Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia User Reviews (Page 3)

• 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."

• 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."

• Smo...
• January 2, 2020

"I've been on some form of Abilify injection for 4 years. I have never missed a monthly dose. Started 400 mg for 2 years, 300 mg for 2 years, and just got my first 200 mg in Jan 2020 for schizoaffective disorder. I will never be tapered off, but the point in lowering is to maintain stability, but at the same time control the insatiable desire the meds give me to eat. Also to try and get back some of the energy the meds just simply take away - energy to cook, clean, and exercise. I have been trying different meds for 10 years, and Abilify is my preferred. After refusing those other antipsychotic meds that have literally been around forever, Abilify injection seemed to be a happy medium, and you don’t have to take a pill every day (because I know I won’t). If you find being on an antipsychotic indefinitely is your reality, Abilify makes things easier. With the injection lasting a month long, it’s very incognito and doesn’t remind you that you are being treated - like taking a pill every day."

• 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."

• Flo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 7, 2017

"Forced onto this medication via a CTO. Delusions are still strong and troublesome. Doctors have no idea how to treat this condition. Side effects include insomnia, anxiety, constantly feeling sick, and I have therefore lost weight. This medication is completely ineffective, and it is easier to live with the delusions without the negative side effects."

• 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."

• 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."

• 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."

• Enj...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 29, 2021

"Stuff will ruin your freaking life, you will be sick, fat, and lonely. Can this stuff be made illegal already? I get forced to take this stuff in NH, USA. Really nasty stuff. I need help getting rid of it or purifying it."

• 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."

• Mai...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 15, 2023

"My son has been on Maintena 400 mgs since 2019. First of all, all the negative and positive symptoms disappeared, his constant nightmares became less and less frequent. He only keeps a minor tic in his right hand. Apart from this and some weight gain (14 pounds), Maintena has been a miracle. He managed to finish his degree in Law and is currently studying a Master's. Recently, his psychiatrist decided to reduce the dose to 300 mgs, and he’s doing very well."

• 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."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 6, 2021

"I'm stressing out about this, and my next dose is due next week. I still don't think I have schizophrenia. This medication keeps making me gain weight. Every two months I get the 1064 mgs and gain 30 pounds right afterward. It's also lowered my white blood cell count and all the vitamins. I don't know if the risks are worth the benefits, and I don't know what the benefit is because I still don't think I have schizophrenia. I would rather smoke weed and take herbal supplements. Like, is the health decline worth the mental exhaustion? Abilify makes you feel high. I'm thinking of switching to Wellbutrin."

• Jan...
• September 11, 2021

"I have used Aristada 441 mg now for two years. It has helped with voices and hallucinations. I don’t hear them or see them anymore. I did experience weight gain and hand tremors. I get injected once a month."

• 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."