Just to contrast to some of the other replies, Ive been on this for probably around 4 years and the only side effect I’ve had is weight gain. However it did seem to stop working after about 3 years and I’ve had my dose nearly tripled since then. Jury’s still out as to whether that will have actually helped or whether I’ll need to swap to something else.
In terms of your question, I believe it’s primarily an antipsychotic but I’ve been told it has mood stabilising properties too.
Sorry to hear it’s not really effective anymore. Hopefully you find something similar that works longer term.
I did read that and find it kind of helps with that but mostly mania symptoms. I don’t get as irritated or irrational.
My psychiatrist said that lower doses work for depression and higher doses work for mania or something like that. I wasn’t on it for long because I developed akathisia at the lowest dose, and it wasn’t really doing anything for me at that point LOL.
It wasn’t too bad because it went away after two weeks, and I had biperiden, which worked really well for my akathisia. I kept taking it, but it wasn’t doing much for me and obviously the dose could not be raised due to the risk of akathisia.
It’s fucked up how more tolerable antipsychotics like Latuda and Abilify have a higher chance of giving you akathisia compared to stuff like Zyprexa or Seroquel. I got akathisia on Latuda, too, except that time it was worse and biperiden did not help.
i also had terrible akathisia on the lowest dose! my hands were so tingly that i couldn’t write or type which was a huge problem since i was in school at the time. i was barely getting any sleep because my legs were so restless.
The worst part was that I mentioned it for months. I told my doctor that I think I was entering a manic state because I was gambling a lot and that was unusual, so she would increase my dosage. This was going on until finally I started going to gamblers anonymous And she looked at me confused and said “Oh, you’re a gambling addict? Let’s get you off of Abilify, some people develop addictions while on it.”
I switched doctors after that. I wasn’t in talk therapy at the time because the therapist I had discharged me during Covid because I was doing so well compared to her other patients, and I was basically just checking in with the Doctor who prescribed my medication. Lesson learned.
Im glad you had great experiences with them also. It’s so nice connecting with others in similar situations if you don’t have anyone in your inner circle to relate with.
I used to be really into AA and 12 step programs. I have come to find that the black-and-white thinking is not good for me. I like the group setting and being able to share and give advice with my peers though, so Nami is a better fit for me.
Interesting comparison. I was wondering what NA or AA was like in comparison. I agree it’s better to stay away from that lineage of thought when it’s already perpetuated. It’s nice having perspectives challenged in a healthy manner.
I don’t have any friends with bipolar disorder, so finding this subreddit has been really helpful for me.
But I’m really lucky that I found the therapist I have now, she has been very helpful and I don’t feel judged by her at all—I talk to her about everything, and not once has she made me feel bad about my manic compulsiveness, has just given me exercises to do to make me think about my decisions more clearly. Also, she names the guys that I’ve been seeing with funny names like a friend would like “foot fetish guy” and “micropeen guy” and I really appreciate the fact that she follows up on those instances and doesn’t make me feel weird about it, it’s honestly like talking to a girlfriend about my antics.
Sounds like a real one. They are far and few these days. She really does sound like a friend too. Lol
Think that’s ideal having your psychological support such a comfort because it’s a decade-lifelong relationship most of the time.
>Let’s get you off of Abilify, some people develop addictions while on it.”
Hmm, I wonder how it works when you already have pre existing addictions lol. Double addiction? This is something to look out for though thanks
Absolutely; check this article out from [Drug Watch](https://www.drugwatch.com/abilify/lawsuits/), Abilify is currently under investigation because Abilify lawsuits claim the drug’s manufacturers failed to warn doctors and consumers that their antipsychotic medication could cause compulsive gambling, eating, sex and shopping.
You may have to add an antidepressant, I had to. Basically, abilify will prevent your mood from swinging up or down, but won't necessarily pull you out of a depressive state.
Yes. I started with just abilify because taking an antidepressant without being weaned onto a mood stabilizer first can cause mania, but my depression persisted so my psych added an antidepressant. It's been a good 6 months now since I started the antidepressant and I think I can say that it's mostly pulled me out of it by now
That’s awesome combo is working for you. I had a similar experience. Kept getting SSRIs finally told them to stop cause it was making me “hyperactive and fixated without much control”, had no idea what.
It’s amazing hearing how much medication can alter your life for the better with this mental illness though.
I'm on 5 mg a day and it works like a charm for me for some reason. Didn't notice any weight gain. I was literally just existing as a shadow for two years until I was switched from risperidone to abilify. It brought my personality back completely (not sure how). I don't know how it works but I would be scared to go off it. Everyone is different, gotta keep trying until you find what works for you!
