my CNS even more.
An antedepressant is just going to mess your thinking up more than the poison already does imo, although I've never tried one, but there are enough scare sories on the internet to put me off and the withdrawal sounds bad.
I'm 5 months off the poison, 3 half lifes and the brutal depression has lifted although I still get the odd feeling of doom its nowhere near as severe as those first few months and I'm able to chill out at night with a few beers. I'm trying to stay off the weed for a good few months until I feel the poison is all out my system and I have recovered my life, want to really give it a year because I've read you can be suceptable to return symptoms for the first 10 months coming off an AP and I don't want to go through this again in my lifetime.
You've just got to believe in the science and not crack up, 5 or 6 half lifes and the poison will be out your system and you should feel normal and probably mentally stronger for having gone through the experience, at least thats what I'm hoping for.
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How is your sleep? Do you take anything for it?
 
Bad Robot said:
I'm trying to stay off the weed for a good few months until I feel the poison is all out my system and I have recovered my life, want to really give it a year because I've read you can be suceptable to return symptoms for the first 10 months coming off an AP and I don't want to go through this again in my lifetime.
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Yeah. that's essentially what happened to me when I went of Risperdal Consta.
 
I take beer for sleep, on 3 beers a night at the moment, it stops me thinking non stop about whats happened to me and I feel almost normal
Safer than weed for me at the moment and I did spend the first 3 and a half months not drinking
 
Finally making the switch to Abilify. Energy and motivation comes and goes. Sleep schedule varies anywhere from 6 hours a night to 13 hours a night. On top of that, I'm sleeping very poorly when I'm the most tired. I usually get these lapses of energy, close to when I take my pills. It gives me the drive to play synthesizer. Still not as good as I used to be. How does one lose his skill to play an instrument, you ask? Fucking medication - that's how. I know - I know - deep down this will come to pass. I try not to think of what's in store for me when it does. Just focus on the now. Let it be.
 
My doctor put me on Cymbalta now. We'll see how that goes. Something has got to do something for these side effects from the invega. Can't even take care of myself without extreme amounts of effort. Starting to feel the akathisia kick in. Sometimes I make loud noises and pace around because I'm so distraught.

If there are more success stories, I'd love to read them.
 
Its some struggle getting through each day, going back to the doctors monday to ask for a blood plasma test to see how much of this poison is still in me and get my thyroids checked. Just when you think your through the worst of it another wave hits you like iridescentblack says.
I feel like I'm going to crack up going through the same thing day after day, just feel like I need a chill pill that would stop me thinking about the stupid doctors that injected me with this shit and other AP's for getting too high off cannabis. At this rate I'm going too have a relapse if I don't learn to chill out and try and forget about the past. Its hard to do though when you feel so ill every day and you feel like its been caused by the doctors incompetance and their ability to be able to be to force these poisons on you in hospital.
Perhaps I'm just a drug addict who misses being high, but being on this stuff or still having it in your system is the exact opposite of being high and is some kind of legalised torture. It's been over 7 months since I smoked cannabis regulary and I have got my head round not being able to smoke it all day everyday, what I would like is to feel like my old self who had the energy and motivation to work and could concentrate to binge watch box sets or go out socialising and have hobbies and interests besides getting high.
I'm hoping the brain is neuroplastic and your able to bounce back to yourself from AP treatment, but there are not that many success stories and perhaps it could take years and not months. Thats a depressing thought, but so far I think we've only had 2 posters who returned with a success story and that was a couple of years later. I just hope people aren't all relapsing at the 5/10 month stage and that is why we don't hear from them again. All you can do it seems is just wait and wait till the poison all leaves your system and prey you can handle the dopamine and serotonin returning. Just wish there was something available that would speed up the elimination time or a non addictive chill pill.
Anyhow I need a joint, but I'll have to settle for a couple of beers last thing tonight and a few more success stories would be nice and inspirational.
 
Will it ever get better? I doubt it I hope every day. Even my faith is not there anymore and i have always been a religous person. I cant anymore.
 
