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Coming off Invega/Xeplion (paliperidone) injections v 12

Hi,

I haven't been on injections, but I have been on oral route invega daily for almost 10 years now. I had mood problems as a teenager that my psychiatrist prescribed invega for despite having no schizophrenic symptoms. I have bipolar, which it helps for, but after reading stories here I can't help but wonder if I've been affected by the same thing sustenna users have

My brain barely works, I forget things as soon as I'm told them. I can walk out of a movie theatre and forget the entire content of the movie aside from a vague outline. I feel like my brain is constantly cooked, like if you were always high but with none of the good feelings from it. I can't remember almost any events in my life, even things that happened relatively recently. I have no more energy for any of my hobbies or passions, no ability to focus, blurred vision, it's awful

The problem is, I don't know how many of these symptoms are due to other disorders. I have a family history of chronic illness that I seem to be inheriting, making it hard to walk without a mobility aid. I have a dissociative disorder caused by childhood trauma that me and my therapist have confirmed is not just because of the medication, as i started taking it after the disorder manifested. They have overlapping symptoms which makes things confusing and hard

Seeing no other accounts from people on the pill, or from people taking it as long as me, I don't know my prognosis. I'm worried that I'm doomed to feel like this forever. I've lived like this this long, but if my life is doomed because of a doctor who didn't know what they were doing I don't know what im going to do with myself
 
recovery100£ said:
Hey invegatorture, how did you get off the CTO in 6 months as their saying it’ll be 12 months for me, glad you’re doing well man!
Click to expand...
Thankyou mate.

My advice to get off the CTO is to go along with it and give them zero reasons to keep you on it.

I don't know where you are located, but in England they review your CTO after 6 months.

A person is more likely to remain on a CTO if clinicians believe they will stop taking medication once discharged, have a history of non-compliance with treatment, are at high risk of relapse, or may pose a risk to themselves or other people.

I played the game.

This is what I did:

- I did not refuse any injections.

- I stated I am grateful the medication worked to manage my psychosis.

- I did not constantly complain about side effects.

- I stated I believe the benefits of the medication out weigh the negatives that come with side effects.

- I showed the psychiatrist respect and gave him the impression I believed everything he said.

- I never let the psychiatrist know my opinions on forced medication and medication in general were different to his.

- I would talk about plans for the future that included medication, I specifically asked about what my maintenance dose would be when I reach greater stability.

- I specifically stated I plan to stay on medication for as long as recommended because I never wanted to become unwell again.

- I never argued with him.

- I stayed obedient and did everything they told me to do.

- I did not miss any meetings.

- I did not give them any reason to believe I would relapse again and that I was taking recovery seriously.

- Never talked about suicidality.

- I talked about how I noticed myself improving in terms of mental health and my daily life.

- I stayed well groomed and kept good hygiene.

- I created an illusion I was functioning well even though I was not.

- I never pushed for a lower dose. Instead I only asked if it was worth going to a lower dose to reduce side effects.

- I never asked about how long my CTO could last, I gave the impression I was completely content while on it and it made no difference to me whether it ends or not.

- I stated I preferred injections to oral meds because it was more convenient. (To reinforce the impression of being content on the CTO).

- I never asked for a tribunal or contested the CTO.

My psychiatrist took me off the CTO after just 6 months, even though I had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, had a history on medication non-compliance and this was my second CTO. He told me he did not have enough reason to keep me on it. He asked me if I would take my next injection once the CTO ended, I answered "yes". I never took it. Once I was free, they had no power to force me to take anymore.

A friend of mine I met in hospital gave me some very valuable advice for when you are locked in a ward or being forced to take medications you don't want. He told me you must "lie and comply".

This was my strategy to get off it as soon as possible.

I could potentially have switched to oral medication, but they told me for the first 3-4 weeks they would have a nurse come to my house to watch me take it. There was also the possibility for regular blood tests to measure levels of the drug in my body. For me personally it was not worth the stress or hassle, and I did not want them thinking I may want to switch to orals to be non-compliant.

However if you want to switch to orals, this can be used as a reason for them to no longer enforce the CTO as well. As CTOs are typically for injections, not pills. This happened during my first treatment order, so this is also a way of getting off it. Maybe work towards this if you know the CTO will certainly last more than 6 months. I believe injections are harder to recover from than pills. Reasons you can use for wanting to switch to oral meds is fear of needles, pain at the injection site, the desire to have more independance/responsibility over your treatment and wanting too feel more normal as injections can be seen as socially taboo with a stronger stigma attached to them compared to pills.

