RubyJ Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 It's been a super long time without an update, but for a good reason; my tapering has been going relatively smoothly. Some mild symptoms on a few of the steps (recorded in my journal) but nothing serious. I'm now at 0.10 mg/mL as my signature shows and have been there for over two months because I'm thinking of trying to stop completely soon. Any symptoms I've had in the last year have been manageable so I think it might go okay. Thoughts would be appreciated. Am I jumping the gun? Should I keep going down to 0.01 where my syringe ends? Admittedly I feel very ready to be done with this but that's not always the best reason to do something. Whatever I do, either stop or taper down, I was planning on doing Feb. 1 to get back to easily remembered days again. Thanks everyone! Dextroamphetamine 30 mg, started 2011 -- still taking Paxil 2004-2005 Wellbutrin/Bupropion 300 mg, started 2005 -- still taking Prozac/Fluoxetine 40 mg, started 2006 -- still taking Abilify/Aripiprazole 5 mg, started 2014 -- started taper in 2017, finished 2020 At 0.5 mg February 2018 At 0.2 mg/mL September 2018 At 0.18mg/mL October 30, 2018 At 0.17mg/mL December 20, 2018 At 0.16mg/mL January 10, 2019 At 0.15mg/mL February 19, 2019 At 0.14mg/mL April 25, 2019 At 0.13mg/mL June 22, 2019 At 0.12mg/mL August 5, 2019 At 0.11mg/mL September 5, 2019 At 0.10 mg/mL November 7, 2019 At 0.05 mg/mL February 1, 2020 Jumped off March 23, 2020 Link to comment
Cleerity Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Hi Ruby, It’s very good to read that you made it down to .10 on the Abilify. Good work! You know that I am not a moderator here, but, like you, when I get to that low of a dose, I will not be inclined to drag it out overly long by continuing 10% reductions of such a very small remaining amount. I wish you success in what you decide for yourself! Best, Cleerity 4/2001 - Clonazepam, .5mg (at bed); 5/2010: 1 mg; 9/2018: .5 mg; 10/20/2018: .47 mg; 10/24/2018: back up to .5 mg. Began daily micro taper by liquid prep on 3/12/2021 (avg. 10% redux of last dose every 28 days). At .17 mg/ml as of 12/24/2021. 4/2002 - Alprazolam, .25 mg (PRN), up to 2x/day. DISCONTINUED 10/21/20185/2010 - Mirtazapine - 15 mg (at bed)3/2012 - Aripiprazole - 2 mg (in A.M.) - Began reducing Dec. 30, 2018. Daily micro-taper by liquid preparation. DISCONTINUED 1/14/2021. 6/2012 - 500 mg Metformin ER, 2 tabs, 2x/day. DISCONTINUED April 2020. Supplements: Multi Vit / Calcium-600 mg x2 / D3-5000 IU / C-1000 mg x2 / Fish Oil-1000 IU / Magnesium-200 mg x2 / Zinc-50 mg / Biotin-10,000 mcg / Glutathione-500 mg / Quercetin-1000 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Glosmom Posted January 30, 2020 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 30, 2020 Hi Ruby J, We went from .1 to .06 to .025 and jumped to zero for Glo. You are managing your symptoms well so you might be fine. Glo had withdrawal symptoms at each decrease and for many months after zero....but we were not nearly as careful as you have been. You could try a decrease to .05 and see how that goes? If you feel that jump but it settles then you might be good to jump from there?? Best wishes for whatever you decide!! Glosmom 2016 - Oct -Daughter started Risperdal (for steroid induced psychosis that never went away after stopping prednisone) Nov - dose increases stopped at 1.5mg in Dec 2017 - Jan- weaned from 1.5 to 1.0 in 2 weeks then 1.0 to .5 in two weeks and then off. Feb. 3 weeks of increased psychosis, pacing, insomnia, other awful symptoms so late Feb - Back on 1.5 mg Risperdal. May - decrease to 1.25mg, two weeks later 1.0mg - symptoms started again. June - held steady at 1.25mg for 6 weeks and switched to liquid (3 ml syringe). July - started 10% taper every 3 weeks, October - .8 mg, December - .7 mg . 