Hi, this is my intro post!

I have read some here and on Surviving Antidepressants, thanks to all for sharing! Some of you have such clear and steady tapering history and I wish I had found this knowledge before trying to finally be off all psych meds. I haven't taken notes, I don't even know when I changed my meds. I usually do things on the fly, I was diagnosed with ADHD at 50 and that explains a lot. But I understand that it hasn't helped me get through withdrawal and that it can make it difficult to help me.

 

I was diagnosed with bipolar type 2 around 2010-2011 and started on Cymbalta and Abilfiy, I have basically been on them ever since. I have tried now and then to stop talking them, but never for long. Recurrent depression and hypomania have made me go back on them, but after reading a lot lately I think that that may have been withdrawal symtoms. Today I am not sure the diagnosis was even correct, maybe I just needed more support in other ways.

 

My blood pressure went up and I had to stop taking Attentin (not sure if it has the same name in other countries, but it's dexamphetamine sulfate). I never heard of tapering this drug, but suspect I should have. I hade great problems with concetration after that, but not much else. 

 

Stopping one drug made me think about stopping all psych meds and I talked to my psychiatrist about my emotional numbness and my weight gain. I told him I hadn't cried since I started taking Cymbalta, and neihter had I felt really alive. He said that my dose of 30 mg was not even effective and that I could stop immediately.  So I did. 

 

This lead me to different withdrawal symptoms.

Brain zaps (but only for a few weeks)

Vertigo

Restlessness and agitation 

Anxiety

Stomach all over the place 

Nausea

Sweating

Dry mouth

 

I did try to get off Abilify at the same time, but realized that wasn't a very smart thing to do, so I immediately reinstated that at the same dose, 5 mg. Since I had read a little more by then I started to taper Abilify. I should have waited for the WD symptoms from Cymbalta to wear off, but I didn't, unfortunately. Around Christmas 2025 I began to feel very weak and fatigued. I don't remember how low I had gone with the Abilify, but I was tapering and might have been doing that too fast. My life was a bit chaotic and I thought my problems were a sort of burnout – and maybe it was, I can't be sure. 

 

WD from Abilify are difficult to discern from Cymbalta WD, but some I think are

Tardive dyskinesia, mainly face and mouth

Difficulty breating normally, shallow breaths

Fatigue

Restlessness and agitation worse

 

I had to go to the ER after talking to my GP's office about my breathing difficulties and cramped chest. ECG was fine, and blood tests also. I am currently wating for a thorax scan. I think my problems are related to WD, but I don't think I doctors will listen to this. Of course I am glad they do what they can to make sure I don't have any other serious problems!

 

Today I am off all meds, but my life is quite restricted. I do work a little from home, but concentration is low and I can't sit for too long. I can't go for walks with our dog, I can't ride my horse and I don't see my friends. Vacuum cleaning makes me bedridden for the rest of the day. I take one step after another and try to get by, but I am starting to wonder if this will be my life from now on. I still drink coffee, should probably stop that. 

 

I am thinking of reinstating Abilify at 0,05 mg. But I don't know if that is a good idea. It's probably too late to reinstate Cymbalta, however? I worry about my undiagnosed tardive dyskinesia, but I really don't want to see my psychiatrist as he would most definitely only tell me to go on my meds again. I know this forum is for antidepressant recovery, but I see some members have taken other drugs as well. Any input would be very appreciated. 

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

 

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

  

7 minutes ago, Fiora said:

He said that my dose of 30 mg was not even effective and that I could stop immediately.  So I did. 

 

This lead me to different withdrawal symptoms.

Brain zaps (but only for a few weeks)

Vertigo

Restlessness and agitation 

Anxiety

Stomach all over the place 

Nausea

Sweating

Dry mouth

 

All too common, unfortunately.

  

7 minutes ago, Fiora said:

Around Christmas 2025 I began to feel very weak and fatigued. I don't remember how low I had gone with the Abilify, but I was tapering and might have been doing that too fast. My life was a bit chaotic and I thought my problems were a sort of burnout – and maybe it was, I can't be sure. 

