Anyone else taking Abilify for Bi Polar Disorder?

@cwilson26 (2735)
United States
March 6, 2009 5:57pm CST
If so what side effects do you have with it? Here is my story:I have Bi Polar 1 disorder which I believe is the one where you have mania and depression. Well that is what I have, mania and depression. I was put on 400 mgs. of Seroquel almost two years ago along with Zoloft. The two seemed to help but then my husband went to jail and I asked for the Seroquel to be reduced to 200 mgs. because I would be by myself for 3 months and I would need to be able to wake up in case of emergency. If anyone has taken or still does take Seroquel then you know that 400 mgs. knocks you out totally and you cannot wake up until you wake up on your own. I liked that at first because I could sleep the whole night through without being wakened by my husband when he would be on the phone really early in the morning with his mom. Also he has a bad habit of having the t.v up loud in the morning and our trailer is small. So I was reduced to 200 mgs. and it was fine at first. Then it seemed I was still sleeping too much so a few months ago I asked for it to be reduced to 100 mgs. It still made me sleep too much and I hated it so I quit taking it suddenly. I tried to call my doctor and ask her if I could quit taking it but I couldn't get a hold of her so I just quit taking it altogether. Big, big mistake on my part. I started having suicidal thoughts, thoughts of self worthlessness, and I would actually lay there at night and think of ways to commit suicide by dying in my sleep. The only thing that stopped me was thinking of what it would do to my family. My mom already lost one child 16 years ago and I couldn't do that to her again. So I decided to compromise with myself and cut the dosage in half to take 50 mgs. of Seroquel. It seemed to help me sleep without making me feel groggy during the day and it quieted my thoughts of suicide and self worthlessness. I still wanted off of the Seroquel for good though. Oh and I forgot to mention that I was also put on Klonopin for my nerves. Anyway, I recently went to see my doctor and told her what happened. She put me on 5 mgs. of Abilify and I am still to take the Zoloft and Klonopin with no change. I am also still to take the 50 mgs. of Seroquel until I go back to see her at the end of April because she said the Abilify will take two months to kick in. Yeah right, I think they have kicked in because I am experiencing all kinds of side effects. My first side effect began on the first day of taking it. I woke up, ate breakfast and took the Abilify. I was tired all day and she said it wasn't supposed to make me tired. I then remembered the commercial about Abilify side effects and one of them was low blood sugar. So I bought a candy bar and I immediately felt better. So now I have candy and orange juice on hand when I need it. Another side effect I experienced today and I am still experiencing it. Agitation. I don't know if it is a side effect but I didn't feel this way before taking the Abilify. I feel so agitated that I am having trouble writing articles for Associated Content and Demand Studios. I am also having trouble writing blog posts. I am typing too fast, faster than normal and have been finding all kinds of typos in my writing. I cannot concentrate on just one thing at a time. I start to write an article and have to switch to a blog post, then to checking email, then to forum posts. I also have to get up and walk around a little bit because I can't seem to sit still very long. I am also smoking more than usual and that is not good at all. I took one Klonopin a little while ago to see if it would help calm me down and it didn't. I took another one and am waiting to see if it helps. I am only supposed to take one Klonopin a day but I have to find something to help calm me down. Sorry this is so long and if you have read this far, thank you very much. Has anyone taking Abilify experienced these side effects or others? If so, how did you cope with it and how long before they went away if they did? Thank you for reading such a long post. I would like to hear any and all experiences from people taking Abilify whether for Bi Polar or depression.:)
1 response
@iridium (431)
15 Mar 09
I've taken abilfy and seroquel for depression but at much loower doses than you're taking about. the seroquel just put me to sleep, like you say and i felt horrid for a couple of days when i stop taking it but the abilify was greatg and really helped me. I' about to start taking it again soon i found it really help with my concentration and i got so much more work done when i was taking it. agitation is a known side effect of it it got it at about 15mg
1 person likes this
@cwilson26 (2735)
• United States
15 Mar 09
I am on the 5 mgs. of the Abilify and the side effects have gone. I am feeling much better now with it and have been able to concentrate more to work too. I like it much better than the Seroquel because it doesn't make me sleep too much and it doesn't make me feel tired all day. I am glad it is helping you too. I should have known the side effects would go away because I have been on so many different medications. Thanks for hsaring your experience with me. :)