Abilify

It sounds like maybe you would know better how about this new medication if you give it time to work and wait to draw conclusions until you've experienced its full effect. As far as feeling nothing , I can relate to that but I just never minded not feeling things; but then again I'm a single person with no serious relationships going on at the present time. At any rate good luck to you and I hope you can find a satisfying medication to rely on. Everyone says it's a matter of experimenting Perhaps this new one is the right one for you !

Hi,

many years ago i tried lamotrigine (Lamictal) and it worked really well for me, better than any of the other drugs i had tried. Until i developed a severe eye condition that i suffered with for more than 18 months (backwards and forwards to GP & eye hospital where they told me it was blepharitis - inflammation of eye lid - still had it 3 months after last visit to hospital). i read all the small print on p.i.l. and discovered eye problems/conjunctivitis was a very rare side effect of the drug. My eyes were permanently red raw, permanently watering & wet, which led to corners of my eyes being chapped. Very painful.

I asked to stop taking it and less than a month later my eyes were back to normal. It was miserable living with my eyes in such a condition for so long, yet not one doctor made the connection with the lamotrigine. It was only through me being vigilant that remedied it. I had no other side effects with the drug and was gutted to come off it as it was the only drug that didn't destroy my sex drive.

I also tried aripiprazole (Abilify) at that time but it gave me horrendous jitters & agitation - quite a common side effect apparently.

Most antipsychotics, & antidepressants for that matter, cause weight gain - which is a total bummer because you end up feeling depressed because your clothes no longer fit!

I now take 200mg quetiapine & 75mg venlafaxine & they have worked reasonably well together for approaching 6 years. I still get mood swings, & episodes of low mood, they're just nowhere near as severe as they used to be and so I manage.

I'm not even sure it's possible to achieve full long-term remission, certainly not with type II bipolar anyway.

But whatever the drug you take, it takes 2 weeks to leave your system once you stop taking it and 2 weeks to build up in your system when you start taking it.

And don't forget you'll have a cross-over period when both medications are in your system. So if it was me I'd give any treatment 6 weeks before assessing how effective/ineffective it is. Unless you have severe reactions/side-effects that is.

On the weight gain front, I've managed to get mine down & keep mine down by eating a very low carb/high fat diet, similar to the keto diet but with added fruit fibre to keep digestion ticking along (this way of eating was recommended by a GP at my practice because i was also having chronic digestive problems).

I cut out all refined/ white starchy carbs including sugar and anything containing added sugar (white mass produced bread, pasta, rice, cereals, wheat based products, cakes, sweets, choc etc), and obtain 95% of all the carbs my body needs from eating loads of green vegetables/salads while also eating plenty of natural full fat dairy products & oils such as grass fed butter (Kerrygold), Greek yogurt, cream, cheese, olive oil, coconut oil & avocadoes. I eat usual amounts of good quality lean protein (fish, chicken, steak etc) and have substituted sugar in my hot drinks with xylitol (a natural sugar alternative derived from tree bark) which your dentist will tell you is also good for your teeth as it inhibits the growth of bacteria in your mouth.

I eat small amounts of potato & spelt bread occasionally.

If like me you have a problem with constipation because of the medication you have to take, then the following recipe (also given to me by the same GP) will help.

Choose a small cup or beaker as your measure.

1 cup dried pitted dates

1 cup dried pitted prunes

1 cup dried figs

1 cup raisins

1 cup currants

1 cup of apple or pear juice (not from concentrate)

Place all ingredients into food processor and blend until slightly rough but even consistency. Store in airtight container in fridge. This is a recipe for a natural laxative.

I put 2 dessertspoonsful on Greek yogurt with a drop of pear juice, top with walnuts, blueberries & raw unpasteurised honey and eat it for my breakfast. You can increase or decrease the quantity you need to eat every day depending on your individual needs.

I also walk for an hour most days.

As a result of all this I've gone down 1½ dress sizes and lost 12kg.

I also, through trial and error, managed to work out what was the lowest possible but still therapeutic dose of my medications, and this also helped with initial weight loss.

I feel massively better physically, and feel better mentally because i feel in control of my weight and can fit in the clothes of my choice. And i no longer resent the bipolar medication for making me fat.

Hope some or all of this helps.

Good luck 😊