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Abilify for Agitated State User Reviews

Abilify has an average rating of 5.8 out of 10 from a total of 49 reviews for the treatment of Agitated State. 47% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 39% reported a negative experience.

Abilify rating summary

5.8 average rating out of 10

49 ratings from 50 user reviews.

Compare all 5 medications used in the treatment of Agitated State.

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Reviews for Abilify

  • Anonymous
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • August 15, 2020

"I'm going to keep it short & sweet. Before Abilify, it was a lot of swearing and slammed doors, and irritation towards everyone. Abilify 5mg was prescribed about 2 months ago. Life now is more of a 'what was I mad about'? Great mood stabilizer. This medication has lifted me in so many ways. Background: Bipolar, depression & anxiety..."

9 / 10
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  • Han...
  • August 6, 2020

"My 9-year-old son started Abilify a week ago. Prior to that, he was diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder and possibly ADHD. He has struggled with intense bursts of extreme anger. He would yell, scream, throw things, hit himself, slam doors, etc. He would get angry very quickly over small things. He was very impulsive and had many troubles focusing at school. We tried two different ADHD medications with no luck. They actually made things worse. His behavior changed the moment he started Abilify, at a low dose of 2 mg a day. We expected weeks until seeing results. My child is a completely different person. He is calm, polite, and so pleasant. He has voiced his own opinion on feeling this med is working. He can feel the difference within himself. He displays no side effects. He still feels and shows emotions, just in a calm manner. We have struggled heartbreakingly for a long time in finding him help, with nothing that has actually worked. This has absolutely changed his life."

9 / 10
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207 Report
  • dwi...
  • July 3, 2008

"My 25-year-old son was prescribed this medication for his aggressive behavior and inability to concentrate. As a child, he was diagnosed with ADHD with aggressive behavior. His behavior only worsened as he got older and was not on any medication. He was unable to keep a job and was always in trouble with the police for fighting and just unable to make good decisions. After starting Abilify, he has had a steady job for 6 months and his aggressive behavior is gone. I have my son back."

10 / 10
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189 Report

Frequently asked questions

  • Mit...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • August 26, 2022

"I have to say I was very skeptical. I have crippling anxiety that spirals, was on .5 Ativan for panic attacks, I would take 2 to 3 mg in a day on a very bad day. My doctor suggested Abilify, I told him if this changes me permanently, I’m going to absolutely lose it and wind up in a mental hospital. I did a lot of research, and it’s the atypical antipsychotic that has the least amount of weight gain and metabolic side effects. If they show up, they show up by the second or third week, and nothing happened to me. I take 450 mg Wellbutrin on top of the 2 mg Abilify for anxiety. It has absolutely changed my outlook on life, I felt a difference in 3 days. Before Abilify, I cried every day, multiple times a day sometimes, and had panic attacks. The worst was the spiraling intrusive thoughts when I overthought situations, the thoughts that just wouldn’t go away. I was beating myself up every single day for decisions I’ve made, conversations I have, you name it. All of that is 92% gone."

10 / 10
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33 Report
  • Anonymous
  • October 31, 2019

"My daughter is 9 and has been diagnosed with ADHD and ADD. She has mostly had issues with impulsiveness. She was in a constant state of anger and irritability. Previously, she tried a stimulant medication which worked for a while then became ineffective. She now takes Intuniv and Abilify. She has been on the Abilify for about 3 months and seems like a new child. She is happy, almost always in a good mood, and reacts appropriately instead of with anger. Hopefully, the results will last. As of right now, I am very excited about the results and the improvement of her mood and behavior."

8 / 10
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54 Report

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  • Anonymous
  • February 12, 2020

"Been on Abilify 2 mg for one week. Started Abilify to help with PTSD and lupus. Periods of high anxiety cause my lupus to flare. No anxiety = no lupus. Anxiety is gone, which is wonderful, but it's been replaced with nausea. It's not bad enough to cause vomiting, just annoying. I have no appetite and have lost 4 pounds so far. Some trouble sleeping. I take melatonin to help with that. I hope the nausea goes away. If it does, Abilify could be the one for me."

7 / 10
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49 Report
  • Anonymous
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • September 8, 2020

"Honestly, I feel horrible, even after 24 hours of taking Abilify, I am a mess. I can’t keep anything down, I feel sick. I feel like I should just run around to get rid of this horrible feeling. My ears are ringing. I can’t get rid of this weird muffled head feeling. It’s a nasty drug. I just cannot relax. I’m more panicky and agitated than usual."

1 / 10
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42 Report

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  • Hel...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • October 24, 2018

"From the time my son could walk, he was getting into trouble; he always had problematic tendencies and was very defiant. Everything, I mean EVERYTHING, was a fight. Life was a struggle. He started attending daycare at 3.5 years and ultimately got kicked out. He was put on blood pressure medicine at the age of 4, which hardly did anything. ADHD medication, methamphetamine, at age 5 only worsened his symptoms. Risperidone at 6 years, which took the edge off, but he became more irritable only after 3 months. And Abilify at age 7, and thus far his behavior, aggression, and attention span have improved, and everyone in the household and school does nothing but compliment how well-mannered he is!!! (I never thought this day would come.) Yes, he has gained weight, but the benefits outweigh the side effects. I’m so grateful for this medication!!!! Finding what works or doesn’t work has been a trial-and-error process, but in my mind, Abilify is a miracle drug."

