Aripiprazole and Insomnia: What Users Say (Page 5)

• Dru...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 2, 2021

Aripiprazole for Bipolar Disorder "I was on 0.5 mg of Abilify for two weeks. I couldn't stay still, couldn't sleep, couldn't smell food without getting sick to my stomach. I feel like I have to be doing something constantly. I get bad shakes all the time. I couldn't even eat, I lost weight, I only weighed 118 lbs to begin with. I was nauseous, I had to take nausea medication for something. I was in a constant state of anxiousness, and it was horrible. I'm glad it has worked well for other people, but this just wasn't for me. I'm off of it, and it took me a month to get out of my system. My psychiatrist changed me to Latuda 40 mg at night, and I have my life back. It took about two to three weeks for me to see the changes, but they did come. I enjoy everyday life now, I feel normal now. Your doctor can give you a coupon to pay no more than $15.00. I am on Latuda 40 mg at night and Klonopin 0.5 twice a day or as needed. No side effects."

• JCr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 18, 2022

For Bipolar Disorder "I was put on 5 mg of aripiprazole for about 7 weeks when I decided I couldn't take the depression and anxiety it was causing. No, this wasn't my norm, and it was obvious where it was stemming from. I had gone off other medicine cold turkey in the past, so I thought I would be fine. I wasn't. By a week in, I hit a depression so bad it was nearly debilitating. About 4 days after that, the insomnia started, and I couldn't take it anymore, so I went back on the 5 mg and decided to taper slowly. I know everyone is different, but please don't mess around with this drug. Go up in dosage slowly, go down in dosage slowly. The feelings I experienced when going off cold turkey absolutely terrified me, and I vowed to never cold turkey a drug again. My doctor said my reaction was 'rare.' Rubbish! The withdrawal symptoms can be absolutely awful. Don't do what I did. I've now tapered to about 2.5 - 3 mg and still going. Things have been so much better after going down the right way."

• Hea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 2, 2021

For Borderline Personality Disorder "This medication does nothing for me effectively except flatline my emotions - and I definitely can't find happiness in life if that is occurring. Part of true happiness is being able to feel your own art of sentiments and hormonal fluctuations - none of which Abilify enables me to do. So it's no good. I am not just going to settle for a fancy pharmaceutical product that knocks out my depression by numbing me. That's unacceptable. I'm a human being - not someone who is okay to trade off on MDD pain in exchange for some unfeeling disconnect. I cannot think with an interest and, to compile on top of that, my bodily tension is 10x worse. I cannot sleep even when I think I might finally be sleepy! And the ironic thing is: it's a total nightmare! And to exacerbate all of this - I'm simply not me anymore. I can't associate to align my own thoughts with an identity. That's not okay.... I am discontinuing this. I will continue taking my Celexa and that is good enough for me."

• And...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 4, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "Abilify makes it hard for me to fall asleep. I only get about 1 hour a night. I know other people have gotten relief from it, but for me, it just has made my life harder and more difficult for me to work. I was diagnosed by my doctor with akathisia. The restlessness for me is not manageable. Every day is an uphill battle. When I was off my medications for a while, it felt like every day was a vacation and I was finally able to sleep. I hope I don’t have to take antipsychotics my entire life. They make me feel terrible and just as suicidal as I am without them, if not more."

• koa...
• January 11, 2010

For Bipolar Disorder "I was on Risperdal, but that caused tiredness and lactation, so I had to stop. I was put on Abilify (only 5 mg). It was one of the worst things I have ever experienced. I could NOT sit still. When I was standing, I had to pace, when I was sitting, I had to rock back and forth, and I absolutely could not lie down. I'd have bouts of rage and crying, but I'm not sure if that was the medicine itself causing agitation or if I was just upset because I was so restless. I also couldn't sleep more than 4 hours a night, and not at all during the day. The whole 2 weeks I was on it, all I did was pace around crying and restless. These side effects definitely don't happen to everyone, but they are possible, so you're aware."

