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Mental Health Coming off Invega Sustenna (paliperidone)

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bees_knees said:
Abilify is good shit. Stick with it. Been on it a month now and really starting to see changes.
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what kind of changes if you don't mind me asking? and what med where you taking before and how much abilify are you taking now?
 
Yes, abilify and latuda are both great antipsychotics.

I took prolixin for six months. It was horrible. I couldn't think and was depressed.

Abilify helps depression, anxiety, and psychosis all in one. And in some ways it actually works better than prolixin.

I get the shot. 300mg. This is good so that I stay on the medicine.
 
Your probably right Starkid. Personally, I think psychiatry is a joke and it's funny that we believe in its theories. To contradict that, it is a very serious issue. A severe and blatant crime is being committed against man/woman kind around the world for a very long time. The things they do to us, and have us go through, us - so called mentally ill ( if there could ever exist such a thing. ie: who is mentally well?? ) What these, so called health care professionals ( who themselves have been brainwashed to believe it is right ) do, I think, is just evil; I don't think that any group of people should have this much power over anyone person, as such be allowed to alter the human mind and soul. This doctrine, from the time it first began, condemning people, perhaps special people, or people in a special time in their lives, up to this present day; could very well be an ongoing attempt to cease spirituality. Stop spirituality from becoming part of this world. It's rather sad, it's rather scary.
 
Abilify just makes my cognition better. It has more structure, there are less 'eruptions' of completely unrelated ideas and inappropriate emotions. As a result I am less childlike and act more my age. Paranoia is less but I still suspect everyone a bit...

I don't think there is any spirituality to schizophrenia, it is a bizarre and mysterious illness during the course of which you have no fucking idea what is happening. Spirituality is far more accessible to a non-schizophrenic.
 
Ho-Chi-Minh said:
Yes, abilify and latuda are both great antipsychotics.

I took prolixin for six months. It was horrible. I couldn't think and was depressed.

Abilify helps depression, anxiety, and psychosis all in one. And in some ways it actually works better than prolixin.

I get the shot. 300mg. This is good so that I stay on the medicine.
Click to expand...

Don´t you get sleepy and tired all the time?
 
I'm more tired and probably less overall intellectually cognitively adept than before, that much is true. However, in a few ways I'm more aware and less tired. I take caffeine and practice yoga to overcome many side effects. Sleep has been a problem in the past; now it's not so much of an issue.
 
Any updates?

I have quit 50mg invega sustenna injections for 112 days now and been on Abilify 10mg and still have sexual dysfunction... is this normal...? I mean I should have a relatively low dose in my body by now that isn't considered a therapeutic dose right? So is it because of the Abilify I still have sexual problems or what? Abilify 10mg is the only medication im on so I don't know what to think of this... hopefully it becomes better with time but I have my doubts...
 
Hi guys , i have posted on this thread early on and now wanted to share my progress. It has been almost a 6 months since i have stopped taking invega sustenna 75 mg , my experiences are as follows
Cognition and thinking - seems like i am slowed down in term of mental acuity and clarity, i do not have the same mental processing speed that i used to before. Due to the antipsychotics or psychosis i do not know. I hope this is not permanent. However it has increased significantly as the months progressed,
Voices and mood swings- i have heard voices on many different occasions which came to me during my 5th month of stopping invega, though they never last more than two or three days, sometimes they only come for a few minutes. I have had many mood swings where i was very depressed and suicidal, and turning points where i was excited and shown symptoms of hypo mania, these moodswings would be followed by voices sometimes, especially during depression.
Medication- i am currently taking straterra, which is an add medication, i believe it has increased my level of thinking and concentration which was much needed. I have not been diagnosed with add, but i have always had moments where i could not concentrate for shit lol. My grades at school and uni shows this.
Side effects- the only lasting side effects i know for a fact that still lingers after all this time, is constipation, i have had this since the moment i took invega, and doctors simply turn a blind eye for. Now im fucking bloated all the time and i want to kill that doctor who said it was unimportant.
Final thoughts- i believe i have progressed alot over the months , yet i am still a former shell of my old self. I have became very quiet and unresponsive in situations where i shouldnt be. I believe i have lingering negative symptoms. This negative symptoms take a huge toll in my will, and my passion for something. Some days are better than others and iam generally more outgoing whilst some days, i am just a mute. I have never had sexual dysfunction on invega and masturbate alot and look forward to every moment of it. Overall i think i am starting to feel my old emotions coming back, and being so long, i do not know how to react to it and end up in a confused state and generally just becoming awkward. I will post my progress on the coming months peace.
 
