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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by pedr on June 3, 2012, at 14:58:37
Hi,
I've dabbled with Abilify 3 or 4 times now, with different "main" AD's. Each time it makes me the healthiest and happiest I've been since my mental health hit the fan - by miles. However, each time it poops out after approx. a month.
I've been trying to work out what meds are similar in profile, pharmacology, affected receptors and neurotransmitters. But I'm no pharmacist and since Abilify is a novel AD, I'm not having much luck finding alternatives for when it poops out.
If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.
TIA, Pedr
Posted by SLS on June 3, 2012, at 23:30:37
In reply to if Abilify works, what else might work?, posted by pedr on June 3, 2012, at 14:58:37
> Hi,
>
> I've dabbled with Abilify 3 or 4 times now, with different "main" AD's. Each time it makes me the healthiest and happiest I've been since my mental health hit the fan - by miles. However, each time it poops out after approx. a month.
>
> I've been trying to work out what meds are similar in profile, pharmacology, affected receptors and neurotransmitters. But I'm no pharmacist and since Abilify is a novel AD, I'm not having much luck finding alternatives for when it poops out.
>
> If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.
>
> TIA, Pedr
>
I know several people who have had luck combining Abilify with Lamictal.Add memantine (Namenda)?
A new psychotropic drug should be out soon. It is called cariprazine. It shares with Abilify the property of dopamine D2/D3 receptor partial agonism. It might be this mechanism that produces the antidepressant effects of these drugs. Cariprazine has a greater preference for D3 receptors than does Abilify, and might have a more pronounced antidepressant effect. We'll see.
I guess you could investigate full DA agonists like Mirapex and Requip.
- Scott
Posted by pedr on June 4, 2012, at 16:32:53
In reply to Re: if Abilify works, what else might work? » pedr, posted by SLS on June 3, 2012, at 23:30:37
Hi Scott,
as always, thanks for the suggestions. I will look up those meds. Interestingly I was on Lamictal (and Luvox, I think) for ~ 1.5 years. I'm not really sure what it did to be honest since I was suffering from then-undiagnosed IBS, which makes me feel horrible no matter how well a med is working. It certainly wasn't stellar though, like Nardil was for a while.
Right now I'm on 0.5mg Abilify, 150mg Effexor XR and 225mg Bupropion. It's working nicely (barring the insomnia) but it's likely to poop out / fade in a week or two.
Best, Pedr
Posted by SLS on June 5, 2012, at 16:17:07
In reply to Re: if Abilify works, what else might work? » SLS, posted by pedr on June 4, 2012, at 16:32:53
> Hi Scott,
>
> as always, thanks for the suggestions. I will look up those meds. Interestingly I was on Lamictal (and Luvox, I think) for ~ 1.5 years. I'm not really sure what it did to be honest since I was suffering from then-undiagnosed IBS, which makes me feel horrible no matter how well a med is working. It certainly wasn't stellar though, like Nardil was for a while.
>
> Right now I'm on 0.5mg Abilify, 150mg Effexor XR and 225mg Bupropion. It's working nicely (barring the insomnia) but it's likely to poop out / fade in a week or two.
Gosh, I hope not. I'll say a little prayer for you that your improvement lasts this time.Is your dosage of Abilify really 0.5 mg?
I'm sure you know that you can increase the dosages of each of your drugs if you tolerate them.
- Scott
Posted by pedr on June 5, 2012, at 20:51:32
In reply to Re: if Abilify works, what else might work? » pedr, posted by SLS on June 5, 2012, at 16:17:07
> Gosh, I hope not. I'll say a little prayer for you that your improvement lasts this time.
thanks. here's hoping.
>
> Is your dosage of Abilify really 0.5 mg?yep. 2mg halved twice using a pill cutter. Historically I have been hyper sensitive to certain meds, such as reboxetine and sertraline (which both resulted in terrifying experiences, incidentally).
>
> I'm sure you know that you can increase the dosages of each of your drugs if you tolerate them.yes. Saw a new PDoc today and we observed exactly that. And should those ceilings be hit, back on the med-go-round I go.
Pedr
>
>
> - Scott
This is the end of the thread.
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