Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia User Reviews (Page 5)

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

Aripiprazole "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."

• Gap...
• November 22, 2017

Aripiprazole "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."

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

Aripiprazole "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

Aripiprazole "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

Aripiprazole "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

Aripiprazole "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."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 3, 2023

"Abilify (aripiprazole) worked for my schizophrenia when no other drug would. In addition, it has a reduced risk of causing weight gain or tardive dyskinesia compared to so many other antipsychotics. I'm losing a ton of weight switching from Trilafon (perphenazine) to Abilify and feel great."

• Anonymous
• August 6, 2011

"I have been on aripiprazole for a year and have gone from a size 8-10 to a size 16-18. I have gained 4 stone! Unfortunately, my doctor believes the medicine is weight neutral, though obviously not. I eat normally and am currently trying to persuade my nurse and doctor to prescribe me an alternative. Apart from that, all my symptoms have disappeared, but I think the weight gain overwrites the positives."

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

Aripiprazole "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."

• Ann...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 25, 2019

"I was having insomnia, and my doctor first prescribed me this aripiprazole. Made my insomnia worse. Switched to quetiapine/Seroquel and made my life so much better with more sleep and less/rare psychotic episodes."

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

Aripiprazole "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."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 18, 2023

Aripiprazole "It has fewer side effects compared to other antipsychotics, however, one side effect to be aware of is insomnia. I think overall, with how few side effects it has, it can be worth it for some people. It's also activating rather than sedating compared to other antipsychotics, so that's a plus too."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 19, 2023

"My son has been a drug addict since he was 12 years old. He has always heard voices outside his head, along with a history of other mental health issues including severe psychosis, delusional thoughts (he was misdiagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder) at 12 years old. He is now 23 and was diagnosed with severe ADHD and autism a year ago. He was firstly prescribed olanzapine for fast results, but the side effects of thyroid problems and weight gain were concerning. He has now been prescribed aripiprazole 10 mg over the last 4 months. However, he has now started gambling, a common known side effect of this drug but not commonly known or talked about. There is lots of online information on the subject. His psychiatrist agreed it was the aripiprazole causing the gambling and advised to reduce the dose to 5 mg and monitor. Watch for this gambling side effect!"

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

Aripiprazole "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."

• Gol...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 10, 2023

Aripiprazole "This medicine is a life changer! It's helped me live an almost completely normal life along with monitoring and therapy. I highly suggest you take a look at it if you are taking an oral antipsychotic and having trouble adhering to a medication regimen and/or don't want to have to think about another thing to take every day. I don't really notice large peaks and valleys as I was told to possibly expect with an extended-release medication. Also, the manufacturer has a huge coupon this year 2023."

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

Aripiprazole "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

Aripiprazole "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

Aripiprazole "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."

• muh...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 6, 2017

"The first couple of weeks were tough at 30 mg, was overmedicated and experienced severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, which I tried to take care of with Luvox. I felt as if brain activity had slowed to a crawl, just basically really drugged up. I decided to reduce the dose to 20 then 15 mg, worked like a charm. I discontinued SSRIs, and my OCD has not returned. My intelligence is returning gradually. I might just take that final step down to the lowest effective dose to see the changes I need. Overall, the long half-life is a huge help, try starting lower but still therapeutic. It may take a number of months for changes to materialize. Good luck!"

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

Aripiprazole "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."

• Lau...
• June 4, 2015

"I hear voices and hallucinate. I see people that others can't, that I believe are real, but others don't. I also have depression and anxiety, neither of which are a cause of the psychosis, but both are made worse by it. I've tried other medication (quetiapine), but although it's helped, there have been too many side effects, like weight gain, that increased my negative self-image. And so now I'm on aripiprazole."

• cyn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 21, 2019

"Day 1 of taking it, and I seriously can't stand it. It's worsened a couple of aspects of my symptoms, and for the first time in my life, I can't sleep. I can't think straight. My hands have been numb for hours. I'm nauseous, and if I get up, I'll just vomit everywhere. And so much more!! Looks like I'm bedridden until the effects wear off. Not to mention I took the 2 mg. Could you imagine if it were the standard 10 mg dose? Just be forewarned if you take it, this is my first time trying a mood medicine. Everyone has different reactions."

• Und...
• November 10, 2018

"Very initial impression! So my parents have both the same kind of problem. My mother has schizophrenia for 30 years, taking her pills every day. My father also had something bad, never diagnosed. So one day, a psychotic doctor got him this drug. I was thinking, yeah, I got a problem too. Been afraid all the time of drugs, so I took it and felt good for a week from one pill. The next time I took 2.5 mg only. The good impact was focus on projects, my hobbies that I like, being more friendly, having deeper conversations, easy to listen to music while typing. I had distraction when focused on something and someone came and started talking. I always needed at the same time to adjust the sounds of the songs while doing something, it's clear still while focusing elsewhere. The bad impact is that I can't be so bored for too long. Sleeping though can help relax. I also have some irritability. Just want to say that."

• Cha...
• July 18, 2020

"Took a 10 mg dose of aripiprazole at nighttime prescribed by the doctor. The medication didn't work for me and my schizophrenia. I had trouble speaking and was suffering from nausea. I have to withdraw from this drug."

• No...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• March 19, 2025

Aripiprazole "After one single pill, I stopped immediately hearing voices. It's a miracle, no voices at all."