Aripiprazole and Depression: What Users Say (Page 2)

• ano...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 2, 2020

Aripiprazole for Autism "15-year-old son was prescribed Abilify for anxiety and aggression that started recently. It stopped the aggression and regulated his sleep cycle nicely. However, after 5 months, he started having crying episodes and seemed depressed, mixed with mood swings. Side effects included drooling and feeling like he had to pee but couldn't. It amplified fixated/recurring thoughts to the point of serious debilitation. Doctor advised to try reducing the dose. Found Ativan worked better when there was any potential flare-up and have used that on an as-needed basis. Reducing the dose and hoping to find a better solution."

• Eba...
• October 11, 2019

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I was on Abilify for about 3-4 months. And don’t get me wrong, it worked for my BPD, but it also brought on akathisia. Made me really anxious and restless all the time. And most recently, it’s thrown me into a depressive state. In the last few weeks to a month, I haven’t felt like myself, and I don’t enjoy doing the things I used to. My doctor just recently took me off it, so I’m excited to feel myself again. I wouldn’t knock it until you try it because it did work for me, the side effects just got to be too much to handle. But everyone is different."

• mom...
• July 27, 2013

Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia "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."

• Liz...
• April 30, 2021

Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia "I was coerced into taking an injection of Aristada at a psych ward. They don't tend to tell you it takes around nine months to get this drug out of your system after one single injection. The half-life (the amount of time it takes for half of the original dose of the drug to decrease by half) is around 57 days for Aristada. For Abilify Maintena, which is a different injectable of aripiprazole, the half-lives for the 300 mg and 400 mg dosages are about 30 and 46 days, respectively. So, if you happen to experience terrible side effects on the injection, such as extreme akathisia, muscle damage indicators on a blood test, extreme hunger 24/7, rapid weight gain, and depression, don't expect the effects of this injection to just magically disappear after a no-show to a scheduled injection. They will continue to drag out and be overwhelming, only decreasing in intensity slowly, slowly. Nightmare."

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

Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia "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."

• Wir...
• July 18, 2016

Aripiprazole for Depression "This is one dangerous drug, for me, it made me feel half dead. To me and the world around me, it made my depression even worse and anxiety really bad to the point I was unable to do the things I wanted to enjoy. Was unable to settle. It put me in a dark place and gave me really bad dreams, and good luck if on it more than 6 months to come off. May the force be with you, it's a horrific experience, so please keep clear!"

• Dea...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 10, 2022

Aripiprazole for Agitated State "This drug has destroyed me. I'm now like a zombie. The restlessness is so intense you won't be able to do anything when on this drug other than feel hopeless, restlessness, and want to sleep all the time. It also makes you crave cigarettes so badly you won't have control of your own life if you take this drug. Please think twice about taking this horrible drug."

• Wha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 23, 2019

Aripiprazole for Bipolar Disorder "I was prescribed Abilify after experiencing a 3-4 month long hypomanic episode. I was on Lamictal 100 mg, but that wasn’t helping alone, so my psychiatrist decided to add in Abilify. She also said it would help with the mild paranoid thoughts I was having. This was a horrible medication for me personally. It may work for other people, but it wasn’t for me. It made me flat, and I didn’t care about anything anymore. I wasn’t depressed on it, I just didn’t care about anything. Even the people around me commented on how apathetic I had become. It made my fears of psychiatric medications come true. I lost my personality, passion, and energy. I am off of it now and feel way better. I think it served its purpose of getting me out of my hypomanic episode, which is why I gave it a 4-star rating, but I couldn’t see being on this medication long-term."

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

Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia "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."

• Vir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 27, 2018

Aripiprazole for Depression "Was good for like a month. I had energy and was waking up early. After that, I started gaining weight (25 lbs) and got so depressed that I didn't want to go out and was even suicidal. I'm off now, and in less than a month, lost 15 lbs. I'm starting to feel better and back to taking only Celexa 20 mg since six years ago."

• Hal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 12, 2019

Aripiprazole for Major Depressive Disorder "Well, I started this medication 2 weeks ago, and I’m pretty sure I had a 10-day mental breakdown from it. Really dark thoughts, extreme depression, delusional thinking, I thought I was losing my mind, to be honest. Finally stopped it and am feeling 100% better."

• Hal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 12, 2019

Aripiprazole for Major Depressive Disorder "Well, I started this medication 2 weeks ago, and I’m pretty sure I had a 10-day mental breakdown from it. Really dark thoughts, extreme depression, delusional thinking, I thought I was losing my mind, to be honest. Finally stopped it and am feeling 100% better."