 

I can't know what it was for you, but what I can say is that feeling weak and fatigued are common withdrawal symptoms, so I think it's very much worth you considering whether this could be a combination of all of the abrupt drug changes having an effect on you.

 

  

7 minutes ago, Fiora said:

Today I am off all meds, but my life is quite restricted.

 

Could you please clarify what has happened since late 2025? Around Christmas you had tapered to a lower dose of the abilify but you're not sure what that was, and that's the last mention of drug doses I can see.

  

7 minutes ago, Fiora said:

I know this forum is for antidepressant recovery, but I see some members have taken other drugs as well. Any input would be very appreciated. 

 

It's for all psychiatric medications really, it's just that:

1. antidepressants are the most common

2. we had to think of a catchy name that people would find the site with

 

So, don't worry, we're happy to support you however we can.

 

  

7 minutes ago, Fiora said:

I am thinking of reinstating Abilify at 0,05 mg. But I don't know if that is a good idea. It's probably too late to reinstate Cymbalta, however?

 

Could you also please clarify what happened to the withdrawal symptoms you experienced after stopping Cymbalta? You stated you had some and gave a list, and then half a year later during an abilify taper you experienced new symptoms, but the picture is quite unclear for us.

 

Do you feel that you were in Cymbalta withdrawal the whole time? Did tapering abilify feel differently?

 

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Welcome, It's good you are here now !

I'm sorry about all that happened to you, be assured it's all temporary and will pass eventually.

38 minutes ago, Fiora said:

I had to go to the ER after talking to my GP's office about my breathing difficulties and cramped chest. ECG was fine, and blood tests also. I am currently wating for a thorax scan. I think my problems are related to WD, but I don't think I doctors will listen to this. Of course I am glad they do what they can to make sure I don't have any other serious problems!

you can do tests, but 99% it's just withdrawals, just please if not urgent, try to stay off any other pharma drug, as they can destabilize you further.

 

39 minutes ago, Fiora said:

It's probably too late to reinstate Cymbalta, however?

It's not a good idea after 10 months, there is a chance you will respond well to it but after 10 months, the risks are also way higher.

 

regardless of drug technicalities, try to fucus on certain mindsets that will help you.

First of all, practice acceptance, accepting you are sick, accepting you have symptoms, and you are gonna do whatever you can without beating yourself, acceptance does a long way of making the symptoms cause less 'suffering', obviously you will still have bad symptoms and also waves of symptoms, when the symptoms go crazy high to the point you can't do anything, just surrender to the body and the wave, don't fight your symptoms, let your body do as it needs to heal itself.

 

Also I want you to find anything that can occupy you, music, tv shows, artwork, games, puzzles, doesn't matter what, even healthy people need something to indulge in to pass the time, so does sick people, anything that makes you focus on something else and make you focus on symptoms less is good.

 

And one last thing, remember that symptoms are just symptoms, just temporary, you are in your house and you are safe, this like anything else, shall pass.

Hey @Fiora

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Sorry for all your troubles!

 

Your nervous system has had rough ride over the years, Chopping doses around as you have done (your doctors I should say) will have bruised it.

 

So essentially from what I am reading you CTd Duloxetine in June last year, and just completed a taper from Abilify now?

 

The Ct will have been a big shock on your system. I suspect alot of what you are experiencing is from that.

 

Your Abilify taper was pretty quick, but you did slow it down towards the end, and it is hard to understand exactly how you got to zero, but I suspect it was all too quick, and as you note, you did it whilst in WD from Duloxetine.

 

As ever with these things there are two basic options:

 

1. Stay where you are and wait to heal, which you will! 🙂 

2. Consider RI one or maybe even both of your drugs to see if it eases things.

 

That choice is yours and you have to weigh up the risks for yourself. Reinstatement: About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Depending on how badly you felt Duloxetine WD was your issue, you could consider RI that, but it is risky and you are quite far out. If you felt you wanted to try, you would need to take a small test dose to make sure you didn't react badly, then increase from there every couple of weeks and see if things settle with the updoses.

 

Personally if that worked out, I wouldn't be against RI a little Abilify and see if your body could handle that too. Maybe a small amount of both of these drugs would ease things for you. Maybe a little Duloxetine might be all you need. It could be, that if you felt not so bad until you stopped Abilify a small amount of that only, is the way forward.

