Utahgal: Hi

[Utahgal]

Thank you SG!

[Utahgal]

Help! I'm feeling terrible this morning. I tapered off my abilify too fast and I'm suffering severe withdrawal. I'm having headaches, extreme anxiety, shaking, sweating. Just miserable!

 

I think I was off the drug for 4-5 days before it hit. I tapered from 2 Mgs....1.5.....1.0.....0.5......off.

 

I tried to reinstate 1.5 Mgs last night. I also took some Xanax this morning. It didn't help at all! How long will this last? Do I need to call my pdoc and ask to be put on additional drug to stop this withdrawal? I feel like I want to jump in front of a bus. Abilify was the only drug I was on. I had already sussessfully tapered off gabapentin and doxepin. So, I only had abilify left.

 

I'm not sure what to do. I'm not very functional. I need help!

[Utahgal]

I'm still feeling awful. Cold sweats, anxiety, shaking, weakness, heartburn..... I'm just not doing well. Been back on 1.0 ml of abilify for 3 days. (Starting dose was 2 Mgs). It doesn't seem to be kicking back in. I'm afraid that I will need to be put on another med! I can't go on like this!

[AliG]

Utaghal.     Please give it some more time. It will take a minimum of 4 days for your body to fully register the addition of the drug , and to reach a steady state , in the blood. Try not to panic. Another medication is not going to help matters. It will likely cause even more symptoms. Try if you can to keep it slow and stable.

The slowness of slow tapers

 

Also , if you can find ways of quietening down the anxiety now,  it will be helpful for the time when you are finally off the drugs, and instead of reaching for a pill, you have coping techniques that work for you, and keep you stable. 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 

Ali

[Utahgal]

Ok. I will try as long as possible to not go on additional meds. It is really hard because the symptoms are so bad and I just want them to go away. I'm just so nonfunctional. Thankfully I don't work and stay at home. I had a very rough night last night. Didn't sleep much. Lots of extreme heartburn and strange cold sweats. Feeling weak and shaky this morning. Some anxiety. Just feel very edgy like all my nerves are jittery?

 

I thought my abilify taper was slow enough! I guess not. And to think my doc wanted me to jump off at my original dose of 2 Mgs. Thankfully I didn't do that!

 

How long does it normally take for our nervous systems to calm back down?

[AliG]

Utahgal.      You have come such a long way. You are on the final leg of your taper. It is extremely important now to stay steady and stable. The symptoms will wax and wane, in a healing pattern. Your symptoms, while uncomfortable are tolerable and with some self- care , manageable.

Have you tried yoga, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, guided sleep meditations, epsom salts baths, walking ( in the sun), burning essential oils and listening to your favorite music as ways of coping with your symptoms ? 

These are some non- drug tools that can help in the healing process. Perhaps if you read through " Symptoms & Self- care " , you will find even more ideas.

Ali

[Utahgal]

I also just read some more on this site about reinstatement. I read that it could actually take months for stabilization. I guess I just need to accept that and focus on how to get through each day. I am familiar with the self care. As you probably read....I've been through this a few years ago with gabapentin. I was able to get off the Gabapentin, but it took a whole year.....but was actually quite easy. I just followed directions on this site.

 

However, I couldn't stabilize on the gabapentin after reinstating and that's how I ended up on doxepin and abilify. I was able to very carefully reduce the doxepin and get of uneventfully. Now, I'm just stuck on abilify. I'm scared that I won't stabilize. I went back up to 1.0 Mgs 3 days ago. I just want to feel stable again. It's hard to feel this sick.

 

I will try to do more self care to take the edge off. The best I feel is in the evenings when I drink a glass or two of wine. It takes most of my symptoms away for some reason. But then I wake again the next morning at 5 AM a complete mess.

 

My plan is to stabilize. If this goes on for too long, I may need to give in and add more meds. Hopefully I can hang on for 3-4 weeks. Once I stabilize I will need help from someone making a better taper plan from 1.0 Mgs. My pdoc is very supportive and will do whatever I want, but she really has no idea how to draw up an extra slow plan.

 

I wish there were more success stories of people getting off abilify. I tried to write detailed posts of my successful gabapentin taper for those behind me who might need some direction or inspiration.