A CTO can last many years. Hopefully you don't experience more than 12 months of this. If you don't give them any problems I would say it's unlikely and it may even be cut short.

I know this reply was long but I did not want to leave anything out. Getting off a CTO is not easy and you should be aware of what is going on.

Good luck and keep your head up, this won't be forever.
 
Last edited:
Invegatorture said:
Hello everyone I have not posted on here for a while and thought I would make an update on my recovery.

I am currently 259 days which is about 8.5 months off 9 x 400mg abilify injections.

I am not fully recovered but doing well. My main improvements since my last post have been better sleep, higher libido and music sounding a lot better.

I still can't feel normal levels of sexual pleasure and my cognition is not the same as before the injections. I have poor short term and working memory. I find it difficult to find the right words to use in converstations, my mind goes totally blank.

While I was on the injections I had severe anhedonia, inner restlessness, poor social skills, akathisia, low energy, could not feel tired and all I could think about was the medication that was being forced upon me. I don't have these symptoms anymore so I am grateful.

I used to take vyvanse every now and then to give me relief from side effects, but I don't take it anymore because I no longer need it and did not want to become addicted.

I hope I can make a full recovery but only time will tell. I have managed to recover from invega before so I am remaining positive.

I wish everyone here going through this strength and healing, antipsychotic injection recovery is no joke and I feel for you all.
Click to expand...
Did vyvanse help you?

I have the same symptoms as you right now, sexual function decreased, cognitive difficulties, memory issues, no dreams at night, no motivation, low energy. But somethings improved and im able to exercise again which helps alot.
 
Invegatorture said:
Thankyou mate.

My advice to get off the CTO is to go along with it and give them zero reasons to keep you on it.

I don't know where you are located, but in England they review your CTO after 6 months.

A person is more likely to remain on a CTO if clinicians believe they will stop taking medication once discharged, have a history of non-compliance with treatment, are at high risk of relapse, or may pose a risk to themselves or other people.

I played the game.

This is what I did:

- I did not refuse any injections.

- I stated I am grateful the medication worked to manage my psychosis.

- I did not constantly complain about side effects.

- I stated I believe the benefits of the medication out weigh the negatives that come with side effects.

- I showed the psychiatrist respect and gave him the impression I believed everything he said.

- I never let the psychiatrist know my opinions on forced medication and medication in general were different to his.

- I would talk about plans for the future that included medication, I specifically asked about what my maintenance dose would be when I reach greater stability.

- I specifically stated I plan to stay on medication for as long as recommended because I never wanted to become unwell again.

- I never argued with him.

- I stayed obedient and did everything they told me to do.

- I did not miss any meetings.

- I did not give them any reason to believe I would relapse again and that I was taking recovery seriously.

- Never talked about suicidality.

- I talked about how I noticed myself improving in terms of mental health and my daily life.

- I stayed well groomed and kept good hygiene.

- I created an illusion I was functioning well even though I was not.

- I never pushed for a lower dose. Instead I only asked if it was worth going to a lower dose to reduce side effects.

- I never asked about how long my CTO could last, I gave the impression I was completely content while on it and it made no difference to me whether it ends or not.

- I stated I preferred injections to oral meds because it was more convenient. (To reinforce the impression of being content on the CTO).

- I never asked for a tribunal or contested the CTO.

My psychiatrist took me off the CTO after just 6 months, even though I had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, had a history on medication non-compliance and this was my second CTO. He told me he did not have enough reason to keep me on it. He asked me if I would take my next injection once the CTO ended, I answered "yes". I never took it. Once I was free, they had no power to force me to take anymore.

A friend of mine I met in hospital gave me some very valuable advice for when you are locked in a ward or being forced to take medications you don't want. He told me you must "lie and comply".

This was my strategy to get off it as soon as possible.

I could potentially have switched to oral medication, but they told me for the first 3-4 weeks they would have a nurse come to my house to watch me take it. There was also the possibility for regular blood tests to measure levels of the drug in my body. For me personally it was not worth the stress or hassle, and I did not want them thinking I may want to switch to orals to be non-compliant.

However if you want to switch to orals, this can be used as a reason for them to no longer enforce the CTO as well. As CTOs are typically for injections, not pills. This happened during my first treatment order, so this is also a way of getting off it. Maybe work towards this if you know the CTO will certainly last more than 6 months. I believe injections are harder to recover from than pills. Reasons you can use for wanting to switch to oral meds is fear of needles, pain at the injection site, the desire to have more independance/responsibility over your treatment and wanting too feel more normal as injections can be seen as socially taboo with a stronger stigma attached to them compared to pills.