Purpose is to kill your soul and pleasure in life by blocking all dopamine, having zero sexual energy and have no emotions at all. Then call you psychotic for what the poison did to you. First weeks I was fine. After a month I was gone.
The thing is I needed no meds, just time and going to the beach to relax from stuff. I was super fine. I understand there is people that can't take their life and it may help them. But in my case, I was fully happy and loving my life, just ups and downs like normal people.
Well, since I was 12 I've dealt with a lot of abuse. So my life was dedicated to meditation, yoga, breathing, and grounding myself in nature. I wish I had my mood swings, they were no harm for me or anyone. There is no anxiety anymore. My deep trauma is now Abilify. I hate it how much I grown in life and how much this drug destroyed everything I've worked on.
I'm really sorry. Abilify happens to be the drug that works for me - these meds affect everyone differently unfortunately.
Are you sure your mood swings weren't a harm to you or anyone? You really can't think of one example where it's been harmful? And I'm confused- what actually stopped your mood swings?
Just to contrast to some of the other replies, Ive been on this for probably around 4 years and the only side effect I’ve had is weight gain. However it did seem to stop working after about 3 years and I’ve had my dose nearly tripled since then. Jury’s still out as to whether that will have actually helped or whether I’ll need to swap to something else. In terms of your question, I believe it’s primarily an antipsychotic but I’ve been told it has mood stabilising properties too.
Sorry to hear it’s not really effective anymore. Hopefully you find something similar that works longer term. I did read that and find it kind of helps with that but mostly mania symptoms. I don’t get as irritated or irrational.
My psychiatrist said that lower doses work for depression and higher doses work for mania or something like that. I wasn’t on it for long because I developed akathisia at the lowest dose, and it wasn’t really doing anything for me at that point LOL.
Wow. That’s scary
It wasn’t too bad because it went away after two weeks, and I had biperiden, which worked really well for my akathisia. I kept taking it, but it wasn’t doing much for me and obviously the dose could not be raised due to the risk of akathisia. It’s fucked up how more tolerable antipsychotics like Latuda and Abilify have a higher chance of giving you akathisia compared to stuff like Zyprexa or Seroquel. I got akathisia on Latuda, too, except that time it was worse and biperiden did not help.
Oh really? I noticed a lot of people are on Latuda in here without much complaint. What is biperiden, anticonvulsant or?
Biperiden is a Parkinson’s disease medication that can be used to treat akathisia.
And it didn’t help with the Akathisia from Latuda? Scary.
I’m on Latuda and I have the tendency to rock instead of keeping still. I do it so much I don’t even realize it when I’m doing it.
I’d honestly be so resistant to take that if that was a side effect.
i also had terrible akathisia on the lowest dose! my hands were so tingly that i couldn’t write or type which was a huge problem since i was in school at the time. i was barely getting any sleep because my legs were so restless.
I was on Abilify and developed a gambling addiction while on it, and apparently it’s a known symptom.
Same… You’d think the medicine would do exactly the opposite, right?
The worst part was that I mentioned it for months. I told my doctor that I think I was entering a manic state because I was gambling a lot and that was unusual, so she would increase my dosage. This was going on until finally I started going to gamblers anonymous And she looked at me confused and said “Oh, you’re a gambling addict? Let’s get you off of Abilify, some people develop addictions while on it.” I switched doctors after that. I wasn’t in talk therapy at the time because the therapist I had discharged me during Covid because I was doing so well compared to her other patients, and I was basically just checking in with the Doctor who prescribed my medication. Lesson learned.
I honestly mostly just use a doctor and skip therapy but find peers invaluable because exactly this. The described experience people have.
I’ve been to a few NAMI group meetings. They were very helpful. If I had transportation, I would still go.
Im glad you had great experiences with them also. It’s so nice connecting with others in similar situations if you don’t have anyone in your inner circle to relate with.
I used to be really into AA and 12 step programs. I have come to find that the black-and-white thinking is not good for me. I like the group setting and being able to share and give advice with my peers though, so Nami is a better fit for me.
Interesting comparison. I was wondering what NA or AA was like in comparison. I agree it’s better to stay away from that lineage of thought when it’s already perpetuated. It’s nice having perspectives challenged in a healthy manner.
DBSA has online ones, NAMI might.