 

Be good if you could answer Lukes questions so we can get a feel for which drug is causing your issues.

 

Chippy

 

 

 

 

 

@Luke Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post!

 

47 minutes ago, Luke said:

Could you please clarify what has happened since late 2025? Around Christmas you had tapered to a lower dose of the abilify but you're not sure what that was, and that's the last mention of drug doses I can see.

I think I was at 0,1 mg around Christmas and then went down to 0,05 mg mid-January. I went to 0 about a week ago, around March 25 and my symptoms are a bit worse after that, mainly the fatigue and vertigo. 

 

49 minutes ago, Luke said:

So, don't worry, we're happy to support you however we can.

 

I appreciate this so much!

 

50 minutes ago, Luke said:

Could you also please clarify what happened to the withdrawal symptoms you experienced after stopping Cymbalta? You stated you had some and gave a list, and then half a year later during an abilify taper you experienced new symptoms, but the picture is quite unclear for us.

 

Do you feel that you were in Cymbalta withdrawal the whole time? Did tapering abilify feel differently?

I never really stopped having withdrawal symptoms from Cymbalta. But they got less obvious. Anxiety, brain zaps and dry mouth got better, but the restlessness and vertigo were still there, and also the stomach troubles. I understand that the picture is unclear, unfortunately I made no notes at all and am trying to remember as I write. 

 

Tapering Abilify did feel different as I got quite clear symptoms of tardive dyskinesia that I hadn't had when on my previous dose. I didn't realize it was TD until I happend to read about it around November/December. I also got this fatigue that I hadn't experienced before to that degree. I even remember  the day it happened, on January 5. I can't say if I had made a big drop in Abilify the days before, I just don't remember. I am so sorry I didn't make any notes. 

 

 

@Lighty thank you for responding to my post! It feels good to be here!

 

27 minutes ago, Lighty said:

you can do tests, but 99% it's just withdrawals, just please if not urgent, try to stay off any other pharma drug, as they can destabilize you further.

Yes, that is what I thought, but nevertheless I will go through with the tests. I don't have any plans to take more pharma drugs, I really don't want to mess with anything now. 

 

And thank you for your suggestions for acceptance and management! I do lead a life I very much appreciate and am used to a positive way of thinking. But it's always good to be reminded ❤️ Sometimes I feel that my main occupation is breating, deep breaths, slow exhalations. This has a good effect not only on my shallow breathing, but also on my state of mind. 

 

 

@Chippy I feel very welcomed to this forum, thank you so much!

 

Yes, I do understand now that what I have done to my nervous system has been far from ideal. I can't blame the doctors for all of it, I have stopped and restarted all on my own too. Not understanding the damage I have done.

 

34 minutes ago, Chippy said:

So essentially from what I am reading you CTd Duloxetine in June last year, and completed just completed a taper from Abilify now?

That's correct. 

 

35 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Your Abilify taper was pretty quick, but you did slow it down towards the end, and it is hard to understand exactly how you got to zero, but I suspect it was all too quick, and as you note, you did it whilst in WD fro Duloxetine.

 

I got to zero from 0,05 mg that I had been on for about a month. I did think that was slow enough, but it probably wasn't. 

 

37 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Depending on how badly you felt Duloxetine WD was your issue, you could consider RI that, but it is risky and you are quite far out. If you felt you wanted to try, you would need to take a small test dose to make sure you didn't react badly, then increase from there every couple of weeks and see if things settle with the updoses.

 

 I don't know if   am willing to risk anything with the Cymbalta. It's been so long, and I am quite fearful of getting back on it. But I might consider it, I'll read the reinstatment post and think about it. 

 

41 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Personally if that worked out, I wouldn't be against RI a little Abilify and see if your body could handle that too. Maybe a small amount of both of these drugs would ease things for you. Maybe a little Duloxetine might be all you need. It could be, that if you felt not so bad until you stopped Abilify a small amount of that only, is the way forward.

I think reistating a small dose Abilify might be my way to go. I'm not sure how to handle going from 0,05 mg to 0, but I can leave that for later. Maybe I need to be on 0,05 mg for a longer period. 

