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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 21 of 21. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by hffcookie on March 26, 2005, at 17:19:46
hey everyone
i have been trying to get some info on abilify and have read some old threads but finally decided to just start taking the stuff. For anyone who wanted more info like me, consider me your lab rat - I'll try to post my response to this new drug daily.
For background - I am taking 5mg of abilify to lift me from a refractory depression which is being treated currently with 300mg of Effexor, 45mg Remeron and 40 to 80 mg of adderall daily. Right now I am on day 2 and am taking my pill at night. The reason I figured I should post my response to this drug is because it has already seemed to have had an effect on me. I slept soundly for the first time in weeks - it seems like it has enhanced the sedative effect of my remeron but has not made me drowsy during the day etc. (i take adderall for that however). I also noticed that while on remeron and effexor only, my adderall seemed to lose effectiveness. This also seems to be enhanced with the abilify. At such a low dosage I am happy with what I am experiencing thus far. I had some agitation and irritability the morning after i took my first dose, but it was minor. overall things are looking pretty promising.
so, i hope i can be of help to anyone else who is curious about abilify (aripiprazole). It seems to just enhance my drug therapy. No nausea or other side effects except an incresed thirst and dry mouth. this drug is pricey from what i understand and I plan on asking my pdoc for many more free samples next time i see her. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Be well everyone!
Holly
Posted by KaraS on March 26, 2005, at 18:14:00
In reply to my diary on abilify - I hope it helps someone!, posted by hffcookie on March 26, 2005, at 17:19:46
> hey everyone
>
> i have been trying to get some info on abilify and have read some old threads but finally decided to just start taking the stuff. For anyone who wanted more info like me, consider me your lab rat - I'll try to post my response to this new drug daily.
>
> For background - I am taking 5mg of abilify to lift me from a refractory depression which is being treated currently with 300mg of Effexor, 45mg Remeron and 40 to 80 mg of adderall daily. Right now I am on day 2 and am taking my pill at night. The reason I figured I should post my response to this drug is because it has already seemed to have had an effect on me. I slept soundly for the first time in weeks - it seems like it has enhanced the sedative effect of my remeron but has not made me drowsy during the day etc. (i take adderall for that however). I also noticed that while on remeron and effexor only, my adderall seemed to lose effectiveness. This also seems to be enhanced with the abilify. At such a low dosage I am happy with what I am experiencing thus far. I had some agitation and irritability the morning after i took my first dose, but it was minor. overall things are looking pretty promising.
>
> so, i hope i can be of help to anyone else who is curious about abilify (aripiprazole). It seems to just enhance my drug therapy. No nausea or other side effects except an incresed thirst and dry mouth. this drug is pricey from what i understand and I plan on asking my pdoc for many more free samples next time i see her. Keeping my fingers crossed!
>
> Be well everyone!
> Holly
Hi Holly,
Glad to hear things are going well so far. Hopefully this will translate into a substantial antidepressant boost in the near future. I am anxious to see if this gives you motivation (I think I remember you saying that you were low on that before starting Abilify.) Keep us posted.Kara
Posted by zuzu_80 on March 26, 2005, at 18:56:20
In reply to Re: my diary on abilify - I hope it helps someone! » hffcookie, posted by KaraS on March 26, 2005, at 18:14:00
Quote (please note: of a bum):>I am anxious to see if this gives you motivation (I think I remember you saying that you were low on that before starting Abilify.) Keep us posted.
>
> Kara
>Hi,
Now you think motivation can be boosted by a medicine, you jerk? Hahahahahahaha.... That was damn stupid! That has to do with your self esteem. I think you are looking for a medicine that would treat you lack of motivation because your're f***ing lazy. You just know to sit all day long on that fat ugly damn stinky a** of yours and just do nothing. Poor little girl.
NO MEDICINE CAN GIVE YOU MOTIVATION NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. Just get it all of you *ssholes out here at sh*t babble.
Think differently, respect your f***ing self and then you will have motivation.
Jerks, using ablifify for depression. Idiots, you and your salespersons (doctors).
