Abilify for Schizophrenia User Reviews (Page 2)

• Hel...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 14, 2020

"Abilify made me completely out of control. I acted in ways I never had before and were completely out of character for me. I was not in control of my emotions, I cried hysterically all the time. I had to be put on something similar to Xanax because I guess my mouth moved uncontrollably. I developed a gambling problem and was out of control with a lot of different things all at one time. I couldn’t stop any of this behavior, and it was tormenting. I wasn’t able to cope either. Horrible experience. Do not smoke marijuana with this, I would advise against it. It will use everything against you and become a problem and made me sicker."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 1, 2012

"I have recently been placed on Abilify 20 mg for early onset schizophrenia. Previously, I was on Amisulpride, which made me very tired and gave me problems with sexual dysfunction. Abilify has provided me with a symptom-free solution."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 3, 2017

"I was taking a lot of pills, some of which weren't working for me. Of course, what works for the guy next to me might not work for me and vice versa because our genetic makeup is different. I have been taking this drug for about 3ish years, and well, I didn't notice a difference until about 2 months ago when I raised the dosage by 5 mg a day. I was on other antipsychotics as well as antidepressants and stuff for bipolar disorder. I'm on a 400 mg injection of Abilify monthly, as well as a 5 mg pill form a day still to this day. When I raised the dosage, the voices stopped. They usually come back in some environments like at work, the gym, or even when I get stressed, but the voices and abnormal thoughts dimmed down dramatically. I feel almost normal."

• Lou...
• April 2, 2020

"I'm on Abilify and no longer hearing voices, but I still see people who aren't there. Even while on the highest dose of this medication, 400 mg injection. I also feel like a zombie most of the time. I'm too tired even to go grocery shopping at times. I'm myself again, but I'm not quite the same. I've gained weight, 30 plus pounds, and I've been on the drug for 3 years. I tried going off of it to 300, and the side effects were my moodiness returned. Sometimes I question if my diagnosis was correct or if they are just pushing this drug out to anyone who claims they are depressed."

• Anonymous
• March 25, 2016

"Within 1 week of taking 1 tablet, my auditory hallucinations had nearly disappeared, and then I increased the amount to 1 1/2 tablets and was and am amazed by this product. It's giving me my life back again......"

• psy...
• July 24, 2009

"This medication over a year's period began to make me become well, not cured. I noticed it beginning in 2008. I was isolated since 1991 in my apartment. Now I'm riding the bus. I don't believe the Abilify did this by itself. I helped it along."

• Jer...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 18, 2021

"I take this medication for the condition paranoid schizophrenia, all I can say is that it’s been good for me over the past 7+ years. Only issues I have with it are the dependency and compulsive side effects."

• mom...
• July 27, 2013

"My now 23-year-old son has been on Abilify since May 2012. Initially on Clozapine but way too zonked. His history is recreational cannabis use caused a psychotic break. Not smoking now or intending to. Hospitalized and medicated. They were surprised and pleased at how quickly he regained his self-awareness, home in 2 weeks but recommended at least 6 months of meds to forestall relapse. He feels very detached from us and himself, on 10 mgs still. He is nervous of relapse, especially since told one of the symptoms of a recurrence would be an inability to sleep. Meds reduced in December."

• Zia...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 26, 2022

"I am on this new medication for two months now for auditory hallucinations. Before this, I was using Risperidone 2 mg. This medicine has improved my style of living a lot. Before using Risperidone, I used to be very lazy. After switching to Abilify, my laziness turned into more activeness. Now I go to the gym regularly and walk 10 km a day. But there is one problem which I have not been able to manage, that is, Abilify has caused me sleep disturbance, which is not going away. It has been two months now, I couldn't sleep properly."

• Huy...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 3, 2017

"Excellent medication! When I was first on Abilify, I hated it. At first, the doctors put me on 10 mg, which I hated because the dose was too high (thinking about it now). Then my doctor raised it to 20 mg, which was just making me even more emotionless. So I switched back to risperidone consta (injection), but I've always hated risperidone consta, so I thought my life was over. But then I noticed I had a full pack of Abilify left over from before. So I decided to take just a small dose of Abilify alongside the risperidone consta, and guess what? The Abilify is great at such a small dose. It completely blocks the side effects of risperidone, and I can live a greater life now. So I take Abilify and have a risperidone injection every 2 weeks."

• sen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 28, 2020

"I took this drug a few years ago and felt like rubbish! My anxiety came back, I lost confidence, and my eyes were rolling up. I hated this drug! But now I know every drug works differently with people, so this may be good for someone else, but for me it was rubbish!"

• Dea...
• April 15, 2012

"Worst experience of my life. Stuck in a mental ward, oral administration at first. Unusual sensation and altered perception of internal space were the immediate experienced effects. Later injections. Developed tics that refuse to subside. Perceived loss of cognitive ability."

