Achieve
Visitor
Registered: June 2006
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Sat July 1, 2006
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Would you recommend this? No |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 1
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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none to report
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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heavy weight gain
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I became destabilized and gained @ 20lbs. In a short period of time.
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Beautiful_Pain
Poohbah
Registered: May 2004
Posts: 1211
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Review Date: Sat July 8, 2006
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Would you recommend this? No |
Total Spent: $25.00| Rating: 6
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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It helped with my auditory hallucinations
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Forgetfullness
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I couldn't remember things I had just done, if I had eaten or taken meds, even what I had just said. I, personally, will never go back on Abilify or recommend it to anyone. It did help, but the price of side effects were too high for me to continue.
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Suzy5654
Grand Member
Registered: May 2006
Posts: 907
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Review Date: Sun September 24, 2006
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 10
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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cleared up my delusional thinking & helped stabilize my mood
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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weight gain, sedation, have been unable to get long-term nursing home care insurance due to being on it
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Has been very helpful in stopping delusional thinking due to bipolar I, pretty stable mood-wise on it, but also take several other medications so it seems to be a combined effect.
Have gained about 40 lbs. on it & having trouble trying to take it off.
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complic8d
Grand Member
Registered: January 2005
Posts: 500
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Review Date: Tue October 3, 2006
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 7
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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helped bipolar II
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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side effects
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Abilify seemed to be helping me stay stabilized, but the side effects got so bad I had to stop it.
The side effect I experienced was akathesia. It's this inner feeling of restlessness, having to move (not tremors). They had to give me Inderal (a beta blocker) to help with this side effect while I was weaning off of it. It did seem to help with bipolar symptoms though, and I didn't experience any weight gain.
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YaYaYellie
Visitor
Registered: October 2006
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Mon October 23, 2006
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 9
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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gives me energy, works well with bipolar I
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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insomnia (even w/ambien)
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all around good drug for me.
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abilifyguy
Member
Registered: November 2006
Posts: 72
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Review Date: Wed November 1, 2006
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 10
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Fantastic drug
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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none
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No side effects for me. This drug (at 30mg/day) cleared my mind of intrusive thoughts and made me able to concentrate better. I'm more alert and able to live in the present. Disturbing thoughts that used to obsess me, I can now dismiss. I did have some insomnia initially, but got over it.
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cricks181
Visitor
Registered: October 2006
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Sun November 26, 2006
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 8
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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My self esteem has increased after just 3 short weeks.
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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dry mouth is terrible. I can live with it.
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I have only been on the drug for 3 weeks already my thoughts aren't as negative towards myself mainly. My self esteem is on the rise. I am tierd alot but that has to do with other health issues.
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Review Date: Sat January 13, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 10
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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It works, without side effects.
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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This drug has revolutionised my life. I no longer have the memory loss or fatigue associated with previous medication, and I am able to work and have a normal life again.
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joan2
Visitor
Registered: January 2007
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Fri January 26, 2007
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Would you recommend this? No |
Total Spent: $13.00| Rating: 2
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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abates hostility
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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fatigue,weight gain,increased blood sugar,word loss,foggy
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I would almost rather live with the symptoms than take this medication. It is a constant struggle to stay on the lowest dose I can manage. Weight gain and diabetes are certainly as upsetting as any mental illness.
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manic1
Visitor
Registered: February 2007
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Wed February 28, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 10
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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clear thinking, weight loss, no drowsiness, increased ability to concentrate
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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very expensive
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I've been able to lose some of the 80 pounds I gained while taking Zyprexa. I have absolutely no side effects with Abilify, and I take 30mg/day. The manic behavior is gone, I can concentrate better, there is no drowsiness or "drunk" feeling after taking the med, or no inner restlessness. On the bad side---if I didn't have insurance, I could never afford this medication.
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DePressMe
Magnate
Registered: March 2007
Posts: 2020
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Review Date: Wed April 4, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: $1.15| Rating: 9
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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No side effects. Helped with intrusive thoughts. Helped with psychosis.
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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takes forever to find the right dose
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Excellent med for me. No side effects and really helped me with intrusive thoughts and some psychotic symptoms.
