Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs): are they being underused?

[Nil]

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics means reduce in daily pills. Studies suggest it also often improve adherence and lower relapse rates. This means too much for those who struggle with regular dosing. Meanwhile, a plethora of practical reviews and trials have highlighted LAIs as an effective option for relapse prevention.

There are some barriers and these include injection anxiety, clinic logistics, cost and clinician or patient reluctance. However, the trade-off is worth it for many. Discussing LAIs openly like pros/cons and side effects may help in reducing stigma around them.

LAIs are worth a conversation with your prescriber if daily adherence is a struggle or relapses are frequent. Have you tried LAIs? Have you considered them? What helped you or what stopped you? Let us share here.

 

[schizosupport]

Depot (long-acting injectable) antipsychotics can improve adherence in schizophrenia patients by providing a more reliable medication delivery method than daily oral pills, which helps prevent lapses in treatment and reduces the risk of relapse. These injections are particularly useful for patients who struggle with forgetfulness or intentional non-adherence, as they require fewer administrations and the refusal or missed dose is directly noticeable to healthcare providers, enabling timely intervention.

How depot medication improves adherence

• Reliable delivery: Depot injections are administered at intervals ranging from weeks to months, significantly reducing the burden of daily pill-taking and minimizing the opportunity for missed doses.
• Prevents covert non-adherence: Patients can no longer hide non-adherence by simply not taking their medication; missing an injection is an obvious and visible sign that can prompt a discussion with the physician.
• Reduced relapse risk: Studies have shown that depot medication is associated with a lower rate of relapse compared to oral antipsychotics, largely due to the more consistent and reliable adherence it ensures.

 

[Meg]

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics means reduce in daily pills. Studies suggest it also often improve adherence and lower relapse rates. This means too much for those who struggle with regular dosing. Meanwhile, a plethora of practical reviews and trials have highlighted LAIs as an effective option for relapse prevention.

There are some barriers and these include injection anxiety, clinic logistics, cost and clinician or patient reluctance. However, the trade-off is worth it for many. Discussing LAIs openly like pros/cons and side effects may help in reducing stigma around them.

LAIs are worth a conversation with your prescriber if daily adherence is a struggle or relapses are frequent. Have you tried LAIs? Have you considered them? What helped you or what stopped you? Let us share here.

My son was on Invega - he literally became catatonic and was constantly drooling . I do not ever want to revisit that drug with him