Mental Health Coming off Invega Sustenna (Paliperidone) v3

[Paula10]

Yes but I feel better than ever now

Okay you say two years to recover. Did you take any other meds doing your recovery? I mean I just don’t understand how it can take 2 years to recover when the medicine isn’t in your system anymore. That’s why I’m asking you if you took any other anti psychotics or psyc meds. I can’t wait two years. When did you get your emotions back? Energy and strength back? Which month?

 

[mrwelladjusted]

He's had 5 injections in total, no wonder his recovery took so long. We should feel a difference after a shorter period of time.

 

[ihateinvega]

Okay you say two years to recover. Did you take any other meds doing your recovery? I mean I just don’t understand how it can take 2 years to recover when the medicine isn’t in your system anymore. That’s why I’m asking you if you took any other anti psychotics or psyc meds. I can’t wait two years. When did you get your emotions back? Energy and strength back? Which month?

If it took him two years to recover, I think that means the drug was still active in his system during that time.

 

[Paula10]

I’m in dark deep depression right now. I mean when does the depression go away and can accept what happen. Please guys I want to live and no one will help me. How do people survive to see the day they recover? I’m scared I might not make it feeling this depression. I’m losing my boyfriend because of this guys. I mean how can I survive when I’m losing everyone around me because of invega. I’m scared I need help. How are you guys surviving? I’m too weak

 

[Scotthughes123]

I think being in a relationship should be off the table during recovery because we can’t give 100% or make rational/emotional decisions as we can’t feel love so I prefer to stay single as it would be pointless even trying I wouldn’t feel any different and it would be unfair to burden a potential partner with my shit that’s just my point of view

 

[John78]

If it took him two years to recover, I think that means the drug was still active in his system during that time.

what doesn't make sense to me is how someone earlier said that %50 occupancy (i read 80%-85) causes extrapyramidal side effects. surely he shouldn't have been experiencing any side effects for 2 years according to studies. unless he was jam packed with high mg doses for a year or more.

 

[John78]

Today I stop taking pridinol. I read that anticholinergic drugs may cause worsening cognition, problems with speech, anxiety. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. But if my akathisia comes back, then I'd have to come back to using it.

i believe side effects like your akathisia happens when you take more than what your body can handle; meaning the ratio of the amount of medication to your body weight (and/or possibly brain weight) is greater. hopefully by now there's a reduce enough amount of abilify to stop your akathisia. when did you last experience it? or when did you start taking pridinol?

 

[John78]

I think being in a relationship should be off the table during recovery because we can’t give 100% or make rational/emotional decisions as we can’t feel love so I prefer to stay single as it would be pointless even trying I wouldn’t feel any different and it would be unfair to burden a potential partner with my shit that’s just my point of view

i agree with you but this person is someone that's already there and someone she doesn't want to lose. i mean maybe she can talk to him about it and return to it at a later time when she recovers. hopefully he'd be understanding and patient enough. it'll test if he truly loves her. and hopefully she doesn't experience, or can handle seperation anxiety.

 

[mrwelladjusted]

i believe side effects like your akathisia happens when you take more than what your body can handle; meaning the ratio of the amount of medication to your body weight (and/or possibly brain weight) is greater. hopefully by now there's a reduce enough amount of abilify to stop your akathisia. when did you last experience it? or when did you start taking pridinol?

I started taking pridinol 12th May, Abilify injection I had 2nd March, so I started taking pridinol 71 days after the injection. After that day I haven't really experienced akathisia except for when I took one 5mg pill of escitalopram which is a CYP2D6 inhibitor, then I was having a huge akathisia for a week, and after a week it was all gone. I didn't take pridinol today and I experienced no akathisia so far. I mean, I feel like I'm having a sliiiiight akathisia even while taking pridinol, but it's not so bad to call it torturous or something, like it was at the beginning. So yeah, I can surely say that the amount of Abilify is definitely lower, I used to have akathisia that wouldn't let me stay still for more than two seconds, now it's pretty fine.

 

[mrwelladjusted]

From what I've read on his previous posts, he's had 5 injections,

"received 5 injections total. 3 156, 1 117, and idk the other. "

Most of us usually had 2, 3 or, in my case, 1, which is something like 2 injections of Invega. Maybe 5 was enough to make him suffer for two years straight, I don't know. The higher the dose, the longer the half-life, he's already had a steady-state of the drug in his system.

 

[mrwelladjusted]

I'll quote once again a post of a guy from the schizophrenia forum:

"There’s a certain level of receptor occupancy that seems to be necessary for antipsychotic activity and for side effects, as determined by PET scan studies. On the D2 receptors, occupancy above 50% can cause side effects. Occupancy above 65% is usually necessary to have an anti psychotic effect. "

I don't know, I always believe the studies, but for sure I have less than 50% of D2 receptor occupancy right now, so I shouldn't be in such a bad condition, but I am. I haven't seen the study, though. Maybe he was mistaken somehow. I think I'll have to do my own research on that.

