relapsing after 10 years?

[Hayleynevin]

am I relapsing? I’ve been on aripiprazole for 10 years nearly. I was taken off it 5 months ago as it was causing drug induced Parkinson’s. I. The last handful of months, I believe weird things have been happening at night. Doors opening, hearing people walking around my bedroom at night, seeing insects on the ceiling in the dark, even an absolute crazy thought that someone in my house was being possessed! Until I shook them and woke them up. I get stuck in vivid nightmares that I can’t wake from. Is this just the night playing tricks on my mind, just one of those things, or am I relapsing????

[Alpav]

Sorry to hear that. It must be scary for you. I know for myself (I have bipolar 1) that I have much better outcomes when I speak to my psychiatrist or GP early on, so it might be useful to give them a call, if only to get some reassurance.

[Hayleynevin in reply to Alpav]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. :). I think I will speak to my psychiatrist. It’s not happened past few nights, so I’m hoping it was just a blip, but probably worth mentioning x

[Jenny_at_APP Partner]

Hi Hayleynevin,

I'm sorry to hear you've been experiencing this at night, it sounds scary and if it's disturbing your sleep as well I assume that isn't helping matters.

I would reach out to your GP or psychiatrist, as Alpav has suggested too, and have a chat with them - if they don't feel it's something to worry about, hopefully they can at least reassure you and reduce your anxieties. If they feel it's something more, then you can go from there. Try not to worry and well done taking that first step in reaching out for some support.

Do let us know how you get on and take good care.

Best wishes,

Jenny x

[Hayleynevin in reply to Jenny_at_APP]

Thank you Jenny. You are right. I will reach out if only for advise! Sometimes I worry if I’m thinking is normal but I question it? If that makes sense. X

[Jenny_at_APP Partner in reply to Hayleynevin]

Yes that makes complete sense and is totally understandable. I hope you're able to get some advice and reassurance xx

[mrsN05]

I would definitely see your Gp . I too have been experiencing Parkinsonism on aripiprazol . I am hoping when I have a review they suggest an alternative. I can’t risk a psychotic episode as it’s been 9 years since I had a relapse a year after having my second son . Hope you get the answer you need.

[Hayleynevin in reply to mrsN05]

Thank you for your reply. Xx

[Survivedwithcolor]

Did you put a call in to your docs? What did they say? It would be unusual to have a relapse of PP, although sometimes people have pretty rough withdrawal from antipsychotics. I did get psychotic symptoms when going through withdrawal, but they were right away, not five months later.

Be sure to see your GP also. Hallucinations and vivid dreams can be caused by other things too. They'd probably suggest psychiatric meds first, but some neurological tests may be recommended.

I too was taken off that medication because of facial tics, and I now have permanent tremors from years of being on other antipsychotics. It's very unfair and I hate that for you.

[Hayleynevin in reply to Survivedwithcolor]

Oh I’m so sorry to hear you suffer with that. It’s so unfair! I’ve been keeping a log last few days of things I think are not ‘normal’ and will take to gp

[Lizzo30]

Have you considered taking natural bio identical progesterone cream? Or magnesium - to calm down / soothe - the amygdala - the amygdala is part of your brain which is sensitive to low progesterone - resulting in fear - the worst case scenario is psychosis PPP or PMDD

My daughter has menstrual psychosis if she doesn't have progesterone and or magnesium

During mestruation the lining of he womb sheds and with it progesterone leaving extremely low levels of progesterone the body then steals progesterone from adrenal glands depriving the amygdala of progesterone and that's the danger point where psychosis can occur

In PPP the placenta is full of high progesterone when the placenta is shed after giving birth it leaves the mother with extremely low progesterone levels which can lead to PPP

[Ellie_at_APP Partner in reply to Lizzo30]

Good evening Lizzo30, thank you for taking the time to reply to this post. We welcome input from others on the forum.

There needs to be a lot more research on this topic of progesterone. There isn’t the evidence to suggest hormone levels alone cause PP, and progesterone cream is currently not one of the recommended treatments for postpartum psychosis.

If you’re interested in the research currently being undertaken to better understand causes of PP, please take a look at that research page of our website: app-network.org/research-in...

Take care,

Ellie