Paliperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder User Reviews (Page 4)

• Inv...
• June 3, 2021

"This drug should be prohibited. Since I've been on it, I felt like rubbish. I've felt depressed a lot of the time since on it, and nearly took my own life. Since about three or four months, I have been completely emotionally flatlined (anhedonia). I had this to some extent since the beginning, but it's now gotten to a point where I barely enjoy anything at all. Also, I have developed low testosterone since taking this drug, which leaves me too tired to work out, and even going for a walk feels like climbing a mountain on most days. It used to help keep psychotic symptoms at bay, though. Although some of the paranoid delusions I developed when I tried to switch antipsychotic medication have stayed."

• Nim...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 10, 2019

Paliperidone "I had to take Invega Sustenna after running away from being treated 5 times. It helps eliminate the delusions and voices. I love it as it does not make me believe that the king's son is in love with me, or Adam Sandler is talking to me through every thought with another person in my head and sharing tips for his movies while looking at an image. But I hate the fact that it has a weight gain effect that has muscle constraints. Feeling happy through space is barely not there... natural life is much better... and keeping all the craziness of schizophrenia is way more interesting than waking up."

• Nic...
• December 17, 2016

Paliperidone "I have been on this medication over a year now, and it has done wonderful things for me. Before I was on it, I had my first episode and was in and out of the hospital 4 times in 5 months, trying different medications and being unstable. Now I'm going back to school, and I have no symptoms. Side effects are minimal: a little tired the day or two after the shot, and I've gained 15 pounds or so-not too bad. This medication gave me my life back. I just hope my new insurance will cover it."

• lip...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 5, 2020

Paliperidone "I took it often when I was diagnosed with the condition. In the beginning of the treatment, I took Invega 3 mg, and after some time I took 6 mg. I felt most of the time sick and dehydrated. It seems to me that the absorption is hard, and not too much effective. Xeplion is another story, much more effective and without significant collateral effects."

• Inv...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 25, 2022

Paliperidone "Yeah, it controlled my hallucinations, but at what cost? This drug should not be prescribed to anyone, especially young males. Literal chemical castration. Invega robbed me of my erections, sex drive, and sperm. When I ejaculate, nothing comes out. High prolactin and low T levels. My memory is awful, with no pleasure in doing anything at all. Restlessness, brain fog, no thoughts or emotions. This injection will leave you bedridden. Literally, all I do is lay down and hope for the day to pass by fast nowadays. My depression got a lot worse on this drug. Stay far away."

• Ram...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 5, 2021

Paliperidone "Our adopted son was born with prenatal alcohol exposure and has permanent brain damage. He was diagnosed with FAE and various other disorders associated with it. He has suffered from sleep issues, explosive rages, and psychosis. He has been prescribed over 40 different drugs with some disturbing side effects. He just started Invega Sustenna in March, and there was an immediate change in his mood and overall behaviors and is stable. He has now moved up to Trinza and is doing very well."

• Uni...
• March 9, 2021

Paliperidone "It started off OK. I had the feeling of the urge to talk all the time, but then I started to feel confined and restless. That went on for months but went away. It was going well until it raised my prolactin. I went on meds for that, and after a year, I'm back to normal. I have to get off because my glucose test is borderline, but I'm having diabetic symptoms. The pros were I get the tense edginess feeling in my body went away. I slept better. I didn't think everyone was out to get me. Social anxiety went down."

• Mic...
• April 20, 2017

Paliperidone "After taking 6 mg Invega for 3 years, I asked my physician what was making me gain so much weight. He told me it was the Invega and suggested I stop taking it. So I stopped taking it the next day! That was horrible advice (to quit cold turkey), but I lost 40 pounds in 2 months. I kept the weight off until I developed psychosis/delusional thinking. After about 6 months and a suicide attempt, I am back on it but shots only. Within 2 months I gained the 40 pounds back and gained an additional 40 lbs, making it a total of 80 lbs gained. Time for something else! I am in pain from bad knees and can hardly walk now. Great mood helper but terrible on the body!"