 

I have lots to think about now, there's also the possibility of waiting to see if I can get through this without reinstating anything.  

3 minutes ago, Fiora said:

I feel very welcomed to this forum, thank you so much!

Good! You are so very welcome. 🙂 

 

3 minutes ago, Fiora said:

That's correct. 

Thanks for confirming.

 

4 minutes ago, Fiora said:

I got to zero from 0,05 mg that I had been on for about a month. I did think that was slow enough, but it probably wasn't. 

Yes it was a bit of a jump off point but I've seen worse!

 

Have a read of our tapering guide to get a better idea of how a taper should go. Last dose should be a step off rather than jump.

 

0.1 to 0.05mg (Your previous drop) is a 50% drop, so very big for example, 10% max of the previous dose is the broad advice.

 

Final step should be 0.01 or lower IMO.

 

Tapering Information

 

5 minutes ago, Fiora said:

I don't know if   am willing to risk anything with the Cymbalta. It's been so long, and I am quite fearful of getting back on it. But I might consider it, I'll read the reinstatment post and think about it. 

I think this is a sensible attitude. RI can be risky. We have seen it work well, even far out, but you have seen some improvement from what you are saying, so if its bearable, staying off might well be the best thing to do.

 

6 minutes ago, Fiora said:

I think reistating a small dose Abilify might be my way to go. I'm not sure how to handle going from 0,05 mg to 0, but I can leave that for later. Maybe I need to be on 0,05 mg for a longer period. 

Yes this is certainly the least risky move here. How did you feel from 0.1-0.05mg?

 

It might be that you are better, off the drugs now, and alot of what you are experiencing is a mix of WD and WD injury from all the chnages and tapering whilst in WD etc..... The injury just needs time, RI is there to address the pure WD only. Time is our friend.

 

14 minutes ago, Fiora said:

I have lots to think about now, there's also the possibility of waiting to see if I can get through this without reinstating anything.  

Yes, I like your mindset. Calm and methodical. Good. What ever you choose to do, we are here for you. Any questions let us know!

 

 

 

 

@Fiora

 

For some reason I linked you to sa’s thread not ours. Wd brain. 
 

Here is our information sheet. 
 

Reinstating an Antidepressant

I think if I were you, and these are just my thoughts that don't come from any particular expertise other than having read quite a number of people's stories over the years, I wouldn't reinstate cymbalta at this point.

 

So, the question then is what to do with abilify. Only you can really decide whether reinstatement is worthwhile, much of the content in the post @Chippy linked is worth reading and considering even though it is written about antidepressants.

 

Are you still experiencing the symptoms that you feel were induced by your abilify taper? Have you experienced a significant ramping up of them?

 

It's important to consider that having only stopped a week ago, you may still worsen somewhat down the line, both as withdrawal can be a bit delayed, and also it takes time for the drug to metabolise and leave our bodies. This does not necessarily mean "reinstate now", but it's something to consider as a possibility and what you might do then with regards to reinstatement, I mean along the lines of considering the following:

 

• If things remained as they are, could I continue to tolerate this without reinstatement, and hope to improve in time?
• If I could, and I don't reinstate now, am I prepared to consider reinstatement if it gets worse and make a plan for that now ahead of time so I can be ready?

9 minutes ago, Luke said:

much of the content in the post @Chippy linked is worth reading and considering even though it is written about antidepressants.

For sure! We generally treat all Psych meds much the same tbh when it comes to tapering etc. 

14 minutes ago, Luke said:

I think if I were you, and these are just my thoughts that don't come from any particular expertise other than having read quite a number of people's stories over the years, I wouldn't reinstate cymbalta at this point.

@Fiora Definitely. It all depends on how severe you are. And if you can pin point what drug caused that severity. Personally as you have recognised an improvement of the symptoms you pinpoint to be caused from stopping Cymbalta and due the time passed, I think it best you leave that one alone. 
 

If you can see some severity increasing as you tapered the abilify, it’s likely this will improve if you RI 0.05mg and consider updosing a little from there to back track somewhat. Then a nice long hold whilst your system settles back down and you heal. At some point in the future once more stable you would consider tapering from a better place from there. 
 