• TJa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 5, 2018

Aripiprazole for Bipolar Disorder "It did not stabilize my moods. I’m still all over the place, and the fact that I can’t sit still gets really under my nerves. I’m super paranoid on this. I feel 10x worse than I did before. It messed me up completely. Side effects: Severe akathisia, high anxiety, paranoia, delusions, mania, depression, suicidal ideation. I only took this for 2 weeks at a low dose of 5mg, and I'm done."

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

Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia "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."

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

Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia "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."

• Ski...
• June 5, 2015

Aripiprazole for Major Depressive Disorder "My experience with Abilify was destructive. I am 25 now and have had MDD since age 10. Four years ago, I took Abilify for about 3-4 months. During that time, I experienced paranoia, delusions, worsened depression, and extreme weight gain. I'd never had paranoia or delusions before, and it brought my normal baseline from a 5/10 to a 1/10. That still hasn't changed. I also experienced an extreme compulsive desire to eat (did not go away after I stopped the medication) as well as total thyroid shutdown (atrophy), as can be affirmed by my endocrinologist. In about four months, I gained 80 lbs (more than 60% of my original body weight). I will be on multiple medications the rest of my life to treat damage from Abilify."

• I...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 9, 2019

Aripiprazole for Bipolar Disorder "I am on the 400 mg Abilify injection, and I am miserable! My pdoc is the worst. She does not listen to anything I have to say about the drug regarding side effects. I am having muscle spasms as I am typing right now. I also have dry mouth, constipation, depression, and agitation. I had this doctor with tunnel vision ten years ago, you think I would have learned my lesson, but I do have an appointment on the 18th with a new proc, thank God!!!! God help us all!!!"

• Jua...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 4, 2013

Aripiprazole for Bipolar Disorder "I found out I was bipolar about a month ago. The first pill my PCP gave me was Abilify. Starting on 2 mg for the first 2 weeks. I didn't notice anything until maybe the third day. However, the rest of that week and the following, I have been on a roller coaster. I just started taking 5 mg of Abilify, and I notice the next day. I had the feeling of being normal again. The only side effect I've noticed was when I was depressed, I was depressed. Since upping the dose, I feel way better."

• Gab...
• April 18, 2020

Aripiprazole for Schizoaffective Disorder "This is a terrible drug! I would recommend to never take this. I was on it for 3 months, and it was the worst 3 months of my life. My anxiety and depression got so much worse, and I felt as if I was trapped with nowhere to go or no hope. It also made me feel as if I were out of reality."

• Gre...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 12, 2015

Aripiprazole for Major Depressive Disorder "I first tried this drug about five years ago and have been on it consistently for two to three years. The good: this drug really changed my life. I'd tried a laundry list of antidepressants, and they were mostly like popping sugar pills--they didn't do much at all. My psychiatrist suggested adding Abilify, and it did something that no drug had ever done for me: it stabilized my mood (which was all over the map). It allowed me to be happy and productive for the first time ever in my adult life. The bad: I have consistently gained weight every year I've been on the drug, with no sign of a plateau. I'm experimentally discontinuing it to see if I can lose the weight (which is, counter-productively, making me depressed again)."

• Pat...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 18, 2022

Aripiprazole for Depression "My husband suffers from some serious depression. He initially was on 5 mg Abilify in addition to Lexapro. The Abilify worked wonderfully to keep him from having weepy periods and seemed to help his overall outlook. The downfall is that it worked so well he had almost no emotion at all. We almost divorced due to the lack of connection. After being off of it for several weeks (his regular doc left the practice and he was out of refills), he was re-prescribed 2 mg Abilify. Of course, the pharmacy was out of stock for days while my husband went into a deeper depression. I found it at another pharmacy and just drove across town to get it filled with a quickness because it works that well for him."

• Sap...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 7, 2018

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I was on aripiprazole for borderline personality disorder (multiple changes of antidepressants during this time) for 5 years. It was great at first for the first year and a half, believed I was heading in the right direction (10 mg at the time). Dosage was increased to 15 mg. Became very emotionally numb. BPD symptoms intensified. Dosage was then increased again to 20 mg. Basically became a zombie by this point. I personally don't like this medication, and I don't believe it's the one for me."

• Bee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 30, 2019

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "I felt great for about 3 weeks. Now, I've gained about 10 pounds in 2 months and am as depressed as one might be if their loved ones died. I don't know what this is doing to my brain, but I have never felt depression like this before. I'm so tired I can hardly move. I'm weak. I'm basically useless because of the side effects."

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

Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia "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."

• Xst...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 5, 2016

Aripiprazole for Bipolar Disorder "I'm 29 and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 22 years old. I had bipolar 1, but with Abilify and Lamictal, I now have bipolar 2. I forget a lot of things, have become lazy, have gained 25 pounds in a year, have low motivation, am tired all the time, and have been feeling depressed. I plan on not taking Abilify anymore because I feel as if I've lost myself ... I don't feel unique."