r/Rexulti_Brexpiprazole

I’m thinking of quitting Rexulti. I have treatment-resistant major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety, and I’m currently on Wellbutrin SR 300 mg + Rexulti 1 mg. I know 1 mg is a low dose, but the side effects have still been pretty significant for me.

Wellbuitin did pick me up from my depression but the affects is not enough to function fully, Rexulti helped me function through my depression maybe 50% better, but I feel completely flat. Even the small joys I had during severe depression are gone. I’ve gained weight, affected my lebido, feeling restless, and feel like it has affected my face/skin and made me feel uglier. The weight gain itself is worsening my self-esteem and depression.

I’m also having cognitive issues — trouble thinking, finding words, speaking and sometimes comprehending things. I genuinely feel stupider on it. I’m also autistic, and it seems to have affected my ability to mask too, so communicating and being around people has become much harder.

I also cry extremely easily now. Any time my emotions spike, positive or negative, I can start crying.

The weird thing is that at the same time, Rexulti has made me crave company. I want to be around people much more while also struggling more to interact with them.

I see my psychiatrist tomorrow and I’m going to discuss whether to stop Rexulti and increase Wellbutrin, switch Rexulti to Brintellix/Trintellix while keeping Wellbutrin, or possibly adjust the Wellbutrin to 400.

Has anyone with treatment-resistant depression been in a similar situation? What did you end up doing, and how did it go for you?

Has anyone else developed tardive dyskinesia form this? Has anyone had a super difficult time getting off of it? It’s the worst withdrawal from a psych med I’ve ever had and I had to go so slow the tardive dyskinesia is permanent.

The reasons i went to a psychiatrist was because i had chronic anxiety about everything for over 1 year everyday all day, bad social anxiety, feeling like im being observed and some odd beliefs, i also got an ocd way of thinking, i still havent figured out if all these symptoms are caused by cptsd from when i was a child and felt like i was never enough and felt like i was different as a result i isolated myself and now got low self esteem, or from my ocd, anyway i got prescribed this thing and i feel like it doesnt suit me at all, ive been taking 1mg for 3 days now and i just feel like valium or an ssri would be the appropriate choice, because i recently had a panic attack at a public space from being very hyper aware and hypervigilant as i always am 24/7 especially outside. Im not in position to say but i told this to many friends of mine whom some of them are on ssris and explained the situation and they all seemed confused and told me to talk to my psychiatrist further because it feels like the wrong medication to prescribe in my situation, i also felt like that when i first saw that i was prescribed an anti psychotic.

Sorry for my bad english

Any opinions?

Hey guys!

I’m wondering about the whole weight-gain discussion surrounding Rexulti and would really love to hear from people who have actually taken it.

For reference, I’m a 25-year-old female with ADHD (inattentive type), OCD (primarily emetophobia and intrusive thoughts), pretty severe dermatillomania/skin picking, and suspected Level 1 autism. Due to my debilitating ADHD, and what I assume is at least partially related to the possible autism, I can be extremely reactive and easily overstimulated, especially by my children. It’s something I’ve beaten myself up over for years.

I had previously sworn off SSRIs and psychiatric medication in general after some experiences that made me hesitant to try medication again. Then I was diagnosed with ADHD and started realizing that ADHD was probably the root cause of a lot of the issues I had been struggling with for years, so I decided to try medication again.

Currently I take Vyvanse 40mg, Adderall 10mg as a booster when needed, Remeron 15mg, Lamictal 100mg, propranolol 10mg twice a day for POTS, and zaleplon 5mg for sleep. (Zaleplon has honestly been a miracle for me because I only have trouble falling asleep. Since it's short-acting, I don't get the morning hangover I would get from other sleep medications.)

One of my biggest struggles has been skin picking.

I always thought my skin picking was anxiety-induced or possibly some sort of stim until one day I realized that I don't just pick at my face. I pick at ANY surface that is uneven, whether it's actually something that needs to be picked or not.

I also get a gluten-related rash that is basically impossible for me not to pick at, and for a while I was absolutely destroying my face and arms.

Eventually, my psychiatrist and I came to the conclusion that the picking was more OCD-related, which is why we decided to try a medication that was more targeted toward OCD. That medication was Abilify 2.5mg.

And boy was it a cure.

My skin and arms became perfectly clear with the help of the medication, along with tretinoin and azelaic acid. I also had more motivation and just felt overall lighter.

I did feel like I was more reactive emotionally while taking it, but honestly, I was willing to eat that side effect if it meant my skin could stay that clear. The difference in my picking was THAT significant.

Then, about 3–4 months into taking Abilify, I realized I had randomly gained almost 15 lbs in the matter of a few weeks.

I went from 105 lbs to 119 lbs.

I know 119 lbs does not sound like a high weight, especially considering I'm 5'1", and I understand that it's still within a healthy range. But I have been 145 lbs before and absolutely hated how I felt in my body at that weight, so I personally was not comfortable with the sudden change.

