Invega sustenna help

[NOtoInvega]

I just posted but it didn't show up for some reason.

I have never been convicted of any crime. I went to get treatment for voices. I was given invega sustenna. The voices are slower now. Why? Because I'm slower. Invega Sustenna works by blocking dopamine and serotonin from entering the receptors. I would have never agreed to that. I can't believe they RX this without warning people that they are blocking the chemicals that motivate them and make them feel good. I am still having a hard time believing this is how they treat voices. It doesn't even work. 8 years of school and that is what they came up with? REALLY?

What it does do is make it so you can not function AT ALL and can not feel good EVER.

So what I am looking to do, for the sake of my family especially, is unblock the receptors. From what I have read, there is no antidote and this stuff will be in my system for 4-8 months. Some people don't feel better even after a year.

If I can not unblock the receptors, and can not find an antidote, is there any chance that getting a dopamine supplement like adderall from my doctor would slow down the damage being done? Is this damage permanent? I know the damage will continue to be done for months to come (if not longer).

I can't describe how bad this is. They chemically blocked my dopamine receptors without telling me they were going to do it. I went to get treatment. I didn't go to remove my ability to feel good for a year.

They said it would help. It didn't help. On top of that, they didn't tell me what it would actually do, which is block my dopamine receptors. But enough complaining. What can I do about it? Tell me there is something that I can do about it. I can't find anything after hours of reading. Is there an antidote? Is there a way to atleast slow down the damage? Would taking dopaminergic drugs to get dopamine through to the receptors atleast slow the damage and speed my recovery?

Has anyone ever recovered fully from this? Will it literally take over a year to feel even close to normal, as much of what I have read indicates? Someone please tell me there is an antidote.

 

[pharmarat]

Hi, I think the chances of a doctor giving you a script for a dopamine agonist are slim to none. The reason is that by doing this, you're negating some of the positive effects of your medication, and will likely see either a return of some of your schizophrenia symptoms, or you'll just end up experiencing further side effects. The effects that you are experiencing will resolve after cessation of the drug - I would be very surprised if this took any longer than a couple of weeks. There is no evidence of long-term 'damage' related to this drug class that I am aware of. I think you need to speak with your doctor regarding your concerns, and perhaps switch to a different medication or dose. I hope this helps.

 

[NOtoInvega]

Hi, I think the chances of a doctor giving you a script for a dopamine agonist are slim to none. The reason is that by doing this, you're negating some of the positive effects of your medication, and will likely see either a return of some of your schizophrenia symptoms, or you'll just end up experiencing further side effects. The effects that you are experiencing will resolve after cessation of the drug - I would be very surprised if this took any longer than a couple of weeks. There is no evidence of long-term 'damage' related to this drug class that I am aware of. I think you need to speak with your doctor regarding your concerns, and perhaps switch to a different medication or dose. I hope this helps.

My schizophrenia symptoms never went away. Schizophrenia is poorly defined. What it truly is is a lack of a barrier between the external and the internal. A schizophrenic mind internalizes everything in the external environment. There is no barrier. The negative input in the environment is what causes the delusions and hallucinations (NOT an overactive dopaminergic system. Preventing dopamine from binding simply slows the person down, along with making them extremely depressed and anxious in most cases). So, unless the brain can be rewired, no medication can create that barrier. The best treatment for schizophrenic with illness symptoms (schizophrenia is not an illness in and of itself when it comes to how the brain is wired, although the diagnoses is) is to control input and the environment. People always say you can't control your environment, but you really can in a lot of ways. You have to remember that everything that you see and hear is automatically internalized, and the people around you have to be aware of that. Plus, it is the ONLY real treatment that works. Since everything is internalized automatically, the good things are internalized with no barrier - this is actually a good thing. If the world were not fallen, being schizophrenic would be a GOOD THING.

