Hi everyone. I had been tapering aripiprazole 5mg since february 2025. I tapered by reducing 10% of the last dose every 2 weeks. I jumped to zero at 0.2mg on july 24th 2026. I had no issues while tapering but yesterday I experienced heart attack like symptoms like shortness of breath, chest discomfort and tachycardia and still have symptoms. I had chest pain and slow heartbeat since september 2023, but never experienced something like this before. I went to hospital they did ekg and blood test. Do you think I should reinstate the last dose? Should I taper slower than 10% every 2 weeks? Will these symptoms go away if I reinstate? Lastly I also experience what I believe is PSSD, because when I was prescribed olanzapine, sertraline and aripiprazole in june 2020, I started having sexual side effects such as mild erectile dysfunction and genital numbness but when I quit sertraline in september 2022 I started having worsened ed and genital numbness and new symptoms like pleasureless orgasm, anhedonia, emotional blunting and cognitive issues. I used aripiprazole and olanzapine at different times before 2020 but never had sexual issues. Do you think this is PSSD? I want to be off of these meds and have my life back. Please help. Thank you.

My SA topic: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/30902-zack-olanzapine-taper/

Edited August 13Aug 13 by SarahMc

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 withdrawal 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.

 

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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

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Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

In particular, could you please update your signature to include drug doses?

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

4 hours ago, zack said:

I had been tapering aripiprazole 5mg since february 2025. I tapered by reducing 10% of the last dose every 2 weeks. I jumped to zero at 0.2mg on july 24th 2026. I had no issues while tapering but yesterday I experienced heart attack like symptoms like shortness of breath, chest discomfort and tachycardia and still have symptoms. I had chest pain and slow heartbeat since september 2023, but never experienced something like this before. I went to hospital they did ekg and blood test. Do you think I should reinstate the last dose? Should I taper slower than 10% every 2 weeks? Will these symptoms go away if I reinstate?

I'm sorry to hear about your symptoms, they do sound scary. Am I right to assume that the hospital didn't find anything when they did the EKG and blood test?

You definitely did a much faster taper than is usually recommended. Our recommendation is to reduce by a maximum of 10% per month, not 10% every two weeks: Tapering Information.

Reinstating a small dose of the aripiprazole is definitely an option. I'm not super familiar with the drug, but we have general information about reinstating here: Reinstating an Antidepressant. Generally you would start at quite a low dose (in this case likely no more than your last dose), wait at least 7-14 days, and then move up very slowly and gradually if you feel it is necessary.

We can't say if your symptoms will go away if you reinstate. Some people find that reinstatement does help at least reduce their symptoms, but unfortunately in some cases it can make things worse. It's a very personal decision. I'm not an expert on reinstatement by any means, and there are others on here who may be able to offer more insight than me.

4 hours ago, zack said:

Lastly I also experience what I believe is PSSD, because when I was prescribed olanzapine, sertraline and aripiprazole in june 2020, I started having sexual side effects such as mild erectile dysfunction and genital numbness but when I quit sertraline in september 2022 I started having worsened ed and genital numbness and new symptoms like pleasureless orgasm, anhedonia, emotional blunting and cognitive issues. I used aripiprazole and olanzapine at different times before 2020 but never had sexual issues. Do you think this is PSSD? I want to be off of these meds and have my life back. Please help. Thank you.

I would be careful using the PSSD label. You shouldn't have to be going through any of this, but many others have recovered from the symptoms you describe, including people on this forum. I know everyone is afraid of PSSD because people say it can be "permanent" but I think with time and patience you can improve and recover. Sometimes it's just a lot more time than we would like.

We all want off these meds and want our symptoms to go away. You can get there, and you've found the right place to get support along the way. You will get your life back.

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!

 

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

Hey @zach1201 welcome to the forum, I am sorry to hear you are having a rough time of it.

From you have said it may be your taper has caught up with you, symptoms can be delayed in onset and or stack. RI could help you, it can worsen people. Trying a low dose, perhaps even lower than your last dose minimises these risks. If you wanted to give it a go perhaps go for 0.1mg and see how you react to it, it may be enough even at that dose to cushion things down. A rescue dose if you will.

Hi everyone, just wanted to give an update and ask for some advice.

The symptoms have been coming and going since then. Some parts of the day are manageable, while other times they get really bad. The first two days were definitely the worst, but yesterday they got really bad again.

I had to call an ambulance yesterday and they did another ECG. My heart rate was around 120, but they said the ECG was normal.

I also saw a cardiologist on August 18th. He did an ECG and an echo and said everything looked normal. He diagnosed me with sinus tachycardia and prescribed metoprolol.

So now I’m wondering if this could be withdrawal causing some kind of panic attack symptoms. Do you think this might be withdrawal induced panic attack? It feels so much like heart attack.

About reinstatement what would you guys do in my situation? Would you try 0.1 mg, or just stay off and wait it out? If I don’t reinstate, how long can symptoms like this take to calm down?

I’m also scared to try metoprolol because of my previous bad experiences with psych drugs. I’m worried about having another bad reaction. Has anyone here taken metoprolol for tachycardia during withdrawal?

I’m honestly pretty scared right now and I don't know what to do. Any advice or personal experiences would mean a lot.

Thanks again to everyone who replied to my last post.

4 hours ago, zack said:

I had to call an ambulance yesterday and they did another ECG. My heart rate was around 120, but they said the ECG was normal.

I also saw a cardiologist on August 18th. He did an ECG and an echo and said everything looked normal. He diagnosed me with sinus tachycardia and prescribed metoprolol.

So now I’m wondering if this could be withdrawal causing some kind of panic attack symptoms. Do you think this might be withdrawal induced panic attack? It feels so much like heart attack.

Hi @zack, I’m sorry things have been rough. We absolutely see lots of folks on here who experience sudden high heart rates as part of WD, it’s very common. Your nervous system is completely deregulated and this can manifest in all sorts of odd ways. It’s good that you got it checked out, but now that you know it’s nothing serious I would try not to worry about it too much.

4 hours ago, zack said:

About reinstatement what would you guys do in my situation? Would you try 0.1 mg, or just stay off and wait it out? If I don’t reinstate, how long can symptoms like this take to calm down?

This is a very personal decision. You’ve only been off for about a month, so reinstatement could still help a bit. Generally, if reinstatement does help it’ll cushion symptoms slightly but not make them disappear. Occasionally, however, reinstatement can make things worse.

On the other hand, if you choose to wait it out we really can’t tell you how long these symptoms will stick around. It could be a few months, or it could be much longer.

Personally, I would probably be inclined to try the 0.1 mg reinstatement.

4 hours ago, zack said:

I’m also scared to try metoprolol because of my previous bad experiences with psych drugs. I’m worried about having another bad reaction. Has anyone here taken metoprolol for tachycardia during withdrawal?

We generally recommend against taking beta blockers, because they can make folks worse.

Again, I’m really sorry you’re having a hard time. Even though it’s so tough right now, it absolutely will get better. This isn’t forever.

Hi Sarah, thank you so much for your help. You’ve been really helpful!