Narshe81 said:
Hi,

I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia last year and was forced to take Invega Sustenna at 100mg a month for 10 months started back on December 5th 2012. The medication gave me severe anhedonia and rendered me an emotionless zombie who cannot function. I have lost my job and have been on disability ever since. I have lost all of my motivation and willpower to do anything. Even showering seems to be an impossible task. I can no longer feel happy, joy, excited, or pleasure. Things that used to give me pleasure all have stopped working since I started Invega Sustenna. Cigarettes and alcohol no longer have any effects on me since the drug blocks dopamine and serotonin receptors.

My last shot was on August 29th 2013, and I have been off this medication for almost 3 months now. I have yet to feel any improvement at all. This has been the worst experience in my life. The worst form of torture I have ever been through. I won't even wish it upon my worst enemy. The worst part is that weed doesn't even work on me anymore after this medication. No matter how good the buds or how much I smoke, I would feel nothing. Not even a buzz.

I have been trying to find some information about anyone who has successfully came off this drug but I have had no luck. I have read that this drug has a really long half life of 25-49 days, and it takes 5-6 half lives to get rid of a medication, so that's 150-300 days. Does that mean I will have to feel like this for another year at least?

Any information would be greatly appreciated. I am truly desperate.
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Hey Narshe , im going through the same thing (i have taken 3 invega sustenna 100mg shots over the last 3 months) through reading this thread and realizing that people are experiencing the same problems as me i have told my doctor that i would like to stop taking the medication. Initially when i was taking invega i was also taking lexapro for depression and recently switched to wellbutrin...

it is hard for me to get enjoyment out of anything and its almost like i would rather do nothing at all..my sex drive is almost non existent. Smoking weed and drinking was doing nothing to help me feel better (id get high but it was a different high).... I however wouldn't say i am depressed though... i can go to work and function just fine and interact with my co workers like id normally do but i have this feeling of emptiness inside that wont go away...

Reading through this thread and forums has helped my psyche alot however as i now have a sense of hope that i can get back to normal...
I am starting to exercise and look at ways i can help get rid of this feeling like taking b12 vitamins and finding ways to increase my serotonin levels. i haven't smoked weed for 3 weeks and tempted not to until these side effects from the invega wears off... I am meeting with my doctor this Saturday and hoping that he can provide more answers for this feeling of anhedonia i am having.. i have also started to do counseling as well and hope that helps me as well....

Stay Strong ...... i know i am trying too

if anyone has any recommendations i would definitely like to hear them..
 
Symbolicone, first thing I would recommend is to not smoke weed at all. I started smoking when I was around 14, but got heavily into it in my 20's. Over that time it's effects had changed from feeling good to feeling miserable. It started to make me real slow; not able to function by remembering where I put my car keys. Then, it started to make me real paranoid, and I think, is the source of my condition. I'm currently on 3 mg invega, and have been for about 5 years. I know if I smoke weed it exacerbates my situation. Not fun anymore like it was when I was a teen. So, that's my first suggestion.

My second suggestion is to not cold turkey your meds. If you feel like you truly don't need them then talk to your pdoc and tdoc about it to see what they recommend, and of course, ween off of it. I experienced some serious withdrawal symptoms when I tried to cold turkey. I wasn't really paranoid about anything. I could actually think clearer, had more of an imagination, and quicker response time. I then noticed I couldn't sleep with how my brain was thinking too good. Like I was wired constantly, and wanting to do something active. I couldn't sleep at all as my heart started speeding up and slowing down. I had major insomnia, and knew I wasn't going to be able to go to sleep for a real long time. Longer than I would be able to sustain my sanity as I had already been up for 3 days straight and the two nights before that only got around 2.5 hrs of sleep. This scared the hell out of me, so I got back on my meds taking 3 mg per night, and on that night went to the emergency room where they prescribed me 10 mg vallium to be able to sleep that night. I did, and since being back on my invega, been able to sleep every night without the vallium. My plan is to stabilize on this prescription until I talk to my pdoc to see about weening off on 1.5 mg/night. Then, eventually, weening off onto nothing. This is the safest and wisest route to take instead of trying to do it yourself. You have to trust your pdoc as long as you explain all of your situation to them.