But staying off is still a realistic option too in my opinion. Just trying to judge for yourself how you feel. As Luke said some worsening from here is certainly possible so ask yourself if that would be something you could tolerate, as ri is best done sooner rather than later as you know. 

On 4/1/2026 at 12:23 PM, Chippy said:

For some reason I linked you to sa’s thread not ours. Wd brain. 
 

Here is our information sheet. 
 

Reinstating an Antidepressant

I understand! I read both and found them very helpful.

 

On 4/1/2026 at 2:04 PM, Luke said:

I think if I were you, and these are just my thoughts that don't come from any particular expertise other than having read quite a number of people's stories over the years, I wouldn't reinstate cymbalta at this point.

I have decided not to reinstate Cymbalta. 

 

On 4/1/2026 at 2:04 PM, Luke said:

Are you still experiencing the symptoms that you feel were induced by your abilify taper? Have you experienced a significant ramping up of them?

 

It's important to consider that having only stopped a week ago, you may still worsen somewhat down the line, both as withdrawal can be a bit delayed, and also it takes time for the drug to metabolise and leave our bodies. This does not necessarily mean "reinstate now", but it's something to consider as a possibility and what you might do then with regards to reinstatement, I mean along the lines of considering the following:

 

• If things remained as they are, could I continue to tolerate this without reinstatement, and hope to improve in time?
• If I could, and I don't reinstate now, am I prepared to consider reinstatement if it gets worse and make a plan for that now ahead of time so I can be ready?

 

 

On 4/1/2026 at 2:26 PM, Chippy said:

If you can see some severity increasing as you tapered the abilify, it’s likely this will improve if you RI 0.05mg and consider updosing a little from there to back track somewhat. Then a nice long hold whilst your system settles back down and you heal. At some point in the future once more stable you would consider tapering from a better place from there. 

 

I have decided to reinstate Abilify. I just couldn't cope. There's quite a lot of stress in my life, things I can't really do anything about. And going through Abilify WD was not possible right now. My symptoms were worse after dropping to zero, anxiety back, fatigue worse, lightheadedness and vertigo worse, restlessness and agitation worse. A couple of hours after reinstating Abilfiy there was a difference, so I think I will stay on 0,1 for a while now, until my life in general is a bit quieter. Thank you @Chippy and @Luke for your support! I didn't really understand that the leap from 0,1 to 0,05 and then leap to 0 were too big. I had read about the 10 % tapering, but obviously hadn't taken it in. I will go much slower now, but will stay here for the time being. 

 

 

I hope you continue to stabilise and see improvements from reinstatement.

 

It's usually worth giving it a couple of weeks before increasing the dose again, if you decide you want to and feel that a higher dose would help. Too much too quickly can cause significant destabilisation that can be very difficult to reverse, so it's better go slowly and steadily up doses with breaks inbetween to see how they're really affecting you after a couple of weeks once you've adjusted to them.

 

I'd suggest giving this dose time and evaluating where you are after it in 2 weeks.

2 hours ago, Fiora said:

I have decided not to reinstate Cymbalta. 

I think this is wise.

 

2 hours ago, Fiora said:

I have decided to reinstate Abilify. I just couldn't cope. There's quite a lot of stress in my life, things I can't really do anything about. And going through Abilify WD was not possible right now. My symptoms were worse after dropping to zero, anxiety back, fatigue worse, lightheadedness and vertigo worse, restlessness and agitation worse. A couple of hours after reinstating Abilfiy there was a difference, so I think I will stay on 0,1 for a while now, until my life in general is a bit quieter.

Ok, good to know. So you went up to 0.1mg? Could you update your signature? 🙂 

 

Let us know in a week or two how it goes. This maybe all you need and a long hold here will help. If things get a little worse for the next 4 days don't worry, hang in there and see where it goes. That can happen. Stay in touch won't you.

 

2 hours ago, Fiora said:

Thank you @Chippy and @Luke for your support! I didn't really understand that the leap from 0,1 to 0,05 and then leap to 0 were too big. I had read about the 10 % tapering, but obviously hadn't taken it in. I will go much slower now, but will stay here for the time being. 

It is an absolute pleasure @Fiora .

