Today I started the Partial Program. It's the next step after leaving the hospital. There, I have access to a psychiatrist that I can see as often as every day. The doctor here at the Partial Program is attempting to get me down to one medication a day (Abilify). The other meds I'm going to be slowly weened off of. I will be dropping 3 medications. (Lexapro, Cogentin and Lunesta). I will do my best to adjust to life with fewer meds. It will be great not to have to take so many pills a day.
Well I saw the pdoc today and he sees that there is some progress. I am doing much better now that I am off of the Zyprexa. It was helping me but made me gain over 20 pounds and made me sedated during the day. The pdoc decreased my Lexapro (10 to 5mg) and he increased the Abilify (10 to 15mg). He wants me off of Lexapro because of it's activating properties. He increased the Abilify to help keep me from getting depressed from the decreased Lexapro (a med to treat side effects; Oh Boy!). No, I'm comfortable with the notion of the increased Abilify and decreased Lexapro. I wish it could have been done sooner to maybe offset the need for increased Cogentin. He did confirm that I have Akathesia but isn't completely sure which medication it's from. Well, once we see my reaction to the change of meds, we'll find out. He said that he will see me next week so I have a whole week to adjust to this medication change. Seeing that I've been progressing well at this point, I gather things will only get better from here on out.
