Paliperidone and alcohol

My son 25 has been having paliperidone (think its inveiga) in the USA? we are in uk.
He still believes there is nothing in the syringe, he complies the bare minimum with his Nurse who comes to give him the injection, he will have a chat but bare minimum, its me that is always there as he wont go out and meet her out side our house. I take all the appointments and write them down, he does nothing .
Same with letters from DR or hospital I am the one to do it all,

He never abused alcohol in the past but had the odd binge like most men here his age.
A few weeks ago his psychiatrist and CPN came out to visit to ask about the meds etc, he spoke a lot about in the past drinking too much and it was that to blame (anything other than his condition, illness etc)

Had a good christmas with minimum delusional talk, except the odd comment about him going to be kidnapped and taken away from us, which i hugged him and reassured him no it wont happen, then he was fine. His nurse and dr have asked him again why he wont have a blood test and he replies incase they sacrifice his bloods. He should have tests ecg etc but wont.

He has no motivation to go out, he wont even walk the dog, but a couple of nights ago he asked me to drive him to the shop for some beers, (he had his injection that day) I said nope I was busy , had lots to do, so he actually walked there, (only 10 mins)
He came back with a pack of 12 beers, I said I hoped he wasnt going to drink them all, he replied no some are for the next night. He had 7, no problems etc.

The next night (last night) he drank the remaining 5 then he put his coat on, I asked him where he was going, he said more beers, now we know this exasperates him at times, so his Dad and I said no we thought he had drank enough, could hear his voice slightly slurred, they are small 330ml bottles, but I felt 5 was enough, after all he is sitting in his room drinking alone.

He created a fuss, and hubby ended up saying he wasnt going to let him in if he came back with beers, I ended up retreating to the bedroom at 8pm. He came back and hubby did let him in after a fuss. He also had sweets, chocolate and crisps with him. A lot !
This time another package of 10 bottles, hubby and him had an argument, Husband is a very non argumentative man. Son started ranting about us “taking” the doctors sides, Saying we let it happen to him, he isnt ill, its not meds in the syringe, Its his money to buy beers, I said I wouldnt have given hi £50 for his birthday 3 days earlier , I said I gave it to him to get a haircut, look nice, buy nice clothes etc.
It went from bad to worse, he drank I think 5, so that was 10 all in last night.

Honestly it was like going back to the days before the hospital stays and what our life was like before when he wouldnt do a thing to help.

He has no motivation , he has a good degree in business management and says he has worked and done his bit and because its all been taken from him this is his life now and for the rest of it.
When his nurse comes out to him, she offers, social groups, gym, talking therapy and he is not interested, he spends all his time in this house with us, its suffocating for us, he has no friends either, he did visit family at christmas with us , his grandparents.

So I don’t know I am back to thinking is he ill or is this is true personality, ?
He is currently on a CTO which is a community treatment order meaning he has to take meds and comply or he could be recalled back to hospital, thats under review soon, and if he is taken off it he wont take meds and I feel it will spiral again to us making him move out like we did 18 months ago.

Sorry for such the long post, I think hubby and me have to go out and spend time out of this house and think of us today.
Thanks if you have got this far .

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I hope you and your husband do get some time to yourselves today.

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PS I’m not sure about Paliperidone, but alcohol does lower the effectiveness of some APs…

God bless you. I can hear the worry in your voice. Get out and take some time for yourself and don’t let yourself get down. Take care and remember to take it one day at a time.

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I recommend you get this book, “I’m not sick, I don’t need help” https://www.amazon.com/Someone-Mental-Illness-Treatment-Anniversary/dp/0967718937/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3XYZ9KM84WA6X491C6CY

It helped me understand my son’s illness. Part of the illness is that the person with SZ does not know he is ill, he lacks insight so he can’t fully cooperate in managing the disease. Many do not understand this. My son takes Haldol now in the oral and Abilify . He still hears the voices but is much more sociable and motivated and less depressed. After the second month on this combination of meds, he was more focused and was able to complete tasks at school without my prodding. He even made new friends and went out with them a few times. SZ is a wicked, wicked, disease. I am sure you son feels like everything was stripped away from him. I will pray for your family. Get the book! It will help your understanding and there are a list of resources in the back as well.

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Thank you I will get that book, thanks for the link and the kind words.
Hope you are all doing ok today.

Another outburst tonight, saying we are lying to him, we are being conditioned by “them” they aren’t real drs anyway, his soul was taken away aged 11-12 all the same stuff.
I said unless he listened to us he would end up back in hospital (wrong I know)
He looks at us with sheer convincing that he is right, he knows all the answer but can’t explain them.

I meningitis"illness" he said ok what do,you think I have , I replied schizophrenia, he looked at me with horror and to,d me to f@@@ off and went up,to his room. I heard him walking around told him come down here please. He came down right away, I gave him a hug hug and he hugged me tight. I said d I don’t want him back in the hospital and he needs to lis to our advice in order to stay well. He just does trust the Doctors or social workers etc, he thinks they all have motives against him.

I think this forum has saved my sanity I really do.
We have so much support he could have too, he can access any of EIP services, can go on group outings, social meetings etc but nope. He mentioned a gain there “why do they want my blood” I said to check his liver, kidn, lipids, heart etc and he just said no they want to do blood sacrifice on it. I despair at times.

I think those two nights he consumed the alcohol has definitely not helped him.
Thanks all for reading.

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I’m really glad you two can hug. That’s meaningful

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Thank you, for a couple of years though he wouldn’t let me, even if I said I love you, and asked did he love me. .? He would say “just leave it mum” or “I don’t know” and as for a hug …no chance so yes to get to hug and kiss his cheek again it’s all positive, thank you.

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Jane57, in fact, it’s priceless isn’t it?

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Mom2 it sure is. Thank you

I can tell you that I have an occasional drink of alcohol and i am on invega sustenna as well. I no longer have delusions, paranoia, or hallucinations. I know you are not suppose to drink on aps but I don’t notice any problems when I have an occasional drink. I am not sure that the medication is completely working for him. I wouldn’t try drinking as much as he does on this medication and wouldn’t recommend it either.

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So,glad it’s helped you jassy. My son has since had 2-3 pints of beer on the odd night and has been absolutely fine .

Also another way he could get out of the house is going to church thats if he’s religious it also helps to focus yourself on something bigger and a great way to meet people.

Just want to say you are on the wrong part of the forum…My son lives with us, he’s loved, cherished and supported and cared for.
You truly have no idea, anyway you have just joined and this post is way out of date, if you had seen it was posted almost a year ago.

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I was just trying to give some advice as I know what it’s like to have schizophrenia is all. I know post is late but still relevant?

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Saying I sound like a bitch? That as an intro to a supposedly “helpful post” no thanks after reading that when I woke up , you are the last person I would take advice from.
We are normally helpful and supportive on here just so you know .

Sorry about that not the best choice of language I’ll admit but it was the only way I could get my point across. God bless you. Just to let you know with having schizophrenia we have trouble with authority which is probably why your post got to me so much I could just see it from his point of view is all.

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I would take this awful condition for my son if I could. As a parent I feel helpless enough.

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Don’t worry I didn’t mean to offend you with first comment I am one year younger than your son if you have any questions just ask away. If I can help I will. Also I hardly leave the house as well and have no friends either. It is a terrible illness so I know what your son is going through.

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