Abilify for Schizophrenia User Reviews (Page 3)

• Win...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 27, 2019

"I started 20 mg Abilify a month ago, and the only side effects I’ve had are extreme restlessness, especially in the morning. It has helped with paranoia, but I think the help is wearing off after a month because symptoms are returning. I’m doing some form of CBT therapy, which I hope isn’t bringing back things or triggering my schizophrenia symptoms, but I’m still going on full force with medication because I’ve always stopped taking them early. Here’s to hoping all these extra side effects that have happened only this last weekend: increased anxiety, paranoia, and minor hallucinations. On a side note, these extra symptoms are manageable if I’m keeping busy and not letting my mind take control. I just have to stay in the passenger seat."

• Anonymous
• March 9, 2009

"I've used 5 mg daily for three weeks. My delusions and paranoid feelings passed. I still have hallucinations (voices and visual). It's helped my thinking, though it makes me very tired in the day. I hope it will continue to help."

• Dia...
• November 19, 2009

"My mom, who was on Prolixin for years, was put on Abilify in 2005 and was on it until 2007. She became more needy and more annoying, but wasn't having the psychotic symptoms as bad. The mental health center, who was regulating her medication, never checked her blood sugar, only blood pressure. She took a random blood test at a Walmart store and found her blood sugar was way out of control. She comes from a family with no history of diabetes, and she did drink soda or eat high-sugar foods. She stopped taking the Abilify cold turkey, which caused her to rebound into severe schizophrenic episodes. No one could reason with her."

• jer...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 19, 2016

"I cannot imagine why I stood so long on it! I stood on Abilify for 3 years and 2 months. My problem with Abilify was that my blood sugar level increased and I became extremely hungry all the time. If you have bad blood sugar, you need to eat often. And on everything. I even gained weight at the slightest. The only positive was that I was not psychotic on it, and my dreams when I was sleeping were OK! But Abilify affected my personality, I was not me on it. I was like somebody else, but I do not know who! Abilify served only 2 out of 10."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 20, 2015

"I took Abilify for only three days, half of the minimum dosage a day, which is 2.5 mg, still enough to cause me a collapse in which I almost died! I quit immediately, but I still experienced heart problems for the following two months."

• Anonymous
• October 2, 2009

"I was on one Abilify for three years for schizophrenia. At first, I thought it was pretty good. It helped with motivation. But then I started gaining weight. Weight gain on Abilify is very unusual, my doctor said. Anyway, I gained over 50 kg, going from nearly skinny at 78 kg (I'm 6 foot 1 inch) to morbidly obese at 132 kg. Now I'm on ziprasidone (Geodon/Zeldox), and I have lost 7 kg in six months. Hopefully, that weight loss will continue. So if you start gaining weight on this drug, don't ignore it, talk to your doctor about changing medicine."

• Mil...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 13, 2018

"I was on Invega for years. Was always drowsy and gained 100 lbs over 6 years. Then I switched to Abilify last October 2017. Abilify worked so great for me, lost weight, wasn’t drowsy, voices dissipated, etc. Then a month later, the problems started, I fell into a deep hole of nonstop gambling. It started out as just a simple free code bonus for online casinos. It then turned into a full-blown addiction. Drawing my bank account anytime I got paid down to 1-0 dollars trying to win. Always chasing my losses. It has gotten to the point where I started opening credit cards for more and more gambling. I have finally put my foot down and said, “NO More!” I saw my psychiatrist today and came forward with my issues. She told me to taper off Abilify and switch to Vraylar. Here’s to hoping the gambling floats away with the drug leaving my body!"

• des...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 31, 2015

"This medication made me feel like my brain was fried, it was so hard to think, and it made me feel hyper on the inside but made my body feel tired and lazy. It was a horrible feeling, and it made my schizophrenia worse!"

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 28, 2020

"I was on Abilify for constantly thinking disorder, it made me gain a lot of weight. I have a lot of thoughts, the medicine did nothing to stop them. I feel like it just created more anxiety and akathisia."

• Gab...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 23, 2022

"I would rate it a 10/10 if you care to move on with life and take care of your present matters. It took me a couple of months to become effective, and I immediately started with the injections. If you decide to take this route, just be mindful of making better decisions. Thanks, pharma!"

• Cas...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 13, 2019

"I've been on Abilify now for 6 years for schizophrenia, and at first it worked, but now I was up to 10 mg and hallucinating, visual and audible, severe muscle cramping all over my body, my legs and feet never stopped moving, I couldn't eat but I took really small bites because I couldn't swallow. It removed my sex drive, I'm a sex addict. It changed me in every way possible. I went cold turkey 2 weeks ago, and I feel alive again, all the side effects have all but disappeared. I won't go back to it or any other psychotic drug."

