Paliperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder User Reviews (Page 2)

• tan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 25, 2015

"I have been on this medication for just over two weeks. My head is clear, my thoughts are better, and my communication is better. My partner can't get over the difference: no anger, no depression. In fact, I laugh and sing now. My partner and I don't fight anymore. I actually went for a walk this morning instead of hiding at home. This is great! My choice of food is better and healthier, so I'm hoping to lose weight since I put so much on from the Seroquel. Now all I have to do is talk to my partner's caseworker to put him on it, he has schizophrenia and struggles day to day with all sorts of side effects. Love this stuff! There is a light at the end of the tunnel."

• Try...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 20, 2017

"This medication sucks. I only experienced side effects and no benefit. I would rather spend my time looking for another way to treat my illness than to give any of these antipsychotics another chance. All of them cause weight gain, sexual side effects, tardive dyskinesia, tardive dystonia, among other side effects that could mess you up for life. I admit it's very debilitating at times, but I would rather have my original problems than to be given another set of problems to replace them. If your psychosis is really bad and you can't live a normal life at all, and you're homeless and you scare people or end up in jail because of your illness, then I say take it. But if you can wait till they figure out how to make better meds, then wait."

• Jun...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 3, 2019

"If you want your life back and want to finally quit hearing the voices, believing the delusions that persist in your head and just be able to live a “normal” life, then this medication is absolutely for you. You will overeat, gain a little weight, have restless nights, and sleep all afternoon, you will have restless leg syndrome where you just can’t sit still. It takes about a month and a half for side effects to diminish. I’m so thankful to finally be happy again and be able to hold down a job. Those dark voices are gone. I don’t read a news article and believe I spoke to the President of the United States personally anymore. Now I wake up every day with just a calm, happy persona both internally and externally. The best part is that it’s only a once-a-month injection. I’ll tell you that on the day of the shot I do still get a little dizzy and tired, so I usually request off the entire day so I can relax. But even my family has noticed the huge change in me."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 8, 2018

"Horrible drug. Made me antsy and severely depressed. I enjoy being off my meds, and I love the high I get when I'm unmedicated. Please don't take meds if you wanna feel good. I'm better off my meds, and plus I enjoy the high."

• Mor...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 29, 2020

"While the Invega Sustenna negated my psychosis, I have experienced anhedonia and lactation due to raised prolactin levels. I can't enjoy music or anything else for that matter. I also now have a tic where I have to move my mouth, I don't know if it's medication-related. I get my period once every three months and have lowered sexual pleasure. I feel like this drug took any enjoyment out of life, and I'd rather be on something else as my symptoms are not severe and Invega is not good."

• Fin...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 24, 2019

"I was in denial about my illness for about 8 years before I finally went to the hospital by police escort (with the help of my family). I had lost my marriage, couldn’t do my job, and I couldn’t figure out why all this was happening to me. The doctor at the hospital ordered the Invega Sustenna injection, and it completely turned my life around. 5 years later, I’m in a great relationship, and I’ve been able to go back to school, earning A’s in my classes. People like me again. I did try to go off of the medication last year with the help of my doctor to see if having children would be possible. We have to do more homework on our options because I was only able to stay off for 6 months after the taper. For me, I’m very thankful for this medication. Yes, I gained 20 pounds, but that isn’t terrible when I consider that I’m no longer hurting the people who care about me."

• ASD...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 12, 2020

"Put on Invega for bipolar mood swings. I could not get past the first couple of days trying this medication. My nose stuffed up, and my body felt like dead weight. On day 2, I had a huge panic attack in the evening. I ate from 7 pm to 12 am. No, no, and no."

• Dam...
• August 6, 2015

"When I first started taking Invega, it took away the voices and delusional thoughts better than the other injection I was receiving. Weaning off of it was not hard, but I was also taking large doses of niacin and lithium at the time. I had a manic episode that lasted 3 months after withdrawing. After that, one injection brought me back to reality in less than a day. I have extreme weight gain on Invega, drowsiness (sleep 12 hours a day), and decreased sex drive. Though it is important for me to point out, like I said, no mania or hallucinating. I function well on the injection. It is the side effects that I have trouble dealing with."

