Paliperidone and Insomnia: What Users Say (Page 2)

• che...
• March 3, 2017

For Schizophrenia "I was doing okay with Seroquel, and my psychiatrist insisted on switching to Invega. I could only last a week on this medication because of the unbearable side effects such as increased heart rate, extreme psychosis, confusion, suicidal thoughts, commanding voices, disorientation, and insomnia at first and hypersomnia afterward. This experience is one of the worst experiences I've had in 25 years of treatment. I asked my doctor to switch me back to Seroquel, but he refuses to do so. I am forced to change psychiatrists and get back to a normal life again. Please check for your own well-being because P. docs sometimes lose perspective on this matter."

• tir...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 20, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "Side effects experienced: diarrhea, dyspepsia, asthenia, fatigue, hypotension, agitation, insomnia, hyperactivity, restlessness, increased weight, increased appetite, akathisia, headache, sedation, muscle aches, back pain. Benefits of the medication: less mania, reduced hyperactivity."

• Eli...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 17, 2018

Paliperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder "Cons: Invega increased my 'prolactin hormone' 5 times more than the maximum level. Thus, I lost my menstrual cycle for more than one year, sexual dysfunction, depression, sleep disturbances, etc. This drug also lowered my metabolism. As a result, I experienced food coma (falling into deep sleep) after eating food. It also increased my blood sugar. I gained 20 kg in 8 months. Tremor was another side effect of Invega. I was on a 100 mg injection. But, I had no delusion with it!"

• Che...
• April 11, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "I feel in some ways I have been made into a vegetable. I feel my life is basically over. I was put on this for bipolar disorder and Asperger's. I used to have so much energy. It has reduced me to like a fraction of the person I used to be, and it’s messy and unpleasant. Invega has ruined my life, and I feel it has given me permanent brain damage. I have insomnia. I lay on the bed a lot, and I sit down a lot. I shuffle a lot. I have akathisia and catatonia. My hands are crippled, my hair is ruined, it is so thin and falls out. Please don’t let anyone you love start Invega. If you are looking for the worst time of your life, this is the medication for you!"

• moc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 17, 2022

Paliperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder "I've only had the two beginning doses of Invega, and it has been awful. My doctor talked me into it since I sometimes miss my pills, so she wanted me to get an injection. I agreed, and now I can't sleep. I have such vivid dreams, like I wake up in another life. So vivid, it seems real. Sometimes I can't decipher reality and my dreams. I'm seeing things often, more than when I was just on a pill medication, and I am going to tell my doctor this week that I refuse to take this again. It made me lose a job, I can't focus. I'm scared all the time. It's just terrible."

• Sim...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 21, 2023

"It makes me depressed and suicidal and doesn't do anything good. It affects me every second in the way I feel. The way I sleep is more light and not as good. I have put on weight, and listening to music isn't enjoyable anymore, and when I sleep, I can't lie in because it ruins it. I hate this medication."

• apt...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 4, 2023

Paliperidone for Schizophrenia "I have been on Invega Trinza for a while. My mental disabilities have been improving. I was off and on for like 10 years now (with taking medicines). I don't have the paranoid feelings anymore, like people are out to get me, like it was. Although I haven't been getting much sleep lately. Overall, the thought of it is good for your mind, but the side effects are just as bad."

• Wom...
• November 17, 2021

Paliperidone for Schizophrenia "Invega ruined my life until I actioned by myself the switch to another antipsychotic. Any side effects mean that the meds are not really working to treat the mental illness. I stopped sleeping for 3 years straight and gained so much weight I looked like a mutant. My body and face. I lost both my menstruation and sex drive, so it was like sterilized. Well, I stopped living my life, obviously. I couldn't even get out of bed for those years. And I was totally going crazy. Much worse than before my diagnosis. I believe my psychiatrist gets kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies, so he doesn't really prescribe as a doctor. My new meds, just another antipsychotic, still leave me with chronic insomnia, but I fought for sleeping pills by now. And the rest, I am back to ME all the way."

• Rob...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 6, 2021

Paliperidone for Schizophrenia "I have taken Invega for 10 years on and off. It does stop the mood problems and psychosis, but at what cost? I'm 334 lbs and was 250 lbs when I started. I have lost sexual function. I have night terrors, and for years I have had panic attacks. I am an insomniac because sleep is the worst. I sleep two hours and wake up. Then I wait till I'm tired again and sleep. I haven't slept 8 hours in 4 years. I'm diabetic now. This ought to tell you how bad schizophrenia is--I still take the medicine and never plan to stop. I'm about to get a bachelor's degree in two months and have had straight A's for a year. This is the best medicine I've gotten yet. When are we going to do better with pharmacy?"

• Ben...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 7, 2020

For Schizophrenia "I’ve been doing pretty good off of the Invega 117 mg injection for 5 months. Feeling extremely restless, can’t sit still. Starting to forget some things here and there. Having a lot of dreams that wake me up while asleep. Eating a lot of food, I can’t stop eating, starting to gain weight. I feel off of a lower milligram, the side effects that I feel go down a lot, and the medication is still useful."

