I have issues with aripiprazole help me please!!

To be sincere it's just making me sleepy and unable to concentrate fully while studying. I'm a medical student and I need to read every day. I was diagnosed of psychotic disorder not otherwise specified after depression diagnosis. I was taking risperidone before but I had to stop it cos it was making my mouth extremely dry, so later on I was placed on aripiprazole which makes me sleepy and lose focus. I even reduced the dosage by half which helped a little but I'm still very sleepy , I can sleep the entire day instead of reading ...

I dont think my mental health issue is that serious, and the reason I had any issue in the first place was because of financial challenges, now that financial challenges is solved , I don't think I will relapse whether I take drug or not because I haven't always been on drugs and I never had financial challenges until last year which caused me to break down and started seeing the doctor.

Should I stop taking this aripiprazole or I shld use a CNS stimulant like modafinil with it? Or I shld take coffee anytime I'm about studying? Or I shld spread out the dosing throughout the day 2mg in the morning 3mg in the evening? What strategy can I use to beat this day time somnolence and lack of concentration ...

Also Everytime I sleep I always have short dreams and sometimes I hallucinate while I'm reading which doesn't happen before I started using aripiprazole. Please help me.

You were diagnosed with a psychotic disorder but you don’t think it’s serious ???! Ummm ???

I just think as a medical student you need to continue seeing a psychiatrist and be treated correctly. Yes financial strain can cause mental health issues but not typically psychotic disorders.

Dont you think it’s best to get an opinion from a full fledged Psychiarist instead of making changes thinking just because your medical student???? Your just a baby in the eyes of medical knowledge.

See a professional for a full work up and listen to there advice.

Good luck

My general advice would be not to try to self-diagnose or prescribe (I don't know that you have prescription privileges yet as a medical student, but I guess I could be wrong). I have tried to do things on my own before with meds and it hasn't been pretty. Maybe you're just on the wrong medicine, or perhaps the doctor could add another medication to help with the problems you're having. The thing is, if you've been diagnosed with something like that, there was a reason you saw the psychiatrist or doctor in the first place. Those problems don't just magically go away. I have tried to just get through things without meds and it hasn't gone well by any stretch.

I know you are learning a lot right now and that is great. But you do not have the expertise to be managing your own medication at this stage of your career. Not even the Chief Resident in Psychiatry is experienced enough to be taking care of someone like you.

So, take the good advice of those above and get yourself to a competent psychiatrist ASAP. If you want to talk to them about pushing your AP to the evening so you are not tired all day, by all means do so. If you think you would benefit from modafinil during the day, bring that up. But let someone who is board-certified run the show. You are not ready to do that yet.

my personal, not at all expert, just what i've seen and experienced -suggestion, maybe, at most- would be to work -with- the psych and get the abilify to where you are not psychotic...

and then ask about bupropion, modanfail, maybe methylphenidate (?), -after- getting stabilized. :-)