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Sarahsmith
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18 Jul 2020, 7:15 am

My psychiatrist thinks I have schizophrenia and would like me to switch from the medication I'm taking to Abilify. I've read a bit about this drug and some of the side effects may include impulsive behavior such as hyper sexuality, gambling addiction or shopping addiction. I already spend to much money on stuff I don't need and live in a house full of men, so I don't want them to get the wrong idea.

So does anyone here take Abilify and what are the side effects for you? Have you become impulsive on it, or are there other side effects?



Steve1963
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18 Jul 2020, 7:23 am

I've been taking abilify for a couple of years now (for depression mostly) and have had no side effects at all. It's the first drug I've tried that I didn't have side effects with which is why I still happily take it. I'm on a very low dosage (5 mg) -- how much of it do you take and have you had any side effects yet?



Sarahsmith
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18 Jul 2020, 7:38 am

I haven't started the drug yet. The drug I'm taking now has unpleasant side effects, that's why I'm thinking of switching to Abilify. I don't know what the dosage to start off on Abilify would be. But the dose I'm taking for my current medication is quite low. My psychiatrist said he would start me off in pill form for a month before I went to injection form when taking Abilify. Which scares me because then a week ago when I was talking to him he said I would start taking it in pill form for only 2 or 3 days before going to injection.



funeralxempire
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25 Jul 2020, 12:29 am

Abilify caused me to gain 50lbs. :?


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Sarahsmith
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25 Jul 2020, 1:13 pm

Were you on a high dose?



funeralxempire
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25 Jul 2020, 1:14 pm

Sarahsmith wrote:
Were you on a high dose?


Nope, I was on it at a relatively low dose to control irritability.


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"Many of us like to ask ourselves, What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you're doing it. Right now." —Former U.S. Airman (Air Force) Aaron Bushnell


Romofan
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28 Jul 2020, 5:02 am

Abilify caused me to gain 50lbs

I've been doing the Abilify injection, and I can feel a Buddha Belly coming on, although part of that is this maddening virus lockdown situation plus the insane Texas heat limiting my exercise


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Sarahsmith
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30 Jul 2020, 12:58 am

Romofan wrote:
Abilify caused me to gain 50lbs

I've been doing the Abilify injection, and I can feel a Buddha Belly coming on, although part of that is this maddening virus lockdown situation plus the insane Texas heat limiting my exercise


How long have you been on it?



Romofan
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30 Jul 2020, 10:01 am

How long have you been on it?

It's only been six months or so. In my experience, many of the antidepressants and antipsychotics that doctors are slingin' cause extreme weight gain over time. I don't know the mechanism, but I just look at the people I know taking them.

what could be more depressing and crazy-making for a girl than being 130 pounds going into "treatment" and nearing 200 a decade later?

To be fair, despite the sinister sounding label "antipsychotic", I have had few negative side effects from Abilify. As opposed to Risperdal, which is the Devil :twisted:


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Ravenclawgurl
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31 Jul 2020, 7:41 pm

i have recently been put on it.



redrobin62
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03 Aug 2020, 7:40 pm

I was on it for a few weeks but had to stop because of bruxism. It made me grind my teeth uncontrollably till I had sharp pains shooting to the back of my jaw. i took it as an antipsychotic and I also have bipolar disorder I. In any case, i don't take meds now because i know what triggers me negatively - people. When i avoid people, I'm relatively calm.