Roxy3 Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 (edited) Hi, I'm glad to be here, I have been here before, had to do withdrawal way too many times before. I could really use your encouragement and support, I feel so alone, not too many people understand this nightmare. I'm now tapering Abilify, I was on 5mg now Im on 2mg, for almost one year now. Im also on 50mg Amitriptyline and 20 mg buspar. I went on these meds because of a con man pharmacist, that told me I could take high doses of progesterone to help ease withdrawal from a muscle relaxer I was tapering off of. My story is long and complicated, in a nutshell, progesterone in high doses can act as a benzo, with my 20 year history with benzos, that wasn't good. I was on 800mg of progesterone cream. Then I was cold turkeyed off of it,estrogen and the muscle relaxer (zanaflex). I was a complete mess!!! I wound up in the hospital, where they put me on amytriptaline, then later the buspar and abilify. Anyway, Im now tapering the abilify, I feel very anxious,nauseous, morning adrenaline surge and depressed, its horrible! I may have tapered too fast. I have read your posts on tapering to go at a rate of 10% per month. I know all to well about this, with my benzo history and all. I cut the 5mg pill, in half, and was at 2 1/2mg for a couple of months, now Im down to 2mg, been here for about 15 days. Its weird, I had a couple of good windows while on the 2 1/2mg dose, but it was up and down though. Now at this 2mg dose, I'm REALLY struggling. What do you think??? Any advice would be welcome. I know cutting is not the best way to do this. I now have a gemini scale, and plan on taking it down much slower. I would titrate with water, but I don't think abilify is water soluble. I sleep really good, the amytriptaline help with that. I will eventually taper that and the buspar. I don't think buspar has done much for me. Thanks for reading, look forward to hearing from you. Edited December 28, 2016 by ChessieCat added drug tags Prozac 21 years off 5 years Benzo 20 years off 6 years 50 mg Amitriptaline started 10/15 still on 20 mg buspar started 1/16 still on 5 mg Abilify started 1/16 still on, tapering now down to 2 mg Link to comment
DrugfreeProf Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 Roxy3, I'm not a moderator--just a member--but want to say welcome aboard! This is a great site and a breath of fresh air for those going through the utter chaos that withdrawal throws people into. You will hear soon from the mods, but in the meantime, just know that you are not alone in your struggles and that the horrible suffering you are experiencing is very typical of what others are going through. You are not crazy, and you have plenty of sympathetic company. Drugfree Prof Psychologist and Psychotherapist Prozac 20 mg for approx 3 months during 2000, withdrew, no w/d sx Prozac 10 - 30 mg Jan. 2008 - Dec. 2014 Ritalin 30-40 mg Jan. 2008 - Mar. 2015 W/d sx from Prozac started around 3 months after cessation--crying spells, depressed mood, lethargy; resolved in 8 - 12 mos. post cessation Used and continue to use a TON of alternative methods--meditation, mindfulness, nutrition. supplements, exercise, etc. Link to comment
Roxy3 Posted December 27, 2016 Author Share Posted December 27, 2016 Awe thanks, this withdrawal can make you feel like you are going crazy. I can't wait to done with this drug. Prozac 21 years off 5 years Benzo 20 years off 6 years 50 mg Amitriptaline started 10/15 still on 20 mg buspar started 1/16 still on 5 mg Abilify started 1/16 still on, tapering now down to 2 mg Link to comment
Roxy3 Posted December 27, 2016 Author Share Posted December 27, 2016 Does anyone have any experience coming off abilify? Prozac 21 years off 5 years Benzo 20 years off 6 years 50 mg Amitriptaline started 10/15 still on 20 mg buspar started 1/16 still on 5 mg Abilify started 1/16 still on, tapering now down to 2 mg Link to comment
Roxy3 Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 Should I up dose at this point? Or stay on the 2 mg for a bit longer? I'm NOT stable!!! It's been 16 days at this dose! I would really like some feedback!!!???? Prozac 21 years off 5 years Benzo 20 years off 6 years 50 mg Amitriptaline started 10/15 still on 20 mg buspar started 1/16 still on 5 mg Abilify started 1/16 still on, tapering now down to 2 mg Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted December 28, 2016 Administrator Share Posted December 28, 2016 Welcome, Roxy. Please see Tips for tapering off aripiprazole (Abilify) It sounds like going from 2.5mg to 2mg, a 20% decrease, was too much for you. You might go back to 2.25mg to stabilize, then taper by much smaller amounts later. How did you feel after you started taking amitriptyline? Did Buspar have any effect? When was Abilify added? To help us out, see these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature Many people do better with fish oil and magnesium supplements, seehttp://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1300-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/A lot of people find them helpful. Try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.Since you're taking multiple drugs, please put ALL your drugs in the Drug Interactions Checker https://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.phpand copy and paste the results in this topic. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Roxy3 Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 Thanks, I did write my signature, I guess I didn't do it right! I'll figure it out, everything is hard right now! Prozac 21 years off 5 years Benzo 20 years off 6 years 50 mg Amitriptaline started 10/15 still on 20 mg buspar started 1/16 still on 5 mg Abilify started 1/16 still on, tapering now down to 2 mg Link to comment
