Like memory issues at all? Sleep issues? Does your brain repeat things? Mine reminds me
All the x im sz esp when waking up. Voices seem dulled. Can you think/ have your own thoughts on it? Esp how long did it take for voices and paranoia to back off? They say the longer you take a medication the fewer relapse. How long does it take for symptoms to go away?
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This med put me into a 1 week spout of psychosis.
I had to be hospitalised after i took it.
I take Invega Sustenna. On 156 mg I had no symptom relief. It took raising to 234 mg to see results. My negatives were severe until my doctor added Abilify 10 mg a day. Now I am happy and stable.
All my positive symptoms were gone the first month of 234mg. They came back about 7-10 days before my next shot was due.
I hear horror stories about this medication so im scared. My thoughts have never been this disorganized before…
Hi. Please don’t be scared. All medications work differently for every person. It’s mostly trial and error to see which ones will be best for you. Invega tends to be either amazing or awful for people, but there’s not really a way to know in advance.
It took me about six or seven med changes before I found a routine I was comfortable with. But now I’m very happy, and have almost zero side effects.
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There is a DNA test you can take from GeneSight to see which meds are likely to be effective for you, but it’s not very accurate and not covered by insurance. If you have the money though, it could be worth looking into.
There are so many horrible horror stories online. How long does it take to adjust usually? I got the shot on the 17th
Most meds take about 8 weeks before the benefits really show up and the side effects start wearing off.
When I first started the med I’m currently on, I slept like 14 hours a night and still heard voices. But after maybe 2 or 3 months, I started going back to a normal sleep schedule as my body adjusted, and the med built up in my system. Now, I’ve been on it nearly six years, and I don’t even notice any side effects. When I added an anxiety medication, I again noticed side effects. That time, I gained about 30-40 lbs over six months, but then I stabilized. I don’t mind being a bit bigger, as long as my bloodwork keeps coming back good.
If you start to notice serious side effects, like worsening hallucinations/paranoia, or suicidal thoughts, tell your doctor right away. That could be a sign it isn’t the right med for you.
If i were to take it again i would take pilla instead of the sustenna and if your bodies reacts well then go for the sustenna.
Just my 2c
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It was fine. Not too good, not too bad. It put me 3 kilos of weight. And oculogyric crisis, but i have this with all AP i tried.
I had to switch from rispersal to invega so my symptoms were already under control and i didnt notice much difference. I really like this med. Good luck.
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Did you have the DNA testing done for yourself? Did you find it not accurate? Or do you know anyone else got it done?
im not sure if I like it or not. been on it about 30 months now. wiped out my positive symptoms in the first month. but I was depressed and suffering anhedonia for 16 months before my side effects started to subside. now it’s fine, am interested in lowering my dose eventually or trying a different med. put on 30 pounds.
i take invega tablets been on it almost 6 months, i switched from zyprexa, and the first thing i noticed switching to invega is that my appetite is lower, because of this ive lost 58 pounds since switching, at first i had trouble sleeping but now i sleep normally, appetite has creeped up a little over time maybe because my activity has increased, i get nightmares sometimes, my psychotic symptoms are manageable on this med, i dont notice much difference in symptoms since the last med i was stable on. anxiety kinda worse tho and feels like i have some ocd symptoms but that may be unrelated to the med.
this med has been great for me its the only one where i have been able to lose some of the weight i gained on antipsychotics without losing my mind
I didn’t get it done, because by the time it was developed, I had already found good meds for me.
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I’ve been on Invega Sustenna for eight months now and it works pretty well for the positive symptoms. I can think and process things normally. I did gain 40 pounds since getting put on it. And it did raise my prolactin levels to the point where I was lactating so now I’m being switched off of it.
I also get the Invega Sustenna monthly injection of 156mg. I started with the highest dose of 234mg and got it successfully lowered to where I am now. I want to go even lower but I am scared. I don’t hallucinate, I’m not delusional, I don’t talk to myself, I have insight into my illness, voices are virtually non existent, I haven’t gained any weight, I am firmly grounded in reality, I can speak fluently because I was having trouble with speech in the beginning, maintain my hygiene, dress good and smell good everyday, my mind races here and there and I get breakthrough symptoms sometimes but I’ve been stable for almost 2 years now and out of the psychiatric ward as well and planning to keep it that way.
Last time I went for blood work everything came back normal, but I do have slightly high cholesterol and prolactin levels that I remember. I also have memory and cognitive issues, sexual dysfunction, lower libido but I deal with it.
I also take Wellbutrin 100mg for depression and have real bad sleep disturbances that I take Benadryl and Clonazepam combined to help me fall asleep and stay asleep. Other than that I am very functional and this medication has helped a lot.
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Were you delusional before? How long till baseline?
@LovelyCreature- The problem with this illness which is the scary thing is that you slowly lose your mind. The first time around I quit my medications cold turkey and ended up relapsing and became very delusional and was completely out of it. Even the first time I got put on medications I was still slightly delusional the second time around my delusions are completely gone. I think it took a month of me being on the medication second time around for me to come back to reality and have some sense of what I was dealing with.