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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Jeroen on May 10, 2004, at 15:55:22
hi im on abilify 10 mg on the 8th day when will it start working?? my side effects are bad sleep, and my vision is also bad i cant read subtitles on tv or see people clearly with a distance of 6 metters this side effect started on 7th day
please tell me when the seratonin will be activated on what day? also what will i feel?
Posted by Sebastian on May 10, 2004, at 17:53:55
In reply to abilify 10 mg on the 8th day when will it start??, posted by Jeroen on May 10, 2004, at 15:55:22
It takes 1-2 weeks to reach steady state. The sleep problem will likely get worse. Others talk of taking a sleep med with it. The shaky eyes is probably the stimulant effect of the med, getting you excited and jittery.
Posted by utopizen on May 12, 2004, at 11:52:18
In reply to abilify 10 mg on the 8th day when will it start??, posted by Jeroen on May 10, 2004, at 15:55:22
> hi im on abilify 10 mg on the 8th day when will it start working?? my side effects are bad sleep, and my vision is also bad i cant read subtitles on tv or see people clearly with a distance of 6 metters this side effect started on 7th day
>
> please tell me when the seratonin will be activated on what day? also what will i feel?
>heh- it's not an amphetamine, it's a modulator =)
serotonin isn't "activated" by drugs, but drugs like Abilify can help modulate it as well as dopamine and other chemicals in your brain.
Abilify is commonly used to augment an antidepressant, although often it's used first alone as well. You can speak with your doc after a month or so about possibly combining an antidepressant if you're not already on one.
It's not for 7-10 days until effects are noticable, and it takes a few weeks to ride out the side effects. Everyone goes through some side effects for the first few weeks, and it's important to speak to your doctor about minimizing these somehow so that you stay compliant on the med.
Unless it makes you sleepy (for me, it made me sleepy just for 2 days, then it made me energetic)-- try AM dosing instead of PM dosing to help your sleep. Sleep distribuances for me generally only last the first night of taking the drug, beyond that my body adjusts to the drug and my sleep goes back to normal again. Bodies are resillent like that, but be patient.
Speak with your doc, don't expect this to cure any depression you may have, and remember it's easier to minimzie the side effects from this drug than switch to a whole new drug that'll just introduce new side effects to adjust to.
It may very well help your depression, but that may take weeks, if not an addition of an antidepressant down the road if you aren't noticing progress.
Not that this is relevant to this board, but ever since I've started riding my bike each day for an hour, my dreams have immediately become very vivid, my mood seems to be "me" again, and I am not on any antidepressants yet (I'm likely going to try Straterra+Provigil down the road for my sleepiness/ADD).
If you happen not to exercise at least 3x/week aerobically, be aware that your body will have a harder time at coping with sleep disturbing side effects.... exercise makes your sleep more compressed and efficient, as you likely know.
(Also releases endorphins and stress, as I go from being stressed out and moody before my bike ride to giddy and tranquil with everything when I come back!)
Okay, I used Abilify, and I went off it after two weeks once restlessness kicked in. I regret this, as it was helping my energy levels/ADD a lot and restlessness can be reduced by other drugs.
Posted by cybercafe on May 13, 2004, at 3:33:47
In reply to Re: abilify 10 mg on the 8th day when will it start??, posted by utopizen on May 12, 2004, at 11:52:18
> > hi im on abilify 10 mg on the 8th day when will it start working?? my side effects are bad sleep, and my vision is also bad i cant read subtitles on tv or see people clearly with a distance of 6 metters this side effect started on 7th day
> >
> > please tell me when the seratonin will be activated on what day? also what will i feel?
> >
>
> heh- it's not an amphetamine, it's a modulator =)
>
> serotonin isn't "activated" by drugs, but drugs like Abilify can help modulate it as well as dopamine and other chemicals in your brain.
>
> Abilify is commonly used to augment an antidepressant, although often it's used first alone as well. You can speak with your doc after a month or so about possibly combining an antidepressant if you're not already on one.
>
> It's not for 7-10 days until effects are noticable, and it takes a few weeks to ride out the side effects. Everyone goes through some side effects for the first few weeks, and it's important to speak to your doctor about minimizing these somehow so that you stay compliant on the med.
>
> Unless it makes you sleepy (for me, it made me sleepy just for 2 days, then it made me energetic)-- try AM dosing instead of PM dosing to help your sleep. Sleep distribuances for me generally only last the first night of taking the drug, beyond that my body adjusts to the drug and my sleep goes back to normal again. Bodies are resillent like that, but be patient.
>
> Speak with your doc, don't expect this to cure any depression you may have, and remember it's easier to minimzie the side effects from this drug than switch to a whole new drug that'll just introduce new side effects to adjust to.
>
> It may very well help your depression, but that may take weeks, if not an addition of an antidepressant down the road if you aren't noticing progress.
>
> Not that this is relevant to this board, but ever since I've started riding my bike each day for an hour, my dreams have immediately become very vivid, my mood seems to be "me" again, and I am not on any antidepressants yet (I'm likely going to try Straterra+Provigil down the road for my sleepiness/ADD).
>
> If you happen not to exercise at least 3x/week aerobically, be aware that your body will have a harder time at coping with sleep disturbing side effects.... exercise makes your sleep more compressed and efficient, as you likely know.
