Aripiprazole for Schizophrenia User Reviews (Page 2)

• nutty...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 10, 2016

Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) "If you want to sleep between 7-10 hours a day and want a good sex life this is the medication for you. I have had no side effects no shakes tremors drowsiness. On clopixol I used to sleep up to 20 hours the doctors will be reluctant to put you on it as it is very expensive but if you work or want to return to work or study this is the medication for you"

• Anonymous
• October 25, 2011

Abilify (aripiprazole) "I've been on a variety of medicines over the years, including Risperdal, Geodon with Zyprexa, and now Abilify. Though I feel I'm overly medicated at 40mg per day of Abilify, I've improved to the point where I don't hear voices or feel paranoid anymore and am active in the community. I take it at night and sleep around 9 to 10 hours per night. Not sure if that's normal with Abilify or not, but I'm not complaining. Surprisingly no other side effects."

• catchme
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 30, 2017

Abilify (aripiprazole) "I started abilify in January of this year, 10 mg. I'm now taking 15 mg. This medication has given me back my life. No voices, no visual hallucinations. I still struggle with mild paranoia though. I can get through the day, and that's saying something!"

• Duduk...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 15, 2019

Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) "For my schizophrenia opted in for Abilify Mainena as an alternative to Invega Sustena. Granted that I was on Invega Sustena for between 6-12 months prior with bland emotions at that time, I did some research and gave Abilify Maintena a chance. That was late 2014. Now it's early 2019, and I want everyone to know that by this time, I have regained some emotional ability. I am also able to focus on complex tasks with a significantly better ability than I would be without an antipsychotic. I have concerns though. I have a physical standing job and I walk to work, and all I can do is maintain my weight within a 10 pound range. I felt good, and the Abilify Maintena kept me resilient when things got tough. For the record, I used to have suicidal thoughts long before starting Abilify Maintena, but I never contemplated it while on it. One last thing: I have always taken a low dosage of Abilify Maintena. I do not ever recommend medium or high dosages to start with."

• AuntieE
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 30, 2019

Abilify (aripiprazole) "I have taken 15 mg of Abilify for 5 months no side effects or weight gain yet so that's good. I don't crave food and gain weight like I did on Risperdal and had bad side effects on Zoloft. I feel tired for 2 hours after I take Abilify. It's hard to stay asleep. I wake up and do the same thing over and over all night long."

• Helpf...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 14, 2020

Abilify (aripiprazole) "Abilify made me completely out of control. I acted in ways I never had before and where completely out of character for me. I was not in control of my emotions I cried hysterically all the time. I had to be put on something similar to Xanax because I guess my mouth moved uncontrollably. I developed a gambling problem and was out of control with a lot of different things all at one time. I couldn’t stop any of this behavior and it was tormenting. I wasn’t able to cope either. Horrible experience. Do not smoke marijuana with this I would advise against it it will use everything against you and become a problem and made me sicker."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 28, 2020

Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) "I’m on 400 mg shot for schizophrenia NOS . I don’t recommend lowering the dosage because you get tolerance to it. I was very impulsive and erratic before going on this, I’m on disability so I could not even maintain working. Doing much better thinking clearly and hardly side effects besides tired the first month that is all."

• Wes
• October 31, 2019

Abilify (aripiprazole) "I have been taking Abilify 10 mg for a little over a month and it has helped my motivation compared to Haldol 2 mg. I had lost interest in food and dropped to 100 lbs. I've gained 25 lbs in 6 weeks since starting this drug. My hallucinations and voices are still gone. I always feel wide awake and have been taking various things to sleep. Hoping the insomnia will pass because I am full of energy. Started working again hopefully will continue."

• Survi...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 7, 2022

Abilify (aripiprazole) "I see and hear things when I’m completely clean sober and not taking my medication. I take Abilify 5mg now in addition to another prescription Cymbalta 30mg. Started off years back at Abilify 10 mg in addition to Cymbalta 60 mg. Abilify is the reason I can lead a normal life without hearing other auditory voices and seeing holographic figures. Please at least give Abilify a try if you share these symptoms. I have heard from other people that share my symptoms that Abilify works for them too! Always in addition to another prescription as I understand it. I wish you all the best in your journey to find peace. Keep hope alive! You can do this and be happy if Abilify works for you too. Everyone is different so be willing to try and you’ll find the prescription that works for you too. Abilify is amazing for many!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 1, 2012

Abilify (aripiprazole) "I have recently been placed on Abilify 20mg for early onset schizophrenia. Previously I was on Amisulpride which made me very tired and gave me problems with sexual dysfunction, Abilify has provided me with a symptom free solution."

• Lou
• April 2, 2020

Abilify (aripiprazole) "I'm on Abilify and no longer hearing voices but I still see people who aren't there. Even while on the highest dose of this medication 400mg injection.. I also feel like a zombie most of the time. I'm too tired even to go grocery shopping at times. I'm myself again but I'm not quite the same. I've gained weight 30 plus pounds and I've been on the drug for 3 years. I tried going off of it to 300 and the side effects were my moodiness returned... Sometimes I question if my diagnosis was correct or they are just pushing this drug out to anyone who claims they are depressed."

