quiet storm Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 So. I saw my pdoc today and she wants to try 2mg of abilify as an add on to the brintellix I'm taking. I've never taken it before but I've been around long enough to read and hear about peoples abilify experiences and the first word that comes to mind when I think about Abilify is Akathisia. Seems like a shit ton of people get this on abilify, ranging from it was mild and went away to it was the absolute worst experience of their life. Needless to say, I'm nervous about it. I do not want to deal with that. Doesn't help that it's got a ridiculously long half life and if the shit hits the fan you might be screwed for much longer than another med. Is the akathisia usually worse with lower dosages or higher dosages? I know I read that it is more activating at lower dosages but is it the same for akathisia. The high rate of insomnia concerns me as well. I might just hold off. I do want to try it but I'm going on vacation in a week and a half for two weeks and the last thing I want is to turn into a hot mess because this stuff does me dirty. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickler Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) I was rageful on Abilify. But other people find that it's a wonderful med. No telling what camp you will fall into until you pop the pill. I actually found the reduced amount of sleep i needed useful, so I thought that was the good part. I assume it's covered for you insurance-wise. http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20130312/antipsychotic-meds-not-that-helpful-for-depression-study Not that helpful overall, but individual results vary. Edited June 25, 2014 by Stickler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiet storm Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 (edited) It's ungodly expensive on my insurance. $236 is my copay for a months worth(you should see what the insurance company is paying)........no shit. But, if it ends up working well for me I can do mail order for 90 days worth for $80. That's definitely doable. Until I find out if it's going to work my doc will give me samples. It goes generic next year I believe. Edited June 26, 2014 by quiet storm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetta Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I used to take Abilify with Lexapro and was fine on it. I went off due to the incredible amount of weight I gained (70lbs in 9 months). Not long after stopping the Abilify, it seems the Lexapro stopped working for me after 12 or so years on it. After trying numerous meds, I am now on Brintellix and feel pretty damn good today, which is a first. I have been miserable since January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderful.Cheese Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I take 30mg abilify. It never made me restless or sleepy or awake. Just kind of helped clear my mind in a big way. It got me out if a year long stay at the state hospital. The weight gain has been very minimal if any. Seroquel is what packs weight on me. Unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomposed Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 When my depression's being stubborn or is dangerously low, my pdoc adds on 2mg Abilify. Anything higher than that and I get restless, but 2mg seems to be my sweet spot. I slept less on it, but not to the point of insomnia. Rule of thumb was to take it in the morning otherwise I'd have troubles sleeping at night, and to skip the dose altogether if I forgot to take it in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I take 30 mg of Abilify for depression, and I did not have any problems with akathisia. I did have a lot of anxiety at first, but that settled down when my dose was raised. I do agree that it probably isn't a good idea to start a new med trial right before traveling if you will be traveling on your vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I take 45 mg Abilify and have had no problems with it. It has actually saved me because it minimizes the hallucinations. I agree that it isn't a good idea to start a new med right before you travel, but if you need to, do it. Maybe run it by your DR that you are going to wait until after your trip before you start it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiet storm Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 (edited) Good to hear some success stories. I think I will wait until after my vacation. Last thing I( as well as my family) want to deal with is some possible medication drama when I should be relaxing and spending time with my family. Taking it is not urgent. It's just something me and the doc think might even me out a little more. Thanks for all the replies. Edited June 26, 2014 by quiet storm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 It made me manic. I think others have said it made them manic, too. But I have also heard lavish praise for it from several people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Caused irritability, insomnia, agitation and akathisia in my case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianthus Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 There are meds that treat akathisia-- when I started Abilify, I had my doc write me a script for Cogentin right with it just in case. I'd had akathisia from another drug in the past and it was pretty horrible, so I wanted to have a plan in place. I had Cogentin and Ativan to take if I started having symptoms and was to discontinue the Abilify immediately. I ended up not getting akathisia at all from it, and I started on 10mg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie.goodair Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 My psychiatrist said "it's a med that 9/10 times will not suit people. But on the one in ten person it works so well that it's worth trying to see where you fall" For me, I'm definitely the 1/10. I used to suffer from mixed bipolar episodes frequently, I would be angry, violent, anxious, the whole lot. But Abilify has just calmed me down and made my mind "clear". I haven't needed a too high dose but still have had huge results, and I haven't had any side effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 At 2mg, it didn't cause me akathasia. At 10mg, it did. At 2mg, it was a good antidepressant, but I needed it as an antipsychotic. It was a good med at 2mg, but didn't do all I needed it to do, unfortunately. Hopefully, you'll see it help in adjunct with the antidepressant at the lower dose. It shouldn't cause too much akathasia, if any, and it'll lift your mood as well. Unfortunately, it is really expensive. Check out sylvan's link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiet storm Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 (edited) My psychiatrist said "it's a med that 9/10 times will not suit people. But on the one in ten person it works so well that it's worth trying to see where you fall" For me, I'm definitely the 1/10. I used to suffer from mixed bipolar episodes frequently, I would be angry, violent, anxious, the whole lot. But Abilify has just calmed me