Hi puzzld,

No first hand knowledge with my kids with abilify but it is the cadillac of the antipsychotics. No weight gain, more level moods, better energy, less sedating than some of the other antipsychotics. These are all things my husband has told me (he's a pharmacist) about that medication. Our insurance only pays a percentage of the cost so it would be really expensive for my boys to be on that med.

Give it a try. The worst to happen is that it is not a great fix for you and you need to try a different med. It is supposed to be wonderful. Let us know. I would like to hear how you do with it!

Yes, definitely let us know how it goes!

glad to hear some positive info about this med.... thanks. i pray it works/helps. i took my first dose last night. i'm feeling a bit off and my lips are numb and zapping... also, i think i have been very manic since coming off seroquel...? i'm just recognizing the mania side of life.... as i was never aware of my mania, i just thought, awesome, i'm not depressed today. i seem to flip flop lots too.

xoxo

ps - yeah... the med is $625 roughly w/out insurance. don't get me started on health insurance... arg! i do have major medical but it is expensive... go figure.

Puzzld,

Sounds like you do a lot of rapid cycling with your bpd. This makes life so difficult. I hope you do well with the abilify. I wish there were more options out there for treatment. The options are limited and it seems like the roller coaster ride goes on and on.

Insurance companies stink. Our insurance co. will pay for 30 mental health visits per year. That means to a psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor. We get 60 per life time per person covered! 60 per LIFE TIME! How unreal is that? What if you had diabetes and were limited in the same way? How about a cardiac condition? Untreated bpd can lead to deaths. Why is it that mental health conditions are so underfunded and so scantily insured? I guess more people will have to die before anyone does anything about it. Sad. In the meantime, my husband and I live hand to mouth. No savings. Meds. and doc visit cost money - lots of it. Sigh. What is to be done?

I would like to know how you feel on your med in a couple days. I pray it works well. That med is the final one for us to try on the boys. If you do well then perhaps it is worth the money. Let us know! Hugs.

wow that is really expensive.

well... after i took that first dose and had adverse reactions, i decided to temporarily keep taking the low dose of seroquel until i see my dr. tomorrow and discuss. i made this decision bc i was hosting my first cookout in honor of my mother's b-day and i didn't want to feel sick and tired.

my financial situation is critical. i've been unemployed since Jan 22nd, 2008. i was a sr. art director making decent $ with major med, which i still have but they raised my rate to $800 mth, my hub put me on his plan... same company. i have to find a job fast. my husband and i can't afford to pay this amount for very long. i wonder how long i will be down and out from switching meds?? i'm very scared and confused.

my dr. always says, 'you are sick... do i need to write this down for you to show people... you need to do this... oh, now you need to take that.... you are SICK'. i know he's trying his ars off to help, he does care and i do trust him but it's easier said than done.

also, i'm a newlywed! my husband grew up bever cleaver style, me.... no, lots of dysfunction. he and his family are very supportive. my hub has been from the day we started dating but he's taxed after 3 years of picking up the slack! and the stress of it all is too much for him sometimes. he tries his best as do i.... but i fear for my marriage. it's not his fault, he's never had to deal with anything remotely like this and i know he is struggling to cope. i don't want to lose my husband we've been through so much from the beginning. we used to say that our obstacles have brought us closer together. but, now we don't say that anymore. how can we? we are growing distant. we do have great days where we laugh, goof off, etc.

while we were engaged, we found out that i was infertile... huge upset for us both. we stopped talking about baby names and such. i had fertility surgery 10 days after our honeymoon, Oct. 19th, 2007. while recovering, i had a breakdown and ended up catatonic. we went to my dr. and then we found out that i'm bp! so my next check up w/fertility dr. was hard. he explained that he was able to open my tubes and remove the massive tumor from my uterus. he said we should try asap to conceive as the first 3 months i will be most fertile. then in one year most likely the scarring would return. i held back my tears and took a deep breath and explained our current bp diagnosis and meds i have to take. which, of course, u can't take while preg, or at least i won't. sigh. i haven't had time for counseling and i haven't been able to digest and move forward emotionally. i think my dr.'s constant pleading for me to get to his partner who's a psychologist/counselor is working. i have to do this now! my husband, unfortunately, refuses counseling. even his mother is trying to knock sense into him to go but he says that he's not the one who is ill. then the next sentence out of his mouth is, 'i just don't know how to cope with all of this'!!!

sorry for the rambling... had to get it out, again.
very, very, puzzld

I grew up in a family with mental illness and my hubby grew up in a "cleaver family" too. It's hard to get him to understand. He thinks people should just be able to "get over" things and doesn't understand that sometimes people need more than that.

I feel your pain!!
Why don't you try (once you start to see a psychologist) just bringing him along and tell him it's for your sake? Maybe being exposed to the process and hearing a psychologist talk to him will help him understand more and help him realize that he'll need help sometimes too. Not to mention it would be a lot easier for you if he was invovled in your treatment.
Good luck

great idea! he did go with me once to see my psychiatrist...

thanks =)
xoxo

Puzzld,

I am so sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time. I think Georgia59 has a wonderful idea. Try it.

Has your doctor tried any mood stabalizers with the antipsychotics? Just a thought.

Is disability a possibility for you? Even temporary disability can help to ease the financial burden. Your doctor can fill out a form and this will speed the process up and really will increase your chances of getting some assistance. It could be just enough to get you through the period of adjustment to your meds.

