Corcomm: 20 years and counting

[Corcomm]

I was diagnosed bipolar II in 1999, when I was 45. I was put on Bupropion first, then switched to a cocktail of 2000 mg of Valproic Acid (Valproate), a mood stabilizer, 30 mg of Prozac and 10 mg of Stelazine. The Stelazine was swapped out for 10 mg of Abilify in 2014. So now I'm 65 I've been taking a heavy duty cocktail for 20 years. As a retirement present, I'd like to try withdrawing and rediscovering my bliss.

 

Is this dangerous? Not just the withdrawal, but, afterwards? Am I going to turn into a crazy old man? Go on shopping sprees? I've had prostate treatment, so I'm post sexual, that behavioural pattern isn't available, but I'm relatively well off, I could spend my brains out?

 

Will this happen?

Edited April 30, 2019 by Shep
added new username to title

[Corcomm]

Is Aripiprazole (Abilify) an anti-psychotic?

 

Does it count as a "brake"?

 

Should I go off the Fluoxetine first, then the Aripiprazole?

 

[Shep]

Hi, Corcomm.

 

Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants.

 

7 hours ago, Corcomm said:

Is this dangerous? Not just the withdrawal, but, afterwards? Am I going to turn into a crazy old man? Go on shopping sprees? I've had prostate treatment, so I'm post sexual, that behavioural pattern isn't available, but I'm relatively well off, I could spend my brains out?

 

I think you will be okay. I've never seen anyone come off these drugs and go crazy like that. 

 

If you want to take some precautions, you could set up some funds in a way that you don't have easy access to them until you see how you do and to give you some peace of mind. 

 

Did you have problems with spending sprees prior to being placed on psych drugs? Many people go on an antidepressant or a stimulant and find themselves in trouble with spending, but it's due to the side effects of the drugs. Psychiatrists don't understand these drugs and will diagnosis someone as being bipolar instead of alerting them to the dangers of spending sprees caused by the drugs.

 

Here is some information to get you started. First, you'll need to decide which drug to come off first. 

 

Taking multiple psych drugs? Which drug to taper first?

 

Note the concept of "brakes and accelerators". You may want to come off Prozac first, as that's likely to be an accelerator for you.

 

Also, by coming off the accelerator first, you are less likely to have break-through mania caused by reducing the mood stabilizer and the antipsychotic while you're still on an antidepressant. So you'll be less likely to go into spending sprees or any other reckless behavior. 

 

At some point, you may want to switch to tapering the antipsychotic, as they have a hideous side effect profile, especially for people who are 65 or older. You may want to start tapering the Prozac and get down to a low enough dose and then switch over to tapering the Abilify. As you let us know more about your symptoms and how you're doing, we can provide more targeted advice.

 

Some more information about tapering your specific drugs:

 

Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)

 

Tips for tapering off aripiprazole (Abilify)

 

Tips for tapering off sodium valproate and valproic acid (divalproex sodium, Depakote, Depakene)

 

Please note that withdrawal symptoms come in a non-linear fashion, which you'll see described as "windows and waves":

 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

We don't recommend tapering faster than 10% per month and some people opt for a micro taper. Here's information on these type of tapers: 

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Micro-taper instead of 10% or 5% decreases

 

The Brassmonkey Slide Method of Micro-tapering

 

You may find some helpful information to handle your symptoms here: 

 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements, as many members report their nervous systems are simply too fragile to handle them. However, magnesium and fish oil tend to be calming to the nervous system and many people report they do help. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a small dose. For more, please see:

 

 King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

Please add a signature.  Include drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements in the last 12-24 months. Also include supplements. This will help us give you the most accurate advice we can. 

• Any drugs and supplements prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years. 
• Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago) 
• Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016. 
• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. 
• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. 
• This is a direct link to your signature:  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

Please continue to use this thread to document your taper and to ask questions. I think you'll find the benefits more than outweigh the dangers of coming off these drugs. I'm glad you found this site and are learning the proper way to do a taper safely. 

 

[Shep]

On 4/30/2019 at 1:30 AM, Corcomm said:

Is Aripiprazole (Abilify) an anti-psychotic?

 

Does it count as a "brake"?

 

Should I go off the Fluoxetine first, then the Aripiprazole?

 

 

Corcomm, I moved this post from the tapering section into your intro. Please continue to use this thread to ask questions about your taper. 

 

Please see my previous post and let me know if that answers your questions.