Taking aripiprazole (Abilify) is the closest to being “cured” I’ve ever come

Taking aripiprazole (Abilify) is the closest to being “cured” I’ve ever come There’s a significant body of research that credits dopamine antagonists with improving developmental stutter. Having only recently learned this, I decided to try it out. The first drug I tested was olanzapine, 10mg once a day. After taking it for 1 month, I could confidently say that it wasnt successful. The strong sedative effect pretty much canceled out whatever benefit there was or was not to my stutter. I felt like a zombie. I tapered the dose and almost gave up on the experiment altogether before I spoke to my friend who was training to be a psychiatrist. She suggested I try aripiprazole, as she had noted some improvement in one of her patients speech who was a post stroke schizophrenic. Nothing to lose really, I took her advice. It was...almost like magic. I’m not sure if its just due to the drug itself or olanzapine’s similar mode of action paving the way, but literally on the first day I took it, 5mg to start, the effect was like night and day. Conversing somehow felt more natural and I had an ease I never felt before. I could string lengthy sentences without a single block. I could say problem words like “diabetes” and “physician” without walking into a wall. And the sedation was nowhere near as strong as with olanzapine. I was already aware that antipsychotics had anti anxiety effects, so I wasnt surprised by the confidence I felt, independent of the stuttering effect I think, which only helped with my speech even more. Dont get me wrong, it doesnt eliminate blocks. They still occur, but nowhere near as much as before. And I still get tripped up if I blurt things without thinking about what I’m going to say. But as long as I keep my breathing and enunciation steady, I can now confidently maintain a conversation with no more than one or two minor blocks. Its a revelation. Its now been one month. I’m still on 5mg and so far the effect has been consistent, so I see no reason to increase the dose. I waited this long so I can confidently give my findings. There needs to be more research on this topic, and I’ll be telling my psychiatrist friend to consider spending some time on it. But for now, i’m satisfied. Hope this report helps some of you. Sadly I doubt it will help everyone, as thats just how the human body is.