I have been reading alot here and decided to ask my first question.
My loved one was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia after involuntarily for not eating as the primary reason. I don’t want to go into all the reasons but I am sure you guys know what I would say already as I have read many similar posts here.
While in the hospital I was able to call my loved one and talk a little on the phone. They told me about getting repeated injections for not taking meds orally. I don’t know how exaggerated it was " in the butt, in the arm, in the leg" . But I do know they at least got one injection, and there is a nasty knot on their skin which suggests this but I don’t know if they got repeated injections.
It has been about 3 weeks since they got at least one of these injections. The first two weeks when they were back home were just plain downright rough. After that they slowly started to do better. This 3 week period has really just turned them around completely. I am seeing such a change it is absolutely remarkable. They are cooking and eating alot which is great. I lost alot of weight myself during this time so all the food is welcomed. It is just the two of us, and they have even stopped setting extra plates of food out for our guests as of yesterday.
I do expect things to go backwards some days, and then forwards again.
Perseris is one of these meds they received a prescription for. I don’t know if that is what they got in the hospital. I have looked it up and read about it. It is too expensive for me to be buying but I can get them some help for that. I believe I could get them to accept these injections. Their prescription says 90mg every 2 months. The website says every month.
I do have an appointment lined up for them to see a doctor. I don’t know if they will go or not. But this is really the only option I think they would consider at all.
Has anyone seen these med work well as the only medicine used?
This appears to be an injectable time-released form of risperidone (aka risperdal) which is a relatively old “atypical” antipsychotic. Most injectables are administered monthly rather than every two months, but other than that single medication treatment or “mono therapy” is fairly common and can be effective for diagnosed people who tolerate medication well and are stable. I took the oral version of this medication for about 6 months about 30 years ago and it was not for me, but everybody’s different.
Hospitals at times administer shorter lived antipsychotic medications to patients who refuse oral medication and are acutely psychotic, agitated or belligerent. Some of this is for the safety of the patient, some for the safety of staff or other patients. It can take some time for the diagnosed to stabilize and to find a good match between a patient and medication, and shorter lived injections make it easier to switch to something different if things aren’t working. Ideally, oral medications are preferred because it’s easier to adjust doses and transition to different medications and/or employ multi-medication “cocktails”.
Long story short, what they say about injections is plausible, but may be subject to the fog of delusions, misinterpretations or general confusion during intake and adjustment to hospitalization which is often disorienting. Some of this is due to confusion on the patient’s part, and some of this is due to poor communication by hospital staff who assume patients aren’t capable of comprehending things. And yes, treatment with a single antipsychotic can be effective once you’re stable and taking medication consistently which is why long-acting injectable medications were developed.
Thanks so much for your reply. I have looked into this more and I don’t think Perseris is going to work. They don’t have a patient assistance program. Also I called the pharmacy and the prescription for that is gone. I do remember them saying they would need to order it. I assume they also figured out it has to be done at the doctor’s office so it probably was just removed. Not sure why the hospital would send it to the pharmacy in the first place.
I did find one Invega Sustenna that does have a patient assistance program. I have it printed out and will ask the doctor about it when we go next week. It looks like you can transition to less frequent injections over time with this one as well.
Is there any kind of long acting injection that can be done at home? Having to go to the doctor to get a shot for this illness is something I am having a hard time understanding.
Generally only trained people can administer injections. Clinics, pharmacies, nurses and nurse practitioners mostly do the injections, not doctors. Pill forms are available for most antipsychotics and are often cheaper than injections, because injectable pharmaceuticals often are working on extended patents, while many pill medications have expired patents and generics are available. The downside of self-administered pills is compliance is not assured the way it is for injections.
Hi @Frodo and I am glad you asked your first question on this site. Hello @Maggotbrane nice to see you again.
Regarding injections in general, from my daughter’s experience with Haloperidol these last few years,
Nothing stabilized her except for this injection, she would NEVER stay on pills during the first 3 years of her schizophrenia.
The first injection had noticeable improvement, BUT it was still very bad to live with her and she was still mostly psychotic.
It took several months of monthly injections building up in her system to go from constant hallucinations/delusions to distinct behavior improvement and lessening of strong voices and delusions; about a year to get to just a small amount of disturbances; after 2 years to almost NO voices or delusions; and after 3 years to self-awareness of “her crazy years” as she now looks back and calls the years prior to her shots.
She went back to work at first very part time (still talking to herself quietly), then regularly about 3 years ago. From then up until now a stranger would have no idea at all that she has schizophrenia. She now knows that the injection is for her mental illness, but for years she thought it was a medicine to “help her concentrate at work”.
Good luck with helping your loved one. It is a war with many battles, but it is very worth it to see the improvements.
My son has been on Invega trenza ever three months. He started with Invega sustaina 150mg once a month then went down to 100mg then transitioned to 75mg every three months. I read that there working on a vaccine for every 6 months.