2018 -Jan- 0.65 mg, Feb- 0.59, Mar-0.50, late April - .40mg, July- .36 mg, Aug - switched from 3 mL syringe to 1 mL syringe for more accuracy (her dad and i were not sure we were giving her the same dose when in between the 'dashes' on the 3 mL syringe.) Aug -.30 mg (3mL syr)/.44 mg (1 mL syr) difference due to med in the tip of both syringes). Sept- .28 mg (3mL syr)/.42 mg (1 mL syr). Oct - .16 mg (3 mL syr)/.30 mg (1 mL syr). Nov.- .06mg (3mL syr)/.20 mg (1mLsyr). Dec. - tip only/unmeasurable (3mL syr)/.10 mg (1mLsyr) 2019- Jan -.06 mg (1 mL syr), Feb- .025 mg (1 mL syr), Feb 27, 2019 - jumped to zero!! Link to comment
RubyJ Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 On 1/30/2020 at 6:27 AM, Cleerity said: It’s very good to read that you made it down to .10 on the Abilify. Good work! Thanks <3 On 1/30/2020 at 6:41 AM, Glosmom said: You could try a decrease to .05 and see how that goes? That was a great suggestion and it is what I ended up doing. I went to .05 on the first of February and any side effects have been mild so far. Today my eye is twitching, which hasn't happened to me since college. It was a stress thing then, and I wonder if the withdrawal triggers stress symptoms? One taper down my acid reflux suddenly returned, and that was also initially caused by stress. *shrug* Dextroamphetamine 30 mg, started 2011 -- still taking Paxil 2004-2005 Wellbutrin/Bupropion 300 mg, started 2005 -- still taking Prozac/Fluoxetine 40 mg, started 2006 -- still taking Abilify/Aripiprazole 5 mg, started 2014 -- started taper in 2017, finished 2020 At 0.5 mg February 2018 At 0.2 mg/mL September 2018 At 0.18mg/mL October 30, 2018 At 0.17mg/mL December 20, 2018 At 0.16mg/mL January 10, 2019 At 0.15mg/mL February 19, 2019 At 0.14mg/mL April 25, 2019 At 0.13mg/mL June 22, 2019 At 0.12mg/mL August 5, 2019 At 0.11mg/mL September 5, 2019 At 0.10 mg/mL November 7, 2019 At 0.05 mg/mL February 1, 2020 Jumped off March 23, 2020 Link to comment
RubyJ Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 Quick update: I'm feeling a bit discouraged because the symptoms have slowly been accumulating, but nothing hugely disruptive yet. Randomly, my stomach muscles are sore apparently due to stress, which is new and weird. My emotional symptoms have been much more muted this time, which is also interesting . . . I'm hoping in a few days things will start to subside instead of build. Dextroamphetamine 30 mg, started 2011 -- still taking Paxil 2004-2005 Wellbutrin/Bupropion 300 mg, started 2005 -- still taking Prozac/Fluoxetine 40 mg, started 2006 -- still taking Abilify/Aripiprazole 5 mg, started 2014 -- started taper in 2017, finished 2020 At 0.5 mg February 2018 At 0.2 mg/mL September 2018 At 0.18mg/mL October 30, 2018 At 0.17mg/mL December 20, 2018 At 0.16mg/mL January 10, 2019 At 0.15mg/mL February 19, 2019 At 0.14mg/mL April 25, 2019 At 0.13mg/mL June 22, 2019 At 0.12mg/mL August 5, 2019 At 0.11mg/mL September 5, 2019 At 0.10 mg/mL November 7, 2019 At 0.05 mg/mL February 1, 2020 Jumped off March 23, 2020 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Glosmom Posted February 14, 2020 