Hi there I have schizophrenia and i feel like i am trapped.
I recently switched from risperidone to abilify and during the switch i picked up e cigarettes to help with the withdrawal symptoms. I used to be a cigarette smoker for 10 years.
Now i am addicted to e cigarettes and when i try to quit i feel like i am going psychotic and start acting weird.
been gradually switching to a 12 mg dose, started at 2 for a week went up to 5 next week then 7 week then 10 mg week, ive been on 12 for about 2 weeks now.
I also used to be on 12 mg before and it worked well for me
That sounds just like “ordinary” nicotine withdrawal. Plus abilify will make you feel anxious anyway. It’s possible the 6mg was helping with abilify induced anxiety. But I don’t know.
That’s pretty strange. Nicotine doesn’t affect abilify at all. I don’t know. Is it possible it’s a coincidence? All you can do is go back on 6mg and conduct an experiment to see if that brings things back to normal again.
I take abilify 5mg twice a day. I quit smoking ecigs recently because a er physician told me i have small pleural nodules on each of my lungs. I have to get my lungs checked in six months. Anyway, i hope you ease off the ecigs eventually. I had nicotine overdose on them several times.
i was a smoker for nearly 20 years and the last 3 or so i have switched to an ecig. I need the nicotine i am convinced it helps ease my symptoms because every time i try to go without nictone i get pyschotic. The % of schizophrenice that smoke is very high and i would put money on it being the nicotine that many find to help ease stress etc. but thats just my opinion basaed on no scientific facts