Paliperidone and Hallucinations: What Users Say

• Mom...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 3, 2018

For Schizophrenia "My son (23-year-old) got the Invega shot. It's the worst thing ever. It's making him cripple, still hearing voices, shuffling when he walks, insomnia. This drug needs to be taken off the market. I am going to write to the FDA. It's very expensive and does nothing to help. Where are our tax money going? Why isn't there a cure? The insurance companies are bloodsuckers. The poor mental health patients cannot get any help. I am so sick and tired of this disease right now, I just want my child back."

• 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."

• PRO...
• March 11, 2016

For Schizophrenia "These drugs are dangerous. They ruined my life and made my illness much worse. The doctors do not believe me as they think I'm an inferior life form. Symptoms include tooth decay, lack of motivation, extreme weight gain, heart pains, and reduced level of consciousness. They also made me extremely delusional to the point I didn't even believe anymore."

• Lea...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 12, 2018

For Schizophrenia "I have been taking Invega prolonged release tablets for 8 years. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia and put on 3 mg, and it took a little while for the delusions to end. I then fell into deep depression. I couldn't stand my head the way it was. This drug blocked all my mind wandering that I loved so much. I was given a 6-week course of ECT and put on 75 mg doxepin antidepressant and Invega upped to 6 mg. When the dose was increased to 6 mg, I had heart palpitations and couldn't sit still in a chair from stiff joints and was constantly falling asleep. My psych blamed Invega, lowered my dose to 3 mg, and increased my doxepin to 150 mg. I was still robotic in thought and movement, but I could lead a productive life. My head did feel very dry, and I was in survival mode, though. I started having 2000 mg fish oil capsules a day, and my thoughts became fluid, and so did my joints and movement. It's not a cure, but I would recommend fish oil capsules to people with psychotic illness taking these meds."

• 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."

• ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 13, 2020

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Put on Invega, and I started hearing voices, which is something that's never happened. Panic attacks, something that's never happened. Always felt cold. Would wake up in the middle of the night as though I've been possessed. Invega contains fluoride, highly recommend finding medication fluoride-free. Not to mention it costs $900/month for the pill and $1900/month for the injection! Was on the pill for 2 weeks, went off cold turkey, and it was hard, could only describe a really bad physical sensation. I'm trying Lurasidone next, seems to have much better reviews for schizoaffectives. Wish everyone 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."

• all...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 5, 2016

For Schizoaffective Disorder "This medication is weird. You can be doing really well and be normal, and then all of a sudden you get a manic episode or psychotic episode out of nowhere when you were normal like 2 days ago. It doesn't help you sleep, although it's good because it didn't stop me from waking up in the morning. I was able to go to my morning class as I was waking up at 5:30 am. Although I couldn't concentrate in class, and I never cooked. From what I remember, I was doing better on Risperdal, although I was more out of it and way more paranoid, and it was really scary. But I had good friends and never got manic and never had to go to the hospital for almost 10 years, and also did well in school. I think Invega is too inconsistent and can't take the mood stabilizer I want to."

• Sme...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 14, 2022

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Invega has been a long journey for me. I started with the pill and the injection, while I finished my bachelor's degree (Woohoo Sociology!). I used only the injection and continued the injection for quite some years. I had several doctors encourage my thoughts about wanting to detox off the meds and convince me I was safe to do so. This always resulted in a terrible relapse of symptoms of psychosis and schizoaffective disorder. I finally came to the conclusion (hospitalization number lost count) I would not try to escape from my medication, as every time I take it the way I am supposed to, my day goes by fairly smoothly and successfully. I definitely encourage people to experiment with different atypicals prescribed by their doctor or NP to figure out what helps them best. For now, I have found Invega, and it has helped me so much in life. I have been able to find a full-time job with benefits and unlimited PTO! Moved to my dream location near the mountains and go rock climbing."

• ano...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 11, 2019

For Schizophrenia "I have been on this injection since 2017. Received the monthly injections for about three months before my doctor noticed my remarkable stability in mood and made the switch to the tri-monthly injection. When switched to the tri-monthly injection, I noticed that in the third month of being on it, my symptoms of paranoia and delusions would flare up. I've learned to live with it. However, my sex drive is completely gone and my menstrual cycle is too light. As well, there are nights that my insomnia flares up. I have not gained any weight, but I haven't lost any either. To counter all the bad side effects, I have to say that this is the longest that I have been out of the hospital. Besides the odd paranoia/delusions in the third month, I don't hear any voices like I used to or experience a full-blown manic episode (diagnosis is schizoaffective with bipolar tendencies)."

• ano...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 11, 2019

For Schizophrenia "I have been on this injection since 2017. Received the monthly injections for about three months before my doctor noticed my remarkable stability in mood and made the switch to the tri-monthly injection. When switched to the tri-monthly injection, I noticed that in the third month of being on it, my symptoms of paranoia and delusions would flare up. I've learned to live with it. However, my sex drive is completely gone and my menstrual cycle is too light. As well, there are nights that my insomnia flares up. I have not gained any weight, but I haven't lost any either. To counter all the bad side effects, I have to say that this is the longest that I have been out of the hospital. Besides the odd paranoia/delusions in the third month, I don't hear any voices like I used to or experience a full-blown manic episode (diagnosis is schizoaffective with bipolar tendencies)."

• Bro...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 22, 2018

For Schizophrenia "This drug is the worst thing that has happened to me. At first, I was overmedicated, this drug caused my tongue to tic the upper part of my mouth. I would have all sorts of hallucinations and delusions, which have gradually gone away as the medicine has been reduced to the recommended dose. Not only to mention, I was only experiencing delusions prior to medication. They have gone away now, but it seems as though my thoughts echo, mimic, and align with sounds I hear. Also, it feels as though there are bugs under my skin due to micro muscle spasm. The worst part about this drug is that it causes you to zone into things, like stare at things or become immobile in your line of vision. Which this only happens occasionally, it really is difficult to drive or hold down a job. I have heightened energy levels with adding Abilify. As this Invega Trinza causes couch lock, not no energy, no motivation, and no drive. At least on this medication, I don’t experience sexual dysfunction."

• Bro...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 22, 2018

For Schizophrenia "This drug is the worst thing that has happened to me. At first, I was overmedicated, this drug caused my tongue to tic the upper part of my mouth. I would have all sorts of hallucinations and delusions, which have gradually gone away as the medicine has been reduced to the recommended dose. Not only to mention, I was only experiencing delusions prior to medication. They have gone away now, but it seems as though my thoughts echo, mimic, and align with sounds I hear. Also, it feels as though there are bugs under my skin due to micro muscle spasm. The worst part about this drug is that it causes you to zone into things, like stare at things or become immobile in your line of vision. Which this only happens occasionally, it really is difficult to drive or hold down a job. I have heightened energy levels with adding Abilify. As this Invega Trinza causes couch lock, not no energy, no motivation, and no drive. At least on this medication, I don’t experience sexual dysfunction."

• 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."

• Man...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 25, 2017

For Schizophrenia "I had been on Haldol before, which I am allergic to, and it caused wasting away disease. Invega was my last option, and it helped fix what Haldol seemed to have ruined and took away a lot of the scary stuff I was dealing with, like seeing people in my room. The only thing is I am still hearing voices, but they are mostly nice. I am on 234 mg a month."

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

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• Mic...
• April 20, 2017

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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!"