Mental Health Coming off Invega Sustenna (paliperidone)

[Bobfcc]

Narshe81 your inbox is full again i hope this reaches you in time i havent been able to do alot of the things you write of lately, but recently i have started the full recovery. please understand that any chemical made by science for medical reasons is a drug and takes time going doing and coming. i took the 6mg pill 2 pills twice a day for 3 months and then the shot once a month for 33 months at either 156mg or 165mg. it has taken me over a year and a half and am not fully recovered but i know for certainty that it will happen because i am very close to full recovery right now. please contact me at [email protected] if you wish. i will tell you anything and listen to anything and help anyway i can. the most important thing is not that you are suffering now but what will you do when it does end...?

Hi Invegauser,

I have written you an email , Invega Sustenna destroyed my life , and having been of it for 9 months now and feeling next to no improvement , I would appreciate your take on things , please check your email , thank you , you are giving me hope , I have really been contemplating ending it all for a while now and this gives me hope

 

[Bobfcc]

Narshe81 your inbox is full again i hope this reaches you in time i havent been able to do alot of the things you write of lately, but recently i have started the full recovery. please understand that any chemical made by science for medical reasons is a drug and takes time going doing and coming. i took the 6mg pill 2 pills twice a day for 3 months and then the shot once a month for 33 months at either 156mg or 165mg. it has taken me over a year and a half and am not fully recovered but i know for certainty that it will happen because i am very close to full recovery right now. please contact me at [email protected] if you wish. i will tell you anything and listen to anything and help anyway i can. the most important thing is not that you are suffering now but what will you do when it does end...?

I see your post is addressed to Narshe Invegauser , but I had to write you because the very same thing happened to me and it has wrecked me , I was on Oral Risperdal for a month then on Risperdal shots for two months and then on Invega Sustenna or Xeplion ( since I was in Europe) shots for 6 months at 100 mg a month , so this medicine was forced on me for roughly 8 months because of a misdemeanor I had committed , long story short , I stopped cold turkey about 9 months ago , it has been 9 months and I am still obese from the 35 kilos I put on from the med , still very depressed and have severe anhedhonia and worst of all my libido is completely gone and my testes hardly work , I can masturbate about once a month if I force myself but dont even feel like anymore , I dont want anything and have no motivation whatsoever , I am still forcing myself to go to work and pursue a career I am only 27 and I feel like I am not a man anymore , just a dead useless person walking around obese and sterile and depressed , anyway the only slight improvement I have noticed is that I am slightly more awake than I used to be previously , before the shots I was the picture of health both mental and physical , a very energetic outgoing and happy person , and this drug has ruined me , when I saw your post I felt hope , will the negative in fact go away ? What does it feel like ? I read that it takes 4 to 8 months for the drug to clear from your system , it has been 9 months in my case , and I believe I am permanently damaged as I feel no improvement , along with cardiac and thyroid problems , anyway , since I took the shots for 8 months will it take more than a year ? I see you took them for 33 months , you must be a strong person , I would really appreciate any input you can give me although I dont have a specific question , I would just like to know if I will recover and go back to normal , can I ever be happy again ? What about my sex drive will it come back ? I have been without sex drive for almost a year and a half now , I have high prolactin levels and low testosterone , will decreasing the prolactin bring my sex drive back ?It used to be very strong , remember I am just 27 going on 28 , anything you could tell me would bring me immense relief


Thanking you


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

^it hasn't ruined you, that's just a perception. the fact that you can make that long of a post means it hasn't ruined you.

 

[treezy z]

I take a low dose of abilify Am and a low dose of seroquel and it doesn't sap the life out of me while keeping me on this erff, worth a look.

I have a feeling the more fully serotonin and dopamine are blocked the worse the drugs will feel.

 

[Bobfcc]

^it hasn't ruined you, that's just a perception. the fact that you can make that long of a post means it hasn't ruined you.

Yes I can talk still , but you really dont know how I feel and what its done to my physique , and my mental health , I talk well , I always have , but please don't make assumptions as to what this drug has or hasnt done to me , because I KNow its been hell , and will probably be for a while , anyway I dont want to argue , Happy New Year , This New Year sucked as I am alone in the third world but last year I was in the hospital so its an improvement , wish all you guys the best in 2015

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I've been on that too, and it in no way affects me anymore, and I was in the hospital last year at this time too.

 

[Bobfcc]

I've been on that too, and it in no way affects me anymore, and I was in the hospital last year at this time too.