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 14, 2020 Hi @RubyJ I am sorry to hear about the symptoms. As it has been said often times on this site; it is unreal how, even at the tiniest of dose changes, symptoms can be felt. Probably a very good thing you are still on your med and didn't jump to zero from .10. You could consider a small up dose maybe, if they become unbearable? Or just holding as long as you need to discover how long It takes to all settle out. When you finally do jump to zero from whatever dose, you will have a good idea of what to expect. I want to add that when Glo did her drop from .1 to .06 different symptoms seemed to pop up. She started to have increased issues with nausea and inability to urinate as she had been. Also her temperature started to fluctuate again. It seemed that different receptors were being affected or something? Not sure, but just wanted to send encouragement and healing thoughts your way. Glosmom 2016 - Oct -Daughter started Risperdal (for steroid induced psychosis that never went away after stopping prednisone) Nov - dose increases stopped at 1.5mg in Dec 2017 - Jan- weaned from 1.5 to 1.0 in 2 weeks then 1.0 to .5 in two weeks and then off. Feb. 3 weeks of increased psychosis, pacing, insomnia, other awful symptoms so late Feb - Back on 1.5 mg Risperdal. May - decrease to 1.25mg, two weeks later 1.0mg - symptoms started again. June - held steady at 1.25mg for 6 weeks and switched to liquid (3 ml syringe). July - started 10% taper every 3 weeks, October - .8 mg, December - .7 mg . 2018 -Jan- 0.65 mg, Feb- 0.59, Mar-0.50, late April - .40mg, July- .36 mg, Aug - switched from 3 mL syringe to 1 mL syringe for more accuracy (her dad and i were not sure we were giving her the same dose when in between the 'dashes' on the 3 mL syringe.) Aug -.30 mg (3mL syr)/.44 mg (1 mL syr) difference due to med in the tip of both syringes). Sept- .28 mg (3mL syr)/.42 mg (1 mL syr). Oct - .16 mg (3 mL syr)/.30 mg (1 mL syr). Nov.- .06mg (3mL syr)/.20 mg (1mLsyr). Dec. - tip only/unmeasurable (3mL syr)/.10 mg (1mLsyr) 2019- Jan -.06 mg (1 mL syr), Feb- .025 mg (1 mL syr), Feb 27, 2019 - jumped to zero!! Link to comment
RubyJ Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 On 2/14/2020 at 2:58 PM, Glosmom said: Not sure, but just wanted to send encouragement and healing thoughts your way. Glosmom Thank you, that meant a lot The symptoms seemed to have died down now. I'm going to hold for several more weeks and then I'll have to decide where to go from there. On 2/14/2020 at 2:58 PM, Glosmom said: I want to add that when Glo did her drop from .1 to .06 different symptoms seemed to pop up. It's really strange how that is. Almost all my symptoms this time were physical and the emotional side effects were mild or not present. Very very bizarre. Maybe different receptors indeed! Dextroamphetamine 30 mg, started 2011 -- still taking Paxil 2004-2005 Wellbutrin/Bupropion 300 mg, started 2005 -- still taking Prozac/Fluoxetine 40 mg, started 2006 -- still taking Abilify/Aripiprazole 5 mg, started 2014 -- started taper in 2017, finished 2020 At 0.5 mg February 2018 At 0.2 mg/mL September 2018 At 0.18mg/mL October 30, 2018 At 0.17mg/mL December 20, 2018 At 0.16mg/mL January 10, 2019 At 0.15mg/mL February 19, 2019 At 0.14mg/mL April 25, 2019 At 0.13mg/mL June 22, 2019 At 0.12mg/mL August 5, 2019 At 0.11mg/mL September 5, 2019 At 0.10 mg/mL November 7, 2019 At 0.05 mg/mL February 1, 2020 Jumped off March 23, 2020 Link to comment