A CTO can last many years. Hopefully you don't experience more than 12 months of this. If you don't give them any problems I would say it's unlikely and it may even be cut short.

I know this reply was long but I did not want to leave anything out. Getting off a CTO is not easy and you should be aware of what is going on.

Good luck and keep your head up, this won't be forever.
Click to expand...
This reply is amazing man so I really appreciate it more than you know, I’m unable to think properly atm so this is why my reply’s aren’t as long as yours but everything you’ve said I’ve noted down, I’ve already made a few mistakes as this is my CTO and I have talked about side effects and even mentioned it making me suicidal which I regret deeply now, I’m just hoping a tribunal I’ve got in mid August is something I can use to my advantage as my lawyer is quite good and the clinician has to prove I have to stay on it anyway, I’ve not refused any injection and won’t now I know this, I’ll smarten my act up from here on out and won’t give them a reason to keep me on it, I’m blessed to have a mum that doesn’t even want me on these injections so she’s even pushing for lower doses for me too, beyond grateful for this invegatorture and I pray you keep recovering so you can share how amazing it is to feel everything again!
 
recovery100£ said:
This reply is amazing man so I really appreciate it more than you know, I’m unable to think properly atm so this is why my reply’s aren’t as long as yours but everything you’ve said I’ve noted down, I’ve already made a few mistakes as this is my CTO and I have talked about side effects and even mentioned it making me suicidal which I regret deeply now, I’m just hoping a tribunal I’ve got in mid August is something I can use to my advantage as my lawyer is quite good and the clinician has to prove I have to stay on it anyway, I’ve not refused any injection and won’t now I know this, I’ll smarten my act up from here on out and won’t give them a reason to keep me on it, I’m blessed to have a mum that doesn’t even want me on these injections so she’s even pushing for lower doses for me too, beyond grateful for this invegatorture and I pray you keep recovering so you can share how amazing it is to feel everything again!
Click to expand...
That list doesn't work in every country, i complained about side effects and i got off the injection in 4 months and cto in 6 months wad cancelled
 
lostsoulowen said:
That list doesn't work in every country, i complained about side effects and i got off the injection in 4 months and cto in 6 months wad cancelled
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply Owen, how are you doing now, tbh it could go either way for me at this point so I’m just going to have to put up with it till I can get free of these psychopaths.
 
recovery100£ said:
Thanks for the reply Owen, how are you doing now, tbh it could go either way for me at this point so I’m just going to have to put up with it till I can get free of these psychopaths.
Click to expand...
Overall that list is good don't get me wrong, but i would focus more on getting oral pills first, if it doesn't work and you can't get oral pills in your country then yes you should follow that list.
I feel bad I'm 5 days from 10 months I can't feel dopamine, don't know how long more i can hold on, hope i will survive and get my brain back at 12 or 16 months.
 
lostsoulowen said:
Overall that list is good don't get me wrong, but i would focus more on getting oral pills first, if it doesn't work and you can't get oral pills in your country then yes you should follow that list.
I feel bad I'm 5 days from 10 months I can't feel dopamine, don't know how long more i can hold on, hope i will survive and get my brain back at 12 or 16 months.
Click to expand...
Yeh that’s been my aim for a while to get on oral meds again so I’ll keep trying, as for you Owen my man really keep pushing, when I came off tablets in the past I didn’t recover for 3-4 months and then realised it was because of the voltage channels which are controlled by sodium and potassium, try and add more potassium into your diet as that creates the action potential for dopamine, sounds crazy but worked for me when I recovered in the past man, also look at a guy called Alex Kikel, he has helped me recover from antipsychotics in the past and he’s on instagram, just have a look and see what you think, keep going man and remember the half lives of the drug are responsible for how long it takes to feel normal so eventually you will recover man!
 
anonymoususer777 said:
Did vyvanse help you?

I have the same symptoms as you right now, sexual function decreased, cognitive difficulties, memory issues, no dreams at night, no motivation, low energy. But somethings improved and im able to exercise again which helps alot.
Click to expand...
Yes vyvanse helped a tonne. It provided me with major relief by reducing anhedonia and restlesness. Music sounded great with it because it increases dopamine activity in the brain. It also brought back some sexual function when I took it which was good because it showed me my sexuality was not completely shut off.
 
