My pdoc told me the opposite about Abilify - that it has a strong antidepressant effect and has an activating effect, she told me to watch out for aggression, agitation, mania, and to discontinue at any sign of those.

In any case, Abilify is working really well for me so far. I can't offer any opinion as to price though, I'm in another country.

I was on Risperidone for a long time. Eventually it stopped working. I gained a bit of weight at the highest dose I was on (6 mg) but at a lower dose (3 mg) I was able to lose the weight. I was switched to a different antipsychotic when it stopped working, and after a 6 month break, I think it's beneficial right now, 1 mg was added back in to help anxiety.

The only other antipsychotic I've tried was Saphris. It was helpful at 10 mg but I needed to split the dose between morning and afternoon and the morning dose was making me sleep through classes, so I'll be off of it next week. It's pretty new so I'd imagine it's expensive. I got samples from my doctor.

Actually, maybe that would help you. Does your pdoc have samples? How long will you be without insurance?