Mental Health Coming off Invega Sustenna (paliperidone)

[akaz]

yes im currently going through this process and its the hardest thing to deal with. I forced my self when under the effects of invega but after i experienced relief my production dropped in the social aspect. My music production improved, gaming with friends still occur, watching movies with family(at home or theaters) still occurs but i dont really go outside and just explore or stumble into something. Gotta keep working at it. Hope everyone had a good new years and holidays.

You experienced relief when? Month 6? Or was it attributed to taking molly at month 6, rather than it wearing off at month 6 by itself?

 

[akaz]

I think the power of habit is somewhat underestimated in people trying to recover. If you spend months not doing much because of over-medication, you're not going to magically become productive after it's gone. You'll have to re-train and re-acclimate your body to doing things. I mean its true even for people who aren't under the influence of drugs and who spend a significant amount of time (a month or longer) not doing things. It takes effort to get back in the routine of getting things done and being active.

You were given this drug right? And experienced relief after only 1 month? It stopped affecting you after only one month?!

I agree with the power of habit, but also deeply sympathize with people who speak for the drug's traumatic effect, or potential effect. Maybe you were lucky? I'm in amazement if you stopped feeling the drug completely after only a month, it would give me hope.

 

[akaz]

This may be my last update.

Strange how something can become such a big part of you just by being very persistent and evasive and - despite your best interests - stick with you for a number of years. Something not wholly unlike a parasite can become so deeply ingrained that when it finally goes away, you almost feel a great sense of loss (even if it doesn't make you sad to see it go). But know that energy is constantly moving... and it moves (changes) into something else. What was once there with you, being the worst pain in your ass, but not totally detrimental to you is suddenly gone, morphing into something beautiful and deadly... but you can't see it. You'll never know what it is (or what it looks like) until the moment it breaks free from its chrysalis.

Scar

At what # months did you experience biggest relief from the drug?

 

[akaz]

Everyone recovers at 8 months unless they're on other medication, I'm only at 4 months battling through it, it gets better every month

Good to know it gets better every month.

 

[akaz]

I've been feeling nauseous every day, like unable to eat. Only over a month. Could this be withdrawal? Also kinda feverish. Could I be coming off of it?

 

[akaz]

I keep feeling worse and worse. Only 1 month mark. It can feel like it gets harder and harder to get through the day.

Hoping it's withdrawal.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

You were given this drug right? And experienced relief after only 1 month? It stopped affecting you after only one month?!

I agree with the power of habit, but also deeply sympathize with people who speak for the drug's traumatic effect, or potential effect. Maybe you were lucky? I'm in amazement if you stopped feeling the drug completely after only a month, it would give me hope.

I was on it for over two months. One month is the rough amount of time it takes for routine to become habit, but per my comment I was stating that if one doesn't have a decent structure in their life for a month or longer, it becomes a habit that takes a month or longer to reverse. The whole point is that one doesn't suddenly experience relief. It's a slow process that you have to fight for every day.

Honestly, my memory of that period isn't so great. I only remember a few things.

It does strike me as odd that there is such a presence of people on this site who appear to have been wronged by this drug being forced on them.

I don't think so, I tried everything revising, learning, exercising, reading, but without motivation (dopamine) it's hard to work it was so difficult that I had to cancel my university registration. It's a biological problem not a psychological one! Even at month 7 I still force myself to read articles, I have more focus since the drug level dropped but I still can't feel pleasure while reading nor emotions, by blocking the dopamine receptors it's all the reward system which is blocked!

Ugg. It's a lot more complicated than "dopamine". Part of the problem with people reading up on the drugs they take is that they begin to think they know what treatment is best for them. Even doctors have to see doctors. In this case, people are talking about hard stimulants and anti-parkinsonian medications, both of which are horrible ideas.

That kind of thinking can never get you what you want. You have to assume responsibility for yourself. If you think you have no power over it, you definitely don't. I understand that there's a biological component. Maybe you don't have any control, I don't know. But negative thinking can only make your issues worse.

 

[Hilary]

If you are feeling nauseous and not eating as much, you may be releasing more invega into your system from fat stores. That might be why you're feeling worse right now.

My son was at his worst at about the 2 1/2 week point after his injection. He's getting a little better, but it's a real up and down ride. It only takes a minuscule difference in the drug level in your body to make a major difference in how you feel. Just a guess, but I would suggest drinking more, eating more fiber and exercising (sweating) to eliminate whatever you can.

 

[akaz]

This drug nearly killed me, more than once. I feel lucky to be alive.

That link about how 20+ people died in Europe the other year ? was scary.

 

[akaz]

If you are feeling nauseous and not eating as much, you may be releasing more invega into your system from fat stores. That might be why you're feeling worse right now.