There are many people who have reported the symptoms of invega damage not subsiding fully AT ALL even after years. And after being on it, I can see how this might be. I mean, think about it, it is a drug with a long half-life that PREVENTS DOPAMINE FROM BINDING TO RECEPTORS. That is one bad drug. I can not believe they RX that stuff without telling the patient that it is going to prevent the chemical in their brain that makes them feel good from binding to receptors.

What I am wondering is if I flood the brain with dopamine, and more of it gets through to bind, will this slow down the damage? More importantly, if there is no antidote, is there any way to unblock the dopamine receptors? Something that would counteract the effects of invega on dopamine receptors? I have also considered an SSRI for the effect it has on serotonin.

What's strange is 99/100 doctors would not RX a dopamine releasing drug for exactly what you said, and they would be wrong. When I take dopaminergic drugs, the voices stop and so does the paranoia. Sometimes I use prolintane for this but I developed a tolerance. Now, that might just be my own brain chemistry, but I'm willing to bet there are others like me. Anyways, I can always get AMA if he won't rx it. But would this actually do anything to prevent the long term damage invega causes? And it is well established, among those who have taken it, that it does cause long term damage that lasts even after 4 half-lives (which can be 4-8 months). Most people end up being extremely depressed and anxious for a year (I am looking to avoid a year sentence of this. It is really bad). And it is no wonder. We were taking a drug with a very long half life that is designed to prevent the chemicals responsible for feeling good and motivation from binding to their receptors.

It still has never been proven that psychosis is EVER caused by an overactive dopaminergic system. Just that psychosis is potentially, in some cases, worsened by an overactive dopaminergic system. But I went to get treated for the voices, not the psychosis, and this did not get rid of the voices. It just made them slower. lol duh. This is an archaic treatment and it just came out. It's almost a chemical lobotomy.

 

[serotonin2A]

I'm sorry that the medicine did not work. You are correct that atypical antipsychotics are not perfect drugs, but unfortunately they are the best treatments for schizophrenia that anyone has been able to identify. The atypicals do block dopamine but they have other effects that contribute to their efficacy. The paliperidone may not work for you but it definitely is effective in many patients who take it. In any event, it might not be the best medication for you. Unfortunately, despite the problems associated with blocking dopamine receptors, in many schizophrenia patients the outcome is much worse if they are unmedicated because the disease progresses.

The effects of the paliperidone will wear off in a few weeks. In the meantime there is not much you can do--even if you managed to get your hands on a dopamine agonist, it probably wouldn't do anything because most of the receptors are occupied by paliperidone. But the level and duration of dopamine blockade that you experienced is not likely to cause any neurological damage. That is usually only seen with long-term, high dose D2 blockade, and is much more common with typical antipsychotics than the atypicals.

 

[NOtoInvega]

I'm sorry that the medicine did not work. You are correct that atypical antipsychotics are not perfect drugs, but unfortunately they are the best treatments for schizophrenia that anyone has been able to identify. The atypicals do block dopamine but they have other effects that contribute to their efficacy. The paliperidone may not work for you but it definitely is effective in many patients who take it. In any event, it might not be the best medication for you. Unfortunately, despite the problems associated with blocking dopamine receptors, in many schizophrenia patients the outcome is much worse if they are unmedicated because the disease progresses.

The effects of the paliperidone will wear off in a few weeks. In the meantime there is not much you can do--even if you managed to get your hands on a dopamine agonist, it probably wouldn't do anything because most of the receptors are occupied by paliperidone. But the level and duration of dopamine blockade that you experienced is not likely to cause any neurological damage. That is usually only seen with long-term, high dose D2 blockade, and is much more common with typical antipsychotics than the atypicals.

I wonder if a dopamine reuptake inhibitor would be more effective. Atleast the dopamine that DOES get through would stick around longer right?

You have no idea how bad this "medicine" is unless you have been on it. Dopamine is necessary to every aspect of life. Medication is not the answer to schizophrenia if the only medicine they can use is AAPs and APs. They won't use benzos because benzos have abuse potential, and that is just sad. All APs and AAPs do that helps schizophrenia symptoms is slow the person down. There are more effective and less harmful ways of slowing someone down than blocking a critical chemical like dopamine.

