[vrba44070]

I'm on Invega & Navane and they aren't working. I see & hear things that are not there. It wasn't too bad at first, but now its scaring me. I don't want to call my pdoc because he'll send me to the hospital rather than change my meds. I only have medicare part A. Does anyone have information on that? I'm not sure what the costs would be if I went to the hospital.
I'm seeing my therapist Thursday. I won't lie to him, but its extremely important that I be calm when describing my symtoms. If I'm calm he will be less inclined to refer me to the hospital.
I'm very frustrated. My pdoc has mentioned Clozaril, which I refuse to take because of the weekly blood tests. There's a new drug out called Saphris. Does anyone know anything about it?
I just had to cancel two of my commitments (volunteering & going to the gym) so now its affecting my functioning. If anyone knows about Medicare Part A or about Saphris -please tell me.

I am near Milton Florida, and there is a place called Avalon center that treats me for free. I am on Invega and it is working good. How long have you been taking it and what dosage. They may just need to increase your dosage, or you may need to be on it longer. Sometimes it takes a little adjusting to. Mine has been increased twice. Good luck to you, and I hope you feel better soon. Sorry I don't know anything about Medicare or the other drugs you mentioned. See ya

[vrba44070]

I've been on Invega for at least 6 months & I'm up to 12 mg, the highest dose. Navane is an old antipsychotic. Maybe I can go up on that or switch to something else.
I'm doing a little better today. Thank you.

[spiritual_emergency]

Hello vrba,
Sorry to hear that you're having a difficult time at the moment.

There's a new drug out called Saphris. Does anyone know anything about it?

My concern with any new drug is that because it's new, we just don't know enough about it. I have read a report linking Saphris to hypertension and cardiac arrest. You should also anticipate that Saphris will be heavily promoted.

Unfortunately, whenever a new drug comes out it tends to look better than all the others but this is because it is new so people can easily pin their hopes on it. There was a time when people were very excited about the new atypicals when they came out too (i.e. Zyprexa, Geodon) because they were supposed to pose less risk in terms of movement disorders such as tardive dyskinesia. Over time, it was discovered that the new atypicals came with their own unique set of risks such as stroke, cardiac arrest and diabetes, but it took a few years before that was apparent. Personally, I don't know why pharmaceutical companies aren't required to complete long-term studies to establish risks -- most medications are approved as based on short-term studies. At this time, whatever risks are known about Saphris are based upon short-term studies only. The real picture won't be known for several more years. All drugs come with risks of course and you may determine that the benefits of Saphris outweigh the risks but you are certainly entitled to know what the risks are of any drug before going in.

Meantime, here's a link I've been sharing quite a bit: Reclaiming Your Power During Medication Visits with Your Psychiatrist At the bottom of that link is also an information packet you can print out that will help you track your medication useage and your experiences with each med. Perhaps there is a medication you've taken in the past that was more effective for you than the Invega? Or maybe you can find an alternative to the Saphris or Clozaril? As another option, perhaps you could consider one of the older medications. I recently encountered someone who was taking a very low dose of Haldol (2mg) and found it to be quite effective for them.

This link might also be helpful to you because it contains consumer reports from people who have actually taken those meds and will share, quite candidly, whether or not it helped them and why: askapatient.com. Maybe you could find some additional options there.

I just had to cancel two of my commitments (volunteering & going to the gym) so now its affecting my functioning. If anyone knows about Medicare Part A or about Saphris -please tell me.

Regretably, I don't know anything about Medicare A. There are websites that offer some information but sometimes these don't answer your exact questions. There is an Advocacy Center for Florida. Perhaps they could answer your questions best.

Hopefully, there'll be something in the above that is helpful to you vrba. Best of luck to you vrba.

~ Namaste