Aripiprazole/abilify making hallucinations worse?

Medications
1

I started aripiprazole 5mg two weeks ago, and will be moving up to 10mg after four weeks of taking it.

The psychiatrist said I have early onset psychosis (I am 18, but the issues that they think are delusions started when I was 17). I haven’t told anyone that I hear things and since starting the medication, the things I hear have increased in frequency, become more scary and the ratio of voices to ordinary sounds has increased. The things I hear last longer (used to be a few seconds, now they can last minutes).

I know this is what they all say, but I don’t believe I have psychosis. Has aripiprazole made your hallucinations worse or better at this low dose? Is it because I’m taking an antipsychotic but when I’m not actually psychotic? Is it just a coincidence?

I see the psychiatrist in 3 months (CMHT isn’t very helpful here).

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2

10mg is the minimum dose of Abilify for schizophrenia/psychosis. So it should start doing it’s job soon after you start taking that dose. (About 2 weeks after)

5mg is just used as an add-on to an antidepressant. It doesn’t act as an antipsychotic.

You really have to be 100% honest with them, otherwise it’s difficult for them to help you.

If it all gets too much, you should ring them and make an emergency appointment.

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3

Yes, when you take abilify it gets better, then at about 2 weeks i think it gets a bit bad again, then starts to get way way better after a week or so again. Just keep with it and you’ll be feeling great in no time.

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4

Thanks for the information. So basically being on 5mg will be just as effective against hearing things as 0mg would be? I assume the doctor is doing this because antipsychotics might be a bit hard on me?

I’ll tell my psychiatric nurse about hearing things next week, but I’m not always sure when I’m oversharing or talking about things that don’t matter. Before it got worse, I never even thought about telling anyone, but now it’s just because I’m embarrassed and they might use it to label me as something I’m not.

5

What’s a normal amount of ‘things’ to hear in a day? Everyone hears things sometimes.

6

You have to give it time I am afraid not an easy ride for sure but wish you the best in treatment

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7

This is reassuring. I’m only taking the medication because the psychiatrist said I would feel better. I thought antipsychotics would worsen mood since they block dopamine receptors. I’m looking forward to when things get better again, that’s for sure. :slight_smile:

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8

Pretty much.

They’re probably starting you off on a low dose to make sure you don’t have a bad reaction to it.

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9

Thanks for the wishes! So they’re like antidepressants in the length of time they take to work? It would be nice if researchers could come up with faster working drugs, but it’s surely worth it for the people who actually need them.

10

It’s similar to ADs in the time it takes

Once you get to a therapeutic dose you should feel the benefits

CMHTs suck as they have no resources or the right staff

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11

He told me it’s best to catch these things early. Does 4-5 weeks of basically nothing matter when ‘catching’ this type of thing? It’s a bit suspicious

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Definitely. A few weeks is nothing.

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13

I guess I have a bit of waiting ahead of me then.

You are so right about CMHT. I can barely see my CPN every other week under CMHT haha.

14

I am glad to hear/read that! I wouldn’t want to ever experience whatever it’s like to hear voices. It sounds horrible. I was a bit worried.

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