1st Abilify Update - Feeling Okay

July 6, 2026··

Posted in:Abilify (Aripiprazole)Symptoms & Self-Care

17th May, 2026: I reduced my abilify dose from 15 mg to 10 mg due to chronic weakness. At the time, I was also taking 10 mg of procyclidine, which turned out to be too high a dose once the abilify was lowered. Two weeks after the abilify reduction, I experienced withdrawal symptoms, including confusion, blurred vision, tachycardia, stress, and feeling like I can't breathe properly. Moving forward, I plan to lower my procyclidine dose (by 1/4 of a 5 mg tablet) as soon as these symptoms begin, despite the fact that reducing procyclidine causes severe weakness. Procyclidine significantly slows the gut, but I have to take it due to EPS. Maybe I'm not a good metabolizer of abilify, which is why I am still experiencing EPS. One positive thing is my weird head sensations are better after lowering the dose to 10mg, even though the dr said it was part of the illness.

guava378’s taper progress

Dose (mg)

Mood (/10)

- Aripiprazole / Abilify:
17-May-2026 (15mg -> 10mg)
11-July-2026 (10mg-> 7.5mg
17-Aug-2026 (7.5mg -> 5mg)
28-Sep-2026 (5mg -> 3.6mg)
10 months - actively tapering
- Procyclidine 5mg - 10 months - actively tapering
- Propranolol - 20mg - 13 months - holding
- Xanax - 0.25mg - 8 months - holding

4 Replies

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CatinaJul 6

Community AnchorEffexor

Thanks for the update @guava378! It sounds like you're keeping a good pulse on things.

"One positive thing is my weird head sensations are better after lowering the dose to 10mg, even though the dr said it was part of the illness." — @guava378

This doesn't surprise me. Some doctors have a hard time recognizing drug harm and end up blaming the patient's "illness." I'm really glad this symptom has improved for you.

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

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BasedStaffJul 6

Community AnchorEffexor

Happy youre symptoms are getting better! Every window and wave cone and go, but its the side effects that were trying to eliminate. Very happy for you. You have a good understand of everything going on

Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.

WolfJul 6

Community AnchorProzac · researching

Were the withdrawal 15mg->10 symptoms light or severe? I would not expect them to be too debilitating.

Prozac — 40 mg — 6 months — holding | Zyprexa — 20 mg — 6 years — holding | Depakote — 600 mg — 8 months — **tapering** | Buspirone — 20 mg — 8 months — holding | with clinician
"If life is painful, start a rebellion and make it good."

guava378Jul 6

Community AnchorAbilify · active

I don't think the withdrawal symptoms came directly from abilify. Abilify and procyclidine are interconnected: Abilify lowers dopamine, while procyclidine controls acetylcholine, which can increase as a result of taking abilify. If the procyclidine dose is too high, it suppresses acetylcholine too much. I think that is what happened to me.

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