pacanuck Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Hi...I'm thinking of asking pdoc to try Amblify...current cocktail is not working..has anyone tried and had success with this? I know that YMMV - but the mania is really getting in the way of work etc. and I'm seeing pdoc on 6/7 - he may have his own ideas (I'm sure) but I'm also interested in what other's experiences. I appreciate your replies. Thanks! Have the best day possible. Cyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimpmaster Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Hi...I'm thinking of asking pdoc to try Amblify...current cocktail is not working..has anyone tried and had success with this? I know that YMMV - but the mania is really getting in the way of work etc. and I'm seeing pdoc on 6/7 - he may have his own ideas (I'm sure) but I'm also interested in what other's experiences. I appreciate your replies. Thanks! Have the best day possible. Cyd Hi, Do you mean Abilify? I take it for schizophrenia. I am finding it to be very effective. As far as AP's go, its the weakest and also the most activating, so this may be an issue if you are prone to mania. Definitely worth talking to the Dr about though as it is an excellent medication in terms of effectiveness and side effect profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacanuck Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 ahhh yes..I did mean abilify....thanks for your response. I will look into it more chip. Hope you still do well on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batou Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Do you mean Abilify? I take it for schizophrenia. I am finding it to be very effective. As far as AP's go, its the weakest and also the most activating, so this may be an issue if you are prone to mania. Abilify the weakest AP? Do you mean least potent? I thought Seroquel is considered the least potent of the APs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocd-man Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 I am BP II. I take 20mg of Abilify. It works great. I would give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacanuck Posted May 20, 2006 Author Share Posted May 20, 2006 Thanks ocd-man..I think I'll bring it up. (In conversation that is..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dire Curves Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 at one time adapted to 20 and had to take 40mg, according to doc, and started getting 'tics' so that was the end of that. BP NOS i am and unfortunately every atypical antipsych hasn't worked for me. my suggestion try it at low dosages, if no good discuss Geodon or Serequel with doc. my opinion- dire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMF Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 I saw you are taking Effexor, too....check with your PDoc about taking an antidepressant and AAP. While this hasn't happened in our case, using AAP's and antidepressants can send you into mania. DD uses Effexor and Geodon and it, along with Trileptal, has stabilized her but when she's swinging she tends to be more depressive (when down) than high-high when up (I don't think she's ever experienced full blown mania). If you have psychosis, the Geodon has done o.k. but not completely removed the hallucinations (neither did the Abilify). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 Abilfy 15 mg. seemed to help my BP2 for a while, but after my last hospitalization (last week) they increased it to 20 mg. and added lamictal to be my main modd stabilizer. I see my own shrink on Monday (rather than the hospitals shrink) and she may change my meds some more. Tommy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacanuck Posted May 20, 2006 Author Share Posted May 20, 2006 Thanks for mentioning the effexor..i've been tirating down and should be off it soon. The topamax will be going up...just in limbo and wondering if things could be better...I'm sure they could be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimpmaster Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 According to my p-doc, the potency scale for AAPs is (strongest to weakest) in terms of treating psychosis: Clozpaine-->Olanzapine-->Risperdal-->Seroquel-->Abilify Now dont get me wrong, abilify is the most activating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMF Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 I've been doing a little research on this subject and found this site interesting: http://www.chovil.com/second.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loon-A-TiK Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 Granted, I have BP1, but hopefully my discussion on the topic will prove helpful. After all, BP is a spectrum disorder. Abilify worked...to make me mixed and cycle in and out of hypo/depression/hypo/depression several times in the same hour. Usually my cycles are at least within a week, not hours. I refuse to touch the stuff ever again. My pnurse tried to push it on me a couple of times and that particular pnurse got FIRED for her attempts. I see a pnurse now who knows that if he tries that shit he'll get shit-canned. Personally, I don't know your symptoms and I'm no pdoc, but if possible I'd stay clear of antipsychotics unless you NEED them. Maybe some BP2 people do NEED them, but they're potent (at least they knock me on my ass) and are handed out too readily in my opinion. Lamictal and Topeamax are great drugs, along with Li and Depakote. But you're talking to someone who has ran out of AAP options and is now on Haldol- Loon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaRufina Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 I would definately wait until you have gotten off the Effexor to see how you are feeling after that. It could make a huge difference. The Topamax/Lamictal combo has been a really good one for me and, in the very least, it could contribute to the manias. [ha. oops. I think I was tired... meant the effexor could be contributing, not the topamax/lamictal. eek sorry.] Is the xanax for anxiety? Does it help if you are manic or does it make you non-functional? I do agree with not taking an ap if you don't need to and you may not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacanuck Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 Thanks for the responses...that's a good suggestion. I'm slowly getting rid of the the effexor - and the xanax is for anxiety..it helps if I find I can't get out of the anger loop - either that or another visteril. The more I read, the more I agree - staying off of an ap if poss. would be best. It will be interesting to see what no effexor will be like. It will make a difference to be sure. Thanks so much for the help - as always it's great to come here for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unipolarbear Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 If I remember from the abilify site, it helps you if your up or down. I think it's a good addition if you're already sort of stabilized, like with Lamictal or whatever. Visit www.abilify.com. I was taking 20mg but hat was too activating. Then I went down to 5mg a day. Now I'm on 10mg every other day. I know it's weird but it seems to work well this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherBP Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 I see Abilify advertised in People mag for bipolar...so it must be good. BTW you could be on to something=Ambien + Abilify =abilify. It could be marketed as a good nite sleep w/o all those annoying hallucinations. Then it would be tier3 drug and I would pay $60 copay even though I could get it from Canada for $60 w/o insurance. Oh Yeah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadic Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 My depression is treated very well with Abilify. I take 5 mg twice a day because 10 all at once makes me manic. There's lots of options with Abilify and BPII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacanuck Posted May 29, 2006 Author Share Posted May 29, 2006 I have an appt. on 6/7 - once I show him my mood chart (downloaded and printed off a very pretty one from here --> http://healthyplace.com//communities/Bipol...chart_blank.pdf and let him know - he may have his own ideas. I'm down to opening 1 pill (with granules) and taking the contents in three doses. Discontinuation isn't too bad...mostly just a headache. It would be nice though to not have to worry about what kind of day it's going to turn out to be - I love the euphoric days...but they would happen more often if I had my way! Just a game of wait and see...such is life! Thanks for your help guys - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk8Punk49 Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 i know you've had a lot of responses about this, but i thought i'd share my experiences too. abilify is my wonder-drug. before i started it, almost a year ago, i had severe med-resistant BPII with really harsh lows. pdoc and i tried everything under the sun (lamictal, prozac, wellbutrin, etc). after about a month on each one, i would almost develop an immunity to it, and the symptoms would return. but i've found that abilify allows me to keep my wits about me (on lamictal i felt completely drugged) as well as keep my emotional balance. of course, your results will vary, as you already know, but i think its definitely worth mentioning to your pdoc, if you'd like to try it. its worked wonders for me. ...hannah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacanuck Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 Came back from appt. and did end up with abilify. 15 mg bid. Thanks for all of your replies - not only that - but I even learned how to spell it!! haha Cyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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