User Reviews for Abilify to treat Schizoaffective Disorder

"I have been on Abilify for about 14 years and I have found it to be very beneficial. I suffered from verbal and visual hallucinations. Thanks to Abilify I have been symptom free for a number of year. Thank God."

"I was diagnosed with bipolar 1 as a child, and later diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. I had a period in my life where I was into the occult, the bible, and other occult subjects, and my doctor saw that as being unacceptable. So they put me on invega and that made me extremely depressed and was crying most of the day, so I switched to abilify. The abilify makes me anxious, restless, body aches and joint pain, lost my self worth and purpose. I've been a musician for 13 years and I just sit here now unable to motivate myself to do anything. I miss how I felt off of meds, but I'm forced to take them. I don't think antipsychotics are good for depression at all. Every time I get my shot I almost immediately fall into a deep depression for 2 weeks or so, and then start feeling better the last 2 weeks of the month, then I get my shot and start the cycle all over again, I want to get rid of my meds and I want to talk to God again."

"It appeared to help because taking it happened to occur at the same time as my symptoms getting much better. Over the years, that was the story being told. No other medication before it did anything for me, so it seemed to be safe for me to stay on Abilify. I finally experimented with taking less after I realized I seemed different than other people. I was wondering why I could never remember things very well and was not very confident or comfortable. It has been a year tapering off from 15 mg daily and I am finally almost completely off. I have improved tremendously and for the first time in 15 years feel like myself. I did not realize how much this medication was making me dumb. Life is too important to mess up. As always, listen and trust your own intuition first. If you start to feel negative affects for any reason, so much that you do not enjoy life as fully as you feel you should, stop this med."

"I'm 66 years old and had been treated with a myriad of drugs for bipolar and schizoaffective disorder including psychoses, mood swings, delusions and hallucinations for over 30 years when I was put on Abilify. It was like someone flipped a switch and I got my life back. I am virtually symptom-free for over twelve years now and the only side effect has been some weight gain which, at my age, is a fair trade. Truly a wonder drug."

"I am thirty three and I have schizoaffective disorder. Ability gave me the energy to make it through the day and run after two kids. It's the best medicine I've ever been on. No side effects. Stopped drinking and pills. Doing much better."

"Over 5 years of swallowing this medication daily, even at its lowest dose at times, and it successfully caused me full blown addiction. Random compulsive shopping, alcoholism, pain relievers, sex and porn and gambling. That's what I get for asking a "professional" (a MD) for help, I guess. Add the yearly deductible payment of ~$750, for a 30 day supply, every January, plus co pays to have the "professional" refill the addiction every so often. Do I want to sue? Yes. Does it even matter though after what I explained? ...."

"I heard voices and experienced wild delusions for over ten years before I found Abilify. At first I took 10mg of Haldol to quiet the voices but that stopped working after 6 months. And the side effects of Haldol were high. My experience with Abilify I think are better than average, in that I'm symptom free, with no side effects. 30mg a day for three years."

"I have schizophrenia, anxiety (generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder), and depression. I started wellbutrin and abilify 4 days ago and I also take Loxapine. Because I started Wellbutrin and Abilify at the same time, I'm not sure which one is working for my anxiety. But it was at a solid 8.6/10 and now it's down to 5.5/10. So whatever Abilify and wellbutrin is doing, it's working for my anxiety a lot."

"I am very happy with Abilify. I have been on it with Lexapro and klonopin and I am feeling much better than I was. I can make firm decisions. As a matter of fact I bought my first home at 58. I take care of my own finances and for the most part I am very pleased with my adulthood. I am a wonderful grandma and my babies love me. It is awesome to be me. I feel free and "human ". I am blessed!!!!"

"I was recently diagnosed schizoaffective, at 30 years of age. I've been on 30 different medications, ranging in all of the psychotropic med. spectrum. Abilify, at 10 mg., has stopped the; delusions, paranoia, depression and visuals. I am in full remission with the aid of paxil and remeron. Initially, abilify can cause some insomnia. Ask for a sleep aid. I used remeron for sleep. I highly recommend Abilify for schizoaffective disorder. 1 week should have results. 2 weeks peak plasma concentration. Peace"

"Abilify is great, I don't feel flat like zyprexa and invega made me feel. Do not gain any weight. I feel energy and motivation to do things. At first it made me feel a little bit restless but that seems to fade away. Been using it for over a month now. Hope it stays this way!!"

"I suffered for over 5 years in an episode state, I was diagnosed bipolar schizoaffective in January of 2008. Was prescribed Abilify for the schizoaffective disorder and Zoloft for the bipolar disorder the combination of the two has changed my life. I'm not homeless anymore and am able to hold a part time job to support myself. "

"I was 280pounds on olanzapine and was switched to arpiprazole. I lost 80 pounds in 6 months and have maintained the lower weight for over a year. But I did have a 2 month severe withdrawal period when I stopped the olanzapine. After that, I felt the same on the aripiprazole as I did on the olanzapine, minus the severe obesity. I like aripiprazole, and I have no sexual dysfunction as I did on olanzapine."

