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Posted 11/14/2005 2:54 AM (GMT 0)
just got put on this. dont know if anyone will answer. want to know whats its like???????????????
Posted 11/14/2005 4:32 AM (GMT 0)
I was on Abilify, as is Psychnurse. The side effects in the beginning were a pain in the butt. I slept for the better part of the first two days before the sedation effect began to diminish and I believe Psychnurse had some flu symptoms from it. Once you get over the first hill the stuff is great. I had alot of improvement with it. Shannon (psychnurse) sings its praises as well. Of course everyone is different.
The only lasting effect I experienced with Abilify is a total lack of appetite. Had to force myself to eat. Although being about 15 pounds overweight I wasn't pushing it too hard.lol Hope this helps.
Have a good night
Ellie
Posted 11/14/2005 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
Corey, Ellie is right, the side effects in the beginning are soooooooo difficult, but after that is over it is a miracle. I feel more stable than I ever have. It is wonderful stuff. Sandra
Posted 11/14/2005 2:58 PM (GMT 0)

Hi, Corey Jon!

Ellie and Arenace are right, so far it's excellent for mood.  But the side effects ohhhhhhh.   Thing is, if you hang in there, they will subside.  I actually quit it after the first day, becuase when I got up I threw my guts up and it lasted all day.   But, when I saw it work for Ellie and Arenace (Sandra) so well, I decided to give it another go.  This time, no nausea  but felt like the flu, had fever and ached all over, but it only lasted a day, no biggie.  The main deal like Ellie said was having to force feed yourself, that lasted for ME about 2 weeks, now I just eat a little bit at a time, you know, REASONABLE portions like we're supposed to?   I think that's an excellent side effect! *wink*.  No weight gain side effect either.  It doesn't make you sleep like Seroquel and the other antipsychotics, but it is one.  I still take two mood stabilizers and Seroquel and Klonopin, my mania is hard to control, but the blah mood improved drastically with Abilify.  Many people do extremely well with it alone.  Give it the usual 2 weeks, maybe less for you, everybody is very different, you know.   I bet you feel at least some better.  What else do you take?  What mg Abilify have you started on?  Lowest is 5mg and highest is 30mg, I believe, either 25 or 30 I don't remember.

Posted 11/14/2005 11:48 PM (GMT 0)
dangggggggggggggggggggg.  side affects are OPPOSITE for me. i cant stop eating:(  and wide awake.  10 a day. first day was all at once. then changes mind and 5 two times.  paxil killed feelings with wife alone (if you know what i mean.  NOW is the opposite. danggggggggggggggggggggggggg(
Posted 11/15/2005 12:03 AM (GMT 0)

Hmmm, well just goes to show ya everybody's different!   We ALL know SSRIs kill of sexual desire and response (another reason SSRI=bad, hehe), but are you saying that Abilify reversed that little problem???????  If so, YAY!  If that's not what you're saying, then what, it was kind of unclear.  The increased appetite I understood.

Oh, and I was wired at first, too.  Still have to take Seroquel and Klonopin to sleep, you may need to talk to your doc about something else for sleep, too.

Posted 11/15/2005 2:23 AM (GMT 0)
After I got over the sedation effect I had problems sleeping as well. I didn't even remember that until I read your post. I had to go from taking mine at bedtime to taking it first thing in the morning. I would feel wired for the first couple of hours and then it would even out. That never did disappear while I was taking it. But it was only for the first hour or two after I took it. It gave me a chance to get the housework done in the morning. A little boost to start out my day.
Hope it works out okay.
Ellie
Posted 11/15/2005 2:29 AM (GMT 0)
oh ya the problem is REVERSED alright. dangggggggggggggggggg. not used to it. im not a lover boy type:(  wife is happy.  sleeping is good. and seroquel never knocked me out.  everyone else can sleep on it.  keeps me up. go figure. im all backwards. confused
Posted 11/15/2005 4:09 PM (GMT 0)

Well, since it reversed CONGRATS!  Yay!   I'm sure your wife IS happy!

We're all backwards.  I can't sleep on Seroquel alone, don't feel bad I have to take Trileptal and Klonopin, too and still have trouble.  Geez!  You're lucky you're sleeping!