E:
This is actually about risperidone and paliperidone, but should apply to any neuroleptic:

Clinical response and the presence of extrapyramidal side effects were correlated with the degree of occupancy of brain D2R as measured in the dorsal striatum. A threshold of 60 to 65% D2R occupancy in the dorsal striatum for antipsychotic effect and a threshold of 80% D2R occupancy for extrapyramidal side effects were reported.

So you were right about 80-85%.

 

[John78]

I started taking pridinol 12th May, Abilify injection I had 2nd March, so I started taking pridinol 71 days after the injection. After that day I haven't really experienced akathisia except for when I took one 5mg pill of escitalopram which is a CYP2D6 inhibitor, then I was having a huge akathisia for a week, and after a week it was all gone. I didn't take pridinol today and I experienced no akathisia so far. I mean, I feel like I'm having a sliiiiight akathisia even while taking pridinol, but it's not so bad to call it torturous or something, like it was at the beginning. So yeah, I can surely say that the amount of Abilify is definitely lower, I used to have akathisia that wouldn't let me stay still for more than two seconds, now it's pretty fine.

hopefully 4 months is a long enough time but i kinda doubt it. especially since you got a 400mg injection i think which sounds like alot and there's like 4 or 5 to 6 half lives of for antipsychotics that you gotta go through.

From what I've read on his previous posts, he's had 5 injections,
Most of us usually had 2, 3 or, in my case, 1, which is something like 2 injections of Invega. Maybe 5 was enough to make him suffer for two years straight, I don't know. The higher the dose, the longer the half-life, he's already had a steady-state of the drug in his system.

yeah i only had 3 of invega but i've had several others before it as none helped, which most of them were harmless to me except semen discharge issues and weight gain. haldol and invega, my 2 previous ones prevented me from getting intoxicated and that really put a damper on things as they were important to me in a self medicating sense. i'm back on risperdal.
but 5 is a moderate amount. i'd say 3 or 4 to 6 is a moderate mount. anything greater being alot. so 2 years makes no sense. what were his symptoms? if they're not synonymous with the negative symptoms of schizophrenia (Negative symptoms include blunting of affect, poverty of speech and thought, apathy, anhedonia, reduced social drive, loss of motivation, lack of social interest, and inattention to social or cognitive input) then the medication could've just worsened their diagnoses if they're actually atleast somewhat schizophrenic. it's a possibility. i hate to sound like a psychiatrist though lol.
but steady state is a steady decrease in medication? i wondered that. is that true?

I'll quote once again a post of a guy from the schizophrenia forum:



I don't know, I always believe the studies, but for sure I have less than 50% of D2 receptor occupancy right now, so I shouldn't be in such a bad condition, but I am. I haven't seen the study, though. Maybe he was mistaken somehow. I think I'll have to do my own research on that.

E:
This is actually about risperidone and paliperidone, but should apply to any neuroleptic:



So you were right about 80-85%.

well i don't know man. if the half life is 30-46.5 days depending on dose, then you'd have like a couple or a few more half lives to go. then i think the healing process.
but yeah i think it is 80-85%. but it seems like it could be less considering some people stay depressed or have other unrelated side effects for long periods of time.

 

[John78]

well i guess 2 years wouldn't be uncommon since the average most is a year and a half. he could just be a little late do to other things that i won't mention.

 

[lifeline]

Okay you say two years to recover. Did you take any other meds doing your recovery? I mean I just don’t understand how it can take 2 years to recover when the medicine isn’t in your system anymore. That’s why I’m asking you if you took any other anti psychotics or psyc meds. I can’t wait two years. When did you get your emotions back? Energy and strength back? Which month?

No I didn’t. I take abilify now.

 

[lifeline]

I was medication free for quite some time. I decided to get back on abilify bc I felt myself slipping into depression. I was prescribed abilify 5 mg until June 22nd then they upped it to 30mg

 

[John78]

No I didn’t. I take abilify now.

what were your side effects man?

 

[John78]

I was medication free for quite some time. I decided to get back on abilify bc I felt myself slipping into depression. I was prescribed abilify 5 mg until June 22nd then they upped it to 30mg

abilifiy helps with depression? how so?

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Abilify at 2mg is mostly dopaminergic, so it's given for augmentation of antidepressants.

Then at 30mg it acts mostly as an antipsychotic. But relatively speaking, it's not a very strong antipyschotic compared to something like risperdal or hloperidol.

 

[lifeline]

what were your side effects man?

I’ve posted my side effects in here. It was horrible. Like a nightmare

 

[lifeline]

Abilify at 2mg is mostly dopaminergic, so it's given for augmentation of antidepressants.

Then at 30mg it acts mostly as an antipsychotic. But relatively speaking, it's not a very strong antipyschotic compared to something like risperdal or hloperidol.

Yes but I have manic depression.