[roham_06]

Hello

I was on 25 mg Seroquel for 2 years then switched to 5 mg olanzapine and after that taper off olanzapine and starting 5 mg aripiprazole at the same time ( for mood swings)

After discontinuing olanzapine and being on 5 mg aripiprazole , I faced to problems:

1- agitation, which has been solve by reducing dosage to 2.5 mg (my mood is also okay with 2.5 mg)

2- boredom.....

I am interested in nothing , just sit somewhere and smoke cigarettes

But when I take ritalin I am okay, I get interested in everything

I am thinking about switching to Seroquel ...

Any idea

[bpforever1]

You are taking a very low dose of aripiprazole if you ask me. I take about 12 to 15 mg daily of Abilify or aripiprazole. It does wonders for me. Initially when I started taking it, it caused much agitation and more psychosis. But, after several months, I started to feel calm and started sleeping well. I sleep like a log now. Also, I take brand and not generic. For some reason, I had too many side effects with generic.

[roham_06]

Originally Posted by bpforever1

You are taking a very low dose of aripiprazole if you ask me. I take about 12 to 15 mg daily of Abilify or aripiprazole. It does wonders for me. Initially when I started taking it, it caused much agitation and more psychosis. But, after several months, I started to feel calm and started sleeping well. I sleep like a log now. Also, I take brand and not generic. For some reason, I had too many side effects with generic.

Thanks for reply
You mean this is because of low dosage that I feel bored? First I was on 5 , feeling bored and agitated, reduce to 2.5 feeling bored only .
And I think that higher dose will not solve my problem....i am not sure anyway

[bpforever1]

I think the dosage amount depends on your symptoms. I have psychosis and mania if I don't take an anti-psychotic medication. If you are taking aripiprazole for depression though to maximize the effects of your anti-depressant medication, then a low dose makes sense. I don't take any anti-depressant and only take brand Abilify. I have schizoaffective disorder and need an anti-psychotic to prevent psychosis from occurring. I also have bipolar and my mania is alleviated by the medication. For my illness, 10-15mg is an average dose. If I took only 5 mg, I would still have symptoms. I take 12-15 mg daily. At this dose, I feel relatively stable.

[roham_06]

Originally Posted by bpforever1

I think the dosage amount depends on your symptoms. I have psychosis and mania if I don't take an anti-psychotic medication. If you are taking aripiprazole for depression though to maximize the effects of your anti-depressant medication, then a low dose makes sense. I don't take any anti-depressant and only take brand Abilify. I have schizoaffective disorder and need an anti-psychotic to prevent psychosis from occurring. I also have bipolar and my mania is alleviated by the medication. For my illness, 10-15mg is an average dose. If I took only 5 mg, I would still have symptoms. I take 12-15 mg daily. At this dose, I feel relatively stable.

Thanks
Happy to hear your stability
My problem is mood swings and depression and i take 150 mg effexor .
I was considering switching to Seroquel, but now I think tapering this small dose to stop it might be a better option to see what happens to me if i don't take any aripiprazole

[still_crazy]

hi. -all- tranquilizers can cause apathy. w/ an antidepressant in the mix, that effect can be more pronounced, for some people. ritalin can counteract some of the sedation from tranquilizers and other psych drugs and help a bit with mood, concentration, apathy, fatigue, etc.

have you tried anticonvulsants? lamictal is popular for some people w/ depression. it takes a while to get up to an effective dose, but it works for a lot of people. has a different adverse effect profile than the tranquilizers.

hope this helps.

[WildcatVet]

Funny how medications affect people so differently...I take 20mg/day of Abilify which helps me stay calm and motivated. When I was on Ritalin I felt very jittery and agitated...not pleasant at all...

[roham_06]

Originally Posted by still_crazy

hi. -all- tranquilizers can cause apathy. w/ an antidepressant in the mix, that effect can be more pronounced, for some people. ritalin can counteract some of the sedation from tranquilizers and other psych drugs and help a bit with mood, concentration, apathy, fatigue, etc.

have you tried anticonvulsants? lamictal is popular for some people w/ depression. it takes a while to get up to an effective dose, but it works for a lot of people. has a different adverse effect profile than the tranquilizers.

hope this helps.

Thanks for reply
Yeah I am on depakote

[roham_06]

Originally Posted by WildcatVet

Funny how medications affect people so differently...I take 20mg/day of Abilify which helps me stay calm and motivated. When I was on Ritalin I felt very jittery and agitated...not pleasant at all...

Thanks for reply
Exactly
I switched from olanzapine to aripiprazol cuz a pharmacist told me aripiprazol motivate people , but the effect for me is different