Is ABILIFY always prescribed with an antidepressant? monotherapy possible?

[psychohelp]

Hello
with a dx of schizoaffective and bipolar, im rxed abilify and zoloft.

question:
can you do monotherapy with just abilify?
or
is abilify usually rx'ed with an antidepressant or anti convulsant (mood stabilizer)?

i ask because i dont want to take zoloft if i dont need to. ive heard abilify has antidepressant properties, but most antipsychs do....

so please help me if u can ... can i just take one pill instead of two? monotherapy with abilify would be favorable, cuz i dont like SSRIs and dont want anti convulsants

thanks for the help

 

[No. 13 Baby]

i'm on abilify alone

just wondering if I could smoke weed while on it

 

[debaser]

Yes you can smoke weed with it. Start with a few puffs though, to see how you react.

Abilify is an anti psychotic and an anti depressant, I don't know its other abilities, though.

 

[closeau]

I was on Abilfy 15mg a day and Zoloft 100mg a day for schizoaffective disorder and clinical depression. Took this for 2 years. The Abilify is designed to work with other anti-depressants. I'm not sure why. It worked pretty well but not good enough. My Dr got me off Abilify and put me on Haloperidol. Much...much better results. You might want to investigate this med with your Dr. You might not need to take both like I do. The haloperidol might cover your needs by itsef. Dont really know. To each mind his own I always say. I'm still on 150 mg of Zoloft but it really helps me. I'm on 5mg of Haloperidol which is relativley low...I think. Good luck

To No 13 Baby. I have smoked on Abilify before and it didnt affect either with me. I'm a small dose smoker so yeah, I would try a little before you get real stoned. My little but of real sweet bud is quite enough for me. Seems to mix reallt well with my pyhciatric meds. Go figure. Thats one magical plant,haha. Good luck

 

[ChinaCat13]

I have never taken abilify but have taken zoloft, prozac, welbutrin, etc. I will never take ad's again. The first time I saw someone on abilify I was in the psych ward for a suicide attempt after going cold turkey from methadone. This chick was on it and didn't come out of her room for like 4 days and when she did she was hammered. I asked what she was on and where could I get some. haha. Someone said she was on abilify. She must have been on something else as well though like some heavy tranqs.

 

[Alex000]

I do not recommend taking ANY anti-psychotic daily for any time longer than a few weeks. The side effects of ALL anti-psychotics are very real and very dangerous, and can be permanent after stopping the drug. A very notable permanent side effect is tardive dyskenisia, look it up, not fun. SSRI's aren't really the best for you either, but much less harmful than anti-psychotics. If anything, I would start some serious psychotherapy to deal with the schizoaffective and bipolar symptomology. Yes, psychotherapy does work when done well. I'd get off both drugs if I were you. They are not good for you at all. I have had experience on them, Seroquel, Abilify, and Thorazine, andd you are too doped up (in a very bad way) to give a shit about it.

If you want to keep an emergency supply of anti-psychotics on hand to abort a manic episode or the like, that is fine, but use sparingly. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies work hand in glove together, and anti-psychotics are EXTREMELY over prescribed. For whoever mentioned haloperiodl (Haldol), this is a particularly unpleasant and dangerous anti-psychotic that I would never touch. I had it once, and it was awful.

 

[pammy]

I was diagnosed in 2004 as having bipolar/scitzo affective disorder and have since been on a regular dose of an anti psychotic this usually being Olanzaoine 20mg,iv also in the past had a mood stabilizer also Lithium 1000mg along with Olanzapine.I have never known that these pills can be damaging to you in any way.In the past iv been tried on Abilify but it was a load of crap i didnt sleep,eat properly etc i simply felt like shit,iv not really had any problems though whilst iv been on Olanzapine as iv always thought its whats has been keeping me well?although iv for the past year needed zopiclone every single night to get to sleep as the Olanzapine dosnt seem to sedate me like it used to a few years ago.

I do not recommend taking ANY anti-psychotic daily for any time longer than a few weeks. The side effects of ALL anti-psychotics are very real and very dangerous, and can be permanent after stopping the drug. A very notable permanent side effect is tardive dyskenisia, look it up, not fun. SSRI's aren't really the best for you either, but much less harmful than anti-psychotics. If anything, I would start some serious psychotherapy to deal with the schizoaffective and bipolar symptomology. Yes, psychotherapy does work when done well. I'd get off both drugs if I were you. They are not good for you at all. I have had experience on them, Seroquel, Abilify, and Thorazine, andd you are too doped up (in a very bad way) to give a shit about it.

If you want to keep an emergency supply of anti-psychotics on hand to abort a manic episode or the like, that is fine, but use sparingly. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies work hand in glove together, and anti-psychotics are EXTREMELY over prescribed. For whoever mentioned haloperiodl (Haldol), this is a particularly unpleasant and dangerous anti-psychotic that I would never touch. I had it once, and it was awful.

 

[closeau]

I wrote this long ass reply and it didnt take cause I had to refresh my page and it erased it. UUUgh. Sum it up quickly, it took years of trial by error to come up with the regimen of meds Im on now. I used to abuse substances to deal with my major depression and delusions/hallucinations. That just made things worse, obviously. Handling you psyhical and mental health in a constructive way is what being an adult, and a father, is all about. People depend on me to function and I do as well. I think meds are very important to me to balance out the chemicals of my schizophrenia. Ive tried abilify, didnt really do much. Risperidone, which landed me in the ward for a week. Now, the Halodol at 5mg a night does a lot for my delusions and the Zoloft does a great job with my major clinical depression. But, you need to talk about your stuff to other human beings, family/friends and......a trained professional. I enjoy the hour I have with my shrink once a month. To sum up, in mental health, meds and therapy go hand in hand. Find the right meds with your Dr and most impotantly, be honest with them about how youre feeling. Simple price to pay to be healthy and functioning. Good luck and thanks!

 

[Doug2113]

I'm currently on abilfy by itself for depression and tramadol for pain...I don't really notice a difference from it and am about to just stop filling it...I'm tired of being on anti-psyches for depression because my docs are afraid to prescribe me real pain meds...When I disclosed my depression, I was expecting an anti-depressant, not an anti-psychotic...Fuck this seroquel and abilify bullshit...that fucks with too many different synapses for me to like the idea of taking them for a while...

 

[effie]

Monotherapy certainly is possible, as others have said, and Abilify/aripiprazole does have antidepressant properties as well as being an antipsychotic. It is true that antipsychotics carry risks of both short and long-term side effects - moreso than SSRIs for a lot of people - and should not be taken lightly, but they are also effective and sometimes very necessary drugs. This is a conversation you should be having with your doctor really - we can't advise you on what psychiatric medication to take, this forum primarily covers harm reduction for recreational drugs and is not aimed at giving medical advice. Even if it was, it wouldn't be appropriate to advise you on this over the internet.. if you are concerned about the Zoloft I would discuss it with your doctor at your next appointment.

I'm going to close this as I don't think there is any other HR advice we can give, but if you want some advice or support for your depression or to discuss other treatments (such as therapy) I recommend checking out The Dark Side forum (link in my sig) and the TDS directory

Good luck! Feel free to pm me if you have any queries.