[secretgalaxy]

I am very sorry that I keep posting on here... I know I am annoying.

So a side effect from abilify is internal restlessness and I am having it really bad. It is making me irritated and angry and it feels like my mania is being forced into me internally and no matter what I do, the energy "ball" is still there. I am so close to just stopping and giving up on meds. I would rather be unstable and be me than deal with this crap.

What is something I can do before I lose my mind? I'm seeing my psychiatrist in two weeks.

[gayleggg]

I listen to relaxation cds or do deep breathing exercises to calm my restlessness. It helps with the irritability, too.

What medication is it? Have you researched the med to see what the side effects are? It may be worth calling your doctor and expressing your concerns about the undesired side effects. He may be able to change the med, or find a way to help you deal with this side effect while waiting for the med to get fully in your system.

And what Gaylegg said

[Ruftin]

Originally Posted by secretgalaxy

I am very sorry that I keep posting on here... I know I am annoying.

So a side effect from abilify is internal restlessness and I am having it really bad. It is making me irritated and angry and it feels like my mania is being forced into me internally and no matter what I do, the energy "ball" is still there. I am so close to just stopping and giving up on meds. I would rather be unstable and be me than deal with this crap.

What is something I can do before I lose my mind? I'm seeing my psychiatrist in two weeks.

Awww, (((secret galaxy))), you are not annoying!! I agree with what someone else has already said here. Call your p-doc. right away. Don't hesitate. He can call something into the pharmacy, to help you calm down, or give you further instructions re: your med. There is no reason you should have to suffer for two whole weeks, we don't live in the stone ages.

I've felt that energy ball before. It's very uncomfortable.

Hope you feel better soon.

[~Christina]

Im no doctor of course but you could be dealing with Akathesia...There are 2 medications that you can take to settle that down... Cogentin and Indural... You should contact your Pdoc tomorrow , waiting 2 weeks is a horrible option in my opinion.

You might want to try taking a real hot shower , That has helped me in the past with the restlessness.

Good luck

U can also take benadryl to help with akathisia. I'm almost positive its akathisia you're dealing with. It's awful. I feel for you and hope it goes away soon.

[secretgalaxy]

Thanks everyone, I will try to do those things. I am just really worried that I won't be able to rest tonight and I have two tests tomorrow in school... I believe that it is akathesia but I just didn't remember the name of it. I will talk to my doc tomorrow if it is still as bad as it was today. I noticed that even though it got rid of my mania caused by mirtazipine, it feels like the abilify just took a tiger (the mania) and put it in a cage and now it is raging on. It feels like my body is getting such mixed messages and I just don't know what to do anymore... I don't want to keep trying meds anymore.

[Ruftin]

Originally Posted by secretgalaxy

Thanks everyone, I will try to do those things. I am just really worried that I won't be able to rest tonight and I have two tests tomorrow in school... I believe that it is akathesia but I just didn't remember the name of it. I will talk to my doc tomorrow if it is still as bad as it was today. I noticed that even though it got rid of my mania caused by mirtazipine, it feels like the abilify just took a tiger (the mania) and put it in a cage and now it is raging on. It feels like my body is getting such mixed messages and I just don't know what to do anymore... I don't want to keep trying meds anymore.

You have to believe you will find the right med combination. Don't give up. Fight for it!!! We'll be here to support you all the way...

[brackenbeard]

yes! make that call. you'll feel better knowing the ball is rolling, and new options are on the way to help you.

[secretgalaxy]

Okay, I won't give up on them yet. Last night was the first time I slept through the whole night in three weeks, so I feel rested for my tests! Today I am in a much better mood as well. I found that exercising definitely helps me stay calmer even though it doesn't get rid of the akathesia. I'll call my doctor today and ask him what I should do. Thanks again!

[JumpingJacks]

That happened to me too on Ability. I cut it down to a quarter of a pill and kept telling my doctor about how it was making me feel manic and he was saying there was no way it could do that but as soon as I took it I felt so energetic and like an engine was roaring inside. Eventually I lost my job and ended up in the hospital. I was exercising and meditating too.

