Abilify and Hallucinations: What Users Say (Page 2)

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

For Schizophrenia "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
• September 27, 2012

For Agitated State "My teen is on the first week of Abilify, and Strattera will be added in another week for ADD. He had been on Focalin for ADD/ADHD, which we thought worked the best of all ADD meds we tried over many years. But what we didn't realize is that stimulant meds (like Focalin, Concerta) can cause paranoia, anxiety, and agitation, which came out in him-making his doctor think he had a secondary, more worrisome disorder. Every symptom went away after stopping the stimulant med for 2 months. I hope Abilify works as a balance for the Strattera. His doctor said no more stimulant meds for him, although they work the best."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 27, 2016

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Having increased hallucinations and paranoia, and feeling isolated. This is making it hard to get out with people, and I have been on 10 mg. Good things are I am feeling more active in general, taking better care of myself. Not too happy with the amount of voices that occur when on this med. It has made me more hungry and restless."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 27, 2016

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Having increased hallucinations and paranoia, and feeling isolated. This is making it hard to get out with people, and I have been on 10 mg. Good things are I am feeling more active in general, taking better care of myself. Not too happy with the amount of voices that occur when on this med. It has made me more hungry and restless."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 27, 2016

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Having increased hallucinations and paranoia, and feeling isolated. This is making it hard to get out with people, and I have been on 10 mg. Good things are I am feeling more active in general, taking better care of myself. Not too happy with the amount of voices that occur when on this med. It has made me more hungry and restless."

• Har...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 21, 2017

For Major Depressive Disorder "This medicine made me have dreams that seem like reality night terrors. Had me talking to and seeing people and things that were not there. I was talking to dead people! My family almost had me committed. A real vacation in a bottle is what I call it now! I'm so upset thank god I stopped taking it when I did or who knows what else would or could have happened! Was a really bad vacation in a bottle!"

• ImN...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 6, 2015

For Schizoaffective Disorder "I took Abilify for over a year, at 30 mg. I remember a few pros and cons. Pro: I became okay with not having to talk, explain, or stir up 'energy' at public gatherings. (Took away the 'prophet - tell them or they'll all die' urge completely.) Pro: I could complete projects without superstition or worry that every tiny detail could lead to catastrophe. Con: Severe akathisia (very painful, and pain wasn't managed at all in the hospital. This is why I don't take antipsychotics anymore!) Con: Loss of creativity/writer's block. Con: Very flat personality. Con: Visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations did not go away, so they kept increasing the dose to the highest dose - still never went away. If there was no pain, I'd give this a 9."

• Kim...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 21, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "Taking Abilify for about 10 years. Does cause weight gain and, for myself, no sexual desire. The swings from manic to depression continue but are manageable. Do not take yourself off this drug 'cold turkey.' Caused many psychotic episodes for me, which disappeared when returning to the drug. Sad movies no longer make me cry. Don't have great joyful moments either. I don't stagger around like when I was on lithium. I do have hypertension, not always controlled by the three antihypertensives I'm taking."

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

For Schizophrenia "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."

• Pap...
• November 27, 2020

For Schizoaffective Disorder "I’ve been taking Abilify for years. I had to restart it about a month ago after being off of it for about four months. I started getting a really terrible appetite where I just wanted to keep on eating. I think I’ve gained a bit of weight while on it. I have WAY too much energy and have found I’ve become a bit impulsive. Although any hallucinations I used to have have lessened quite a bit, so that’s a plus! I feel like the longer you’re on it, the less bad side effects you feel. If you’re feeling too energized and like you constantly need to move, it may be a thing called Akathisia; a need to always be doing something or a mental unrest. Any anger I used to have has lessened or is gone pretty much. I do feel pretty spaced out a lot and very forgetful, not myself, but at least the psychotic symptoms I had have lessened."

• Kvo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 10, 2022

For Bipolar Disorder "I had a very strange experience on Abilify, and I started with a couple of milligrams and went up. I grew very positive and happy over the course of a year and danced a ton, on the streets and at events. Over that year, I grew psychotic at the end and went off my medications. Seven years later, I went on Abilify again and went off all my medications, without meaning to, again, and was hospitalized again. I would never go off my medications, and because I’ve always known how important they are for my well-being and health. Something happens with me and Abilify that causes a high state where I somehow feel I don’t need my medications. So, for me, I write that I’m allergic to it and that it induces psychosis on my hospital band."

• wha...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 6, 2021

For Schizoaffective Disorder "This didn't help me and is very, very hard to discontinue. It made me psychotic, and tremors were really bad after my doctor tried stopping it. I still am just on it to avoid the psychosis that follows stopping (right thing to do)."

