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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Carol S on March 30, 2007, at 16:39:50
On this site and others I've read that abilify causes weight gain, but I've also, and maybe more often, read that it is kind of speedy and suppresses appetite and/or causes weight loss. So, I'm just trying to get more opinions and experiences. Am considering switching from lamictal to abilify.
Thanks!
Carol S
Posted by football on March 30, 2007, at 20:37:46
In reply to abilify--what's the skinny?, posted by Carol S on March 30, 2007, at 16:39:50
As I've mentioned before, Abilify is the worst drug I've ever taken. Doses of 10 MG or greater often cause akathisia, the worst feeling imaginable.
I'm generally not suicidal, but after two days of akathisia, I was actually seriously considering ending my life.
Posted by Phillipa on March 30, 2007, at 20:51:01
In reply to Re: abilify--what's the skinny?, posted by football on March 30, 2007, at 20:37:46
Why from a mood stabalizer to an antipsychotic? What are you aiming for? What's your diagnosis Love Phillipa ps seems people are using for all types of disorders.
Posted by med_empowered on March 30, 2007, at 23:46:44
In reply to Re: abilify--what's the skinny?, posted by Phillipa on March 30, 2007, at 20:51:01
If I recall correctly, abilify does D2 partial agonism (basically, boosts dopamine enough to avoid EPS and maybe stimulate part of prefontal cortex) and also does the same at serotonin receptors (check the website; I may be a bit off).
Anyway, its generally "weight neutral"; in studies, it can cause minor weight gain, but it also causes weight loss (also generally minor) in some people. Of course, some people report lots of weight gain, and some people report weight loss so...its variable.
Akathisia is a big problem with Abilify. Physical EPS--stiff muscles, involuntary jerks, that kind of thing, are minor, but akathisia is a very big problem. If you hit 10mgs/day or above, I'd seriously recommend some kind of GABAergic drug (benzos, depakote, neurontin, lyrica...whatever) to minimize the akathisia.
Personally, for me doses below 10mgs/day were OK. 10mgs or above--just a neuroleptic, albeit more tolerable than the other "atypicals" out there. So it really depends. In general, I think the ONLY time you should resort to a neuroleptic is when you're actually psychotic. If you're not psychotic, try something else. The risks (TD, neuroleptic Malignancy syndrome, etc.) are just too high to justify a major tranquilizer in the non-psychotic.
Posted by Sebastian on March 31, 2007, at 5:14:46
In reply to abilify--what's the skinny?, posted by Carol S on March 30, 2007, at 16:39:50
Abilify is awsome. It lowers my apatite, lowers my blood sugar, which is why you are more hungry, but at the same time you lose weight. Higher metabolism. I've lost about 20 lbs in the last 4 months. And I still take zyprexa. The trick is to divide the dose. I take 15mg/day, and cut it into 3 pieces. This also minimizes side-effects and stretches out the blood sugar effect.
Posted by Carol S on March 31, 2007, at 10:21:24
In reply to Re: abilify--what's the skinny?, posted by Sebastian on March 31, 2007, at 5:14:46
Thank you all very much. I'm not really sure why my doc wants to switch me to abilify--it's her flavor of the month drug, I think. I realize it's classed as an anti-psychotic, but my doc seems to be prescribing it as a mood stabilizer and for general depression, which is why she prescribed me lamictal in the first place. I'm not bi-polar (though I have a hard time convincing my doc of that), but lamictal did wonders for my depression. Best drug I've ever been on. I'm wanting to go off of it only because it's caused me to stop menstruating (I've written about that here before), and, since I'm not in menopause, or even perimenopause, and have had complete gynecological and endocrinological work-ups to determine other possible reasons my periods might have stopped--every friggin' test known to gland-and-hormone-kind--the correlation betw. the onset of my taking lamictal and the cessation of my periods has to be more than just coincidence, since nothing else is wrong. I've learned from others on this site and elsewhere that lamictal can indeed mess w/ the girly hormones. So, I'm trying to find something else and get my cycle going again, because artificially-induced premature menopause has some nasty side effects of its own--weight gain among them. I actually do quite well on good ol' SSRIS, but, as is everyone, I am still in search of the magic one that won't make me gain weight. I'm thinking lexapro, though, as always, I read over and over again that while some lose on lex., others gain. Wellbutrin made me feel like I was on speed, and I did lose a lot of weight on that, but I never slept and it didn't help me that much either. Probably because it works on dopamine more than serotonin, from what I understand.
For the person (Sebastian) who is taking Abilify (or anyone else for that matter), are you taking it as either a basic mood-stabilizer or anti-depressant? Does is make you super ramped up in a way that causes insomnia? Lamictal actually ramped me up at first, but not in a bad way--in kind of a fun, hypomanic way that eventually evened out. And if anyone has any new opinions on SSRIS that are weight-neutral or better, I'd always be glad to learn. Some day, they've got to find one.
Again, thanks for sharing the knowledge.
Carol
Posted by emme on March 31, 2007, at 11:02:11
In reply to abilify--what's the skinny?, posted by Carol S on March 30, 2007, at 16:39:50
Hi. I've found Abilify to be weight neutral. I have had poor luck with antidepressants on the whole and Abilify has worked pretty well with minimal side effects. I had startup insomnia for about 8 weeks which resolved and I ended up sleeping better than before. Good luck.
emme
Posted by theo on April 1, 2007, at 22:39:55
In reply to abilify--what's the skinny?, posted by Carol S on March 30, 2007, at 16:39:50
Low doses, 2-2 1/2 mgs with Abilify was a great med for me, just keep it low.
This is the end of the thread.
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