[Shadesofdark]

Saw my pdoc today. She wants to start me on Abilify instead of the Zyprexa I have been taking. She says she wants to enhance my anti depressant, replace my AP. I am sort of leery, I really hate change. Any advise from an Abilify user?

[99fairies]

For some reason I went totally psychotic on abilify after one dose. My son was on it for over a month and was nauseous to the point of throwing up the entire time. I was on zyprexa and it made me fat. Sorry I don`t have better news... those are just my personal experiences. But everyone is different. Best of luck to you.

[rwwff]

It makes me restless but seems to work as advertised otherwise. I guess the restlessness is as advertised as well. Trade off seems ok enough.

[NatsukiKuga]

two different roads in the flatlands cross, each to their own destinations.

[~Christina]

Ability gave me big time akathesia and I was hungry all the time

[pirilin]

^^^Ditto.

[Shadesofdark]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

Ability gave me big time akathesia and I was hungry all the time

Thank you for this, akathesia is a fear of mine. Really, looking at everything, it seems the two drugs are almost the same, just a few different side effects. I think I am going to try to talk her into keeping the Zyprexa.

I think she dug out more SI today then she liked, and the Zyprexa is pretty maxed out, I think she just wanted to up _something_. I don't want to taper down the Zyprexa, then start the abilify, on the hope it would work better. I will send her some email right now.

Thank's again to all of you.

[WildcatVet]

LOVE my Abilify! Energizing when I'm depressed, but really helps my angry hypo too. No side effects for me...no weight gain...no numbness...no...just clears my head and evens me out nice and gently.
Hated ZYPREXA! Made me feel like I had mud in my brain and I got FAT!

[Shadesofdark]

Originally Posted by WildcatVet

LOVE my Abilify! Energizing when I'm depressed, but really helps my angry hypo too. No side effects for me...no weight gain...no numbness...no...just clears my head and evens me out nice and gently.
Hated ZYPREXA! Made me feel like I had mud in my brain and I got FAT!

You say 'energized'. What time in the day do you take it and does it keep you awake? One of the reasons I started the Zyprexa was the side effect of drowsiness, I take it before bed and it helps me sleep.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

Ability gave me big time akathesia and I was hungry all the time

Yes me too. That’s the worst when you’re trying to sleep but your body just wants to move. Also made my heart pound which really freaked me out.

I never took zyprexa. My pdoc won’t give me that or depakote because of my ED. From what I’ve heard, it really knocks you out while abilify makes sleep rough for some people.

[Victoria'smom]

I loved Abilify I use to be on the shot of abilify. Both my husband and son are on abilify and they both have had no side effect. I'm on Zyprexa which has made me tired and gain weight.

[Cheyenne_Morton]

I've taken abilify and it changed everything. I stopped having stupid meaningless freakouts (mostly) I have no energy loss from it and no real side effects

[Altec]

Abilify is a life saver for me. I have some issues with muscle spasm and it really bothered me for a while. Then doc prescribed Cogentin to combat the side effect. And the combo is amazing.

[Gabyunbound]

It has been a godsend for me and has helped to keep me stable for over 2 years.

It has, however, given me akathesia. I take propranolol for that, twice a day, and it mostly gets rid of it. For me, it's worth it. I've had no other side effects.

[Wild Coyote]

I am on Abilify. I am hungry 24/7. It is one of the more helpful drugs for me.


WC

[99fairies]

My son has been on zyprexa for the past 6 months. He loves it. He has gained 30 pounds but he loves it. He was very scrawny before and now hes finally filling out. He looks good. It calms him down and helps him be more comfortable in social situations. I'm happy he found this drug.

[Guiness187055]

I went from zyprexa to abilify. I was a zombie on zyprexa now I have energy again. I was on 20mg of zyprexa I am now on 30mg of abilify.

[still_crazy]

hi. take 20mgs/Abilify. I only briefly tried Zyprexa, and it gave me horrible akathisia at a low dose, even though I was already on a full dose of Klonopin. Not fun.

Everyone is different. Zyprexa may be somewhat more effective in Schizophrenia (in big studies) than Abilify, but the diabetes, weight gain, etc. are not to be taken lightly. I don't think anyone has a good idea of the long term tardive dyskinesia risk for either medication. I think their EPS profiles are similar, except Abilify causes more akathisia.

Zyprexa can also boost antidepressants. Abilify is used for that, too, mostly at lower doses.

Some animal studies seem to show that Abilify doesn't change the brain as much as most other tranquilizers, probably because it acts as a partial agonist at D2 and other important receptors. I think that's the big thing about Abilify, the unique mechanism of action. It works about as well as risperidone or a moderate dose of Haldol, with fewer metabolic complications, less prolactin elevation, less EPS, and probably less TD.

[Zigy]

5mg of Zyprexa does not knock me down by itself but increases the effectiveness of Temazepam I take for sleeping. I go to bed at 10pm and I pass out in 20-30 minutes and sleep all night until about 7am.

I've been watching my diet because I don't want to gain weight and I was able to actually lose some while on Zyprexa. But yeah, my doc warned me about possible weight gain.