Abilify is an antipsychotic also used as a mood stabilizer. If you having racing thoughts that could be a sign of bipolar and a mood stabilizer or antipsychotic that works like one would be more helpful than an anti-depressent. They may think you have more than just depression. Ask them about that and then give the Abilify a chance.
For the last 6 years I've been seeing my psychiatrist every 4 weeks. For the last 2 years she's been pushing Tegretol on me. That's in addition to Abilify, Buspar, Lexapro, and Tofranil.
The last time I was hospitalized for psychiatric reasons the psychiatrist there in the hospital put me on 600mg of Tegretol nightly. I was a zombie for the 6 months that I gave it a full shot.
s preferrable to use Abilify (AP) or Lamictal (AC) since both work well for depression and both are a mood stabilizer. I think what matters is the other symptoms to count whether rapid cycling or mixed symptoms....or BP1 or BP2 etc...
Abilify is a mood stabilizer that I have seen works miracles when added to other mood disorder medications. Abilify tends to turbo charge the effectiveness of other meds and is dosed between 5 to 40mg. At low doses of Abilify (20mg or less), most of the patients I have seen say it gives them a boost in their energy and mood. Above that amount, I start hearing that it takes them down a notch (which is sometimes what they want).
Trileptal is an anti-convulant that is prescribed as a mood stabilizer but it can be less than effective (although each person responds differently to each medication). Abilify is specifically FDA approved for both mood disorders and psychotic disorders. If a person has a mood disorder that would have any type of psychosis as part of it they would most likely need an antipsychotic.
of depression meds as a mood stabilizer. I have read in many blogs about people gaining lots of weight when put on Abilify. I am terrifed of putting on weight as I feel that a med that would make me gain weight would just depress me even more as I would no longer feel good about myself; thus defeating the purpose. Can you please tell me what the likelyhood is of a person gaining weight on Abilify and some suggestions of other mood stabilizers that would not cause this side effect?
That's another thing I'm worried about is them adding a mood stabilizer because I already gained weight from Abilify and I don't feel like dealing with more side effects. Hopefully my previous psychiatric records help them realize they don't need to do anything except maybe tweak the doses of the meds I take already.
Zyprexa is an antipsychotic that is FDA approved as a mood stabilizer as well. Extreme anger and other mood changes can be part of mania which it should be treating as well.
As anti-psychotics can create diabetes and tardive dyskinesia if a person has straight bipolar (as opposed to bipolar with psychotic features where an anti-psychotic is absolutely needed) there is the potential to change to a mood stabilizer, none of which have the risk of creating tardive dyskinesia and out of all of them Lamictal has the least potential for weight gain and is generally safe and effective. Perhaps you could ask your psychiatrist about Lamictal.
You could speak to your psychiatrist about adjusting the dose or adding another mood stabilizer and then potentially reducing the Abilify but that judgment is up to your psychiatrist. Talk to them about your concerns.
Trileptal unlike Tegretol or lithium does not generally require a blood test. Abilify is used as a mood stabilizer but its an antipsychotic as for its original use. You need to find out what his diagnosis is, how the medications were benefiting him and where the side effects might be coming from. We have some webpages linked up where you could find out information.
I know that if I ring my psych and tell her all of this, she will put me on either an anti psychotic/mood stabilizer and I will go back to feeling depressed, empty and numb again. I have tried two other antidepressants and went hypomanic on both - so that is why I can recognise the signs. But I love feeling hypomanic so I don't want it to end. Is it likely to pass after a few days? Can I just wait it out and see what happens?
Besides getting him a punching bag, I wondered if anyone has had better experience with a different mood stabilizer--maybe something new? We tried tegretol with no effect when he was first diagnosed. Lamactal is not indicated, since he does not need anything with antidepressive effects. Would appreciate any advice. Oh--and he is also on a nutritional therapy program, which has helped with his attention deficits but not with his auditory hallucinations or much with the mood swings.
It's obvious the SSRI's don't work for you, they don't work for me either. I would suggest you ask your doc about a mood stabilizer such as Lamictal or Abilify. You also may need Lithium or another drug to help balance you out.
I am about to have my meds changed because I feel much like you do, at the end of my rope!
I wish you all the best!!
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