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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by slance6226 on February 15, 2004, at 11:35:50
My pdoc started me on Abilify last Thursday. I'm at 10mg + 200mg of Lamictal which I've taken for several months. In 4 days I am having some annoying side effects. I feel like I'm on speed. I can't sleep, have no appetite, feel edgy and jumpy and like I want to crawl out of my skin. Has anyone else experienced this with Abilify. I am wondering if these SEs will go away as my body adjusts, or if this is just how Abilify works? Anyone had experience with this?
Posted by lauram on February 15, 2004, at 14:28:20
In reply to Help: Abilify Side Effefts, posted by slance6226 on February 15, 2004, at 11:35:50
I am Bipolar and was put on Abilify for about one month. I began to experience a great amount of anxiety, agitation and serious lack of sleep. This med may work for some but please contact your doc as to these side effects. I had to stop as I just could not take this anymore. After switching to Depakote the symptoms went away. I am switching from Depakote to Lamictal because of the side effects and the Lamictal seems to be working very well for me.
Posted by rainee on February 15, 2004, at 14:51:13
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effefts » slance6226, posted by lauram on February 15, 2004, at 14:28:20
I have been on abilify for severla weeks for bipolar II it has helped. I have that speedy feeling also. He said take 5mg a day. I cut that in half and trying it every other day. I take a benzo to help with the anxiety.. I'm not depressed anymore and I like that. I'm hoping my body will adjust. I also heard it stays in the system a long time. I don't know I have some hope with this drug. I'm giving it more time.
Rainee
Posted by Sebastian on February 15, 2004, at 15:32:49
In reply to Help: Abilify Side Effefts, posted by slance6226 on February 15, 2004, at 11:35:50
Yes I have, every time I take it, which I don't do anymore. Those side effects are clasic for abilify. They won't go away. I would stop taking it and try to recouperate for the next couple weeks.
Posted by Tom G on February 15, 2004, at 16:10:48
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effefts » slance6226, posted by Sebastian on February 15, 2004, at 15:32:49
Slance,
Do a search on "akathesia" or "akathisia". Not sure what the correct spelling is. This sounds like what your going through. I had this on 15mg day of Abilify and had to quit. It took over 2 weeks for it to go away on 15mg. Abilify has a super long half life. It is the worst side effect I have ever had on a med. I couldn't stop moving. Benadryl is supposed to help and it actually did only for about two days for me, but after that the agitation started again. Other meds may help too, but my pdoc told me there is no "real" cure. He gave me a choice to stop Abilify or lower the dose and I chose to stop it. Good Luck
Posted by agencypanic on February 15, 2004, at 17:29:37
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effefts, posted by Tom G on February 15, 2004, at 16:10:48
> Slance,
> Do a search on "akathesia" or "akathisia". Not sure what the correct spelling is. This sounds like what your going through. I had this on 15mg day of Abilify and had to quit. It took over 2 weeks for it to go away on 15mg. Abilify has a super long half life. It is the worst side effect I have ever had on a med. I couldn't stop moving. Benadryl is supposed to help and it actually did only for about two days for me, but after that the agitation started again. Other meds may help too, but my pdoc told me there is no "real" cure. He gave me a choice to stop Abilify or lower the dose and I chose to stop it. Good LuckI just started taking abilify at 15mg about 9 days ago. I've been experiencing a great deal of anxiety
over the past two days, but don't know if this is due to the abilify or if it's just my schizoaffective disorder
getting the better of me.
Posted by slance6226 on February 15, 2004, at 19:42:07
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effefts » slance6226, posted by lauram on February 15, 2004, at 14:28:20
I think I may do the same and cut my dose from 10mg to 5mg. The speedy feeling and the lack of sleep is too much for me. 10mg seems like a high dose to start on.
Posted by slance6226 on February 15, 2004, at 19:44:53
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effefts, posted by Tom G on February 15, 2004, at 16:10:48
> Slance,
> Do a search on "akathesia" or "akathisia". Not sure what the correct spelling is. This sounds like what your going through. I had this on 15mg day of Abilify and had to quit. It took over 2 weeks for it to go away on 15mg. Abilify has a super long half life. It is the worst side effect I have ever had on a med. I couldn't stop moving. Benadryl is supposed to help and it actually did only for about two days for me, but after that the agitation started again. Other meds may help too, but my pdoc told me there is no "real" cure. He gave me a choice to stop Abilify or lower the dose and I chose to stop it. Good Luck
This seems to be the general concensus... I'm glad I asked. Thanks everybody for getting back to me on this. I really appreciate it.
Posted by Sebastian on February 15, 2004, at 22:04:32
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effefts, posted by slance6226 on February 15, 2004, at 19:44:53
Read this:
Posted by Lazarus on February 16, 2004, at 19:03:21
In reply to Help: Abilify Side Effefts, posted by slance6226 on February 15, 2004, at 11:35:50
Abilify has been a godsend for me. Of all the antipsychotics that I've been on, Abilify is the only which has removed the "conflicts" from my mind.
The secret to using Abilify is to keep the dosage low; 2.5 mg to 5 mg daily. Abilify is expensive for a reason; there's nothing else like it on the market.
Lazarus
Posted by kellyr on February 16, 2004, at 20:42:23
In reply to Help: Abilify Side Effefts, posted by slance6226 on February 15, 2004, at 11:35:50
> My pdoc started me on Abilify last Thursday. I'm at 10mg + 200mg of Lamictal which I've taken for several months. In 4 days I am having some annoying side effects. I feel like I'm on speed. I can't sleep, have no appetite, feel edgy and jumpy and like I want to crawl out of my skin. Has anyone else experienced this with Abilify. I am wondering if these SEs will go away as my body adjusts, or if this is just how Abilify works? Anyone had experience with this?
I just started taking Abilify 15mg. three weeks ago and I'm having the same problem I'm going to jump out for my skin and having a hard time seeing and sleeping(what was a problem in the first place). but it worked clearing my head up.
Posted by cybercafe on February 16, 2004, at 23:47:59
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effefts, posted by Lazarus on February 16, 2004, at 19:03:21
> Abilify has been a godsend for me. Of all the antipsychotics that I've been on, Abilify is the only which has removed the "conflicts" from my mind.
>
> The secret to using Abilify is to keep the dosage low; 2.5 mg to 5 mg daily. Abilify is expensive for a reason; there's nothing else like it on the market.
>
> Lazarus
>
>Agreed
Posted by rainee on February 16, 2004, at 23:50:09
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effefts, posted by Lazarus on February 16, 2004, at 19:03:21
I agree I dropped my dose to 2.5. My nephew who is a p-doc at John Hopkins told me not to give up on it. too tweak it. I'm no longer depressed.
have energy . I'm not throwing in the towel yet.
Rainee
Posted by Lazarus on February 17, 2004, at 18:15:15
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effeftsm (lazarus), posted by rainee on February 16, 2004, at 23:50:09
Congratulations.
Lazarus
Posted by slance6226 on February 17, 2004, at 22:42:55
In reply to Re: Help: Abilify Side Effeftsm (lazarus), posted by rainee on February 16, 2004, at 23:50:09
Good for you. My pdoc gave me a script for Benztropine (sp?)... it's taken the edge off and I think I'll be able to give abilify a fair shot now. Let's check in with each other.
Sadie
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