Posted by Sabina on May 15, 2005, at 20:59:37
In reply to what do u think of ABILIFY or GEODON???, posted by bipolarspectrum on May 12, 2005, at 19:03:04
I've been taking Abilify for about a month now. After years with Seroquel (eventually down to only 25mg per night), I was eager for a more "activating" AP for my BPII.
Like Scott, I have found it to be a "clean" drug as regards cognitive function. This is to be taken wih a grain of salt as I'm already a space cadet from Topamax and Fibromyalgia; plus, I'm still on a reallllly low dose of Abilify (5mg/day). I'll increase as I feel ready, of course; but I still feel kinda *funny*.
Allow me to expound on that very technical adjective ;-) It's that feeling with a new drug when you know there are chemical redecorations taking place in your brain and you feel like if you try to hang the art before the paint is dry you will either 1) freak out and start screaming, 2) have a seizure, or 3) need to go to bed for about twenty-four hours until the feeling passes.
Well....me, I need to stay functional, so I've opted to titrate up s-l-o-w-l-y. I haven't had the akathisia problems with Abilify (so far) that I had with Seroquel, so that's been nice. Sometimes Seroquel would literally force me to snack and pace until I felt like I could lie down again. (By the end, I always took it before bed to avoid being a zombie the entire next day.)
Since you asked, here are all the meds I'm one currently:
5mg Abilify
[It has a wicked long 72 hour half life, so if I become too "activated" I just skip a day...no problems so far. My BPII is (generally) more agitated than hypomanic but my waking hours have (blessedly) been more numerous and productive than in three years; hopefully without a crash in sight.]
1mg Xanax (prn)
[to aid with sleep and stave off any potential crash caused by too much Abilify turbulence until I get things evened out in my system.]
100mg Topamax
[This is well enough of a dose to avoid my self medicating urges. Years ago, I used to want to drink or smoke when I felt nervous or agitated. Topamax completely, immediately took those urges away from me. At least it taught me that, in social situations, one drink is more than sufficient! Plus, I lost about thirty pounds, which was great.]
Soma 350mg (prn)
[I only mention this muscle relaxer since it metabolizes as Miltown. I take it often for pain from Fibromyalgia, but also because of the added anti-anxiety benefits that I know it brings; especially since I can't handle SSRI's. Still, there are times when I have a good week and forget about it entirely.]
Those are the actual Psych meds, but I also take 5-500mg Hydrocodone for Fibromyalgia, and I won't deny that it helps my mood as well. Like the Soma, it depends upon the weather, my activity level, stress, ability to exercise, etc., as to whether I need it or not.
I hope this helps. I only posted because I had so many questions about Abilify when I started it myself. May I direct you to a great site with some people who really know their drugs (and who are funny and cool)? Just to give to some more options, don'tcha know...
and their forum:
http://www.crazymeds.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl
poster:Sabina
thread:497029
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050510/msgs/498247.html