Medication Plan

[netsavy006]

I notice 2 things with Abilify 10mg/day in my mix. I notice that it's increasing my anxiety and restlessness.

What my plan is is to get off of Abilify (slowly and with psychiatrist's aid) and just remain solo on Zyprexa for mood stabilization. (I've been stable on Zyprexa in the past so I don't see this as a problem).

It's my mistake thinking I could handle Abilify differently this time but how do I explain to my doctor I made a mistake and now I'd like to work my way off of Abilify for good?

I know if I get off of Abilify I can then work off of Cogentin as I'm taking that for the side effects of Abilify and I don't get the EPS side effects from Zyprexa @ my current dose (7.5mg).

The reason for wanting to switch was because I feared some of the longer term effects of Zyprexa but if I can't handle the side effects of even lower doses of Abilify then I have to get off and stick with Zyprexa, right?

I'm just glad I never went off of Zyprexa during this period of time so I can keep it's stabilization in my system.

That's all I have to say for now. If you have comments/questions, please mention because I will try to respond as best I can. I look forward to reading replys and thanks for reading my post.

Andy...

[Marcia K in Fl]

Andy -Write down your plan ahead of time along with the reasons- and give it to your doctor for his input. He will understand where you are coming from because it is on paper and then maybe the two of you could work something out.

I do not know much about your condition but the doctor sure will and he can help you... aspergers is not something we can advise you on here, or at least I can't.

You have my wishes for good luck with this!

[netsavy006]

Well I have it mapped out. I will tell the doctor that it did again increase my anxiety and restlessness but instead of just decreasing the dose and sticking with a decreased dosage, I'd like to work out a plan with her to get me off the medication. I'm the one who chose to try to switch over to Abilify and then I went and increased the dosage (with doc's permisson), but it's the benefit/side effects scale and the benefits don't outway the side effects. So I figure it's best to just work off this drug and the other one (Cogentin) too so I could feel much better and much more comfortable...

[netsavy006]

Well I saw my regular psychiatrist today and she is fine with me working off of Abilify. She told me to go back to 5mg of Abilify and made an appt for 2 weeks. I asked her if we'd then work further on the decreasing of Abilify and she said "we'll see". I'm so glad to be working off of Abilify because the side effects (increased anxiety and restlessness, difficulty getting to sleep, and trouble swallowing) was not worth the benefit (some mood elevation). I'm so glad that I have a medication in my system to replace the Abilify so I won't have to worry about what to take in it's place. Zyprexa has been very helpful to me. And to top it all off, I'm still loosing weight while on it. I lost 2 more pounds. I went from 137 to 135lbs. I'm a BMI of 21. My psychiatrist told me not to worry about the long term side effects because I'm very healthy. I'll be sure to watch my diet and exercise very carefully so that I can continue to have benefit with the medication. I'm hopeful that I can work off of Abilify, and then stabilize only on Topamax, Valium, and Zyprexa. (I wouldn't need Cogentin because I don't get EPS/Akathisia from Zyprexa @ 7.5mg.)

[netsavy006]

I called my psychiatrist yesterday and she called me back today and I explained my situation (anxiety, restlessness, trouble swallowing) and she lowered the Abilify further. She told me to cut the Abilify in 1/2. So from now on I will be taking 2.5mg of Abilify. It's not a full withdrawal from the medication but it's at least something in my eyes so I guess I'll have some stuff to deal with in the meantime. At least this will help prevent withdrawal effects.

[netsavy006]

I called the psychiatric on call service because I was still having anxiety issues on the 2.5mg of Abilify. It was my 5th dose today. The doctor on call told me to discontinue the Abilify. I'd like to know now is how long will the Abilify remain in my system?

[foxl]

No clue on the meds, Andy, just wanted to say hi, I have an 8 year old Aspie daughter!

I hope your doc understands your rationale on the meds and I agree -- write down your rationale and plan for the doc before going in. They are more apt to pay attention and listen if you're organized.