My son had a psychotic break a month ago, had a invega sustenna shot, now won’t take his second bc he doesn’t believe he has the schizophrenia he has been diagnosed with. He is 21. How long does it take to someone to begin showing symptoms again? Days? weeks? Months? Will they be about the same as last time or worse? He did not wean off just didn’t take the shot…
Everybody is different, but the antipsychotic will certainly be out of his system within a month, so as a ‘finger in the air’ guess, you should see symptoms returning within a month. The symptoms will be the same as before, eventually, maybe not as strong to begin with, but eventually returning to the way they originally were. If he’s had a psychotic break, then that’s also on the cards again, but when that happens will be more difficult to predict.
I’m not a doctor unfortunately, and that’s just my best guess as to how things will pan out.
Try to get your son back into a dialogue with his doctors and develop a ‘relapse plan’ with them. Get them to explain to him what could possibly happen if he doesn’t take his meds. And more importantly what to do if things look like they’re going wrong.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. I wish you the best of luck.
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Instead of trying to convince him that he has schizophrenia, I’ve heard that the most effective way to help people like your son is to focus on the benefits that he gets from medications. What things might he be able to do if he’s on medication vs. when he’s not? Like get a girlfriend because he’s not thinking wild thoughts, or get a job, live independently, etc. Focus on helping him achieve something that he wants - and the medications are just a tool to help him get there.
This is a tactic from first Aid for Psychosis here:
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months, im 3 months off invega and no voices.
It lasts 4 months but at lower levels in the blood.
Most studies show far less relapse probability after the injection.
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Thanks so much for replying!