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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by anodyne on March 18, 2005, at 9:33:07
Hello all. I had to give up on the Nardil due to the side effects. Mainly the general stupidity and a feeling of detachment, it felt like I was on acid. Still much less benign than SSRIs and the diet was not that hard to adjust too.
I saw my Pdoc the other day and he decided to give an atypical anti-psychotic a try for my social anxiety (I guess because nothing else has worked).
I was wondering what the side effects of starting Abilify usually are. The first night I took it I woke up covered in sweat and feeling nauseous but it passed after a minute or two. The last two nights I woke up at 4:30AM and could not go back to sleep. I am currently taking Xanax XR .5mg at night to help me sleep.
Does anyone else have any experience starting Abilify? Do these symptoms pass? I am currently taking 5mg at night, perhaps I should be taking it in the morning?
Has anyone else taken Abilify as a mono therapy or in combination with a benzo for social anxiety with any success?
Thanks!
-Dan
Posted by upsndowns on March 18, 2005, at 11:46:05
In reply to Starting Abilify, posted by anodyne on March 18, 2005, at 9:33:07
I take Abilify for BPII and take 5mg in the am, so perhaps that instinct of yours about taking it in the morning is correct. I find it is rather anxiety-producing for me, and that is a commonly reported side effect here for many, along with akathesia, so you might not find it the correct medication for your social anxiety. Good luck.
Posted by CareBear04 on March 18, 2005, at 16:36:16
In reply to Starting Abilify, posted by anodyne on March 18, 2005, at 9:33:07
hi-- i tried abilify about a year ago for about two weeks. i started at 10mg and stayed there. maybe it was too high a dose at first. a lot of people say it's activating, but for me at first, it put me to sleep. i took it in the morning and napped on and off during the days. after awhile, the sedation went away, and i think it became more activating. one pdoc suspected that abilify + zoloft could be too much serotonin for me. i would have been willing to try abilify for longer, but i started having hallucinations, and my pdoc put me on trilafon, an old AP. the hallucinations turned out to be from ambien, so the problem went away without need of an AP. i don't know about social anxiety and abilify. i took it mainly as a mood stabilizer.
Posted by Phillipa on March 18, 2005, at 17:28:21
In reply to Re: Starting Abilify » anodyne, posted by CareBear04 on March 18, 2005, at 16:36:16
I thought Abilify was an antipsychotic? Fondly Phillipa
Posted by CareBear04 on March 18, 2005, at 18:10:06
In reply to Re: Starting Abilify, posted by Phillipa on March 18, 2005, at 17:28:21
yep it is, but doctors prescribe the atypicals for just about anything. i've taken risperdal and zyprexa for anxiety and depression, seroquel for sleep, and abilify as a mood stabilizer. all of them were also supposed to slow my thoughts down. i guess it also depends on the dose with psychosis at the high end and other indications at lower dosages. i can't even imagine... if i was so sleepy and hungry on 2.5mg of zyprexa, what would it be like to be on, say, 15? eek!
Posted by hffcookie on March 18, 2005, at 20:51:51
In reply to Re: Starting Abilify » Phillipa, posted by CareBear04 on March 18, 2005, at 18:10:06
my pdoc wants me to take 5mg of abilify to "lift" myself from this depression diagnosed as "refractive" or rather, "resistant"....
i haven't started it yet in hopes that my 45 mg of remeron (generic is all i could get at 2 different pharmacies - you have to special order the brand name Remeron sol's because no one uses them now that the generic is available.) sol tabs will be enough...so far no dice but only increased 2 days so far from 30 mg.
anyone have a really great reaction to low dose abilify?
holly
Posted by upsndowns on March 18, 2005, at 21:21:36
In reply to as a mood lifter in low dosages?, posted by hffcookie on March 18, 2005, at 20:51:51
I take 5mg Abilify and have for over 8 months now with trials at 7.5, starting at 2.5 to get to this dose and find that this is perfect for me. I am very sensitive to dosages and am diagnosed BPII and find that it helps tremendously with the depression and lack of affect, but adds a lot to the anxiety side of the picture, for which I am having to add buspar and zyprexa and my cocktail is growing rather than shrinking. On the other hand, I took every category of AD and nothing, but nothing, worked until I hit upon Abilify, so why complain. I just do not think such powerful drugs are meant for use to alleviate social anxiety or other diagnoses which do not, in my book, necessitate the use of such powerful drugs. Perhaps, though, the researchers have not really found the right drug for those with anxiety disorders and the atypical AP's are really the answer....only time will tell.
Posted by anodyne on March 18, 2005, at 23:13:45
In reply to Re: as a mood lifter in low dosages?, posted by upsndowns on March 18, 2005, at 21:21:36
">I just do not think such powerful drugs are meant for use to alleviate social anxiety or other diagnoses which do not, in my book, necessitate the use of such powerful drugs. Perhaps, though, the researchers have not really found the right drug for those with anxiety disorders and the atypical AP's are really the answer....only time will tell."
I hear you, I was a little disturbed when my pdoc mentioned an antipsychotic but I have run the gammet on everything else. From what he told me, while it is classified as an antipsychotic, it really works to slow down your thoughts and can act like a mood stablizer/ antioxlic for some patients. This is one of those off label uses that is reserved for cases when nothing else works I guess.
Only time will tell but so far I have had only minor insomnia. I took my dose during the AM this morning so hopefully that will help.
How long did it take you to start feeling the effects? As long as an SSRI? I am only on day 4 but I swear a feel a slight improvement.
-Dan
Posted by upsndowns on March 19, 2005, at 9:43:29
In reply to Re: as a mood lifter in low dosages?, posted by anodyne on March 18, 2005, at 23:13:45
I respond quite quickly to most medications, so felt some relief within days, but the full effect took several weeks. I have recently been reminded that the first week or so I was very groggy after taking it in the morning, so don't be unprepared for that if it happens. It definitely has lifted my mood, sometimes it is a bit too much for me though hence my additional doses of things like Buspar and tranxene. Doc has also thrown in recently a mini-dose of zyprexa........all because the Abilify dose of 5mg really isn't enough but it is as high as I can go. Hope you start noticing better effects soon and feeling well, that the mood stabilizing effect kicks in, but do not be surprised to find it takes a full month or so to feel the best effects and give it time. Glad it is giving you some immediate hope, though, this says you just may have hit on the right drug.
Posted by anodyne on March 19, 2005, at 13:20:24
In reply to Re: as a mood lifter in low dosages? » anodyne, posted by upsndowns on March 19, 2005, at 9:43:29
Thanks for the info. Hopefully this insomnia thing will go away. I had this exact same problem when I tried Wellbutrin XR, insomnia for a week then back to normal. Sometimes its hard for me to tell what is the side effect of a medication and what is due to just lack of sleep. Not sleeping is by far the most anxiety producing thing for me.
I am hoping the same thing as well with regards to the early response. It defenitly feels much different than an SSRI. I cannot tolerate those meds.
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