• ann...
• March 25, 2010

"I've been on Abilify for about two months. So far, I've found it to be weight neutral. At first, I felt faint a lot, but much less now. I also had tremors at first and difficulty speaking, with a lot of tiredness, but all that has passed. In all, it helps my psychotic symptoms and delusions, not 100%, but it's good enough. I would recommend it to anyone it's prescribed."

• abc...
• July 4, 2012

"My treatment for first episode psychosis started with olanzapine (Zyprexa). It was working really well but was leading to side effects, amongst which weight gain was the most significant. So, eventually, aripiprazole was started, and I am on it for a while. It seems to be a good medicine with very few side effects, and it has worked really well."

• Mot...
• September 27, 2009

"This medication has helped my son a great deal. He developed schizophrenia when he was 16.5 years old. He came forward with his symptoms at age 18 and has been on Abilify for three years. Thanks for the medication. I wish they would get a generic form of it. $700.00 a month is huge for a thirty-day dose."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 5, 2012

"Switched to Abilify from a high dose of Risperdal. Weight gain much less of an issue with Abilify, but drowsiness, depression, and lethargy are a problem. Does not help with any negative symptoms. Abilify maintains a mental state with minimal psychotic symptoms for me, but also causes lactation and motivational problems."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 14, 2018

"Not myself on this medication. Feel lethargic. Plus, symptoms of depression have gotten worse, and so has being more paranoid. Feel emotionless and zombified after 2 months of taking it. Will never take this medication again."

• Tra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 5, 2021

"It was not a nice time being on Abilify, I was psychotic before starting it, and it did nothing to stop the demons in my head even temporarily. It also gave me a lot of anxiety, or I don't know if it is anxiety, just a very nervous, jittery feeling like my body is leaving my mind or something so difficult to explain. It sucks, not effective for psychosis."

• jay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 18, 2015

"I've never taken medication for my symptoms before. This medication makes me feel loopy sometimes, and it seems like my eyes fly back for a second sometimes. It helps within a few minutes of feeling anxiety or really depressed. It has so far also made the voices sound more distant."

• Dre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 10, 2020

"This drug is okay for psychosis, but it can make me tired at times, and sometimes I cannot sleep. I have insomnia from it. It takes away the bad thoughts, but can make me have OCD-like thought patterns and ruminating thoughts. I have been having odd side effects from it as well, like blurred vision, needing to look up all the time, and sensitivity to light in my eyes. I feel more tired on it than I do off of it. My dose is 400 mg monthly, and these are the side effects I am getting off of it."

• NRG...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 9, 2018

"I've been on this medicine for 2 weeks. I'm suddenly not wanting to sleep my whole days away! It makes my ADHD go through the roof, though. A lot of pacing. I stopped ADHD meds because of the psychosis, but I think I may start them up again since I know I was getting psychosis because of schizophrenia and not necessarily the amphetamines. As for side effects, besides the above, the first week had a stomach ache and slight headaches. Totally worth it, though."

• Nut...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 14, 2022

"I just got prescribed this yesterday, and I took it today thinking it would be a great drug compared to the Zyprexa I came off of a few months ago. BOY, was I wrong!!! This medication was GODAWFUL!! 20 minutes after I took it, I started feeling insanely tired, then that turned into extreme sleepiness and drowsiness. I became weak, I had severe akathisia, was insanely angry and irritable, I had hallucinations, vomiting, and diarrhea. I quit cold turkey. Most of the side effects wore off even though I took a nap, but I still feel tired, like I need to nap. Never again 0/10. I took this in 2012 when I was 13, but I don’t remember it being this awful. Terrible medication."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 28, 2019

"It was okay. Lost 5 pounds the first week I was on it. My period also came back. My only problem was that it made it hard to stay asleep. I would fall asleep, wake up, and do the same thing over and over."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 4, 2022

"I was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was 30 years old after experiencing significant psychosis. I was initially placed on olanzapine (Zyprexa), and although it helped considerably and enabled me to leave the hospital, I suffered from side effects including fatigue, dry mouth, and found it almost impossible to get motivated. I then moved onto Abilify, and the difference was like night and day. I'm more sociable, active, responsible, clean, and I'm able to hold down a very demanding career. I don't credit all of this to Abilify, but it certainly helped and played a huge part. I found it difficult to remember to take my dose each day, and a few times the symptoms of psychosis started to return after long periods of not taking the medication. In response, I decided to go for the monthly injections, and I haven't looked back! There is only one side effect that really bugs me, and that is severe akathisia - though I've found Benztropine fixes that 100%."

• pet...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 22, 2019

"My father was taking this drug because the pharmacy had a shortage of Navane. This drug caused him to have a mental breakdown, which caused him to have to be admitted into the psychiatric division of a hospital. His schizophrenia is much worse on Abilify, and it fails to treat the symptoms of his disorder."