 

Speak soon

 

Chippy

22 hours ago, Luke said:

It's usually worth giving it a couple of weeks before increasing the dose again, if you decide you want to and feel that a higher dose would help. Too much too quickly can cause significant destabilisation that can be very difficult to reverse, so it's better go slowly and steadily up doses with breaks inbetween to see how they're really affecting you after a couple of weeks once you've adjusted to them.

I think I made a mistake going straight to 0,1 mg, I feel quite wired. And I don't know if I should stay here and ride it out or if I should go down again in small steps towards 0.05 mg.

 

22 hours ago, Chippy said:

Ok, good to know. So you went up to 0.1mg? Could you update your signature? 🙂 

 

Yes I did, and I probably shouldn't have. I might not have my finest moment right now and can't find any info about how to update my signature 🫣. Could you please direct me to that info? 

 

22 hours ago, Chippy said:

Let us know in a week or two how it goes. This maybe all you need and a long hold here will help. If things get a little worse for the next 4 days don't worry, hang in there and see where it goes. That can happen. Stay in touch won't you.

So good to know it might get worse at first! It definitely has. Like I said I feel wired, and I have difficulty sleeping. Also my mood is a little unstable, irritable and a bit low. Knowing that that is normal helps a lot! I will most definitely stay in touch, than you so much. 

32 minutes ago, Fiora said:

think I made a mistake going straight to 0,1 mg, I feel quite wired. And I don't know if I should stay here and ride it out or if I should go down again in small steps towards 0.05 mg

 

32 minutes ago, Fiora said:

can't find any info about how to update my signature 🫣. Could you please direct me to that info? 

Of course. It’s in your setting under your profile but here is a direct link to it. Update signature

 

32 minutes ago, Fiora said:

So good to know it might get worse at first! It definitely has. Like I said I feel wired, and I have difficulty sleeping. Also my mood is a little unstable, irritable and a bit low. Knowing that that is normal helps a lot! I will most definitely stay in touch, than you so much. 

Yeah sounds like the dose is too activating for you to me. Might be worth dropping to the lower dose as you’ve not been on this for long. It’s your call. It’s why we always advise low and slow. 
 

If it’s just worse but not awful maybe it’s just start up problems but I think it might be too much. Hard to judge from just a bit of text sometimes. 

58 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Of course. It’s in your setting under your profile but here is a direct link to it. Update signature

Thank you! I updated my signature and also realized I had forgotten to put my sleeping aid Propiomazine in there. I will later try to get off this too, but am keeping at the moment. 

1 hour ago, Chippy said:

Yeah sounds like the dose is too activating for you to me. Might be worth dropping to the lower dose as you’ve not been on this for long. It’s your call. It’s why we always advise low and slow. 
 

If it’s just worse but not awful maybe it’s just start up problems but I think it might be too much. Hard to judge from just a bit of text sometimes. 

I will drop to the lower dose today and see how that goes. 

6 minutes ago, Fiora said:

Thank you! I updated my signature and also realized I had forgotten to put my sleeping aid Propiomazine in there. I will later try to get off this too, but am keeping at the moment. 

No problems. Yes put it all in there. They are pretty addictive and you gain tolerance to them fast so they don't work well after a while. If you take it regularly I would taper off it rather than stop it. But yes, till your stable, best to not rock the boat.

 

8 minutes ago, Fiora said:

I will drop to the lower dose today and see how that goes. 

Ok, think that may be best. It is best to not jump doses around, but I think in this case, it may be the right thing to do. Then hold nice and steady, and let your body find it's way.

19 hours ago, Chippy said:

Ok, think that may be best. It is best to not jump doses around, but I think in this case, it may be the right thing to do. Then hold nice and steady, and let your body find it's way.

Thank you, I did drop yesterday and feel better today than yesterday. I will stay here until I feel ok. 

 

As for the propiomazine they still work although I've taken them for years. So maybe I'm lucky there. If I forget taking one I fall asleep but wake up again and can't go back to sleep. I will taper them eventually, but one thing at at a time, as I've learned here!

3 minutes ago, Fiora said:

Thank you, I did drop yesterday and feel better today than yesterday. I will stay here until I feel ok. 