RubyJ Posted March 6, 2020 Author Share Posted March 6, 2020 I will admit that one reason I've been thinking of jumping off now is that my bottle of Abilify has expired and I don't want to buy another one; not because of the cost to me, but the cost overall. The bottles are stupidly expensive (although the pills aren't cheap by any means) and I feel resistant to paying the pharmaceutical company for more of the drug . . . it feels like rewarding them for bad behavior, I guess? The woman at Walgreen's last fall told me that the reason she couldn't give me any liquid to bridge while the pre-auth was pending was that the bottle cost $1,100 and they couldn't cover that cost. I shudder to think what the brand name liquid cost if the generic is that much. It just feels wrong to refill it. I also felt that the physical symptoms I got from the 0.10 mL to 0.05 mL jump were uncomfortable but manageable. I'm thinking that I might be okay to try jumping off in a couple weeks. Am I being irrational about refilling the liquid? I can't really tell since they're my own thought processes. Dextroamphetamine 30 mg, started 2011 -- still taking Paxil 2004-2005 Wellbutrin/Bupropion 300 mg, started 2005 -- still taking Prozac/Fluoxetine 40 mg, started 2006 -- still taking Abilify/Aripiprazole 5 mg, started 2014 -- started taper in 2017, finished 2020 At 0.5 mg February 2018 At 0.2 mg/mL September 2018 At 0.18mg/mL October 30, 2018 At 0.17mg/mL December 20, 2018 At 0.16mg/mL January 10, 2019 At 0.15mg/mL February 19, 2019 At 0.14mg/mL April 25, 2019 At 0.13mg/mL June 22, 2019 At 0.12mg/mL August 5, 2019 At 0.11mg/mL September 5, 2019 At 0.10 mg/mL November 7, 2019 At 0.05 mg/mL February 1, 2020 Jumped off March 23, 2020 Link to comment
RubyJ Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 Been three weeks since I jumped off. No symptoms as severe as when I tried to quit at the full dose, but I am still somewhat of an emotional mess. I'm hoping it will pass within the next week. Dextroamphetamine 30 mg, started 2011 -- still taking Paxil 2004-2005 Wellbutrin/Bupropion 300 mg, started 2005 -- still taking Prozac/Fluoxetine 40 mg, started 2006 -- still taking Abilify/Aripiprazole 5 mg, started 2014 -- started taper in 2017, finished 2020 At 0.5 mg February 2018 At 0.2 mg/mL September 2018 At 0.18mg/mL October 30, 2018 At 0.17mg/mL December 20, 2018 At 0.16mg/mL January 10, 2019 At 0.15mg/mL February 19, 2019 At 0.14mg/mL April 25, 2019 At 0.13mg/mL June 22, 2019 At 0.12mg/mL August 5, 2019 At 0.11mg/mL September 5, 2019 At 0.10 mg/mL November 7, 2019 At 0.05 mg/mL February 1, 2020 Jumped off March 23, 2020 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Glosmom Posted April 13, 2020 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted April 13, 2020 Congratulations @RubyJ!! Hang in there. You will have symptoms but hopefully you will find them manageable. I encourage you to read @rupa taper at the very end. She jumped to zero a couple times in a month's timeframe due to not tolerating the symptoms after zero well. She up-dosed to a smaller dose than what she jumped off at each time, for a little while (it was days or a week or 2) until she jumped for good finally. She had symptoms for several months but continued to feel better and better overall. She was such an inspiration for me to know what to expect for Glo, when she jumped to zero. You can do this! Glosmom 2016 - Oct -Daughter started Risperdal (for steroid induced psychosis that never went away after stopping prednisone) Nov - dose increases stopped at 1.5mg in Dec 2017 - Jan- weaned from 1.5 to 1.0 in 2 weeks then 1.0 to .5 in two weeks and then off. Feb. 3 weeks of increased psychosis, pacing, insomnia, other awful symptoms so late Feb - Back on 1.5 mg Risperdal. May - decrease to 1.25mg, two weeks later 1.0mg - symptoms started again. June - held steady at 1.25mg for 6 weeks and switched to liquid (3 ml syringe). July - started 10% taper every 3 weeks, October - .8 mg, December - .7 mg . 