I really do hope there is no permanent blockade. I have responsibilities and a family. If this continues for more than a few weeks after my next scheduled injection, I don't know what we will do. It literally makes a person unable to function until they get adjusted to it, and even when they get adjusted - life is never enjoyable. It is not a real existence. It also makes many of the symptoms worse. The only ones it alleviates are psychosis (benzos would do the same thing) and hallucinations (benzos would do the same thing).

But the real treatment for schizophrenia is to control input. Negative input is what causes the hallucinations and psychosis. The negative input causes this because of the automatic internalization of the external environment. Positive input does not cause hallucinations and psychosis. This is a well-established fact.

I feel really bad for people who end up court ordered to take the injections when they have never even hurt anyone. I can't believe society is as evil as it is to begin with, and when the results of that evil cause schizophrenics to have an illness - society makes it so the schizophrenic can never feel good.

They should be required by law to explain to the patient that the drug will block their dopamine receptors and what that means. All they told me is that it would slow my thoughts down and help with the voices. They said absolutely nothing about it blocking my dopamine receptors and the depression and fatigue it would cause.

Will the receptors be unblocked before the drug is out of my system? Because if I have to wait 4 half-lives or more - this is going to take MONTHS. One half-life is 45 days with this drug. Is any of this blockade permanent in any way? Because judging by what people report online - it is. And I am looking to mitigate the damage (blockade) if it is. There may be no detectable neurological damage but that doesn't mean the dopamine will bind properly in a few weeks.

Thanks for your help. If you knew the situation this drug has put me and many others in, as in could be in the situation, you would know why I am so worried.

And btw, even if the medicine did work - I still wouldn't continue on it. The depression, anxiety, and fatigue it causes is unbearable. I have manic depression and this depression is worse than my worst manic depression. This drug will cause deep depression BY DEFAULT. There is no way around it. The only way it wouldn't is if someone's depression is truly caused by an extremely overactive dopaminergic system - which I wonder if that is even possible. Why do they use it to treat treatment resistant depression? Just observation or is there real science behind it?

 

[sekio]

I wonder if a dopamine reuptake inhibitor would be more effective. Atleast the dopamine that DOES get through would stick around longer right?

DRIs will be ineffective: the paliperidone isn't blocking dopamine from entering the cells, it's preventing it from binding to some of the the receptors which would normally be activated by dopamine. It actually prevents the dopamine from having an effect.

 

[NOtoInvega]

DRIs will be ineffective: the paliperidone isn't blocking dopamine from entering the cells, it's preventing it from binding to some of the the receptors which would normally be activated by dopamine. It actually prevents the dopamine from having an effect.

Thanks. So obviously some of the dopamine has to bind still. Is there absolutely any way to get it to bind with the paliperidone blocking the receptors? A way to push the paliperdone out? Is any of this blockade permanent?

Also, do I have to wait for the paliperidone to be fully out of my system in order for my dopamine to bind properly? I know that most drugs stay in someone's system much longer than the psychoactive effects persist. Does paliperidone work that way or will it continue to block the receptors until multiple half-lives have passed?

It's so bad that I completely understand why people who are court-ordered to take these medications commit suicide. I can't believe they think this medication is even a viable option.

I'm also worried that if anything happens later down the road, I could be court ordered to take it because I admitted to hearing voices since I was a kid. I wish I just kept my mouth shut. I should have known better than to trust humans again. It never works out. Now that I think about it, the fact that they give medication that blocks dopamine to people who are suffering already doesn't even surprise me. Humans will be humans. I definitely should have known better than to seek treatment.

 

[serotonin2A]

Many patients do not like the side-effects of antipsychotics and it is a major cause of non-compliance. Unfortunately, the outcome associated with not receiving treatment is MUCH MUCH worse then the side-effects. Without them, the disease usually progresses. Studies have consistently shown that the best outcomes happen when patients with schizophrenia are medicated as early as possible.