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tawny762
Visitor
Registered: April 2007
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Mon April 16, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 3
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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gives some balance and stability.
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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wordloss, forgetfulness, weight gain, spacy. Too many side effects for me to deal with.
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hopefully my doctor takes me off of this. It doesn't work as well as I thought it would. It actually did things that I wasn't use to dealing with.
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Psychotic_Phil
Member
Registered: February 2007
Posts: 278
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Review Date: Fri April 27, 2007
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Would you recommend this? No |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 1
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Relieves psychosis
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Experience nausea, akatheisa, sleeping much less and tiredness.
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My opinion on Abilify is it is the worst drug I have tried since the onset of my illness. It relieves psychosis for sure, but the side effects, even at 5 mg are unbearable. I would not recommend this treatment to anyone.
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Orlin
Visitor
Registered: May 2007
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Fri May 18, 2007
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Would you recommend this? No |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 1
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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None
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Akathisia, depression, anxiety, insomnia, heartburn, drowsiness, cognitive impairment.
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My experience with Abilify was the worst of any med I've ever taken. I was close to suicidal by the end of three days of constant restlessness without a wink of sleep. I could not recommend this drug to anybody - I've heard of too many people having the same experience re: akathisia with this drug. Approach with caution.
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toocute
Junior Member
Registered: June 2007
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Mon June 11, 2007
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Would you recommend this? No |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 1
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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depression is gone; self-doubt & self-deprecation are lower
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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akathesia, blurred vision, constant vertigo, tiny pupils, even lower blood sugar, elevated blood pressure, loose stool, excessive thirst, weight gain, excessive hunger
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I've been on this medication for three weeks at a ridiculously low dose, and still have debilitating side-effects. I have been on leave from work for a week because I can't maintain accuracy with the vertigo (aka intense dizziness). The obsessive thoughts have definitely abated, as well as the depression. One really bad part is that I'm having more grandiose thoughts and more of them, and my pressured speech is more frequent too.
Bi-polar II is a new diagnosis for me, and we're just starting to test the drug therapies. I'm wondering if this drug just affects Bi-Polar II differently than Bi-Polar I. I sure hope that the other drugs out there aren't worse than this one.
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biplr4me
New Member
Registered: July 2007
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Tue July 31, 2007
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Would you recommend this? No |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 5
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Helps mood swings
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Kills off all of your emotions. You become numb. Very hard to get off of.
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I became a very numb. True to it's use that is what it's supposed to do. I got tired of it and went off of it with my Doctor's consent.Withdrawl is a nightmare when going off it. I finally felt better after 3 months. Unless your Bipolar cycles are out of control I would be reluctant to use it.
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lhanson
Visitor
Registered: August 2007
Posts: 12
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Review Date: Mon August 20, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 8
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Relieved depression, motivated energy.
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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nausea (in beginning), restlessness, sleep issues.
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Horrible nausea and thn uncomfortable stomach for the first week or two. Tiredness and blurred vision was very bad in the beginning, but once I shifted the time I took it to the evening, the tiredness wasn't a problem. The restlessness can get annoying.
I like the fact that I don't have to sleep as much while I'm on it because I have excessive sleep issues, but it does cause me to wake up throughout the night..but I still sleep hard and well.
Within the first couple of weeks, my severe and lingering depression subsided. It also helped with my excessive tiredness during the day by increasing my energy.
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wbl526
Junior Member
Registered: March 2007
Posts: 49
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Review Date: Thu August 23, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: $20.00| Rating: 4
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Made me calmer and more aloof so I'm not worrying about things all the time.
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Tiredness, Blurred Vision, Body Aches
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I'm very exhausted taking Abilify but I'm going to switch from taking it in the morning to taking it at night and see if that helps. I've only been taking it two weeks so hopefully the side effects will go away, I'll give it another week and see. I feel tired and restless at the same time all the time but I am calmer since starting Abilify.
