Aripiprazole for bi polar

Hi Louise!  I have been on Abilify for just over a month now and within days I could feel a positive change in my entire being.  I know that it doesn't work for everyone but for me I feel as though this drug has saved my life.  I had been on the brink of suicidal thoughts and extremely depressed to the point I was crying everyday for no good reason.  I have had no side effects other than my appetite has increased however I just choose healthy snacks and have the fruit and veggies cut up in the fridge ready for my when hunger strikes me (weight gain is common on these types of drugs I'm told)

i have never felt like a zombie (like other meds can make you feel) and I'm more focused and find my moods are much more stable.  I am getting more done around the house in a month than I have gotten done in a year.  I'm a much more positive person, I laugh with my children and I'm hopeful and proactive in my treatment.  It is definitely worth a try, it has saved my life!  I am on 7.5mg a day in two doses, I take 5 mg in the morning and 2.5 at lunch.  It may take some juggling to find the correct dose for you, I started at 2.5mg and worked my way up to the dose of 7.5mg. I should add that the only other med I take is Lyrica and it really helps for my anxiety related symptoms.  The two drugs combined are a god-send for me!  Keep me posted on your journey....good-luck!  Julie

Hi Louise

I'm afraid I didn't have a very good experience with aripiprazole. It gave me anxiety which really affected all facets of my life, including my work and even my driving (I had a minor crash which I put down to the aripiprazole being a major contributor). I went on it as I was trying to get off lithium. I ended up changing over to valproate and lamotrigine; this is the best combination  for me and I am really happy with it. I'm the best I've been since I was a teenager, before I started the whole mood disorder thing and that's 25 years ago! 

Anxiety is a common side effect of aripiprazole occurring in 1/100 to 1/10 people. So that means it doesn't occur in everyone. It's an effective medicine in many people (like Julie, which is great!) so it shouldn't put you off; just being aware that there's  a chance of this side effect, monitoring closely for it and seeing how you go. You can always go on something else.

If you're having problems with your medicines and if you are only being seen by a plain psychiatrist I'd recommend you try and get referred on to a professor in psychiatry; the real experts. It was a really good professor who put me on the lamotrigine and valproate. I wish I'd gone on it years ago. I'd been complaining about lithium for years and the plain psychiatrists I saw never wanted to change it. Remember, you can always go private. It's expensive, but I believe it's worth it.

I was put on Abilify years ago because of bi polar diagnosis.

I experienced no benefit whatso ever, indeed I still remember the mini stroke I had when first given full dose in hospital.

Side effects creep up on you, you don;t notice the dry mouth, cough, runny nose etc.

I felt depressed and suppressed when taking them, and constipated!

I stopped taking them six months ago and have felt one helluva lot better. More clear and in control, decisive and actually living with a little zest for life.

I have been depressed most of the Summer and wasn't looking forward to the dark gloomy Winter, but recently an incident triggered a massive hyper episode.

My mind was on overtime so I harnassed the power and redisgned my living room from top to bottom, out with the old and impracticle and in with the improvements.

If I was you I would seriusly consideeeer the ppotenetially fatal side effects of taking Abilify..

As it is your body it is also your brain, I no longer want mine chemically controlled.

Obviously everyones lifestyle is different, if you need the drug to function, then its a no brainer, take it and hope for positive results.