I started on 2mg aripiprazole/abilify liquid and went up 2mg/week until 10mg. At 2-4mg it was activating so I took it in the morning so I could sleep. Now I take it at night because it's sedating. The 2 weeks I was on 6 and 8mg were horrendous. Pdoc said it was akathisia of the mental variety more than physical, but I wonder if it was a mixed episode. It was HELL whatever it was! I was mentally agitated with my mind running a 100 miles a second, planning all these different ways to commit suicide, and I'd pace (not from a physical need but to try to tire my body out so I could sleep and gain some relief from the agitation). I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. Somehow made it through those 2 weeks to 10mg tablets and the feeling instantly passed, and I feel fine on 10mg now.

The only thing I found was that it's taken 6wks of being at 10mg for the voices to decrease. I had thought it'd work faster than that initially. And it helps with anxiety over my 'delusions', not by taking them away but by making you not care. For example, I still think about my brain rotting away, but it's more that I'm resigned to the fact rather than worrying about it. I had hoped it would make those kinds of thoughts go away entirely but sadly not in my case.

I don't think I've gained weight on it so far, but I haven't been monitoring it. My clothes all still fit, put it that way. Hand tremor is the same as it was before aripiprazole. The last time I took it I never experienced the agitation but I went from 2mg liquid to 5mg tablet and then 10mg tablet, so maybe it was the liquid?? I don't know, I don't understand why that would be the case... Last time I was on 10mg for several months and started to get muscle twitching in my legs, but not enough to actually move the leg, just so I could feel & see the muscle twitch. Again that was nothing major. Overall I would recommend the drug, just don't be stupid like me and suffer in silence if the agitation/akathisia strikes - phone your pdoc asap! Mine has given me some sleeping tablets for emergencies now (I didn't want to try benzos) in case that ever happens again.

Good luck hamed_online!

*Willow*