"It started off great on Abilify. I had so much energy and it helped me get up early with more energy. However once I got to 5mg it turned into a nightmare. Extreme anxiety around people and I would feel like crying for almost no reason. I do not like it and am thankful my doctor let me stop taking it"

"Definitely my favorite. I'm so put down by my mood stabilizer that I never got manic on it. Weight gain for me is self induced, not medication induced. It ups a lot of things that make you smarter. Scholastically I do well on it. Nice medicine."

"Although this medicine works wonders for some and not so well for others, I have found that it has helped me a great deal. It is truly a miracle for me. Without it I would not be the person that I am today. I was put on this medicine when it was barely out of the lab. It has totally changed my life. I love it!"

"Abilify worked wonders for me. So far the only side effect I have is the involuntary movement of my jaw. And also I sleep like 12 hours in the morning. But so far so good. Haven't gained any weight either and I hope I don't in the future as I have been taking it for just 4 months now."

"This is a terrible drug!! I would recommend to never take this. I was on it for 3 months and it was the worst 3 months of my life. My anxiety and depression got so much worse and I felt as if I was trapped with no where to go or no hope. It also made me feel as if I were out of reality ."

"I have been taking 15 mg of Abilify for 2 months. I’ve lost 6 kg and feel amazing. My depression is all but gone my day to day tasks seem easy now in comparison to my previous med (Risperdal) where I gained 15 kg and was lethargic and unmotivated all the time. I also developed very high prolactin levels from the Risperdal which have now returned to normal since starting Abilify. My symptoms are gone and I feel free for first time in 10 years. I’ve previously been on olanzapine and sodium valproate and like I said Risperdal. Over the last 2 years on those meds I gained 42 kg mostly on olanzapine even with a healthy diet. Now its 15 mg Abilify, 300mg lamotragine and 1700mg metformin. I feel amazing and am finally losing weight. Love Abilify. Awesome medication. Had no side effects except bit drowsy for first 5 days."

"Yay!Love abilify. I'm 56, started on lowest dose 3 weeks ago and my thinking process has never been so normal. Way more motivation. Feels like a miracle after decades of mental torment. My doc will probably increase my dose a bit in 2 weeks. Looking forward!"

"Am 62. Been diagnosed at 20 with Borderline Personality Disorder, at 21 with Schizoaffective Disorder, then in later years with Autism and Asperger's syndrome. I am not sure which I am. (Plays into my theory that there is only one mental disorder, which has many different manifestations.) Had been taking antipsychotics from 20 to approx. 50, when I was switched to an Risperidone. Since 61, been on Abilify. Calm living, declining positive effects I feel, dosage needs to be adjusted (up) occasionally. Get mild anxiety attacks once a month, alleviated with Clonazepam. Socially better, forgetful, can't recognize faces, lose names. Crystalline memory improved. More mature, wiser, but hopelessly inept at seeing details, visuals. LOST 10 lbs."

"Took Haldol for 30 years. Switched to Abilify 4 days ago. I developed SEVERE constipation. Had constipation on Haldol also, but not as bad. Gained 8 lbs in 4 days on Abilify. My experience with Abilify has now convinced me I am through with anti-psychotics regardless of the consequences. The only way I will take anti-psychotic is by being strapped down and a judges order forces a doctor to give it to me."

"I was initially prescribed Abilify to treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia (flat affect) and it definitely has worked for that. I feel more able to express myself, like I'm no longer burdened by depression. I have been sleeping 7-8 hours instead of my usual 10 and waking up with more energy. Also it has unexpectedly cured my anxiety, which was pretty serious. I feel like I can participate in life now due to that aspect. Just having the anxiety lifted has improved my mood. I don't feel stoned or anything, just normal. The only side effects have been sleeping lighter and dreaming more, plus some minor dizziness after taking the pill. The first few days were intense nausea, but that went away completely. Mind you I'm only 1 week into the treatment but already these insane improvements. Not sure how effective it is in treating people without schizo symptoms but it has worked for me"

"Been on Abilify for 8 years. It completely removed my delusional thinking patterns at just 5mg and at 10mg it resolved a mania psychosis, and helped me get my life back on track. Only side effects were insomnia (which I took Imozop for) for when I initially began taking it, but 2-3 weeks after trial I was side-effect free."

"I developed severe akathisia (restlessness) while taking this medication. I had a difficult time sitting in one place for more than a few minutes and it was absolutely exhausting. I also developed insomnia and TD (tardive dyskinesia) and altogether I would say this medication was very difficult to tolerate. I was happy to be taken off of it."