Posted by Christ_empowered on February 2, 2011, at 12:55:02
In reply to For anybody on ABILIFY long term, posted by Phidippus on February 2, 2011, at 12:28:21
Hey. I've been on Abilify for a while now (over 1.5 years uninterrupted, then a break, now 6+ months non-stop) for my Bipolar type I.
I'd watch your dose. I had to go up to 30 b/c of paranoia and agitation, and after several months I felt pretty docile and dulled out. I don't have any EPS though.
20mgs may not even be completely necessary. 10+15mgs/day are the most studied doses for bipolar and psychotic disorders; in my experience, higher doses can help with agitation or breakthrough symptoms, but I don't think I'd take that much (personally) if I had EPS and/or akathisia.
Also, Abilify interacts with a number of antidepressants, resulting in higher blood levels of the Abilify. I don't know if your antidepressant is one that has that interaction with Abilify. If it is, you might have blood levels even higher than your dose would predict.
I think TCA drugs can cause some EPS and akathisia and hurt the sex drive, too. My only real problem with Abilify is dose-related dulling and docility, and I'm working on fixing that.
Good luck to you!
poster:Christ_empowered
thread:978549
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110130/msgs/978550.html