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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christ_empowered on September 27, 2011, at 1:44:17
I've reduced my Abilify from 30 to 15. I also take 200 Lamictal. I feel *so* much better. I still get these moments when I'm acutely (and painfully) aware that I'm tranquilized, but they're becoming less frequent. I also have more energy, I'm more articulate, and I'm starting to "get" life better/more.
What I'm wondering is if at this point I shouldn't ask my shrink to treat this more like severe depression+anxiety, agitation and low-grade psychosis than full on Bipolar I. The thing is, my crack up ("manic episode") wasn't a text book manic episode and a lot of psychosocial and personality factors went into it. Those other factors have now largely been addressed/corrected, so I'm wondering if I could benefit from an even lower dose of Abilify.
What I'm thinking is that since lower doses of Abilify can be stimulating (or at least have more pronounced antidepressant qualities than higher doses), they might be more appropriate to my particular situation than using the standard 10-15 dose recommended for Bipolar I and Schizophrenia.
I don't want to lose what Abilify has given me. Mild apathy aside, my thoughts are clearer and my agitation has diminished. I'm wondering, though, if I couldn't maintain those results, and get more robust anti-depressant/mood-elevating action from, say, 7.5 daily (I have a stockpile of 30 tabs, so it'd be easy for me to cut them into 1/4 tablets and take those).
I'm also curious about Deanxit. Its a mixture of low-dose flupenthixol (a neuroleptic than can act as a mildly stimulating, fast-acting mood-elevator) plus some relatively tolerable TCA I've never heard of in one pill. Its cheap at a lot of online pharmacies.
What do you guys think?
Posted by sigismund on September 27, 2011, at 2:05:06
In reply to Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME!, posted by Christ_empowered on September 27, 2011, at 1:44:17
How about going toward 7.5mg/d slowly and feel your way there?
Posted by SLS on September 27, 2011, at 6:21:43
In reply to Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME!, posted by Christ_empowered on September 27, 2011, at 1:44:17
For me, the optimal dosage of Abilify taken for bipolar depression is 10mg. I took 20mg for quite awhile, it wasn't until I lowered the dosage that I came to know that Abilify can act as a damper of thoughts and feelings. It was tolerable, but not necessary. I relapse on dosages below 10mg.
Just remember that you and I are treating different symptoms, and that a higher dosage of Abilify might be necessary to ward off psychosis.
Good luck.
- Scott
Posted by Phillipa on September 27, 2011, at 10:21:09
In reply to Re: Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME! » Christ_empowered, posted by SLS on September 27, 2011, at 6:21:43
CE since you say you are doing so well now seriously stay on the doses that are working for you. Then with the help of your doc take it from there. Remember dx doesn't matter it's what works for you and you now have a working combo. Phillipa
Posted by Christ_empowered on September 27, 2011, at 15:02:31
In reply to Re: Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME!, posted by Phillipa on September 27, 2011, at 10:21:09
I think I'm just so impressed by how lowering the Abilify has improved things that I'm thinking "lower! lower! lower is better!," when in fact there's a real limit a) to how low I can go and still control psychosis and b) how low I can go and get improvement in depressive symptoms.
I'll stick at 15 for a while. I admitted to my shrink at the last session that I sometimes hear my thoughts, but its gotten better with Lamictal at 200. I doubt she'll be eager to further reduce the Abilify for a while, if at all. We shall see.
Posted by TheDmachine on September 27, 2011, at 20:38:09
In reply to Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME!, posted by Christ_empowered on September 27, 2011, at 1:44:17
Mental illness does not (or rarely) exists. Problematic thinking and poorly programmed individuals are more accurate.
You can choose to live doped up or you can choose to live sober, but don't forget that by doping yourself up you are just supresing mental function.Sure Ive done it myself with booze and xanax etc... but the truth is we don't need any psych 'meds' to experience reality, in fact psych meds suppress our true selves and our perception of reality. What we need to do if we wish to be happy is change our out look and stop labelling ourselves as 'ill'. For most psych illnesses literally exist only within our minds.
Posted by Christ_empowered on September 27, 2011, at 20:49:53
In reply to Re: Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME!, posted by TheDmachine on September 27, 2011, at 20:38:09
I actually have a weird brain, caused in large part by a head injury. Drugs keep me out of mental hospitals and keep me from wasting my life away in some sort of delusional, paranoid state. I'm not gung-ho about psychotropics, either, but I don't want to waste my life just so I can live drug-free.
Posted by Phillipa on September 27, 2011, at 21:02:24
In reply to Re: Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME!, posted by Christ_empowered on September 27, 2011, at 20:49:53
CE did you talk about a head injury before? I don't remember if you did. But a wise decision on the meds you are now taking. Phillipa
Posted by Christ_empowered on September 28, 2011, at 15:47:28
In reply to Re: Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME! » Christ_empowered, posted by Phillipa on September 27, 2011, at 21:02:24
hey phillipa. Yeah, I got hit on the head with a pipe during a botched mugging a few years back. Weirdly enough, it didn't hurt at all (probably because I was already floridly psychotic), but I did sustain a concussion and, apparently, some brain damage. Sad times.
Posted by Phillipa on September 28, 2011, at 21:01:45
In reply to Re: Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME!, posted by Christ_empowered on September 28, 2011, at 15:47:28
CE so already you were experiencing psychosis? Well the pipe on your head couldn't have helped. Did they do an MRI at that time and have you recently had one to see if any permanent damage. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Phillipa
Posted by Christ_empowered on September 28, 2011, at 22:21:44
In reply to Re: Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME! » Christ_empowered, posted by Phillipa on September 28, 2011, at 21:01:45
What happened was I went into the hospital and they stitched me up and sent me on my way after giving me an injection of some kind of tranquilizer (I had also made superficial cuts on my wrists before getting attacked--busy night). Anyway, they did a brain scan at that point but didn't tell me anything.
I walked around the city I was living in for about 24 hours. I was picked up by the police late at night because I was walking on a busy bridge and interfering with traffic. They called an ambulance. Even though I was tired and quiet, the ambulance lady sedated me. I woke up in a mental hospital, with some nurse telling me that she'd seen my brain scan and I was "supposed to be a vegetable" and that I "probably had an IQ of 75."
It was awesome. Gotta love the health care system.
Posted by Phillipa on September 28, 2011, at 23:11:18
In reply to Re: Lower dose of Abilify is AWESOME!, posted by Christ_empowered on September 28, 2011, at 22:21:44
CE oh wow how frightening. Your parents must have been frantic. I empathize and feel deeply for you. Must have been incredible emotional pain in play that night. Love Phillipa
This is the end of the thread.
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