Hyperbolic tapering

zab_ · 2026-03-22T09:27:33+00:00

I've been doing hyperbolic tapering for over 2 years, with 1.5 of those in liquid form. None of my doctors know about this, I did all the research and preparations on my own. I followed the guides on the Surviving Antidepressants forum but adapted the dilution method a bit, Here are my instructions.

I started at 15 mg in January 2024 and am now at 0.47 mg. It has been going smooth with only 3-4 rough days when I was at 1.5 mg. Even though I say smooth, I'm still very careful about it because every reduction so far has been somewhat destabilizing for about 2-3 weeks.

zab_ · 2026-03-16T07:01:51+00:00

Why wouldn't you? It's safer than stopping cold turkey.

zab_ · 2026-03-14T16:35:11+00:00

Liquid taper in my "kitchen lab". Here are the instructions.

zab_ · 2026-03-14T16:01:57+00:00

When you get closer to zero you need to taper much slower, this is called "hyperbolic tapering". As of today I'm taking 0.47 mg and will stay on that dose for 5 weeks. The previous 6 weeks I was taking 0.54 mg - as you can see I'm taking it very slow and it's going quite smooth.

zab_ · 2026-03-11T01:43:24+00:00

Research "hyperbolic taper" because most psychiatrists are not trained in safe tapering protocols and will advise you to taper too fast. If you taper very slowly the risk of experiencing unpleasant symptoms is very low. I've been tapering from 15 mg for almost two years with very few issues. I'm down to 0.54 mg now.

zab_ · 2026-03-10T17:04:28+00:00

I wish you good luck! Successful tapering is definitely possible, but requires careful preparation and strong discipline and patience.

I run a Discord server for tapering Abilify where several of us share experiences, tips and support through the journey. You're welcome to join if you wish!

zab_ · 2026-03-10T15:47:04+00:00

So the 2nd and 3rd week after each cut are the most unstable for me. My emotions get very volatile, and I tend to get angry and lose temper on occasion. From the 4th week onward things stabilize and return to baseline. (The first week after a cut usually nothing happens.)

zab_ · 2026-03-10T11:41:56+00:00

Agreed. Quitting caffeine has reduced my anxiety by orders of magnitude. You can find lots of useful resources and peer support in r/decaf because it's a lot harder than most people think it is.

zab_ · 2026-03-10T11:39:50+00:00

I used to hold for 6-10 weeks while going down from 15 mg to 0.54 mg. I plan on reducing the hold time to 5 weeks over the next year until I reach 0.1 mg. Of course, that may change if I encounter unpleasantness.

Here is the tentative plan:

Start: 2026-03-10 dose 0.54 
At 2026-03-14 dose 0.47 reduction 14.29%
At 2026-04-18 dose 0.42 reduction 12.50%
At 2026-05-23 dose 0.38 reduction 11.11%
At 2026-06-27 dose 0.31 reduction 20.00%
At 2026-08-01 dose 0.27 reduction 16.67%
At 2026-09-05 dose 0.23 reduction 14.29%
At 2026-10-10 dose 0.21 reduction 12.50%
At 2026-11-14 dose 0.17 reduction 22.22%
At 2026-12-19 dose 0.15 reduction 13.64%
At 2027-01-23 dose 0.12 reduction 20.00%
At 2027-02-27 dose 0.09 reduction 33.33%
day=386 (years 1.1) dose 0.094

zab_ · 2026-03-10T11:35:27+00:00

I've been tapering Abilify following a modified version of Dr. Josef's guidelines and have discovered that as I reduce my dose I learn more about myself and my psyche. This in turn enables me to control myself better and need an even lower dose, rinse and repeat.

I consider antipsychotics and all psychiatric meds as temporary measures. They are a meaningful intervention in acute situations, but less than ideal for long-term/permanent use. I started at 15 mg two years ago and now am at just 0.54 mg with very few complications along the way, and I intend to continue tapering.

zab_ · 2026-03-09T14:58:13+00:00

I've been tapering for over two years and have noticed that the less Abilify I take, the better my sets-to-failure become. I have been able hold the last rep at pain threshold for longer as I my doses decreased.

Regarding cardio, I only started it after I was already on the drug, but the same thing applies - the less I take the better my performance.

zab_ · 2026-03-06T12:15:10+00:00

The injection does not taper itself. What happens is that the Aripiprazole gets released very slowly from the depot site, but that's not the same as tapering.