• Gap...
• November 22, 2017

"Stop using it! I've been on it for 2 years and feel like I'm dying. I've had hives, diarrhea, racing heartbeat, dilated pupils, etc., hair loss, insomnia, weight loss, and I'm scared for my life. It has worked well up until the last two weeks. I'm aboriginal, and so no cost to me."

• dal...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 12, 2014

"On the good side, it only had one side effect for me, and that was a little bit of an increased heartbeat I could feel, and it made me feel like I was going to a concert or just won a prize, it felt not too bad knowing the other medicines out there for schizophrenia."

• sim...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 3, 2016

"I was on the verge of disaster, my psychiatrist introduced aripiprazole 10 mg with the least dosage. In the beginning, I faced stomach problems, which ended in a month's time. The best result I received only after 4 months of usage."

• Jai...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 4, 2021

"I'm 68, and I had a psychotic episode, never had this happen before. I was hearing non-aggressive voices in the humming of fans, fridges, even car engines. I was put on quetiapine and they didn't agree with me. I've now been prescribed aripiprazole and feel great, more energy, more confidence. I take 5 mg once a day, still vaguely hear the voices, but they don't bother me at all. I'm in the UK and don't pay for medication on the NHS."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 24, 2023

"Abilify, also known as Aripiprazole, is a pretty good med. It helped with my symptoms and, as a plus, it reduced my appetite slightly. But it also caused restlessness and insomnia (as side effects), so I had to switch meds, unfortunately."

• Seb...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 1, 2021

"I have schizotypal disorder. A lot of other medications have slowed my thoughts and caused restlessness at a schizophrenia-recommended dose, such as 10 mg Zyprexa. But none of them have caused that at one-fourth the schizophrenia-recommended dose the way Abilify did. I didn’t get many benefits from this drug. Going back on Zyprexa."

• How...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 7, 2020

"While being forced to take this drug Abilify, on several occasions, maybe around 10 or so times, midstream during urinating, my stream would suddenly stop and ejaculation would flow out, and this is also very painful. This stopped happening when I stopped taking the drug."

• Al...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 1, 2022

"I have seen improvement very soon after taking it. I can think more clearly, just waiting on my motivations to kick in. Been more helpful than paliperidone. Olanzapine worked well. Abilify has made me more aware of my health. It has improved my well-being so far, being only 8 days."

• Ale...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 25, 2021

"This drug is terrible. It keeps me up at night, wide awake! I had the depot injection, now it will not let me sleep for a month. I have been on it for 9 days, counting down the days. What can help with sleep? I tried quetiapine. It didn't work. I don't even know if my doctor will stop this injection. Fingers crossed, he will in 21 days. Don't take the injection form if you have a choice. For me, I don't have a choice."

• The...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 25, 2016

"I had asked my doc to change my medicine from Loxapine to something else that would allow me to get back to my baseline weight. In 3 months, I didn't see any movement towards my baseline weight. I have been exercising (weights + cardio) for 1.5-2 hrs a day, 6 days a week during this time as well while maintaining a pretty disciplined high protein diet. My body fat % came down from 22% to 20% in a couple of months, but hasn't gone lower after that. It's disheartening to see all that hard work yielding not-so-great results, which further affects my motivation to exercise considering I'm not seeing any more results. So this med hasn't been weight neutral for me (compared to baseline wt.), although I didn't gain any more weight on it either."

• Lig...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 3, 2020

"I got prescribed Abilify 10 mg nightly at bedtime for schizophrenia. I am misdiagnosed. I am forced to take it at the moment. I have developed extrapyramidal symptoms, Parkinsonism. My adrenaline and noradrenaline are also way too low. Thanks to my neurologist, I’m taking amantadine, which helps me with Parkinsonism."

• sep...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 14, 2023

"Completely got rid of my hallucinations (auditory, visual, olfactory, and gustatory) pretty quickly, and after my dosage was increased, my delusions likewise subsided. However, what ruined it for me is after the dose was increased, I had rapid-onset severe akathisia, which made everyday life impossible. I recommend trying it out, just be wary of the signs of this side effect."

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

"The first six months to a year actually makes you worse rather than better, until your body adjusts to it fully. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I find Celexa a better choice, other than lightheadedness for the first two months, it actually makes you happy, etc."

• Sta...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 2, 2025

"I just got on Abilify before. It made me feel very motivated. After some time, I was in a shell, and I became vibrant. Well, now, 6 years later, I'm back on it from Invega, which was very weird. I was on it for a year, and every month it got a little better, but the voices were still too bad. Now it has been a full day on Abilify. I didn't sleep in my mom's room. It took a while to fall asleep, but I did, and the voices faded the first time I took it yesterday, but they're seeming to get loud again. Ugh, I'm trying. If things don't go like the first time after six months, I will change to clozapine. I'm confident everything will work out on that pill."