Experience with Abilify

How long have you been on Mirtazapine

@ cmd - Are you a doctor? Honestly, I am asking you because what the specialist gave me the first time was a higher dose. I noticed that I was terribly hungry all the time and that I had started putting on a lot of weight (which bothered me a lot since I have been slender my entire life and I found it hard to deal with this extra weight). I thought it was a strange concidence and I was the one to tell the doctor that I did not want to use it anymore because I believed Mirtazapine was the cause of my weight gain.

Oh gosh, I want to say 3-4 years. I've been on so many meds and switched back and forth it's hard to keep up. It was on the Abilify when I started packing on the pounds.

Hi everyone. I've been reading a lot of these posts and most are very positive so here I go( I'm sorry if I ramble.....manic right now) I've been talking to a counselor for almost 2 years, along with a psychiatrist once in a while for her just to check in. They still won't diagnose me with bipolar ADHD. At least the psychiatrist won't. My counselor tried but......I was on duloxatine for a year and it just seemed like I was agitated at everything all the time. I had to stop going to most stores because people would just p... me off sooo badly. I'm a kind caring person and my family and friends asked why I was do angry all the time. I weaned off that medication and now not so angry and upset with myself anymore. However, I still get manic episodes all the time but when they end I'm so depressed I don't want to even leave my room ( I have a wonderful daughter who makes me get up and moving and I do because my love for her is overwhelming so.....) I get nervous and nauseous at these times but eventually I bounce back but then it's manic time again. I have rhumatoid arthritis and it's severe in my back knees hands and feet. Just started tremfya 2 weeks ago so I'm hopeful for some relief there. I guess my big question is how do I go about getting the psychiatrist to actually listen to me?? She was a half hour late on one of our telehealth meetings and I ignored her. I was way too angry to talk to her. I asked for a different one but...... I've also asked for different medications but it's all mindfulness....... which I've tied, have a book on it but my brain never shuts up. There's more but I hope someone gets what I'm asking or trying to say or???????? Thanks in advance for any help.

I'm so glad you are doing so well on Abilify! I have treatment resistant depression, so I must take several things in addition to Abilify. I had DNA testing to see what would likely work for me. I can honestly say I have not had any bad side effects at all. It seems to fill in the gaps of where the other meds just don't quite do the trick sometimes.

Hoping for great success for you.

Abilify caused me to develop Tardive dyskinesia. It is a neurological disorder. Please don’t take it. It causes serious side effects. I have constant mouth and tongue burning plus my voice sounds like I had a stroke. It is awful. Others get terrible movement disorders of their necks, legs and arms. I was never psychotic. Antipsychotics, like Abilify, can cause Tardive dyskinesia. It was used to “augment” my antidepressants. I fired that psychiatrist. He argued with me that only 1% of the population get TD. Well I am that one out of 100. Please do your research. I trusted my doctor u til this happened. It cannot be cured. Don’t take the chance!!!!

All Abilify did for me was help me gain well over 250 pounds. I have Severe Treatment Resistant Major Depression and severe insomnia. So far nothing has helped.. ECT, TMS, Spravato or ketamine by injection. Ketamine infusion was a game changer, but I can't find a clinic that does the IV infusion that is covered by insurance. I'm going to have an appointment with Mayo this next week. I'm also trying to get Vagus Nerve Stimulation for depression, but I can't find a neurologist who will do it for depression, only Parkinson's. The future is very dismal.

Dear @netter9064. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING. Everything appears to be inter-related, yet one element/concern is treated as a separate event.
I finally created a chart so I could see the inter-relationship among diagnoses, medications, symptoms,side-effects, ,& meds.
Something remarkable that I was able to achieve: My primary care provider, Endocrinologist & psychiatrist talked among one another:; Patient/professional partnership & Collaboration. They reviewed 2018nresults of Gensite results. Malabsorportion contributed to lack of efficacy and didn't help with Treatment Resistant Depression.
I received my spravato treatment yesterday. I do feel relief of suicidal thoughts .
Brand name meds help w/ variability.
Yesterday, my Miller/ ? DEPRESSIVE Scale was at an all time low: 4.
In 2018, my score was 60.
I have had to advocate for myself and yet maintain a receptive working relationship.
Our doctors are care providers. They need to listen, react accordingly, preferably be proactive rather than reactive.
It is not us against them. It is focusing on Collaboration among Parents, Participants, Professionals and subsequent collaboration.
My uncle had late onset Parkinsons. He shared, "I'm not living on borrowed time. It's bonus time. " he died 1 month short of his 90th b-day. He spent 30 years celebrating bonus time. ❤️
Good luck and keep on truckin'
All for now. Meds kicking it. Want to avoid sleep texting 😴