Let me preface this by saying, I was never schizophrenic in my life, and I was put on the medication as an adjunct to resistant depression in 2004.
The important facts are as follows: I've been taking 5 mg of Abilify since July 17th , was at 7.5 mg for prior two months (May 24 - July 17), and 10 mgs (March 1 - May 24). I had been hospitalized in December 2017 with mania mixed with delusional thoughts. At time of discharge, the psych docs raised me to 20 mgs and I remained at that high through February 1st. For those who have tapered off Abilify is going down a level every month safe and what side effects can be expected as I drop my dosage by 50% this month and then from 2.5 mg to nothing next month.
I feel the drug has caused daytime fatigued and a fair amount of sleep apnea upon each dose change. To alleviate any mood swings, Lamictal was introduced in mid March. It was gradually increased to 100 mgs by June. I do feel much more "stable" and there has not been any recurrence of original symptoms. So I'm very glad for that. I just hope that dropping by 50% this time from the prior 33% drop doesn't bring back the feelings of persecution and suspiciousness brought about by last year's abrupt withdrawal from 10 mg to 2 mgs in 2 month's time. I've read where Breggin and Cohen recommend a 10% withdrawal rate, extended in time for each year of use. Is that sage advice?
ANY advice? My nurse psych practitioner told me S.O.P. is to reduce Abilify from 5 mg to straight discontinuation - which seems a bit hasty for one and secondly have other people heard of this protocol. IF my move to 2.5 mg zonks me out or makes me lightheaded, would other people suggest alternating with 5 mg tablets? Need insight from sensitive Abilify users.
Greatly appreciate others' first hand stories as to how it was for them to come off the med.
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
3 Answers
AR
arunde1598
31 Dec 2019
I believe this SOP makes sense. Like Fluoxetine (Prozac), Abilify has a long half-life (around 3 days). Usually, drugs with a longer half-life cause little to no withdrawal symptoms. Of course, this depends on: your metabolism, length of treatment time, and dose of drug.
With that, no taper on Abilify does make sense, but doesn't guarantee you won't have withdrawal symptoms.
All the best!
Votes: +0
AU
Autumn_soul
18 June 2019
Hello I am 27 have been bipolar for a little over ten years now. I used to be on Abilify injection until Tardive Dyskinesia started happening, in my mouth. That is when my doctor recommended me starting on Lamictal. He kept me on Abilify but started me on low dosages of Lamictal, gradually upping the dosage and eventually being completely off Abilify. I believe he started me on 10mg, then 25, 50, 100 and finally 200mg. My final dosage I am currently taking is at 200mg per day. I have never been happier in my life, stable, feel like I am constantly in a great mood and less irritable. For me it is a wonderful drug and I am glad I am off Abilify completely. Best of luck to you! I hope I was able to provide you with some sort of insignt...
Votes: +0
IN
Inactive
14 Aug 2018
I am pretty familiar with S.O.P., but I do not like to refer my clients for this as I feel this is too abrupt. I honestly do not like clients to be put on Abilify if they are not schizophrenic. Lamictal was not recommended neither as it has quite some number of side effects. I rather have them to be on a mood stabilizer, but not lithium since 90% of them have adverse side effects. They used Deanxit instead which was pretty safe, but the drug had been prohibited from marketing. Even though I always oppose to abrupt withdrawal, I think 10% withdrawal is a bit too slow. 20% withdrawal would be more efficient yet without much side effects. 30% withdrawal is still OK for some people, but anything over than that had been considered as an abrupt withdrawal which triggers off withdrawal symptoms. Psychotherapy sessions are recommended during the long time-frame of withdrawal in a step-by-step approach.
Votes: +0
AB
Abilify4toolong
15 Aug 2018
I appreciate the sage information Porsche. This is the road I am taking, and in my experience I believe I stayed on Abilify 10-12 extra years because my psychiatrist was aware of and deeply afraid of the psychotic withdrawal syndrome that could and did happen. Little did he make known, the longer one stays on the "stuff", the harder it would be to adjust during med withdrawal, i.e. the grave possibility of severe psychotic features. He is an out of town provider. So I only saw him every 3rd month, and despite my protestation each and every time, he never showed flexibility and willingness to take me off it. My body is sensitive to taking all of these medications as I have gone through the list of anti-depressants, starting with Elavil in 1992.
I neither wished for or wanted these medications and every time one didn't "work" or I had side effects, those psychiatrists gave me another followed by another as if the medicines each guy was dispensing was a multivitamin (i.e. without harmful effect). This is a lesson for all those individuals that have gone through multiple trials with different psych medicines. I hate to denigrate the whole profession, but drugs should be seen as the last resort to depression and anxiety - not the first and only.
