Coming off antipsychotics

[Dolly292]

Hi,

This is my first post. Had an episode of PP a year and a half ago after my son was born.

Two weeks ago I was finally taken off aripiprozle antipsychotic medication which I was so happy about!

However since then I have been on and off tearful,had diarrhea,head aches and low appetite.

The doctor seemed to think the tearfulness might be withdrawal from the drug, but not the other symptoms. I wondered if anyone here had any first hand experience with coming off antipsychotics and wondered how long their withdrawal lasted?

Thanks in advance

[Lilybeth Volunteer]

Hello Dolly292

Thank you so much for your post which I hope is the first of many. It takes a lot of courage to write here but this is a safe space and you are very welcome.

I’m sorry to hear that the happiness you felt finally coming off your medication has now been replaced by being tearful at times, combined with upset tummy and low appetite. I’m glad you asked your doctor for advice and I hope you will be seeing him or her again for a follow-up to monitor how you are.

I think being only a year and a half on from PP is not long really and there might still be up and down days? I had PP many years ago and I’m sorry that I don’t have any experience of Aripiprazole. I’m sure there will be other mums here to share their experiences and wonder if the Related Posts on the right-hand side of your post on the forum page might be helpful for now?

I’m happy that you have an APP support worker ‘on-call’ to support you. Thank you also for your lovely, understanding reply to another mum here. As you said in your reply “nobody understands psychosis like someone who has been through it” which is so true. Take care ... we are all here for each other.

[RachelK_at_APP Moderator]

Hi dolly292

It’s great that you have come off medication

I came off olanzapine at around 14/15 months and I remember feeling sick so it could be a side effect.

The medication I was on for me suppresses feelings so the fact that you are off this medication now is meaning that you are beginning to feel again and that’s why your getting teary?

Maybe keep a track of how you are feeling each day, note if your particularly anxious about anything and discuss with your doctors.

Good luck

This stage for me was about getting ‘myself’ back again.

Take care

RK

[Naomi_at_app Volunteer]

Hi Dolly292 and welcome to the APP forum. It's lovely to have you here with us and I'm really glad you have reached out.

I can really understand how wobbly it can feel when you first come off medication and you're not sure whether you're experiencing withdrawal effects or a return of symptoms. I think in the first few years of recovery, I was definitely very hyper-aware of my mood and vigilant for any changes. It can take a while to feel confident that it's really natural for mood, sleep and energy to fluctuate and it's good to have your healthcare team on hand for advice and monitoring.

It's certainly very com

mon to experience both physical and emotional side-effects when coming off medication. Psychiatric medication does seem to have an effect on receptors in the gut, so upset tummies can be expected.

The Mind website has some really helpful information here on withdrawing from medication which is very balanced and has some tips for self-care and support services in withdrawal.

mind.org.uk/information-sup...

We're all here to support you, so feel free to post any time with questions or to share your experiences and ups and downs. I'm really glad to hear that you have had great support from both Home Start and your APP 1-1 volunteer.

Take good care of yourself, you're doing great!

Warm wishes

Naomi