Paliperidone for Schizophrenia User Reviews (Page 3)

• Bra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 3, 2021

"I was prescribed Invega because my mother takes the injection, and it has helped her. I take the tablets. I'm so incredibly boring now. I don't find joy in anything, really. I don't have motivation to shower. I'm emotionless. I've gained a lot of weight. This medication should definitely be a last resort."

• Han...
• May 20, 2017

"This medication is an absolute waste of time. I have been on Invega for a little less than 2 years now, and I can with absolute confidence ascertain that it has done nothing for me. Aside from the decrease in sexual appetite and libido, difficulty having and maintaining erections, little to no ejaculatory fluid (which is really frustrating, by the way), the muscle tremors I am experiencing, and the 30 pounds I have gained since starting this medication, it is with no doubt an absolute and total waste of money. I definitely would not recommend this medication to anyone. Save yourselves the time and money and do not take this medication."

• cat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 11, 2021

"DON'T GIVE UP. I have autism, Asperger's, ADHD, PTSD, OCD. I am an artistic recluse with an IQ in the top 1%. I am terrified of doctors, nurses, and hospitals. I was sleepy and tearful. They noted two facts and said I was delusional and deprived me of my freedom. I had two injections without a formal diagnosis. The first caused anxiety, depression, insomnia, agitation, and hypervigilance. My second in my arm caused extreme pain in my neck, slurred speech, frequent drooling, constant pain at the base of my skull, blood in urine, swelling of my ankles and face, extreme physical fatigue, and sleeping 15 hours a day. I forgot what I was saying, was unable to spell, and was curled in a ball, shaking with fear. A few months ago, I wanted to swim out into the ocean at sunrise, but I read these stories and knew I just had to wait. I did everything I should as a discipline. I ate though I had to force the food down. I cried for the person I knew I had been-optimistic, resilient, creative, and productive. It destroyed me beyond repair. I may never trust a human being again."

• Win...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 12, 2022

"It was and still is an absolute nightmare. I am bedridden since the 3rd shot. I was given this for my first psychosis episode. I should not have been given it in the first place because I never heard voices, I just had strange thoughts. I have brain damage. My IQ has so dramatically reduced that I am unable to live alone. I have very severe anhedonia. I can't listen to music, watch TV, or read. I can't sleep. It is like being buried alive. I left the medication 9 months ago with 0 improvement. Only people with severe schizophrenia should be given this."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 10, 2022

"I have been on Invega Sustenna for almost 2 years for schizophrenia. I’ve stuck with Invega Sustenna for so long because it is the second-best option in terms of side effects (definitely not saying that it is a good drug). I have erectile dysfunction, insomnia, feeling of mental pain and loneliness, extreme fatigue, lack of motivation, worsened vision, and short-term memory loss from this medication (all of the medications, in fact). I’m showering about once a month, brushing teeth about twice a week, and never exercising because I physically can’t do better on this medication. I used to shower and brush teeth daily in addition to having a six-pack (abs). This medication is another antipsychotic that was marketed without care for how the patients feel physically or mentally while taking it. In short, current antipsychotics do work, but the side effects are unbearable."

• man...
• June 22, 2008

"My daughter was diagnosed with a mental illness around 12 years ago. We tried almost every single medication out on the market. Nothing worked. I had lost hope. Then our MD talked to me about Invega. It was Godsent. The best medication ever. My daughter is able to have a life again. She goes out without being paranoid. It is worth every penny. Some side effects, but she is able to think clearly. If you are thinking about it, give it a try."

• Tjs...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 27, 2016

"I've been on Invega for four months, and the delusions are gone, and I don't think people are out to get me anymore. All is good, but I can't think straight when people try to have a conversation with me. I'm really quiet and can't think of what to say or what to talk about. It's so depressing. I'm on 150 mg of Invega and 2 mg of Abilify. Will these side effects get better, or will I be like this for a few years? I don't know. I just wish I was back to my old self."

• Mr ...
• April 26, 2017

"Total scam. I've been on this drug for 3 years. Since being on it, it caused acute arm paralysis, dystonia, difficulty speaking, delirium which lasted for a month, and it caused weight gain and man boobs. When I first received the shot, it felt like my brain was about to explode. I had extremely high blood pressure on this medicine- 178/105. After I stopped it, my blood pressure is 110/78. I experienced temporal lobe damage from this medicine, and a CT scan showed atrophy of my brain after I stopped taking it. Be careful- many psychiatrists receive grants and stipends from big pharma and receive extra insurance money to peddle more drugs to as many patients as possible. This is because of our fee-for-service healthcare system."

