Mental Health Coming off Invega Sustenna (paliperidone)

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i dont have problems with depersonalization but i do still deal with derealization.... in particular the first two symtoms you posted.... im not back to where i was before invega but ive improved enough to make me feel like i will get back to my old self... yet at the same time i just feel like im a diffrent person now 2 if that makes sense?



 
Almost 2 full years after my original post here, I can say that I've fully recovered. ~6 months after the last injection (of two) I was feeling better (physically and mentally), and after about a year I was fine. I'm actually in graduate school now, working/studying full time. Things are well. I hope things turned about well for you, Narshe81.
 
Almost 2 full years after my original post here, I can say that I've fully recovered. ~6 months after the last injection (of two) I was feeling better (physically and mentally), and after about a year I was fine. I'm actually in graduate school now, working/studying full time. Things are well. I hope things turned about well for you, Narshe81.
Did you experience any derealization or depersonalization? If so when did it go away?
 
Ritalin and other stimulant (except for probably caffeine) use is a fast track to nowhere, especially for people deemed sick enough to have been given large doses of antipsychotics. Of course stimulants improve mood, but they are specifically contraindicated for people with a psychotic illness because they can make it much worse. Please heed these words: stimulants will make you worse, not better.

Even if you won't take an antipsychotic against the advice of your doctor, don't take a stimulant. It could push you over the edge and make you truly need Invega.
 
How are people doing on things like listening to music, perception, motivation, creativity, impulsiveness, motor coordination etc.? How about IQ ? For those who are recovered or close to full recovery- would you say you are the same person or better, etc.

some interesting readings:

it seems widespread disconnect of neural networks is observed in short term use, but no body is measuring the withdrawal period to see if people revert back to what is considered baseline normal:

"A 2-week withdrawal is likely not enough to allow medication-induced brain changes to fully revert to a baseline condition. However, the potent rCBF increase observed in the dorsal and ventral striatum by APDs in this study strongly suggested that DA receptors were not blocked by residual medication."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3515723/

"Overall, the current study revealed that short-term antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia leads to increased regional synchronous neural activity while at the same time causing attenuated functional integration across widely distributed neural networks. "
http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/arti...ticleid=210850

Assumption is physical effects do disappear after short-term use after discontinuation might indicate things do return to some level of baseline; disappearance of parkinsonism, akathesia, etc. and other physical side effects. --
 
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Hello everyone, I've been taking monthly injections of 117mg invega sustenna since july 2014, my life has been an emotionless, pleasureless hell. no matter what i do, it is not enjoyable. i have no motivation or drive to do anything, i know exactly how all of you on invega feel. thankfully i only have 2 more months of this crap, i'll be set free in October, at which point im hoping my brain will be flooded with dopamine and i will feel great again. right now i feel like sleeping all day. the other night i was masturbating for like 45 minutes, and even that didn't feel good. no pleasure registered in my brain whatsoever. but i will say that im getting used to this drug, and feeling better overall, but i think that's only due to the fact i have 2 months left, and im starting to get excited about it. when i first started taking it i had side effects like trouble sleeping, drooling, this in addition to the main effect of anhedonia. i will report back here when im off the meds, and let you know what happens to me, and good luck to everyone on this drug. i hope these doctors are rounded up and shot for forcing me on to invega sustenna.
 
How are people doing on things like listening to music, perception, motivation, creativity, impulsiveness, motor coordination etc.? How about IQ ? For those who are recovered or close to full recovery- would you say you are the same person or better, etc.

some interesting readings:

it seems widespread disconnect of neural networks is observed in short term use, but no body is measuring the withdrawal period to see if people revert back to what is considered baseline normal:

"A 2-week withdrawal is likely not enough to allow medication-induced brain changes to fully revert to a baseline condition. However, the potent rCBF increase observed in the dorsal and ventral striatum by APDs in this study strongly suggested that DA receptors were not blocked by residual medication."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3515723/

"Overall, the current study revealed that short-term antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia leads to increased regional synchronous neural activity while at the same time causing attenuated functional integration across widely distributed neural networks. "
http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/arti...ticleid=210850

Assumption is physical effects do disappear after short-term use after discontinuation might indicate things do return to some level of baseline; disappearance of parkinsonism, akathesia, etc. and other physical side effects. --

Ivegascrewed, it is completely normal to wonder if you are going to return to yourself after going through a long lasting withdrawal. After a year in, I often catch myself wondering the same thing. I have made a huge improvement from where I was even a few weeks ago. It is true that some people report that they are never the same, and after going through something like this, perhaps, you never will be. Just as mental illness, a long lasting drug withdrawal will have an interesting affect on one's mind. It is cruel and unusual that we have had to go through this and it is wrong. No person should have to go through this particular type of withdrawal. It was torture for me for a long time. I am not recovered and won't be for some time. We can find all the negative reinforcing information that we want. The fact of the matter is most people do return to normal at some point or another for better or for worse.

