scared to take Abilify

Hi,

I'm new around here, but I thought I would take the plunge and ask for advice. I'm curious if anyone has any insight into my situation that could be helpful.

I've been on 300mg of Lamictal for bipolar for a year and a half and until about 3 months ago it worked great. I was more stable than I've ever been in my life. However, about 3 months ago I started hormonal birth control and started feeling more and more depressed. A couple of weeks ago I learned that these two medications interact and that the birth control can lower the Lamictal's effectiveness by up to 50%. I quit taking the birth control, but I'm still a mess. I have no idea how long it will take for things to even out.

My psychiatrist wants me to start taking Abilify on top of the Lamictal. I am scared to do this because I have heard that it can cause weight gain. I've lost 35 pounds in the last year, and I don't want to gain it back. Everything I read online from people who've actually taken the drug suggests that it causes weight gain. But when I read research studies about Abilify, it seems like it's pretty weight neutral. Any thoughts?

Anyway, I have no idea what to do. My psychiatrist prescribed the Abilify several weeks ago. I still haven't taken it. And I'm really depressed.

Zoba,
I took Abilify for two years and did really well on it. However, I did gain almost 30 pounds BUT I also ate lots of carbs, sugar, and junk food at that time. I think abilify made me bloat some and crave sugar all the time. So if you are able to eat well it may prevent weight gain altogether. I can relate to your fear though, I had to go on latuda since March and have gained 12 lbs even though I ate well and exercised. :( latuda is supposed to be weight neutral but apparently not for me. I'm really frustrated with the weight gain because I lost 30 lbs last year abd did not want to gain again. My pdoc just put me on topamax along with the latuda to help me lose weight, but I am nervous about it because it supposedly makes you trip over words in sentences and forget words. Ugh! So dealing with just about any type of antipsychotic typically invloves some weight gain accordjng to my pdoc. But it does keep us sane most of the time so I try to stay positive and hope this topamax helps. I hope all goes well with you for abilify. Maybe you can ask about topamax to add for weight loss to cancel out weight gain from abilify? Good luck!

Hi catlover0929~ I've taken Lamictal for awhile. I was taking Topomax until 2 weeks ago. I went off it
because the weight wasn't going down. I kept playing with the same 2-3 pounds for the past 4-6 months.

zoba~ I would try taking the Abilify. Just give a couple of months to see if it works. Thee reason I
say to give a couple of months is because some new medications do take a bit of time to really take
effect.

I know it's been a while, but thanks for the responses. I thought I would update and say that I started the Abilify and it has been amazing. It is working so well for me. I haven't felt this stable in a long time. Fingers crossed that there won't be weight gain. I am on a very low dose so I think that makes weight gain less likely.

Just wanted to let people know in case they are considering trying Abilify.

Hi, Zoba! I just read your post on abilify and lamictal and wanted to ask a few questions. I, too, am taking lamictal (although my dose is only 50 mg right now and I'm only on my 4th week). I used to take depakote along with the lamictal which was really scary because depakote is known to increase the chances of lamictal-induced rash.

My new pDoc discontinued the depakote and now wants me to add abilify to the mix but I'm not even sure if the lamictal is working for me since I still get days where I feel severely depressed.

How long did it take for you to see benefits when you first started lamictal? Also, how long did it take to feel the benefits of abilify as an adjunct to the lamictal?

Thanks in advance!

Ability made my hand tremble. I also started yelling in my sleep. My dreams were intense and I responded back with words. Also I felt like this terrible energy running through my legs. Or was it itching?