green: Just getting started in this forum...

[green]

I am considering going off of Abilify, and potentially Klonopin.  Based on everything I've read, I would do one first (Abilify) and get stable, and then try the other (Klonopin).  

 

I am considering this after much research.  This forum has been helpful in this regard.  I am stable on all of my medication, thankfully.  But it causes me confusion about my desire to get off some of my medication.  Why should I when everything is fine?  After all I have a family with two relatively young children and a husband to seriously consider... Especially considering that my 12 year old is undergoing medical treatment for Bipolar II and ADHD and is not yet stable. Stress.

 

But here I am, still seriously considering going off the two most powerful medications that I am currently taking.  I am considering this for several reasons.  I have become increasingly concerned about the side effects of Abilify.  I have never liked being on it because of the weight gain. But lately I have been thinking about the potential to develop diabetes and it is really scaring me.  My grandmother had adult onset diabetes and ultimately died of it.  (She didn't take care of herself and drank too much.)  Also, I have been reading and talking to friends about Bipolar - esp. Bipolar II - not being a life sentence; that it can go away at some point.  So it gave me hope and curiosity.  

 

I weened myself of Zoloft a couple years back and noticed no problems or shifts in my moods.  I'm so happy I did it.  I was over-medicated.  I have gone off of Abilify a couple of times before, decreasing slowly (but maybe not slow enough).  I had depressive episodes both times.  During the second one, I became suicidal.  So I went back on it at a higher dose (was on at 10mg then upped to 15 per docs orders). Not a place I want to go again.  Again, I have a family to consider.  

 

I plan to do the labs my psychiatrist prescribed - total fasting blood work up including thyroid (though that is being managed by my endocrinologist).  Then I will have an appointment with my doctor to get his take on what I have learned and his knowledge about withdrawal, weening, etc. Obviously, if my blood work comes back with high sugar I'm off Abilify no question.

 

I would very much appreciate hearing about people's experiences with your decision to go off medication as well as the withdrawal symptoms experienced.  I would also like to know the level of trust in your psychiatrist.  I trust my doctor.  Not only with my mental health treatment, but with my son's.  He is a well known child psychiatrist specializing in Bipolar Spectrum Disorders.  Nonetheless, I'm questioning my treatment and seeking information outside of him.

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience and knowledge.

 

 

[tezza]

Hi green,

 

Welcome to the forum. I'm glad you made your way here, there are literally hundreds of withdrawal stories you can read about. People tend to go into more detail about their experience in their thread but some may share here with you too.

 

I think it's a wise decision to try to get off the drugs but you need to proceed with much caution.

 

I only had a moment to drop in and say hello. I'm sure others will be along shortly. I'd like to say more but time won't allow right now.

 

(I'm not sure I believe there is a 'disease' ADHD, just my opinion. Psychiatrists prescribe many drugs, if you visit one, there's about 100% chance you'll leave with a script.)

[Altostrata]

Welcome, green.

 

If your psychiatrist diagnosed a child with Bipolar II, that's a red flag. Bipolar disorders are very, very much overdiagnosed in general. Some doctors can find bipolar disorder in a ham sandwich. There's a lot of debate as to whether they actually exist in children, see http://claudiamgoldmd.blogspot.com/2014/02/adhd-bipolar-disorder-and-dsm-need-for.html

 

http://claudiamgoldmd.blogspot.com/2013/06/too-many-psychiatric-diagnoses-for.html

 

Also see http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/matter-personality/201204/how-recognize-bad-psychiatrist

 

Please see our Tapering section for tips on tapering Abilify.

 

Where in California do you live? See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/988-recommended-doctors-therapists-or-clinics/

[green]

Welcome, green.

 

If your psychiatrist diagnosed a child with Bipolar II, that's a red flag. Bipolar disorders are very, very much overdiagnosed in general. Some doctors can find bipolar disorder in a ham sandwich. There's a lot of debate as to whether they actually exist in children, see http://claudiamgoldmd.blogspot.com/2014/02/adhd-bipolar-disorder-and-dsm-need-for.html

 

http://claudiamgoldmd.blogspot.com/2013/06/too-many-psychiatric-diagnoses-for.html

 

Also see http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/matter-personality/201204/how-recognize-bad-psychiatrist

 

Please see our Tapering section for tips on tapering Abilify.

 

Where in California do you live? See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/988-recommended-doctors-therapists-or-clinics/

Thanks for all the information:)

[green]

Hi green,

 

Welcome to the forum. I'm glad you made your way here, there are literally hundreds of withdrawal stories you can read about. People tend to go into more detail about their experience in their thread but some may share here with you too.

 

I think it's a wise decision to try to get off the drugs but you need to proceed with much caution.

 

I only had a moment to drop in and say hello. I'm sure others will be along shortly. I'd like to say more but time won't allow right now.

 

(I'm not sure I believe there is a 'disease' ADHD, just my opinion. Psychiatrists prescribe many drugs, if you visit one, there's about 100% chance you'll leave with a script.)

Thanks for dropping a line.  I don't think ADHD is a disease either.  I think it's a condition that - at least for my son - needs medication.  His is awful.  Can't imagine life without his ADHD medication.  The mood stuff on the other hand, I'm on the fence about.  We shall see.  Puberty is a hard time to be mucking around with stuff.  Sigh.

[mammaP]

Hi Green, this is the perfect time for you to start tapering the AD. A very slow taper can mean

that you will get off with little discomfort. Many doctors have people tapering far too fast then 

tell people they are relapsing and need the drugs for life. I was also diagnosed with bi-polar

and I am now un-diagnosing myself after much research and self examination! 

[mattinsmom]

Hi and welcome

 

Just piping in, I am not in your shoes, I do not know your child, and I am by no means placing judgement however, a red flag raises for me anytime a child/teenager is diagnosed with a mood or behavioral disorder. As hard as it is, I will stay off my soap box but strongly encourage you to follow-up on the recommended readings that Alto linked.

 

I was not ok on my medications and I was reading Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker when I made the final decision to come off my meds. Powerful book. As I said, I was not ok and was, to be honest, looking for a way to justify (to family/friends/drs) stopping my medications. This is the justification I used -  I know that the average life expectancy of a woman in my region is 80. I believe that psych meds can potentially take upwards of 20-years off someone's life expectancy. I've been on meds forever and have a history of serious illnesses, thus I am not the pick of the litter. I'm 45. I didn't like the math. My boys are 21 and 16.

 

With the things I've learned, and continue to learn, my feeling that I have to justify tapering is getting smaller and smaller. Am I bipolar or any of the other diagnoses? I don't know, and I don't want to take psych meds.  

 

I've had the same psychiatrist for many, many years. I mostly trusted him and believed he only wanted what was best for me, until I told him I wanted to stop taking meds. He became a completely different man.     

[Jemima]

What appears to be ADHD in your son may actually be side effects from the drugs he's being given for his so-called bi-polar. Antidepressants can easily cause hyperactivity in someone who doesn't need them. Hyperactivity and depression are also major symptoms of psychiatric drug withdrawal, so if your son has been tried on several different medications, he may be experiencing agitation from the drugs being withdrawn or switched too quickly.  

 

I hope you'll be able to spend plenty of time browsing this forum and learning that what mainstream psychiatry wants us to believe and the reality of what psychiatric drug treatment does to people are quite different.

 

As for Abilify and the other "atypical anti-psychotics", in my opinion they're among the most dangerous drugs ever produced.