[SquirrellyGirl]

Utahgal, how long were you at each cut?

 

SG

[Meimeiquest]

Hi Utahgal,

 

I remember you from long ago...notice that I am still tapering too (actually I'm just holding,..I'm finding the last drug to be quite a kicker and I'm in a new job where it's too risky to take on WD symptoms). it is just a long journey that we are on. I think you have to realize that generally Abilify comes from a much more brain-altering class of drugs than gabapentin and the drugs that were added with the gabapentin taper softened the landing. So step one is to get stabilized again. Have you tried magnesium and fish oil? If you want to live drug free, just be especially careful not to get into a situation where you go on yet another class of medications...then it will be even more complicated. But I have confidence in both of us...the journey may be long but we'll make it!

[SquirrellyGirl]

Ok, let's think about this.  You went off the abilify too fast, but over what period of time?  It may be that rather than add new drugs, you could updose a bit more of abilify, but we need to know the time frame that you went from 2 to 0.  

 

It takes four days for the meds to reach a steady state in the blood, and more time to see if the up-dose will help.  Try to stay calm. Your panic will only make things worse.  Can you take an epsom salt bath, listen to some soothing music and meditate to it, or watch some comedies on TV to distract yourself?  

 

I am very concerned that with the tapers off drugs, reinstatements, addition of other drugs etc. over time that your nervous system has become really sensitive and this last fast taper did you in.  Adding new drugs on top of this could easily go paradoxical and leave you worse off, even though it may have worked last time.  It is a big risk.  So, the main thing is to try to soothe yourself right now, get the anxiety down.

 

SG

[Utahgal]

I tapered from 2 Mgs to 0 holding 10 days at each cut. 2.0......1.5.......1.0.....0.5......off

 

Obviously it was way too fast and way too big cuts. Double whammy. I did reinstate to 1.0 Mgs (mls......I have the liquid). I woke up today (day #5 post reinstatement) and I feel about 80% better! Most of the withdrawal symptoms are gone. So, I guess I just need to sit and wait and stabilize even more. What should my new taper plan be? Do I wait 1 month? 2 months?

 

I did get a smaller oral syringe....1.0 ml. So I will be able to make smaller cuts.

 

I can't believe that my pdoc wanted me to just quit abilify at 2.0 Mgs. She said it was no big deal. I thought the taper plan that I devised was much slower......apparently not. I am lucky in that she is very supportive and will allow me to taper any way I want.

 

So...I'm hoping someone here with more experience will help me with taper instructions. Is abilify notorious for difficulty tapering? About how long should I plan to get off 1.0 Mgs? 1 year??

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

What if someone suggested you don't try to reduce again for a year but would give your body that much time to accommodate to the drug again?

 

You went too fast off Abilify and triggered WD syndrome. It takes months for the body to re-stabilize after that and you will never really feel well during this time. Yanking your dosage schedule around will just add insult to injury and reducing your dose of reinstatement too soon and too rapidly is, in essence, doing just that but most aren't able to see it that way.

 

A year to restabilize might not even be long enough but only you will be able to tell when it happens.

 

A slow taper using a calendar is only a guide. The body does not know from calendars. You have to be able to live while the body is re calculating and if you do it too quickly it is difficult to live well. Have you read Hudgen's story and see how slowly HE went? He was on a darn near homeopathic dose at the end and he still occasionally had symptoms but he listened to his body and stayed the course.

 

You don't mention why you are in such a rush to get off the meds. When you got off the gabapentin you should have taken a lot more time to recover before reducing again, especially after taking a drug to 'help' withdrawal symptoms. There IS no drug that will help, they all make it worse or prolong it. There are countless stories here about what happens she people listen to their doctors about getting off these meds, men and women who RX them like candy and never look up from their RX pads long enough to see the destruction they wreak and who have never taken them themselves. Or are taking them now and don't know what it is like getting off them. My friend's SIL is a pediatric dr and is on Zoloft. My friend had to hide all her post surgery pain killers from this woman because she would steal them when they came over for cocktails so she could get a buzz on. What kind of a Dr does that? That's how these drugs distort your thinking.

