Wondering about experiences with Abilify?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid went on this as a last resort when they were 12 and we had no choice, violent outbursts, suicidal ideation etc and was hospitalized (the psych there put him on it to stabilize him)

I hated having them on it, he developed a tic, and I was terrified of the long-term consequences (never gained any weight)

We found another psych and weaned them off after a few months onto Lamictal. The tic went away.

They are now 16 and off ALL psych meds and doing really well.

OP here. Thanks for sharing. Did the tic go away when he stopped the Abilify?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid went on this as a last resort when they were 12 and we had no choice, violent outbursts, suicidal ideation etc and was hospitalized (the psych there put him on it to stabilize him)

I hated having them on it, he developed a tic, and I was terrified of the long-term consequences (never gained any weight)

We found another psych and weaned them off after a few months onto Lamictal. The tic went away.

They are now 16 and off ALL psych meds and doing really well.

The extrapyramidal side effects are scary, and the research shows kids are at a higher risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid went on this as a last resort when they were 12 and we had no choice, violent outbursts, suicidal ideation etc and was hospitalized (the psych there put him on it to stabilize him)

I hated having them on it, he developed a tic, and I was terrified of the long-term consequences (never gained any weight)

We found another psych and weaned them off after a few months onto Lamictal. The tic went away.

They are now 16 and off ALL psych meds and doing really well.

OP here. Thanks for sharing. Did the tic go away when he stopped the Abilify?

You are going to want to look at the research on this.

[Anonymous]

Ability was like a miracle drug when it came to behavior. The weight gain was unreal for my son. But for a long time it was worth it because it meant stability. Then he tried to kill himself. So we had to move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child has had good experiences with Abilify but experienced the weight gain side effect.

Depending on your child, I would not rule out medication as one tool in the tool box to help your child be successful.

We definitely have not ruled out medication. He is on his 3rd right now. I just have some concerns about putting him on an antipsychotic or mood stabilizer at his age, though he may need it. I'm glad your child had a good experience with Abiligy? Can I ask how long they were on it?

What else has your child tried? Our first doctor suggested abilify after Guanfacine wasn’t doing the trick and my son had side effects from a stimulant and qelbree. I declined and insisted we try an SSRI first. Zoloft didn’t work but Prozac did. I also switched practitioners because he kept recommending really out there drugs.

IMO Abilify is a last resort drug and I would try other things first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child has had good experiences with Abilify but experienced the weight gain side effect.

Depending on your child, I would not rule out medication as one tool in the tool box to help your child be successful.

We definitely have not ruled out medication. He is on his 3rd right now. I just have some concerns about putting him on an antipsychotic or mood stabilizer at his age, though he may need it. I'm glad your child had a good experience with Abiligy? Can I ask how long they were on it?

What else has your child tried? Our first doctor suggested abilify after Guanfacine wasn’t doing the trick and my son had side effects from a stimulant and qelbree. I declined and insisted we try an SSRI first. Zoloft didn’t work but Prozac did. I also switched practitioners because he kept recommending really out there drugs.

IMO Abilify is a last resort drug and I would try other things first.

Btw my son is ultimately on a combination of clonidine and Prozac which has improved his mood and emotional regulation (knock on wood). He takes a lose dose of Ritalin to manage his adhd. Not perfect, and we still go through hard cycles, but it’s upsetting to think of how things were before we found meds that helped.

[Anonymous]

I have insight into the lawsuits concerning Abilify, both through talking to a lawyer and a psych involved in the lawsuits.

I would not put my child on it, especially a boy.

First, it can cause permanent erections. If you have an erection and it does no to away, you have to get to an ER and get an injection within six hours. If not, the penis may become permanently erected.

Second, as the posted above said, it can cause TD. Sometimes if you catch the TD in time and go off it, you can reverse the TD. Sometimes it becomes permanent.

I would not risk it.

[Anonymous]

Abilify helped our family. One kid was on it for a couple of years and then started experiencing the weight gain and stopped. Another has been on it for four years and is now tapering off. It helped them both with regulation. Both experienced some initial drowsiness when starting but tolerated it very well. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid went on this as a last resort when they were 12 and we had no choice, violent outbursts, suicidal ideation etc and was hospitalized (the psych there put him on it to stabilize him)

I hated having them on it, he developed a tic, and I was terrified of the long-term consequences (never gained any weight)

We found another psych and weaned them off after a few months onto Lamictal. The tic went away.

They are now 16 and off ALL psych meds and doing really well.

OP here. Thanks for sharing. Did the tic go away when he stopped the Abilify?

Yes, the tic went away completely.

[Anonymous]

DS has been on it, off and on, for 3 or 4 years. Has not had side effects. His dose is low so that might be why he's lucky to not have had any problems with it. It does help with his mood.

[Anonymous]

My son started Abilify at age 10 after having issues with SSRIs and certain other anxiety/ mood stabilizers. After four years he tapered off following a lot of weight gain and a few other side effects. Coming off for him was brutal (night terrors, insomnia, extreme emotional dysregulation, tantrums, etc.) and took several months for his brain to learn to function again without the medication. Not sure this is the same for all but just something else to consider. Also make sure that you really trust your doctor before starting and he/ she has a history of Abilify with younger patients. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

We tried it for a few weeks and my DD woke up at 2am ready for the day every.single.night. She has been through several meds, some of which helped for a time, but ended up off of everything at 17 due to side effects. She’s doing pretty well.

[Anonymous]

We are having a lot of trouble moving off of it after 4 years and extreme weight gain. When we try to taper my child gets suicidal. But they’re also very sad about being obese. They never were overweight before they started this drug. It’s a devils bargain. Hoping to move to latuda soon.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks you everyone for sharing your experiences. It was immensely helpful. His psychiatrist and I mutually decided to hold off on ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having a lot of trouble moving off of it after 4 years and extreme weight gain. When we try to taper my child gets suicidal. But they’re also very sad about being obese. They never were overweight before they started this drug. It’s a devils bargain. Hoping to move to latuda soon.

Oh this is so scary. Can the doctor start to slowly increase a new med as you taper this one. I hope he is ok