Bad Robot said:
Its some struggle getting through each day, going back to the doctors monday to ask for a blood plasma test to see how much of this poison is still in me and get my thyroids checked. Just when you think your through the worst of it another wave hits you like iridescentblack says.
I feel like I'm going to crack up going through the same thing day after day, just feel like I need a chill pill that would stop me thinking about the stupid doctors that injected me with this shit and other AP's for getting too high off cannabis. At this rate I'm going too have a relapse if I don't learn to chill out and try and forget about the past. Its hard to do though when you feel so ill every day and you feel like its been caused by the doctors incompetance and their ability to be able to be to force these poisons on you in hospital.
Perhaps I'm just a drug addict who misses being high, but being on this stuff or still having it in your system is the exact opposite of being high and is some kind of legalised torture. It's been over 7 months since I smoked cannabis regulary and I have got my head round not being able to smoke it all day everyday, what I would like is to feel like my old self who had the energy and motivation to work and could concentrate to binge watch box sets or go out socialising and have hobbies and interests besides getting high.
I'm hoping the brain is neuroplastic and your able to bounce back to yourself from AP treatment, but there are not that many success stories and perhaps it could take years and not months. Thats a depressing thought, but so far I think we've only had 2 posters who returned with a success story and that was a couple of years later. I just hope people aren't all relapsing at the 5/10 month stage and that is why we don't hear from them again. All you can do it seems is just wait and wait till the poison all leaves your system and prey you can handle the dopamine and serotonin returning. Just wish there was something available that would speed up the elimination time or a non addictive chill pill.
Anyhow I need a joint, but I'll have to settle for a couple of beers last thing tonight and a few more success stories would be nice and inspirational.
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No, I believe we can fully recover, as I said previously, I personally know a guy who had 2 injections of Invega Sustenna and he recovered after 6 months! I know also a girl whod had 7 injections and recovered after just one year! For my case, right now at 7 months mark, I feel exactly like my prior state I just need my emotions to come back, but I have fully recovered my memory, my focus, my interests and I'm more talkative ! Everyone around me think that I'm exactly like before my injections; so I'm hopeful, it's just a waiting game, all we need is courage and patience :)
 
Decisive said:
No, I believe we can fully recover, as I said previously, I personally know a guy who had 2 injections of Invega Sustenna and he recovered after 6 months! I know also a girl whod had 7 injections and recovered after just one year! For my case, right now at 7 months mark, I feel exactly like my prior state I just need my emotions to come back, but I have fully recovered my memory, my focus, my interests and I'm more talkative ! Everyone around me think that I'm exactly like before my injections; so I'm hopeful, it's just a waiting game, all we need is courage and patience :)
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Bless you Decisive! I spent hours on line yesterday, looking for positive stories of recovered people. I told my son that most of the people who recover probably get on with their lives and stop posting on this site. They just put that awful chapter of their lives behind them and move on. I will try to remember to stay, even after my son recovers, and give some hope to those who need it.

Besides knowing about the things that help - diet, hydration, good supplements, exercise, supportive friends and family, it's also important to know the things that hurt you. Last week, my son bought a 12 pack of beer, went to visit some friends and picked up some marijuana. Last week was also a horrible week for him. We talked several times about possibly going back to ER because he was so despondent. From my perspective, the alcohol makes him angry, and the weed gives him a little relief for a while, followed by an abysmal low. I know that he doesn't see it that way, but that's what I see.
 
Bad Robot said:
... I'm able to chill out at night with a few beers. I'm trying to stay off the weed for a good few months until I feel the poison is all out my system and I have recovered my life, want to really give it a year because I've read you can be suceptable to return symptoms for the first 10 months coming off an AP and I don't want to go through this again in my lifetime.
You've just got to believe in the science and not crack up, 5 or 6 half lifes and the poison will be out your system and you should feel normal and probably mentally stronger for having gone through the experience, at least thats what I'm hoping for.
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Are you seriously considering to smoke weed again after everything that happened to you?

I am definitely not smoking weed anymore in my life, it's so sad to know it, but I prefer not smoking than having a new psychotic episode.

Also I have read that alcohol also triggers psychosis, so I can't get drunked anymore? It will be such a empty and void life without the laughts provided by alcohol and weed, don't you think so?

We are all doomed !!!

And people say there is a GOD up there, how can there be any GOD if we have to feel like this and be like normal people without alcohol and weed

Life just don't have the same joy as would be with alcohol and weed guys, I am so sad :(
 
I wonder if high CBD strains of weed would protect against psychosis? I think it’s a really dangerous experiment though - and it's probably a really bad idea for people who are trying to recover from APs to smoke anything.

iridescentblack said:
... your post, Hilary, reminded me of a diagram a friend of mine once posted on Facebook back when he was still a frequent "facebooker". The diagram can be found three quarters of the way down this page: http://cannabest.org/category/cannabis-education/
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The diagram that you mentioned is great. It took me a while to look at your link. It talks about the strain called 'Harlequin'. It is a high CBD strain of 'medical' marijuana. It's available in the California at dispensaries and variations are available through mail order seed companies. It's got 12.2% CBD and 5.4% THC. That's lots of CBD, but it still might be too much THC for the people who are really sensitive to it right now. But growers are developing strains now with less than 1% THC. I know of two, but there are surely more to come. The ultra low THC strains are what's being used in scientific studies for anxiety, schizophrenia and paranoia.