2018 -Jan- 0.65 mg, Feb- 0.59, Mar-0.50, late April - .40mg, July- .36 mg, Aug - switched from 3 mL syringe to 1 mL syringe for more accuracy (her dad and i were not sure we were giving her the same dose when in between the 'dashes' on the 3 mL syringe.) Aug -.30 mg (3mL syr)/.44 mg (1 mL syr) difference due to med in the tip of both syringes). Sept- .28 mg (3mL syr)/.42 mg (1 mL syr). Oct - .16 mg (3 mL syr)/.30 mg (1 mL syr). Nov.- .06mg (3mL syr)/.20 mg (1mLsyr). Dec. - tip only/unmeasurable (3mL syr)/.10 mg (1mLsyr) 2019- Jan -.06 mg (1 mL syr), Feb- .025 mg (1 mL syr), Feb 27, 2019 - jumped to zero!! Link to comment
rupa Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 👍 Patience is the key. Cold turkeyed risperidone (1m.g)and trihexyphenidyl combination drug out of ignorance,In August 2016 after one month use. Withdrawal symptoms settled at dreamful,disturbing sleep. Thus introduced to olanzapine for sleep.Started using olanzapine out of ignorance. Tapering olanzapine 10 m.g from February 2017. May 2018 :Still suffering dreams,Still tapering olanzapine at 0.625.100ml water+2.5 mg olanzapine. June 2018 22.5ml=0.57mg.July 2018 20ml,August 2018-17.5ml,September 2018-15ml,October 2018 10 ml,December 2018 7 ml, BrassMonkey slide method so far at lower doses.2 nd December cold turkeyed , only to reach minure doses as reinstatement to cutshort endless tapering process.4rth December started 1ml. Almost no symptoms and sleep is better,So started 0.5 ml from 17-12-2018. "0"from31-12-18.Re birth happened from 10- 2020,as rejuvenation took whole2019.Completely recovered now. Link to comment
Cleerity Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Sending wishes for peace to you, Ruby! I’m present at .53 mg with the Aripiprazole now...and, while manageable, I have increasingly noticed a return of feelings/emotions and some anxiety on some days. Going slow enables me to work on reintegrating the emotions (and other faculties) that were blunted for the past several years. I like Rupa’s advice. Patience and nurturing self-compassion are so important for us! This is always true, but most especially needed when we are riding an emotional roller coaster. Very best wishes for your wellness, Cleerity 4/2001 - Clonazepam, .5mg (at bed); 5/2010: 1 mg; 9/2018: .5 mg; 10/20/2018: .47 mg; 10/24/2018: back up to .5 mg. Began daily micro taper by liquid prep on 3/12/2021 (avg. 10% redux of last dose every 28 days). At .17 mg/ml as of 12/24/2021. 4/2002 - Alprazolam, .25 mg (PRN), up to 2x/day. DISCONTINUED 10/21/20185/2010 - Mirtazapine - 15 mg (at bed)3/2012 - Aripiprazole - 2 mg (in A.M.) - Began reducing Dec. 30, 2018. Daily micro-taper by liquid preparation. DISCONTINUED 1/14/2021. 6/2012 - 500 mg Metformin ER, 2 tabs, 2x/day. DISCONTINUED April 2020. Supplements: Multi Vit / Calcium-600 mg x2 / D3-5000 IU / C-1000 mg x2 / Fish Oil-1000 IU / Magnesium-200 mg x2 / Zinc-50 mg / Biotin-10,000 mcg / Glutathione-500 mg / Quercetin-1000 mg Link to comment