I wonder if a dopamine reuptake inhibitor would be more effective. Atleast the dopamine that DOES get through would stick around longer right?

It wouldn't matter because it won't bind to anything.

You have no idea how bad this "medicine" is unless you have been on it. Dopamine is necessary to every aspect of life. Medication is not the answer to schizophrenia if the only medicine they can use is AAPs and APs.

I'm not going to pretend to know what the side-effects feel like. Unfortunately, for many patients the medications offer the only hope of living a normal productive life.

They won't use benzos because benzos have abuse potential, and that is just sad.

Benzos don't really treat schizophrenia, they just make patients oversedated and compliant. The schizophrenia is still there, but combined with a severe addiction. The benzos might help someone to ignore the positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations, but they tend to make the negative symptoms and cognitive deficits worse

All APs and AAPs do that helps schizophrenia symptoms is slow the person down. There are more effective and less harmful ways of slowing someone down than blocking a critical chemical like dopamine.

Unfortunately, there really aren't any better treatments that work in most patients.

But the real treatment for schizophrenia is to control input. Negative input is what causes the hallucinations and psychosis. The negative input causes this because of the automatic internalization of the external environment. Positive input does not cause hallucinations and psychosis. This is a well-established fact.

Those types of therapies are not effective for patients with severe symptoms, although the may help in combination with medication.

I feel really bad for people who end up court ordered to take the injections when they have never even hurt anyone. I can't believe society is as evil as it is to begin with, and when the results of that evil cause schizophrenics to have an illness - society makes it so the schizophrenic can never feel good.

They should be required by law to explain to the patient that the drug will block their dopamine receptors and what that means. All they told me is that it would slow my thoughts down and help with the voices. They said absolutely nothing about it blocking my dopamine receptors and the depression and fatigue it would cause.

They should have discussed how the medication worked and the potential side-effects you might experience.

Will the receptors be unblocked before the drug is out of my system? Because if I have to wait 4 half-lives or more - this is going to take MONTHS. One half-life is 45 days with this drug. Is any of this blockade permanent in any way? Because judging by what people report online - it is. And I am looking to mitigate the damage (blockade) if it is. There may be no detectable neurological damage but that doesn't mean the dopamine will bind properly in a few weeks.

Receptors don't just stop working. As the antagonist concentration decreases there will be a gradual increase in receptor activation. It's hard to predict when you will feel normal because the problem might be that you are unusually sensitive to this drug.

Thanks for your help. If you knew the situation this drug has put me and many others in, as in could be in the situation, you would know why I am so worried.

And btw, even if the medicine did work - I still wouldn't continue on it. The depression, anxiety, and fatigue it causes is unbearable. I have manic depression and this depression is worse than my worst manic depression. This drug will cause deep depression BY DEFAULT. There is no way around it. The only way it wouldn't is if someone's depression is truly caused by an extremely overactive dopaminergic system - which I wonder if that is even possible. Why do they use it to treat treatment resistant depression? Just observation or is there real science behind it?

Does it really matter if the reason they use it is observational vs. being based on a theory? It does work for some depressed patients and there is a mechanism that has been proposed to explain why it is effective.

 

[BallsStapledToLeg]

Sorry you're having such a poor response to this drug. Its interesting that they started you on a sustained release depot shot rather than a oral drug. Did you have difficulties in regularly taking medications in the past?

The good news is supposing you only had the one shot you likely should be feeling better in roughly a month if they used standard dosing. It may be in your interest to work out quite a bit to counter the depressive and metabolic side effects of atypical antipsychotics. With any luck it may speed up the rate in which your body gets rid of the depot as well.

Should your depression worsen please contact your physician or the local emergency department.