You must have some screwed up life because you lack motivation. But that is your fault because YOU'RE and you WERE born looser and dum, and this applies to many ppl here.
Get a life loosers!
Bye!
Posted by TomG on March 26, 2005, at 19:10:57
In reply to Motivation? » KaraS, posted by zuzu_80 on March 26, 2005, at 18:56:20
I definately smell a block in in the air, but my doctor has told me the same thing. There is *no* medicine made for motivation or really no medicine that specifically gives motivation. Rather, I think as mood improves and certain depresssions are lifted motivation improves.
Posted by zuzu_80 on March 26, 2005, at 19:12:59
In reply to Re: Motivation?, posted by TomG on March 26, 2005, at 19:10:57
> I definately smell a block in in the air, but my doctor has told me the same thing. There is *no* medicine made for motivation or really no medicine that specifically gives motivation. Rather, I think as mood improves and certain depresssions are lifted motivation improves.
Good someone agrees with me this time :)Take care!
Posted by TamaraJ on March 26, 2005, at 19:14:13
In reply to Motivation? » KaraS, posted by zuzu_80 on March 26, 2005, at 18:56:20
Your comments are uncalled for, and are extremely rude, demeaning, uncivil and insensitive. Perhaps you were never taught manners, common decency or understanding when you were growing up. If you don't have anything nice to say (about a person) then don't say anything at all. I can not for the life of me understand how you could have been questioning your previous block, and then you post something equally demeaning and vile. Perhaps you can try to be sensitive to others and think about what you are about to post before you do so.
>
> Now you think motivation can be boosted by a medicine, you jerk? Hahahahahahaha.... That was damn stupid! That has to do with your self esteem. I think you are looking for a medicine that would treat you lack of motivation because your're f***ing lazy. You just know to sit all day long on that fat ugly damn stinky a** of yours and just do nothing. Poor little girl.
>
> NO MEDICINE CAN GIVE YOU MOTIVATION NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. Just get it all of you *ssholes out here at sh*t babble.
>
> Think differently, respect your f***ing self and then you will have motivation.
>
> Jerks, using ablifify for depression. Idiots, you and your salespersons (doctors).
>
> You must have some screwed up life because you lack motivation. But that is your fault because YOU'RE and you WERE born looser and dum, and this applies to many ppl here.
>
> Get a life loosers!
>
> Bye!
Posted by banga on March 27, 2005, at 7:22:19
In reply to Please be civil! » zuzu_80, posted by TamaraJ on March 26, 2005, at 19:14:13
I take Abilify primarily for anxiety. It helps quite a bit. I am only on 2.5mg/day, but I take it with meds that increase the blood levels of Abilify, so the equivalent is probably more.
This amount has not helped with motivation directly, however keepng me out of anxiety paralysis helps getting things done. It also seems to jump-start me out of depression quite effectively, within days. I know there are some people on this board that object to using antipsychotics for depression/anxiety due to more serious consequences of use, but for me it does wonders. In addition, if one were to look at the withdrawal board and see the suffering, you have to wonder how much "safer" SSRIs are....When I was on Geodon for similar reasons, it did help me with motivation quite a bit. Couldnt handle the spaciness theough.
I wish you good luck.
Posted by Mark H. on March 27, 2005, at 13:41:46
In reply to Motivation? » KaraS, posted by zuzu_80 on March 26, 2005, at 18:56:20
>Now you think motivation can be boosted by a medicine, you jerk?
Mark H. filling in for Dr. Bob here:
Please do not use language that could lead others to feel accused or put down.
The last time you were blocked it was for one week; this time it is for two weeks. Dr. Bob may choose to increase or reduce the amount of time you are blocked.
Mark H.
Posted by KaraS on March 27, 2005, at 16:11:52
In reply to Re: Please be civil!, posted by banga on March 27, 2005, at 7:22:19
> I take Abilify primarily for anxiety. It helps quite a bit. I am only on 2.5mg/day, but I take it with meds that increase the blood levels of Abilify, so the equivalent is probably more.