 

As for the propiomazine they still work although I've taken them for years. So maybe I'm lucky there. If I forget taking one I fall asleep but wake up again and can't go back to sleep. I will taper them eventually, but one thing at at a time, as I've learned here!

Sounds good. Let us know how you go. You can still get waves whilst stabling so dont panic if it’s a bit up and down from here till things settle. 

1 hour ago, Chippy said:

Sounds good. Let us know how you go. You can still get waves whilst stabling so dont panic if it’s a bit up and down from here till things settle. 

Good to know!

 

I have become a bit worse since my introduction to this forum. My energy is very low and I often have a sense that I will faint that is quite a struggle. In the morning my blood pressure goes first up and than down along with my pulse which makes it difficult to get out of bed. I do take it slowly, I use compression socks and compression around my abdomen, drink plenty of fluids and take electrolytes first thing in the morning. This helps to some degree, but although my blood pressure and pulse are ok later on in the day I still feel very lightheaded and weak. It's not POTS, more like an orthostatic intolerance, from what I read.

I was wondering if this is something anyone recognizes? It could of course have nothing to do at all with coming off my psych meds! My life has been very stressful in a lot of different ways for the bigger part of a year, so in hindsight it would have been wiser to stay on the meds. But...

I decided to increase the dose of Abilify slightly since the taridve dyskinesia was getting a bit worse. I increased first from 0,05 that I had reinstated earlier to 0,075 for a month and then to 0,1. It has helped a bit and my involuntary movements have become less noticeable. I also added three drops of CBD twice daily to help me with my TD and to ameliorate sleep. I have had no bad reactions to the CBD and sleep very well.

Thankful for any input, I will ask my psychiatrist when I see him on Friday, but I doubt he'll have anything valuable to say. He was the one who told me I could stop taking Cymbalta without tapering. I'm also trying to book an appointment with my GP, but I don't think he has very much insight either.

1 hour ago, Fiora said:

I have become a bit worse since my introduction to this forum. My energy is very low and I often have a sense that I will faint that is quite a struggle. In the morning my blood pressure goes first up and than down along with my pulse which makes it difficult to get out of bed. I do take it slowly, I use compression socks and compression around my abdomen, drink plenty of fluids and take electrolytes first thing in the morning. This helps to some degree, but although my blood pressure and pulse are ok later on in the day I still feel very lightheaded and weak. It's not POTS, more like an orthostatic intolerance, from what I read.

I was wondering if this is something anyone recognizes? It could of course have nothing to do at all with coming off my psych meds! My life has been very stressful in a lot of different ways for the bigger part of a year, so in hindsight it would have been wiser to stay on the meds. But...

I decided to increase the dose of Abilify slightly since the taridve dyskinesia was getting a bit worse. I increased first from 0,05 that I had reinstated earlier to 0,075 for a month and then to 0,1. It has helped a bit and my involuntary movements have become less noticeable. I also added three drops of CBD twice daily to help me with my TD and to ameliorate sleep. I have had no bad reactions to the CBD and sleep very well.

Thankful for any input, I will ask my psychiatrist when I see him on Friday, but I doubt he'll have anything valuable to say. He was the one who told me I could stop taking Cymbalta without tapering. I'm also trying to book an appointment with my GP, but I don't think he has very much insight either.

It is totally possible what you are experiencing is due to the dose changes. I'd hold the dose steady and let things settle for you. IMO you would be better off holding this dose for a good long while (think months) before reducing any further. This last stage seems to be where folk rush off and get into trouble. Be careful with the dose changes you are making, in terms of % relative shifts of the previous dose they are very large.

2 hours ago, Chippy said:

It is totally possible what you are experiencing is due to the dose changes. I'd hold the dose steady and let things settle for you. IMO you would be better off holding this dose for a good long while (think months) before reducing any further. This last stage seems to be where folk rush off and get into trouble. Be careful with the dose changes you are making, in terms of % relative shifts of the previous dose they are very large.

Ok, thank you @Chippy. I was getting worse before changing the dose, but it’s completely possible the changes were no help. I will stay on this dose for at least six months and see if I get better. As long as my psychiatrist renews my prescription.