I’m seriously considering switching doctors and switching to a different medication. It does work somewhat, but I get really bad short-term memory loss. I’m nervous about taking it forever. I also notice its affecting my energy a lot. My doctor isn’t really listening to me. It’s frustrating because I express myself clearly, but there is a miscommunication.
For instance, she told me she was changing Schizoaffective to BP over months ago, and I’m still not clear on that. She said I have high insight, and yet I do not really think my problems are going away enough to keep buying into it.
I don’t like the idea of pumping my system with foreign chemicals. If I’m expressing myself by asking if this is right for me, she immediately jumps to thinking I haven’t taken Abilify.
I almost feel like she feels threatened by me or my insight into the disorder.
My intelligence has been going down ever since I started it. My moods are so flat, it’s like it’s inducing the “affective” and creating this illusion that I have a problem.
Switch doctors. Please. This person isn’t right for you. I was doing the same thing as you (except I forgot, I didn’t intentionally skip my meds).
Feeling better after not taking your medicine is a constant with any medicine I think. I skipped my Latuda one day because of a pharmacy error and I felt great. I felt so wonderful if I didn’t know better I would think I didn’t need it. But I do. I have read enough stories about people falling face first into hallucinations and delusions because they stopped taking their meds because they thought they were cured.
I’m not worried about the chemical damage to myself from my meds. Personally I would rather live one year like I am now than ten in the heck I crawled out of.
I think of my relationship with my doctor as kinda an equal partnership. If one of us stops doing our job, it’s over. If he doesn’t listen or care, I will get sick. If I don’t listen and take my meds, I will get sick.
Please take the Ablilify at least until you find another doctor who will get you off it.
@StarryNight It might not be your meds, but it could be your doctor. My last doctor felt overwhelmed and I dont think had much hands on experience with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar, she was not confident in her prescribing methods. My current doctor is an expert on the more severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and major types of bipolar. She is confident and knows her meds. I mean you dont want to relapse, and if you do you might be on heavier doses or on a more potent medication than you were on. Taking meds is not fun, there are side effects - all meds have side effects, but getting totally unstable and psychotic will set you backwards, is this what you really want?
I just wanted to chime in that your posting raised red flags for me about your pdoc not listening.
I am also Schizoaffective (I’m depressive-type not BP) and when I stopped taking my rx because I thought i didn’t need it, all my symptoms returned worse than ever within a few months. My pdoc says I’m high functioning and have good insight too. SZ and SZA are hard to define and ranges along a spectrum, from severe to mild. Maybe one of the newer anti-psychotics will work better. I’m taking Saphris which has mood stabilization qualities as well. (BTW he is also not a fan of Abilify for some reason.) And my pdoc listened to me about my side effects such as no motivation, poor concentration & memory, and he gave me stuff to counteract that - Strattera and Aricept. Right now I have a great cocktail (when I can remember to take them that is )
I think you have got depression(not a doc though)but I am speaking from experience,a lot of people on the forum said I had depression but I mostly didn’t take much note on what they say and thought it was negative symptoms,I admit I still had negative symptoms though but depression is the only treatable symptoms and I think you could have a life if your depression is treated
My primary medication is abilify,I took it for 5 years already…I started mirtazapine in 2011 April then stopped it after 6 weeks…in 2013 December I started mirtazapine again I wanted to stop but my pdoc insist me to take it longer and I listen and benefitted…after 8 weeks my depression sort of lifted and I start doing things again,it’s been two months of doing well already I hope it can continue in a permanent basis,abilify and mirtazapine really helps me,thank you for listening
I have come across two doctors and several psych nurses that believe there is no possible way a person knows about their disease because they didn’t go to school to study the mind and body. I left each time. Was lucky that my last doctor I was with several years and he actually listened to me.
Since I recently moved, I decided to pull no punches- told doctors that they were interviewing with me to see if we were a fit. Most were insulted. The last one said “Cool, OK”, so I’ve stuck with him and it’s a true partnership.
Doctors and nurses may have knowledgeable medical experience, but nobody’s lived your life and your disease like you. Don’t be afraid to talk to others before deciding who the right fit will be to collaborate on getting you to a better spot with your health. I get it might feel like ‘cheating’, but it’s actually just a second opinion… You can meet with others while keeping your appointments with your current doctor until you find one that fits.
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