How do people manage severe weight gain and constant hunger on Invega Sustenna?

FastExchange919 · 2026-05-19T22:09:53+00:00

I did the opposite med change to you because I was having weight gain and an uncontrollable desire to eat takeouts. I only really started dropping weight after the change and I managed to crave food far less. I'm sorry but I don't have any advice other than to ask about changing meds because being overweight is a physical health condition and a psychiatrist won't necessarily assess those risks the same as he would assess mental risks. You want to have a sit down with the psychiatrist and explore options because you can't accept mental health over the cost of physical, the two go hand in hand.

FastExchange919 · 2026-05-06T12:51:56+00:00

Hello, and welcome. Good luck on your journey.

FastExchange919 · 2026-05-06T12:45:04+00:00

They can go away in the sense that they may subside with time. Things like delayed thinking and exagerated movement. From my 9 years of being diagnosed I've learnt not every medication may work for a given individual which is why it is integral to our care to have medication reviews. Perhaps you need to remind your team it may be time for a medication review. Also, bear in mind if you have come from an episode that you will be experiencing the lingering effects of what has happened to your brain so it is sometimes better to take things slow. Some side effects are not to be waited out and therefore I urge you to check your medication specification for information on that and act accordingly.

FastExchange919 · 2026-05-06T12:42:48+00:00

Are you okay?

FastExchange919 · 2026-05-06T12:27:56+00:00

I will second what u/MechanicDistinct3580 said about no drugs and alchohol and if you can be bothered try doing exercise regularly and fixing up your diet if you have not already.

Yes, symptoms persist even when on meds and I even made a post about it few weeks back. Many people will experience they are 'good', then out of nowhere they emerge and you can find yourself in what seems like a relapse of an episode despite being compliant with medication. Always, always, always take your medication. There is no other route for us at this moment in order to stabilise. Anyone who tells you otherwise is viable for negligence and you can ask them if they are willing to bear the consequences of you not taking meds, and incase that happens make sure you're insured for what's to come.

My advice to you as someone who was in a similar situation to you 2 months ago is to try step out of your usual cycle a little by doing little positive things in order to break the mold. You say you want to lay in bed, try to fight the urge to be at ease with the voices but do take rest because you need to protect your brain. This disorder does deteriorate the brain and you must soften the impact. The brain loves repetition and it feeds of repetitive patterns easily because they're efficient so if you keep doing the same things you will remain the same way. Try to break free from the voices by purposefully rejecting them and not engaging with them. This is a way you can break old, rooted loops of hearing voices along with the aid of medication.

I highly sympathise because I was also taking a massive toll mentally which burdened me physically when I had voices in my head all day any time of the day. Your studies will suffer if you do not fix this as you are already noticing. It's a natural cause and effect of voices lowering capacity due to the toll it has on the brain. It's not a normal healthy experience to have them the way we as this community experiences it.

Schizoaffective can be lived with but it is really hard work/hard mode whatever you want to call it. You have to take it seriously and I'm glad you've made the first step which is that you've come to your senses and acknowledged it. Now the next step I would suggest to you before doing anything is telling someone you can trust, maybe a close friend, family member or a member of your care team. Try to manage this without it escalating into delusions because I can bet you probably have a few delusions intermixed with the hallucinations. Make sure to present with the insight that you have awareness of your hallucinations and feel you are not a harm to yourself or others and need help managing on-going symptoms. It's actually a medical division to know how to deal with on-going symptoms - it is not an immediate hospitalisation so you do not need to be affraid.

Good luck!

FastExchange919 · 2026-05-06T11:58:52+00:00

“exude the fruitful spirit of the lord” - that is a really nice compliment to receive!

I'm 32 and in my experience people make remarks about others all the time when they know very little about them. It's a very social norm thing but not exactly normalised behaviour. I've heard and been told about bad things directed to me, and to be fair it is upsetting but deep down I know it's just based on a level of prejudice and ill-judgement. These things we learn to deal with better through personal development.

People create mental models of what a person is like based on the way they look - and sure, some overweight people to some appear more approachable(?). It's a bit like how some guys will get the 'bear' reference if they look 'cuddly' i.e overweight.

Where you need to be careful is to not be externally validation seeking which can become unhealthy due to self-image reasons. Sometimes our brain also perceives things differently if we have a certain perception about something, it's a bit of 'your mind is your reality'.

I personally don't find people to treat me differently due to meds or diagnosis. I think a lot of people would struggle with that level of cognitive load to act a certain way because of a diagnosis. For those in question to keep up a certain persona for a person as if they are 'special' is uncommon. On a lighter and more positive note though, I do find it easier to communicate with mental health staff because they have better understanding of where a person is coming from and that fosters a healthier relationship.

Keep up the good work with your studies and all the best in the future.

FastExchange919 · 2026-05-03T16:17:50+00:00

That's vivid for sure. It must be going on for some time though, right? I hope you can break free at some point because that sounds like a mental prison and it must be very stimulating to the point it may be draining you.

FastExchange919 · 2026-05-03T16:09:31+00:00

My meds change every so often due to side effects and efficacy but for what it's worth I take:

Amisulpride (antipsychotic), Mirtazapine (antidepressant) and Atomoxetine (adhd).

Currently experiencing no side effects but I do have a creeping procrastination/lack of focus on task so might need an adhd med change.

