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Compare all 69 medications used in the treatment of Bipolar Disorder.
Reviews for Abilify to treat Bipolar Disorder
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10
I started this medicine not too long ago and love it. I have been on many other medicines over the years without good results. The one thing I would like to say to others who have written comments here is, do not say you would not recommend this to someone because it doesn't work for you. That is the reason there are different medications, and just because it doesn't work for you, it is ridiculous for you to say you wouldn't recommend others take it.
76 users found this comment helpful.
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I've been prescribed abilify for bipolar. So far there are 3 problems after 5 days now. The biggest one is insomnia[I'm writing this at 2:00 a.m.]. The second is a tingling feeling in the back of my skull that travels from ear to ear. Third is dizziness when making or seeing others make sudden movements, but this is subsiding slowly.
62 users found this comment helpful.
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Anyone else have trouble keeping their hand out of the refrigerator?After several months of taking this stuff the hunger pangs are getting worse, not less.
61 users found this comment helpful.
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This medication has given me my life back. I have now have clarity and balance back in my life. So far, I have not gained any weight and have experienced no side effects. I also suffered from severe insomnia, which is completely gone.
54 users found this comment helpful.
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I have been taking Abilify for about 3 years now. It has changed my life dramatically. It has greatly lessoned my highs and lows. It has balanced me out when it comes to all the typical bipolar symptoms.
52 users found this comment helpful.
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This is a good antipsychotic and does well for bipolar disorder. I was on 20mg per day when I suffered a severe manic episode, so it is possible to have episodes while on the medication, but I should point out that I was not taking it every day as I was supposed to.
The only side effects I get from this are restlessness, anxiety and slight tremors.
43 users found this comment helpful.
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My son was aggressive and was doing poorly in school. Hitting other students and the teachers, having meltdowns practically everyday. A week after he started taking Abilify his teacher called and told me he was like a different child. He was focusing and not getting upset so easily. I was just told he is the star student for the month and that has NEVER happened. He is now potentially looking at joining the general population at school. So far this has been a life saver and now my child can focus on learning and thriving instead of giving up and having fits when he gets frustrated.
42 users found this comment helpful.
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I have been on this for 2 weeks (only 4 mg). I have energy again and do not feel so sleepy during the day. I am still taking seroquel at night- 100mg to sleep. Side effects are constipation and restlessness. I am now excercising again and able to drop the weight I had gained while on higher doses of seroquel.
36 users found this comment helpful.
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Abilify has been useful to me in terms of sleep and improving my insomnia, but I still have to be treated with a mood stabilizer, like Lithium, in order to keep my bipolar episodes under control. The good news is that it did not cause (I was at 10MG daily) weight gain like Zyprexa. Good luck to all of you!
35 users found this comment helpful.
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I am bipolar and have swung into a massive depressive cycle, crying for no reason, sleeping 14 or more hours a day, feeling hopeless about my life, suicidal thoughts, etc., so my doctor put me back on Abilify (I had been on it before but it had been such a long time I couldn't remember if it helped or not). In just a few days, at 5mg at night, my mood is very improved. I can actually get out of bed, I'm much more upbeat, much more pleasant to be around. The only side-effect I have is when I take it, about half an hour later, I am soaked in sweat. My shirt actually becomes saturated to the point I have to change into a dry one. That's why it got 9.
31 users found this comment helpful.
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I took Abilify for a few months and then my doctor took me off of it because I gained 50 pounds. As soon as I stopped taking it- the weight just melted off.
27 users found this comment helpful.
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In a cocktail of anticonvulsants, this non-neuroleptic antipsychotic is great in stabilizing mixed manic symptoms and the depressive side. It took me one month to bear the side-effects but now it's ok. Better than all the antipsychotics I tried before that gave me unbearable tiredness or tremors/jerkiness.
26 users found this comment helpful.
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I have been taking Abilify for a week. It has already taken the edge off the rages. However, am still experiencing high anxiety. My family says I am calmer so that is deinitely a plus. I feel tired and wired at the same time - it is a weird feeling. I am very paranoid. I was paranoid before but this seems to have made it worse. But I am only on 2 mg's. At least the rages are better. I am hopeful that this medication along with help from my doctor will be enough to get my life back.
24 users found this comment helpful.
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It did wonders for my mood, HOWEVER I was NOT told of the risks involved. And the positive did NOT outweigh the negative in this case. After only a month, I developed Atrodystrphy and my legs hurt badly. I can't sit still, I pace, I cry, ...anything to get the pain to stop. My pysch said it was from the Abilify. I'm now on Geodon and praying this isn't permanent. PLEASE be informed before taking this medication!
24 users found this comment helpful.
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I have been on Abilify for a month now at 15mg. It works great I can control myself now. No more rages or trouble. My family is glad this pill works for me. I have been on 6 other medicines and they didn't work. Thank God for Abilify.
22 users found this comment helpful.
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I was on Abilify for 3 weeks total. On the 3rd day on the drug I started to feel shaky, like something had to be moving at all times. I figured it would just go away so when I got no sleep that night from this I thought tomorrow will be better. But on day 4 it was worse so I called my doctor and he told me to take a half a pill and by this time my legs were visible shaking out of control. I would have to push on them to make them stop. On days 5, 6 and 7 I had the same thing: shakey and no sleep. Everything hurt from the shaking. It was so bad at one point I broke down in the middle of my in laws home. That day my doctor took me off this medicine and 2 days later all the shaking was gone.
20 users found this comment helpful.
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This medicine has made such a difference that my Sister even noticed. I can talk with people and not get upset with them when they say or do stupid things. I have noticed it has made me want to eat which I was having a problem with. Never being hungry before taking this. $235 through insurance is still a lot of money every month. Thank you for this Drug Doctor.
18 users found this comment helpful.
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I was given this drug and I started having pains all up and down my spine. I continued the drug because of my psychiatrists insistence that it wasn't caused by the drug. Months later I started having problems with paranoia and insomnia. I ended up in the hospital because I was almost suicidal and they took me off the medicines. All the side effects just melted away after that.
18 users found this comment helpful.
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Extremely effective in countering onset of major events. This is the only atypical antipsychotic prescribed (twelve-year history), which I have found to be successful for my resistant condition. Dosage is medium-high, producing occasional, but manageable side effects. Used in five-drug regimen including antidepressants and mood stabilizers.
17 users found this comment helpful.
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