> This amount has not helped with motivation directly, however keepng me out of anxiety paralysis helps getting things done. It also seems to jump-start me out of depression quite effectively, within days. I know there are some people on this board that object to using antipsychotics for depression/anxiety due to more serious consequences of use, but for me it does wonders. In addition, if one were to look at the withdrawal board and see the suffering, you have to wonder how much "safer" SSRIs are....
>
> When I was on Geodon for similar reasons, it did help me with motivation quite a bit. Couldnt handle the spaciness theough.
>
> I wish you good luck.
Thanks. I may try Abilify in the future. I'm still a bit afraid of the APs but I keep hearing lots of good things about Abilify.Take care,
Kara
Posted by KaraS on March 27, 2005, at 16:22:31
In reply to Re: Motivation?, posted by TomG on March 26, 2005, at 19:10:57
> I definately smell a block in in the air, but my doctor has told me the same thing. There is *no* medicine made for motivation or really no medicine that specifically gives motivation. Rather, I think as mood improves and certain depresssions are lifted motivation improves.
I don't really agree with that as I've heard from many posters as well as my doctor and my own research that the noradrenergic and dopaminergic meds can help with motivation. Wellbutrin is often successfully used for this purpose. I have a friend on it now and he claims he is now motivated to study again in his graduate program.
Unfortunately, I was not able to tolerate it when i tried it years ago. Others here have claimed that Parnate and selegiline have helped with motivation as well but I have not fully trialed either of them.There is also considerable evidence that the SSRIs can depress motivation by having a negative effect on dopamine. Increasing serotonin without concommitantly increasing dopamine can lift mood while causing apathy and amotivation in many people. I've read posts where people have said that they had motivation on SSRIs but eventually it went way and was replaced by apathy. The boards are full of posts about SSRI apathy.
In my own case, I've had mood lift from SSRIs and Effexor (primarily serotonergic particularly at the dosage I was on) but had zero motivation. I know first hand that mood lift and motivation do not necessarily go hand-in-hand.
Kara
Posted by ed_uk on March 27, 2005, at 17:03:38
In reply to Re: Motivation? » TomG, posted by KaraS on March 27, 2005, at 16:22:31
>I know first hand that mood lift and motivation do not necessarily go hand-in-hand.
Amen!!!!
Ed.
Posted by ed_uk on March 27, 2005, at 17:05:02
In reply to Re: Motivation?, posted by TomG on March 26, 2005, at 19:10:57
Hi Tom!
How are you doing on Seroquel? I hope all is well atm :-)
Kind regards,
Ed.
Posted by KaraS on March 27, 2005, at 17:49:34
In reply to Motivation? » KaraS, posted by zuzu_80 on March 26, 2005, at 18:56:20
I just did a search and found the most interesting post written by you just a few months ago. Apparently I'm not the only "jerk" looking for meds to help with motivation.
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040429/msgs/342212.html
Posted by TomG on March 27, 2005, at 18:01:47
In reply to Re: Seroquel » TomG, posted by ed_uk on March 27, 2005, at 17:05:02
> Hi Tom!
>
> How are you doing on Seroquel? I hope all is well atm :-)
>
> Kind regards,
> Ed.
Ed this is a post I posted awhile back around the end of my first week on Seroquel.Yesterday was day 8 of Seroquel 50mgs. By the end of the day yesterday I was having way more positive, focused, oraganized thought. The bad thing is I kinda feel like the times I've had some very mild hypomania. I'm still sleeping like Rip Van Winkle and I kinda feel sleepy today, but the hangover stoned feeling I was having the first week seems to be gone. Surely Seroquel couldn't cause hypomania. I'm hoping that raising the dose to 100 or 150mgs will yeild positive results. I don't know if I should call my doctor now or wait until April 8th until I see him next.
