How Effective is Invega & What are It’s Side Effects?

Invega or paliperidone is an antipsychotic drug which is capable of changing the chemical effects in the human brain. Invega or paliperidone is used for effective treatment of schizophrenia mainly in adults and also in children above 12 years of age.

There are chances of invega or paliperidone impairing your reactions and thinking abilities. Therefore, you need to be more carefully doing things that needs you to be alert such as driving. Also inform your doctor about other medicines that you take or make you drowsy or sleepy, or the medications that you take for depression, seizures, pain medicine, narcotic medicine, allergy medicine, anxiety, you take before you start your invega or paliperidone dosage. Due to paliperidone, you might become much sleepier. While taking this medicine, drinking alcohol might add to the effects.

It is important to stop taking Invega or paliperidone effective immediately and contact your doctor at the earliest if you have high fever, stiff muscles, fast heartbeats, uneven heartbeats, sweating, tremors, sweating, uneven muscle movements in neck or face, drowsiness like passing out, trouble swallowing, etc.

Invega or paliperidone does not treat dementia which is also a psychotic condition. There are chances for paliperidone to cause pneumonia, sudden death or heart failure mainly in adults suffering from psychotic disorders such as dementia.

You may feel more sensitive to too much cold or hot conditions while taking invega or paliperidone. It is important to not too get too hot or cold or even dehydrated or becoming overheated while taking this medicine. Therefore, drink lot of fluids during exercise especially in hot conditions. While taking invega or paliperidone, you can become more dangerously dehydrated and overheated.

Do not take invega or paliperidone if you allergic to risperidone (Risperdal).

Invega or paliperidone is not used for dementia related psychotic conditions. Paliperidone can increase the risk of death in older adults with dementia related conditions. Invega or paliperidone can use a serious movement disorder in long term usage which cannot be reversed at later stage. The chance to develop this condition is more if you take invega or paliperidone for longer term. The side effects and risks are more in women than men.

It is important to tell your doctor to make invega or paliperidone safe for you:

• Low or high blood pressure
• Family history or personal history of long QT syndrome
• History of heart rhythm disorder or heart disease
• Epilepsy or seizures
• Kidney or liver diseases
• Intestinal or stomach disorder
• History of low blood cell counts
• History of breast cancer
• Triglycerides or high cholesterol
• Electrolyte imbalance like low magnesium or potassium levels in blood
• Diabetes

It is important to tell your doctor if you are planning to become pregnant or are pregnant at the time of invega or paliperidone treatment.

There are high chances of the newborn being affected even by taking this antipsychotic medication for three months during the pregnancy period. The symptoms would be breathing problems, tremors, stiff muscles, withdrawal symptom, feeding problems, limp muscles, fussiness etc. However, you might also have these symptoms or other withdrawal symptoms of if you stop taking Invega or paliperidone during pregnancy. Do not stop taking the medicine if you become pregnant while taking the medications.

Consult your doctor and follow his or her instructions.

There are high chances of Invega or paliperidone to pass to the nursing baby through mother’s milk. Therefore, do not breast feed the baby while on this medication.
Similarly, older adults tend to become more sensitive to the medicine’s effects.

If you experience any allergic reaction to invega or paliperidone, get immediate help. In most cases allergic reactions of taking Invega are swelling of lips, face, throat, tongue or even difficulty in breathing.

In case you experience any of these following serious movement disorder, contact your doctor and stop using invega or paliperidone.

• Unusual muscle movements that cannot be controlled
• Uncontrollable muscle movements on the face especially tongue movement, lip smacking, eye movement, blinking, frowning, etc.
• Shaking or tremors in legs or arms.
• Also get immediate help if you have these symptoms as well,
• Menstrual period changes
• Light headed feeling like passing out
• Pounding heartbeats, headache with chest pain, fluttering in chest
• Nipple discharge, Breast swelling
• Suicidal thoughts or self hurting
• Sudden weakness, painful mouth sores, fever, skin sores, trouble breathing, swollen gums, cold or flu symptoms
• Painful penis erection that lasts for over 4 hours.

Also contact your doctor if you have:

Severe nervous system reaction caused by taking invega or paliperidone, such as sweating, faster heartbeats, uneven heartbeats, stiff muscles, sweating, tremors, confusion, feeling like passing out.

Increase in blood sugar – hunger, increased urination, dry mouth, drowsiness, increased thirst, dry skin, weight loss, fruity breath odor, blurred vision.

Other common side effects of invega or paliperidone are:

• Weight gain
• Neck stiffness
• Shaking or tremors
• Drowsiness
• Uncontrolled muscle movements are also the side effect of invega or paliperidone
• Feeling restless or agitation
• Sinus pain, sore throat
• Faster heart rate.

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