Abilify

Has anyone had hypomanic attacks on Abilify? How about weight gain? I'm running out of options. I know it is used for bipo but have been told by pdoc that some are getting active from it. Does it help paranoid thoughts?

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crackednfragile said:
Has anyone had hypomanic attacks on Abilify? How about weight gain? I'm running out of options. I know it is used for bipo but have been told by pdoc that some are getting active from it. Does it help paranoid thoughts?

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Hi!
Abilify is one of the new atypical anti-psychotics now approved for Bipolar I. It's *supposed* to be calming but some people - and this is a small percentage of people - find Abilify to be "activating" - or stimulating. It can aggravate anxiety and irritability - but, again, this is in a small # of people taking it. Weight gain doesn't seem to be a problem with Abilify when compared to other atypicals like Zyprexa and Seroquel. And yes, it is supposed to help a lot with feelings/thoughts of paranoia.

Hope this helps!
Jerry

Thanks Jerry, I appreciate your expertise. I will check with pdoc to see if Abilify might be a possibility. Glad to have you online at Psych Central.

Saw pdoc today. We went through all the anti-psychotics and she did choose Abilify for my paranoid thoughts. I will keep this site posted as to how it goes and if I get side effects.

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crackednfragile said:
Thanks Jerry, I appreciate your expertise. I will check with pdoc to see if Abilify might be a possibility. Glad to have you online at Psych Central.

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I'm glad to help! Keep us informed! It's always helpful to know if a newer med like Abilify works well or not so well!

hang in there!

Jerry

I've been on Abilify & several other drugs for about 4 years now for bipolar I. It definitely helped with paranoia & delusions. I have had hypomania on it (have been hypomanic for a few months now, but not bad enough to do anything different--feels good!). I did, however, gain about 35 lbs. I know of two other women on Abilify from my support group & they both have gained weight, too, but it has helped us all tremendously.

Abilify helped me, but it left me with almost NO short term memory. I couldn't remember if I had slept, eaten, taken meds, what I had just thought about or said. It was too high of a price for me to stay on them, they switched me last time I was at the hospital.

I was on Abilify for several months, before being pulled off of it, due to the fact that we couldn't afford to pay for it anymore. While on it, I did find that it helped me, but the side effect that I got while taking it was that it made my hands shake all the time. I couldn't write, I couldn't carry anything without spilling it, and I had a hard time cooking anything, because when I would stir the food I'd splash it everywhere. It because quite annoying and depending upon the situation I was in, it because worse. I hope you find that you have better luck with it than I did. If you want to talk, shoot me a note.
sniffles

My 11 yr old son has been on Abilify and Lithium for two and a half years. He definitely still has hypo manic swings in the evening. He gets giddy and runs around the house. He also has a "low" time around 3pm. I often wonder if there is some relationship to blood sugar levels, ie, low in the afternoon, higher in the evening after supper. PS: I am going to wean him slowly off his Lithium because I feel like we're sort of double-dosing with two mood meds. He's developing tardive dyskenisia and extra pyramidal symptoms. It's sad to watch this happen to a once very sharp little boy. You also mentioned paranoid thoughts. It has helped his p-thoughts and "atypical" thinking. Best to you, God bless

I'm still taking Abilify, on a very low dose. I think it has helped "clear my thoughts" less paranoid. I have not gained weight from it, but my vision might get blurred. I'm not sure but have felt a little "agitated/high" lately, but the weather is so hot. I'll need time to see! Thanks for comments here I will keep evaluating/posting