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Misc Memantine or Aripiprazole

lilbitcrazy

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 20, 2021
Messages
42
Hello fellow BL'ers (one day I will be one of you too),

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with Memantine or Aripiprazole (Abilify)?

I wish to have a slightly more stimulating effect from my morning dose of Bupropion 300xl. and atm I also take 50 - 100mg of Modafinil and lots of coffee, this works well and gets me up and moving about but also wears off or I develop a tolerance to the Modafinil and have to stop taking it for a few weeks to readjust.

I was thinking of adding in either of the above medications after removing the Modifinil, the idea being to achieve a prolonged (low) stimulant type effect, however I'm concerned about any reduction in cognition or other undesirable s/e's.

The Drug Checker only suggests interaction with Bupropion and Abilify but it doesn't look like there's any real cause of concern?

Thanks in advance for any information!

lbc

Drug Interaction Checker​

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  • bupropion xl
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  • abilify
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Interaction
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  • dontusetogether.svg
    Don't use together - 0
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    Monitor closely - 1
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Monitor closely​

  • bupropion HCl oral + Abilify oral
    Potential for interaction
    bupropion HCl oral will increase the level or effect of Abilify oral by altering drug metabolism
 
I can't speak on memantine, but I currently take Bupropion 300mg w/ abilify 5mg. I don't have any issues with interaction, and I believe the abilify does contribute a bit of stimulation while not reducing my cognitive abilities or anything like that.
 
I've done a monster dose of 100 mg memantine aswell as taking 5mg twice daily for migraines. I am currently on 15mg abilify, which i notice no effects from. The large dose of memantine was like an uncontrollable ketamine high that lasted for hours. It felt like my stomach was caving in on itself. Went to a museum and it was somewhat trippy, but uncomfortable. I was indeed ultra focused on one thing at a time and able to function, but everything i did took more effort.
I'd say you're ok on the interactions, but make sure they arent reuptaking the same chems ya know.
 
@deficiT Hey dude, hope you are well mate and thanks a million for your replies, its good to know that abilify combines ok with wellbutrin, there aren't too many anecdotal reports out there and the medical evidence is parse and inconsistent at best.

I'll have a go with this combo for now with a slow titration of abilify until I find a sweet spot and failing this I'll repeat the exercise with memanatine.
 
@polyboss, good thanks for the feedbacks and its good to know about your experiences, BTW your museum 'trip' made me laugh, I can image the experience, kinda been their myself - stay in here due we need people like you you, your anecdotal evidence is invaluable mate!
 
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@deficiT Hey dude, hope you are well mate and thanks a million for your replies, its good to know that abilify combines ok with wellbutrin, there aren't too many anecdotal reports out there and the medical evidence is parse and inconsistent at best.

I'll have a go with this combo for now with a slow titration of abilify until I find a sweet spot and failing this I'll repeat the exercise with memanatine.
Thanks, no problem!

I've actually become very interested in memantine recently I kinda just discovered it.

I'm a fan of dissos in general but have generally not used them for quite some time since getting sober.

Not sure if I wanna cross that bridge but it does sound really worthwhile if you can get the dosing right.

What is your experience with memantine? What kind of doses have you used? Did you enjoy it?
 
worthwhile if you can get the dosing right.
Yes I think this is where its at ? Neuropharamcology is a dark art at best, so who knows, but drug-on-drug interaction looks like a possible way forward that's not much explored by our psychiatrists.

What is your experience with memantine? What kind of doses have you used? Did you enjoy it?

None dude, never tried it before but I'll keep you posted on my trials if you like?

Take care mate!

:)

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” - Jack Kerouac

Yes indeed, that's how it is
 
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I'm now taking concerta 18mg and still on abilify 15mg. I'm pretty sure abilify has no effect on the methylphenidate, but I started taking abilify at night anyways because it is technically a CNS depressant.

How were your trials?
 
I'm now taking concerta 18mg and still on abilify 15mg. I'm pretty sure abilify has no effect on the methylphenidate, but I started taking abilify at night anyways because it is technically a CNS depressant.

How were your trials?
Interesting, I've since stopped taking abilify, but when I was taking it, it very much put a dent in any stimulation I got from meth/amphetamines. I would assume methylphenidate would be the same.

I always had to take abilify in the morning, as if I took it night it was very activating. It's technically a major tranquilizer in the atypical antipsychotic class, but it is probably the most stimulating of them. It has a more unique pharmacology, and is a dopamine agonist as opposed to antagonist, which I believe is what makes it more stimulating.
 
Interesting, I've since stopped taking abilify, but when I was taking it, it very much put a dent in any stimulation I got from meth/amphetamines. I would assume methylphenidate would be the same.

I always had to take abilify in the morning, as if I took it night it was very activating. It's technically a major tranquilizer in the atypical antipsychotic class, but it is probably the most stimulating of them. It has a more unique pharmacology, and is a dopamine agonist as opposed to antagonist, which I believe is what makes it more stimulating.
Does abilify release dopamine or reuptake it? Probably neither or it would be scheduled.
Does seem to compete rather than negate then
 
Does abilify release dopamine or reuptake it? Probably neither or it would be scheduled.
Does seem to compete rather than negate then
It's an agonist, so it increases the level of dopamine, but it's not specifically a releaser, no.

Maybe someone with a better understanding of pharmacology might have a better answer.
 
Does abilify release dopamine or reuptake it? Probably neither or it would be scheduled.
Does seem to compete rather than negate then
So, basically dopamine reuptake inhibitors and releasers are INDIRECT agonists. Whereas abilify is a direct agonist.

I believe. I'm actually taking a psychopharmacology class now, but it's just intro level stuff, so.
 
Abilify is a partial agonist with around 30% efficacy if I'm right, that's pretty different from a full agonist like memantine. Docs will not like that because D2 is, based on some old theory, the 'psychosis receptor' - which is wrong but enough people still believe it.
Oh, direct dopamine agonists are neither scheduled nor recreative, they are used in Parkinson's and to lower nasty prolactin. I tried pramipexole and indeed it doesn't feel like a drug at all, which is kinda weird, memantine makes a decent (as in insomnia) but attention deficit potentiating psychostimulant. Before I had permatolerance to next to anything, 40mg were enough to severely dilate my pupils and make me chatty. Now 40mg would do little but that is because of year long abuse of dissociatives.

@deficiT Yeah, releasers are indirect agonists. Reuptake inhibitors might count as well but pure RIs don't elevate extracellular amount by much because autoreceptors which then tell the cell to slow down with the release - releasers and transporter inverse agonists like methylphenidate and cocaine circumvent this, thus they are active instantly while pure RIs like SSRIs take some time until the autoreceptors among other targets desensitize.

I'd say go for the abilify if you had psychotic symptoms in the past, otherwise for memantine. I tried both and while memantine has some qualities I like it for (mostly limiting tolerance to other drugs though, and insomnia), so doesn't abilify.
 
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