10 / 10
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  • Max...
  • January 19, 2013

"My child was diagnosed at the age of 4 with severe ADHD. We tried all medications. Even added Risperdal. He was very angry and agitated all the time. After 1 week on Abilify (along with Metadate) he is a whole new kid. Loving it!"

9 / 10
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86 Report
  • ADH...
  • July 28, 2019

"Ok my idiot shrink is being fired tomorrow. I've bee reading up on this abilify stuff and guess what I have ADHD depression anxiety. In menopause so what is he put me on Abilify this stuff makes me insanely psychotic and vicious. The least little thing goes wrong and I'm screaming I mean literally screaming at the top of my lungs and freaking out. I will not take the stuff I am not bipolar I have other issues thank you very much it's terrible drug never again"

1 / 10
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45 Report
  • MsM...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • December 13, 2016

"I started this just a week ago for severe anxiety brought on by some recent experiences I had. In the 13 years I've been seeing my psychiatrist, I've never had such panic. He immediately asked me a couple of questions, knowing me very well, and then prescribed the lowest dose. I was hesitant but couldn't see any other option than to give this a try! WOW! For the first time in about a month, I feel more 'normal'! The anxiety is just about gone, I am functioning again, and no side effects that I can detect, and I am a lightweight with meds!"

10 / 10
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54 Report
  • Anonymous
  • March 18, 2010

"My Daughter has ADHD with a high level of aggression, she is eleven. This medicine has so far been a miracle for her and for all of us too. It has been about six weeks and she has only experienced a small amount of weight gain. She is more focused at school and not fighting with friends, teachers, and family. She is doing homework and cleaning her room. She doesn't seem to have any sleep problems. I will watch the weight gain and look for signs of muscle reactions. Otherwise I am praying this medicine continues the way it has because I have not yelled for the first time in 9 or 10 years and she is happy. More doctors need to step away from Concerta and that family of drugs if they see they don't work or cause the aggression."

9 / 10
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82 Report
  • Not...
  • February 11, 2021

"I take 2.5 mg of Abilify. Abilify is my miracle drug. I have struggled with anxiety my entire life and have PTSD. I used to struggle with feeling rage, intrusive thoughts that I just couldn’t shake, and general overwhelming anxiety. Tried and quit at least ten other meds before finding this one. I know it works because if I accidentally forget a dose one day, my anxiety is back in full force for 2-3 days after. Once it’s back in my system, I’m fine again. I haven’t had any noticeable side effects. I take trazodone and melatonin for sleep, so I have no problems sleeping, and I have been intentionally losing weight by counting calories with no problem. I quit a different med that was making my hair thin before starting this, and my hair has all come back on Abilify. I have a prescription for a benzo for anxiety as needed, but I don’t need it anymore."

10 / 10
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28 Report
  • kat...
  • August 23, 2008

"My son has been taking Abilify to help his aggressive behavior associated with his ADHD. He plays with the other children like he did before the aggressive behavior developed and is doing a lot better."

10 / 10
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82 Report
  • Joj...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • May 1, 2022

"I don’t usually ever write reviews on anything, but this is important. I started Abilify at a dose of 2 mg daily about 2 weeks ago for severe anxiety with OCD behaviors. And I was very hesitant after reading some reviews. I have to say I feel like a new woman. It’s a strange feeling at first, almost surreal, but I guess it’s been so long since I’ve felt like myself (or felt ANYTHING at all) I forgot what it was like. I’ve spent so many years being treated with medications for depression (even though I don’t have that dx) that I became a shell of myself. (Finally got a new doctor.) I was numb, no emotions, no sex drive. I stopped enjoying things I used to love. ZERO energy. I was basically on autopilot every day. No desire to do anything or hang out with my friends. My relationship fell apart 'cause I stopped caring about anything. In a way, it was better than how I was off the meds, but it was not the way I wanted to live either. This medication saved my life! I’ve had little to no side effects."

10 / 10
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20 Report
  • Pan...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • May 23, 2021

"I have been suffering major anxiety and fear since puberty. It got much worse after having a child. After trying SSRIs, I felt like a zombie with no motivation. I used to drink alcohol a lot to suppress the anxiety too, which led to tons of problems in my life. Since taking Abilify, I feel like a normal person! I feel like the person I wanted to be. It has increased my appetite a lot, and the first week I couldn’t sleep, but now after a couple of weeks I’m calm and sleeping well. I’m afraid of the weight gain associated with this drug, but a few extra pounds is better than crippling anxiety and substance abuse."

9 / 10
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24 Report
  • Hai...
  • Taken for 2 to 5 years
  • July 11, 2013

"Started taking Abilify for anxiety about five years ago, when nothing else worked. In about half an hour, I could feel the change in me. So much calmer! The only problem is extreme fatigue. Sleep 10 hours a day with naps. Taking 2.5 mg."