Get well soon buddy

 

[NOtoInvega]

Thanks. For clarity, I am not talking about side-effects. I am talking about effects. The main goal of this medication is to stop dopamine and seratonin from binding. This medicine's side effects are bad. But my issue is with the EFFECTS. The effects of blocking someone's receptors are obvious. Deep depression, anxiety, and fatigue WILL ensue.

The best outcome happening when a schizophrenic is put on this poison is due to the fact that they are slower and docile. Just like a benzo would make them. It does not stop hallucinations in the long-term, and it does not stop psychosis in the long-term. It just "eases" the symptoms of hallucinations and psychosis by...well this is getting redundant.

It surprises me that people do not think it is evil to force people to take a drug that stops dopamine and serotonin from binding. The drug does not rewire the brain...

Regardless, it seems like there is nothing I can do. People who have been on it say I will be waiting 4-8 months because the half-life is 45 days or so, but I am wondering if it will be psychoactive after being discontinued just because it is in my system. I took 2 months of it.

I can see how many people would rather kill themselves than stay on this stuff. Side effects aside, the desired effects are the problem. It is designed to...well yeah

 

[endotropic]

Thanks. For clarity, I am not talking about side-effects. I am talking about effects. The main goal of this medication is to stop dopamine and seratonin from binding. This medicine's side effects are bad. But my issue is with the EFFECTS. The effects of blocking someone's receptors are obvious. Deep depression, anxiety, and fatigue WILL ensue.

The best outcome happening when a schizophrenic is put on this poison is due to the fact that they are slower and docile. Just like a benzo would make them. It does not stop hallucinations in the long-term, and it does not stop psychosis in the long-term. It just "eases" the symptoms of hallucinations and psychosis by...well this is getting redundant.

It surprises me that people do not think it is evil to force people to take a drug that stops dopamine and serotonin from binding. The drug does not rewire the brain...

Regardless, it seems like there is nothing I can do. People who have been on it say I will be waiting 4-8 months because the half-life is 45 days or so, but I am wondering if it will be psychoactive after being discontinued just because it is in my system. I took 2 months of it.

I can see how many people would rather kill themselves than stay on this stuff. Side effects aside, the desired effects are the problem. It is designed to...well yeah

I think it's unethical to force anyone to take any drug for any reason, so I'm really sorry this happened to you.

That said you have to admit that antipsychotics really, truly help a lot of people overcome their issues and function independently. They might not be the right option for YOU, but spend more time on the Mental Health forum and you'll find countless people who will tell you how antipsychotics improved their lives.

I don't think there's anything you can do to get the Invega out of your system faster, but a little more will leave your body with every day that passes. You don't have to wait 4 months before you see any improvement, tomorrow you'll have a little less in you than today, and the next day, and the next... This isn't permanent, the drug hasn't changed your brain in any lasting way. With enough time you should feel just like you did before you got these injections, for better or worse.

 

[NOtoInvega]

I think it's unethical to force anyone to take any drug for any reason, so I'm really sorry this happened to you.

That said you have to admit that antipsychotics really, truly help a lot of people overcome their issues and function independently. They might not be the right option for YOU, but spend more time on the Mental Health forum and you'll find countless people who will tell you how antipsychotics improved their lives.

I don't think there's anything you can do to get the Invega out of your system faster, but a little more will leave your body with every day that passes. You don't have to wait 4 months before you see any improvement, tomorrow you'll have a little less in you today, and the next day, and the next... This isn't permanent, the drug hasn't changed your brain in any lasting way. With enough time you should feel just like you did before you got these injections, for better or worse.

You know, it's strange. For a while, I was someone saying the AAP was helping me. Then I realized it actually wasn't. What was helping me was the fact that everyone found out I was schizo. They stopped treating me the way they used to. But that passed with time, and when people started treating me the way they used to. That's when the symptoms returned. They come and go based on what input I receive.

People think the meds are helping, but the truth is that those meds do not rewire the brain. The barrier between internal and external that most people have is still not there, and everything still comes straight in to be internalized. When negative input is given, it still causes the symptoms.