The doctor says I would have been manic regardless of the Abilify and that may be true but I think it made it ten times worse. I would say to do what you think is best for you. If Ability isn't right for you, then you need to switch. I know if wasn't right for me and I kept taking it when I needed to go off a lot sooner. Good luck and I hope you don't have the same experience I did! I just wanted to tell you what happened to me in hopes that you could prevent the same thing from happening.

[secretgalaxy]

I forgot to take it today this morning purely on accident and I feel so free! It's like the energy ball can be released. The engine is exactly how I felt too, and now it is finally in drive. One of my things when I am in a mania is I like to buy and measure how much caffeine I have. Now, I am at 200 mg and I feel like I am about to fly away. Abilify doesn't stop the thoughts and I felt that it made my hallucinations and paranoia way worse than better. All it did was made me feel like it was forcing me to be normal, but I am not, nor will I ever be. I will go back on it tomorrow, as it is too late to take it now since I need to take it in the early morning, and see how I feel. I like this feeling, I don't why anyone would want to fix being happy all the time :P

You're handling it better than me. I got akathisia so bad on latuda. I was on a really high dose and a really high dose of an AD. I would get anxiety attacks and pace and pace and pace. If I stopped, I would feel like I was gonna fall through the floor. If I was in a car and it stopped I would feel like I was gonna fall through the car floor. My face e would make all these weird movements. I would feel just awful impending doom. It was horrible.

My new pdoc said I got it so bad bc I was on a high dose of an AD along with the high dose of latuda. I might try latuda again after I'm sleeping regularly. But at a much lower dose. The psych nurse I had, let's just say she put me on dangerous combos. I'm happy I finally got an actual psychiatrist.

[themuna]

I gave up all meds and feel better than I have since pre-dx (since before I noticed my emotions were bit different). I'm not saying that you should give them up just yet but it's always an option and you shouldn't let anyone discourage you from trying it, even your pdoc.

For me, I had to give up all drugs/alcohol along with my meds before I started to feel "balanced". I have always been into fitness but I increased my workouts and meditation. I also started speaking to a therapist, though after about 6-7 months, I ended that. Stopped consuming foods with high amounts of simple carbs (high/artificial sugars).

[secretgalaxy]

My face was making really weird movements yesterday too and no matter how much I wanted to stop, I couldn't really control it, it was like strong impulse to do it. I had to pace a lot or else I would punch a wall. And today I couldn't stop smiling and laughing but that is because I am in a really high mania right now and I feel great. Abilify made me angry and irritated at everything, and I was yelling at everyone. I couldn't be touch AT ALL. It was terrible. I don't know if I want to take it again tomorrow. I would rather be manic than be in that weird mixed state that abilify put me in.

[secretgalaxy]

Originally Posted by themuna

I gave up all meds and feel better than I have since pre-dx (since before I noticed my emotions were bit different). I'm not saying that you should give them up just yet but it's always an option and you shouldn't let anyone discourage you from trying it, even your pdoc.

For me, I had to give up all drugs/alcohol along with my meds before I started to feel "balanced". I have always been into fitness but I increased my workouts and meditation. I also started speaking to a therapist, though after about 6-7 months, I ended that. Stopped consuming foods with high amounts of simple carbs (high/artificial sugars).

I just started taking medicine this year, so I am really new to it. I am scared that if I stop that I will go back into a depression which put me into a hospital. I am worried that if they don't find the right thing soon, I will be put back into one...

Originally Posted by secretgalaxy

My face was making really weird movements yesterday too and no matter how much I wanted to stop, I couldn't really control it, it was like strong impulse to do it. I had to pace a lot or else I would punch a wall. And today I couldn't stop smiling and laughing but that is because I am in a really high mania right now and I feel great. Abilify made me angry and irritated at everything, and I was yelling at everyone. I couldn't be touch AT ALL. It was terrible. I don't know if I want to take it again tomorrow. I would rather be manic than be in that weird mixed state that abilify put me in.

