just got put on this. dont know if anyone will answer. want to know whats its like???????????????
i dont make promises i dont keep
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
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
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
Sandra
BP brings new meaning to Life's Little Ups and Downs
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.
Bipolar disorder in one word: Intensity
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(
i dont make promises i dont keep
i dont make promises i dont keep
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.
Bipolar disorder in one word: Intensity
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
Hope it works out okay.
Ellie
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. 
i dont make promises i dont keep
i dont make promises i dont keep
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!
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?
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.
dangggggggggggggggg. what others you take in day?? i thought i was loaded:( i was on depakote, wellbutrin and klonopin. didnt work:(
i dont make promises i dont keep
i dont make promises i dont keep
Yeah, I'm pretty loaded, lol. Here is my schedule:
A.M.
Lamictal 200mg
Wellbutrin 200mg
3:00 P.M. Wellbutrin 200mg
P.M. 
Seroquel 50mg
Klonopin 1mg
Trileptal 900mg
Abilify 15 mg
Whew! What are you on now?
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
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
Serafena
Co-Moderator, Bipolar Forum
Bipolar II
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
Serafena
Co-Moderator, Bipolar Forum
Bipolar II
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.
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.
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
Serafena
Co-Moderator, Bipolar Forum
Bipolar II
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
Serafena
Co-Moderator, Bipolar Forum
Bipolar II
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
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.
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.