iridescentblack said:
Spicy food is another thing that can also help speed up your recovery. It speeds up metabolism. But I've heard that it only speeds up your metabolism for the duration that it's being digested and processed though your system. Whatever the case, the spicier - the better. For those that don't like spicy food: suck it up.
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I’m guessing your post refers to capsaicin. We haven’t tried it yet. But it worth a try. It’s available as a supplement in capsule form too.

Here’s a quote from ‘Pub Chem’ on it:
Capsaicin is a chili pepper extract with analgesic properties. Capsaicin is a neuropeptide releasing agent selective for primary sensory peripheral neurons. Used topically, capsaicin aids in controlling peripheral nerve pain. This agent has been used experimentally to manipulate substance P and other tachykinins. In addition, capsaicin may be useful in controlling chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-induced mucositis.
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MisterTi said:
Are you seriously considering to smoke weed again after everything that happened to you?

I am definitely not smoking weed anymore in my life, it's so sad to know it, but I prefer not smoking than having a new psychotic episode.

Also I have read that alcohol also triggers psychosis, so I can't get drunked anymore? It will be such a empty and void life without the laughts provided by alcohol and weed, don't you think so?

We are all doomed !!!

And people say there is a GOD up there, how can there be any GOD if we have to feel like this and be like normal people without alcohol and weed

Life just don't have the same joy as would be with alcohol and weed guys, I am so sad :(
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My mind sometimes comes to this dilemma but I think if you dont smoke too much at once you should be ok. Moderation is key just like with anything else I suppose.

I think pychosis and the general high feeling are very close to each other so its all about spotting your thoughts hinting at delusions rather than "high" feelings. Not letting the thought take more form afterwards is also key.

Someone who is labeled schizophrenic and wants to try/continue weed after psychosis should probably have good insight into their condition. This means understanding delusions and hallucinations in general and how their own personal delusions and hallucinations shaped their bouts of psychosis. You also have to look for signs and symbols from your mind and not take them literally but symbolically as they were meant to be, if that makes any sense. Taking the images from thoughts literally when they were suppose to be taken symbolically is one of the things that leads to a dangerous situation like pychosis and is one of the insights Ive learned about my condition and why I think I am able to handle marijuana.

Weed is such an enjoyable euphoric experience that I find it insulting that someone with the label of schizophrenia is pretty much barred from it. Name one other subset of humans barred from a plant that does so much good.

Also their is a consensus that high CBD and low THC strains of marijuana are good for those with the label schizophrenia. CBD rich strains have an anti-anxiety effect. Theres also straight up CBD oil with no THC but I dont think those have any type of euphoric effect that the smokeable buds do.
 
LookingForSelf said:
My mind sometimes comes to this dilemma but I think if you dont smoke too much at once you should be ok. Moderation is key just like with anything else I suppose.

I think pychosis and the general high feeling are very close to each other so its all about spotting your thoughts hinting at delusions rather than "high" feelings. Not letting the thought take more form afterwards is also key.

Someone who is labeled schizophrenic and wants to try/continue weed after psychosis should probably have good insight into their condition. This means understanding delusions and hallucinations in general and how their own personal delusions and hallucinations shaped their bouts of psychosis. You also have to look for signs and symbols from your mind and not take them literally but symbolically as they were meant to be, if that makes any sense. Taking the images from thoughts literally when they were suppose to be taken symbolically is one of the things that leads to a dangerous situation like pychosis and is one of the insights Ive learned about my condition and why I think I am able to handle marijuana.

Weed is such an enjoyable euphoric experience that I find it insulting that someone with the label of schizophrenia is pretty much barred from it. Name one other subset of humans barred from a plant that does so much good.

Also their is a consensus that high CBD and low THC strains of marijuana are good for those with the label schizophrenia. CBD rich strains have an anti-anxiety effect. Theres also straight up CBD oil with no THC but I dont think those have any type of euphoric effect that the smokeable buds do.
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Thanks for your reply,
But it's not easy to control your thoughts while you are under a psychotic episode, I remember when I had mine, I remember what I was believing and it's just unbelievable, how could I think like that? So in my case I don't want to be in such situation again, having such dellusions and halucinations, it's better not to touch weed again, or my mind might enter in the same loop of thoughts
 
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