domovoi Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 has anyone here taken abilify for bipolar depression? did it help? pdoc is thinking of starting me at 5mg for depression. lamictal doesn't do the job completely. i can't increase lamictal because i can't afford to get any more stupid or lose any more memory. thank you beforehand for sharing your experiences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetkat Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Abilify is actually known for helping depression symptoms pretty well, moreso than the other AAP's.. so it sounds like an excellent choice. It's often a add-on for people with only depression as well. I'd definitely give it a try and see how you fare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Abilify can help a great deal with BP depression, but it can also be too activating for some folks. You could try it. If it's too activating, seroquel is approved as an add on to treat bp depression, and is the opposite of activating. I always tell bipolars who are considering abilify to make sure they have a rescue mania plan in place ,but i have a thing about that (abilify put me in psych hospital for a month because I went batshit). Not saying that will happen to you, just that it is possible. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y58 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Abilify can help a great deal with BP depression, but it can also be too activating for some folks. You could try it. If it's too activating, seroquel is approved as an add on to treat bp depression, and is the opposite of activating. I always tell bipolars who are considering abilify to make sure they have a rescue mania plan in place ,but i have a thing about that (abilify put me in psych hospital for a month because I went batshit). Not saying that will happen to you, just that it is possible. Anna Anna, what does "too activating" mean? What does it look like in a patient or how does it feel to the patient? Thanks-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahalo Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I use abilify and it did help my depression. As far as being activating i think it made me a little anxious until i got on an AD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Heh, y, "activating" means increased energy, which i suppose could take many forms. If it's doing the job correctly, it might rescue one from sitting on the couch in a depressive funk, which is a good thing. It can either raise or lower anxiety I would guess, depending on one's reaction to it (abilify is one of those love it or hate it drugs). Akathesia is a very common side effect (being unable to stay still, wanting to jump out of one's skin) so it's important to know that about abilify (and there are meds to counteract akathesia if the drug is otherwise working well). I got hellish akathesia, an inability to sleep, and a florid manic episode where i was actively psychotic after 3 days on abilify. But, I am also one of those folks where it's like, i Can Not Touch Serotonin in my brain..... other bp folk can do just fine on it, for various reasons.... It's definitely worth a shot, but the important thing to know is that if it becomes a "hate it" drug, then there are other options, too. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scatty Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 It helped my depression greatly, but caused me anxiety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netsavy006 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 It made improvements in my mood when I went on Abilify, but it caused akathisia, so I had to go off of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBooger Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 has anyone here taken abilify for bipolar depression? did it help? pdoc is thinking of starting me at 5mg for depression. lamictal doesn't do the job completely. i can't increase lamictal because i can't afford to get any more stupid or lose any more memory. thank you beforehand for sharing your experiences I did well on Abilify plus Lamictal. I was on the Abilify for about a year. The only reason I switched to Geodon was weight gain and I couldn't take any more if it. Kept the paranoia and delusions away, made the nightmares stop, and generally worked in that fashion. I believe it did pull me out of depression, too. I remember crying to my dr. the day he decided to prescribe it and I haven't cried in his office since then. Overall I liked it, I just didn't like blowing up like a balloon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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