• dan...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 28, 2018

Paliperidone "As soon as I took this drug, I was happy enough. The rushing thoughts began to subdue. I will say one thing - if you're going to take this, be careful, there are some sucky side effects like weight gain. I didn't get the weight gain, but I did get low libido, and it got a little better once I stopped taking it completely and went back on. I still have some high blood pressure, high white blood cell count, and high cholesterol, so watch that. So that's all my side effects. One more thing: don't let these punks mess you around - once you're on it, they might try making your life a drug-induced nightmare. It's your body, your choice, if it works, you will know. If you're really bad, stick to a low dose and test if it's the right drug for you. Then you're not going to get one: addicted and two: not aware of if it's the right drug for you. I'm on a 3 mg tablet now, and I hope to go cold turkey soon after 6 months. Wish me luck."

• Mil...
• January 7, 2017

Paliperidone "Took just one 156 mg a month ago (33 days). I was given this by force to control my irritability. I was misdiagnosed as my irritation is caused by a physical condition that I kept mentioning to the doctors who did not listen and said I had mood swings. Unable to get sore from workouts. Have lost muscle tone. Loss of strength and stamina. Constant sore throat and thirst. 0 sexual interest and completely impotent. Heavy increase in urination. Have occasional feeling of a tight band around my head after slight arousal. Rarely some left abdominal pain. Blood AST and ALT levels increased by 30 points. I have noticed my 15-inch arms shrink to 13 inches in just a month. I cannot exercise or pick up weights at all. I am not getting even slightly sore from intense work."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 9, 2022

Paliperidone "I was on Invega for almost 2 years. The drug worked, it did what it was supposed to do. I was leading a good life, and my relationship was great for about 2 months. Then the symptoms came, and it was the one symptom a man did not want of all of them. Erectile dysfunction is really a problem for a guy in his late 20s. My girlfriend left me because she thought I was no longer attracted to her. I went without an erection for 18 months and decided to get off the Invega shot, and for about another 6 months I was unable to get an erection still, and I have never been the same since. I've been prescribed 150mg Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra, none of them worked for me. I took 2 of the Viagra and nothing. My condition has now gotten worse, and I've become extremely aggressive and irritable since getting off this drug. The worst thing that ever happened to me. I feel we should all file a class action lawsuit for this particular symptom and the damage it has caused to our brains and bodies."

• BIb...
• December 17, 2015

Paliperidone "Would be an absolutely perfect drug without the side effects. Constant tiredness and dizziness make it almost impossible to work. It definitely has high effects on motor skills and sexual ability. But hallucinations and delusions are gone. No more voices and paranoid thoughts after only a month. It's a good drug if you want to sleep all day."

• Ble...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 12, 2021

Paliperidone "Wow, where do I even begin with this horrible drug? About 3 days after I received my injection, I started to experience severe restlessness. I couldn’t sit still and had to constantly move. My sperm was gone. I was literally counting every hour, praying so that the drug's half-life wears out (which is 1 month, so you can imagine how torturous that was). I couldn’t think straight, I was only focused on counting the hours. I had no pleasure in doing anything. I literally got turned into a vegetable that you see in movies about psychiatric patients. PLEASE, only try this drug AFTER you tried other antipsychotics that proved to not work. Stay healthy."

• Hir...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 9, 2020

Paliperidone "Invega 156 mg every three weeks has been good to me. I no longer have voices, and I am able to maintain my weight. I don’t menstruate, that’s a negative. I can’t drive or work, get out of the house by myself because of agoraphobia caused by Invega, as I suspect. I don’t have anxiety, that’s a plus, no panic attacks, that’s a plus."

• Nev...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• June 1, 2022

Paliperidone "Started this medication 10 years ago at initial diagnosis of schizophrenia, as I had constant hospitalizations. Didn't gain weight, just feel flat and couldn't pay attention to anything requiring attention span of a few minutes. I used to watch Netflix, now I can't sustain more than 5-10 minutes into a movie before I find my mind wandering all over the place. Spoke with my prescriber, and he just repeats that 'Hey, it's worked for others with your disability.' I dread my once-every-three-month injections, as my psychosis seems to peak directly following my injections. Terrible medication, and I feel that surely the prescribers are pocketing something from handing this terrible medication out."

• mim...
• January 22, 2015

Paliperidone "I have been on Invega Sustenna now for 4 months. It has been a great medication, but I started to have small facial movements, but I'm afraid it might increase. I will ask my doctor to reduce the dosage so I might not have side effects."

• Who...
• March 2, 2017

Paliperidone "Exceedingly dry mouth causing broken sleep and frequent drinks, blood sugar ebbs and reduced stamina, encourages me to eat up to five times a day. Osteoarthritis worsens with the dryness, however, mentally stable. Wary of this drug being only a stopgap and apprehensive about what's next on the medication menu as all have unbearable side effects."