I responded really positively to Geodon 20mgs for about two months and it kinda lost alot of its spark. However, it started working within 1 day! I looked back at a really old post of mine when I tried Zyprexa for the first time and I said that I responded to 2.5mgs or it might have been the Lamictal that I was taking at the time. I wasn't able to tell which drug it was that was working. I then raised the Zyprexa to 5mgs and sort of lost effect. I was thinking that maybe I only respond to really low doses of AP's. I've tried Zyprexa all the way up to 15mgs and it really didn't do anything for me. Can AP's work at really low dose and prove ineffective at high dose? If the Seroquel is working right now it doesn't have quite the kick that Geodon had. Again maybe that can be affected by a dosage change. Wish me luck.
Right now I just kinda feel blah. I haven't noticed a huge change on the 50mgs. I do know that it greatly helps sleep, and I'm better on it than with no medication. I'll let you know how the dosage change helps.
Tom
Posted by ed_uk on March 27, 2005, at 18:15:01
In reply to Re: Seroquel » ed_uk, posted by TomG on March 27, 2005, at 18:01:47
Hello Tom!
>Right now I just kinda feel blah.
Have all the initial effects disappeared except the improvement in sleep?
>I haven't noticed a huge change on the 50mgs.
Do you think you'll increase the dose? I'm not sure how long you've been on Seroquel now, 3 weeks??
Regards,
Ed.
Posted by TomG on March 27, 2005, at 18:36:29
In reply to Re: Seroquel » TomG, posted by ed_uk on March 27, 2005, at 18:15:01
Ed,
Yeah I've been on it about three weeks now and I will definately raise the dose here in about a week or so when I see my doctor. I don't really know if the initial effects were genuine. It felt like it might have been trying to work, but it just couldn't fully kick in. I'll let you know.
Posted by ed_uk on March 27, 2005, at 18:51:27
In reply to Re: Seroquel, posted by TomG on March 27, 2005, at 18:36:29
Hi Tom!
>I'll let you know.
Thank you, I really hope it helps :-)
Ed.
Posted by hffcookie on March 28, 2005, at 0:22:01
In reply to my diary on abilify - I hope it helps someone!, posted by hffcookie on March 26, 2005, at 17:19:46
Hello everyone
First of all I want to apologige to Kara for the bazaar post that zuzu wrote in response to this thread. The motivation question was a good one because, not only did i want to see some "mood lift" from this abilify, but i wanted to feel good enough to want to do things again, feel a pleasureable response to all of the things i used to enjoy. Well, it does seem that the abilify has helped my depression and consequently i have been up and about and doing substantially more than i had been - however one thing remains troublesome to me and that is i still do not seem to enjoy the activities i previously enjoyed. I don't know, maybe I was expecting abilify to be more of a "wonder drug" than it is, or maybe i need more time, or maybe this is as "happy" as i am going to be through drug therapy alone and it is time to turn to cognitive and interpersonal therapy to find those lost pleasures....lordie, who knows. I do know that I have not cried once since i started taking this, even when i thought of painful subjects that normally made me sad... and i don't know if it is just coincidence but my sex drive continues to make some sort of return and that is good...
i've read "the new mood therapy" by David Bearn (i apol. for spelling wrong?) and his opinion on meds seems to be that unless you find your mood markedly improved, having given the drugs a few weeks to take effect, you should increase the dose or move on and try something else. he also mentions how his patients, when experiencing this "lifting" of their depressions, are so happy to be without their previous burden they seem delighted...i guess the thing is that it seems that i am hoping to find, or feel, a truly noticeable response to my meds. I want to not be "just ok" but maybe even happy. Is that silly? Maybe it's better not to be happy for no reason, probably....but, well, i'm not even sure.
I know this has been a bit of a long babbling mess but i wanted to keep anyone and everyone updated. no nausea, still lots of thirst, and sadly, i think my connection between the abilify "enhancing" my adderall was not valid...today i went through 60 mg's which is not unheard of for me but on the high end. Well, that's all for now! Be well everyone!