My son was at his worst at about the 2 1/2 week point after his injection. He's getting a little better, but it's a real up and down ride. It only takes a minuscule difference in the drug level in your body to make a major difference in how you feel. Just a guess, but I would suggest drinking more, eating more fiber and exercising (sweating) to eliminate whatever you can.

Thank you.

 

[Bad Robot]

Don't want you to depress you, but I'm still struggling at month 4, had the chills for the last week and done no exercise, could be flu or withdrawals, I'm still depressed and each day is a struggle, can't even sit in my own house during the day and just chill and watch tv, got to spend my days at my parents for the company and going home each night is horrible. I did get another injection of an older AP before the invega and had a bad reaction to it so I will have had more than normal receptors blocked I think, that will have been 5 months ago.
I wouldn't want to be back at the one month stage the depression really starts to kick in and you've got to realise its chemically induced, I'm not sure there's anything that can penetrate the poison at that stage, I searched the web looking for help, your receptors are downgraded making it impossible to get dopamine and serotonin. Even at my stage I can only just notice the effects of coffee and nicotine. Nobody has come up with a solution to ease the suffering, I tried diazapam and beta blockers and they just made me feel worse, I would have liked to try a dopamine agonist, but getting a doctor to prescribe one is difficult.
Got another doctors appointment at the end of the week, not sure what he can come up with, I've had blood tests and the only thing that showed up was low vitamin D, can't be bothered trying an antidepressant and I don't want or need another AP, hopefully he comes up with something for the sex drive, that would be a boost and a relief.
At this stage its 4pm before I can even read a newspaper, the concentraction does seem to get better as the day goes on, I'm able to watch tv at night and have been having a couple of beers at night apart from the last few nights when I have had the chills and have just monged on the sofa in a depressed state. Been getting 8 hours a night sleep although I seem to wake up every few hours and am dribbling on the pillows, another sign the poison is still active in my system.
I was expecting to feel better at this stage as a lot of posters dissapear just after the 4 month stage, but its now looking like it could be the 6 or even 8 month stage when you make a recovery, it will vary person to person, especially when the half life is 25 to 49 days and each person will process it differently, its just a matter of not panicking, knowing the brain is neuroplastic and you do recover from the poison eventually.
I wish I had some positive news for those of you at the one month stage, the thinking gets clearer each week and you become less anxious and you start becoming more talkative and the memory starts returning, just be prepared for the depression and hopefully someone comes up with something that makes the months pass easier.

 

[akaz]

This drug made symptoms of hell so much worse. Made me feel like I was going to die, or like half of me died. Was biologically healthy before this, as she said.

 

[Decisive]

@akaz: I know a girl who had also Invega Sustenna for 6 months, once she stopped the treatment she tried everything you said but it didn't work, the receptors blockade is strong, she finally recovered after 1 year and a half.

@Ho-Chi-Minh: I never had the idea to take stimulants or anti-parkinsonian, I know it's dangerous. I'm not pessimistic, I just said that I tried everything I could to improve my condition but it didn't work, the anhedonia is still lingering since I have around 20 mg in my blood. Nonetheless, I don't give up, I still continue to read everyday and force myself to do some activities even if I don't feel any pleasure or motivation. I'm aware that recovering from antipsychotic is a waiting game, so I'm patient.

 

[MisterTi]

Hi there ! I am new to this forum, finnally found a place to talk about my problem

I am from Portugal, and going crazy with Invega! I had my first psychotic break on december 2013, on that moment I though people wanted to kill me, I had fear to walk outside. My parents were concerned about my situation and took me to a Psychiatrist, he prescribed me Olanzanpine(originally branded Zyprexa), I took the pills for about one month and then my fears and visions stopped, I stopped taking the pills after that month by myself and stopped going to the psychiatrist.
[h=3][/h]
Still don't know what triggered the psychotic break, the Psychiatrist told me right away that was for weed abuse, and to be honest I was smoker since 2008... but I also was having a lot of stress on the work, so I dont know if it was because of drugs or stress.

After dropping the pills (february 2014) I was with some extra pounds, so I started going on gym and lost about 40 pounds in 8 months, I also started meeting a lot of people from couch surfing, and going out a lot, started smoking weed again and so on... it was the best year of my life, 2014, also reconnected with my ex-girlfriend.
I was doing great, I nearly forgot I had a psychotic break!!