 

I had to come back and edit this because I got your story mixed up with someone else's. The recommendations are the same though, you have to reduce these meds SO slowly your body has a chance to adjust and it cannot do that according to a calendar or clock. Not if you want to be able to be functional while it is happening.

[SquirrellyGirl]

Utahgal, I am so glad that you are feeling so much better today! I know when you are in the thick of it that you want to DO something to make it stop, which is what landed you on more drugs that you then had to taper.  But time is all that really works.  So, given your 10-day per cut taper, it will take many months for your nervous system to catch up to what was essentially a 50% cut, now that you are on 1 mg.  Had you done the 10% taper, it would take you approximately 7 months to get down to about 1 mg.  I would allow at least that 6 months to let your nervous system make the adjustements.  If you can stand a year, as Cymbalta suggested, then all the better.  Even with the 10% taper, we recommend periodic extra holds because the nervous system may be scrambling to keep up and an extra hold here and there gives it a chance to get on solid footing before the next set of challenges.

 

Cymbalta's question was a good one:  is there a particular reason why you are in a rush to be off?

 

I'm not familiar with whether or not Abilify is known to be difficult to get off, but what we do know is that for YOU, you will definitely need to take it slower.  Previous tapers going easily has no real bearing here because the more ups/downs, stops/starts/, and new meds thrown into the mix, the more sensitized your nervous system becomes to new challenges.  I think yours had "had it" with the stopping Abilify.

 

When you do resume the 10% taper, you will want to follow the plan Altostrata lays out here:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

 

It's going to take some time for you to feel better than 80%, because your nervous system still has healing to do to regulate down to 1 mg.  I think it was Rhiannon who said you essentially have to grow a new brain when it comes to getting off these meds, and that pretty much sums it up!

 

SG

[Utahgal]

Ok. That makes a lot of sense. I will hold at 1.0 mg abilify for a few months to let my brain stabilize. Then I will attempt a much slower taper.

 

I want off the drug because I never should have been on it in the first place! I was wrongly diagnosed with "anxiety disorder" and placed on these awful meds. Come to find out, I actually have neurological Lyme Disease! That's right......a frickin brain infection! I should have been given antibiotics NOT psych meds! I went 6 yrs misdiagnosed and continued to get sicker.....hair loss, brain fog, muscle weakness, insomnia, tremors. And the stupid doctors kept piling on psych meds! Duh!

 

Now....I'm finally being treated for Lyme. My anxiety and insomnia are gone, but I'm stuck with the other symptoms. They might be permanent because the Lyme was never treated in time!

[SquirrellyGirl]

Oh Utahgirl, I am so sorry to hear about the Lyme's and the misdiagnosis - what a tragedy!  You are not alone in not being diagnosed correctly with the Lymes.  I can see why you want off the meds post-haste!  It's a sticky situation we all find ourselves in when we want off these danged drugs so badly but have to do it slowly because the nervous system has been taken hostage.

 

i'm glad you're getting properly treated now and I'm sorry you lost all that time.

 

SG

[Utahgal]

It's been a month since my withdrawal mishap from abilify. I'm back on 1 mg and have mostly stabilized. However, I have a constant chronic low grade headache most days. Is this from the withdrawal? How long will this last. I never had headaches until the abilify crash.

[SquirrellyGirl]

H Utahgirl, thanks for the update.

 

Headaches are a common complaint in withdrawal, so it may be a residual symptom hanging around as your nervous system stabilizes after the reinstatement.  That dose is probably a bit under where your nervous system got to with your fast taper, so there may be reverberations yet while your nervous system catches up.  I can't say how long it will last.  Do any OTC pain meds help (aspirin?).

 

Migraines, Headaches and Head Pressure

 

Have you tried Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms?  Though this isn't an "emotional" symptom per se, things like meditation and Emotional Freedom Techniques could prove useful.  And of course, try to not worry over it if you can, since secondary anxiety can develop and keep the symptom around even longer.

 

Are you taking magnesium and fish oil?  The latter is known for helping brain zaps so perhaps headaches, too.