Holly
Posted by hffcookie on March 28, 2005, at 0:29:02
In reply to my diary on abilify - day 4 - mini motivated, posted by hffcookie on March 28, 2005, at 0:22:01
i have been taking the "Burns depression test" as well as the anxiety test he has in his book. i just finished both and compared to my first day on abilify and then a few days before that, i have had improvement in my scores, but only with 10 points in both areas.
that's all
h
Posted by Mistermindmasta on March 28, 2005, at 23:33:13
In reply to Re: Motivation?, posted by TomG on March 26, 2005, at 19:10:57
> I definately smell a block in in the air, but my doctor has told me the same thing. There is *no* medicine made for motivation or really no medicine that specifically gives motivation. Rather, I think as mood improves and certain depresssions are lifted motivation improves.
I really have to disagree here. Motivation and mood are two separate but intertwined things. Drink a 6 pack of beers and smoke a joint and tell him how motivated you are to do some rather mentally challenging tasks. Good mood - yes... Motivation - no.On the other hand, some days I wake up feeling somewhat lazy physically but my mood is fine. After 6 cups of coffee, you better believe I'm feeling more motivated to do more monotonous tasks.
Adderall and Ritalin are very motivating drugs and people vary in their natural motivation levels. One person will write a 100 page essay and it will not seem tedious. Another person will write a 100 page paper and it will take tons of willpower. Give this person a stimulant, and it will seem almost as easy as it would to the first person, who is naturally highly motivated.
I could go in more depth here but while mood will improve motivation, studies have shown that motivation occupies a specific area of the brain that drugs are able to alter.
Posted by KaraS on March 29, 2005, at 1:05:23
In reply to my diary on abilify - day 4 - mini motivated, posted by hffcookie on March 28, 2005, at 0:22:01
> Hello everyone
>
> First of all I want to apologige to Kara for the bazaar post that zuzu wrote in response to this thread. The motivation question was a good one because, not only did i want to see some "mood lift" from this abilify, but i wanted to feel good enough to want to do things again, feel a pleasureable response to all of the things i used to enjoy. Well, it does seem that the abilify has helped my depression and consequently i have been up and about and doing substantially more than i had been - however one thing remains troublesome to me and that is i still do not seem to enjoy the activities i previously enjoyed. I don't know, maybe I was expecting abilify to be more of a "wonder drug" than it is, or maybe i need more time, or maybe this is as "happy" as i am going to be through drug therapy alone and it is time to turn to cognitive and interpersonal therapy to find those lost pleasures....lordie, who knows. I do know that I have not cried once since i started taking this, even when i thought of painful subjects that normally made me sad... and i don't know if it is just coincidence but my sex drive continues to make some sort of return and that is good...Hi Holly,
No need to apologize for that obnoxious post. It wasn't your fault. I'm sorry to hear that Abilify isn't everything you'd hoped it would be. I don't know much about the atypical APs but I'm thinking that after only 4 days, you probably are not seeing the full extent of the medication. Still, even if this is the most you'd get out of it, it definitely has some good effects. Maybe it's just another part of the puzzle for you.
> i've read "the new mood therapy" by David Bearn (i apol. for spelling wrong?) and his opinion on meds seems to be that unless you find your mood markedly improved, having given the drugs a few weeks to take effect, you should increase the dose or move on and try something else. he also mentions how his patients, when experiencing this "lifting" of their depressions, are so happy to be without their previous burden they seem delighted...i guess the thing is that it seems that i am hoping to find, or feel, a truly noticeable response to my meds. I want to not be "just ok" but maybe even happy. Is that silly? Maybe it's better not to be happy for no reason, probably....but, well, i'm not even sure.
I don't think it's at all unreasonable to want to be happy and have motivation too. I think that you (and all of the rest of us) deserve nothing less! Other things besides meds can help including CBT. It can't hurt to give that a try as well.
> I know this has been a bit of a long babbling mess but i wanted to keep anyone and everyone updated. no nausea, still lots of thirst, and sadly, i think my connection between the abilify "enhancing" my adderall was not valid...today i went through 60 mg's which is not unheard of for me but on the high end. Well, that's all for now! Be well everyone!
>Hopefully you won't continue to require 60 mgs. of adderall. Keep us posted once you've taken Abilify for a longer period of time.
Take care,
Kara
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