Over the past 2 months I’ve gained about ten pounds. Ten pounds is alot when you have a small build. My BMI is in the unhealthy range now. I don’t know what I’m gonna do! This makes me feel like coming off my antipsychotic, theres no telling how bad my metabolic numbers are.
On the plus side I’ve decreased abilify significantly with my pdoc approval.
Also my teeth are getting yellower, maybe as a result of dry mouth from the abilify.
Be warned. There IS weight gain on abilify. Is it just me or does every antipsychotic ruin your physical health? The old ones make you twitch and the new ones make you fat and shorten your lifespan.
I really feel like going off my medication or exploring better options. (Lumateperone doesn’t work!)
I might even do it in the next several months with a gradual taper. Going down to 7.5 abilify.
I gained weight on Abilify also, my Pdoc poo poo’d me and said it was because I’m lazy.
Most of the meds made me sleep too much and gain weight- not something I tolerate well.
Did find that 50mgs daily Topamax added to my meds kept my weight in the normal range. Only noticed this when I ran out of it and couldn’t get a refill for awhile.
I requested a refill from said pdoc who said sure if I thought it would work. It did.
I’ve heard Topamax causes cognitive impairment in many users. So You’ll have to understand if I say I don’t wanna try it. I have enough cognitive impairment to deal with as it is. Abilify makes me dumb and listless, which translates into not getting anything done. The illness itself has a similar effect I think. So what if I add on Topamax (some people call it Dope-amax) and I find myself completely cognitively bad. Not a chance I want to take. Have you noticed any untoward effects of Topamax on your cognition/memory?
I’m on 30 mg of abilify and have to say I was an anxiety dwelling spastic case. Dr put me on saphris and Xanax which feels like two shots of vodka at night. Topamax didn’t cause weight loss for me and was on max dosage. It did make me talk and then in mid sentence forget what I was saying. And I felt fuzzy/foggy. Yuck
Wow, I am SO screwed hearing y’all talk about Abilify! They put me on 30mg until I get the shot (it’s court ordered so I have to get it cuz I kept going off my meds) and I’m also on 600mg Seroquel. I already look like the Pillsbury Doughboy…what will a few months bring? Will my fingers be so fat I can’t even hit the keys on my keyboard?!? Nooooo…
Hmm revisiting this message. I am a recovering anorexic. I’m still skinny but have muscle. I get teased called buns and guns. Anyways, I’ve been on abilify for a year and hasn’t caused me to gain any unwanted weight. The weight I’ve gained has been on purpose and weight lifting. Meds have different side effects for different people. To be blunt I would rather be an elephant than deal with a mental illness! If the abilify works I’d say bring it on and try and exercise some. But is your body size or stability your priority?
Don’t lose all hope. Not everyone reacts the same to meds. The two times I’ve been on aripiprazole I stayed the same weight once, and lost weight the other time
Edit: Now that I think about it since I went kind of on aripiprazole (added 5mg to my olanzapine) about a month ago I’ve lost 5kg, though I can’t be certain of it being a causal relationship
Everyone reacts differently to meds. I was on Abilify tablets for a while, now I’m on the injection, and I never gained weight from either. The only AP that caused significant weight gain in me was Zyprexa, but I still took it because I’d rather be chubby than batshit crazy.
I’ve gained so much over these past few years…and I’m still psychotic.