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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 IAMtheWalrus on May 31, 2008, at 13:03:33
Anyone have good luck with abilify for depression and/or anxiety?
-W
Posted by Phillipa on May 31, 2008, at 13:10:02
In reply to Abilify for depression and anxiety, posted by IAMtheWalrus on May 31, 2008, at 13:03:33
What's this about it being good for depression? Heard low doses good for anxiety. Good luck. Phillipa
Posted by IAMtheWalrus on May 31, 2008, at 13:11:29
In reply to Re: Abilify for depression and anxiety » IAMtheWalrus, posted by Phillipa on May 31, 2008, at 13:10:02
> What's this about it being good for depression? Heard low doses good for anxiety. Good luck. Phillipa
I've heard it's good for both
-W
Posted by Maria3667 on May 31, 2008, at 17:39:20
In reply to Re: Abilify for depression and anxiety » Phillipa, posted by IAMtheWalrus on May 31, 2008, at 13:11:29
My experience is, it's bad for both! But I only took half the dosage (5 mg/per day) so may be I'm not a good point of reference.
Take care,
Maria> > What's this about it being good for depression? Heard low doses good for anxiety. Good luck. Phillipa
>
> I've heard it's good for both
>
> -W
Posted by bleauberry on May 31, 2008, at 19:34:36
In reply to Abilify for depression and anxiety, posted by IAMtheWalrus on May 31, 2008, at 13:03:33
In two large studies abilify monotherapy was not more effective than placebo for depression. Anecdotally people here seem to get a better response from it as an augmentor to an antidepressant. Some people do really bad with it and some people do really well with it. Like anything else. People seem to get different effects from different dosage sizes. Generally speaking, from reading posts here, it seems like low doses are more activating while higher doses are more calming. But sometimes it's the other way around. My doctor wrote me a script for abilify but I haven't filled it yet. He said he just started someone else out at 30mg. Yikes.
Posted by IAMtheWalrus on May 31, 2008, at 22:00:11
In reply to Re: Abilify for depression and anxiety, posted by bleauberry on May 31, 2008, at 19:34:36
> In two large studies abilify monotherapy was not more effective than placebo for depression. Anecdotally people here seem to get a better response from it as an augmentor to an antidepressant. Some people do really bad with it and some people do really well with it. Like anything else. People seem to get different effects from different dosage sizes. Generally speaking, from reading posts here, it seems like low doses are more activating while higher doses are more calming. But sometimes it's the other way around. My doctor wrote me a script for abilify but I haven't filled it yet. He said he just started someone else out at 30mg. Yikes.
Yeah, i'm using it to augment Prozac.
-W
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on May 31, 2008, at 22:46:10
In reply to Re: Abilify for depression and anxiety » bleauberry, posted by IAMtheWalrus on May 31, 2008, at 22:00:11
It has been a dream drug for me. I take 20mg plus 20 mg of Lexapro and 600 mg Lithium. It has helped with both depression and anxiety. I say go for it!! :)
Best,
EE
Posted by IAMtheWalrus on June 1, 2008, at 10:44:05
In reply to Re: Abilify for depression and anxiety, posted by Emily Elizabeth on May 31, 2008, at 22:46:10
> It has been a dream drug for me. I take 20mg plus 20 mg of Lexapro and 600 mg Lithium. It has helped with both depression and anxiety. I say go for it!! :)
>
> Best,
> EEThanks EE, i'm very happy for you!
-W
Posted by Tomatheus on June 2, 2008, at 20:51:47
In reply to Abilify for depression and anxiety, posted by IAMtheWalrus on May 31, 2008, at 13:03:33
> Anyone have good luck with abilify for depression and/or anxiety?
IAMtheWalrus,
I currently take 5 mg of Abilify for schizoaffective disorder and could not tolerate the medication at 10 mg because it made my depressive symptoms that much *worse*. I do not notice any antidepressant benefits at my current dose of Abilify, but I would say that I am somewhat less anxious than I was before I started the medication. When I was hospitalized, one doctor told me that I seemed to be extremely less anxious on Abilify than I was before I took Abilify, but I question how "extreme" the reduction in my anxiety was.
Please realize that my experiences with Abilify are most likely unrepresentative of the general population or even the population of patients that take the drug. Most antipsychotics worsen my depressive symptoms if I stay on them for more than a day or two; this has been the rule for me since I began experiencing psychotic symptoms last year, but I understand that *I* am the exception.
I also recall reading that Abilify was recently approved for the add-on treatment of depression, which suggests that it may be helpful in treating depressive symptoms despite apparently not being effective enough to earn FDA approval as a stand-alone treatment for depression.
So, it seems like Abilify might be useful at reducing depressive and/or anxiety symptoms, even though it doesn't sound like the most potent treatment for depression that's out there.
Tomatheus
Posted by emme on June 3, 2008, at 16:49:07
In reply to Abilify for depression and anxiety, posted by IAMtheWalrus on May 31, 2008, at 13:03:33
> Anyone have good luck with abilify for depression and/or anxiety?
Yes indeedy. It works well for my depression along with Lamictal and focalin and xanax. This combo keeps my depression and anxiety reined in.
emme
This is the end of the thread.
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