• Ano...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 30, 2021

"Worst experience of my life. Literally got rid of who I am as a person. I feel nothing. No emotions, no joy out of life. Just an empty shell. I've felt suicidal, as it might be a better option than just living day to day feeling like a zombie. I wish the doctor never put me on this. LIVING IN A NIGHTMARE!!"

• Cit...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 21, 2022

"I have been getting injections for 8 months now, and I have no energy, no stamina. I have a really difficult time organizing my thoughts, and any suicidal ideations I may have had before this medication were nothing compared to the urgent need I sometimes have to kill myself. I know that these impulses are not what I consciously want, but I get trapped within my own mind sometimes and start crying and cursing uncontrollably. I feel dizzy, disoriented, without hope or a lifeline connecting this dedicating husk of a man to the passionate person who used to volunteer at the animal shelter and local charities. I was a productive member of society before this nightmare started, a good person who strove to remain productive and busy with day-to-day tasks. I cannot complete a sentence most of the time, and the doctor's refusal to take me off of this dangerous drug is bad for me. I can barely associate what I have become with what I was."

• har...
• July 18, 2013

"I was on Risperdal, and I was always sleeping, gained much weight, and craved sugar. When I switched to Invega, my weight went back to normal, suffered few side effects such as restlessness and sometimes anxiety, but it beats those other antipsychotics because of fewer side effects and no weight gain for me. I don't like any of these medicines, but I look like I'm not on any, so far, so good."

• Who...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 11, 2020

"I'd been smoking a very small amount of cannabis for a few months and isolated myself with video games. One evening, I was playing music very loud, and the police were called. I thought it would be clever to resist arrest, so I stood behind the door and shouted, threatening to burn the house down. They soon broke in and carted me to the mental hospital. After giving my story to the doctor, I was put on Invega shots and told I was schizo, I'd never felt it. After three months, I started having tremors, constant anxiety, a panic feeling of a heart attack, couldn't move, walk, and six months on still on edge 24 hours a day."

• Man...
• September 13, 2020

"I've been on Invega Sustenna for 7 years, monthly for the first 6 years and the 7th year Invega Trinza. I've stayed the course with Invega because it calms me down and stops my obsessive thoughts. If I don't take Invega (Trinza or Sustenna), I become anxious, depressed, and suicidal, obsessive, and manic during extreme weather (winter/summer) (I feel better during fall/spring). My original issues are unspecified psychosis/cannabis-induced psychosis. Taking the injection helps me articulate myself clearer, be more rational, and reduces my stress tremendously. I usually clench my jaws like crazy as a full-time worker and student. But, Invega relaxes my mind and the jaw clenching pretty much stops. I am very sick, my thoughts are a burden, and I'm always stressed over little things, mishearing people's voices, and taking offense to things that were never said. But, as I'm on Invega, I've been ignoring these bad thoughts without effort."

• Kiw...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 18, 2018

"Invega Sustenna is gross. It blocks dopamine in the brain, so it causes a long list of side effects. This drug is a gimmick, it has no therapeutic value whatsoever. I think I threw up over a dozen times!"

• Rea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 3, 2019

"Let’s start off by saying it causes bloating. I hate the feeling. I have been dieting and exercising but no results after eating. I have no sex drive, tiredness, no emotion, and lack of energy. I also don’t want to leave the house. This shot has worked for my voices, but the side effects are worse. Hopefully getting off of it soon."

• A-s...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 13, 2022

"It's kind of weird how I had one career abroad, then came to North America with my parents and had another education (Comp Sci, honors degree), and always considered myself a successful A-student. Now, after a 2-year course of Invega, I have a learning disability. Yes, after treatment with this neurotoxic poison, all types of education, continuous learning, etc. are irrelevant to me. My memory is so bad now, I cannot learn some of the subway station sequences in Toronto no matter how I try (I work now as a foot courier, a career specifically tailored for the disabled). Specifically talking about Canadian psychiatry, I would say they deactivate your frontal lobe with Invega or something like that, then throw you into extreme poverty for the rest of your life. My Invega dosage: first year 150 x 6, (75 + 50) x 3, 100 x 3, second year 75 x 7, switched to oral Invega 6 mg (2 months), now I'm on risperidone."

