Sso scared after my Son 18 yrs stop responding to Ability 20 mg, got a way more aggressive and attacking parents and people and yelling and F words to anyone in his face, breaking anything, made hols at house, … Too much to accept.
Doctors said to replace it with Invega, any one on this medication or any thoughts if it is good or similar or strong enough?
My son was on a Abilify for 4 years and it never worked well for his SZ, he still had delusions and mood swings and paranoia. Also he gained 100+ lbs on it. He stopped taking all meds 10 months ago and ended up in jail, sadly.
People can respond differently to different medications, so what works for one person may not work for your son, @Bad2Dad. That said, my own son responded well to Invega for several years. As I recall he started to smoke weed again at some point and then the Invega stopped being effective, leading to a psychotic episode after which he was ultimately placed on another antipsychotic med. Fortunately he is sober now and is currently on Clozapine. It’s working reasonably well. Good luck with your son.
I wish there was one size fits all in the AP meds. My son never had a med where he was free of voices and delusions. I think he has med resistant SZ. I hope he can try clozapine sometime because I heard it works as a last resort med.
I hope your son can try Clozapine, too. It unfortunately, and wrongly, has a reputation as a last resort anti-psychotic. Clozapine is an underused medication in the U.S. (although I don’t know where you live). One good place to learn more about Clozapine is this webinar recorded by NAMI. (There are lots of other great “Ask the Expert” webinars there, also.) Clozapine: Understanding Benefits & Barriers | NAMI. And there is a very recent Ask the Expert webinar I thought was excellent on pharmacology (including a recently new-to-the market med and clinical trials) for addressing obesity with psychiatric disorders and weight gain commonly associated with many anti-psychotics. NAMI Ask the Expert: Integrating Pharmacotherapy for Obesity into Psychiatric Practice | NAMI
As far as I was aware Invega should be used as a last resort in males as it has significant hormonal effects in men. It does seem like a lot doctors prescribe it regardless. In women it can cause periods to stop or become irregular and their breasts to become swollen. I think it can cause breast tissue develop in men.
This is a side point, but I am sometimes surprised that Invega is not known to be abused as a breast enhancer, but maybe there are things that people will just not do for the sake of vanity after all.
Thanks for the info! I will watch them and try to advocate for my son.
Invega has changed my life. The Injection not the pills. My loved one has been on it almost a year now. They have no symptoms at all. It did take a couple of months to work good, and stop all their symptoms. That last part was rather disappointing until one day it just worked.
My loved one did gain weight, but they were severely underweight before it. Now they are healthy. They also sleep more than usual but that too is just fine. They smile, laugh, and basically enjoy their life now.
I highly recommend it.
He may need a higher dose. My son didn’t fully respond to Abilify until he went on the monthly injection. The pills were too inconsistent in his system. He also takes an anti depressant
Thanks for replying. If I may ask, how old is your Son and what Abilify dose was on it as pills?