• BD...
• June 19, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "I started this alongside an antidepressant (duloxetine), partly to prevent another manic/psychotic episode, and partly to treat my chronic depression. The depression had lasted around 3 years with constant suicidal ideation and a general mood so low that I couldn't get happiness from virtually anything. The duloxetine (started about 2 months before aripiprazole) helped the depression by itself very slightly, but after I started aripiprazole, the world started to fill with light a little again, and I got into a regular morning routine which started at 8 a.m. rather than midday. I am now enjoying socializing and exercise again and looking forward to starting a new job in a couple of months. It has also helped relieve the obsessional-style thoughts I was having. It's hard to explain my own surprise with not being depressed anymore. At first on this drug, I wasn't sleeping well, but then my psychiatrist suggested taking it in the morning rather than at night, and since then it has been fine."

• Jon...
• June 29, 2016

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Have endured 10 mg for 9 weeks. It has been a living hell. Can't sleep more than 3-6 hours a night. As time went on, I have felt more agitated and stressed, which never goes away. I keep getting the urge to shake my legs. My symptoms haven't improved. I'm not taking any more of this drug - had enough. My pdoc gave me some clonazepam for 3 weeks, which helped a bit, then 2 weeks of melatonin, which didn't do much. Now for the last 2 weeks, she has ignored me. I don't tolerate psychotropics that well."

• Anonymous
• January 10, 2010

For Bipolar Disorder "My first day taking it, it made me so angry I would pace around and cry. I had to be moving constantly. My insides felt like they were churning, like I had to burst out of my skin. I couldn't sleep either, it was hard to sit and watch TV, read, or play video games, or even to stand still in the shower. Essentially, I was up pacing around for about 20 hours a day. I have never had such an experience before."

• Wes...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 18, 2022

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Was on for about 6 months, after being on paliperidone for several years. Good drug, much more motivation and definitely more of my old personality. No weight gain or anything. Worked well for symptoms on 10 mg. I couldn’t stay on it though because I had really bad akathisia and couldn’t sleep. I would wake up every hour and be up for the day at 5 a.m. You can only do that for so long until you’re too tired to function. Also, it made me super hot and sweaty. Would have stayed on it though if it wasn’t for the sleep problems."

• Kat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 6, 2023

For Bipolar Disorder "Fighting depression for years and then suddenly jumped into mania after trying an antidepressant. I had been a few months on the wrong meds and dosages and wasn't even able to function, then was put on aripiprazole 10 mg and was back to normal life, with the ability to think clearly, work, and have decent sleep. As I was told to take it for a year, I put on a lot of weight despite my normal diet, but depression and mania never bothered me for 4 whole years med-free. Not long ago, I noticed that I started again with a depression cycle, irritability, trouble sleeping, panic attacks, racing thoughts, anxiety to the point that I felt I was no longer able to cope, concentration dropped to an inability to even drive. I started aripiprazole on 5 mg and felt myself again the next day; depression, anxiety, irritability, lack of energy, and sleep were all gone for a week. Now, the second day that I'm feeling slightly worse, I do not know whether there is a need to increase to 10 mg or what's happening."

• ksa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 3, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "I began taking this after I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 ultra rapid cycling. I started at 2 mg and went up to 10 mg gradually over the course of two months, but with no change whatsoever. If anything, my mood was even less stable while taking it. In addition to its ineffectiveness, it kept me from sleeping in its entirety. It might work for others, but it did nothing for me."

• Ale...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 8, 2022

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "My psychotherapist recommended it for OCD, but the akathisia it gave me was as awful as it can get. I could not even sit still even though I was tired from the day. This medicine made me wander endlessly for as long as I took it. Not to mention the problems it gave me for sleeping, that had to be counteracted with pregabalin and alprazolam. I stopped taking it, and thank God the akathisia stopped, and I was able to sleep without medication."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 4, 2025

For Autism "My son started Abilify at age 12 with a weight of 155 pounds and 5'6. His aggression and irritability were so out of control, he was put on a 55/85 hold for DTO. He would punch holes in my walls at home and hit his head against it. He was miserable and sad all the time. We talked it over as a family of 5 and decided to try medication to help him control his impulses. The first day of starting Abilify was taken at bedtime. He was restless like he just ate a bowl full of sugar. He finally settled about 12 minutes after taking that dose of 5 mg. He was knocked out 3 minutes after settling. He had trouble sleeping before and would get up frequently during the night. This kept him asleep and snoring the whole night. Woke up very rested. We started to see results after about a week of starting. He was still irritable and we decided to try a little higher dose of 7.5 mg. That was the game changer. So far no weight gain. He is calm, no arguing, and no aggression. Staying focused in school."

