You may have noticed that many people with bipolar disorder take Abilify.  

 Abilify is an antipsychotic medication- also known as a neuroleptic. It’s a newer antipsychotic, so it’s called an atypical anti psychotic! Whew. It, along with the other atypicals such as Risperdal and Zyprexa have less side effects than the older drugs such as Thorazine and Haldol.

 This doesn’t mean they don’t have major side effects. They still do, but they’re easier to tolerate for many people.

 The main plus of Abilify is that it doesn’t seem to have the weight gain problems associated with drugs such as Zyprexa and Risperdal.  That is a plus.  On the down side, Abilify can be extremely sedating for some (ME!) or very agitating for others (my friend Sherri).

 It’s always a trade off. Abilify can help with mania and suicidal thoughts.

 Many people with bipolar disorder take anti psychotics. They just aren’t talked about as much as the mood stabilizers!

 julie

Hello! This is a reprint of the latest bipolarhappens.com newsletter.  Please note on the newsletter that I said a friend had trouble because she went off Abilify too slowly! I naturally meant she had trouble because she went off too quickly.

 All About Abilify

Abilify is an anti- psychotic used to treat bipolar disorder psychosis as well as bipolar psychotic mania.  Abilify is also known by the name aripiprazole (try saying that three times fast!) Anti psychotics are also called neuroleptics.

Abilify is considered an atypical anti-psychotic as it has less side effects than the older anti psychotics such as Haldol and Thorazine. It is also supposed to cause less weight gain.

This is a good thing as one of the side effects of drugs such as other the atypical anti-psychotics Risperdal and Zyprexa is weight gain!

In terms of side effects, Abilify can be sedating like many anti-psychotics-  but it can also be agitating. This is a somewhat uncommon side effect for this type of drug as anti- psychotics are known to cause a lot of tiredness.

Akathisia: A friend of mine tried Abilify a few months ago and had an extreme reaction called akathisia – which is defined as a syndrome characterized by unpleasant sensations of “inner” restlessness that manifests itself with an inability to sit still or remain motionless.  She had to go off the med- but when she tried to go down too quickly, the akathisia got so intense she had to go back up on her dose. She and her doctor monitored the reduction of the Abilify very carefully.  She is now stabilized on Zyprexa.

I have akathisia when my Lamictal dose is off. It’s terrible. You know it when you have it as it feels like your body is trying to turn inside out. I get a lot of twitching with it as well. I’m actually going through it right now as I messed up my Lamictal a few weeks ago. Not fun. I am back to a regular dose and hope it goes away soon!  (My mistake was going out of town for the weekend and not bringing enough Lamictal with me.)

Luckily, there is a lot of good news about Abilify- the drug is successful for many people. I hear far more positive stories about the drug than negative stories.

All psychiatric drugs have pros and cons. If your doctor suggests Abilify- there is much you can do to make sure it’s the right drug for you.

- Talk with your doctor about microdosing- if it’s appropriate (it depends on your level of psychosis/mania at the time) you can start with small doses of Abilify so that your body can acclimate to the drug with less side effects.  You can’t do this on your own, so make sure you work with a doctor.

- Keep a side effects journal- it may be that the drug helps more than it hurts. In other words, living with some side effects may be worth it at first. The side effects often get better with time.

- If you have akathisia symptoms- talk with your doctor immediately- this agitation means your dose is not correct. You don’t have to live with excessive side effects.

And finally, DO NOT EVER GO OFF ABILIFY ON YOUR OWN. I can’t stress this enough. All of us who have tried to reduce our meds on our own regret it. These are very serious drugs and we need professional help to make sure we are on the right drugs and right doses.

Abilify may be a wonderful drug for you- it just takes homework and questions to find out what to expect.

Julie

Hi Julie,

Recently, my daughter switched from Risperdal to Abilify. I am hoping Abilify will be good for her, contrary to what I have heard. Do you have any information regarding the success of bipolar people on Abilify?
T.

Hi T.

Risperdal and Abilify are anti psychotic drugs. They are often used in the treatment of bipolar disorder. If a person is really manic or psychotic and has to go to the hospital, anti psychotic are often use to get the person to come down from the mania and psychosis. The dose is often very high. When my partner Ivan was so sick in 1994, he was immediately put on anti psychotics and mood stabilizers just to get him out of the mania, so this is common.

What a person takes depends on their symptoms. Many people with bipolar disorder do well on a mood stabilizer such as Lithium. I do well on a depression, rapid cycling prevention drug like Lamictal. I can’t take anti psychotics due to side effects. Anti psychotics are often used in combination with other bipolar disorder treatment drugs.

Abilify is a relatively new anti psychotic and is known to have less side effects than some other well known drugs such as Zyprexa, especially in terms of weight gain. This doesn’t mean it’s a better drug than Zyprexa- just that it’s a good choice for many who gain too much weight.

Abilify can be agitating, so that has to be watched. It just makes me sleep!

What matters is that the drug works. Finding a right dose can take a lot of time. It’s a balance between effectiveness and side effects.

So, this is a long answer to a short question- yes, people with bipolar disorder use Abilify. It works for many. It is not a treatment for depression, nor is it a traditional anti manic drug. It is mainly for psychosis.

I suggest your daughter uses her Health Cards for psychosis and sees if the drug helps.

Your daughter has to make sure she is on all of the right meds.

She is so lucky to have a mother who looks out for her!

Julie