• MDJ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 25, 2019

"This is a terrible drug. In four days, I've had heart palpitations, wheezing, shakes, insomnia, aggression, restlessness. Horrible drug for schizophrenics. I interacted more with my voices due to insomnia and headaches. I had to call the suicide crisis line because I had a panic attack so severe on night 4 of taking this poison."

• Nat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 8, 2019

"I've been on Invega now for 2 months, it has stopped the hallucinations and delusions but has also increased my depression. I feel emotionally numb and am tired all the time. I also can't exercise like I used to, too tired to even walk. I'm still adjusting to this new med, so hopefully things will settle down."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 7, 2018

"I feel like this medication has ruined my life completely because I ended up gaining weight, having prediabetes, and not having my period for 2 years. My biggest concern is am I gonna be able to have children when I get older. I decided that I rather stop taking this medication because it can ruin your future."

• She...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 4, 2019

"Horrible drug, causes weight gain. I call it the '15 lbs shot', with every shot, I gained another 15 lbs. My hallucinations went into overdrive, I could not sleep, depressed, angry, overweight, psychotic, hated every day. I am now seeing a new psychiatrist, and I am getting my life back without the Invega Sustenna injection."

• day...
• January 30, 2018

"This is the worst possible nightmare of a drug. I was injected with one 234 mg dose and never took the 2nd shot or 156 mg because I felt so horrible. I was so miserable I wanted to die. I had no emotion, no imagination, no memory, and no initiative. I disappeared into a dark hole for months. It took 6 months before I started to feel any better. It took about 2 1/2 years before I felt like I was anywhere near back to normal. Don't let anyone inject you with this poison. You will regret it."

• Coq...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 24, 2021

"I took Invega Sustenna for a year and a half. I was forced on it by my old mental hospital, and the family member I was living with told me I had to stay on Invega to live with this person. I got a 234 mg shot once a month for a year and a half. This drug completely ruined my life. It is absolute garbage for anyone's body. I went from 170 pounds to 300 pounds within this time frame (this is literally the most weight I had ever gained in my entire LIFE.) It turned me into a complete couch potato, made me so lazy and tired that I had to drink at least 3 cups of coffee a day to counter this problem. It completely destroyed my motivation for doing ANYTHING throughout my day. I sat around eating junk food, but also healthy food. Regardless of what I ate, I would gain 10 pounds every single month. I am really tired of the USA and its doctors promoting these awful 'medications' to sick people as if they are good options. There was zero benefit to using Invega, do NOT take this drug."

• psa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 28, 2018

"It helped so much right away, but then the honeymoon wore off, and it gave me 20 lbs weight gain and an uncontrollable appetite. That slowly went away a month later, and then I was on injection and started to experience my bladder being constricted, and I'd have to go 10-12 times some days. The med helps me 'stabilize,' but it also now is getting me steadily more depressed, and I am getting such intense anhedonia. I'm going to go back to Haldol, I think. It's like a chemical lobotomy, but most meds are anyways, and no one really cares about those who suffer from mental illness."

• Blu...
• March 12, 2021

"Since I've been put on this medicine, I've had a difficult time socializing. I have trouble with conversations, and everyday activities seem very overwhelming and hard. Work has become increasingly difficult to perform. I'm also very easily tired compared to before taking this medication. This drug shouldn't be allowed to be prescribed to people. I now fear having to talk to people. I also have a very difficult time being sexually aroused."

• cji...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2019

"I was misdiagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and received the booster and initial shot of this medication. I had terrible side effects, including 60 lb of weight gain. I also slept a lot and had little energy. After 6 months of discontinuation, I finally started losing weight and returned to my normal weight. I had to take a gap year during this time, and this drug wasted a year of my life."

