☼ Abdullah: Abilify

[Abdullah]

I took Abilify for 2 weeks, then tapered for a week and quit. Withdrawals have been intense. How long should I expect them to last?

[Abdullah]

Hello. I took Abilify for 2 weeks, then tapered off in one week. I'm in week 5 now, and the withdrawal symptoms have only just begun to subside. How long should I expect them to last? 

 

 

[Abdullah]

I took Abilify (10mg) for 2 weeks, then tapered off in a week. Had very intense withdrawals (esp brain fog) that are only now (5th week since last dose) beginning to slightly subside. How long should I expect this to go on?

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Abdullah.

 

What were your acute withdrawal symptoms, shortly after you went off the drug? How have they changed?

 

How do you feel now? How is your sleep?

 

[Altostrata]

@Abdullah please see the responses to your posts in this topic. Put your questions and post about your progress here.

[Abdullah]

Week 11 now, no change in withdrawal symptoms. Had none for a week after my last dose of abilify, then was hit by the most severe depression I've ever experienced. Other symptoms :

(Physical) Tremors, occasional feelings of nausea, Fatigue

(Psychological) Anhedonia, severe Depersonalization/Derealization, severe decline in cognitive abilities, stammering

 

 

[Abdullah]

On 11/1/2019 at 3:14 AM, Altostrata said:

Welcome, Abdullah.

 

What were your acute withdrawal symptoms, shortly after you went off the drug? How have they changed?

 

How do you feel now? How is your sleep?

I noticed I was becoming increasingly depressed during the week after my last dose, but apart from that, no other major symptoms.

 

Things have (unfortunately) not changed.

 

Apart from the strange dreams, my sleep is fine.

[Altostrata]

How much Abilify were you taking? Did you have any adverse effects while you were taking it?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

[Abdullah]

3 hours ago, Altostrata said:

How much Abilify were you taking? Did you have any adverse effects while you were taking it?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

I was taking 10mg daily. Started having severe akathisia and noticed my creativity and wit seemed dulled. My confidence also started to plummet. Decided to taper off (in a week) after the 15th day of starting it

[Altostrata]

Your nervous system is still recovering from the adverse reaction.

 

We often suggest reinstatement of a very small amount of the drug, such as 0.5mg in your case, to stop withdrawal symptoms, but since you had an adverse reaction to the drug, you might get it again.

 

How have your symptoms changed in the last month?

[Abdullah]

3 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Your nervous system is still recovering from the adverse reaction.

 

We often suggest reinstatement of a very small amount of the drug, such as 0.5mg in your case, to stop withdrawal symptoms, but since you had an adverse reaction to the drug, you might get it again.

 

How have your symptoms changed in the last month?

I took Abilify from September 1 - 22, 2019. Withdrawal symptoms appeared suddenly on September 30th and haven't improved/changed since. I reinstated 10mg on 25th November. More than a week has passed since then with no improvement in symptoms. Will wait for a few more days then quit Abilify for good and wait out the withdrawal

[Altostrata]

18 hours ago, Abdullah said:

I reinstated 10mg on 25th November.

 

You had a serious adverse reaction to 10mg. If I were you, I'd cut this in half, take 5mg and see if that helps. More is not better.

[Abdullah]

2 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 If I were you, I'd cut this in half, take 5mg and see if that helps.

I'll try that. Thank you for the advice.

[Abdullah]

2 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

You had a serious adverse reaction to 10mg. 

This time it doesn't seem to be affecting me. I'm not entirely sure why though (Possibly because of the depersonalisation? Or have I reinstated too late?)

[jozeff]

Hi Abdullah,

 

Sorry to hear you are suffering so much.

 

Since you had such a severe reaction to this drug after just taking it for two weeks I would be very careful not to jump around in dose out of despair. Just some personal advice.This might increase your symptoms even more.

 

I would advise you to follow the thoughts given here by mods and fellow sufferers. (You are doing that already;))

 

I've heard too many stories in my life of people visiting a doctor after adverse reaction and they were immediately prescribed another antidepressant. Be very wise and careful with that.

 

I would really like to know how the 5 mg ability is working for you!

 

Good luck and stay positive!!

 

Cheers

 

Jozeff

 

[Abdullah]

I've had to CT Abilify again

[Abdullah]

Noticed no change for the time I reinstated it (3 weeks). CT'd because it was causing breast growth and I worried that if I continued longer I'd have to get surgery done. 

I suppose I'll just have to ride this out. 

 

[Abdullah]

Anyone else CT'd an antipsychotic?

[Shep]

On 12/20/2019 at 11:45 AM, Abdullah said:

Anyone else CT'd an antipsychotic?

 

Abdullah, I moved this post from the new thread you created in the intro section. Please note there's only one intro thread per member. 

 

There's a thread you may want to read about people stopping various types of drugs cold turkey: 

 

Cold turkey or rapid taper success stories?

 

As Alto mentioned earlier in your post, you were only this drug a relatively short period of time and may be dealing more with an adverse reaction. This is the timeline for a for a cold turkey of an antidepressant, but a lot of this is also true for an antipsychotic. It can take a long time to recover.

 

CT and Fast Tapers

 

Although you took this drug for more than a week, because this post is about an adverse reaction, it may be helpful: 

 

But I only took it for a Week

 

You may find some ways of helping your symptoms here:

 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 

Are you currently taking any supplements? 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

 

You may try to add in these (one at a time) to see if they help with your symptoms. 

[Abdullah]

Hi everyone, just wanted to drop in and say I've been slowly feeling much better for the past few months. My blank mind (extreme dp/dr) has almost gone away, and I can function somewhat normally now (I still have mild dp/dr though). I've also started university again! 