Posted 11/16/2005 3:48 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Psychnurse   Do you take the Seroquel, Klonopin & Amblify all together before bedtime?  or

do you stagger the times??   How much Seroquel do you take?

Posted 11/16/2005 4:38 AM (GMT 0)
I take Abilify 15 mg, Seroquel 50 only since both are antipsychotics and only supposed to be on one, Trileptal 900mg (sedating mood stabilizer) and

Klonopin 1mg all at bedtime.  The others I take in the day.

Never had any anxiety from seroquel, but at first had the restless legs, but that passed, now it's just a small adjunct to help me sleep. Was taking 250-300 before the Abilify. 

 

Posted 11/17/2005 3:49 AM (GMT 0)
dangggggggggggggggg. what others you take in day?? i thought i was loaded:(  i was on depakote, wellbutrin and klonopin. didnt work:(

Posted 11/17/2005 3:55 AM (GMT 0)

Yeah, I'm pretty loaded, lol.  Here is my schedule:

A.M.

Lamictal 200mg

Wellbutrin 200mg

3:00 P.M. Wellbutrin 200mg

P.M. redface

Seroquel 50mg

Klonopin 1mg

Trileptal 900mg

Abilify 15 mg

Whew!    What are you on now? 

Posted 9/18/2008 5:52 PM (GMT 0)
confused Hey guys, thank you for your open sharing. I was recently diagnosed with Bp and am a little scared of all this medication. They first put me on Seroquel which made me super sleepy. I have always been anorexic, but have it under control, so when I started to gain weight on Seroquel I flipped out and made the doc change my meds. I currently take 40mg of Prozac in the morning and 5mg Abilify at night. Had nausea and insomnia last night, which was my first night. Hoping it will go away. Loved the sleep and balance from Seroquel but weight gain will send me into a crazier state than I'm in right now! So... I'm feeling depressed today... What to do? Up the Abilify? Take Lunesta at night? Will Lunesta have me asleep for 12 hours? Grrrr. Thank you for any info or advice you can share.
Love, Sleepless in Vegas
Posted 9/19/2008 4:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Darling Nikki,

Welcome to HealingWell and to our board. You should understand that none of us are doctors, but my advice is to slow down and try to be a little more patient. None of these medications work quickly or absolutely. Abilify isn't the same kind of drug as seroquel. It's not going to knock you out at night. Give it several nights to work, and what you should feel is less manic-y. It's job is to keep mania at bay. Don't up your medications yourself (you risk throwing yourself into depression) or take Lunesta without asking your doc first. Give the doc a call and tell him/her you're not sleeping well and ask whether it's okay. You can ask your pharmacist as well.

Hope this is helpful.

serafena
Posted 4/25/2009 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
I am on Abilify and only take a half of a 15mg pill each night, it has been good for me but I have heard some nightmares from others for instance it made them anxious and it makes them have body spasms, this is what I am nervous about getting uncontrollable spasms because of abilify.  Does anyone know if this is a side effect of Abilify? Anyway sorry to paint a negative picture of abilify but at the same time as I said it calms me down significantly.  Hope that helps.

Posted 4/25/2009 11:11 PM (GMT 0)
I have been on abilify for about a year and i can tell you from my experience i have not had any spasms. The increased appetite is something that i think is coming from abilify for me.
Posted 4/26/2009 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
Hi imagination,

Welcome to HealingWell and the bipolar board.

I haven't heard of spasms, but everyone's different. I'm on Abilify too. Are you on anything else?

serafena
Posted 4/26/2009 2:59 PM (GMT 0)

Yes,

Lamictal 300mg

Abilify 30mg

Xanex 0.5 up to three times a day. Especially for sleep. I will wake up on and off all night with nightmares if I don't take this.

And a vitamin called Deplin. Have you heard of it? So far I have only used Deplin samples because it supposed to be so expensive and I think he will eventually take me off of them.

