son has bipolar and schizoaffective disorder

[sharon]

medication is the problem right now. my son has been manic for about 4weeks now non-stop. he has a childlike behavior and acts like a rebellious teenager. he will be 30 this july. mu question is -is invega and resperal the same drug? he is on invega 12mg and cymbalta 69mg per day. it is not helping. he was on resperal and he did much better, but his dr. put him on invega and now this is happening. she says it is the same drug, only invega is a processed drug and does not affect the liver. i want him to start taking the injection of respirdal again, which did the trick better. is it the medication, or is he just getting worse. i need to plea with the dr. again. pls. help with these questions asap. i am at my last thread of my own thinking.

[nancyannee]

sharon, that is my diagnosis. I too was put on Invega. I stopped taking all my meds that time because of how I reacted. I have since been put back on risperdal and although I am tired I do feel better. I hope your son gets some relief soon.

[David O]

Sharon,
The drugs are slightly different; however, both are designed to address psychosis. Invega (paliperidone) is an atypical antipsychotic that was developed from the active metabolite (paliperidone-- the same metabolite) of Risperdal.

There are numerous anti-psychotics on the market, and in our office we frequently have to "experiment" with the right medication (most effective), right dosage or right cocktail (mixture). We look not only at effectiveness, but side effect profiles and other factors.

You may need to be very assertive. Some MD's dictate from on high; consequently keeping their patients confused or docile. As the primary caregiver and advocate, be assertive, take charge and insist on a team approach between all of you. Explain the situation as you have here and insist on returning to the Resperidone. Unless there actually are side effect issues that are presenting or likely to present, request a return to Reperidone.

If all else fails, seek another MD. Bipolar Disorder is serious and each relapse creates what is called he kindling effect. Finally, also keep in mind that the Invega may not have reached therapeutic level while the Resperidone may have, which may be why it was more effective.

Hope this helps.

David O.

[Calista]

I would talk about this with the doctor very firmly if your son was better on the Risperdal. It is good that he has you to ask the questions and keep on top of his treatment

Calista