[bos314489]

just wanted to see if anyone has had experience with abilify for bipolar depression and how they responded. Any side effects?

[tribalwolf]

I'm on 20 mg of Abilify a day, and so far it is worked really well for me, though I may need an increase. As far as side effects goes I have had none to this point and I have been on it for four months.
So as far as Abilify goes for me it has been a very helpful drug.

The Wolf

[Hydrophobic1212]

No, not at all. Medications work differently for everyone, but this was horrible on me. It caused me to get terrible restless leg syndrome. I couldn't sit still and my legs were ALWAYS uncomfortable. It didn't show up right away, it took a few weeks or a month, I think, to show up... But it was horrible. I had to get off it as soon as possible and it didn't help with symptoms much either.

But again, medications work differently for everyone, so I don't know. That's just how it was for me....

[Secretum]

I was on Abilify from January until August of last year. At first, it was helpful. It was the first medication that I actually responded to. Unfortunately, it also made me feel extraordinarily restless. And then my depression returned. Pdoc upped the dose, but depression persisted. It also made me feel nauseous; I vomited twice a week on Abilify. I know, tmi.

I know that it has helped a lot of people, with minimal side effects for most. It's one of the few atypical antipsychotics that doesn't cause weight gain. I actually lost weight on it...though that was probably due to the persistent depression and vomiting....

[bunnifoo]

I can't remember my dosage - 5 or 10 mgs when I started (not too recently). It actually made me feel better and I started sleeping better, but then I started feeling groggy/sleepy all the time to the point where I had to stop taking it - I didn't feel safe driving. My pdoc said that reaction happens in about 1 out of 10 patients and I happened to be the unlucky one.

[bos314489]

Thanks everyone. My doc wants to start me on 2mg so I will see how it goes. I am on lamictal 200 mg and cymbalta 120 mg plus ativan 1 mg x3. Does anyone remember how long it took to kick in? A week or two?

[thickntired]

YES! I think Abilify is the best med on the market hands down. The problem is it is so expensive and the patent runs through 2015.

I think it took me about 4 weeks to feel it working.

Good Luck!

TnT

[Anneinside]

I started feeling results in two weeks. Unfortunately, I got the restless legs, called akathisia. I put up with it for some time because Abilify was effective with bipolar symptoms. My therapist finally said something and I talked to my psychiatrist who prescribed propranolol, a beta blocker. It stopped the akathisia. When I have missed taking the propranolol the akathisia has returned.

[Clinte89]

It was very affective for me unroll the akathesia set in but it was very effective for almost a year and if you do mail in pharmacy it's much cheaper I was paying 70 for three months worth.

["Tilly may"]

i am on 15 mg of abilify daily. it has worked pretty well, ihave been on it for 8 months. i have only had one week where i felt a bit psychotic. otherwise i have been fine.

[Eliza Jane]

Love it. It was my miracle drug. I'm bipolar II and took it primarily for depression.

At one point I was on 30mg, but eventually went down to 5mg after I was stabilized for a while. I remember it kicking in quickly, but I'm not exactly sure when. No issues with side effects.

Best,
EJ