![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Elanor Roosevelt on August 17, 2008, at 19:55:51
thinking about a new approach
any stories would help
thanks
Posted by med_empowered on August 17, 2008, at 20:16:51
In reply to Abilify success stories, posted by Elanor Roosevelt on August 17, 2008, at 19:55:51
I went through a no-meds period and went crazy...as in, I had to dragged off the streets and put into a hospital crazy.
Turns out...I had "psychotic mania".
In the hospital they used Haldol and Depakote (old school, I know, that place was a total hell hole). BUT when I get my own shrink, I got switched over to Abilify (20mgs/day) plus the depakote and some sedatives (klonopin, ambien) for as-needed use.
I'd kind of like to lower the dose of Abilify (I'm just worried that 20mgs is overkill) or go off of it completely now that the psychosis has passed, but...its pretty good stuff. No twitches, no dysphoria, no muscle stiffness/tremor.
I didn't get akathisia. My shrink says that w/ Abilify the "akathisia" is a little more complicated than your usual akathisia; apparently higher doses are considered more "soothing" and produce less anxiety/agitation (this is according to my doc; I don't really know of any data that supports this).
I had tried Abilify before, but my shrink maxed to out to 30mgs. I wouldn't recommend the max dose unless you have some sort of "Sybil"-level madness going on...for me, at 30mgs, the Abilify may as well have been Haldol (dysphoria, muscle twitches, etc...I needed a beta-blocker to keep taking it, then I ditched in completely).I've also found lower doses to be helpful if you're in paranoia/agitation land but not quite PSYCHOTIC; it kind of takes the edge off things for a while so you can chill and get your sh!t together. I wouldn't say it has an "antidepressant" effect so much as it can make life a little more bearable if you're agitated as hell. I'd personally recommend having a benzo on hand if you're going to take it.
Good luck.
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on August 17, 2008, at 20:46:49
In reply to Re: Abilify success stories, posted by med_empowered on August 17, 2008, at 20:16:51
I take it (along with Lexapro and Lithium) to help with treatment resistant depression. It has been a miracle drug for me. It helped when so many others did not.
Best,
EE
Posted by dbc on August 17, 2008, at 21:12:54
In reply to Re: Abilify success stories, posted by Emily Elizabeth on August 17, 2008, at 20:46:49
Dexedrine + a benzo is the best combo i can come up with for my dysthymia/adhdi/panic/social phobia/etc. Although its also the worst combo for obvious reasons. They're both very uncomplicated and predictable drugs from the user side of things. Doctors are a different story...
/me waits for the anti-amphetamine troll to come out from under the bridge
Posted by dbc on August 17, 2008, at 21:30:48
In reply to Re: Abilify success stories, posted by dbc on August 17, 2008, at 21:12:54
Sorry about that.
Posted by llurpsienoodle on August 17, 2008, at 23:03:22
In reply to Re: woops wrong thread, posted by dbc on August 17, 2008, at 21:30:48
Hi ER,
I took abilify for ? a year? something like that. First I took 5mg, and there was remission of PTSD flashbacks, then some breakthrough episodes, then I raised it to 10mg (got that "soothing" feeling, too)Lately, I d/c because I haven't had any PTSD symptoms in a year.
I've been on seroquel, geodon, and by far abilify has the fewest SE and least sedation.
best of luck,
ll
Posted by emme on August 18, 2008, at 6:21:29
In reply to Abilify success stories, posted by Elanor Roosevelt on August 17, 2008, at 19:55:51
It has worked well for my depression at a dose of 2.5 mg. The nice thing is it kicked in within about 5 days - no waiting for weeks. I also take Lamictal. Abilify is more or less clean for me, but I do feel some tiredness and reduced stamina from it.
Posted by Jeroen on August 18, 2008, at 12:15:30
In reply to Re: Abilify success stories, posted by med_empowered on August 17, 2008, at 20:16:51
hi, too bad of what happened to you but youre not alone i think i have similar condition
i take abilify too 10 mg with sulpiride 200 mg twice a day
Posted by theo on August 24, 2008, at 8:34:23
In reply to Elanor, posted by Jeroen on August 18, 2008, at 12:15:30
Posted by Jeroen on August 24, 2008, at 8:46:19
In reply to Curious, do you'll take Abilify morning or bedtime (nm), posted by theo on August 24, 2008, at 8:34:23
in the morning
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on August 24, 2008, at 11:40:01
In reply to Re: Curious, do you'll take Abilify morning or bed, posted by Jeroen on August 24, 2008, at 8:46:19
Posted by mandra on August 28, 2008, at 18:49:53
In reply to Re: Curious, do you'll take Abilify morning or bed, posted by Jeroen on August 24, 2008, at 8:46:19
most definitely bedtime ... makes me sleepy
Posted by Jalisca on July 3, 2009, at 13:39:00
In reply to Abilify success stories, posted by Elanor Roosevelt on August 17, 2008, at 19:55:51
I was completely antisocial, (social phobia and psycholic episode) and now I'm a person again after years and years of antidepressants. Its great. Hopefully things will continue as they have...
Posted by kiddo718 on July 4, 2009, at 18:08:52
In reply to Abilify success stories, posted by Elanor Roosevelt on August 17, 2008, at 19:55:51
For the last month this drug has been a success for me too. I had been on Emsam + Lunesta for 6 weeks and except for the skin rash I still felt like I was on no antidepressant at all. But adding 1 mg of abilify (I break them in half) made a big difference in just a couple of days. This surprised me because I had been on abilify before, with nardil and by itself during an antidepressant washout. Both times I was unable to sleep more than 2 hours a night, and the second time I also felt an all-over ache, the sort of muscle soreness one might feel during the flu. But I was desperate enough to try it again and I'm glad I did, because in this combination and dose the side effects aren't bothering me (I've got a little insomnia but that's better than being too depressed to wake up).
Curious though - I thought taking as little of it as possible was the key to making it less overwhelmingly stimulating but based on what others have said maybe I should give higher doses a try if the side effects of the low dose get to be a problem. For now, as tentative as I feel about saying this after 20+ years of switching meds for minimal relief, I actually think this is working. (To be fair I've also been in IPT for a few months and maybe that's part of it).
-K
PS: I take the abilify in the morning because of the stimulation issue.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.