[SorryShaped]

Been on Abilify for six months. Pdoc recently raised my dosage. Symptoms below.
Anger super easy. Confused a lot. Aggressiveness is bad, I'm very very aggro. When I'm alone, I cry almost the whole time and cuss the rest. I want to die, badly, but punish myself by suffering through it. Should I call my doctor? Can they fix this? Is this it?

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Yes, you should call your doctor. This sounds something like akathesia which is horrible or a mixed episode which is also horrible or both combined which is indescribable. Regardless you should call and see if a change in dose or meds is needed. You shouldn't be suffering.

[SorryShaped]

I did call. Of course I could only leave a message, but we'll see. I hope she gets to it today, because she's only in office one day a week. I may have waited too late in the day

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I'm glad you called. What you described sounds miserable. I hope she gets back to you soon.

[SorryShaped]

Just got off phone. Reduced Abilify and we're going to consider something different next appointment.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Good. I'm glad she got back to you so quickly. I hope you feel better soon.

[bpcyclist]

Feel better soon!!

[*Beth*]

I just did a trial run of Abilify and had 5 weeks of exactly what you have described. Maybe this or that mixed in - but essentially, akathesia. Miserable, miserable state of being.

I won't go near Abilify again. I hope you're seeing her soon so you get rid of those extremely uncomfortable sensations. The drop in dose will, hopefully, help.

How are you feeling today? I know it's very early on in your reduction, but are you feeling any better? Sometimes when a med makes me angry, depressed, etc., the feeling goes away within a few days of reducing its dose or stopping it altogether. I can feel the difference very quickly. I hope that's the same case for you.

[SorryShaped]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

How are you feeling today? I know it's very early on in your reduction, but are you feeling any better? Sometimes when a med makes me angry, depressed, etc., the feeling goes away within a few days of reducing its dose or stopping it altogether. I can feel the difference very quickly. I hope that's the same case for you.

No difference yet, because only two hours past first reduction. I did meet someone on FB dating last night. If anything, we could become friends, but I definitely like what I see so far. Of course she's bipolar, with other things thrown in. But, she contacted me first! That does make me feel better, to think I'm attractive to anyone and I can tell her I'm bipolar and it doesn't send her running and she knows I'm disabled. I don't think I'm wanting only a hook-up right now, but it probably would be better in the long run, not to get involved. We'll see. Why can't I meet someone when I'm stable? Oh yeah, because I'm rarely stable. That

[SorryShaped]

Update. Doc, when she called, told me to return to 2mg after a few days. I chose not to. I can think now. There was so much cognition I'd been missing on that dose. I'm going to stay on 1mg until I see pdoc Tuesday, and hope I can go off Abilify entirely, or maybe on something else. I like being able to think, and Abilify was robbing me of that. I don't want to keep taking this medicine

[unicornlady]

Yeah sounds like Abilify is not the med for you.

[SorryShaped]

Pdoc took me off Abilify. She says they're aren't really any more atypical antipsychotics left to try. So, she left me without one. But, after the depression questionnaire scale of 46/50, she put me back on Prozac. I go back in two weeks.
First day off Abilify, I slept all day.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Just be careful. Prozac can be pretty stimulating.

Did she consider doing something else, like clozaril (which is an atypical but some doctors won't prescribe it) or an older drug? Loxapine is kind of on the typical/atypical border and is usually tolerated well. It also metabolizes into a tryclic AD so you get an extra boost that way. A lot of people really like haldol. Etc. Or step away from the APs and try mood stabilizers like depakote or trileptal.

I'm no doctor but it just makes me nervous that you are feeling so bad and she isn't giving you anything to counter the Prozac and decrease the already bad BP symptoms.

I hope you start feeling better soon.

[SorryShaped]

I am staying on the mood stabilizer I'm on, tegretol ER.