Abilify- Stanford Clinic Patients

[bread.]

I probably wrote it unclear.
I dont have constant excitations and orgasms. And abilify is not the cause of the problem. It does just increase the risk of having one. The last three weeks I havent had one at all. But it was extremely exhausting to control absolutely each tought all the time. I have many ice pads beside my bed to cool me down if I start feeling excitment. That works to some degree. But it makes me mentally ill!

On the other hand Abilify works quite well physically. I wouldnt be able to use my smartphone, watch tv or use a spoon otherwise...sooo it's worth the higher risk of having a crash for me.

Cheers
Marco

are you aware that masturbation is causal for orgasms? just checking.

 

[leokitten]

I probably wrote it unclear.
I dont have constant excitations and orgasms. And abilify is not the cause of the problem. It does just increase the risk of having one. The last three weeks I havent had one at all. But it was extremely exhausting to control absolutely each tought all the time. I have many ice pads beside my bed to cool me down if I start feeling excitment. That works to some degree. But it makes me mentally ill!

On the other hand Abilify works quite well physically. I wouldnt be able to use my smartphone, watch tv or use a spoon otherwise...sooo it's worth the higher risk of having a crash for me.

Cheers
Marco

Give SNRIs a try. They will temper this symptom you are having.

The only info we can give you are medical drug interactions, like drug metabolism interactions, which might increase or decrease the plasma levels of Abilify, which @Treeman already pointed you to.

Would be easier to give you a direct answer on drug interactions once you decide on a specific SNRI or other antidepressant to try.

But other than metabolism interactions, no one knows how any antidepressant will personally affect you and the effectiveness of Abilify.

 

[leokitten]

are you aware that masturbation is causal for orgasms? just checking.

I think @Studi is saying Abilify is making the urge to masturbate uncontrollable sometimes, which is common with the drug.

 

[Studi]

I think @Studi is saying Abilify is making the urge to masturbate uncontrollable sometimes, which is common with the drug.

I dont touch myself at all. I dont get an errection as well. It all happens only in my brain. It feels exactly the same like a real orgasm but nothing happens down there. It has nothing to do with mastrubation. But thanks for the hint. Lol.
Tenofovir destroit my life or what remains...


Thanks! I will use the interaction checker and try to find one that fits the most for me.

 

[leokitten]

I dont touch myself at all. I dont get an errection as well. It all happens only in my brain. It feels exactly the same like a real orgasm but nothing happens down there. It has nothing to do with mastrubation. But thanks for the hint. Lol.
Tenofovir destroit my life or what remains...

Thanks! I will use the interaction checker and try to find one that fits the most for me.

Personally I would avoid duloxetine (Cymbalta). I’ve read countess reports here on PR and all over the internet that this drug is extremely difficult to stop taking if you ever need to and has immense withdrawal effects.

You probably want to focus on the antidepressants that do cause some “sexual dysfunction” or “sexual side effects”, which is just the scientific word for tampering down libido etc.

SNRIs:
duloxetine (Cymbalta)
desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
venlafaxine (Effexor)
venlafaxine XR (Effexor XR)
milnacipran (Savella)
levomilnacipran (Fetzima)

With SNRIs you want to tweak the serotonin:norepinephrine ratios to what works best for you: venlafaxine = 30:1, duloxetine = 10:1, desvenlafaxine = 14:1, milnacipran = 1.6:1, and levomilnacipran = 1:2.

All SNRIs cause sexual side effects except the milnaciprans caused much less, so better to pick one of the others with higher serotonin ratio.

Atypical “serotonin modulators”:
vortioexetine (Brintellix)
vilazodone (Vilbryd)

These might or might not affect your sexual brain symptoms.

SSRIs:
citalopram (Celexa)
escitalopram (Lexapro)
fluoxetine (Prozac)
fluvoxamine (Luvox)
fluvoxamine CR (Luvox CR)
paroxetine (Paxil)
paroxetine CR (Paxil CR)
sertraline (Zoloft)

These all cause sexual side effects.

 

[leokitten]

@Studi if I were picking for myself from the list I would first try desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) with Abilify, as it’s a straightforward choice of SNRI and doesn’t have any major metabolism interactions with Abilify. Only minor metabolism of Pristiq is done by CYP3A4, the vast majority metabolized in liver by conjugation.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Personally I would avoid duloxetine (Cymbalta). I’ve read countess reports here on PR and all over the internet that this drug is extremely difficult to stop taking if you ever need to and has immense withdrawal effects

Not looking to start a long back-and-forth, but they're ALL murderous, wicked-hard to taper off of, it's just the degree of that which differs, and the success ratio, even with a trained and certified taper Dr, is ..... somewhat thin ....

When needs must, tho, it's good to go in with eyes wide open and a lot of research under your belt, not just a few recs from strangers on the internet, however well qualified and clearly knowledgable ....

 

[Jessie 107]

@Studi if I were picking for myself from the list I would first try desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) with Abilify, as it’s a straightforward choice of SNRI and doesn’t have any major metabolism interactions with Abilify. Only minor metabolism of Pristiq is done by CYP3A4, the vast majority metabolized in liver by conjugation.

What about amitriptyline and abilify?

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

What about amitriptyline and abilify?

Amitriptyline is a tricyclic anti-d, and might not work or play well with Abilify, long term.

In their own way, tricyclics are almost as bad as MAOI's, without the threat of potential death-by-cheese ..... unless you add in the threat of potential suicide ....