RubyJ Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 Thank you everyone for your support. It means a lot. On 4/13/2020 at 1:56 PM, Glosmom said: You can do this! Glosmom I think I finally can let myself believe that! Thank you <3 On 4/14/2020 at 11:50 PM, rupa said: Patience is the key. Although I tell myself that again and again, it's so helpful to have that reinforced by others, thank you! On 4/15/2020 at 1:05 PM, Cleerity said: Sending wishes for peace to you, Ruby! I’m present at .53 mg with the Aripiprazole now...and, while manageable, I have increasingly noticed a return of feelings/emotions and some anxiety on some days. Thank you, Cleerity! I hope you are still having manageable symptoms, and your progress may be slow, but you're so getting there! Sending you healing wishes as well. --- I haven't posted since things have been mostly quiet. The symptoms have gradually dissipated to where there are times when I have none. I feel like I will have short periods of time where they recur, though. I need to re-read about windows and waves because perhaps that's what is going on. I am hopeful that I am truly almost free of the Abilify! It's hard for me to truly accept, actually. Now, do I want to try to taper to a lower dose of my other anti-depressants? Even if I can't get a doctor to agree to take me off completely, I doubt I need the heightened doses I'm on now. Maybe at my well woman visit in September I'll ask my GP if she knows any psychiatrists she'd recommend that aren't prescription-happy . . . Dextroamphetamine 30 mg, started 2011 -- still taking Paxil 2004-2005 Wellbutrin/Bupropion 300 mg, started 2005 -- still taking Prozac/Fluoxetine 40 mg, started 2006 -- still taking Abilify/Aripiprazole 5 mg, started 2014 -- started taper in 2017, finished 2020 At 0.5 mg February 2018 At 0.2 mg/mL September 2018 At 0.18mg/mL October 30, 2018 At 0.17mg/mL December 20, 2018 At 0.16mg/mL January 10, 2019 At 0.15mg/mL February 19, 2019 At 0.14mg/mL April 25, 2019 At 0.13mg/mL June 22, 2019 At 0.12mg/mL August 5, 2019 At 0.11mg/mL September 5, 2019 At 0.10 mg/mL November 7, 2019 At 0.05 mg/mL February 1, 2020 Jumped off March 23, 2020 Link to comment
Cleerity Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 On 6/24/2020 at 11:56 AM, RubyJ said: Thank you, Cleerity! I hope you are still having manageable symptoms, and your progress may be slow, but you're so getting there! You are welcome. Yes, slowly but surely, I am getting there. On 6/24/2020 at 11:56 AM, RubyJ said: The symptoms have gradually dissipated to where there are times when I have none. It's great to read this, Ruby!! Good for you! Best wishes, Cleerity 4/2001 - Clonazepam, .5mg (at bed); 5/2010: 1 mg; 9/2018: .5 mg; 10/20/2018: .47 mg; 10/24/2018: back up to .5 mg. Began daily micro taper by liquid prep on 3/12/2021 (avg. 10% redux of last dose every 28 days). At .17 mg/ml as of 12/24/2021. 4/2002 - Alprazolam, .25 mg (PRN), up to 2x/day. DISCONTINUED 10/21/20185/2010 - Mirtazapine - 15 mg (at bed)3/2012 - Aripiprazole - 2 mg (in A.M.) - Began reducing Dec. 30, 2018. Daily micro-taper by liquid preparation. DISCONTINUED 1/14/2021. 6/2012 - 500 mg Metformin ER, 2 tabs, 2x/day. DISCONTINUED April 2020. Supplements: Multi Vit / Calcium-600 mg x2 / D3-5000 IU / C-1000 mg x2 / Fish Oil-1000 IU / Magnesium-200 mg x2 / Zinc-50 mg / Biotin-10,000 mcg / Glutathione-500 mg / Quercetin-1000 mg Link to comment
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