8 / 10
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55 Report
  • qua...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • February 1, 2018

"I was started on this to try to help my misophonia (reaction to sounds such as dripping water, chewing, snapping gum, or repetitive noises, such as pencil tapping) after Risperdal (made me feel like a zombie) and Seroquel (just knocked me out) didn't work, and I've actually been quite happy with the results. I still get irritated by people chewing gum around me, but the Abilify helps me not to dwell on the thoughts and worries about the future that cause most of my anxiety. I can move on from a bad situation in less than a minute now, rather than dwelling on it for hours at a time and thinking myself into a deep dark hole."

7 / 10
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37 Report
  • Dea...
  • Taken for 2 to 5 years
  • January 10, 2022

"This drug has destroyed me. I'm now like a zombie. The restlessness is so intense you won't be able to do anything when on this drug other than feel hopeless, restlessness, and want to sleep all the time. It also makes you crave cigarettes so badly you won't have control of your own life if you take this drug. Please think twice about taking this horrible drug."

1 / 10
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18 Report
  • Art...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • July 12, 2019

"I have been taking Abilify 1 mg for almost 3 weeks now for racing thoughts, and I don't find the side effects are going away. I have a terrible restless feeling, fast heartbeat, terrible cloudy head feeling, and vomiting. I hate the side effects and think I'm going to stop taking it. I am super sensitive to meds, so I started at 0.5, and even then had the same thing. It sucks because it did help the racing thoughts but does nothing for my anxiety or depression disorder."

3 / 10
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27 Report
  • Nek...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • May 15, 2015

"The least I can do for this amazing discovery of a medication is to do a review and say that it literally saved my life. I wanted to take away my own life because of hypersexuality waves that I've been experiencing for as long as I can remember. Somehow, I always pushed myself behind the edge by telling myself, 'you just can't give up before making sure that I tried all the options.' Thank goodness I didn't give up. After a couple of years of such agony, I finally met my second psychiatrist who suggested that I may have some very atypical type of bipolar disorder, and he suggested I try Abilify. For the first time in my life, I knew what it means to have a fully controllable sex drive. Please never give up. Cliché saying, but so true! :)"

10 / 10
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41 Report
  • Nex...
  • March 13, 2017

"Abilify made me extremely agitated about the smallest things that wouldn't normally anger me. The time I was on it, I am surprised I didn't end up in prison or a psych ward. One of the worst experiences of my life. They must have had a good ad campaign for this drug, because doctors seem to think it is the answer to everything. The fact is, the two trials done for the drug before it became the next coming of Jesus were done by the drug company that made it. Funny thing is, they didn't hide in their trial that it caused agitation in a little less than half of their patients, which raises the question of why these companies even bother doing trials. They should just sell sugar pills because it is clear that money was their only motivator."

1 / 10
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35 Report
  • Mic...
  • Taken for 6 months to 1 year
  • July 16, 2022

"I went to the psych ward when I was 18 after going through a rough stretch of suicidal thoughts and depression. I voluntarily went and checked myself in. All I wanted was someone to talk to about what was going on in my life because I was bottling everything up for a few years. I went into the psych ward, and I didn't want to take the medication. So they shot me up with the max dosage of Abilify, 6 months extended release of this, and it messed me up. Some of the side effects were restlessness, I could not sit down for 2 minutes without having to get up and move around. It's been 4 years, and I still deal with this today, although it has gotten better. Extreme weight gain, I gained 80 pounds in 8 months. Impulse control problems, I found myself doing weird stuff I never did before, and I had abnormal thinking. My mind would blank out when I was thinking of something, and this happened all the time. My limbs would move without me trying to move them. I do not advise taking this, but everyone is different."

1 / 10
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14 Report
  • Anonymous
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • November 4, 2016

"After going off of this medication and switching to a less expensive one, I became so fuzzy-headed and unclear. It was horrible. Once I went back on it, it took about four weeks for it to start working again. Finally, I started seeing things more clearly and things were getting easier to sort out for me. This is my miracle drug. If you have anxiety or any kind of fear, I would recommend this med."

10 / 10
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33 Report
  • Hap...
  • December 20, 2011

"My daughter is 7 now, and we live in Brazil. Recently, we visited the Amen Clinic in Reston, VA, and her life changed. The doctor gave her Lamictal and Intuniv. It didn't work as expected, she continued to be very hyper. So her doctor decided to replace Lamictal with Abilify 5 mg/day and Intuniv 0.5 mg/day. What a miracle. My daughter never played by herself for more than 5 minutes, now she plays quietly for hours. She's now the perfect little girl we always wanted, and we can really enjoy being with her. She still needs to improve at school, can't focus without assistance, but we think this is improving as well as it is right now. I must say we are very pleased with the combination of Abilify and Intuniv."

10 / 10
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43 Report
Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or to remove inappropriate language and content. Reviews that appear to be created by parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any particular medication. While these reviews may be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, knowledge, and judgement of healthcare professionals.