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

Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) "My son has been on Maintena 400mgs 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. Recently his Psychiatrist decided to reduce the doze to 300 mgs and he’s doing very well."

• MHR
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 19, 2017

Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) "This medicine provided so much hope regarding the struggle to find ANY medicine that would help the combative nature of schizophrenia. Only ABILIFY MAINTANA injection has improved my sons thought processes. He has been less delusional more lucid for the first time in 12 years , The anger and frustration of daily life has calmed. It truly is life changing. I pray that this medicine can help billions more angry raging delusional young men and young woman . Thank goodness for this INJECTION being on the market for this sad disease that has ruined so many lives in the past . Now I have hope going forward for all diseases that rob the mind and thoughts of many persons . Thank you "

• A Guy
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 11, 2019

Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) "So I've been on this Abilify Injection (against my will) for a couple of years because my family just wants me to be normal again. And man, do I feel normal! It's so great! (I was being sarcastic...really, really sarcastic) I can't sleep for more than a couple hours at a time, I suffer from persistent psychological pain due to anxiety/restless leg, and I have gained 70 lbs! And there's more! If I keep taking it, I'll probably wind up with diabetes! What a great drug to give a permanently disabled veteran to ensure that they live a long, peaceful life! Seriously though...It's terrible. Low quality of life in exchange for little to no psychotic symptoms...Bad Trade. Find something else that works for your condition!!!!!!"

• momie
• July 27, 2013

Abilify (aripiprazole) "My now 23 yr 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 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 inability to sleep. Meds reduced in December. "

• Silver
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 26, 2020

Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) "This med really hasn't helped my voices at all. I'd say at most it takes the edge off my anger. I had the typical side effects which were pretty bad but I also had what I thought was EPS, extrapyramidal side effects in the form of hand movements. Upon withdrawal of the med I experienced an explosion of tics both motor and vocal. I went back on the med and the tics were a bit better but persisted. They include inappropriate tics and are unpredictable. I'm not a fan of any of the antipsychotics, frankly, but I would be weary of the risk of movement disorders in this med."

• Chris...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 29, 2019

Aristada (aripiprazole) "My daughter was diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression almost 2 years ago. They started her off on Abilify Maintena 300mg which helped her a lot, but it made her restless and didn’t stop the voices and she still had trouble thinking clearly because she was always tired but wired on it and had trouble sleeping properly. She was given a sample of Aristada one month and it was like a miracle, I felt like I had my happy daughter back. Then the NP gave her too high a dose, too soon and she struggled with suicidal thinking and feeling terrible for 4-6 weeks. That was terrible, but once we got her on the 441 mg dose she did really well. She is able to think more clearly on Aristada and sleep better which helps her voices to be not noticeable (better than when on the Maintena) she is constantly a bit nauseous which may or may not be a side effect. Aristada has a copay assistance program that helps cost to be reasonable."

• Zia
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 26, 2022

Abilify (aripiprazole) "I am on this new medication for two months now for auditory hallucinations , before this I was using Risperidone 2mg. 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 gym regularly and walk 10Km's 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."

• Daisy
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 18, 2019

Aristada (aripiprazole) "Successful on Abilify maintena 300 mg for 5 years except flat affect and anxiety and inhibition. Switched to Aristada hoping to help negative symptoms. First month thought it was miracle drug...was able to smile, feel more emotion, go to gym daily (on abilify I felt fear going alone). Started feeling agitated slowly, then psychosis started on/off then full inpatient hospitalization for 2 weeks. Returning to Abilify. Why won’t NIMH reinvest in improved research? Find what was helping in Aristada and remove what wasn’t! I felt so close to feeling normal but psychosis can take my life away!!!"

• seniha
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 28, 2020

Abilify (aripiprazole) "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 as!"

• Anonymous
• March 25, 2016

Abilify (aripiprazole) "Within 1 week of taking 1 tablet , my auditory hallucinations had nearly disappeared and then increased the amount to 1 1/2 tablets and was and am amazed this product. Its giving me my life back again......"

• Smog
• January 2, 2020

Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) "been on some form of abilify injection for 4 years. I have never missed a monthly dose. Started 400mg for 2 years 300mg for 2 years and just got my first 200mg Jan 2020 for schizoeffective 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 everyday (because I know I won’t). If you find being on an anti psychotic 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 everyday"

• Jerry
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 18, 2021

Abilify (aripiprazole) "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 is the dependency and compulsive side effects."

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

Abilify (aripiprazole) "Excellent medication! When I was first on Abilify I hated it. At first the doctors put me on 10mg which I hated because the dose was too high ( thinking about it now) . Then my doctor raised it to 20mg 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 small dose of Abilify along side 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 risperidone injection every 2weeks."

• anna
• March 25, 2010

Abilify (aripiprazole) "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 its good enough. I would recommend it to anyone its prescribed."