chrisva51 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 My son was on 2.5 mg Abilify for about 3 months and then felt he needed to go back to 5 mg Abilify. He said his work shift was stressful and the increased dosage calmed him down. How he has a slightly less stressful work shift. I wonder if going from 5 mg down to 2.5 was too big a jump to begin with. ( I'm his mom ) Cymbalta (from 10 mg to 60 mg at times ) and Abilify ( from 2 mg up to 15 mg ) from January 2008 to December 2012 July 2012 stopped the then 5 mg Abilify and just took the 30 mg Cymbalta October 2012 resumed taking 5 mg Abilify ( continued the 30 mg Cymbalta December 2012 to September 2013 stopped both medications cold turkey September 2013 resumed Abilify at 5 mg building up to 15 mg by October 2013 January 2014 reduced to 10 mg Abilify July 2014 reduced to 7,5 mg Abilify July 26 2014 reduced again now to 5 mg Abilify Dec 10, 2014 reduced to 2.5 mg Abilify Mar 6, 2015 back up to 5 mg Abilify due to agitation Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted March 30, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 30, 2015 Hi chrisva , welcome to the site. I think you're right - a 50% decrease was too much for him and he began to have withdrawal symptoms. This site recommends decreases of no more than 10% in order to try and avoid this happening. See the section on Tapering , "Why Taper by 10%". As your son has a long history with medications , It's going to be important to go very slowly - small cuts with long holds (4 to 6 weeks at each level). Best wishes , Fresh 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted April 2, 2015 Administrator Share Posted April 2, 2015 Welcome, chrisva. Please see Tips for tapering off Abilify (aripiprazole) This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
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