Experience with The shot

Does anyone here have experience with a qualifier taking theinvega shot? My son is on haldol now but has asked for a shot and I am interested in hearing about your collective experience…thank you

My son has taken Invega Sustenna monthly injection for past 4.5 years. Not sure what you mean by “qualifier.” For awhile, he took haldol, med for depression, and benztropine for side effects (tardive dyskinesia), but recently decided to stop the pills - against dr advice - but seems no worse for the wear. He’s agreeable to take the injection monthly.

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Does he talk about side effects? Y son agreed to go on the shot but with covid their was an issue getting him on a schedule

My daughter’s most successful medication is the Haldol Dec Shot. She’s been on it for 2 years now. She visits the clinic monthly (I take her monthly), waiting patiently outside since Covid started, going inside only when the nurse is ready for her.

Thank you for this feedback. Was it hard to find a place for the shot

Hello, my daughter gets a monthly injection for abilify to treat her sz and she says she would rather do that than take pills that she may forget to take ,(a fear of hers and ending back in the psych ward). What I have noticed is that she says she can feel the medicine “wearing off” and she gets some symptoms like hearing and seeing things. Also when she first gets the injection , she gets migraine type headache and is very tired for a few days.

My daughter was court ordered to a hospital from jail and from jail she was referred to Directions for Living for a psychiatrist and her shot. In our county, Directions is a pretty popular place for help with outpatient based mental illness therapy and medicines. I am very lucky that there are 3 hospitals and Directions for Living nearby where we live and that the police station was only 5 blocks away. Without their support, my daughter would still be lost in psychosis most likely. She has been successfully medicated now for 2 years after 5 prior forced hospitalizations and 2 arrests since March 2016 when she had to come to live with me.

Hello
My son, diagnosed schizoaffective, just started Invega injectable. He is on a lower dose, so significant signs of doing well are not present. He wanted to stop Resperidone (pills) due to the hormone side effects. Unfortunately he suffered a relapse and it’s been an uphill battle since. At this juncture it seems to be the right Med, but dosage needs tweaking. He also takes 300mg of Quetipine. Tried to ween off but not good given the low Invega dosage. Just had second shot. Saw some real decline at end of last month. Still, giving it a chance as there doesn’t seem to be any side affects.
Always seeking a better, healthier approach to meds in general. Best to you.

Haldol has a long lasting shot. That said, I liked the Invega shot when I was on it. But back then, I had Medicaid. Now, with Medicare, I have to avoid going into the donut hole where I would have to pay 44% of the cost of the drug which is $2000/ month. I don’t qualify for the coupons or manufacturers discount because I have Medicare which automatically disqualifies me. So I’m stuck with the cheapest meds. I take haldol pills

I am the MASTER of long acting antipsychotics because I have been on the Clopixol long acting injection for 24 years. Most of the time I got the depo every other week but there were a period of 5 years were I got the long acting once a week. And finaly the last 8 month I take the depo once every 3 weeks.
In time your family members will get better on the depo. One good thing about the depo is that your family members won’t spin out of control and if the depo is’nt sufficie just offer them some pills as needed.

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Does your daughter experienced weight gain with Haldol? My son is in the hospital and hating the weight gain

My son gained weight and hates it but eats the way he did when he played football in high school. He has a sweet tooth and loves fast food. I don’t know if he are carefully if he would have weight gain.

Yes, my daughter gained weight with the Haldol Dec Shot, and has been complaining about it for 3 years. However, she is now past mid 30’s and I just told her to look around at most women over 30, the weight starts going on for most women. She used to be bone thin, so looks more “normal” to me now than overweight. She has slowly started to pay attention to what she eats, as she cannot, just cannot eat like she used to with fast food, chips, ice cream etc, and no weight gain. She is also going to the gym a few times a week. What helped most was reminding her of her age and to stop looking at tiny teenagers and comparing herself to them.

@juliea My son is on the haloperidol deconate injection monthly. He seems to have the most trouble with symptoms within the week AFTER he gets his shot. What I’m thinking is that by the time he gets it the last one has worn off and he’s having breakthrough symptoms until the next one builds in his system. I’ve told the nurse that I believe he needs it every 3 weeks but instead they increased his dosage from 100 mg to 125mg. After receiving the higher dose he still seemed to struggle. Does your daughter have any issues like this after the shot?