My thoughts are with you and your husband. Hugs.

hey, thanks.

i'm still confused about which is a mood stabalizer and which is antipsychotic i take an anti-depressant, cymbalta - lamictal? - seroquel? - and anxiety meds.

i think disability is a possibility but my hub won't even hear it. not sure if i'm better off on unemployment or not. i get $235 wkly.... not even half my salary. and, just this AM hub said find a job by the end of this month or we are going in separate directions i don't like ultimatums, it just puts more pressure on me and it's counterproductive. i do think i should look into disability and i'll discuss with my dr. today.

xoxo

It is confusing, I think some are used for both.

i see. will google it and ask dr.

missed my appnt. it was yesterday... thought it was today. so i go on monday. it's all gravy though

Ok, the mood stabilizer is lamictal. This falls in the drug category of being an anticonvulsant. It so happens that they stabilize moods thus called mood stabilizers. The seroquel in an atypical antipsychotic. It is one of the newer antipsychotics and has fewer side effects than the first generation antipsychotics. Does that clear up some of the med. confusion? I can answer any other questions about them (the perks of being married to a pharmacist and being a nurse)

I am sorry to hear that you missed your appt. I know you really want to get things straightened out. Hey, ask your doctor about samples. The drug reps. give the doctors samples by the bag full. This is really a big money saver. If your doctor doesn't have any ask him to request some from the reps.

Does your husband really believe life will be so much better if you two split? I hope he was just blowing off steam. You really need to focus on getting better.

Let us know how your appt. goes. Hugs.

antigone... thanks for the info. yes, that did clear up med. confusion.

yeah, hub was just blowing off steam. i understand that now, but at the time it was painful to hear for the first time in our short marriage. but it's all good

i'm doing OK with the switch to abilify... surprisingly good. but i'm only reaching the first week of switching.... i've already noticed that my memory is getting better and my energy levels, too. so, i'm very hopeful and my spirit is high!

thank you everyone for the support =)
xoxo

Long time no chat. Cycles are really hard to deal with. My doc started my off on 100mg of Lamictal and said I could go up to 200 if I wanted. After about 2 weeks I was feeling like I was on a cloud. Then it happend. Down I went thinking about my X husband. OK, now time to up it to 150mg, so I did. Gonna see how that works and then if not, up to 200mg I go.
I need to find out more about this "abilify. I really don't want to go on an antipsychotics if I scan avoid it.
Glad you are feeling some what better puzzled. I know since you lost your job its been hell for you.

Big Hugs,
Carrie

Carrie and Puzzld,

Have either of you added EPA/DHA (fish oil) to the mix with your meds? It is not a quick fix but over time you will notice your moods even out a bit. Many adults with bpd take 4 soft gels a day. My children take one in the AM and one in the PM. When I run out I sure see a difference in them. The big plus is that it provides cardiac protection and memory benefits. If you don't eat a lot of fish this is something you may want to consider.

I am trying a new herbal supplement for my son, Ian. He is always cycling and has so many bouts of irritability and frustration that life is difficult for all. I have tried another product by this company for one of my other sons who has ADHD. He says that it works better than anything else he has taken, including straterra. I decided to try a product that helps level out moods. I'll let you know how it seems to work. The products are FDA approved. That doesn't mean anything to me. They approve drugs that kill and shun vitamins that provide nutrients we all lack so.... Just an FYI.

I hope you are both feeling better. Life is never dull with bpd, is it?! Let me know how you are both doing. Maybe we can find nirvana for bpd together!

I can't take Omaga oils. I had a subaracnoid hemerage back in 2003 and was told I could not take them. I am on on 81mg ASA. I do drink 1-2 nutritional drinks a day. Made sure there was no oils in them first. I am not cycling as much as I was before Lemictal that's for sure. It has really dominished drasically. I guess just curtain things like other set me off. I have always been a passive agrggressive. As of late, I am just the opposite. I go off at the drop of a hat. Not fun. In the grocery store, ect.......can't hold my tounge. LOL Wish my mouth sometimes had a zipper.
All in all, the medication has really helped that cycle too. I'm calmer and not as sensitive. I can't take any suppliments due to the fact of all the meds I am on. 12 to be exact. Couple of them two to three times a day. Look at my profile and you will see why.

Carrie

Carrie,

Did you have an aneurysm rupture that caused your subarachnoid bleed? That is the most common cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Are you permitted to eat fish? I can think of no reason the doc would restrict you from taking fish oil or eating fish. Did he/she give you a reason for this? Just curious. I used to work in a neuro ICU for years. Saw lots of patients with ruptured aneurysms.

Actually no. I had 2 MRI's and an arteriogram and it showed no aneurysm at all. I had a bigh fight (veral) with my sister and before I knew it I was on the floor followed by a headache on a scale of 1-10 about a 50. Then started vomiting probably about 400-500 cc's. Plus it being at the brain steam my neck was horrific.
Yes, doc told me no oils. Yet my neuro putme on 81mg ASA. I would think they would have put me on plavics or something. Plus I have a few white matter lesions and though I had MS and really still don't know for sure. I did not put alot of trust in my first neuro so I changed and he is great. He is even monitering my pain management so I don't have to go to pain clinic for my buldging disc's L-3,4. I just had surgery for a 55% fracture of L-1 with a compresion to T-12. Lot's of fun going on here.
It was a small hemorrhage in a small vessel. It healed in about 48 hours. But I was still on bedrest for a week. Was in ICU then moved to neuro ICU.

Carrie