Invega Sustenna and Hallucinations: What Users Say

• poo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 13, 2019

For Schizoaffective Disorder "This medication is the worst. Do not take it. You will have no feelings, no thoughts, no sex drive. Please do not take this drug in any circumstance. It does not help at all. It actually makes you worse. It makes you lose your mind on the daily. It makes you hallucinate daily. You don't want that. Do not take this medication in shot or pill form. 0 stars. Horrible drug. Way too expensive and does not work at all."

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

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

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

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• sae...
• May 7, 2019

For Schizophrenia "I've been on this drug/medicine for about two years, and it has caused a lot of problems in my life. It barely helped with the auditory hallucinations such as the voices and paranoia. I feel like a zombie all the time, really tired, drained of energy, and like my brain is slowed down. I've had little to no sex drive (sexual dysfunction) and have no pleasure from sex. Within the first couple of weeks of getting the injection of Invega Sustenna every month, I get muscle stiffness in my neck, arms, and hands. I feel like I can't breathe, along with a rapid heartbeat and a fever. I become confused, unable to function, dizzy, and lightheaded. This happens two to three times a month within a few weeks after getting the injection. I believe it might be because of NMS (neuroleptic malignant syndrome), which is a rare side effect of the drug/medicine that might cause death. This is a horrible drug/medicine for me. I'm going to try a different medicine from a different doctor and hope for the best."

• Sea...
• February 10, 2021

For Schizophrenia "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."

• Sea...
• February 10, 2021

For Schizophrenia "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."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 18, 2014

For Schizophrenia "I have been on Invega for 5 months now, and it has significantly improved my quality of living. Prior to the shot, I was on numerous antipsychotics and would begin to stop taking the pills and go into relapse with symptoms. I'm not on the shot, and auditory and visual hallucinations and paranoia have decreased dramatically. I like that it is a monthly shot, and it cuts down on remembering (or wanting) to take a pill once or twice a day."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 18, 2014

For Schizophrenia "I have been on Invega for 5 months now, and it has significantly improved my quality of living. Prior to the shot, I was on numerous antipsychotics and would begin to stop taking the pills and go into relapse with symptoms. I'm not on the shot, and auditory and visual hallucinations and paranoia have decreased dramatically. I like that it is a monthly shot, and it cuts down on remembering (or wanting) to take a pill once or twice a day."

• Hel...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 6, 2021

For Schizophrenia "When I was on the 75 mg injection, I wouldn’t stop gaining weight, my weight went from 104 lbs to 136 lbs and was increasing with crazy hunger. I had bad acne from this medication, no period, couldn’t work out, went to bed at 6:00 pm, lost my internal voice, couldn’t think at all. They dropped me down to 50 mg, and the weight persisted. They then spaced out my injection to five weeks apart, and I dropped some weight but not enough to be proud of. I’m around 120 lbs, still don’t have a period, have crazy hunger, no internal voice, can’t perform like I used to, have puffy eyelids, one drooping eyelid, can’t use my imagination, bad memory, can’t lose weight, don’t sleep at night, and the side effects keep piling up. It has taken away my voices during the day and my delusions."

• RBa...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 4, 2019

For Schizophrenia "Took 100 mg of the paliperidone drug (European dosing) when I was psychotic and, for 1 year (same dose, later added 20 mg Zyprexa), while the psychosis had gone, delusions and hallucinations persisted the entire time. Also, it raised my prolactin level to rocketing levels (2000 mIU/L). Although it kept me away from psychosis, there are better alternatives for the disease."

• RBa...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 4, 2019

For Schizophrenia "Took 100 mg of the paliperidone drug (European dosing) when I was psychotic and, for 1 year (same dose, later added 20 mg Zyprexa), while the psychosis had gone, delusions and hallucinations persisted the entire time. Also, it raised my prolactin level to rocketing levels (2000 mIU/L). Although it kept me away from psychosis, there are better alternatives for the disease."

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

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• paz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 12, 2015

For Schizophrenia "My daughter had the injection this month. It stopped her psychosis, still a little paranoia. The first ten days severe pain in neck. Also some dizziness still and balance problems, she says. She took Cogentin for neck. Some relief from the neck now. Another issue from blood test is high prolactin level. We will be seeing her doctor this week. Don't know if side effects are worth it."

• paz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 12, 2015

For Schizophrenia "My daughter had the injection this month. It stopped her psychosis, still a little paranoia. The first ten days severe pain in neck. Also some dizziness still and balance problems, she says. She took Cogentin for neck. Some relief from the neck now. Another issue from blood test is high prolactin level. We will be seeing her doctor this week. Don't know if side effects are worth it."

• Gsu...
• March 27, 2020

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• Gsu...
• March 27, 2020

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• Gsu...
• March 27, 2020

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• Sis...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 31, 2024

For Schizophrenia "My brother is on this medication, and I have my brother back. He's only been on it for a few months, but he is not hallucinating or paranoid anymore. He can hold rational conversations and make decisions for himself. Because of the things he did to others and to family members when he was suffering from his mental illness, he is sad that he doesn't have the relationships that he wants. I'm hoping he will accept counseling to begin to repair those relationships."

• mol...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 10, 2018

For Schizophrenia "I've been taking Invega Sustenna for a little over a year now, and for the majority of that year, I had absolutely no positive or negative symptoms. Recently, though, the paranoia and slight delusions have started to creep back into my mind. My psychiatrist upped my dose to 234 mg, and now I can't stop eating, and I'm hungry all the time. I already had a binge eating disorder, but now it's infinitely worse. Also, the newer symptoms are still there. We're currently trying metformin to help with my appetite, but so far it's doing absolutely nothing. I'm now thinking that I want to try switching to ziprasidone. It's supposed to be really good with weight management, but I'm worried it might not be as effective with my mental symptoms? I can't freak out because I'm working and going to school now. Back to Invega, though, I guess I can thank this medication for giving me my life back and making it so I can function in society. But I can't handle the weight gain..."

• Sar...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 24, 2023

For Bipolar Disorder "I take 75 mg of the Invega Sustenna, and it has given me my life back. I’ve gained 40 lbs over the last 5 years on it. But I don’t mind as long as I have stability. No mania. No psychosis. I feel amazing. I had severe anxiety on the Invega Trinza, but went back to Sustenna, and that went away. I feel great!"

• Nub...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 9, 2019

"I have been on Invega Sustenna 125 mg for 2 years for bipolar. Previously, I was a zombie when on lithium treatment, I lost two jobs for not being able to show interest. I also suffered from depression, but that got fixed with an antidepressant that made things much better. On the Invega, I gained weight, around 30 lbs, but it did kill the hallucinations and symptoms of the illness. However, it had its side effects like any treatment. Things got better as I lowered to 75 mg and took the antidepressant Celexa."

• Cra...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 21, 2018

For Schizoaffective Disorder "I have been on Invega 234 injection for over 7 months. I do the injection every 3 weeks. It has helped with the auditory and visual hallucinations but am unsure of the mood effects. Definitely more depressed, and my anxiety has gotten much worse, but after I get the shot, it seems to get better. I have been hospitalized every month with multiple depressive problems after taking this medication and am now convinced that it is possible that this medication could be the cause. I am now going to try to figure out if this medication is worth being on or whether I should stay on it."

• Mar...
• March 19, 2022

For Schizophrenia "Most horrible medication my son was on for 4 months, did not stop hallucinations and made him rage to the point he had to be hospitalized. Doctor kept telling us to give it time, big mistake made my son so aggressive, punched walls, fought with police. As soon as they gave him an Abilify injection, he has been doing better. There is a reason why Invega scores so low."