I had actually tried to ween off of them myself with 1.5 mg before trying cold turkey on 3 mg, but did so behind the back of my pdoc, and didn't consult him on when I should quit all together. Anyway, I got off of them for a whole month without any withdrawals, but my paranoia came back and had to get back on them. I think as long as I have a positive position in my work life and make a plan with my pdoc then I wouldn't be as paranoid and able to function without any meds, but it will take time, and hopefully, be consistent.
 
Have you tried any other anti-psychotics? I have never taken Paliperidone but i have been on Risperidone which is pretty much the same drug with the same side effects. Below 2mg's i can barely notice i am taking it but unfortunately it seems that i need 2mg's+ to help Mania and that's when the zombie effect kicks in. Unlike Quetiapine it causes basically no sedation but in higher doses causes that zombie type effect which i guess comes from it's rather potent D2 antagonism kicks in. Olanzapine especially in the form of the Zyprexa Zydis wafers works the best for me out of all anti-psychotics but it costs $8 just for a generic 10mg tablet here and my insurance covers it so that's out.

I don't find Quetiapine to be too bad in terms of side effects except for the godawful dry mouth and oddly enough i don't find Chlorpromazine aka Thorazine aka good ol Largactil to be that bad at all in doses of 150mg's a day or less anyway. Studies done comparing Perphenazine which is a typical anti-psychotic and a phenothiazine like Chlorpromazine but 5 times as potent to atypical anti-psychotics found that it had about the same chance of causing EPS as Risperidone and was about as effective and as tolerable as the newer anti-psychotics such as Risperidone, Quetiapine and Geodon/Zeldox. Only Olanzapine and i think Clozapine tested better then it. But for some reason my doctor is scared of prescribing Chlorpromazine (i do have some on hand for bad nausea and vomiting and i have used it for mania) even though i find it much more tolerable then Risperidone.
 
No, I have not. I was told that invega is used for the same diagnosis as risperodone, but doesn't have the bad zombie effect. It does make me have less energy being a little drowsy, but I didn't sleep that much before I started taking it anyway. I was also not eating as much. I looked pale and had my cheek bones showing before I started taking invega. Now my face has filled in, but in a good way. One of the main reasons I want to get off of it is because it costs $80/30 day supply...with insurance. I also don't feel like my paranoid thoughts have gone away. Just a little bit more relaxed and slow. I feel I could get off it as long as I feel secure in my work life.
 
have you been off invega sustenna now? after 1 year? did u feel the euphoria like that other guy?
 
Narshe81 said:
Hi,

I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia last year and was forced to take Invega Sustenna at 100mg a month for 10 months started back on December 5th 2012. The medication gave me severe anhedonia and rendered me an emotionless zombie who cannot function. I have lost my job and have been on disability ever since. I have lost all of my motivation and willpower to do anything. Even showering seems to be an impossible task. I can no longer feel happy, joy, excited, or pleasure. Things that used to give me pleasure all have stopped working since I started Invega Sustenna. Cigarettes and alcohol no longer have any effects on me since the drug blocks dopamine and serotonin receptors.

My last shot was on August 29th 2013, and I have been off this medication for almost 3 months now. I have yet to feel any improvement at all. This has been the worst experience in my life. The worst form of torture I have ever been through. I won't even wish it upon my worst enemy. The worst part is that weed doesn't even work on me anymore after this medication. No matter how good the buds or how much I smoke, I would feel nothing. Not even a buzz.

I have been trying to find some information about anyone who has successfully came off this drug but I have had no luck. I have read that this drug has a really long half life of 25-49 days, and it takes 5-6 half lives to get rid of a medication, so that's 150-300 days. Does that mean I will have to feel like this for another year at least?

Any information would be greatly appreciated. I am truly desperate.
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have youve been of invega sustenna now after 1 year and felt the euphoria feeling like the other guy?
 
Im guessing Narshe either killed himself or is doing better...
 
