Is it dangerous to just stop taking Abilify?
Question posted by fishingfool55 on 20 Nov 2016
Last updated on 18 June 2023
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Answers
Hi, fishing!
It can be dangerous, but not life threatening. Abilify withdrawal syndrome presents with symptoms ranging from dizziness and confusion to sweating, vomiting, diarrhea and a complete relapse of the symptoms it was prescribed for to name just a very few..
The only safe way to stop Abilify, or any psychotropic medication, is a tapering dose schedule prescribed by a psychatrist.
so just cutting down from 1 a day to every other day then every 3rd day wont work or might be hard to do
It depends on the dose you were taking, how long you took, it and your body weight. Withdrawal is usually done over at least 3-4 weeks.
I don't know if it's "dangerous", or just extremely uncomfortable. I weaned myself down at a rate that turned out to be too fast. I suffered severe leg cramps beginning in the afternoon, worsening as the day went on, and finally lessening around 3 am. It was unbearable, so I got a prescription of Raboxin and gabapentin. I've come off the Raboxin, but four months after stopping the Abilify, I still need to take gabapentin. My doctor (GP) plans on testing me for neuropathy and RLS.
Update: I was sent to the neurologist soon after I made this comment, and she diagnosed me with lumbar stenosis, which she said was causing the neuropathy and leg cramps/myoclonic jerking. I know this might sound strange, but perhaps the Abilify was masking those. I say perhaps because over the last seven years, as I have taken various medications for other conditions, sometimes those medications have seemed to have alleviated the leg cramps and/or the neuropathy for a short time. Very strange. However, I do find that I cannot go 24 hours without gabapentin or baclofen, or else I will begin having horrible symptoms of neuropathy and myoclonic jerking again. Sometimes, I wonder if the myoclonic jerking is a permanent result of having taking Abilify, but I will never know.
Thankfully, a muscle relaxer prevents me from having the myoclonic jerking, but it is a real bummer to have to take yet another medication. Plus, the baclofen has started to give me headaches after all these years.
Related topics
abilify, depression, agitated state
Further information
- Abilify uses and safety info
- Abilify prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Abilify (detailed)
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