[scapegoat0001]

Is anyone here on Abilify? Has it helped you at all? If you took it in the past did it help you? My psychiatrist is thinking of having me take it but I am wondering how it could help me and im worried about side effects. Thank you for any help you can give me

[Guiness187055]

I take 20mg and have been on it for over two years. It helps a lot with the mood swings. The only weird side effect is it makes me slur my words. Oh yeah it is weight neutral too.

[scapegoat0001]

Thanks for your input, im glad abilify is helping you. I guess I will have to research it further to see if the pros outweigh the cons. Its good to hear it does not cause weight gain, i was worried about that.

[still_crazy]

20mgs/day. no twitches or facial tics, some weight gain...no major cognitive problems, no sedation. seems to take the edge off depression, but i sometimes still require an additional drug for that.

[csa072112]

My doctor put me on Abilify in addition to my anti-depressant, just 5mgs/day. I gained weight and it made me very tired so I had to take it at night. But it definitely helped with my moods. I felt so much better, so it really depends on your situation and what is priority I suppose.

[kecanoe]

Abilify made my suicidal feelings more bearable. Didn't stop them, but the Abilify probably helped me survive for a couple of years.

[Deejay14]

Abilify has worked well for me in the past with exacerbation of depression at 5 mg. I haven't needed it for three years but just started again yesterday.

[scapegoat0001]

Thanks everyone for your responses. It sounds like you all have or have had positive responses to it. My psychiatrist has decided she doesn't want me to take it because it wouldn't produce any better results than what I am taking now? I don't get it, what I'm taking now isn't working, that's why she suggested i take abilify. Whatever. Maybe she's not interested in treating me anymore. SMH

[still_crazy]

shrinks can be lame. i mean....really, in this day and age, family doctors can do most of what they do, without the attitude.

i like abilify because i probably need a tranquilizer--that or a combination of drugs that would be even harder to deal with than an antipsychotic--and abilify gets the job done with fewer problems than anything else i've tried. but...

it kinda scares me a lil bit that so many people are being prescribed abilify who don't really need an antipsychotic, and the doctors (usually psychiatrists) are not telling people what they need to know. so...

i guess try to think of it as a blessing in disguise. hear voices, get manic, severe psychotic depression...by all means, consider abiify or any number of other tranquilizers. less severe problems...

your shrink may not be the best doctor ever, but she may be doing you a favor. :-)

[scapegoat0001]

Thanks still_crazy for your insight. From the positive responses here i may try to talk about abilify with my pdoc again. Or maybe find a new one as my current one doesnt seem to want to know that the current antipsychotic i am taking is not working and my psychosis is getting worse. idk what to do but I know I can’t keep living like this. MI sucks that i know

[Hastings101]

My husband was on Ability for a short time and it worked wonders for his mood and breaking him out of his tendency to get stuck in a loop, dwelling on negative memories. However, it did disrupt his sleep and, worse, caused him to gain 10 lbs in a month. He's off it now and still trying to get the weight back off.

[Aviza]

Abilify worked but made me stoic. Family thought I lacked emotion, got restlessness from it, it quit working for me but didn't cause weight gain.

[Wild Coyote]

Hopefully, you have told your pdoc tat you can't go on living like this?

I take low-dose Abilify. I have gained a lot of weight. My pdoc is increasing other meds so I can get off the Abilify.

A friend of mine has gotten tardive dyskinesia from Abilify. Her condition persists after stopping the Abilify.

With all psych meds, it's a gamble, some are more problematic than others. In addition, the reaction to meds can be a very individual thing.

I agree with still_crazy; your pdoc may have done you a favor.


WC

[possum220]

It's amazing how the same medication can affect each person differently. I tried Abilify and found it made me incontinent. that one didnt last long.

[scapegoat0001]

Originally Posted by Wild Coyote

Hopefully, you have told your pdoc tat you can't go on living like this?

I take low-dose Abilify. I have gained a lot of weight. My pdoc is increasing other meds so I can get off the Abilify.

A friend of mine has gotten tardive dyskinesia from Abilify. Her condition persists after stopping the Abilify.

With all psych meds, it's a gamble, some are more problematic than others. In addition, the reaction to meds can be a very individual thing.

I agree with still_crazy; your pdoc may have done you a favor.


WC

I also have tardive dyskensia, mine is from Risperidone. Due to that side effect and the fear of it becoming permanent I told my pdoc I wanted to change meds. She suggested Abilify but it sounds like it may also cause TD. I dont know whats gonna happen but I am definitely gonna tell her that i cant deal with it when i see her next week. : (

[still_crazy]

-all- "antipsychotic"/tranquilizer/neuroleptic drugs can cause TD, even clozapine (eek!). I take loads of antioxidants and b-vitamins w/ the abilify, hoping to -not- get TD. Based on what I've skimmed over, one doesn't need the relatively high doses I take to prevent TD or even try to handle movements that have already started...

the big ones are manganese (which I don't take, btw), vitamin E (try to go for natural form, please), vitamin C (I recommend time release), b-complex (b-100 all the way for this dude), and some form of B3 (I take niacinamide, personally...no flush, easy to tolerate, for me...).

fish oil seems to help, but keep in mind that fish oil lowers vitamin E levels in the body a bit (isn't "alternative health" fun? LOL), so one might want to take that into consideration when dosing up on vitamin E.

other antioxidants help, too, such as gingko biloba, grapeseed extract, etc., I'm just fond of Orthomolecular, which is all about some vitamins (plus, its cheaper than herbals).

have you ever taken seroquel? its low potency, and low potency drugs usually cause less TD than moderate or high potency tranquilizers. if you need a tranquilizer, then maybe you could try some kind of supplementation, plus the tranquilizer, see if that helps the movements. just a thought.

sorry about your TD. :-( hope things get better for you.

[scapegoat0001]

Thanks for all of the information still_crazy, links links i have alot more research to do. I have taken Seroquel before, im not sure why I stopped taking it. I am afraid there will be nothing i can take