Once I noticed the weight gain, I also realized that I had started binge-eating sweets.

This was SO bizarre for me because I have never been a sweets person. I've never really cared about sweets and could easily have them sitting around without touching them.

Suddenly, I could not stop myself.

I was tearing up Cosmic Brownies like my life depended on it. 😂

It wasn't just that I was eating more. It felt like I suddenly had this intense craving and lack of control around sweets that I had literally never experienced before.

That really scared me, both because of the weight gain and because I was concerned about what constantly consuming that much sugar could potentially do to my blood sugar/overall health.

On top of that, my confidence started getting really low and my body dysmorphia was probably at an all-time high.

I talked to my psychiatrist about everything, and we both agreed that I should stop Abilify.

I have now been off of Abilify for a couple of weeks, and unfortunately, my skin picking came back almost immediately and with a vengeance.

It really made me realize just how much Abilify had been helping me because the difference after stopping it was VERY noticeable.

I did my own research for a while and asked my psychiatrist about possibly trying Vraylar instead, but she leaned more toward Rexulti and really wants me to at least give it a shot.

She prescribed Rexulti at 0.5mg.

I haven't picked it up yet, and I haven't decided if I'm actually going to take it.

I told her that my biggest concern is obviously the weight gain. I've read SO much about Rexulti causing weight gain, and the fact that it's basically Abilify's cousin makes me nervous considering how strongly I reacted to Abilify.

My psychiatrist wants me to try it and monitor my weight, but from what I've read, it almost seems like there are even MORE reports of significant weight gain with Rexulti than there were with Abilify.

I guess my biggest question is: has anyone actually managed to take Rexulti without gaining weight?

And if you DID gain weight:

• Was it because your appetite increased or you started craving/binge-eating more, or did the weight come on despite your eating habits staying basically the same?

• Did you experience the same kind of intense cravings for sweets that I experienced with Abilify?

• If you gained weight on Abilify, did Rexulti affect you similarly or was it completely different?

• Was Rexulti helpful enough for your symptoms that you ultimately decided the weight gain was worth it?

• Has anyone taken Rexulti specifically for OCD/skin picking and found it helpful?

I know everyone's body reacts differently to these medications, so I'm not expecting everyone to have the same experience. I'm just really hoping to hear from people who have actually taken Rexulti, especially people who have also taken Abilify and can compare the two.

I also want to say that I don't feel like my psychiatrist doesn't listen to me in general. She has actually been very good about listening to me, which is why I'm a little confused about this particular situation. I have told her how significant the weight gain was on Abilify and how much the sudden change in my appetite affected me, and she still feels like Rexulti is worth trying.

Maybe she's had patients who responded completely differently to Rexulti, or maybe there really is something about it that makes her think I'll tolerate it better. I just haven't been able to find much information that makes me feel confident about that.

I'm not trying to bash her or say she's wrong. I genuinely just feel torn because Abilify worked SO incredibly well for my skin picking, but the weight gain and sudden change in my eating behavior were enough that I couldn't stay on it.

And honestly, if Rexulti could give me that same level of relief without causing the same appetite/weight issues, I would be thrilled.

I just want to hear from people who have actually lived through it before I decide whether to start the 0.5mg.

Sorry for the novel 😂 I just feel like the backstory is important because I know there are probably other people who have dealt with the same combination of ADHD/OCD/skin picking and medication-related weight gain, and I'd really love to hear your experiences.

Hey everyone,

I’m on day 49 of Escitalopram (10mg) and recently started taking Rexulti (1mg) at midnight (00:00).

I've noticed a crazy pattern and want to know if anyone else experiences this. Every single morning, from 8:30 to 11:00 AM, my brain throws absolute garbage at me. But the worst part is the illusion of truth. During these 3 hours, the thoughts feel so heavy, convincing, and uniquely "real" that it takes all my energy not to panic. I also feel physical tension and pressure in my head.

Then, exactly at 11:00 AM, it just stops. A switch flips. The physical tension completely vanishes, and those exact same scary thoughts instantly lose all their power. For the rest of the day, I feel totally fine, and if those thoughts pop up again, they feel completely empty and fake.

I read that this morning window overlaps with the cortisol spike, which basically glitches the brain into treating random mental noise as a real, urgent threat.

Has anyone else experienced this clockwork precision? How do you deal with that overwhelming feeling of "truth" before it randomly disappears at midday? Does this get better?

Hello! I’m taking 0.75 mg of Rexulti and 0.25 mg of Paxil. My Rexulti dose is higher than it used to be. It feels like it’s suppressing my dopamine. I have no drive to get things done and no sense of reward. I have no desire to cook, clean, or go out. It’s not about feeling depressed. I’ve tried lowering my medication several times, but it seems my brain chemistry has become hypersensitive and won't tolerate any reduction; otherwise, I experience terrible side effects. Has anyone else experienced or is currently experiencing this?