• Anonymous
• January 21, 2011

For Bipolar Disorder "I had such bad side effects from Abilify with no positive effects. My cholesterol went up, I had heartburn or acid reflux every night that would wake me up. I got totally paranoid and was even scared to drive or ride in a car. I had unusual fears of dying, I had a hard time laying still and would have to move my legs and arms. I got really bad dizzy spells, usually while I was driving, which created more fears of driving. I still haven't found something that works for me. Losing hope."

• Anonymous
• February 11, 2012

For Bipolar Disorder "Have been taking Abilify for 6 months at 2 mg daily. The first 2 weeks were hard. I couldn't sit still at all, and could not sleep, and my work suffered badly because I couldn't think due to lack of sleep. But I didn't give up because the anger and extreme anxiety I was experiencing disappeared after the first dose! I have gained weight and sometimes cannot control binge eating since I've been on it. Also, it does almost nothing for depression, which still comes and goes, but is easier to deal with since I have much less anxiety symptoms. But I seem to be really paranoid now, and I don't like that. All that being said, I feel way more stable on this than on nothing."

• Sun...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 27, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "I was on Abilify for a diagnosis of mixed bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder following a hospitalization. I was on it for about a year. I found it helpful and easily tolerated at first - it helped reduce hallucinations and paranoia while improving my fluctuating mood. However, even at its highest dose, it wasn’t strong enough or potent enough for me, I suppose - it just didn’t match up. I continued to have some paranoia, and whenever I was more upset than usual, I’d have breakthrough hallucinations. What made the docs take me off of it was the oral twitching I developed and bizarre tongue movements, which are signs of tardive dyskinesia, a rare side effect. Newer antipsychotics have fewer instances of this condition, but it’s still possible. Anyway, I was taken off of it and placed on another antipsychotic. I still have tongue movements, though... An overall okay drug, it works for a lot of people, but not everyone!"

• Sun...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 27, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "I was on Abilify for a diagnosis of mixed bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder following a hospitalization. I was on it for about a year. I found it helpful and easily tolerated at first - it helped reduce hallucinations and paranoia while improving my fluctuating mood. However, even at its highest dose, it wasn’t strong enough or potent enough for me, I suppose - it just didn’t match up. I continued to have some paranoia, and whenever I was more upset than usual, I’d have breakthrough hallucinations. What made the docs take me off of it was the oral twitching I developed and bizarre tongue movements, which are signs of tardive dyskinesia, a rare side effect. Newer antipsychotics have fewer instances of this condition, but it’s still possible. Anyway, I was taken off of it and placed on another antipsychotic. I still have tongue movements, though... An overall okay drug, it works for a lot of people, but not everyone!"

• Sey...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 9, 2021

For Major Depressive Disorder "Was prescribed Abilify to help 'boost' my antidepressants. Have been on it for almost two years. Caused me to gain 50 pounds in 3 months, and even with exercise and dieting, have been unable to lose the weight. Also causes very vivid dreams, and at higher doses, causes feelings of anxiety and paranoia. I strongly suggest you take a genetic test to make sure this medication will work for you before you take this drug."

• ADH...
• July 28, 2019

For Agitated State "Ok, my idiot shrink is being fired tomorrow. I've been 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 a terrible drug, never again."

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

For Schizophrenia "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."

• Mil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 1, 2021

For Schizoaffective Disorder "My doctor misdiagnosed me with schizoaffective disorder, even with an ADHD diagnosis as a child, but I figured I'd try it anyway because, hey, maybe they got it wrong back then. So I took Abilify, and by the end of week three, I damn near went psychotic and was suicidal because of it. This is the single worst drug I've ever had the displeasure of taking. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but if you get misdiagnosed, which happens often enough, you're going to have a very bad time."

• Psy...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 6, 2022

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Not effective enough for the long-term, therapeutic management of certain psychoses. I coped well on Aripiprazole or Abilify initially along with an antidepressant, but the benefits soon stopped. I’m now back to square 1 - paranoid, delusional, and horribly depressed and anxious. Some swear by Abilify and its non-sedating, alerting effects. I personally cannot tolerate this med any longer and will be handing it back to my pharmacy."

• kit...
• January 4, 2016

For Schizophrenia "My son was started on Abilify after 11 years on Zyprexa. First, he was zombie-like, and now, a year later, he is paranoid, delusional, and has a lot of cognitive deficits. Worst drug ever!!!!"

• ano...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 9, 2015

For Schizophrenia "This medicine is really helpful with voices, but my paranoia and depression have gotten worse."

• Dop...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 24, 2021

For Schizophrenia "Slow walking, sedation, and reduced appetite in addition to delusions remaining."

• Bel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 26, 2021

For Schizophrenia "Got rid of the hallucinations and auditory voices, mostly. Paranoia still pretty bad."