I can honestly say it has been a valuable situation for me but it is one the hardest things I have ever gone through. I can't imagine feeling that bad when not in a withdrawal like this. I know I may have some depression but nothing ever like this. I don't think the things I go through will be so hard when I just feel normal again. Whatever that means anymore. You have to keep your head up and stay positive. I know it seems impossible, but I didn't believe I was really going to get better either, but I can't deny that I am making progress. I was scared out of mind for a long time, truly scared. Considered going to the ward multiple times and I really would never go to one of those places. It sucks really, there isn't much you can do. I believe you will get better, I know it's scary, just focus on getting through each day. Try and distract yourself without reminding yourself what is going on if you can.

I wasn't on invega, I was on zyprexa but if you want me to get into some of my specific symptoms just ask. I've had lots but many have improved. I honestly think I will make a full recovery and I think the rest of you will too. After a year, you should notice some improvements I think. It's a waiting game for the most part, a fucking long one. I did the same thing but I think I'm going to be fine now.
 
did you experience depersonalization/derealization - where the mind is just blank (emptied) and world looks distorted?
 
Yea man, my whole life is derealized. Time passes like the flow of water. Im getting older and its staying the same. Ive been suffering for almost 5 months now. And yes, ive experienced depersonalization too. Im not who i used to be. What were you shot up with and how long ago?

just one shot (156, 117, or 234) - currently at month 5 - experiencing depersonalization/derealization - it's pretty tough - how are you doing?
 
I didn't have DP/DR no. But the pain was extreme enough that I was dissociating for a while, so similar. I had a lot of very funky things happening. I'm still having significant issues though at about 11 months in now. I still am on seroquel though and I'm not even able to lower my dose atm. How long have you been off of the shot?
 
I didn't have DP/DR no. But the pain was extreme enough that I was dissociating for a while, so similar. I had a lot of very funky things happening. I'm still having significant issues though at about 11 months in now. I still am on seroquel though and I'm not even able to lower my dose atm. How long have you been off of the shot?

5 months since injection - dp/dr is very difficult - but there has been slight improvements - it's hard to gauge, and everything is very subjective. I am not sure if i am recovering from the shot because i am also suffering from a list of symptoms that resembles this disorder and the symptoms overlap. Overall depersonalization (losing a sense of identity, emptied out, hyperawareness of the body and being in it) - derealization ( familiar places lack familiarity, distortions in color etc. things just seem odd)

the mind seems to be processing stimuli and information differently at different points of time over the past couple of months - normal seems hard to comprehend (maybe it will come back).

negative thinking also blocks a lot of things- im sure there's a lot of things in life that I enjoy that I am really not allowing myself to because i am convinced the enjoyment is different.- but then again my thinking is very much diminished

i was told dp/dr fades - and people do recover from this shot (in differentiation with time/ again very subjective) - so holding on to those two ideas, and working on a third part of how to maintain engagement with a blank mind (very hard) -

-any ideas on how to get out of this state- greatly appreciated.-
 
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Did you experience any derealization or depersonalization? If so when did it go away?
how are people doing on recovery? How are you doing symbolicone09?

Honestly I gained even more from the experience -- the suffering was for me a trial by fire. After the dust cleared I was able to gain a paradigm in life again. I am very well off now, compared to where I was while getting Invega-Sustenna out of my body, but even compared to my normal life before that.

I was diagnosed with brief PTSD and BPD (brief psychotic disorder) but it was well determined that I had no permanent mental defect. I had already graduated college by the time I had my 'episode' which led doctors to think Invega Sustenna was a good idea. What I frankly, really, needed was love. Just time, love, compassion, healing -- all these things were gratefully provided through my parents and others, especially a pastor and dear friend.

I can say that from the initial BPD and Invega injection, starting about a week or so after, I had serious depression -- yes, depersonalization. The way I phrased it was that I "lost my paradigm". I didn't have a basis of rational thought -- a foundation from which to build a worldview. It's like it left me when the drug altered my physical mechanism for thinking. I developed a very pessimistic, nihilistic, and almost atheist thoughtlife, and it haunted me for a long time.

All that said, yes, after 6 months it began to improve. The first 6 months were literally horrible, and I believe you when you say you have suffered and are suffering. For a time in the first couple months I had a strong uncontrollable impulse to get up, and pace/walk, as if to escape my body and thoughts.

