Hello all,

Tomorrow I will be starting Abilify, 5mg to begin. My doctor REALLY likes this medication, thinks it's great. We just didn't start it before because it's an expensive medication, but we have covered how I will get enough of the medication, so it's OK. I am wondering if anyone has had any experience with this medication. I guess what I am wondering is...

- What dose were/are you on?

- What side effects did you experience?

- Did you find the medication to be a positive experience, or a negative one?

I am aware that it can cause muscle twitching, so I'm also wondering if anyone has had this. This is a concern with me because I already have muscle twitching due to taking 500mg per day of Seroquel, and I know the twitching isn't going to go away while I'm on it. However, the twitching doesn't happen so often that it's unbearable.

Thanks for your input!

I am on 10mg abilify. No side effects that I'm aware of.

[mtex]

Oh my Gosh I got my life back from that drug. I can not ever say enough good for me it has been. everyone is different so you never know. all I know is if do not take it quickly I get swallowed up by depression so bad I sit at my desk for hours and my day's goal is a shower. I take other meds but this one is the lynch pin in my ability to function. Until it came out I was barely functional for YEARS. yes YEARS. I will never forget those days. if i run out b/c it is so expensive I will crash land plus it keeps me from being hostile.

[mtex]

I did not answer all the questions. sorry, I take 40mg that is higher than recommended but all my meds are like that. Choice of quality of life. I cannot say what side effects are from it or my other meds.

I was taking about 20 mgs. and the only side effect was distonia. I can take Benadryl for that but another drug causes more side effects. I stopped taking it for that reason.

[RebbieDoll]

wow, my experience is so different from everyone else's. I was prescribed 2mg--yes, only 2--and I slept on the bathroom floor the first and only night night I took it. never again. I was dry heaving for god knows how long, and I couldnt even get out of bed for the next 24 hours. it was a hellish experience.

[Skully]

I used to take 15mg but it really didn't do me much good so we switched to Lamictal and Geodon. At 15mg I did not have any side effects.

[sadden]

6ish years on abilify. A very good drug for me. I take 30 mg. Highly recommend it, if Doc says its needed. No trembles.

[netsavy006]

I took Abilify 15mg a day and I developed side effects. I had akathisia (restlessness) and difficulty swallowing. My weight went from 150 to 125 very quick with Abilify. So I had to go off of it, and when I did I developed suicidality.

I didn't have a positive experience with Abilify but I hope that you do.
Good Luck,
Andy...

Thanks everyone.
So far the only side effect I notice is that I am er...urinating more often. My nurse says it should go away soon. Hopefully it does!

[qwiz246]

Originally Posted by melissa.recovering

Hello all,

Tomorrow I will be starting Abilify, 5mg to begin. My doctor REALLY likes this medication, thinks it's great. We just didn't start it before because it's an expensive medication, but we have covered how I will get enough of the medication, so it's OK. I am wondering if anyone has had any experience with this medication. I guess what I am wondering is...

- What dose were/are you on?

- What side effects did you experience?

- Did you find the medication to be a positive experience, or a negative one?

I am aware that it can cause muscle twitching, so I'm also wondering if anyone has had this. This is a concern with me because I already have muscle twitching due to taking 500mg per day of Seroquel, and I know the twitching isn't going to go away while I'm on it. However, the twitching doesn't happen so often that it's unbearable.

Thanks for your input!

I have been on all the anti-psyhotics and Abilify is the one with no side effects on me. It works well and keeps me fairly stable. Good luck.

[Stark777]

Originally Posted by melissa.recovering

Hello all,

Tomorrow I will be starting Abilify, 5mg to begin. My doctor REALLY likes this medication, thinks it's great. We just didn't start it before because it's an expensive medication, but we have covered how I will get enough of the medication, so it's OK. I am wondering if anyone has had any experience with this medication. I guess what I am wondering is...

- What dose were/are you on?

- What side effects did you experience?

- Did you find the medication to be a positive experience, or a negative one?

I am aware that it can cause muscle twitching, so I'm also wondering if anyone has had this. This is a concern with me because I already have muscle twitching due to taking 500mg per day of Seroquel, and I know the twitching isn't going to go away while I'm on it. However, the twitching doesn't happen so often that it's unbearable.

Thanks for your input!

I've just started on 15mg Abilify. Side effects for me are muscle tension, anxiety (that could be seroquel withdrawal though), insomnia and excess saliva. BUT today I was given Procyclidine which has worked wonders very quickly - it mops up a lot of the side effects. And I still got my emotions! Stark777

[Eliza Jane]

I'm a little late to the party, but I wanted to add that abilify has been a dream drug for me. I have major depression (not bipolar) and currently take 5mg (but I have been up to 30mg). I haven't had side effects that I know of. I hope your experience is like mine!!!

Best,
EJ

[shichi]

Another one who's a bit late but FWIW:

- What dose were/are you on?

Initially I started on 15mg and found that very hard going [more detail in the next section], so I halved it to 7.5mg and my body handled that better. Then I eventually raised it to 22.5mg before realising it was doing as much good as a tic tac and [with pdoc's permission and assistance] I tapered off.

- What side effects did you experience?

When I initially started on 15mg, the main problem I had was akathesia and sedation. Akathesia [inner restlessness] was especially hard for me and I felt like I was jumping out of my skin. The sedation was a surprise because Abilify is known to be activating instead! However, I think I had these side effects because I was put on a moderately high dose to start with, instead of gradually raising my dosage.

Once I halved my dosage, the side effects went away and then later I was able to raise my dosage again without any issues - well, except for Abilify not working for me.

- Did you find the medication to be a positive experience, or a negative one?

I'm neutral on Abilify. Initially it helped with controlling my delusions but then it stopped working and 22.5mg didn't help with my delusional thinking at all.