• Whi...
• December 13, 2018

Paliperidone "I have struggled with horrible voices and delusions for four years, and Invega is like a miracle after I attempted suicide. It took away the voices and delusions. The only problem I have with this drug is the weight gain and sensitivity to cold and heat. I gained 60 pounds in 6 months...it's really hurt my self-esteem, and I'm going to stop taking it next month. Another thing, after the voices stopped, I had visuals and voices late at night and early morning that would wear off 3 months into taking it. My mood also seems a little more irritable but not too bad, and I think I'm starting to have anhedonia, which at first was a giant relief after being so charged and emotionally torn apart with voices, but now I'm starting to feel like it's not the best option. Though I will say, if the voices torture me again, I'll gladly take it again."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 23, 2022

Paliperidone "I took the injection of 156 mg and have felt suicidal, out of it mentally, and don’t know if I can take any more. I just wait day after day for the drug to clear from my system, and it’s been 6 weeks since the injection."

• Gsu...
• March 27, 2020

Paliperidone "I've been on Haldol, Aristada, Zyprexa, and Invega, and so far, these medications just give your brain time to heal, not actually heal your disorder. They help manage your symptoms. So far, I've had delusions, hallucinations, and voices. Invega may be harmful, but when you have schizophrenia like me, you have to be on something. So far, Invega helps the most but has the worst side effects, it works kind of like that. I advise taking it over the ones I mentioned for me personally."

• Lea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 20, 2020

Paliperidone "I’m on Invega approximately 6 weeks. I am diagnosed about 5 years, never settling on any drug as they have me reactions. I am extremely sensitive to medication and always suffer high prolactin levels. On one of my previous medications, after 6 weeks, milk started coming out of my breasts. I was switched to Invega and so far, so good. It has brought out my creative side and I am much more alert, although it’s hard to get up in the morning as I keep falling back to sleep. I am demanding another blood test for tomorrow as I want to know if my prolactin levels have gone down at all. If not, I’m getting off this drug as that’s not good for your body and it’s terrifying having milk coming out when it’s not supposed to. I’ve heard of Caplyta, the new drug, and that has less side effects, but the reviews online aren’t great."

• MiG...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 23, 2019

Paliperidone "Invega Sustenna will make it easier to take your medication, as it’s an every 4-week shot in the arm (or butt). However, the side effects are many. This drug, though stopped all hallucinations and mania, caused my skin to flake, my face to get puffy, my overall weight to increase by 40 lbs, incurred symptoms of depression and other personality changes, and lastly, caused me to sleep for hours on end. If you enjoy sleeping your life away, this is the drug for you. However, I myself miss living my full life!"

• Tri...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 18, 2018

Paliperidone "Best medication if you get the right dose that works for you. I went from being miserable on this drug to 'this is the best medication I’ve ever been on.' It only took 8 years with trial and error and giving this med another try. I still can’t do as much as I could before the illness set in, but my motivation and joy have returned. I never thought recovery was going to be possible, now filled with hope for the future. Don’t give up, it’s worth the fight!"

• Ibs...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 17, 2019

"I am an ex-boxer, fit, 74 kg. I always had relapses because I fail to take my medication. I had a relapse in September when I was taking risperidone and Invega. I shot up to 84 kg, I am still using it, once every month, dosage been lowered from 200 to 75 mg. I was on my way to becoming successful before I took this medication. I was attractive, fit, and full of testosterone. I had ambitions and dreams, sharp and a role model. Firstly, the medication made me feel like I had brain damage, and I couldn't move or walk. It took a month to be able to move properly again. I feel depressed, dark, stupid, and like I lost a part of myself. I have no emotion, and I can't hold a conversation. I lost confidence and all future hope. I wake up with bad anxieties. But on the good side, I stopped hearing voices and hallucinations. But I would advise you to not take it and instead find an alternative."

• Nat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 26, 2023

Paliperidone "I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia in the psych ward and was given two shots of Invega Sustenna on November 4th. It is now January 26th, and I’ve been off this drug for two months but am still suffering from side effects. I have no pleasure during sex, no thoughts, and am super tired. This drug has ruined my life. I hope it doesn't take too much longer till I can feel like my old self."