Loreal65 Withdrawal from Abilify

[Loreal65]

Hello,

 

I've been treated for depression and have been on meds for at least the past ten years.

 

I was on cymbalta, wellbutrin and 5 mg. of abilify.   I discussed with my psychiatrist about stopping the cymbalta and abilify.

 

I found I could not get off the cymbalta and started taking it again and thought i would feel fine. But I do not! It is hard to describle but I feel "off", dizzy, anxious, and tired. Lack motivation and feel overwhelmed.

 

I talked to my psychiatrist and she says it would take a couple weeks for my brain/body to adjust.   I don't understand why she didn't have me taper off the abilify. Maybe I need a different psychiatrist.

 

Anyway, I am trying to hang in there but just don't feel right. Took the day off from work.

 

I just want to feel normal again.

 

[Jemima]

Welcome to the forum, Loreal65. 

 

How long have you been off of Abilify? I'm asking because it may be possible for you to reinstate at a lower dose and then come off of it gradually, but there's only a short window when it's fairly certain that doing that will help. 

 

How did you get off of Cymbalta and how long ago was that?  When did you start taking it again and at what dose?

 

When you have time, please add your drug history to your signature:

 

How To Add Your Drug History To Your Signature

 

The more we know about your drug history the better able we'll be to help.

 

You'll find lots of good information and friendly support here. I 'm glad you found us.

[Edted]

Dear Loreal:

Unfortunately, I've had to learn more about Abilify than I'd ever wanted (see my thread). I'm just a layman, but I'm happy to share what I think I understand about it. Look around this site and you'll find lots of folks in the various stages of recovery. I'm amazed at how warm and caring the folks here are. If you saw Jemima's response, please let us know more about your situation .

Glad you found this place,

Ed

[Loreal65]

Jemima,

 

I've been off the abilify for little over a week.   The cymbalta, I was off for almost a week and then started taking 60 mg. again.

My thinking is a little fuzzy, so please bear with me.

 

I realize I said I was on 5 mg. of abilify but my psychiatrist recently raised it to 10 mg. in which I gained 5 lbs. in 2 days.

 

Yesterday I saw my primary care.   Initially she suggested another drug (I forget the name).   Then she suggested going back on the abilify and breaking the dose in 2.   She also talked about me going on an eating plan when I believe it is the abilify that caused it to begin with!

 

I also called in sick again to work today.   I just feel like I can't handle work or much of anything right now.  

Each day I wake up, hoping to feel better.

 

I am cutting down on coffee- which my doctor suggested.

 

thank you for welcoming me,

 

Laurie

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Loreal.

 

5 lbs. in 2 days! That's got to be a record. Obviously this drug isn't good for you.

 

How long have you been taking the reinstated Cymbalta? How long were you taking 10mg Abilify? Do you have any Abilify 5mg left?

 

Very few doctors know anything about withdrawal. You'll have to take anything they say with a very large amount of salt.

[Loreal65]

Hi,

 

It's been almost a week since I've been taking cymbalta again. I did not take the 10 mg. abilify for long, maybe 3 days.

 

I do have some 10 mg.  that I could split in half.

[Loreal65]

Hello again,

 

Yesterday I started taking 5 mg. of abilify to try to relieve withdrawal symptoms.

 

I still have feelings of being overwhelmed and not motivated to do anything. It scares me the way I am feeling. The thought of going back to work tomorrow overwhelms me.

 

I've been doing a lot of reading on this site but am not sure how long to stay at this dose. I don't feel a lot of support from my primary care and my appt. with my psychiatrist isn't until the end of the month.  

 

I just want to feel decent enough to go to work and I don't.

 

 

[Altostrata]

Loreal, I combined your new post with your existing topic. Please put your updates in this topic -- only one Intro topic to a customer.

 

You  might see if Abilify reinstatement helps. It takes about 4 days to reach a steady state in your bloodstream.

[Loreal65]

Ok.

 

Thank you for that information.

 

take care,

[Altostrata]

Please let us know how you're doing.

[Loreal65]

Hi,

 

I believe this is day 4 of reinstating 2.5 mg. of abilify.

Each day I feel a little better. It has taken some time for the sense of dizziness to go away.

I almost feel like me again but still feeling a little down and out of sorts.

But it's a helluva lot better than 4 days ago.

 

I'm going to be in touch w/psychiatrist and ask her how to safely wean from this med.

Also- a friend of mine(who has the same primary care) told me she successfully was weaned of of cymbalta with no problems. So I feel I can go to primary care if necessary.

 

I'm down to one large cup of coffee in the a.m. and no afternoon coffee. I'm also dissing the sweets and trying to get my weight down.

 

Thank you so much for asking!

 

Laurie

[Altostrata]

Most doctors know nothing about weaning.

 

Here's our topic about tapering Abilify http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1896-tips-for-tapering-off-abilify-aripiprazole/

 

It comes in a liquid, which makes reducing by tiny amounts much easier. If I were you, I'd ask for a prescription for the liquid.

[Edted]

Dear Loreal65:

Great to hear that things are a bit better. You might wish to read my intro, describing my son's struggles to get off Abilify. Something we learned the hard way is that the very long half life of the drug(not unusual to take a month to reach steady state after each taper) makes it easy to allow the taper to get ahead of the nervous system's ability to adjust. Cal (son's pseudonym) is tapering by no more than 5% per month, with holds as necessary. Even with that, he struggles with carb urges, irritability, and hypo mania from time to time. When he switched to liquid (using a syringe marked in .1mg increments), he needed to give himself a month to get used to the difference between liquid and pill form. He needs to watch his caffeine intake. When the carb urges appear, he has found that eating raw almonds settles things back down in a few days (no idea why, but it works for him). Please do not underestimate how powerful this drug is, even in tiny amounts. Whether it is from the drug or something else, Cal struggles with impatience, and, in tapering, impatience is a real problem. Everyone is different, but some things seem to be generally true: go slow, hold or partially reinstate when indicated, take very good care of your general health, be patient.

All the best,

Ed

[Loreal65]

Thank you both for the information.

 

Ed,  prayers for you son.

 

take care,

 

Laurie