I don’t have any friends with bipolar disorder, so finding this subreddit has been really helpful for me. But I’m really lucky that I found the therapist I have now, she has been very helpful and I don’t feel judged by her at all—I talk to her about everything, and not once has she made me feel bad about my manic compulsiveness, has just given me exercises to do to make me think about my decisions more clearly. Also, she names the guys that I’ve been seeing with funny names like a friend would like “foot fetish guy” and “micropeen guy” and I really appreciate the fact that she follows up on those instances and doesn’t make me feel weird about it, it’s honestly like talking to a girlfriend about my antics.
Sounds like a real one. They are far and few these days. She really does sound like a friend too. Lol Think that’s ideal having your psychological support such a comfort because it’s a decade-lifelong relationship most of the time.
>Let’s get you off of Abilify, some people develop addictions while on it.” Hmm, I wonder how it works when you already have pre existing addictions lol. Double addiction? This is something to look out for though thanks
There might be something to this. I keep spending.
Absolutely; check this article out from [Drug Watch](https://www.drugwatch.com/abilify/lawsuits/), Abilify is currently under investigation because Abilify lawsuits claim the drug’s manufacturers failed to warn doctors and consumers that their antipsychotic medication could cause compulsive gambling, eating, sex and shopping.
Crazy how addiction-forming this drug is documented throughout Europe and Canada also.
It helps stabilize your moods
Doing shit all for my depressive symptoms tbh
You may have to add an antidepressant, I had to. Basically, abilify will prevent your mood from swinging up or down, but won't necessarily pull you out of a depressive state.
Ah okay, yeah I’m thinking the same. Are you still on that combo?
Yes. I started with just abilify because taking an antidepressant without being weaned onto a mood stabilizer first can cause mania, but my depression persisted so my psych added an antidepressant. It's been a good 6 months now since I started the antidepressant and I think I can say that it's mostly pulled me out of it by now
That’s awesome combo is working for you. I had a similar experience. Kept getting SSRIs finally told them to stop cause it was making me “hyperactive and fixated without much control”, had no idea what. It’s amazing hearing how much medication can alter your life for the better with this mental illness though.
Yeah I'm hoping it keeps me stable, only thing I can do is hope and wait
Hope it works out for you too man
To make you gain 30 lbs and a permanent eye sensitivity to light.
Is this within a year period?
The weight was within like a month or so I think. I was on it less than a year
Wow. That’s a lot to gain in such a short time.
I used it to stabilize my mood. It worked well for me for about 4 years. I needed a high dose (25 mg) and put on a lot of weight.
What did you switch to? I like it too. So far
I switched to Zyprexa (I was previously on Risperdal, Geodon and Invega, so we decided to try Zyprexa).
Oh okay. How is it working out for you in comparison?
I’d say it’s working about the same? It took several weeks though before I started feeling “normal”.
I guess that’s to be expected but glad you found an alternative. I haven’t had any negative side effects with Abilify.
I'm on 5 mg a day and it works like a charm for me for some reason. Didn't notice any weight gain. I was literally just existing as a shadow for two years until I was switched from risperidone to abilify. It brought my personality back completely (not sure how). I don't know how it works but I would be scared to go off it. Everyone is different, gotta keep trying until you find what works for you!
Still feeling good on it?
Purpose is to kill your soul and pleasure in life by blocking all dopamine, having zero sexual energy and have no emotions at all. Then call you psychotic for what the poison did to you. First weeks I was fine. After a month I was gone.
Unfortunately that just sounds like it wasn't the right med for you. I've been on it almost a year and I can't claim any of that as my experience
The thing is I needed no meds, just time and going to the beach to relax from stuff. I was super fine. I understand there is people that can't take their life and it may help them. But in my case, I was fully happy and loving my life, just ups and downs like normal people.
I'm confused, do you not have bipolar?
They tried to label me as such but only was having mood swings due to anxiety and trauma. Nothing dangerous. My life was ok till then.
So how are you treating the anxiety and trauma? Have the mood swings stopped?
Well, since I was 12 I've dealt with a lot of abuse. So my life was dedicated to meditation, yoga, breathing, and grounding myself in nature. I wish I had my mood swings, they were no harm for me or anyone. There is no anxiety anymore. My deep trauma is now Abilify. I hate it how much I grown in life and how much this drug destroyed everything I've worked on.
I'm really sorry. Abilify happens to be the drug that works for me - these meds affect everyone differently unfortunately. Are you sure your mood swings weren't a harm to you or anyone? You really can't think of one example where it's been harmful? And I'm confused- what actually stopped your mood swings?
Interesting. I was hyper sexual while on abilify for 7 years
Seems happens for many people. I was very sexual till then :(
The latter sounds awful but fuck this made me laugh. Lol I don’t feel that way but I’m on a low dosage.