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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christ_empowered on July 27, 2010, at 20:15:50
I saw my new pdoc today. Very nice person. Said to keep taking 30mgs/day Abilify. He said that 15mgs/day, my old dose, usually wasn't enough. Is this sound advice?
I do like Abilify. My thoughts are more clear, I'm more motivated and focused, and the paranoia and mood problems are gone, except for occasional fits of melancholy. No side effects, and I'm taking a whole lots of vitamins to prevent TD (check out http://www.orthomed.org/resources/papers/hawkshz.htm).
So should I just stick with the 30mgs/day and be happy I'm responding well with no side-effects? Or do you think I should push for a reduction to 15mgs/day after 6-8 weeks?
Thanks.
Posted by morgan miller on July 27, 2010, at 21:02:31
In reply to In praise of Abilify. And some Qs, posted by Christ_empowered on July 27, 2010, at 20:15:50
Who knows? You could try reducing it and if you feel worse just go back up to 30. That's what I would do.
Posted by chujoe on July 28, 2010, at 7:17:57
In reply to Re: In praise of Abilify. And some Qs, posted by morgan miller on July 27, 2010, at 21:02:31
I agree with Morgan. I was taking 90 mg of Cymbalta for three months, felt great & went down to 60 & still feel great. When I reduced the dose, I agreed with pdoc to go back up if any anxiety / depression or weird thinking returned. So far so good.
Posted by Phillipa on July 28, 2010, at 10:24:50
In reply to Re: In praise of Abilify. And some Qs, posted by chujoe on July 28, 2010, at 7:17:57
I wonder if you can be immune to ad's? Seriously as felt nothing on 60mg of cymbalta? Back To Christ Empowered see how you do first and great you like the doc. Phillipa
Posted by ed_uk2010 on July 28, 2010, at 15:57:25
In reply to In praise of Abilify. And some Qs, posted by Christ_empowered on July 27, 2010, at 20:15:50
>He said that 15mgs/day, my old dose, usually wasn't enough. Is this sound advice?
Evidence from clinical trials suggests that in the treatment of schizophrenia, doses in excess of 10-15mg per day are *not* more effective than 10-15mg. I'm not claiming that this applies to you, however.
>So should I just stick with the 30mgs/day and be happy I'm responding well with no side-effects? Or do you think I should push for a reduction to 15mgs/day after 6-8 weeks?
I think you should continue at 30mg/day for now. If you're still stable in a few months time, I would consider gradually reducing the dose. When reducing, go slowly eg. reduce the daily dose by 5mg every 2 to 4 weeks. If symptoms start to return, you can increase the dose back up again. I suspect that you will be able to reach 10mg/day without loss of efficacy.
Posted by morgan miller on July 28, 2010, at 22:16:06
In reply to Re: In praise of Abilify. And some Qs, posted by ed_uk2010 on July 28, 2010, at 15:57:25
> >He said that 15mgs/day, my old dose, usually wasn't enough. Is this sound advice?
>
> Evidence from clinical trials suggests that in the treatment of schizophrenia, doses in excess of 10-15mg per day are *not* more effective than 10-15mg. I'm not claiming that this applies to you, however.
>
> >So should I just stick with the 30mgs/day and be happy I'm responding well with no side-effects? Or do you think I should push for a reduction to 15mgs/day after 6-8 weeks?
>
> I think you should continue at 30mg/day for now. If you're still stable in a few months time, I would consider gradually reducing the dose. When reducing, go slowly eg. reduce the daily dose by 5mg every 2 to 4 weeks. If symptoms start to return, you can increase the dose back up again. I suspect that you will be able to reach 10mg/day without loss of efficacy.Better than my advice. You were without Abilify for a while right? What was the reason for going up to 30 mg? Was this the dose that worked before? How have you felt on half that dose? Maybe you didn't stay there long enough to know if it would be effective.
Posted by Christ_empowered on July 29, 2010, at 0:55:24
In reply to Re: In praise of Abilify. And some Qs, posted by morgan miller on July 28, 2010, at 22:16:06
I went off of my abilify for a while and started freaking out. I went on 15mgs, but I was still having problems. Then I thought "Do what they do in mental hospitals--maximize the dose, then decrease," so I went on 30mgs. I thought I'd treat it like a manic episode--30mgs for 6-8 weeks, then down to a maintenance dose of 15mgs/day--but this doc is saying 30mgs is the way to go.
I just don't know. Docs in the old days used to go high-dose w/ neuroleptics, especially high-potency ones like haldol and navane. Now I think we're seeing it again with Abilify, especially since you can ramp up the dose w/o observable EPS in a lot of people. I just don't want to up my risk for TD and other problems too much, even though I'm on an anti-TD vitamin program.
Posted by Zyprexa on July 29, 2010, at 1:01:48
In reply to In praise of Abilify. And some Qs, posted by Christ_empowered on July 27, 2010, at 20:15:50
If you like it. I would stick to it.
Posted by ed_uk2010 on July 29, 2010, at 17:47:34
In reply to abilify dosing, posted by Christ_empowered on July 29, 2010, at 0:55:24
>I went on 15mgs, but I was still having problems. Then I thought "Do what they do in mental hospitals--maximize the dose, then decrease," so I went on 30mgs. I thought I'd treat it like a manic episode--30mgs for 6-8 weeks, then down to a maintenance dose of 15mgs/day--but this doc is saying 30mgs is the way to go.
The effects of Abilify can take several weeks to become maximal. Abilify has a long half-life and the drug 'builds up' in your body for a couple of weeks. The 30mg/day dose acts rather like a 'loading dose' ie. it helps the drug to work more quickly (in some cases). I think you will find that you can reduce down to a maintenance dose of 10-15mg per day provided that you reduce the dose gradually and only after you've been stable for a couple of months.
Posted by emmanuel98 on July 29, 2010, at 19:05:04
In reply to Re: abilify dosing, posted by ed_uk2010 on July 29, 2010, at 17:47:34
I think the recommended dose is 10mg. I found this worked well for me, except abilify made me gain a ton of weight. Hope you don't have that problem.
This is the end of the thread.
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