Hi everyone , this is a bit of an old thread but I would really appreciate any advice anyone could give me , I am in a similar case to Narshe , after business school I wanted to see a psychologist because I d gone to a lot of hookers and the like , and dont speak with my parents much , I ended up seeing this free psychiatrist who told me that if I had problems with my family at home then the government could give me money so I could get my own place . I didnt take their money , which was money for a handicapped person and having no handicap I pursued work , but after a while of working jobs that didnt relate to my degree I decided to take the money theyd give me , which was basically equivalent to a salary and pursue my own interests , which were playing poker , billiards basketball , bodybuilding which I had been doing for 9 years , chess , skateboarding , music and many more , I set out a timetable for myself and did as much of the things I liked as I could . After about of year and a half of this I commited a misdemeanor , indecent exposure in front of a minor , and since I was on handicapped benefits the court decided that instead of sending me to prison theyd send me to the psychiatric ward. I was a highly energetic enthusiastic , happy and productive individual at this time if only slightly lonely . At the hospital they started giving me risperdal without even observing me , I acted and spoke coherently and was in no way had any psychiatric problem , maybe only a psychological one due to loneliness , I had many friends but no girlfriend and at the age of 27 have never had a proper girlfriend , only short term relationships . This was very important to me , so anyway they started giving me risperdal and treating me like I was a completely mad person , as if I would get undressed and show my genitals to everyone , I didnt take it seriously at first , then they started injecting me with risperdal 50 mg for 2 to 3 months and as I complained constantly of the side effects and anhedonia , obliteration of sex drive , depression etc ... they switched me on to Xeplion , or Invega Sustenna at 100 mg a month , they kept me for 7 months locked up in the hospital even though I behaved perfectly and spoke to them intelligently , the thing is they were collaborating with that very first psychiatrist who d said he could give me government money and he was now telling them I had schizophrenia , if you knew me youd know this is total Bull crap . So they kept me for 7 months in the end forcing me under duress to say that I was crazy otherwise they wouldnt let me out , it was awful . Then I got out of the hospital and came to another country to get away from all that and have been of the injections for 7 months now although I still have depression , anhedonia , no sex drive , have gained about 30 kilos , had metabolic problems where my legs and feet swoll up like watermelons and have thyroid and heart problems whereas I had none of this before and was a prime example of health , I know this because Id had many medical examinations for sports and had even given sperm donation where they had me take a series of tests . It has now been seven months and I am pursuing a career in business which is demanding , so I have started and internship in a good company and am fighting depression to go there evryday and learn as much as possible and build a career although its hard , I dream every night of getting back at these doctors who were telling me that I was supposed to go and paint flowers with mentally disabled people once I got out of the hospital , a female doctor there even told me that because of the indecent exposure I should be chemically castrated , forgo the death penalty and the like and that as a woman she would cross to the other side of the road if she saw me , very therapeutic , they were horrible to me in there and all the other patients I was with agreed that certain people in the staff were horrible although some were nice . Anyway its been 7 months now , I took the injections of Invega at 100 mg for 8 months total so Im wondering if Im permanently damaged or if I have to wait it out , I had a lot of good emotions before the injections , will they come back ? I am guessing Ill have to wait 1 year and a half more , I will be glad to update you on my progress and would give anything to hear from someone who has recovered their emotions, energy , will to live and libido , I am sorry this message is so long but I had to get it all out , please Narshe or anyone who has been off Invega for a long time , please come forward and tell me it will be ok , I have been considering ending it all its that painful

Thank you
 
PS : The reason they explicitly stated for sending me to the psychiatric ward was that I could then not face criminal charges if I was in fact handicapped and not responsible for the indecent exposure , so to circumvent prosecution they sent me to the hospital , where the doctors have , and this is no exageration , destroyed my life . They didnt even treat me the whole time I was there , they didnt talk to me , they just expected me to talk to them and injected me forcibly with Invega , when I asked them if I would gain weight or about my libido they said there was nothing to worry about and that I shoudlnt inform myself on the internet . They basically wanted me to be a permanent patient with them for life as everything was being paid for me by the government and they told me at first that Id have to take the injections a couple of months , then they said a year and then life , whereas I did absolutely nothing to warrant this .
 
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