Look at what the meds do. They make it impossible for the person to feel good.

And this is the ironic part. If I didn't voluntarily seek treatment, I found out yesterday, I would have been court ordered to take invega injections. The reason the judge would not sign the court order to make me get injections is because I checked myself in. Otherwise, they would have. And I Never Attacked Anyone. I Never Even Committed A Crime.

While in the psych ward I voluntarily checked in to, I met a lot of people who were forced to be there AND forced to take antipsychotics. The majority of the people in there did not want to be on them. I wonder how many of them never attacked anyone or committed a crime.

I wonder if anyone ever explained to them what schizophrenia actually is. I bet most schizophrenics have no idea that their symptoms are caused by the lack of a barrier between the internal and the external - and their psychosis is not CAUSED by an overactive dopaminergic system (1 cause has been proven. The other has not. Let's be empirical about this). I bet they think the fact they can never feel good about anything is a SIDE-effect of the medication OR a symptom of schizophrenia (IT IS NOT. I can verify that I enjoyed some things before these meds. Now I do not).

The problem with empirical science is the same problem with the news.

 

[NOtoInvega]

I can't believe there is nothing I can do about this. They give people those injections knowing there is no antidote and knowing the effect it has, let alone the insanely long list of potentially deadly side-effects.

Today I received some prolintane. I found out that if I take enough, I can get some dopamine to bind. I was hoping that taking a dopamine agonist would do something to help me when I am not taking it. Kratom helps too. The problem is if I keep using them to compensate, I will be addicted by the time this invega wears off (which could be literally months to a year from what I am reading). Do I literally have no other options? Does anyone have any idea? Is there a drug that increases dopamine's ability to bind?

 

[sekio]

You can't change dopamine's affinity at your receptors, no. Physically your dopamine receptors will always bind paliperidone instead of dopamine, that's just the chemistry of it. You would need to physically change the structure of your dopamine receptors to have it any other way.

Today I received some prolintane. I found out that if I take enough, I can get some dopamine to bind.

Prolintane does a lot more than just release dopamine: the norepinephrine release also plays a significant role in stimulannt effects, and norepinephrine/adrenergic receptors are not totally blocked by APs.

You keep saying that it is impossible to feel good on antipsychotics: it's not. They don't totally block all dopamine, nor do they totally block serotonin signalling. Total blockade of dopamine receptors results in inability to move, among other things. Antipsychotics are dosed as to cause a partial blockade of some dopamine and serotonin receptors. Otherwise they would make you deaf, mute, and unable to type out anything resembling a forum post.

 

[NOtoInvega]

You can't change dopamine's affinity at your receptors, no. Physically your dopamine receptors will always bind paliperidone instead of dopamine, that's just the chemistry of it. You would need to physically change the structure of your dopamine receptors to have it any other way.



Prolintane does a lot more than just release dopamine: the norepinephrine release also plays a significant role in stimulannt effects, and norepinephrine/adrenergic receptors are not totally blocked by APs.

You keep saying that it is impossible to feel good on antipsychotics: it's not. They don't totally block all dopamine, nor do they totally block serotonin signalling. Total blockade of dopamine receptors results in inability to move, among other things. Antipsychotics are dosed as to cause a partial blockade of some dopamine and serotonin receptors. Otherwise they would make you deaf, mute, and unable to type out anything resembling a forum post.

Thanks for the information. I knew it doesn't black ALL dopamine, but it blocks enough that life becomes nothing but darkness. Nothing feels good.
Nothing is fun. Nothing is bright. It is impossible to get happy or excited. It's not impossible to act happy or excited, but to actually be happy.

If I use prolintane to get energy while I'm waiting however many months it will take for the AP to get out, will I do any damage to my dopaminergic system? What happens to the dopamine that does not bind? Will I develop a large tolerance to prolintane's dopaminergic effects while the receptors are blocked? I used to use it whenever I had a lot of work to do, and it would make the work fun. I would like to be able to use it for that again when this is all over.