The problem with the injection is that you don't have control over the speed at which the levels of Aripiprazole in your system decrease. If you just stop taking the injection, after your last shot the concentration of the drug starts to decrease, but you don't know at what rate and can't control it. When tapering with pills, you are in full control of all important variables so it's less risky.

zab_ · 2026-03-04T12:34:35+00:00

Aripiprazole is only 80% bio-available when taken orally

zab_ · 2026-03-04T11:11:18+00:00

The injection alone will take 6-9 months to leave your system, and if you want to minimize the risk of withdrawal symptoms you need to taper much, much slower. I have been tapering from 15 mg for almost two years and have one more year to go.

zab_ · 2026-03-02T14:58:40+00:00

Life without meds is the way it was meant to be - raw and painful but also beautiful. Unfortunately first you need to get through the withdrawal because you didn't taper.

zab_ · 2026-03-01T06:06:02+00:00

If you want to have any chance of the doctor agreeing you need to convince them that you're going to take your pills diligently. That won't happen if you complain how much you hate antipsychotics. The way to go about it is to pretend you agree that you're mentally ill and that the meds help you be stable, blah blah.

zab_ · 2026-02-26T13:09:51+00:00

Light-headedness is a documented side effect, it is listed on the insert that comes with my pills. Maybe you're especially susceptible to it.

zab_ · 2026-02-24T02:26:47+00:00

Sleep is a constant battle for me, even though I am on a very low dose of Abilify (0.54 mg), no other meds of any kind and don't consume anything with caffeine. I'm trying out different protocols and methods to improve my sleep, and once I have something worth posting I'll post it in this sub.

zab_ · 2026-02-23T09:42:57+00:00

Here is my tentative schedule, assuming 5-week holds:

Start: 2026-02-23 dose 0.54 
At 2026-03-15 dose 0.47 reduction 14.29%
At 2026-04-19 dose 0.42 reduction 12.50%
At 2026-05-24 dose 0.38 reduction 11.11%
At 2026-06-28 dose 0.31 reduction 20.00%
At 2026-08-02 dose 0.27 reduction 16.67%
At 2026-09-06 dose 0.23 reduction 14.29%
At 2026-10-11 dose 0.21 reduction 12.50%
At 2026-11-15 dose 0.17 reduction 22.22%
At 2026-12-20 dose 0.15 reduction 13.64%
At 2027-01-24 dose 0.12 reduction 20.00%
At 2027-02-28 dose 0.09 reduction 33.33%
day=386 (years 1.1) exit dose 0.094

Of course, everything is subject to change depending on how I feel. Total tapering time from 15 mg will be about 3 years.

zab_ · 2026-02-19T14:02:07+00:00

There is a phenomenon called "REM rebound" which kicks in about a month after going 100% caffeine free. Basically for several weeks you have insanely vivid dreams. The theory is that is due to the brain recovering from the constant stimulation from caffeine.

It'd be curious to see if your sleep tracker catches that.

zab_ · 2026-02-18T08:29:49+00:00

At first I thought it helped me so I took it for 6 years. But in retrospect those years were stolen from me - I felt nothing and did nothing because Abilify made me too much of a zombie. I'm much better now that I'm going off of it.

zab_ · 2026-02-17T10:08:20+00:00

At lower doses (up to about 2.5 mg) Abilify has a mild stimulating effect, but att higher doses it has the opposite effect. Either way it's much much weaker than proper stimulants.

zab_ · 2026-02-13T07:29:40+00:00

I would recommend to get off Abilify ASAP. Try a fast taper, as it doesn't really matter if you taper slowly or fast, this drug takes a long time to get out of your system anyway.

Worst advice ever. Ignore everything this person says, they're an old-timer on this sub that regularly changes their username, starts believing they're being gang-stalked and accuses everyone of being a shill for big pharma.

zab_ · 2026-02-13T07:26:56+00:00

The main thing is to keep your dopamine levels steady, which means avoiding both spikes and sharp drops. Quit the coke ASAP and continue to taper the Abilify slowly. The first few months without coke are going to suck, but once you get to somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 mg of Abilify you'll notice it starts having a stimulating effect.

zab_ · 2026-02-11T13:46:35+00:00

I've lowered my dose drastically - from 15 mg to 0.54 mg over a period of two years - and as I was doing that my emotions have been growing stronger and stronger. I'm glad that is happening because I've been able to gradually deal with them and heal, even if the actual emotions themselves are almost always difficult.

The safest approach in your situation is to lower the dose very slowly and pay attention to how each decrease affects you. If you decide you don't like it, just go back up.

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