Roxy3 Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 I felt better after starting amytriptaline, but, then got bad again after a couple of months. He added the buspar and abilify, I had great relief, I was having racing thoughts, they went away! I'm not sure that buspar does anything or not! Prozac 21 years off 5 years Benzo 20 years off 6 years 50 mg Amitriptaline started 10/15 still on 20 mg buspar started 1/16 still on 5 mg Abilify started 1/16 still on, tapering now down to 2 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted December 28, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 28, 2016 Thanks, I did write my signature, I guess I didn't do it right! I'll figure it out, everything is hard right now! Hi Roxy and welcome to SA from me too. When you first join SA you complete a drug history which is not public. I was the same as you and thought that I had done something wrong when I was asked to complete my signature. * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment
Roxy3 Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 I figured it out... there's my signature. I see a functional doctor, she has me on fish oil, magnesium and other supplements. They are helping me allot! Thank you so much for your input, I know this is withdrawal, I have to fight the thoughts that I still need these drugs! My pdoc is the one that is taking me off of them! He is letting me go as slow as I need too. I have lots of expierence with it. Prozac 21 years off 5 years Benzo 20 years off 6 years 50 mg Amitriptaline started 10/15 still on 20 mg buspar started 1/16 still on 5 mg Abilify started 1/16 still on, tapering now down to 2 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus scallywag Posted December 30, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 30, 2016 Roxy - you asked a question about marijuana in symptoms. I've moved the post to the topic discussing cannabis/marijuana. Instead of posting a new topic, many of us find it faster to use a web search tool (google, bing, etc.) to see if a symptom or treatment has been discussed on this site. Just include the search term site:survivingantidepressants.org This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to 0.0 mg Aug. 12; details here scallywag's IntroductionOnline spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted January 1, 2017 Administrator Share Posted January 1, 2017 I figured it out... there's my signature. I see a functional doctor, she has me on fish oil, magnesium and other supplements. They are helping me allot! Thank you so much for your input, I know this is withdrawal, I have to fight the thoughts that I still need these drugs! My pdoc is the one that is taking me off of them! He is letting me go as slow as I need too. I have lots of expierence with it. That's good your doctor is supportive. Please let us know how you're doing. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus scallywag Posted January 27, 2017 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 27, 2017 Hi Roxy - I saw your post in another introduction topic I'm coming off of abilify too... it's horrible! I was on "only" 5 mg too! I have gone down from 5 to 1 1/2 mg. in several months! Now I'm struggling with extreme anxiety and nausea! I hate these meds! I was doing really well on 2 mg, got stable! I just did a cut from 2 to 1 1/2 last Saturday! ... I just reread your thread and notice that we haven't yet given you our suggestion on tapering safely: decrease by 10% or less per month. Why taper by 10% of my dosage?. I hope you'll get away with your recent 25% decrease. If you get symptoms, consider increasing back to 1.75 mg. symptoms come up. So that you'll know one if it arises, have a look at this topic that has a good list of many common withdrawal symptoms. Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptom list. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to 0.0 mg Aug. 12; details here scallywag's IntroductionOnline spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet Link to comment
Roxy3 Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 Thanks, I'm still suffering. I'm going to move up to the rise like you suggested! Hopefully I will feel better! Prozac 21 years off 5 years Benzo 20 years off 6 years 50 mg Amitriptaline started 10/15 still on 20 mg buspar started 1/16 still on 5 mg Abilify started 1/16 still on, tapering now down to 2 mg Link to comment
Roxy3 Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 Ok... I made the increase tonight! How long does it take to start to feel better? I know all of us are different! Abilify didn't take long to work, so, I'm hoping for that! It's a strong little bugger of a pill... crazy! Prozac 21 years off 5 years Benzo 20 years off 6 years 50 mg Amitriptaline started 10/15 still on 20 mg buspar started 1/16 still on 5 mg Abilify started 1/16 still on, tapering now down to 2 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus scallywag Posted January 28, 2017 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 28, 2017 Here's a discussion about how n long it takes to stabilizehttp://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4244-after-reinstating-or-updosing-how-long-to-stabilize/ You likely out won't notice anything for at least 4v days; it takes that long for the change to become the "new normal." Then it will take *at least* another week before your CNS responds and you notice an improvement. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to 0.0 mg Aug. 12; details here scallywag's IntroductionOnline spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet Link to comment
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