I stopped taking it. I had other things going on and in that state of physical constraints I couldn't handle it all. I would definitely call your Dr.

[secretgalaxy]

I am going tomorrow to my therapist and I will be able to talk to him real quick. At least I got a lot of stuff done today! Thankfully, the facial impulse movements stopped this morning and I am still going at 100 miles an hour, haha.

[Laini]

I had the same reaction from Abilify, really scary stuff. Its the fact that you cant stop the side effects, pacing, tapping, jaw and hand clenching, no sleep etc, you just have to go with it until it wears off. Couldnt get a docs appt so i phoned the local pharmacy. They told me to stop taking it immediately and contact my doc. I dont take any meds at the moment, decided to go it alone. I did a trial on myself, twice taking abilify, and off i went again, such a horrible experience, so its definately not for me.
I hope you get whats right for you. Good luck.

[secretgalaxy]

Originally Posted by Laini

I had the same reaction from Abilify, really scary stuff. Its the fact that you cant stop the side effects, pacing, tapping, jaw and hand clenching, no sleep etc, you just have to go with it until it wears off. Couldnt get a docs appt so i phoned the local pharmacy. They told me to stop taking it immediately and contact my doc. I dont take any meds at the moment, decided to go it alone. I did a trial on myself, twice taking abilify, and off i went again, such a horrible experience, so its definately not for me.
I hope you get whats right for you. Good luck.

I think I will stop taking it until I can get a hold of my doctor. I had the same thing as you with the clenching of teeth and fists, pacing, etc. The only it did do was got me to sleep at night. It made me so paranoid and even though he prescribed it to stop my hallucinations, I think it made them worse because I was so paranoid that children are following me every where. It is so weird how meds work for some, but not others.

[Jerry9977]

Side effects are not the desired outcome we look from medication but it is also important to maintain normal functioning and good mental state. Medications will be adjusted to level as per your request by you psychiatrist a according to your baseline

[Ruftin]

How did your appt. go with your therapist go today? Was he/she able to give you any advice re: your medication?? Did you call your p-doc? Hope your doing ok

[secretgalaxy]

Originally Posted by Ruftin

How did your appt. go with your therapist go today? Was he/she able to give you any advice re: your medication?? Did you call your p-doc? Hope your doing ok

Thanks for asking My appointment went well with my T but she thinks that I should continue with Abilify until I see my pdoc again, who I couldn't reach. I am giving the medicine up to one week (until thursday) as it does have one benefit which is that I do sleep if I take it. The night before this one, I only got 30 minutes of sleep as I was *really* manic on just Mirtazapine. The only thing is the akathisia gets really bad during the day. I will figure something out

[Ruftin]

Originally Posted by secretgalaxy

Thanks for asking My appointment went well with my T but she thinks that I should continue with Abilify until I see my pdoc again, who I couldn't reach. I am giving the medicine up to one week (until thursday) as it does have one benefit which is that I do sleep if I take it. The night before this one, I only got 30 minutes of sleep as I was *really* manic on just Mirtazapine. The only thing is the akathisia gets really bad during the day. I will figure something out

Bless your heart. I know what it's like to have your p-doc, not call back. I was on Abilify for a short time. I had to pay out of pocket, $400.00 for a 30 day supply because my insurance wouldn't pay and I couldn't get a hold of my p doc. Can you imagine???

Keep calling....until someone calls you back. When they do call back , put some base in your voice. Please don't give up. You have rights. I'd drive to the office. Akathisia is not an acceptable side effect, and you need an alternative.!!

[secretgalaxy]

Aww, I am so sorry you had to go through that with Abilify and your pdoc! $400? Thank goodness my insurance paid for it! I will try tomorrow to talk to him, but I am stopping it for now until I can meet with him again, as it makes everything worse except it only improves my sleep. I would rather be manic than deal with scarier hallucinations, paranoia, akathisia, and almost like facial ticks... I know that abilify isn't my thing and I will stand up for myself! Thank you for all your help!