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mystikraz
Visitor
Registered: August 2007
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Wed August 29, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 8
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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stability with Bipolar
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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felt drunk but went away after a few weeks
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I have been on a lot of meds in my life. This so far has been my miracle drug. I only had one side effect and it only lasted for the first couple of weeks then it went away. I felt a little drunk.
This has helped my temper,has made me stable with my Bipolar and has even helped with my depression.
It is very expensive if you dont have insurance though.
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ghostmed
Visitor
Registered: August 2007
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Wed August 29, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: $35.00| Rating: 8
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Finally fixed my bipolar issues - feel more stabalized, sex is great now, have emotion
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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first week was awful, had to go from 5 to 7.5 to 10 mg. Suffer from akathisia more and the price is high even with my insurance.
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I am getting medicated and can still have great sex. I never thought I would be able to type that sentence after Lexapro, prozac, wellbutrin, effexor, and cymbalta left me in ruins over the course of 10 years. After battling depression for years, I beat it only to suffer from bipolar disorder. Lexapro was incorrectly prescribed to me and made me feel like a zombie. Abilify is really good so far after my second week - though the first few days were a nightmare.
The Akathisia (restlessness) is pretty bad for me right now though - I am working on it.
Oh and take it at night. That is what I have been doing to get rid of most of the side effects (I sleep the side effects off).
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BerBer
Visitor
Registered: September 2007
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Sun September 2, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 10
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Stable Moods
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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None to speak of yet
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Just started the pill so I've only taken 4 pills so far without any negative side effects. I feel like I have more stable moods but am not sure if the Lorazepam (ativan) I'm taking has anything to do with it. I'll repost in a couple weeks to update.
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RedSmurf
Visitor
Registered: September 2007
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Sat September 15, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 6
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Happy/Stable
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Blurrrred Vision, slight drunken feelings
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2 weeks in Restlesness was intense not tremers though, just...cant freakin sleep...also on a BetaBlocker for the restlessness
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Derkon
Junior Member
Registered: September 2007
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Mon October 1, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: $3.59| Rating: 7
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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It removed 5 meds from my regimen.
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Price before insurance.
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I like the effects of this medication, but not the price.
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candi1128
Visitor
Registered: October 2007
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Tue October 30, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 7
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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helped my racing thoughts and negative thinking. also helped my daydreaming and manic episodes
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Agitated feeling; drunk-like dreamy like state (hard to explain because Im not daydreaming). Antsy but tired; axious but tired and have trouble sleeping through the night.
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I feel tired but antcy at the same time like I cant sit still but could go asleep; its very strange. Also Im very irretable and agitated and I have been waking up atleast 3 times a night. In addition I feel like high almost or not in a reality like state wich is also a very strange feeling. I thought at first it was from not sleeping that good (for the first week I couldnt sleep much), but last night I slept a good 8 hours and still feel this way. Also yesterday I became very anxious and felt like I was going to throw up. But this does help with my manic state and my extreme mood swings which can me pretty bad sometimes. Still Im not sure about this medication, ive only been on it for 2 weeks and when my Dr attempted to up me dose I became so tired I couldnt keep my eyes open at 6:00 at night (and I took the medication the night before). I was like that for about 3 days and went back to the lower dose. Im going to try it for another week and if the side effects do not subside Im going to stop it. I would recommend trying this if your as moody as I am and your mood swings are extreme (expecially the manic part) but if your more depressed then manic I wouldnt recommend it.
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Mr_Unstable
Junior Member
Registered: November 2007
Posts: 17
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Review Date: Wed November 21, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 8
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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No Side effects in my case, although I have that véry often with other medication. This is what made my psychosis totally dissapear after 6 years, because I never took the other ones because of side-effects.
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LR7218
Visitor
Registered: November 2007
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Mon November 26, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 1
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Made me less drowsy than other meds in it's class
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Side effects!
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I was really hopeful when I began taking this drug because of the chance that it would not make me so drowsy like drugs like Seroquel.
But the side effects came on pretty quickly and were really nasty. The worst ones were the restlessness and difficulty swallowing. Both side effects were so intolerable, I had to stop taking Abilify.
I won't not recommend it because I think it holds a lot of promise for other people.
