Pdoc might switch me off Abilify to something else

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She says that, because Abilify causes akathisia, it’s worth looking at something else. I’m worried about trying a new medicine when this one works for me otherwise. I don’t want to end up with permanent side effects though.

Thoughts?

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Have you taken anything other than abilify,?

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Do you live in the States?
Have you tried Rexulti?

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Have you actually developed akathisia, or is this just a precaution? Have you tried adding something like cogentin?

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Is it early on Abilify? I found the akithasia lessened quite quickly…it was hell early but dissapeared after a couple of weeks.

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I’ve taken just about everything there is to take.

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I haven’t. I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford it since there’s no generic.

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I’ve developed it. I take artane for it, which is similar to cogentin.

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I’ve been on it since January, and if I miss my artane pill, the akathisia comes right back.

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If abilify works and you’re able to manage it with this artane stuff then why would you risk switching? What is your doctor concerned about?

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I don’t want to switch. She’s concerned that the side effects will become permanent.

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Have you tried taking magnesium? I take it for my RLS, but when I take extra haldol the akathisia gets bad and I’ll just up my magnesium and it helps a lot. Might be worth a shot if you don’t want to switch. Though I don’t know about it becoming permanent.

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I’ve taken magnesium for anxiety in the past. Never tried for akathisia, although I’m already on a prescription medicine for that. She seems to think that even with the artane it will become permanent.

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I’ve never heard of akathisia becoming permanent. I’m confused. :confused:

From google:

Thankfully, almost all akathisia from Abilify and other drugs does go away once the medication is stopped. In some cases it does take a week or two for symptoms to reside, but the condition isn’t permanent. … However, the symptoms usually don’t subside until a week or so after stopping medication.

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Hmm. Now I’m a little concerned that she doesn’t know that lol.

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CONCLUSIONS: Among second generation antipsychotics, only olanzapine and quetiapine should be considered as akathisia-sparing drugs.

So your choices are limited to those 2 meds :confused:

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Well, just because a med can cause akathisia doesn’t mean it will. I kinda want to try Geodon.

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