• Mad...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 27, 2022

"I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in June of 2020. Since then, I have been on numerous antipsychotics, and Invega is by far the worst. It caused brain damage, turned me into a vegetable, and I’ve put on 50 pounds. Everything nice in my life is gone. The anhedonia is the worst thing about it."

• Pix...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 12, 2014

"Been on Invega ER for two months; so much better in the head, sorted the acute psychosis out, organized my thoughts in a new and helpful way, slight orthostatic hypotension and drowsiness are easing - overall, this has been a savior re paranoia and hallucinations, etc. AND I am more motivated to do things; continuing with Pristiq at 200 mg and paliperidone 9 mg, good."

• ask...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 6, 2017

"Although it helped with my delusional thoughts, it completely destroyed my life. I have anhedonia, loss of sex drive, fatigue, can't play football or any sports, my mind is blank, 40 kg weight gain, always hungry, can't get drunk. Feeling down sometimes. Robbed every joy from me."

• cop...
• February 20, 2017

"This medicine wrecked me. I had a drug-induced psychosis, they had no business putting me on this. The only positive is that it did snap me back into reality, but some clean time would have done that. I have gained weight all in my stomach. I developed akathisia that lasted 2 months after discontinuing. Also, extreme anhedonia, which can persist for up to a year. I hope I return to normal way before that. Please only attempt this med if you don't know which way is up."

• Too...
• March 27, 2020

"I have schizoaffective disorder, and I have been on the Invega Sustenna drug for a year now, and I love it. It is the only drug that has ever worked for me. It took my symptoms away totally. It has changed my life. The only side effect I have had is that it makes my mouth dry. I can definitely live with that. All the other drugs have had horrible side effects. My future is looking great because of this drug. I feel that this is the best drug on the market."

• Dir...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 20, 2019

"I was placed on Invega Sustenna after having a violent psychotic episode. I attempted suicide in a very violent manner and went back to the psych ward after surgery. They placed me on a 156 mg injection once a month. Since being on the injection, I’ve experienced slight weight gain, loss of euphoria I used to get from using drugs like alcohol, weed, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, and also the inability to “trip” from using psychedelics. Also, loss of sex drive. Most importantly, though... I no longer have the constant thoughts of wanting to end my life or hurt others. All things said, though, I have decided to remain on Invega injections, sacrificing all the wonderful highs I used to get from dope because I’m afraid that if I stop taking Invega, I might have another psychotic break and that the BEAST inside me could drive me to commit violence on myself or others. If Invega makes me non-violent, non-sexual, docile, and stable, then I say it is a good drug."

• Ken...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 13, 2023

"This drug has affected my personality and my ability to sleep restfully, causing me to have constantly bizarre dreams. I find myself speechless and unable to hold a conversation. My legs and entire body feel like they are crawling inside, and I feel the need to pace the room. Since starting this medication 6 months ago, I have had to move back in with my parents at the age of 36. I take the 156 mg dose for schizoaffective disorder, but the recommended dose for schizophrenia is 117 mg. I believe I am overmedicated, and this has caused me to have no emotions and no life. I don't like how this makes me feel, and I wish I could stop taking it."

• Joh...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 24, 2022

"I am currently on Invega Sustenna 78 mg, the monthly injection. The main side effect I experienced from Invega was sexual dysfunction. My sex drive dropped a lot, I became unable to get an erection, and when I did manage to masturbate (which was rare), I produced much less semen. Before I started taking this medication, I could sexually recharge in less than an hour if something was turning me on. After starting this medication, my dick became totally nonfunctional for days after ejaculation. I used to be able to get an erection just from looking without genital touching. Now the only way for me to get an erection is with genital touching, and only if it's been a while since I last ejaculated. Before, I was on a higher dose, and these sexual side effects were worse - at the higher dose, I produced almost zero semen and my dick was almost totally nonfunctional. I don't actually know if it helped with my schizoaffective disorder because my symptoms come and go unpredictably. I also gained 30 lbs."