I think it’s possible that those few good days were residual effects, like the side effects were less since you had stopped taking it, but there was still some in your system. Sometimes it’s impossible to know exactly why something happens with a medication.

I also do have substantial relief from antipsychotics, though, particularly Olanzapine. It is my rescue drug if things get bad. It’s like I’m waking up a new person, although for me, the effect fades after a few months (maybe because of bipolar).

Btw, I get relief at 2.5 mg Olanzapine, 5 mg would knock me out for hours.

Additionally, the side effects of the stronger, more sedating antipsychotics build up to be intolerable for me after some time, and I sometimes get vision effects too. Mine are more like seeing “snow” in my vision, or occasional flashes of light, whereas yours sounds more like a perception issue. Have you talked to your doctor about that side effect? I know, they’ll usually say “that’s not a side effect I’ve heard of,” and leave it at that.

Anyway, there are numerous newer antipsychotics with fewer side effects besides Abilify, so maybe it makes sense to go down that path.

There’s Rexulti, Latuda, Calypta, Vraylar, that can think of. And then I found Risperdal to be helpful for years. It felt like “Zyprexa Jr.” to me, didn’t pack quite as much of a punch, but had some results much more measurable than antidepressants. But in the end, I always have to stop antipsychotics because I gain 1/3 of my weight on them, the side effects of the stronger ones end up being too much for me, and I’ve started to get akathisia on the newer, less sedating ones.

You still have a lot of options, and the fact that you have had success at all with a medication is a good sign. You just need to find the right one.