I think that mixing a variety of psychoactive drugs in the hopes the one will balance the other, and then this other will balance that one, and this fourth one will smooth everything out, is extremely difficult, even with an experienced and knowledgeable Dr ....

 

[leokitten]

Personally I would avoid duloxetine (Cymbalta). I’ve read countess reports here on PR and all over the internet that this drug is extremely difficult to stop taking if you ever need to and has immense withdrawal effects.

You probably want to focus on the antidepressants that do cause some “sexual dysfunction” or “sexual side effects”, which is just the scientific word for tampering down libido etc.

SNRIs:
duloxetine (Cymbalta)
desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
venlafaxine (Effexor)
venlafaxine XR (Effexor XR)
milnacipran (Savella)
levomilnacipran (Fetzima)

With SNRIs you want to tweak the serotonin:norepinephrine ratios to what works best for you: venlafaxine = 30:1, duloxetine = 10:1, desvenlafaxine = 14:1, milnacipran = 1.6:1, and levomilnacipran = 1:2.

All SNRIs cause sexual side effects except the milnaciprans caused much less, so better to pick one of the others with higher serotonin ratio.

Atypical “serotonin modulators”:
vortioexetine (Brintellix)
vilazodone (Vilbryd)

These might or might not affect your sexual brain symptoms.

SSRIs:
citalopram (Celexa)
escitalopram (Lexapro)
fluoxetine (Prozac)
fluvoxamine (Luvox)
fluvoxamine CR (Luvox CR)
paroxetine (Paxil)
paroxetine CR (Paxil CR)
sertraline (Zoloft)

These all cause sexual side effects.

@Studi @Martin aka paused||M.E. I also forgot there’s the MAO-A selective reversible MAOI moclobemide. Though this one causes some of the least sexual side effects, so not sure about fixing your specific issue.

This won’t cause hypertensive crisis issues with tyramine like non-selective MAOIs unless you take very high doses or combine it with an MAO-B inhibitor. Moclobemide is partially metabolized by CYP2D6 and no CYP3A4 so appears safe with Abilify but probably want to lower dosage of Abilify at mid to higher moclobemide dosages.

 

[leokitten]

What about amitriptyline and abilify?

TCAs just have a lot of side effects and long-term effects. Given all the alternatives that produce similar improvements in mood with fewer side effects I don’t see the benefit.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

TCAs just have a lot of side effects and long-term effects. Given all the alternatives that produce similar improvements in mood with fewer side effects I don’t see the benefit.

Ditto, as I posted above .... I think they may be a poor choice and a larger than necessary risk.

 

[leokitten]

Not looking to start a long back-and-forth, but they're ALL murderous, wicked-hard to taper off of, it's just the degree of that which differs, and the success ratio, even with a trained and certified taper Dr, is ..... somewhat thin ....

Of course they all are, but this is a given and goes without saying. Pretty much all psychotropic drugs cause profound changes and can be extremely difficult to get off of once you take them long enough at higher than minimal dosages.

This isn’t a forum of healthy people just shooting the shit, we all have ME/CFS and some people are desperately asking for help to solve particular problems, because these problems are making life more miserable than it already is. So I’m answering them with some potential ways to solve those problems. Takes too long to list every caveat so should be assumed people know the obvious ones.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

This isn’t a forum of healthy people just shooting the shit,

Having been severe and bed bound for several years until 18 - 20 months ago, when I rose to the exalted heights of more or less (usually less) 'moderate', I'll try not to react to that.

Pretty much all psychotropic drugs cause profound changes and can be extremely difficult to get off of once you take them long enough at higher than minimal dosages.

This is misleading. Some of them, many in fact, can work their particualar magic at low doses over a short period of time. It depends on the architecture they're inserted into.

Takes too long to list every caveat so should be assumed people know the obvious ones.

That's a huuuuuge assumption, given the desperation that many of us have felt, and many of us are still feeling, where anything recommended becomes a spar to be grasped like the proverbial drownng man. And, given the long list of things you've proposed, a potentially perilous one as well.

 

[leokitten]

@YippeeKi YOW !! then should no one ever bring up any possible treatment without a huuuuuuuge disclaimer full of caveats?

 

[leokitten]

This is misleading. Some of them, many in fact, can work their particualar magic at low doses over a short period of time. It depends on the architecture they're inserted into.

Hence what I wrote!!

once you take them long enough at higher than minimal dosages.

 

[Studi]

@leokitten

Thank you very much for your effort to help me!

Sadly, desvenlafaxine is not available in Switzerland...
I will read some reviews of the drugs you listed and than discuss it with my phycisian when I found my favourite.

Thanks.

 

[leokitten]

And, given the long list of things you've proposed, a potentially perilous one as well.

I didn’t “propose” all of these I gave him a list of most antidepressants as a reference to be friendly and save him some time

Antidepressants are well known to counteract sexual issues caused by dopamine enhancing medications as well as other issues related to libido and orgasm. So I’m not going out on a limb here. Do you have any recommended solutions for him?

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Hence what I wrote!!

Actually, the exact opposite of what you wrote.

 

[leokitten]

Actually, the exact opposite of what you wrote.

No it is not. Please read again. I wrote that pretty much all psychotropic drugs cause profound changes and difficult to get off of when taken for long enough time at higher than minimal dosages. So we are in agreement, some aren’t like this (and can be helpful) when taken for short periods of time at low dosages. I’m not getting where you see opposite.