On February 2015 I went on a trip alone to thailand, and that was the moment when everything got worse. The visions started on airplane, I though I was entering heaven and that I would be God, but then the airplane landed, I still was not good, having a lot of illusions and thoughs. Then a day after, I though I was the king of thailand, and that everyone liked me. I remember just wondering for a bath, and dreaming about pools and diving, I remember of almost diving myself from big wall I was on.... well a lot happened on 3 to 4 days, I lost all my bag, passport, all my documents, I remember running around bangkok just using beach shorts. Hopefully police arrested me, and I got hospitalized. I was in sedation for a few days, I just remember woking up and call for my mom. The Portuguese Ambassador later appeared on the hospital, and helped me contacting with my parents. My mom had to take a plane to pick me up from that country.

It was a big big adventure, I don't know how I survived, I could have been killed for so many reasons on those days... This second psychotic break was for sure related to abuse of weed, I started smoking again on 2014...

Well the problem is that I arrived Portugal, and they put me on Risperidone 6mg a day since March 2015 till October, and then my psychiatrist changed to Invega, I am on Invega since then. As all now I am also under the same situation, I feel lack of interest in everything, I don't wanna leave my house, don't wanna work anymore, wanna kill myself a lot of times, I feel like without reason to live anymore...

I am taking Invega 6mg a day now, and for what my psychiastrist told, I need to take pills for at least 2 years, so I started Risperidone on March 2015, I will taking pills till March 2017... she said that will reduce the dosage, but that won't help, I will feel the same..

You guys took injection, I am taking pills, its a bit different right? How long I will need to wait after dropping the pills?
I have been thinking now about dropping by myself the Invega, if I don't smoke weed again I won't have hallucinations anymore right..?

2015 was the worst year ever, and I dont want to have the same in 2016, so why not dropping now ?

Thanks a lot for this space, and thanks for reading my post (if you do so)
I hope to read something from you,
Cya

 

[Decisive]

Hi there ! I am new to this forum, finnally found a place to talk about my problem

I am from Portugal, and going crazy with Invega! I had my first psychotic break on december 2013, on that moment I though people wanted to kill me, I had fear to walk outside. My parents were concerned about my situation and took me to a Psychiatrist, he prescribed me Olanzanpine(originally branded Zyprexa), I took the pills for about one month and then my fears and visions stopped, I stopped taking the pills after that month by myself and stopped going to the psychiatrist.

Still don't know what triggered the psychotic break, the Psychiatrist told me right away that was for weed abuse, and to be honest I was smoker since 2008... but I also was having a lot of stress on the work, so I dont know if it was because of drugs or stress.

After dropping the pills (february 2014) I was with some extra pounds, so I started going on gym and lost about 40 pounds in 8 months, I also started meeting a lot of people from couch surfing, and going out a lot, started smoking weed again and so on... it was the best year of my life, 2014, also reconnected with my ex-girlfriend.
I was doing great, I nearly forgot I had a psychotic break!!

On February 2015 I went on a trip alone to thailand, and that was the moment when everything got worse. The visions started on airplane, I though I was entering heaven and that I would be God, but then the airplane landed, I still was not good, having a lot of illusions and thoughs. Then a day after, I though I was the king of thailand, and that everyone liked me. I remember just wondering for a bath, and dreaming about pools and diving, I remember of almost diving myself from big wall I was on.... well a lot happened on 3 to 4 days, I lost all my bag, passport, all my documents, I remember running around bangkok just using beach shorts. Hopefully police arrested me, and I got hospitalized. I was in sedation for a few days, I just remember woking up and call for my mom. The Portuguese Ambassador later appeared on the hospital, and helped me contacting with my parents. My mom had to take a plane to pick me up from that country.

It was a big big adventure, I don't know how I survived, I could have been killed for so many reasons on those days... This second psychotic break was for sure related to abuse of weed, I started smoking again on 2014...

Well the problem is that I arrived Portugal, and they put me on Risperidone 6mg a day since March 2015 till October, and then my psychiatrist changed to Invega, I am on Invega since then. As all now I am also under the same situation, I feel lack of interest in everything, I don't wanna leave my house, don't wanna work anymore, wanna kill myself a lot of times, I feel like without reason to live anymore...

I am taking Invega 6mg a day now, and for what my psychiastrist told, I need to take pills for at least 2 years, so I started Risperidone on March 2015, I will taking pills till March 2017... she said that will reduce the dosage, but that won't help, I will feel the same..

You guys took injection, I am taking pills, its a bit different right? How long I will need to wait after dropping the pills?
I have been thinking now about dropping by myself the Invega, if I don't smoke weed again I won't have hallucinations anymore right..?

2015 was the worst year ever, and I dont want to have the same in 2016, so why not dropping now ?

