Posted by oceansun on October 19, 2014, at 0:05:01
In reply to Restarted Abilify - Feeling better., posted by SLS on October 18, 2014, at 22:13:58
Hi Scott.
I had a similar experience with Abilify. I stopped taking 10 mg cold turkey in January because of prediabetes (though no weight gain). In February I got almost psychotically anxious. I had to go back on Abilify at an even higher dose, 15 mg. In less than a month I was back to my old self. Now I just had to stop it again due to EPS. Ugh.
What dose of Abilify were you taking? Which meds are you taking now, besides the Abilify and nortriptyline?
I'm sorry your summer was not good. Hopefully your fall and winter will be brighter.
Ketamine sounds like a great option. How would you be able to get it? I have to confess I still don't understand glutamate.
Yes, it's been a long time :). I emailed recently...
> I discontinued Abilify 6 months ago due my to concerns about increased body weight and high triglycerides. I managed to taper and discontinue the drug with minimal discomfort. My depression did not worsen immediately. My guess is that it took about 4 - 6 weeks for me to begin deteriorating. I did not restart Abilify at this time. My doctor and I had already begun to experiment with discontinuing nortriptyline and using desipramine as a substitute once I relapsed. I am back on my previous treatment regime and feeling better. I added back the Abilify a few days ago using a loading dose of 20 mg. I am now taking 10 mg/day.
>
> The whole summer was wasted. Things could be worse, though. At least I was able to recapture an improvement.
>
> I am looking closely at intranasal ketamine. If I manage to get my hands on it, it will take a bit of time to discover the optimal dosage and dosing frequency. If one takes too small a dosage, glutamate (GLU) release is unaffected and of no therapeutic value. The correct intermediate dosage increases GLU release and produces an antidepressant response. However, if one pushes the dosage of ketamine too high, there is a reversal of effect. GLU release is suppressed, and an antidepressant effect fails to emerge. Benzodiazapines can reduce the effectiveness of ketamine. On the other hand, N-acetylinecysteine (NAC) might increase its effectiveness. I would have to look into that more. NAC does modulate GLU function.
>
> After that, vortioxetine (Brintellix), deep rTMS, cariprazine, and even DBS are considerations.
>
>
> - Scott
poster:oceansun
thread:1072466
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20141017/msgs/1072477.html