[argv]

Ok, so just got done with the psychiatrist lady, and she gave me abilify. Anyone else take this?

Well, hopefully it'll help with this "blah" mood I've been in for the last 4 days or so. Somewhere between "blah" and "manic" would be a good place. haha

[BuggsBunny]

I've been on abilify for several years and am very happy with it.

The only side effect I get is the occasional jumpy muscles, where you have to move. It's not so bad that I'd stop the drug, but it does occasionally require a low dose klonipin to stop the jumpies. I don't know if it matters how high a dose it is that gives you the jumpies, but I'm on 15 mgs, so I'm pretty sure the higher the dose, the more likely you are to get the side effect.

May you have the best of luck and health on the drug!

I've taken Abilify.

Made me feel a bit drowsy and out of it at first, but not as bad as other meds in the same class, over all it worked ok for me, there were a few side effects I didn't appreciate, like restlessness (akathisia), and weight gain.

Good point BugsBunny, I was on 30mg and the restlessness was enough to keep me from doing anything productive, mindless movement.

Good Luck!

[nacht]

I take 10mg and it helps a lot with my depression, though the jumpy muscles thing (akathisia) does happen some if I'm not thinking about it. I haven't gained any weight on it, nor has it made me drowsy. Different people get different effects, but the most likely side effect is the restlessness.

Good luck! I hope it works for you.

[grandmaof3]

I just started on 5mg Abilify yesterday. My pdoc said we'll see how that does and possible increase it in 2 weeks when I go back. So far I haven't noticed any side effects but its only been 2 days.. I hope I don't gain weight, I'm already trying to lose weight and not having much success. I'm trying to be optimistic. He did warn me about weight gain and akathisia as the most common side effects.

[Secretum]

I really like Abilify. It has helped a lot with my depression/sui thoughts/hopelessness. It doesn't really balance my mood as well as I'd like, but it does help me to avoid the really scary stuff.

I hope that it gets you out of your "blah" mood! The best thing about Abilify is that it works fast, within days-a few weeks. Contrast that with the 4-8 weeks you'd have to wait for an antidepressant to take effect!

[dazeofdolphins]

I'm excited for you and I hope the med helps out a lot. I was on Abilify for over a year and it was truly the miracle drug for me. It took away the bipolar and I felt unbelievably stable and normal. The problem was it caused me to have Akathisia, a movement disorder where I would thrash uncontrollably for 50 minutes at a time. On average I would say that I only had the Akathisia about once a month but it was awful each time. I literally could not stop moving in strange and crazy ways. Once the med was stopped tha akathesia went away, thank God. But, some of the bipolar features returned, too. Also, TD and NMS are rare side effects of Abilify (the Akathisia is more common). Any side effects should be reported to your pdoc immediately as they came become permanent and dangerous (NMS is very rare but results quite often in death!)

Good luck and I hope the Abilify helps. Side effects aside, it is an amazing drug!
dazeofdolphins

[argv]

thank you all for taking the time to read and reply.

From what I gather, this is a good drug with some annoying or deadly side affects.

Wow. Ok. I wouldn't be so worried about the death side affect except I'm actually feeling almost positive about the future.

I'm still pretty new to this diagnosis. I'm still going through my life and having alot of 'ah ha!' moments where the BP piece of the puzzle fits. So I don't even know yet what the goal of the medication is. This all so new and weird. I'm discovering some disturbing stuff about my daily thought processes. :/

But thanks again. I'll see how it works for me and read up on the drug itself when I get home from work.

[argv]

thank you all for taking the time to read and reply.

From what I gather, this is a good drug with some annoying or deadly side affects.

Wow. Ok. I wouldn't be so worried about the death side affect except I'm actually feeling almost positive about the future.

I'm still pretty new to this diagnosis. I'm still going through my life and having alot of 'ah ha!' moments where the BP piece of the puzzle fits. So I don't even know yet what the goal of the medication is. This all so new and weird. I'm discovering some disturbing stuff about my daily thought processes. :/

But thanks again. I'll see how it works for me and read up on the drug itself when I get home from work.

[Anneinside]

I have never heard of a death side effect and I look up every med I take. I do take Abilify and have for a long time. The akathisia tends to show up if you take a high dose. I now take 10mg and propranolol for the akathisia and have no problems with it any more. It is a beta blocker usually used for high blood pressure and is also generic and inexpensive, while Abilify is costly.

It started working very quickly and was effective in bringing me out of depression along with Cymbalta.

[argv]

I'm glad to hear it worked for you and many others.

I'm not even sure what my mood is lately, but if it brings me UP I guess that would be better than being lower. Haha Maybe I'll be more motivated to actually do stuff.