After a full year I really was beginning to re-develop a sense of self and placement in existence. I read the scriptures (Bible) a lot more. Before the BPD I had read it entirely but Ecclesiastes in particular meant a lot to me in this time. My intelligence has been fully restored (if any were lost or altered in the first place). I'm firing on all cylinders. Eating well and a daily vitamin can only help you, even if the motivation is not there, you have to fight it. Do fight it. You can make it. I and others certainly have. I remember talking to a guy that said he suffered the same things from Invega but after 2 full years was totally back into a normal "swing of things".

What you (or anyone suffering from a temporary and especially unnecessary treatment with Invega Sustenna) need to know is this: You can and will get through this. I assure you that you may believe it is impossible, because so did I, but it is not impossible. The human body, mind and soul are absolutely glorious is their composition and capacity to heal.

Eat well, intentionally do good for yourself. Fight it. Pray. Pray desperately -- read scripture, do what you must, do what you can. Feel free to message back. I may not get around to responding immediately but I assure you I will make the effort eventually. As of now, I'm in graduate school working on a Ph.D. Nothing is impossible to him that believes, so do not lose faith in a full restoration.

If interested here's a thread I posted back in the thick of it: http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/712455-Life-itself-bothers-me
 
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Ritalin and other stimulant (except for probably caffeine) use is a fast track to nowhere, especially for people deemed sick enough to have been given large doses of antipsychotics. Of course stimulants improve mood, but they are specifically contraindicated for people with a psychotic illness because they can make it much worse. Please heed these words: stimulants will make you worse, not better.

Even if you won't take an antipsychotic against the advice of your doctor, don't take a stimulant. It could push you over the edge and make you truly need Invega.

I have known people with bipolar to be prescribed Dexedrine to help the depression side of things but it's always given with a mood stabilizer that works for the person and certain ones like Lithium dull the effects of stimulants somewhat and of course most anti-psychotics can. I think prescribing Amphetamines for a mood disorder should be one of the last ditch efforts before you start trying MAOI's though minds you. And of course if you have any form of psychosis any stimulant is absolutely contradicted.

I never found Dextroamphetamine to hurt at low doses and even at high doses it didn't trigger mania in me. However if your the type to binge on it you will suffer no doubt about it. After a 4 day and night binge of Dexedrine i went into a almost psychotic like depression. If it had not been for a few friends to talk to i may very well have done something very stupid. I found Cocaine to be the absolute worst for causing mania and general paranoia and psychosis though and 3 months of IV coke use fucked my head up so bad that people said they noticed a difference in me for months after.
 
Honestly I gained even more from the experience -- the suffering was for me a trial by fire. After the dust cleared I was able to gain a paradigm in life again. I am very well off now, compared to where I was while getting Invega-Sustenna out of my body, but even compared to my normal life before that.

I was diagnosed with brief PTSD and BPD (brief psychotic disorder) but it was well determined that I had no permanent mental defect. I had already graduated college by the time I had my 'episode' which led doctors to think Invega Sustenna was a good idea. What I frankly, really, needed was love. Just time, love, compassion, healing -- all these things were gratefully provided through my parents and others, especially a pastor and dear friend.

I can say that from the initial BPD and Invega injection, starting about a week or so after, I had serious depression -- yes, depersonalization. The way I phrased it was that I "lost my paradigm". I didn't have a basis of rational thought -- a foundation from which to build a worldview. It's like it left me when the drug altered my physical mechanism for thinking. I developed a very pessimistic, nihilistic, and almost atheist thoughtlife, and it haunted me for a long time.

All that said, yes, after 6 months it began to improve. The first 6 months were literally horrible, and I believe you when you say you have suffered and are suffering. For a time in the first couple months I had a strong uncontrollable impulse to get up, and pace/walk, as if to escape my body and thoughts.

After a full year I really was beginning to re-develop a sense of self and placement in existence. I read the scriptures (Bible) a lot more. Before the BPD I had read it entirely but Ecclesiastes in particular meant a lot to me in this time. My intelligence has been fully restored (if any were lost or altered in the first place). I'm firing on all cylinders. Eating well and a daily vitamin can only help you, even if the motivation is not there, you have to fight it. Do fight it. You can make it. I and others certainly have. I remember talking to a guy that said he suffered the same things from Invega but after 2 full years was totally back into a normal "swing of things".

What you (or anyone suffering from a temporary and especially unnecessary treatment with Invega Sustenna) need to know is this: You can and will get through this. I assure you that you may believe it is impossible, because so did I, but it is not impossible. The human body, mind and soul are absolutely glorious is their composition and capacity to heal.