Last edited:
lostsoulowen said:
That list doesn't work in every country, i complained about side effects and i got off the injection in 4 months and cto in 6 months wad cancelled
Click to expand...
What country are you from if you don't mind me asking? I am very surprised you got let off the injections by complaining about side effects. This would not have worked for me, they only offered to switch me to a different medication.
 
Last edited:
pigeonanon said:
Hi,

I haven't been on injections, but I have been on oral route invega daily for almost 10 years now. I had mood problems as a teenager that my psychiatrist prescribed invega for despite having no schizophrenic symptoms. I have bipolar, which it helps for, but after reading stories here I can't help but wonder if I've been affected by the same thing sustenna users have

My brain barely works, I forget things as soon as I'm told them. I can walk out of a movie theatre and forget the entire content of the movie aside from a vague outline. I feel like my brain is constantly cooked, like if you were always high but with none of the good feelings from it. I can't remember almost any events in my life, even things that happened relatively recently. I have no more energy for any of my hobbies or passions, no ability to focus, blurred vision, it's awful

The problem is, I don't know how many of these symptoms are due to other disorders. I have a family history of chronic illness that I seem to be inheriting, making it hard to walk without a mobility aid. I have a dissociative disorder caused by childhood trauma that me and my therapist have confirmed is not just because of the medication, as i started taking it after the disorder manifested. They have overlapping symptoms which makes things confusing and hard

Seeing no other accounts from people on the pill, or from people taking it as long as me, I don't know my prognosis. I'm worried that I'm doomed to feel like this forever. I've lived like this this long, but if my life is doomed because of a doctor who didn't know what they were doing I don't know what im going to do with myself
Click to expand...
It's because of the meds. They block dopamine receptors.
 
recovery100£ said:
This reply is amazing man so I really appreciate it more than you know, I’m unable to think properly atm so this is why my reply’s aren’t as long as yours but everything you’ve said I’ve noted down, I’ve already made a few mistakes as this is my CTO and I have talked about side effects and even mentioned it making me suicidal which I regret deeply now, I’m just hoping a tribunal I’ve got in mid August is something I can use to my advantage as my lawyer is quite good and the clinician has to prove I have to stay on it anyway, I’ve not refused any injection and won’t now I know this, I’ll smarten my act up from here on out and won’t give them a reason to keep me on it, I’m blessed to have a mum that doesn’t even want me on these injections so she’s even pushing for lower doses for me too, beyond grateful for this invegatorture and I pray you keep recovering so you can share how amazing it is to feel everything again!
Click to expand...
No worries! I am glad you found it helpful.

Whether you choose to stay on injections or try switch to pills, it's always beneficial to show your psychiatrist and care team you have "insight" into your condition. Don't give them the impression you are only taking medication because you are on a CTO.

Also good luck with your tribunal.
 
Invegatorture said:
No worries! I am glad you found it helpful.

Whether you choose to stay on injections or try switch to pills, it's always beneficial to show your psychiatrist and care team you have "insight" into your condition. Don't give them the impression you are only taking medication because you are on a CTO.

Also good luck with your tribunal.
Click to expand...
Oh i thought you took invega? You took abilify? Maybe that's why you feeling so good after 10 months, i think it's much less harsh then invega.
 
Gdvffh said:
I hear the Penis problem people get from these drugs are not a side effect that needed to be included. They just added it to the drug to break peoples penises. The people wanting citizens on these drugs are SICK PEOPLE. These drugs are just one of the many ways society wants to hurt there fellow men. They say this drug is a bigger part of depopulation.

I hope Psychiatry is destroyed one day in The Future. However I dont know how were supposed to do that when The Military protects Psychiatrists.
Click to expand...
Many people say their recovered their sexuality, how much injections u got?
 
lostsoulowen said:
Oh i thought you took invega? You took abilify? Maybe that's why you feeling so good after 10 months, i think it's much less harsh then invega.
Click to expand...
I got two injections of invega in 2023. Recovered in 9 months.

I am currently 8.5 months off 9 abilify injections.

Abilify from my experience is very similar, caused me major suffering. But maybe recovery is quicker from it. Not sure yet.
 
Invegatorture said:
Hi i've been doing better since you were last on this site. I am no longer on the CTO and recovering. How have you been?
Click to expand...
First time since 7 years i had real job in netherlands and still to this day i think everyday about psychiatry due to how traumatic it was despite my brain and sexuality being much better. Really happy to see yall
 
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When did you guys recover your ability to enjoy videogames for those who enjoyed this hobby prior. It seems impossible to play for more than a few minutes. I have a lot of free time and would hope I could spend it coping while gaming
 
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