Well its still very much affecting me , and if you could refrain from putting me further down than I am Id appreciate it

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I think you need to be on it...imo cause I wasn't putting you down

 

[NopainNogain]

I see your post is addressed to Narshe Invegauser , but I had to write you because the very same thing happened to me and it has wrecked me , I was on Oral Risperdal for a month then on Risperdal shots for two months and then on Invega Sustenna or Xeplion ( since I was in Europe) shots for 6 months at 100 mg a month , so this medicine was forced on me for roughly 8 months because of a misdemeanor I had committed , long story short , I stopped cold turkey about 9 months ago , it has been 9 months and I am still obese from the 35 kilos I put on from the med , still very depressed and have severe anhedhonia and worst of all my libido is completely gone and my testes hardly work , I can masturbate about once a month if I force myself but dont even feel like anymore , I dont want anything and have no motivation whatsoever , I am still forcing myself to go to work and pursue a career I am only 27 and I feel like I am not a man anymore , just a dead useless person walking around obese and sterile and depressed , anyway the only slight improvement I have noticed is that I am slightly more awake than I used to be previously , before the shots I was the picture of health both mental and physical , a very energetic outgoing and happy person , and this drug has ruined me , when I saw your post I felt hope , will the negative in fact go away ? What does it feel like ? I read that it takes 4 to 8 months for the drug to clear from your system , it has been 9 months in my case , and I believe I am permanently damaged as I feel no improvement , along with cardiac and thyroid problems , anyway , since I took the shots for 8 months will it take more than a year ? I see you took them for 33 months , you must be a strong person , I would really appreciate any input you can give me although I dont have a specific question , I would just like to know if I will recover and go back to normal , can I ever be happy again ? What about my sex drive will it come back ? I have been without sex drive for almost a year and a half now , I have high prolactin levels and low testosterone , will decreasing the prolactin bring my sex drive back ?It used to be very strong , remember I am just 27 going on 28 , anything you could tell me would bring me immense relief


Thanking you


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I understand you're scared Bob, but try to stay hopeful that you can figure out what best direction to go. You might want to try getting on back on an antipsychotic or antidepressant at a low dosage (not risperdal), but one that works for u, and see if you get back some of your libido or emotions... As for your diet, maybe try a routine exercise (running) and/or nutritional diet. I know it's hard, and I'm sorry.

I recently tried weening down to 1.5 mg/night from 3 mg/night on invega, but got too bad of insomnia withdrawals, and had to get back on 3 mg/night. There's two options as for as I know: 1) Try to ween down on 1.5 mg/night again and take sleep aids as needed. 2) Switch to risperdal and try to ween down at a slower rate on that. I'm thinking I need to stay on an antipsychotic for the rest of my life tho, as I always had too hard of dealings with my thoughts when trying to get off of them.

 

[Bobfcc]

I understand you're scared Bob, but try to stay hopeful that you can figure out what best direction to go. You might want to try getting on back on an antipsychotic or antidepressant at a low dosage (not risperdal), but one that works for u, and see if you get back some of your libido or emotions... As for your diet, maybe try a routine exercise (running) and/or nutritional diet. I know it's hard, and I'm sorry.

I recently tried weening down to 1.5 mg/night from 3 mg/night on invega, but got too bad of insomnia withdrawals, and had to get back on 3 mg/night. There's two options as for as I know: 1) Try to ween down on 1.5 mg/night again and take sleep aids as needed. 2) Switch to risperdal and try to ween down at a slower rate on that. I'm thinking I need to stay on an antipsychotic for the rest of my life tho, as I always had too hard of dealings with my thoughts when trying to get off of them.

Thanks for your encouragement man , I appreciate it , as far as getting back on meds I d rather not as I had a perfectly fine med free life before this , but I do take your advice into consideration , I hope you get better , and pay no attention to the mean things I said to Ho Chi Minh its only directed at him because he is telling me that he thinks I should take the drug that turned me into a vegetable , that is just about the most irritating thing one can say to me , and the intention itself is to irritate me , so for that I have provided him with an objective perspective on his life , he can thank me later , anyways , keep well bro , I pray you get better

 

[Symbolicone09]

Man i hate this dull outlook on life.... its almost like life is not real anymore

 

[Bobfcc]

Man i hate this dull outlook on life.... its almost like life is not real anymore

I know man , its just so ridiculous how life is so lame now , pfff , I used to feel like I had to play the piano or guitar and sing , just to get my emotions out that was such a good feeling , i dont have that at all anymore , like I dont have any emotions except for sadness and this budding anger its so weird , im sorry , i cant be bothered going back and reading earlier posts , you were on invega sustenna too ?

 

[Symbolicone09]

I know man , its just so ridiculous how life is so lame now , pfff , I used to feel like I had to play the piano or guitar and sing , just to get my emotions out that was such a good feeling , i dont have that at all anymore , like I dont have any emotions except for sadness and this budding anger its so weird , im sorry , i cant be bothered going back and reading earlier posts , you were on invega sustenna too ?

