Generic Name: Invega for Schizophrenia (paliperidone)
"I have been diagnosed with bipolar with psychosis in June 2020. I got 2 loading doses of Invega then two other doses in two months, a total of 4 doses. Now I am 10 months since the last dose still suffering from weight gain (20 Kg), erectile dysfunction with numb penis and shrinkage, less semen volume. This drug is awful. DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICATION AT ALL. Unfortunately, I did not have the choice to accept or refuse the drug because I was admitted to the hospital at that time. They took the consent from my parents who did not know what this drug is. This is a post for humanity, please do not use this drug, it ruined my life totally."
"Do not take this drug! I was given two injections and don't want any more. I'm severely depressed because of this stupid, horrible drug. I cannot concentrate, it literally ruined my brain and caused severe brain damage. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG! THESE COMPANIES SHOULD BE SUED!"
"Put on this medication for two years. I don't hear voices or anything, but yet I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It made me forget words, feel stupid, have impotence, erectile dysfunction, sexual problems overall, decreased ambitions, decreased confidence, felt swollen, and my life turned upside down. I got off the medication two months ago and have been increasingly feeling better. I hope all the side effects wear off and I can go back to normal. I hope."
"This is the worst medication ever. I was 120 lbs when I started on this, and I gained 80 lbs. My boobs went up from an A cup size to a D. It has been so hard to lose the weight. I don't take the meds anymore, and I'm still trying to lose the weight, it caused me other health problems on top of this. I would not wish this medication on anyone. I did not feel better on it at all. In fact, I felt dizzy, was sleepy, and all I wanted to do was eat. I repeated myself constantly while on this med. I blame the manufacturers for all the damages."
"I got diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar in the hospital. I was taking risperidone which was helping me a lot, but then I started taking Invega. This medicine has ruined me. All of the things that I've loved doing now suck. I was on it for 4 months, but I've been off of it for 3 months now and I'm still dealing with side effects. I can't sit still or lay still. I'm always tired, my tongue is always numb, my speech is off. I can't have a simple conversation, I can't sleep at night. I hate waking up in the morning, my thoughts are all confusing, and I feel weak. My body is really sensitive...I just miss the old me."
"NIGHTMARE! I do not recommend this drug. I was taking it for 6 weeks (3 weeks to get me on 9 mg and 3 weeks to get me off). Terrible vivid nightmares that seemed more real than reality. I was wondering if I am dreaming or is it real all the time. My mind was empty. My muscles were in pain, I couldn't properly move my body because of 'hard' muscles. I had a feeling of being pregnant - smell and taste changed, I had contractions and I produced milk. Only when this happened doctors decided to put me off that drug. Thank God for body side effects, because doctors don't take it seriously when you tell them that a drug is bad for the mind, emotions, etc."
"I started taking this medication for 3 months after I was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and it has ruined my life. I now have trouble speaking, I'm always anxious, I can barely concentrate on anything, I'm depressed and sleeping a lot, and I no longer get erections and have trouble producing semen. I have been off of it for 2 months, and I'm still dealing with the side effects. This is the worst thing I have ever been on, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone."
"So, I was high energy and a lovely person before taking this drug. After my second shot of 234mg, I became so tired and depressed like all the life had been sucked out of me. No longer bubbly and energetic, I would just lie down all day with no energy to move. Very sad. Very, very sad."
"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."
"I was sent to the hospital this January, with a plan of suicide after a big meth bender where they basically said, 'stop using drugs and stop bothering us' (been admitted to psychiatric care multiple times). My GP became infuriated with how they just simply dismissed me and put me back on Invega. Within a week, my mood improved majorly, my tendencies left, I haven't been using illegal drugs, my life has completely turned around. I have zero sex drive, but I'm back at Uni studying my Bachelor of Science. My parents are super proud of me, my attitude has changed, I'm happier, I have accepted my shortcomings, and finally have a goal in life. I think zero sex drive is better than cutting stuff into my face."
"Tricked into this at the mental ward because of psychosis caused by Bipolar 1, and I absolutely don't like it. I am unable to think and retain information. I get no joy out of music, food, books, or TV anymore. I am a visual artist who no longer has inspiration. I can barely remember my characters or their stories. I can't think or write with any regularity. I can no longer laugh regularly or feel most emotions. It has been a miserable experience. I can't imagine what kind of sadism it takes to create a drug that makes people so empty inside. I am missing memories and all kinds of pieces of my old self. I can deal with not having a sex drive. I can't deal with the rest of the side effects. I want my brain back."