>
> (Also releases endorphins and stress, as I go from being stressed out and moody before my bike ride to giddy and tranquil with everything when I come back!)
>
> Okay, I used Abilify, and I went off it after two weeks once restlessness kicked in. I regret this, as it was helping my energy levels/ADD a lot and restlessness can be reduced by other drugs.yes i really love abilify... not necessarily sufficient for my BAD treatment resistant depression .. but really good for motivation and that is so important to lifestyle... the desire to do things and keep going rather than the desire to sit still (e.g. zyprexa) ...
i changed over very slowly and kept the dose super-small (tops 3.75 mg) ....
it was so worth the drive to the states, yelling at mental health workers, and a ton of cash
Posted by utopizen on May 13, 2004, at 13:26:16
In reply to Re: abilify 10 mg on the 8th day when will it start??, posted by cybercafe on May 13, 2004, at 3:33:47
> i changed over very slowly and kept the dose super-small (tops 3.75 mg) ....
>
> it was so worth the drive to the states, yelling at mental health workers, and a ton of cash
>wow. I started at 7.5mg only because they didn't have 10mg tabs in stock the week it came out, and my doc wanted me to go up to 15mg after a few weeks. Of course I decided to stop after 2 weeks, not realizing restlessness could be controlled rather than tolerated, with additional drugs.
It was probably the only point in my college career (after being on it for a week) that I woke up early on a Saturday morning and walked over to the library to review readings for a class that wouldn't test me on anything until finals.
I wonder if my depression I feel now is simply a greater degree of depression I didn't notice earlier, merely because I felt happy and all (and doing anything that bored me made me feel tired or inattentive). I always chalked that part of me up to ADD alone, but maybe it was sort of depression+ADD, and now it's pretty bad depression too.
Anyway, I hope some research is done so docs learn more about the motivating properties to Abilify. I recent saw a p-doc, no joke, who never heard of Abilify. And in the mental hospital I went to recently after feeling really stressed/depressed one day, no one was on Abilify.
It seems every doc I've ever seen when they bring up atypicals always have their own personal brand favorite, as if they know something special about it that makes them better than other docs. One doc felt proud to simply suggest Seroquel and give me samples, another felt proud and seemed rather comfortable with Risperdal (probably due to each one's experiences seeing good results in their patients). And my recent pdoc was saying "Have you tried Zyprexa?" like he was a salesman (and this doc doesn't see salesmen ever).
It's too bad, Abilify's such a great med, yet pdocs seem to pride themselves in their choice antipsychotic so much it'll likely take awhile to get docs to make it their first choice. Especially sad, since it should help ADD-bipolar types a lot.
Posted by cybercafe on May 14, 2004, at 3:29:29
In reply to Re: abilify 10 mg on the 8th day when will it start??, posted by utopizen on May 13, 2004, at 13:26:16
>
> > i changed over very slowly and kept the dose super-small (tops 3.75 mg) ....
> >
> > it was so worth the drive to the states, yelling at mental health workers, and a ton of cash
> >
>
> wow. I started at 7.5mg only because they didn't have 10mg tabs in stock the week it came out, and my doc wanted me to go up to 15mg after a few weeks. Of course I decided to stop after 2 weeks, not realizing restlessness could be controlled rather than tolerated, with additional drugs.that's too bad.. individual results vary of course... but 7.5 mg seems like a high starting dose for sure
>
> It was probably the only point in my college career (after being on it for a week) that I woke up early on a Saturday morning and walked over to the library to review readings for a class that wouldn't test me on anything until finals.
>
> I wonder if my depression I feel now is simply a greater degree of depression I didn't notice earlier, merely because I felt happy and all (and doing anything that bored me made me feel tired or inattentive). I always chalked that part of me up to ADD alone, but maybe it was sort of depression+ADD, and now it's pretty bad depression too.yeah i have the same problem! sometimes i can't even tell if i'm feeling bored or depressed, it's just a negative feeling.... i guess if it makes me want to do something ELSE it's boredom, if i just don't want to do anything its depression.. .but sometimes there's that stuck feeling... where you feel you're stuck here having to do something boring and it makes you feel icky... and you don't know if that's depression or ADD
>
> Anyway, I hope some research is done so docs learn more about the motivating properties to Abilify. I recent saw a p-doc, no joke, who never heard of Abilify. And in the mental hospital I went to recently after feeling really stressed/depressed one day, no one was on Abilify.
>
> It seems every doc I've ever seen when they bring up atypicals always have their own personal brand favorite, as if they know something special about it that makes them better than other docs. One doc felt proud to simply suggest Seroquel and give me samples, another felt proud and seemed rather comfortable with Risperdal (probably due to each one's experiences seeing good results in their patients). And my recent pdoc was saying "Have you tried Zyprexa?" like he was a salesman (and this doc doesn't see salesmen ever).Yeah I am actually considering become a pharma rep if I can
>
> It's too bad, Abilify's such a great med, yet pdocs seem to pride themselves in their choice antipsychotic so much it'll likely take awhile to get docs to make it their first choice. Especially sad, since it should help ADD-bipolar types a lot.Yep!! It seems to have a lot of potential when it works right
This is the end of the thread.
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