Yes for 3months my last shot was october25th 2014 but i still feel the effects of this drug... i feel like a completly diffrent person since i was using this medication... just praying to god i go back to normal...

 

[Symbolicone09]

If thiers any blue light posters that came off an antipsychotic could please post in this thread... we need some inspiration...

 

[NopainNogain]

If thiers any blue light posters that came off an antipsychotic could please post in this thread... we need some inspiration...

I say try to think of positive things about your situation. What major side effects do u NOT have? U don't have tremors, shivering, akathesia, tardive dyskinesia, abnormal heart rhythms/metabolic rates, diabetes, or chronic insomnia. Those are major suffering diseases. Yours is still lifechanging, but I think it's easier than dealing with what I just stated and will probably get better over time. Just try to force yourself to think of good things even though u may not feel like it. I talked with this guy, Will Hall, who's a major figure as a mental health advocate. He was on antipsychotics for 2-3 years he said, but he started the company, freedom center, and gives speeches at conventions for mental health and things. U can go to his website and see about scheduling a phone/skype session with him. He'll work with u on that, and he was able to tell me some things about how to deal with these drugs and getting off of them. One of things he said was that the brain is like a plant that continuously changes and grows, so if u feed it positive things like (good thoughts/diet/exercise/sleep) then it will become healthier. But yeah, u can go to his website: http://willhall.net/about/

He's got videos about how to safely withdraw from psychiatric drugs (a harm reduction approach) or u can try to find it on youtube. He basically said u need to try to develop three things to safely get off meds.
1) Support - From friends, family, counselors, doctors, peer forum groups like what we're doing...
2) Wellness Tools - Psycho therapy, develop a good diet/exercise program, acupuncture/yoga might help, driving/movies/books/drawing/poems, whatever may be therapeutic in your own individual way.
3) General practice for tapering off meds - Best to taper off of them by 10% each dosage level to minimize withdrawals. He explains more, but he gives good advice.

 

[NopainNogain]

Well, I think I've finally stabilized back on this 3 mg/night. I've been back on it for about 3 weeks. I don't have this pressure in my head (like when wearing a baseball cap for too long and take it off) anymore, or got any tremors when taking my pill. Also, was able to sleep last night from 10:30 pm - 4:00 am, then 6:00 am - 9:00 am in the morning. Finally feel pretty groggy like when I was stabilized on it before instead of wired. So, hopefully, I can go to sleep tonight in about an hour. I want to take a sleep aid so bad tho. I think I may be getting addicted to 'em b/c I know if I take it I'll probably go straight to sleep. But anyway, I think I just need to get a schedule going and stick with it. Not stay up late or sleep late b/c that's when I start getting insomnia.

 

[Symbolicone09]

Im losing hope guys i dont understand... ive my last injection was oct 25 2014 and i still feel the effects.... its like im numb to everything and want to do nothing all day... thiers gotta be somthing out thier to reverse the effects of anti psychotics

 

[pentouch]

I think of what you can do about is pretty Cliche...a healthy diet ,exercise ,good dose of fresh air,counseling,some supplements and time. It could last for a year I think(AND DONT SPEND TIME THINKING ABOUT YOUR NEGATIVE EFFECTS).
More extreme option is to take shrooms,but this option is unpredictable. Anti psychotics counter the effects of psychedelics ,if you dont trip or dont get any spiritual awakenings,then probably you still have the effects of anti psychotics , also shrooms change your personality, your perspective for more deeper and spiritual side of you ,but I repeat this is the last option.
Good luck

 

[NopainNogain]

Im losing hope guys i dont understand... ive my last injection was oct 25 2014 and i still feel the effects.... its like im numb to everything and want to do nothing all day... thiers gotta be somthing out thier to reverse the effects of anti psychotics

You can try contacting Will Hall. I talked with him, and he's real understanding about our situation as he was in it before, and came out successful. He can give you tips and experience as he's dealt with a multitude of different types. Just think you're still able to function. If u suffered from insomnia, tardive dyskinesia, eps, severe psychosis like hallucinations, heart problems, diabetic problems then u would have to worry about losing your life! You cannot live without sleep or functioning immune system/heart. Think positive. It will take time, but your old self will come back. The plasma clearance is a long time for those injections. In the meantime, just try to focus on developing wellness tools like Pentouch was saying. Acupuncture might help...massage...herbal supplements...a pet. There's a support group called NAMI that is nationwide. You might want to find out where one is locally, and see if u could talk with other people like u. My Mom found out there's one every 1st monday at a church here in shreveport, so I'm gonna go. See if I can talk with other people in my shoes. God Bless.

 

[herbavore]

^NopainNogain, I'm curious how you got put in touch with Will Hall. He is someone I really admire and listen to. I'm glad the experience was positive for you.