I took it a long time ago, it did not help though.
Hmmm. Thank you all so much for your great feedback and input! It sounds kind of like the side effects are different for most of you. But it seems like it’s similar to haldol where it’s sedating but also causes restlessness.
Anyone here tried haldol? It gave me an extreme reaction, I think they called it dystonia, it was horrible I couldn’t control the movements of my jaw, it felt like I was going to break my teeth and was incredibly painful. So that’s why I’m nervous to try it. Although the doc says since Abilify is newer the side effects should be less, and if we start really low it should be ok.
I take 5 mgs in the morning. Before, it would give me extreme akathisia but my psychiatrist prescribed a drug called artane that knocks it out and makes me relax
I am a dude !
You’re correct ! I’m a dude !
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Abilify did the same thing to me at the same dose of 20mg. Now my tongue won’t stop moving.
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I was on 10mg for 1 week.
I felt less blunted and sedated than on haldol, but I was extremely restless, pacing up and down. And my psychosis didn’t go away from it. I even wonder if I got more psychotic and fearful instead of less, in retrospect. For me, it was much more stimulating than haldol in good and bad ways. I can see how it’s good for other people because I could actually still be active and emotional on it… but not for me.
They wanted to later retry it on a 30mg dose, but I kindly refused.
Oh and uhm, yes, I tried haldol and am still on it. On regular doses (2-3-5mg) it’s horrible. I feel like a zombie and have scary side effects. On my current lower dose I’m okay(ish).
I was on 15mg for a little while and it did nothing for me. Seroquel is my baby
Abilify is one of the safer AP’s you could go on.
This is why psychiatrists like to prescribe this med.
With that said I had a hard time on Abilify.
It made me way too anxious and paranoid.
I was actively hallucinating on this drug.
But it could turn out to be your miracle med.
Everyone reacts differently to these meds.
I felt horrible on Abilify.
I was dizzy, disoriented, about to pass out, and physically shaking.
Speak to your pdoc about the new td med Ingrezza
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Abilify made me restless agitated. I basically went into a slow decline in mental health. I also had a lot of hair loss. I think one other user here experienced that as well(hair loss). I’m on resperidone now. It’s similar to invega but more mild and it’s tablets now. So I can control my dose as needed. I also didn’t loose any weight on abilify. So it’s kinda useless for me. Also I think anything with mood stabilizer effects really mess me up. I have no mood tendencies.
I am on 25mg Abilify (been on it for 3 to 4 years) at bed time and it works wonders for me.
However, I also take a slew of other meds to cover the side effects… propanolol for tremors, metformin for sugars, trazodone for sleep, vistaril and klonopin for anxiety.
When I first started on Abilify, I couldn’t sit still at all. Overtime, that has improved where now I can sit and binge shows with my husband.
I skimmed the responses, but abilify is the best ap that I’ve ever been on in 20 years tbfh. I pair it with saphris atm. But though abilify makes me a bit volatile, it doesn’t hurt and actually is good for my heart. A win win combination. I was way too aggressively impulsive on 30 mg, 20 mg seems a good fit for me. Seriously I’m very drug resistant and have long qts and this is essentially the only med for me…just try and take in am cuz it amps ya up a bit. Best of luck 
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I was on Abilify for about six months, up to 30mg at the highest. I liked it a lot and didn’t get any bad side effects from it except some slight restlessness. I’ve heard of people having trouble with compulsive gambling, sex, etc on Abilify though, so watch out for that. I eventually had to switch off when it stopped working for me and I ended up back in the hospital.
Thank you all so very much for your input and experiences!
So I’m still teetering on whether to try it or not. For now, probably not. I’m just way too scared of having horrible side effects, like the dystonia I experienced on haldol. That was horrific and painful. I think it’s interesting that the Dr said it wouldn’t effect blood sugar, but I’m reading that a few of you had spikes. Hm. And as much as I like the idea of having a stimulating effect (could be better than sedation for getting things done) it looks like it quickly becomes agitation and restlessnes.
What is considered a low dose vs a high dose? It’s one of the only antipsychotics I have absolutely no experience with. I realized when reading the comments that I had no idea what the dosages of abilify were, and if I have an idea of that maybe I can better understand y’alls comments with doses and side effects.
Thank you guys, I’ve always been so thankful for the supportive community we have here. Especially when I feel so alone in the world.
Lowest dose is 10mg. Max dose is 30mg.
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Call me cautious, or even paranoid, but one reason I’m leery of abilify is that it, to me, is still pretty new. I won’t take any new psych meds until they’ve been around for at least 20 years. To see the surfacing of any long term side effects
Thank you!!! I’m trying to figure out the potency of this med. Are dosages increased in 5mg increments typically? Long acting or short? Is it a med that they have to slowly titrate you up on?
Not necessarily. They can jump from 10 to 20.
Long acting
Every 2 weeks a change can be made. It takes 2 weeks to reach steady state in your body.
It was first released in 2002 ! It’s generic now.