Thanks a lot for this space, and thanks for reading my post (if you do so)
I hope to read something from you,
Cya

Maybe what you had was a drug induced psychosis, I know a girl who had a the same but her psychiatrist gave her injections of Invega Sustenna for only 6 months instead of 2 years....
She recovered after one year and a half and she doesn't touch weed anymore, now she's fine. Since you took pills, the half life is shorter than injections, in general it takes 5-6 half lives for a drug to be mostly eliminated, so you have to search the half life of your drug first and do the calculation.
I strongly recommend you to not touch weed again if you don't don't want to fall into psychosis for the third time!
After your first psychotic episode, you recovered your emotions and motivation? How long did it take?

 

[Bad Robot]

Should be the same as the olazapine mister T, the insomnia is meant to be really bad for a good few days with olazapine withdrawal, think invega has a longer half life, just be careful not to fall back into weed smoking because next time you might get the injections and they are a different ball game

Good luck

 

[Decisive]

Should be the same as the olazapine mister T, the insomnia is meant to be really bad for a good few days with olazapine withdrawal, think invega has a longer half life, just be careful not to fall back into weed smoking because next time you might get the injections and they are a different ball game

Good luck

The half life of Invega pills is 23hours! It's shorter than the shots (50days)

 

[akaz]

I keep feeling like I'm going to die. Ever since this shot. Felt like I was going to die around 3 times.

Anyone else feel that bad? Literally.

 

[Hilary]

Hi there ! I am new to this forum, finnally found a place to talk about my problem

... Zyprexa), I took the pills for about one month and then my fears and visions stopped, I stopped taking the pills after that month by myself and stopped going to the psychiatrist.
…Still don't know what triggered the psychotic break…if it was because of drugs or stress.
...On February 2015 I went on a trip alone to thailand, and that was the moment when everything got worse....
... This second psychotic break was for sure related to abuse of weed…
… Risperidone … Invega, … I don't wanna leave my house, don't wanna work anymore, wanna kill myself a lot of times, I feel like without reason to live anymore...
…2015 was the worst year ever, and I dont want to have the same in 2016, so why not dropping now ?

My son had 3 major psychotic breaks. I personally strongly believe these events are a result of a perfect storm of a number of problems coming together all at once. He’s been smoking weed since he was about 14. Each time the psychotic episode was preceeded by a period of time where he was smoking weed, partying, drinking alcohol, having too much caffeine, lack of sleep, poor diet, nutritional imbalances, dehydration, and of course stress (the last straw). The last straw for you was evidently the trip (stress).

The problem with weed is that all the CBD compounds, which actually protect you from the psychotic effects of the THC have been bred out of the plants in favor of getting a quicker high. Also, it’s not a controlled substance, so there could be any number of pesticides, bud hardeners, or other poisons (unless you grow your own) on the weed. There have been some controlled scientific studies done in Germany, where patients diagnosed with ‘schizophrenia’ were given either cannabidiol (CBD), or the pharmaceutical drug ‘amisulpride’, an antipsychotic medication that is not approved in the U.S.

Neither the patients nor the scientists knew who was getting which drug. At the end of the four-week trial, both groups showed significant improvement in their schizophrenic symptoms, and there was no difference between those getting CBD or amisulpride.

Daniele Piomelli, professor of pharmacology at the University of California-Irvine and a co-author of the study said, “Not only was [CBD] as effective as standard antipsychotics, but it was also essentially free of the typical side effects seen with antipsychotic drugs.”

So there’s your answer for the treatment of psychosis – cannabidiol. CBD oil is available for sale on line. I am currently buying mine from CBDLife in the UK, until I come up with a better option. But you must also take good care of your body in order to help it heal and stay healthy.

Antipsychotic medications can cause devastating permanent movement disorders (involuntary twitching, etc); they can also reduce users’ motivation and pleasure. Many antipsychotic drugs also cause weight gain and thus increase diabetes risk. So I would encourage you to wean yourself off of the anti-psychotic meds as quickly as possible.

It will not be easy – you will be going through withdrawal of some terribly addicting prescription drugs. It will be just like the people who detox from alcohol. You will be miserable for a while, until the drugs clear out of your system.

During my son’s last episode he was given Zyprexa. He said that it helped him with the phychosis, and got him back to feeling normal. He left the hospital and didn’t continue the medication. He may have smoked some weed again when he got out. He quickly relapsed and was put back in the hospital. That’s when he got the shot of Invega Sustenna, which nearly killed him, he was so despondent.

He wants to try the Zyprexa again – against my wishes, to see if it helps him through this withdrawal. We’ll see tomorrow what his psychiatrist says. I think that if he goes back on Zyprexa, he will be going through another withdrawal period later – and maybe it will be worse because he’ll have 2 drugs in his system.

I encourage you to look back over the previous posts which myself and others have recommended specific supplements and other strategies to help you recover.
Good Luck!

 

[Bad Robot]

It could be 25 days if your one of the lucky ones !