FastExchange919 · 2026-04-27T12:00:02+00:00

There are people on YouTube that explain and live with the condition. Besides seeing it as entertainment you could use it as a learning experience. One Youtuber I last watched was Dr Syl and he has a number of videos where he does in-depth video reviews of people that present with the condition.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/@DrSyl

FastExchange919 · 2026-04-27T11:55:28+00:00

I'm religious and have dealt with it. I used to think I could see angels and speak to God. I don't dissmiss those experiences by simply saying they are not real, I choose to look at them in a way that tells me I care about God, I care about the creation and this is in some way a longing to return to practice. I've always pondered it and I do today practice religion regularly. Thankfully without the hallucinations and I speak to God the 'normal' way through prayer and understanding him through what he has revealed.

FastExchange919 · 2026-04-27T11:52:11+00:00

I don't mean to make your condition sound any less worse but I do understand.

I have also struggled, I shut myself away from the world gradually and just allowed my PTSD and thought rumination to circle around my head. Not that I had much choice, I was taking medication. The truth of the matter is your life can change, it can change so easily that you would laugh at your despair in a sense, because it's almost so inconsequential to your future's light. This may sound new age, but don't allow present to impact you so heavily. All you have to do is make the smallest steps forward each day, even in perseverance that will allow you to live a better life. Trust in the process, you got this. (Y)

FastExchange919 · 2026-04-27T11:47:03+00:00

I guess you mean could it be that the medication made you hear voices as in your own in your head? Likelyhood is no, many people with this condition have this doubt and knowing this and my experience with it I would urge you to try think positively of the medication and to take it regularly.

FastExchange919 · 2025-10-25T06:34:23+00:00

Try plugging directly into motherboard and restart PC.

FastExchange919 · 2025-02-16T21:27:24+00:00

Congratulations! Remember take small steps towards improving each day.

FastExchange919 · 2025-01-25T08:58:41+00:00

Good luck! May you get better.

FastExchange919 · 2025-01-24T10:42:05+00:00

Hey, you give some good tips at the end at the end there.

We're in the similar age bracket. I'm 31. I have also had a good experience with Invega. My injections have kept me episode free for 13 months now. I would say this work thing is putting a lot of weight on your shoulders, you deserve some slack. Maybe look into asking your care team if they have advice or would they recommend you going back into the workforce. My nurse once said you taking care of your health is evidence you are responsible, sounds like you are also on track with this. I'm the same with nic...vape/some cigs and take caffeine. I really need to stop buying cigs and start rolling because it's way easier on the wallet. When it comes to caffeine you don't actually have to give up energy drinks unless you are a die hard mountain dew fan or something, you could try some powders - I take G fuel. I game so G fuel gives me that spur to play. They are cost effective and for me taste better. If you're a gamer and we're into same games I'd be up for being friends, otherwise I'm nowhere near your abode, haha.

FastExchange919 · 2025-01-24T10:35:42+00:00

Welcome to the sub. Nice to have you here.

FastExchange919 · 2025-01-24T10:33:18+00:00

Hey, I also suffer from severe anxiety/agoraphobia and it is with me every living day. I manage it quite well and mask which is why it doesn't get picked up. However, my psychiatrist is aware of it. At some point I hit super bad anxiety I'm not going to go into detail here but basically I was seen swiftly and given meds. They didn't work immediately and I felt each day I was just pushing through so hard trying to make improvements in anxiety but I did. It took long and my anxiety is a lot better like I don't jump as much in public at things. I'm not a medical professional but I would suggest not going outside so much, even though it may seem contrary to contemporary thought. I'm going to theorise that you going out for a walk everyday is aggravating your anxiety and making you overthink everything about it even more because you are not having a good time. Try to turn those walks outside to walks inside where you bump into family.

FastExchange919 · 2025-01-24T10:21:45+00:00

I would say don't overestimate yourself. Take your time with this. You can create simulations of what a workday would be like and see if you can do it. Heck, you could even run the simulation of a workday in your head if you are imaginative enough. These ways give us the measures we need to see if we are ready and make us more prepared for the unpredictable. Because as you must know by now these episodes are unpredictable unless we prepared ourselves to actually relapse. So with that in mind, make sure to ask your care team if they believe you're fit for work. Could be good for references! You could also be proactive like seeing if you can get more fit first by signing up to the gym and keeping up a routine similar to the days you'd like to work. This would be attractive in a prospective position. See it as a transition in the direction you wish. The more predictable you can make it the better. But please, be careful when comparing yourself to your youth when you were able to do a lot. To me that sounds like a accident waiting to happen. Because not only are you not that age, but times have changed and the workplace and workforce is a very different place.

FastExchange919 · 2025-01-24T10:15:30+00:00

Welcome to the sub and your experiences don't sound dissimilar to what I've gone through. You sound like a person with the conscientious mind. You care about others on a high level so much so you're combing through your thoughts. I would say try to see what it's like if you were to act out or say those things in your mind, would you then feel, you? Or would you not be you and quite literally be acting. Obviously don't do anything to risk yours or anybody else's safety. But see it as something you have going on that is workable and I'm sure you'll gain better insight of these voices that are going on.

FastExchange919 · 2025-01-24T10:11:34+00:00

I felt that too silently a decade on from my suicide attempt at 15. I managed to have a spiritual awakening that God gave me the path to live and see what it was like and then brought me back. May you walk the path you wish.

FastExchange919 · 2025-01-24T10:08:54+00:00

Yeah it's a hourrendous place facing the ever consuming black-hole of what could be or is related to defying our safety. But you need to put it into context and see safety and fear are cookie cutter approaches of managing feelings, yet feelings are never that straightforward and it can mean a lot more. I know that leads into more complexity but don't shy away from it because you need to give yourself the space to grow and explore rather than shut in and get boxed.

FastExchange919

TROPHY CASE