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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

Mental Health Abilify for depression?

i just did a quick read of its mechanism of action of wiki. not a medical journal, but i am not that dedicated to this at this time. sounds like a weird drug, some cross between an anti-depressant and an anti-psychotic. but wiki is too general. it says abilify acts as D2 agoinist where as most anti psychotics are d2 antagonist. so how could this be used as a anti-psychotic, having the opposite effect on a receptor thought to be so closely related to schizophrenia? but it also has different effects on different 5-ht sub-receptors. sometimes agonism, which reminds me of modern anti-depressants, but on other sub-types, antagonism, which wikipedia says is typical of atypical anti-psychotics. wiki really isnt the place to do this kind of research, but im not going through med journal databases right now. in short, sounds like and interesting and weird drug.

there is a lot of controversy about the new push for anti-psychotics to be scripted off label for other psychological disorders (though i dont know what abilify is and is not FDA approved for). there just arnt enough schizos out there for the pharmaceutical companies to make the money they want of their new atypicals. i wouldnt take it. though if i was considering it, i'd check medical journal articales about it, not wikipedia.
 
Just wanted to add some more to the conversation. My girlfriend who uses this medication as was stated in earlier posts, wanted to throw in some more perspective.
She personally finds Abilify to be great. It helps her immensely with depression & has also greatly reduced perhaps even eliminated bouts of anger towards self/others.
Having tried a multitude of different medications Abilify for her anyways, is extremely effective.
In her case her only side effect is it makes her drowsy when she takes it, but that is alleviated by dosing schedule and/or a nap. :)

Anyways, that's some more of her counter perspective as a decent percentage of the people in this thread seem to have a negative opinion of Abilify.
Not sure if the opinion's of other posters are based on experience with the medication or from researching.
Regardless I figured I'd share some more of her experience with Abilify in the hope that it might benefit others.

Also to Phatass; just for comparison, if you don't mind me asking that is...

What dosage amount and/or schedule are you currently on, and how long have you been on said dose?
 
Psychedelic Jay said:
The longer you are on it the more brainwashed you will get to it's effects.
Not a bad brainwash.
Click to expand...

I'm somewhat confused by your statement.
I realize that over time someone taking the medication would likely develop a tolerance.
Perhaps they would also notice somewhat of a change in the effects from when they began treatment, but I'm not to sure that's what your implying.
More of a none to educated guess at what your getting at :\
Could you please explain and/or elaborate on what your trying to state?
 
Psychedelic Jay said:
They get used to that horrid zombification.
And it makes them happy.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for explaining your perspective.
To give a counter one, not everyone has the experience you speak of.
In the case of my girlfriend, neither of us has noticed any sort of "zombification".
In fact in her case the anti depressant properties along with mood stabilization has given her more of a passion towards life more so than "zombifiying" her.
Though as I stated in earlier posts she does experience drowsiness as a side effect that can be alleviated various ways (timing of dosage, a nap, caffeine, etc.) I wouldn't go so far as to call that "zombification".
In relation of the negative to the positive effects for her, neither of us would say the happiness and positive mood effects are the result of "zombification".
Though as with any substance, everyone reacts differently so I in no way would attempt to speak for your experiences.
However, I would need more of an explanation of your definition of "zombification" for a proper response. My response was assuming your statement to imply the following.
The assumption being that your meaning something along the lines of a sense of detachment and being happy due to not caring as much about things in general.
Or a sense of things/reality being dampened causing a sense of happiness by reality seeming less harsh or meaningful.
Correct me if I'm assuming wrong as I try never to assume, but wanted to respond with a different perspective.
If you would like any clarification from me or her on anything in any of these posts please feel free to ask.
If any of the discourse in this thread is useful in some way to anyone interested in the medication then all the better.
 
"Or a sense of things/reality being dampened causing a sense of happiness by reality seeming less harsh or meaningful."

That one.

If you have to get a high enough dose, you will get zombifacation.
And you only get happy after the period of drowsiness.
 
Everybody's different, I know that when I was taking daily Zyprexa, the shit didn't sedated me at all, on the contrary I just could'nt sleep on it, waking up 500 times a night, every 5 minutes. But I see on the web that it sedates all the people taking it.

Anyway my psych told me to continue taking Abilify, but half the dose and only when eating my lunch.
 
when i took abilify i was on paxil and it wasnt a good experience for me. i was taking in for about a week and i had to stop. it made me feel like i was on a boat rocking back and forth, dizzyness like crazy. im sure the side effects would have eventually gone away but i coulnt deal with it even for another day. just my experience but its different for everybody.
 
I haven't ever taken Abilify (or any antipsychotic), but I have heard it can be effective for treatment-resistant depression IF given at very low doses. At regularly doses (10+mg), its not really much different from other atypical antipsychotics, but at low doses (2-5mg, I think) it actually increases rather than decreases dopaminergic activity at certain receptors. So its a pretty unusual drug. An antipsychotic that can be somewhat stimulating.

People seem to either love it or hate it. Either it really helps them, or they get a range of very bad sounding side effects and it doesn't help at all. Very low doses (2mg) seem to work best for depression from what I've read, and its usually more effective if taken with another drug for depression, like an SSRI.

Interesting reviews here: http://www.revolutionhealth.com/drugs-treatments/rating/abilify-for-depression?page=2&view=treatment
 
^ From what I've read about Abilify, it sorts of regulates the level of dopamine, that means it rises the level when it's too low, and it lowers it when it's too high.
 
GodJuice said:
It's should only be tried on those with treatment-resistant depression. Abilify blocks the chemical in your brain responsible for pleasure, among other things, so what's the benefit? For some, none, it's an amphetamine comedown. For others it blocks the feelings to be both happy and sad. That's the "help" it provides.
Click to expand...

Well i've been through suposedily the most strong SNRI's and they didn't do shit.... but may i ask, can you back up your argument?

I've been on abilify for 2 weeks now and i feel slightly better.... not zombied AT ALL... i even find it gives me a bit of a boost
 
Safer yes, better, no.

It kinda sucks to me that the most effective treatments are dangerous when unmonitered.

Benzos = addiction
Antipsychotics = sudden death
Antidepressants = suicide risk

It's crazzy to me that some have depression and anxiety worse during the actual treatment.
 
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