A miracle has occurred and my son agreed to take the extended Haloperidol injection. To my disappointment I learned he still has to take the oral meds for a while but the facility he just left did not say for how long. He feels betrayed now bc the only reason he agreed to the shot was so he could stop the pills. Also, it seems like a lot of medication at once, 100mg injection + 15 mg orally. He can barely stay awake.
During his most recent hospitalization, my son took the Haldol oral tablets for about a week and then had the injection. There was no expectation for an overlap. But, and maybe this doesn’t matter, my son has previous experience with injections, namely Invega Sustenna.
It is my understanding that the oral tablets are given as a “test” to make sure there are no adverse reactions.
Talk to the prescriber and explain your concerns. But, know that your son’s system will naturally adjust to the meds over time and he will be less lethargic.
Tell your son he will be happy with the injection, even if there’s a short overlap. It’s so much easier.
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That’s good! I was upset bc the only info I found online in regards to it indicated 3 months of overlap and I knew that would never fly with him. I will call the doctor at the facility tomorrow but they probably won’t talk to me since he’s an adult.
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Be aware HIPAA restrictions are one-way. They will listen intently and take notes and talk about treatments in the abstract or hypothetical, it’s only when you ask about specifics about a patient that they are restricted.
I haven’t taken injection form medications, but overlapping is common when you change pill medications. Being a typical antipsychotic, Haldol is faster acting as compared to atypicals at least in pill form. I understand it is one of the most potent antipsychotics which is why it is still popular while atypicals have become more common. Realize that when discontinuing medications it typically doesn’t work like a switch, it’s a more gradual process similar to how it takes a while for a medication to take effect. The overlap is more of a safety net to bridge in the transitions in my experience. I’ve asked my psychiatrist if bridging two medications would make me feel more doped up, and he said not really and it was more of a precaution than a requirement to avoid risk of relapse at least in pill form transitions.
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Hello our son is on both clozapine pill form daily and abilify injection monthly as well as Luvox(pill form) - we just introduced abilify to help with motivation and cognitive improvement and we can see improvement for our love one. I know it s very much individual and trial and error. So far We are liking the results - he sees his physicist monthly - she did help me get on board with abilify - adding it to his clozapine and he sees his nurse/psychologist weekly - he has a good relationship with both - I like the results at this moment in time but yes tomorrow is another day - just riding the wave - and very proud of our son
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