• Pat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 19, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "I was given the paliperidone injection, and I’m getting really bad side effects. I’ve got a bad case of insomnia, which has improved slightly since my doctor prescribed me promethazine, but I’m not dreaming, which I find odd. My whole outlook on life has changed completely, and I’m not enthusiastic about anything anymore. My thought process has diminished to the point that I feel as though I’ve got brain damage. Also, I can’t eat. I don’t even enjoy the taste of food anymore. I’ve lost so much of my upbeat personality and have become quite boring. I’m so serious now. I can’t feel emotions anymore either. The most worrying thing is this, and I’m embarrassed to say it: I’m growing hair in unusual places. I hope this isn’t permanent, as I might have to get lasered. These depots are no good. I’ve had 3 in the past, and all of them have messed me up. If I could, I’d sue these scientists who are formulating poor methods of treating people with mental health problems."

• Ann...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 18, 2021

Paliperidone for Schizophrenia "This drug works really well to control my positive symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. I still have breakthrough symptoms, but only when very fatigued or stressed, but nowhere near as intense as off medication. I have managed to lose 2 stone (in 6 months) of the 6 stone I put on from taking the Abilify injection. I feel less fatigued, and insomnia isn’t as bad as when taking the other medication. I still have less interest in social situations and relationships, and my sex drive is nonexistent compared to before my illness. All 3 are symptoms of schizophrenia I know can be made worse by medications like these. The main negative is it has increased my prolactin levels to 4 times that of a healthy non-pregnant woman."

• Joj...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 19, 2019

For Schizophrenia "I am diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. I never took oral meds consistently. I'd just forget or my voices would warn me not to. I believed the medicine was poison and that I was not unwell. My life was hell, and I was ready to kill myself. After hospitalization, I have been on paliperidone depot for just over 3 years. Started on monthly and now had 2 x 3-monthly. Cons: I have put on some weight. I struggle with a sleep disorder (meds or illness?). It is very hard to wake up in the mornings. Pros: I am stable. I'm studying for a degree (with some adjustments for my condition). I do a few hours of work each week as well. I rarely hear voices. I am not paranoid or deluded. I get a little unwell if I'm very stressed, but nothing I can't manage. I have not been in the hospital for the past 3 years. I have new friends and can socialize. I go on holidays abroad. You would not know I have schizophrenia. 3-monthly depots offer so much freedom. I have it, then forget about it."

• jel...
• May 24, 2015

For Schizophrenia "I have been on this paliperidone for 2 years. It's the best for managing the voices and delusions. They stopped and went away very quickly. Side effects were lactation, increased sex drive, and insomnia. I would recommend it to anyone who needs it because it works very well."

• Anonymous
• January 5, 2013

For Schizophrenia "I've been taking paliperidone for the last year with good results: a proactive lifestyle including uni and drinking with no delusions, depression, or paranoia and few hallucinations at night. However, the prolactin level has increased to where the possibility of breast tissue (gynecomastia) can form. As a preventive measure, my doctors have suggested that I change medication. I have had perceptibly minor side effects (akinesia [which annoys others, but when genuinely interested, I stop], monthly upper lip muscle tightening, sexual dysfunction, broken sleep, vivid dreams, hypnagogic hallucinations [weird and sometimes scary]). Would recommend. Consult doctor, but if risperidone worked, try this as it's a metabolite of risperidone."

• Fog...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 22, 2022

For Bipolar Disorder "I have had a really bad experience with this drug. I was arbitrarily diagnosed with bipolar by a doctor and put on forced drugging, even though I've never been manic in my life, and the times I have been depressed have been contextual. Why would I want to continue taking a drug I'm forced to take for something I know for a fact I don't have? I'm hyperactive and obsessive-compulsive, not manic. The ethics of forced drugging are questionable. The drug has given me akathisia, which thankfully goes away. It has given me persistent sexual dysfunction problems (erectile dysfunction), and my sleep has been terrible. Before I was on this drug, I was sleeping great, I would wake up every morning at six and would feel fresh and ready for the day. The moment I was put on this drug, no matter how long I slept for, I would wake up feeling exhausted, drowsy, sedated, and hypoactive and could barely get myself out of bed before 11 every day. Thankfully, my hyperactivity (ADHD) returns in the afternoon."

• Kev...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 29, 2023

Paliperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder "I got this shot in my 3rd inpatient hospitalization. I was covered by Medicaid, so there weren’t any issues. I was getting injections monthly, and I started doing way better with my schizoaffective bipolar disorder. Without medications, I have a verge behavioral emergency practically weekly. When I was on it, I could feel it in my steps and my balance, I felt so much better. The frantic thoughts racing through my head leveled out, and the main reason I see the doctor is regarding sleep insomnia. I started getting the shot, and my balance felt well enough to get to sleep. When I would eat, I wouldn’t panic. Some of these reviews are not true, the only bad part now is my new insurance doesn’t cover it, and it’s $3000."

• Bal...
• January 26, 2016

Paliperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder "This med is rubbish. I can't sleep, I have insomnia, weight gain, feel like garbage. It was helpful for the first 4 months."

• Dot...
• August 4, 2014

Paliperidone for Schizophrenia "Very high smoking sensation, weight gain, tiredness, and insomnia. But it's the best antipsychotic med for me."

• Mr ...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 25, 2022

For Schizophrenia "Depression, restlessness, weight gain, no desire to do anything, poor sleep, stiffness, lack of libido, anxiety. You name it, this drug gives you it. Put simply, I would rather listen to the voices."