[Nate7907]

I am having a bad experience with this medication. I hate it,it makes me restless and sleepy at the same time, it also makes me get extremely hungry (I gained 20 lbs. in 2 weeks), I have become extremely irritable as well, and have gotten really bad confusion to the point it is hard to talk. I am going down to 5 mgs tomorrow from 10 mgs.

[Wander]

That is a bad response to Abilify. Probably a good idea to reduce the dose but may be best to run it by your pdoc asap. What was it prescribed for? I had it at 10-30mg a day for psychosis/mania and found it to be activating so it didn't make me sleepy. It also made me lose my appetite. It did however bring me down from the psychosis and mania. I was only on it for about 10 days. I have heard of people reacting like you have before though so I don't think you are alone.

I still have some and am supposed to take 10mg whenever I am agitated but I have been fine in that way since my mania cleared. I am depressed now though and seeing my pdoc tomorrow. Maybe I will take it for depression as some have found it helpful. I will see what my pdoc says. Who knows how I will react to it now I am in a different state.

[Coconutzo]

I had a bad experience with abilify too. Lots of anxiety and restlessness. I hope you find something else that works

[franz kafka]

I got awful akathisia from abilify. I barely lasted a week on it. I hope you and your pdoc can find a different solution.

[fishin fool]

I gained 20 pounds very quickly on Abilify.
I told my pdoc that I would not take it any longer.
I stopped taking it and I lost the 20 pounds.
I would never take it again.

[mossanimal]

My docs have have been trying to push it on me. I finally tried it and I hated, hated, hated it. I only tried it for two days. :-) So likely not enough time. But.. if I want to get depressed... have me gain weight. I'm not going to take something that will further destroy my self-esteem and overall health.

[still_crazy]

Antipsychotics/tranquilizers can be tricksy. The new ones may or may not be better than the older ones in terms of movement disorders and mood (different researchers have come to different conclusions), and they also carry metabolic risks.

Abilify is a strange drug. I take a full 30mgs daily, and its been great for me. I"m not super excited about it, but I do need an antipsychotic, and I can tolerate it. Other people cannot tolerate it and do better on more traditional D2 blocker-type tranquilizers.

I don't know what all you've tried already, but you have options. If you need a more sedating tranquilizer, there's plenty to choose from. Perphenazine, which is an old drug, performed nearly as well as Zyprexa in a big trial with people with Schizophrenia. The dose has to be watched, because if it gets too high you can have tremors and such, but its effective, more sedating, generic and relatively inexpensive, and it doesn't cause as much weight gain as many "atypical" tranquilizers.

Just a random thought. I hope you and your doctor find something that works well with better tolerability.

[fishin fool]

Originally Posted by mossanimal

My docs have have been trying to push it on me. I finally tried it and I hated, hated, hated it. I only tried it for two days. :-) So likely not enough time. But.. if I want to get depressed... have me gain weight. I'm not going to take something that will further destroy my self-esteem and overall health.

That is exactly what I said to my pdoc.

[pirilin]

I'm on it. Being on it for two weeks. Just an announcement.
I really don't feel a thing but a hole in my pocket.
100 bucks for 30 pills. Need something cheaper. HEEELP!!!

[*Laurie*]

Add me to the list of people who did not benefit from Abilify. It caused me to be anxious and that was about it. No benefits.

[WhiskeyGirl]

I am on Abilify but I'm not sure it is helping. I didn't know it could cause weight gain, though. I've been gaining uncontrollably for a bit. Maybe I should ask my dr about weaning off of it?

[StewieGG]

Abilify made me gain around two stone. My pdoc insists it's helping me, so I continue to take it.

[Moose72]

Originally Posted by StewieGG

Abilify made me gain around two stone. My pdoc insists it's helping me, so I continue to take it.

I looked it up. Two stone is 28 pounds. Oh lord I can't gain another 30 pounds!

I guess I'm the only one who hasn't experienced problems with it. lol.

I must be lucky because it helps with my depression a little bit and prevents mania (but not hypomania). No weight gain here. (No increased food cravings; no metabolism changes.) Also does not make me sleepy.

All that said, I'll probably need something additional for my depression, but I don't know what. Probably Latuda again. It's just that Latuda makes me sleepy. Maybe I should take caffeine to keep me awake if I start it up again.

[xRavenx]

Wow, sorry to hear about your experience with it....I hope your pdoc finds something better for you. Abilify is supposed to be one of the more weight neutral AP's, but this goes to show how different each person responds to them.

I didn't have a particularly good experience with Abilify, although your reaction was worse than mine. It made me agitated, slight restless leg difficulties, and it was too activating. I was put on it for Mixed Mania/agitated depression and Paranoia. It didn't seem to do too much. At least I didn't notice it being effective. Seroquel worked out better for me as far as the atypicals go.