I have responsibilities. I have people depending on me. Those people have already been negatively affected by this. Thanks for all your help. I really do appreciate it.

 

[Cashman1901]

Hello i take paliperdrone have done for four years i feel happiness and can also live a fairly normal life. I have just finished a degree and believe i would not have been able to manage it if it was not for taking paliperdrone every month. My best advice to you is not to panic i know it slows your brain but the majority of the effects are positive if it was not for paliperdrone i would be permentally parnoid and always hearing voices since taking it my voices have subsided and i feel alot less manic and find life alot easier to cope with. Dont give up on taking it the damage your illess can do to your brain is alot worse than what the medication can do. Ive had two major psychotic episodes and with each one my personality has changed its much better to take the meds than lose parts of you that you can never gain back through psychosis. If im honest the voices never go away and will be alot worse if your lonely sad or hurt so my advice is surround yourself with friends who are good to you and within months if not years you will feel happiness again i can assure you can still feel happy on this drug i think why you feel unhappy is because you are coming down from being manic thanks to the drugs effects on your brain. So in short dont panic and keep taking it.

 

[dopamimetic]

Many patients do not like the side-effects of antipsychotics and it is a major cause of non-compliance. Unfortunately, the outcome associated with not receiving treatment is MUCH MUCH worse then the side-effects. Without them, the disease usually progresses. Studies have consistently shown that the best outcomes happen when patients with schizophrenia are medicated as early as possible.

Here I have recently read a meta study where they concluded the opposite - that people suffering from psychosis / schizophrenia who get intensive social care and psychotherapy but only sedatives as necessary and no high-dosed or high-potency neuroleptics, will have a better outcome. This was in a German journal, unfortunately I don't remember exactly which and such treatment is out of choice for most people..

Probably this differs from person to person. Personally I've seen too many ex-academics whose cognition and emotions were severely impacted by excessive / prolonged antidopaminergic treatment. Others get huge relief and live with few side effects after the body adjusted to the drug.
But while I know that acute psychosis leaves few options sometimes, I feel that depot neuroleptics should be much more restricted and by no way a first-line treatment.

--

Didn't know about paliperdone, as I've read now it's also a primary metabolite of risperidone. As probably already has been said, it does not block serotonin, just one sub receptor (5-HT2A) whose antagonism usually has no noticeable effects unless you're trying to trip on a psychedelic.

Some of the slowness you feel probably comes from the adrenergic and histamine H1 blockade, for example mirtazapine (an antidepressant) shares these effects and for the first days to weeks on it most people feel utterly slow, tired and without motivation.
From one 1 month injection it's unlikely that you will get any permanent changes.

 

[Dresden]

Get some methamphetamine to counteract the dopamine antagonism and then sue the doctors who put you on the invega without due informed consent on your part to get some money to support your new meth habit. (j/k)

Just refuse any more invega shots or haldol pills (and every other type of antipsychotic they will try to throw at you) and hope/pray that the anhedonia isn't permanent and that you don't develop tardive dyskinesia or neuroleptic malignant syndrome while waiting for the shots to whittle themselves away from your system. Telling them that you no longer hear voices even if you do may be advantageous to your struggle, which is real.

 

[serotonin2A]

Here I have recently read a meta study where they concluded the opposite - that people suffering from psychosis / schizophrenia who get intensive social care and psychotherapy but only sedatives as necessary and no high-dosed or high-potency neuroleptics, will have a better outcome. This was in a German journal, unfortunately I don't remember exactly which and such treatment is out of choice for most people..

I would love to see that citation. There are so many studies that say the opposite that it is hard to belive a meta analysis performed in the last two years would show that. These are just a small selection of studies showing the opposite.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23159063

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26256570

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25114480

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25034759

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/24999174

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I also recall a pretty recent study suggesting that holding off prescribing antipsychotics could lead to a better overall condition. But it's not a common finding as far as I'm concerned.