Eat well, intentionally do good for yourself. Fight it. Pray. Pray desperately -- read scripture, do what you must, do what you can. Feel free to message back. I may not get around to responding immediately but I assure you I will make the effort eventually. As of now, I'm in graduate school working on a Ph.D. Nothing is impossible to him that believes, so do not lose faith in a full restoration.

If interested here's a thread I posted back in the thick of it: http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/712455-Life-itself-bothers-me

Khaverim7 how are you doing on things like emotions, listening to music etc., even sexuality- when did these things started coming back. Thanks so much for your post and congratulations on your recovery. Although it is hard to imagine things getting better at this point- it is great to hear that you're doing great. I am dealing with derealization which is the most disturbing element out of my current experience --
 
Well I've been on invega for almost two years. I was tricked into it. I'm fed up with the side effects. I convinced my psychiatrist to switch me to oral paliperidone and I'm down to 25mg injection of invega and am not taking the oral medication. I still don't feel normal and still have no desire in sex, I still drool, I still sleep a lot and I still have no interest in anything. Excited about coming off this awful drug completely which should be by the end of the year :)
 
Almost the same as Kyliepsychic. 2 years on Invega Sustenna. Been stepped down to 25mg injection and one month ago trusted with pills (hahaha) I was perscribed lithium and stopped taking it 18 months ago. I've been OK with that. Whenever I have to have a blood test I take it for three days then have the blood test, another (hahaha) as the Dr. congratulates me for my blood levels. I'm diagnosed bi-polar, only get manic episodes. Was hospitalised 10 times in 5 years but have been OK for the last two years. Is this the protection of the paliperidone or being taken back in by my family, given a steady easy job and a place to live?
I guess I'm about to find out, as I'm not taking the pills. Of course I'm afraid of another manic episode. I figured with the long half-life of invega sustenna its the perfect time to slowly step down off the medicine.
My plan is thus: if I have a night where I can't get to sleep, i'll take a sleeping pill. The next night if I still can't sleep i'll take a sleeping pill and start on the pills I was prescribed with a heavy heart.
My reaction to atypical antipsychotics isn't as bad as most of the people on this thread. I get decreased sexual function and a lack of zest for life but I could live if I knew for sure this was the only way I could stop having manic episodes I would follow it. I've just got to know for sure before I set down that path.

I had a job teaching English as a second language recently. It would require cycling 1 hour through some beautiful countryside. The job itself was great, students funny. For the first time I started laughing again. Unfortunately the planning became too stressful, everyday coming up with three hours of fun lessons. I burnt out really. I had no template to follow, no direction. Maybe with good resources and an experienced teacher to guide me I would have been OK. I lasted six weeks.

It made me realise medication/drugs play a huge role in your state of mind, but when you are taking smaller doses the rest of life has a greater role. It makes me feel for all those that fall outside of society and hurting. If our society was kinder, less "hey, are you all in or out?" made places for those less able to have a job, those people would have full lives.

Saying that I went to a dance lesson the other night. Its been five weeks now and I think my connection to music is coming back. Its like waking up. I remember the same thing when I came off the olanzypine injection. I was medicaiton free for six months before change in job, change in houses, and some potent weed rolled me. I never really smoked all that much by now I realise its not worth the risk.

Finally I'd like to say I hate the secrecy. It compounds your problems. I hate this attitude of --- yeah, just take these pills for the rest of your life and you'll have no problems. It's not a realistic treatment. Are you really going to live the rest of your life taking a pill everyday without wondering, remembering, what life was like?
 
Hey Signalsign, I also dont take the pills. Im afraid of taking the tablets for a blood test because I get really bad side effects. It sucks. I will consider again, that maybe I should take them for three days and do the blood test. Difficult choice for me.

To anyone else: Now after 6 months I believe my personality and memories and emotions are coming back. 6 months seems to be the time frame for me.
 
It's the lithium we're talking about for the blood test, right? I've done it 3 times and each time I get sadness. A strong demotivated feeling. Afterwards my sleep is broken and takes time to knit back together. I hope they don't ask for one while I'm adjusting the risperidone. I read in the coming off meds guide that injections (invega sustenna) taper off slowly at first and then drop quickly. I've got a graph in the information booklet but the time frame is too small. Thinking about cutting pills to slow the decrease rate. Atm I'm thinking take half (1mg) at first sign of sleeping difficulties.

I remember from when they dropped the injection from 50mg to 25mg it took only two weeks for me to notice a definite improvement. Actually there is an instant mood boost as soon as they agree to drop the dose
 
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