Abilify?

Does anyone have experience or advice on adding Abilify for emotional blunting/depression?

My sister's psychiatrist, the one who originally prescribed the benzos, is recommending she add Abilify. She feels her current symptoms are due to depression, not benzo withdrawal. (I obviously do not agree. Also, my sister is looking to find a new psychiatrist but is seeing this one until she can get a new one.) 

I've seen members discuss this drug, it comes with it's own set of side effects.  The member I'm thinking about who is taking the drug says it treats Schizoaffective disorder quite well.  This conversation would be best discussed with her Dr but if she has doubts about taking this drug it would probably be a good idea for her to raise her concerns with her.

I found this on the web, is your sister on another medication for depression that this will work in tandem with?

Abilify is used to treat the symptoms of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder (manic depression). It is not known if aripiprazole is safe or effective in children younger than 13 with schizophrenia, or children younger than 10 with bipolar disorder.

Abilify is also used together with other medicines to treat major depressive disorder in adults.

Here's a description of Abilify:

Aripiprazole is used to treat certain mental/mood disorders (such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, and irritability associated with autistic disorder). It may also be used in combination with other medication to treat depression. Aripiprazole is known as an antipsychotic drug (atypical type).

I was on it for a month or so years back and it did diddly-squat for depression. It's really a drug for schizophrenia. I realize it's prescribed off-label for depression or whatever else the psych thinks it can treat (!) but  it sure isn't a first choice for "treating" depression. (Can depression be fixed with a drug? I doubt it).

Here are the side effects:

Headache, extrapyramidal symptoms, drowsiness, restlessness, fatigue, sedation, agitation, insomnia, anxiety, weight gain, cholesterol abnormalities, increased glucose, nausea, vomiting, constipation, application site rash (MyCite), tremor

I was so sedated I couldn't think straight. Of course, everyone will have different s/x . . . but the thing to remember is that most people will have s/x. So you have to ask yourself are the s/x worth it? I was emotionally blunted during my taper, you bet I was. But once my taper was over, I regained my well-balanced outlook on life. If you can advise your sister to just say no to this dodgy drug, things just might improve for her on their own.  I'm sure not a doctor, I'm just giving you my thoughts as a former Abilify-taker.

The atypical antipsychotics scare the heck out of me. I was also on Zypreza, another dodgy AA and it had devastating side effects. They're the big guns of the psychiatric world and should be, imo, reserved for schizophrenia of other conditions that actually can be ameliorated by drugs.

Best to you,

Katz

Hello

I have schizoaffective and major depressive disorder and am on 20 miligrams a day of Abilify for several years now with no scary side effects. I guess everyone is different but the medicine really helps me.

It’s hard to say what may help without more explanation of medical history.  What I will say is that many psychiatrists, have trouble attributing depression to benzo withdrawal.  I did as well until I found this site.  After I got off benzos (the first time), I went in complaining of serious depression and we tried some different stuff, but it didn’t do much good.  And I had become hypersensitive to medications and was getting bad reactions to them that I historically didn’t get (I had tried these same meds in the past).  I could tell at times that the antidepressants were working, but when the bad waves hit there was seriously little you could do to stop them and I would fall into a deep depression.  And in the waves, it was like the meds made things worse. 

As far as Abilify goes, I thought it was a decent medication.  I do remember at one point being in a deep depression and was prescribed Abilify, and it immediately got me out of that funk.  It was like a light just came on.  Sadly that didn’t last too long (to reasons mentioned above).  The only real side effect I had with it was that it made me a little more anxious/nervous.  Reactions to those atypical antipsychotics are all over the map.  Some people get wired while others want to sleep all the time.

Hi Sister Support,

I agree with poster, oregonkatz, I had a similar bad experience. These drugs are trouble. I had horrible symptoms from Abilify, including TD. It is not worth the risk, imo. It is a major Antipsychotic ( which depresses the nervous system) and if your sister is/was on benzos I don't think an additional heavy drug is going to help? Though it is sold as an antidepressant for off-label use it does just the opposite, it's most likely to make mild depression worse. It is also very habit forming so will not help benzo withdrawal.

There are many non drug therapies to manage symptoms that are way safer for emotional blunting/depression, please don't think drugs are the only option, there are many good resources/alternatives out there online to research if one seeks it. Depression is a symptom of drug withdrawal and eases with time. I have done cod liver oil, vitamin D, Zinc etc. with good results as the deficiency of any of these can contribute to withdrawal caused depressive symptoms. I hope my experience helps you both to make an informed decision.

I hope your sister finds a capable psychiatrist very soon to taper off any drugs she is on, who also accepts the reality of withdrawal syndrome. Wishing your sister nothing but the best. Healing, Blessings and Love to you both <3