Have you come across anyone with chronic nightmares or could any of these drugs cause nightmares? Thanks

Posted 3/24/2010 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
HI everyone,

I was looking for advice on my taking Abilify....I have been on it for about a month now, it wasn't until I had gone up to 10mg that I suddenly started feeling really zoned out and like I could not concentrate. For example reading homework I wind up reading the same sentence several times, or doing a math problem makes me feel like I can't think straight. I am pretty upset about it because I want to feel like my old self to some degree, I don't like feeling like a zombie or like I am 'out of it'. I am afraid to cut back or stop taking it because I have had really good effects with diet and exercise since I have been on it. I have lost weight which I needed to do. Its like it has pro's and con's, but I still can't figure out if the cons are outweighing the positives or not.

Also I have this constant urge to tap my feet and move my legs around, its like I am feeling restless but tired all the time at the same time.
Posted 3/24/2010 8:11 PM (GMT 0)
I'm on abilify, but only 2.5mg because anything more and I get too manic right now and need seroquel to bring me back down to earth. at this low a dosage, it keeps me from getting to down in the ditches, and keeps me stable, but I'm also on Topamax 150mg a day.

Spring is always a manic time for me so I know in a few months I'll probally need a higher dosage.

I've had some problems with agitation and tremors, being too bouncy on it, but we're keeping that in check with kolopin, and now restoril for sleep (which doesn't seem to be working) . The low dose seems to help keep the side effects in check as well.

I went off the abilify for a while and went on seroquel, but I couldn't function inside a bubble, and put on 10lbs in 2 weeks, so the seroquel was a bad idea. I'd rather lose weight and be bouncy then sleepy and putting on pounds anyway.
Posted 3/24/2010 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
I had the trouble concentrating on abilify, as well a "akithisia" the twitchy feeling, plus really bad anxiety. Not cool.
Posted 3/24/2010 10:44 PM (GMT 0)

  Same for me. I had the adgitation and shakes, which they gave me some other med for. It helped a lot for me but when they gave me respridone it  was like the hand of god coming down and getting my mind right. Been on that almost 2 years and have been THRILLED with the effects. No shakes or adgiation, however hair loss and weight gain (darn why couldnt they be reversed) have been a minor issue.

    Bill

Posted 3/25/2010 2:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Anon,

Welcome to HealingWEll and to the bipolar board. I'm only on 5 mg of Abilify, because it agitates my mania. I had a terrible mixed episode last summer, partially triggered by Abilify. If you're not feeling okay, I'd definitely talk to your doc about lowering your dose or switching to something else.

serafena
Posted 7/30/2010 3:01 AM (GMT 0)
Abilify 7-10mg 1 time a week
Provigil 200gm in the morning
xanax 1mg at nighttime

I'm mild Bipolar and started out taking Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin alone weren't doing the trick. I was experiencing Panic attacks, I'd wake up in the morning early and for hours think about every negative scenario that life was going to take (Racing). I really believe I was paralyzed by fear. Than I went to see a New Psychiatrist and he put me on Zoloft, Wellbutrin (continued from before) and Abilify

When I first took Abilify it made me extremely sleepy and non-functioning. I think he gave me 5 or 10mg a day I can't remember but it wiped me out. I experimented and found that just 1 dose of 7.5mg of Abilify 1 time a week was sufficient. I take it on Saturday night and feel a little tired on Sunday but than I am functioning very well through the week to my next dose.

I eventually did further experimenting and stopped the Zoloft and the Wellbutrin they weren't necessary.


One of the reasons why I joined this forum is that I've had such a great experience with a low dose of Abilify and not using other Anti Depressants that I wanted to share the Off Label
use of Abilify alone to treat depression and Mania. It has worked as anti-anxiety, Anti-Depressant and Anti-Mania. I also feel that many are being overdosed on Abilify and reject it because of the symptoms of the High Dosage.

Naturally if your Bipolar is severe than you may need more than just Abilify or a higher dose but I wonder how many people
would be like me and have great results with a 1 a week low dose of Abilify. Last month as a experiment I stopped taking Abilify and I could feel depression coming on after about
1 week and 1/2 and I started the Abilify again. It was necessary to stop it so I could see the difference and how beneficial it is for me.

Provigil keeps me alert during the day. Xanax helps with Anxiety and makes me sleepy at night. And Abilify for it's mood
stabilizing features.

I will repeat again that I think that Abilify is very powerful and the prescribed dosages may be higher than what's really needed.
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