Abilify did not work for me, in fact it made my bipolar disorder worse causing me to become manic. see a different psychiatrist and or ask to be put on something else. you're not alone.

When my first psychiatrist mis-diagnosed me with bipolar last year he put me on Abilify. I felt really good emotionally, but I started to shake really bad and the weight gain is horrible. I had to get off it but some people do well on it.

I also shook really bad while on Abilify and my legs would cramp up during the night. Lamictal worked out much better for me.

Me too. I was on Lamictal for a while and it worked very well.

i just started abilify, it wa added to my lamictal and to pristiq. i'm o my third day, an my husband said that i stopped twitching at night (i take it before bed so i don't deal with the side effects during the day) and my muscles stopped cramping a little. for the sleeping i take sleeping pills, it really helps to get a good night's sleep.

My son still takes Abilify to counteract the paranoia from his Eskolith(Lithium Family) Yes he has gained a lot of weight,Even though he takes Vyvanse for his ADHD this medicine controls his appetite during the day but when it wears off he is constantly feeling not full so he eats, Tried a lot of different things for him to burn off the weight. My 16 year old tried Abilify it did not work for her. Caused her to gain more weight and she is already obese. I would like for my son not to take the abilify but we tried him with out it and he had the paranoia so he is back on it. We tried every med for a child with his conditions and We are still struggling with his anger and mania episodes and he is only 12 so a long way still to go with him just to make it through school.

Hello

I take abilify and struggle with anhedonia. Anyone else
have this problem ?

I was up to 25mg at one point, my current psychiatrist is slowly bringing me down. I was on 3mg until a few days ago, I was manic for about a month, until I put it all together. I then saw my psychiatrist, and he upped it to 5mg, along with raising my Lithium from 1200mg to 1500mg. Haven't noticed a difference yet.

Here's an update:

Saw the shrink. I had my Lithium level done on the 8th of Sept. It was 1.6, my shrink said that was "way high", becuase I has displaying a tremor and congitive stuff like thought completion. We went back to 1200mg on the Lithium, and upped my Abilify to 15mg (yeah!!!)<-don't like that high of a dose

I too became manic on the Abilify. Very shaky, very irritable, just not very pleasant at all. As soon as I told psychiatrist how i felt he immediately switched me to something different. Alot of the atypicals are chemically similar, but everyone's bodies are different and what works for one might not for another. The Abilify was my worst nightmare. Risperdal did nothing. But Zyprexa and Seroquel were wonder drugs for me...first med I had ever taken for bipolar that I actually felt it worked. All these drugs I tried were very similar in chemical structure, but I responded differently to each one. The side effects such as huge weight gain and elevated cholesterol levels caused me to be taken off of both Seroquel and Zyprexa. I am now on Invega, which is a reformulation of the old Risperdal, along with 800mg of Trileptal (an anticonvulsant). Less side effects and it actually works for me, unlike the old Risperdal, although not as well as the Zyprexa/Seroquel.

I guess my point here is that if something doesn't work or makes you feel worse, don't hesitate to let your doc know and get switched to something different. It is not uncommon for people to have to try multiple medications before they find the one that is finally the best fit. And sometimes it is also a matter of not only finding the best one, but the best combo of ones. This can take time but don't give up! It can be a long journey but with persistence and a really good doc you will get there! Good luck!