I have only started the Abilify so far on day 3 … I was supposed to start together but I dropped the pristiq bottle and pills fell on floor now because of contamination ocd I can’t take them and insurance won’t pay for a refill yet so doctor says just take the Abilify for now , I’m noticing it is helping me to change my behavior versus the ssri just kinda helped me manage my existing behaviors but never had courage or motivation to change my behaviors so I’m hoping that’s where Abilify will come
At one point I was on both Effexor and Abilify, then my doctor took me off the Effexor. I have done fine on Abilify alone - but that is me. Did your doctor put you on all 3 of these meds at once - or at different times, in response to symptoms you were having? I would speak with your M.D. at your next visit and tell him or her that you don't want to be on so much medication. See what he or she says. I always prefer to side with the doctor when it comes to this sort of thing.
I just had abilify added to my Pristiq and Remeron.. I used to be on Zoloft 150mg but it just didn't seem to be working after 5 years of being on it. I was getting to the top dose of 200mg and that is why he added the Remeron. That was a magical combination however, anxiety was still bad and i couldn't cope with everyday activities still. So we switched to Pristiq-Remeron and I have had severe lows and break through in the moods with the Pristiq.
Yea charlotte, I took Abilify with Pristiq. (On different meds now) The Abilify was added a few months after the Pristiq because even at 100Mgs the Pristiq was just not working good enough.
At the time Abilify was a very new drug so I was wanting to try it anyway. I don't want you to go only by my experience with Abilify, but it failed to help me much at all even at higher dosages.
3 weeks ago to Pristiq 50mg. The first week I took 30mg Cymbalta then 2nd week and since, no Cymbalta and only Pristiq (still taking buspar & Xanax prn)
I feel I'm noticing small improvements in the past cpl weeks but not back to normal. Today is a rough day with anxiety/adrenaline/agitation. I so want outta this hole and praying it works for me.
Anyone else have success switching to Pristiq? Would like to hear how long it took for ppl to notice a difference.
I take 24mg suboxone daily. Iam bi-polar and was prescribed pristiq and abilify, after i went on the suboxone, which i did not tell the doc i was on. I took my first dose of the meds, the abilify and pristiq, (which i had been on before) and got deathly ill, for about 6 hours, then i felt drugged until the next day. I have not tryed it again. Iam only on the suboxone, but i want to get off of it, it has changed my life for the better, in every way, except the cost.
I am so sorry to hear you're having problems. I completely understand because I have had similar problems with meds in the past.
I would suggest talking to your doc and asking for a change in meds or see if there is another drug that you can take in addition to combat the mood problems. I take 100mg of Pristiq and 2 mg of Abilify.
do your self a gavor never let them give you Abilify.
I take pristiq 100mg and abilify 5 mg. I haven't missed any medicine, but I'm having symptoms like I have when I miss it. I've had a headache for 3 days. I'm feeling nauseated and my vision is weird and seeing trails a little bit. Symptoms like this usually only happen when I forget my meds. What is happening?
An SSRI generally is of concern for someone with bipolar and can easily worsen mania. Abilify like all antipsychotics can treat it. Abilify and Geodon are activating, that is they will make a person more likely to be awake instead of being sedating. I know when I was on Geodon and Abilify they kept me up practically the whole night but they didn't make me manic. Some people find it better to take it in the morning for that reason.
I dumped it down toilet then was given Abilify which also hurts my neck glands, and makes me feel like my tongue and body want to jump out of my skin. I am super restless, interupt, finish people's sentences, cannot sleep and hate it. I have not taken it for a night or two and want to dump it out too.
Just want to go back on Pristiq and not even be on any anti-psychotic for my Cyclothymia. *uck it.
I am a 52 year old female. Post menopause and on hormones. Just hot my thyroid levels at a good level. I switched from pristiq to cymbalta back in November. I am tired ALL the time. More than when my thyroid was out of whack. Could the cymbalta be causing this and if so, what if I took it at night?
I'm glad your doc is adding to your meds. Rationally, you've taken the Cymbalta before, so why would it be an issue now right? Having some fears is normal, but when they impede in your daily life, you have to catch them right? I had an irrational fear of ALL insects, and I'm talking ants too. You have to stop, and think, why do I feel this way, and how can I address this.
Equivalencies are generalizations, and you are an individual. Besides, Pristiq is a different class of drug than Lexapro. Lexapro is an ssri while Pristiq is an snri. And if it were me, which it isn't, I'd start at a low dosage and work my way up on any medication so I could see how bad the side effects were and the lowest dosage at which it works is.
I will only add one thing to Ryan's otherwise very good post. People do have different reactions to different drugs, even to Celexa and Lexapro or Pristiq and Effexor. While it's true the companies are trying to keep a patented product in their lineup, Lexapro seems to have fewer side effects than Celexa, but many people do find one or the other works better. Same probably with Pristiq and Effexor. But to prescribe both at once is insane.
I called the pdoc back and he's having me take a 75 effexor xr and my pristiq 50---I guess a ween off of it, no more brain zaps for now, I dont know what will happen after I stop taking effexor all together, we shall see in a few weeks.
As for the comment above, I too have seen people have to pay out of pocket for perscriptions and its usually elderly and people like me, who had been laid off and take medications and are put into a situation of having to pay out of pocket, what to do?
Actually my express concerns started when I had a friend who was on Pristiq along with Abilify. They had straight bipolar but the Pristiq pushed them into mania verging on psychosis and they did some destructive things that could have had them end up in the hospital and they were otherwise basically rational. I had them speak to a friend who was a psychiatrist and then they spoke to their own psychiatrist and were transferred to Wellbutrin which did not caused this problem for them.
Recommended