"Suffering and miserable on this drug Invega. I take 117mg monthly injections. The frequent side effects I get are thoughtless, emotionless, akathisia, anxiety, a lot of difficulty with memory, focus and concentration like I can't learn much. Unmotivated, I sit around a lot feeling numb and mentally blank. Increased depression, dead sex drive or no interest in sex. Weight gain."
"I feel that Invega is some sort of torture. I’m a man of God. I never in my life felt sicker on 234 mg of Invega. I felt like life doesn’t exist, and insects are my friend, not to mention the physical trauma my mind and body are going through. I cannot get off Invega because I don’t have a place to live, plus this is the go-to drug when they have power to advocate their own sick minds into the world with the doctors."
"I was diagnosed in 2013 with schizophrenia and depressive behavior. Prior to my last hospitalization, none of the meds were working on me. My family changed my physician, and she firmly believed Invega combined with Sertraline would do the trick. I am most grateful to her and my family for their desire to help me. I no longer hear the voices, I can go out in public, watch TV, listen to the radio, and enjoy it like I used to. I feel safe again, the paranoia of thinking people were after me is gone, I don't have suicidal thoughts anymore, and I'm starting to build a social life again. I am 24 years old and I'm grateful for the unconditional support my family and new doctor have given me, My life back."
"This drug saved my son's life. He failed to respond to any other drug and lost two years of his life in mental facilities. He was put on Invega Sustenna and within 2 weeks was changed. Within 3 months he was almost asymptomatic. Over the next 4 years he earned a degree in computer science with a 4.0 GPA and within 1 unit of a Masters with a very high GPA and accepted into a PhD Program. The insurance company forced us off the depot sustenna injections onto pills. Within 8 weeks he was fully psychotic and in a lockdown facility. The injectable form is a miracle drug! It should be a crime to allow an insurance company trying to save a few dollars more to destroy someone's life as they have. Write to Janssen, Write to your congressman!"
"Taking Invega makes me spaced out and weird. Spend most of my time lying in bed. Feel miserable. Wish I don’t have to take the medicine. But my sister is supervising to make sure I take the medicine. What should I do? Feel good when I am not taking any psychotic medicine."
"This drug ruined me. I was fine before after they forced me to take it. I've been unable to write music since, which was what I had a passion for. This drug has made me depressed and given me anxiety, which I was never experiencing before the drug. Beware of this drug, it helps some and can ruin others."
"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."
"I was taking Clozaril for about 24 years. My doctor stopped my medicine and didn’t taper down. Instant stop. He then overdosed me on 256 mg of the shot. I had young emotions. No thought left. Couldn’t remember how to turn the key in my car. My legs started going up and down, face twitches. Forgot how to cook. Just could sit there and not move. My head started shaking. I stopped this drug, but my mind never came back. I’m slowly losing love and emotion for life. If you love somebody, don’t ever let them take Invega. It is the worst drug on the market."
"This medication completely ruined my life. I gained 15 kg over six months on this injection, whereas before I was fit. I grew man boobs on this medication. I have no libido and complete sexual dysfunction. This medication gives you terrible anhedonia. I was forced to take Invega Sustenna after some stupid psychiatrist diagnosed me with 'psychosis.' I had no symptoms of psychosis."
"I have been trying for 7 years to get off the monthly Invega shot because the side effects make me feel like I’m in a nightmare. I’ve gained 80 pounds, trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep, no sex drive so no point to having a girlfriend, I feel down all the time, have wet stools, heartburn constantly, frequent headaches, and I could go on. If you have a loved one on this drug, ask them to be honest about the constant suicidal thoughts."
"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."
"I was on Risperdal for 3 years. I switched to Invega just over a month ago and am already losing a good deal of weight. I do sometimes get restless, but I accept this as the price for not sleeping 17 hours a day on Risperdal. My appetite is normal, and I don't eat huge portions anymore. My energy is up, and I can actually feel emotions fully again for the first time in a long, long time. Would recommend giving this a try to anyone - just remember some people get different side effects. For me, this also took away sexual side effects that were limiting my relationships."
"Horrible side effects! Caused facial hair, missed periods, swollen tender breasts, I would produce breast milk though I was not pregnant, severe uncontrolled muscle jerks, spasms, changed color of pubic hairs. After a year, I still had involuntary movements and spasms. My neighbors assumed I had Parkinson's disease."
"This drug works great for the treatment of schizophrenia. It has made me feel a ton better, and its benefits far outweigh the few side effects. Be sure to take exactly when you are supposed to and not try to catch up on a dose. I did this and had to go to the hospital for treatment of muscle rigidity and uncontrollable muscle spasms, but as I said it has only happened once and happened when I missed a dose and tried to double up. So this is a great medicine, but take as prescribed only."
Invega Trinza, Erzofri, Invega Hafyera
Invega Trinza, Invega Hafyera