• San...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 31, 2025

Aripiprazole "I was on Zyprexa, generic Olanzapine. I started having acne. I started gaining weight. I was about 150 lbs in April. By June 2025, I was 167 lbs. I couldn’t anymore. I told my psychiatrist I wanted to try Abilify. She lowered my dose of Olanzapine from 5 mg to 2 mg for 2 weeks. Then I would start Abilify 2 mg tablets. The first week was different because I was told to take it during the day. But it made me drowsy. I was able to sleep at night, but if I woke up in the middle of the night, then I couldn’t go back to sleep. I tried taking it then at night and stayed up all night (insomnia) for 2 days. So I went back to taking it during the day. I had blurred vision, but that’s going away. I have been sleeping better as tomorrow makes 3 weeks on it. I’m now 156 lbs, so the weight is coming down. I eat smaller portions. I don’t have a heavy appetite like I did with Zyprexa. So far I’m loving it."

• Chr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 7, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "It was fine, but had heaps of trouble sleeping on it. Could fall asleep easily but couldn't stay asleep and would wake up about 4-5 times in the night. Got worse with an increase in dosage, and I ended up just not taking it after waking up at 2 a.m. feeling very nauseous. Reduced my hypomania incredibly, but doesn't do much for depression on its own."

• Mag...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 5, 2023

For Bipolar Disorder "I was on it twice, both times for two weeks, and on 5 mg only. Both times the first week was fantastic: I had energy, patience, was sociable and creative. I was happy. Then the anxiety started building up slowly, I started eating uncontrollably and making impulsive purchases. I was walking up and down the hallway the entire day. The second time I was pushing through, thinking it would go away, and had to take Zopiclone to sleep. Unfortunately, it was just getting worse and worse. I am now left with some tablets that I take occasionally for 2-3 days if I want to be in a good mood. But I know this is not a permanent solution."

• Sum...
• May 5, 2021

"I was prescribed aripiprazole for severe panic disorder, and all I can say was it made me 100 times worse. I'm currently coming off of it, and the withdrawal is the worst I've ever had. Shaking uncontrollably, nausea, mild diarrhea, insomnia, and I was on a very low dose of 3 mg. I would not recommend this drug to anybody who's experiencing the same as me."

• Jam...
• April 3, 2008

Aripiprazole for Depression "I became less withdrawn, happier, and there was no weight gain. Some insomnia at first, but that cleared up after the first week."

• Lil...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 28, 2013

Aripiprazole for Bipolar Disorder "It's not for everyone, but I do well on it. It's a great antidepressant, and it helped me lose a lot of weight, I believe. Only downside: insomnia! But it does go away, eventually (the insomnia)."

• Bry...
• June 17, 2011

Aripiprazole for Depression "Side effects were jitters, insomnia, rapid heartbeat, and restless legs."

• Anonymous
• October 24, 2009

Aripiprazole for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "Was prescribed this medicine as an adjunct to Paxil. Too many side effects, insomnia, blurry vision, etc., but I did notice that my compulsion to double-check things has almost disappeared."

• Abi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 21, 2020

Aripiprazole for Schizoaffective Disorder "Abilify is the worst possible drug. Gain weight, zombie, restless, no sleep, really, totally insomnia. It's horrible. Stay away from this. Holy moly."

• emg...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 9, 2017

Aripiprazole for Major Depressive Disorder "Insomnia and feeling horrifically horrible after 1 dose. No more poison, please!"

• Oli...
• July 16, 2015

Aripiprazole for Schizoaffective Disorder "The medicine helped tremendously with my paranoia. However, I had insomnia and gained 45 pounds in the six months I was on the medication. For health risks, I had to be taken off the medication."

• tmo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 23, 2015

Aripiprazole for Bipolar Disorder "Within 1 hr of taking, starting shaking uncontrollably, threw up, and couldn't sleep."