• O2j...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 26, 2019

"The combination of drugs I was on, which included Invega Sustenna, caused a great amount of pain and suffering. Puking, coughing, kidney pain, prostate pain, brain on fire, lockjaw in the middle of the night, in some order which I've forgotten."

• Fer...
• September 9, 2018

"It works! But you have to want it too. Mental illness is an illness of the brain. The mind... So you have to couple your taking of available meds and therapy. You have to change the way your mind works and thinks. Think on purpose for up to an hour a day by repeating a phrase or quote such as if you're a voice hearer, repeat up to an hour a day (I cannot hear voices, they aren't real) x repeat. Fish oil, good sleep, eat healthy, and exercise every other day. Look after yourself and work your thought life out. I have schizophrenia, bipolar, and depression and hold 2 small businesses that I run for most of my workweek (Music Studio owner/operator and Stock Market Trader). I've had schizophrenia for 14 years, and for 7 of those years ran a highly successful business where I used to live (talking 7 figures). EAT healthy! THINK right, exercise, and do what you know you should! Positive, positive, positive. You CAN do this!"

• Jen...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 12, 2021

"My husband is borderline schizophrenic, and he is given the injection once a month. He has been given the needle for 18 months. During this time, he is always asleep, no energy, no interest in life, very slow walking, and just can’t do anything. This is not living, just existing. Is there an alternative to this drug? So fed up with it all."

• kou...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 16, 2014

"I'm a young single mom. In my experience, Invega gives me a fuller lifestyle. My condition is stable and controlled with Invega, so I can live with a balanced, happier mind. The only downside is the weight gain and some minor side effects, like milk production in my breasts. However, the benefits to my mind are greater than some minor and trivial side effects."

• ask...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 28, 2017

"I'm getting Invega, serious side effects in libido (I'm a male), sexual dysfunction, gained 30 kg plus, I can't do sports due to muscle stiffness, and killed all thoughts out of my head, barely can hold a job. No emotions also, I'm a hollow empty shell, a zombie. Can't get drunk. Took my life away. But to say something good, it helped with delusions. I think it is too much price for it."

• Str...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 29, 2018

"I find the drug makes me calm/relaxed, but I have the most severe insomnia. I've gone 7 weeks without much sleep and have 0 energy or motivation. This drug has basically ruined my life and turned me into a stay-at-home vegetable with no future. Gonna switch to Abilify and hopefully have my life back and good, healthy sleep back."

• Sea...
• February 10, 2021

"I have paranoia, panic disorder, and bipolar 1 with psychotic features. I zoned out and daydreamed living nightmares. It shattered my self-esteem. I heard people say my thoughts, and I heard their thoughts. It did not clear my mind, it made it race with the paranoia condition I have. I gained 100 pounds in one year. My labs showed I would have cirrhosis of the liver in 2-5 years due to obesity. I saw a nutritionist but lacked all motivation. I was constantly terrified. I rarely spoke. When I switched to another antipsychotic, my hallucinations stopped. Five years later, I have no idealizations about people reading my mind. I am grateful I was too scared to talk about how I felt because my diagnosis could have changed. I lost my whole sense of who I was by getting injected with 150 mg each month for four years. I blame myself little for sleeping the pain away. I would never recommend this medication to anyone."

• Bob...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 25, 2020

"I don't feel much on this medication. It takes away the pleasure of enjoying things like video games, sadly. I've lost my sense of smell while on this drug. I've gained the most weight I have compared to other antipsychotics. I tried coming off it for a month with no success, it's really strong on preventing delusions and hearing voices. I can't ejaculate or feel much sexual pleasure while on this medication."

• kod...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 30, 2018

"Gained over 30 lbs on this medication, even though I'm eating less and I've cut out sugar from my diet. What's even more depressing is that even though I'm heavier, I'm actually weaker than I've been when I was skinny and off meds. Also, when I skip my injection for a week, I'm hitting threes and long twos like it's nothing on the basketball court, while on the medication, there's no point in going to the court. Also, the results of treatment are suboptimal: I don't have friends, during 6 years of treatment, I've never been on a date (which probably also has something to do with poor sexual functioning while on the medication). I stay at home all the time, am unemployed, and gained the status of a disabled person. However, when on the medication, I don't have positive symptoms like thought broadcasting. I'm seriously considering switching the medication, I'm depressed, desperate, feel awful all the time, and can't do it anymore."