 

Omega-3 Fish Oil

Magnesium

 

SG

[Utahgal]

I successfully weaned off  gabapentin and now I'm stuck on abilify.  I'm currently at my original dose of 2 mgs for 2 yrs now.  I tried to taper once but was unsuccessful.  I read a post here from a member named "Wiresoma" and they had the same problem but were eventually able to get off symptom fee so I am encouraged.

 

i will get the liquid form of abilify the end of the week and give it a go again, but slower this time once I reach 0.5 mgs.  I will make much smaller cuts from there.  I am here for support and encouragement.  I will be drug free once I am finished.

 

does anyone know if the weight gained from abilify comes off?  Or did it ruin my metabolism?

[Katie54321]

I have read all your thread with interest. I have so far cut Abilify from 10mg down to 2.5mg, see my signature for the time frame, about 4 months in total. I have felt no withdrawl, I guess it's the final bit that's difficult. Why isn't there more info on Abilify withdrawl I wonder, considering the amount of people particularly in the USA on it? I am from UK. I was hoping the lack of info on Abilify withdrawl when googling it, meant that lots of people have no problem coming off it? 

[Utahgal]

I want to do a liquid taper of abilify.  I need to go from 2 mg...1.5...1.0....0.5....0.4...0.3....0.2....0.1.....0.05.....0.025....off.

 

i can order 0.5 ml oral syringes.  But how can I measure 0.05 or 0.025???  Any ideas??

[Utahgal]

I need help coming off abilify.  I'm currently at my prescribed dose of 2.0 mgs.  I am getting the liquid form and will slowly taper.  My question is, how do I measure very small amounts such as less than 0.10 ml?  The smallest syringe I can find is 0.50 ml.  So, how can I measure 0.05 or 0.025 ml?  Thanks.

[scallywag]

A dose of 0.05 mg is a long way off. I'm sorry that you're worrying about that now. 

 

We need more details to answer your question. In what form does your abilify prescription come now? A 2 mg tablet? Are you taking the tablet or making a liquid?

 

[Utahgal]

I am getting the abilify in liquid form from the pharmacy.  Prior I had been taking 2 mg tablets.  I had to fight tooth and nail with my insurance to get them to cover the liquid.  They said I did not need to taper and could just stop at 2 mgs.  I know this is not true, as last year I had abilify liquid and tapered down to 0.5 ml (equals 0.5 mgs) and then jumped off.  I had SEVERE withdrawal syndrome.

 

Although I just made my first drop from 2 mgs down to 1.75 (using the liquid solution), it is not too soon to worry about how to dose very small amounts such as 0.05 or 0.025.  I am under the gun to get off this med as the insurance may not give me another refill.  I have a wonderful doctor who will prescribe me the solution form and let me go as slow as I want, but the insurance is giving me a difficult time.  

 

I am trying to plan my taper accordingly.  I don't want to run out.

 

Last year I was able to taper down to 0.5 very easily.  I just made the mistake of not tapering lower.  I plan to taper pretty quickly down to 0.5 and then go slowly from there.  That way I won't use too much solution and then I can take my time at smaller doses.

 

Im confused as how to measure such small doses.  Tough to read even on. 0.5 ml syringe.  I'm guessing that I need to dilute the solution in water and make a 1:1 ratio???  Then I can measure out larger doses on the syringe, but they will really be half the dose?

 

i came here looking for support.  I came here with an honest question looking for help.  I made it clear that I was on the liquid form of the abilify.  All I wanted to know is how to make small measurements in a syringe accurately.  I found the only response that I got to be rather unhelpful and almost insulting as I could tell that my previous

post must not have been read fully.  And to be told not to "worry"..... We'll, I am worried!  The insurance can take away my medication and force me into severe withdrawal.

 

If anyone has any helpful suggestions or any words of support or kindness, I'd love to hear from you.

[scallywag]

you can dilute the liquid 1 part medication to 9 parts water and then you'll have a 1:10 solution. Example:

Mix 0.5 ml (0.5 mg active ingredient) with 4.5 ml to get 5 ml of diluted solution in which 1 ml = 0.1 mg active ingredient

You could then take

• 4.5 ml to get 0.45 mg abilify,
• 2.2 ml to get 0.22 mg abilify, etc.

[Utahgal]

Perfect!  Thank you.  That should do the trick.