hi. it really depends on the person and how its dosed. sometimes, even when the abilify is started at the "target dose" (was 15mgs back in the day...I don't know how doctors start it now...), transitioning off of other tranquilizers onto Abilify can be somewhat difficult.

in big studies, abilify is about as effective as risperidone, with better tolerability (less EPS, fewer metabolic problems, less sedation). akathisia is more common w/ abilify than many other tranquilizers.

if you're transitioning off of a more sedating tranquilizer on to Abilify, my personal advice would be to try to get at an effective dose quickly (I think 10mgs is considered the minimum for Bipolar I maintenance, but I could very easily be wrong...), and see about as-needed stuff for anxiety, agitation, sleep, etc., at least for a couple weeks.

one of the doctors who treated me at the clinic (they seem to come and go fairly frequently...) told me he'd use gabapentin, sometimes low dose Thorazine, while starting people on Abilify, and that seemed to help.

hope this helps.