down and made my mind "clear". I haven't needed a too high dose but still have had huge results, and I haven't had any side effects. Funny your pdoc said that because mine raved about it. She said they prescribe a ton of it at their practice(there's like 4 psychiatrists). At 2mg, it didn't cause me akathasia. At 10mg, it did. At 2mg, it was a good antidepressant, but I needed it as an antipsychotic. It was a good med at 2mg, but didn't do all I needed it to do, unfortunately. Hopefully, you'll see it help in adjunct with the antidepressant at the lower dose. It shouldn't cause too much akathasia, if any, and it'll lift your mood as well. Unfortunately, it is really expensive. Check out sylvan's link.Good to hear and I hope it treats me that way. It's crazy expensive. Would cost me $236 for a months worth at a regular pharmacy. And that's after my insurance paid their portion. I thought brintellix was bad but abilify blows it out of the water. Geeeez.... But if it works out for me I can do mail order thru my insurance and get 90 days for $80. So I'm not too worried about cost. It's going generic next spring too I believe. I do have the coupon where you get the first month totally free. And there's a discount with the coupon every month there after. But if I read the fine print right I think I would still be better off doing mail order. Between that and samples I should be good for a couple months to see how it goes without paying anything. Edited June 29, 2014 by quiet storm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 My psychiatrist said "it's a med that 9/10 times will not suit people. But on the one in ten person it works so well that it's worth trying to see where you fall" For me, I'm definitely the 1/10. Me too. Abilify works great and Idk what I'd do without it. Like quiet storm said though, I'm surprised at the 9/10 not suiting people. My pdoc really recommends it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Yeah, I don't know where that 9/10 figure comes from or if it is at all accurate. Certainly, some people have trouble with Abilify, but a lot of people are helped by it (myself included). In fact, I probably could do a commercial for it. If it really were 9 out of 10 patients found it unhelpful, I question whether they would be making the money they do off it. My pdoc says that it is especially helpful for people with lethargic depression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiet storm Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 (edited) Yeah, I don't know where that 9/10 figure comes from or if it is at all accurate. Certainly, some people have trouble with Abilify, but a lot of people are helped by it (myself included). In fact, I probably could do a commercial for it. If it really were 9 out of 10 patients found it unhelpful, I question whether they would be making the money they do off it. My pdoc says that it is especially helpful for people with lethargic depression. It was the #1 selling drug in 2013. Of course the ridiculous price might have something to do with that....but still it says something. You dont make $6,000,000,000(thats not a typo) on something that doesnt work for alot of folks. I really cant wait to try it, but im going to wait until after my vacay. Edited June 29, 2014 by quiet storm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girl_interrupted Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I take 10mg of Abilify and I love it. It has been the best drug for me. It is expensive, which can be a drawback. My Pdoc recommended it because it had a lower risk of weight gain after zyprexa and I have no major side effects other than being a bit too happy for the first two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender fairy Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I take 7.5 mg of abilify in addition to effexor, and it has been really helpful for my depression. I have tried lowering the dose, and the suicidal thoughts came back. I did get some mild akathesia in the beginning on a 2 mg dose, but it went away. At the time, it really wasn't terribly bothersome. It hasn't come back even when I have increased my dose. Yes, it is a terribly expensive drug. I was afraid to try it out in the beginning because of the cost, but my pdoc's office helped me by filling out a prescription assistance form to pay for it when my insurance ran out (at the time, my insurance only paid for $2000 worth of meds for an entire year). I am glad I took the plunge and popped my abilify. I hope it works as well for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiet storm Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 So my vacation ends this weekend and probably going to try the abilify soon. Unfortunately, the brintellix I've been taking is not working out. Had a really bad spell here last week where the depression and anxiety came back with a vengeance. It's waxed and waned since. I seem to remember this when I tried lexapro years ago. It worked well for a few months and either quit working or turned on me. I'm starting to wonder if I just don't handle SSRI's well. But anyway, I'm probably going to ask me pdoc to go back on my steady ready......good old remeron. By chance I happened to be doing some reading on abilify and akathisia and came across a study where they said remeron actually helped with neuroleptic induced akathisia. Just about as well propranolol. Something to do with the potent 5ht2a antagonism remeron does helps counteract akathisia. So if I go back on remeron maybe that would help. I might not get akathisia at all but noce to know I might be already taking a med that counteracts it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiet storm Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 So my vacation ends this weekend and probably going to try the abilify soon. Unfortunately, the brintellix I've been taking is not working out. Had a really bad spell here last week where the depression and anxiety came back with a vengeance. It's waxed and waned since. I seem to remember this when I tried lexapro years ago. It worked well for a few months and either quit working or turned on me. I'm starting to wonder if I just don't handle SSRI's well. But anyway, I'm probably going to ask my pdoc to go back on my steady ready......good old remeron. By chance I happened to be doing some reading on abilify and akathisia and came across a study where they said remeron actually helped with neuroleptic induced akathisia. Just about as well propranolol. Something to do with the potent 5ht2a antagonism remeron does helps counteract akathisia. So if I go back on remeron maybe that would help. I might not get akathisia at all but it's nice to know I might be already taking a med that counteracts it. 15mg seems to be the sweet spot, which is what I usually take on remeron. Couple of studies that show remeron can be efficacious for antipsychotic induced akathisia:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18460588http://www.cnsspectrums.com/aspx/articledetail.aspx?articleid=3578 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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