[Shep]

That's great to read, Abdullah. Thanks for your update.

 

 

[Shep]

Because you're feeling better, I added our cheerful "here comes the sun" symbol ☼ to the title of your Intro topic, to show you're recovering.

 

Please continue to let us know how you're doing. I hope you will add your story to our Recovery Success Stories eventually!

 

Please see this topic:  How to write your success story

[Sofa]

@Abdullah

 

How are you feeling? I also suffer from blank mind, very few spontanious thoughts, dp/dr and total loss of all emotions. Very bad cognitive function. Hard to remember who i used to be. How long until you started to see significant improvement?

[Abdullah]

Things started improving (gradually) after 15 months I think.

[Landis]

Hello, Abdullah! From my point of view, your story has great motivational potential, you are a very persistent and strong-willed person, worthy of all respect.
 

Unfortunately, I am now experiencing almost the same symptoms as you a few years ago: four months ago I abruptly stopped olanzapine, which I had been taking for only three weeks, and now I am suffering incredibly, and without any hint of improvement in my well-being.
 

Sorry for the perhaps tactless question: if you try to quantify the intermediate results of your rehabilitation process, then by what percentage have you recovered now?

[Lilly998]

On 1/8/2022 at 7:47 AM, Abdullah said:

Hi everyone, just wanted to drop in and say I've been slowly feeling much better for the past few months. My blank mind (extreme dp/dr) has almost gone away, and I can function somewhat normally now (I still have mild dp/dr though). I've also started university again! 

Good for u abdullah 

 

Have u experienced anhedonia due to the drug adverse rx/wd, if so has anhedonia disappeared for u?

 

Have u returned normal physically,mentally, emotionally?

[Abdullah]

Hi Lilly. Yes the anhedonia has almost gone away, but I wouldn't say I'm in perfect health. Things have just improved to the point where I'm able to function normally again. I'd say I'm about 90% back to my old, pre-abilify self.

11 hours ago, Lilly998 said:

Good for u abdullah 

 

Have u experienced anhedonia due to the drug adverse rx/wd, if so has anhedonia disappeared for u?

 

Have u returned normal physically,mentally, emotionally?

 

[Lilly998]

48 minutes ago, Abdullah said:

Hi Lilly. Yes the anhedonia has almost gone away, but I wouldn't say I'm in perfect health. Things have just improved to the point where I'm able to function normally again. I'd say I'm about 90% back to my old, pre-abilify self.

 

Alhamdullah for this 🕊🌻

 

This is awesome I am so happy for u ✨️  and I hope I heal soon too ✨️🌻

 

When did ur anhedonia resolved completely after 15 months off or what ?

 

Wish u the best of health Abdullah ✨️

[Abdullah]

8 hours ago, Lilly998 said:

Alhamdullah for this 🕊🌻

 

This is awesome I am so happy for u ✨️  and I hope I heal soon too ✨️🌻

 

When did ur anhedonia resolved completely after 15 months off or what ?

 

Wish u the best of health Abdullah ✨️

 

Improvement started after the 15 month mark. It took about 4 months until I felt somewhat 'normal' (i.e close to being my old self). I'd also started university then and feel the socializing aspect of it helped (in accelerating recovery); interacting with people, discussing coursework, completing group assignments etc

[Abdullah]

On 3/15/2022 at 7:01 PM, Landis said:

Hello, Abdullah! From my point of view, your story has great motivational potential, you are a very persistent and strong-willed person, worthy of all respect.
 

Unfortunately, I am now experiencing almost the same symptoms as you a few years ago: four months ago I abruptly stopped olanzapine, which I had been taking for only three weeks, and now I am suffering incredibly, and without any hint of improvement in my well-being.
 

Sorry for the perhaps tactless question: if you try to quantify the intermediate results of your rehabilitation process, then by what percentage have you recovered now?

 

Hi, and thank you for the kind words! I'd say I'm about 90% back to being old me

[Abdullah]

Hi everyone, it's been almost a year and I thought I'd drop in and give an update. I've rejoined medical school now, wrote a research paper a last month, started a blog and (just now) have cleared my USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam)! 

[Abdullah]

what I'd advise everyone to do is that no matter how hard it seems, try your best to live as 'normally' as possible and socialize (with people you like) as much as you can. Have goals you can work towards and try to create meaning

[Shep]

@Abdullah How are you feeling? Do you feel you've recovered? If not, what symptoms are you currently experiencing? 

[Abdullah]

hey shep, I'd say I'm mostly recovered. But completely functional, back to normal etc. I've found it got much better after joining med school, the socializing and working/discussing academics with like minded folk  helped a lot imo

[Shep]

On 9/27/2023 at 12:25 PM, Abdullah said:

hey shep, I'd say I'm mostly recovered. But completely functional, back to normal etc. I've found it got much better after joining med school, the socializing and working/discussing academics with like minded folk  helped a lot imo

 

This is excellent, Abdullah. Thanks for continuing to post updates. 

 

Please continue to let us know how you're doing. I hope you will add your story to our Recovery Success Stories eventually!

 

Please see this topic:  How to write your success story

[littlebird]

On 9/27/2023 at 9:25 AM, Abdullah said:

hey shep, I'd say I'm mostly recovered. But completely functional, back to normal etc. I've found it got much better after joining med school, the socializing and working/discussing academics with like minded folk  helped a lot imo

This is great news, thank you for sharing! Gives me hope for the other side of these meds. ☀️ Congratulations on med school!! A doctor with lived experience with psych meds is so important, I bet you'll have a great perspective with patients who are suffering side effects (who I'm sure you'll meet in any realm of medicine you go into). Hope you're taking care of yourself as much as possible, med school has to be a heavy work load.