Mental Health Ambilify (Sandoz-Aripiprazole) anyone?

[Opi_Kid_Rock]

I've been prescribed 10mg per day to start to treat my major depression. It makes me nauseous and I almost throw up; Gravol does not help at all. Has this medication been helpful for anyone out there or has it caused mostly sickness feelings to those who take it? Am I supposed to feel like vomitting? Has anyone tried the injection form of Ambilify? If so, how was it? Thank you BL members.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

I cannot speak specifically about abilify, but my general opinion is 2nd gen antipsychotics are a lousy fix for depression. Never something I would take for depression, only other serious mental illness. Side effects are too noteworthy.

I'm sure someone else can chime in. I have no knowledge in regards to this drug and depression specifically.

 

[Opi_Kid_Rock]

Everything I read online about this medication has been bad, about its really damaging side-effects that can harm people for life. I'm so afraid of taking this medication regularly. I've been holding off on taking it.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I take this medicine regularly and believe that it saved my life. To @SnafuInTheVoid, I think Abilify is considered a 3rd gen antipsychotic.

@Opi_Kid_Rock this medicine is not indicated as the primary treatment for major depression. But it is sometime used for bi-polar people who are made manic my SSRI's. It is thought useful for depression because it is quite activiting unlike 2nd gen anti-psychotics which tend to make people sluggish. Do you have other diagnoses?

In my case it has been used to control intrusive thoughts that often led to mania. It works perfectly for this. It was also extremely beneficial in off-label treatment of methamphetamine addiction.

@Opi_Kid_Rock do be careful where and what you read online regarding these medications. There is a problem of confirmation bias in online reporting of medicine side effects where only people who have or perceive problems post reports. The far greater number of people who receive benefits or haven't problems do not bother to post online. Therefore it can seem that most of the discussion is negative when in reality many people are doing fine with the medication.

Which potential side effects are you most concerned about?

 

[Opi_Kid_Rock]

I take this medicine regularly and believe that it saved my life. To @SnafuInTheVoid, I think Abilify is considered a 3rd gen antipsychotic.

@Opi_Kid_Rock this medicine is not indicated as the primary treatment for major depression. But it is sometime used for bi-polar people who are made manic my SSRI's. It is thought useful for depression because it is quite activiting unlike 2nd gen anti-psychotics which tend to make people sluggish. Do you have other diagnoses?

In my case it has been used to control intrusive thoughts that often led to mania. It works perfectly for this. It was also extremely beneficial in off-label treatment of methamphetamine addiction.

@Opi_Kid_Rock do be careful where and what you read online regarding these medications. There is a problem of confirmation bias in online reporting of medicine side effects where only people who have or perceive problems post reports. The far greater number of people who receive benefits or haven't problems do not bother to post online. Therefore it can seem that most of the discussion is negative when in reality many people are doing fine with the medication.

Which potential side effects are you most concerned about?

I’m worried about developing diabetes.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Okay then. A few things here.

I'd have to agree with my fellow mod: lots of bias in just reading online reports. Psychiatrists aren't always on point, but they have a good idea of how to crunch the functions that are relevant to your care.

Most people state that abilify is part of the second generation, and others hold that it's a third generation antipsychotic. Both are considered valid. The disparity is in the nature of how to modifies D2 receptor activation.

So we have "typical"/first-gen antipsychotics, developed in the mid 20th century, which work mainly as D2 blockers.

"Atypical"/second-gen antipsychotics are D2 blockers, but are known for additionally blocking 5-HT2a.

The third-gens keep D2 activity within a floor and ceiling, with requisite 5-Ht2a blocking and various other effects. However, the case could be made that clozapine, largely through its main active metabolite, also treats the D2 receptor this way (they call it a partial agonist). Clozapine was discovered in the 70's, the first atypical, and to this day proves superior to all other antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses.

Abilify oral dosage forms come in 2mg up to 30mg. But the smaller doses act differently than the higher doses. Lower doses are more activating, even stimulating. Higher doses are deactivating. Yet abilify is still considered one of the weaker antipsychotics. It has use at lower doses for "augmenting" antidepressants. As a monotherapy at that does, I'd guess you're being treated for bipolar II.

Antipsychotics can be hard to tolerate, as they take a few months to really entirely integrate. But they are legit. For example, Seroquel is officially licensed for bipolar depression.

If you're worried about diabetes, ensure a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. There's no guarantee of diabetes if you take abilify,