![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christ_empowered on November 20, 2010, at 20:42:01
OK, so I used to take 15mgs/day Abilify, and I was stable. Then I went off cold turkey for several months and had a bit of a relapse, so I re-started my medication. I started @ 15 but then went up to 30 (my old dose before reducing to 15 several months prior) b/c the 15mgs/day dosage didn't have enough "oomph" to calm me down. Its been a couple months and now I'm stable. I don't have EPS or dysphoria, but I'd kind of like to go down to 15mgs/day just to reduce the amount of neuroleptic my brain is exposed to.
Is this a good or bad idea? My shrink says abilify is the best thing they have and that for bipolar disorder "more is better" (I guess schizophrenics can take 10-15mgs? I should've asked). Anyway, I appreciate his advice, but it seems like most shrinks love to ramp up the dose of antipsychotics, so I kind of took his insight with a grain of salt.
I don't have any mania or depression. Anxiety is still a problem, but I don't have any significant agitation. My thinking is clear, but I'm wondering if maybe 15mgs/day wouldn't give *more* cognitive improvement, since I wouldn't run as high a risk of neuroleptic-induced cognitive deficits.
Please give me whatever advice you can. I'd love to be able to ask my doc about it, but he seems big on higher doses of meds, which kind of scares me, although I see his point.
Posted by Phillipa on November 20, 2010, at 21:40:01
In reply to maintenance dose for Abilify?, posted by Christ_empowered on November 20, 2010, at 20:42:01
If you are stable on 30mg and still have some anxiety I wouldn't change a thing at the moment. You are stable now. Congrats on that!!!! Phillipa
Posted by morgan miller on November 20, 2010, at 22:59:54
In reply to maintenance dose for Abilify?, posted by Christ_empowered on November 20, 2010, at 20:42:01
I don't think going down to 15 mg, as long as it's done slowly, is risking much at all. If you feel fine on 15 mg, I do think that is preferable to feeling fine on 30. JMHO.
I agree that psychiatrist are a bit too high dose happy with most medications. What works for you is what is best, not what they think works best for everyone.
Posted by ed_uk2010 on November 21, 2010, at 14:06:27
In reply to maintenance dose for Abilify?, posted by Christ_empowered on November 20, 2010, at 20:42:01
>I'd kind of like to go down to 15mgs/day just to reduce the amount of neuroleptic my brain is exposed to.
Perhaps 30mg to 15mg is too much of a jump? You could consider an intermediate dose for several months and go from there.
Posted by herpills on November 22, 2010, at 9:32:45
In reply to maintenance dose for Abilify?, posted by Christ_empowered on November 20, 2010, at 20:42:01
Is Abilify your only mood stabilizer? Do you take any other meds with it? I think if you feel just as good or close to as good as you did on 30mg, why take a higher dose if you don't need to? herpills
Posted by Christ_empowered on November 22, 2010, at 13:11:01
In reply to Re: maintenance dose for Abilify? » Christ_empowered, posted by herpills on November 22, 2010, at 9:32:45
yeah, all I take is the Abilify @ 30mgs/day. The thing is...10-15mgs/day is effective for Bipolar I and Schizophrenia. The 30mgs is used for acute mania, but I don't see why it would be necessary to keep taking a higher dose after the acute episode has ended. I did some research, and even today (almost 60 years after thorazine was introduced), nobody really knows how to dose the antipsychotics. Some say lower to 1/2 the dose for maintenance, some say keep the same dose long-term...its really confusing.
At least this is Abilify and not Haldol or something...even if I end up needing the 30mgs/day dose its probably not as bad for my brain or body as some other meds out there.
Since Abilify has a long half life, I was thinking I could just start taking 1/2 tablet (15mgs) daily instead of a whole tablet, to see how it goes for a couple weeks. I responded pretty rapidly to 30mgs/day last time I went off meds and had a mini-crisis, so it seems to me that if I freak out, going back up to 30mgs/day should do the trick quickly. I hope.I still haven't cut the dose yet, though. I kind of want to do a little more research+get a little more advice first.
Posted by Phillipa on November 22, 2010, at 19:15:36
In reply to Re: maintenance dose for Abilify?, posted by Christ_empowered on November 22, 2010, at 13:11:01
I feel that is a wise decision. Phillipa
Posted by Dr. Bob on November 23, 2010, at 16:30:42
In reply to Re: maintenance dose for Abilify?, posted by Christ_empowered on November 22, 2010, at 13:11:01
Christ_empowered,
Hi, just want to make sure you see this:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20100403/msgs/968672.html
Thanks,
Bob
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.