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Barbarian
Visitor
Registered: November 2007
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Fri November 30, 2007
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Would you recommend this? No |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 2
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Somewhat effective for mania.
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Extreme anxiousness, such as grinding your teeth or sitting on the edge of your seat; weight-gain; muscle aches; very expensive for such ineffectiveness.
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Would I recommend this drug for any type of bipolar disorder? No. Hell no. One of the WORST drugs to take. It will make you so impulsive that you'll literally jump out of your seat and wish that you were totally out of your skin. On top of this, be prepared for your muscles to ache for apparently no reasons whatsoever. At least for me, this drug was MINIMALLY effective for mania. It does NOTHING for depression. For the price, this drug is terrible. It's ineffective and expensive. For the love of God, don't waste your money!
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CMac73
Visitor
Registered: December 2007
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Thu December 6, 2007
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 8
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Similar to Olanzapine nice effect without concerns
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Slight anxiety, swallowing more noticable but less at lower dose
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I am taking this drug at 5mg instead of Olanzapine for Bipolar Mixture Affective. I was on Abilify at 15mg before but was anxious and my swallowing was causing me concern. I liked Olanzapine but the side effects of the drug scare me. I have tried Largactil, Risperidone, Seroquel, Olanzapine and Abilify. I think I am going to go with Abilify at a low dose. Olanzapine makes you feel good mentally and Abilify gives me a good feeling but with side effects I am going to manage.
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ehrhar
Member
Registered: December 2007
Posts: 39
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Review Date: Tue January 15, 2008
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 7
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Good treatment for hostility, impulse spending
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Experienced akathisia at 10mgs went down to 5mg
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Feel kind of numb and have low self-esteem. Perhaps because of other medications. So not fair to judge Abilify for those isssues. But the hostility and spending issues definetly were reduced upon being medicated with Abilify.
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MatE
Visitor
Registered: December 2007
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Thu January 17, 2008
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Would you recommend this? No |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 5
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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don't know
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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can't sleep but sleepy all the time.
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Was prescribed this for depression for some reason. Don't want to be on it anymore.
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runnergrrl
Visitor
Registered: January 2008
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Wed January 23, 2008
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 2
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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Weight loss.
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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Sleep loss, nausea, stomach pain, extreme anxiety, jumping out of skin feeling.
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I am only on 10 mg so far. Working my way up to 15 mg. Don't know the cost yet due to sample packages. Side effects are terrible. I have not been able to eat due to really bad stomach pain. All I can eat are saltine crackers and Sprite. I have lost 5 lbs in a week and I am not overweight, I weigh 135 and I am 5'8". I can't sleep well either. Takes forever to go to sleep and then I wake up constantly all night. Very tired all day and would take a nap but I am scared that it will only add to the problems with sleeping at night.
I don't like the drug so far and I am considering stopping it. Although I don't want to go back on Lithium. Hopefully side effects will go away quickly.
**2 weeks later: I am off Abilify. It made me feel as if I was going to jump out of my skin. I couldn't sit still. I couldn't even watch tv for 5 minutes. Doctor said that side effect won't go away. Had to stop. Now I am trying to find a drug to replace lithium.
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alexx
Visitor
Registered: February 2008
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Sun February 10, 2008
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Would you recommend this? Yes |
Total Spent: Not Indicated| Rating: 4
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Positive aspects of this (pros):
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decreased the anxiety, cleared up the "brain fog", decreased repetitive/intrusive thoughts, decreased derealization
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Negative aspects of this (cons):
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restlessness the first few weeks (which does go away), extreme drowsiness/sleepiness later
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Not sure what's worse - the symptoms that it helped to decrease or the side effects it introduced, especially feeling sleepy during the day and extremely unpleasant feeling that I get every morning upon waking up (being in a weird "zombie"-like state between sleeping and being awake, unable to fall asleep again yet struggling very hard to try to fully awaken myself and get out of bed). I will probably have to decrease the dosage and if that won't work out - probably switch to something else. I will still recommend at least trying this drug since like with all of the drugs of this type it might still work for you with very little or no side effects.
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clskrock
Member
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