My Experience with Abilify Side Effects

Abilify is an anti-psychotic drug that I began taking when I was hospitalized for brief psychotic disorder. It was a while before abilify “worked” for me. I struggled to adjust in ways that I had not attributed to the medication at the time, only in hindsight. Not to mention I was adjusting to new medication and simultaneously studying public policy at the doctorate level in a demanding PhD program.

I felt very drowsy and fatigued pretty much all the time. Quite the opposite from before I had my episode: Before my episode I was always going, always doing, always pushing through – no sleep necessary. The abilify slowed the pace down tremendously. I couldn’t even force myself out of bed to get to class anymore. All I had the energy to do was sleep. However, this behavior could have also been a depressive episode that was unrelated to the medication but rather associated with bipolar disorder, which I was later diagnosed with.

Another symptom of depression that I experienced was thoughts of suicide. I cried uncontrollably and had the most dismal, pessimistic outlook on life. It was so bad that I contemplated whether I needed to be admitted to the hospital again. I felt very depressed until I started taking zoloft in addition to the abilify. I had expressed to my nurse practitioner how I was feeling, and she recommened I try this new medication cocktail. So far it’s had a positive impact on my mental helth.

While I am largely satisfied with abilify now, there are two other side effects that I experience that have been a bit problematic. The first is blurred vision. I went from 20/15 vision to having trouble seeing even large text. This occurs especially when I haven’t had enough sleep. I have seen an optometrist and received a prescription, but the problem persists. Readers do help though.

The second side effect is increased appetite and weight gain. Before my episode, it was a struggle for me to exceed 125 lbs. Now, I feel like I am always hungry, and I have reached an all-time high of 160 lbs. I am not working out as I once did though, so I am making an effort to exercise at least 2-3 days a week to start. In addition, I am doing research on healthy dietary changes that I can make so that I can get down to 145 lbs. I will let you know what I end up trying and whether it is helping me achieve my goal.

Is anybody else taking abilify or another mental health medication? Have you been experiencing these side effects or others that I didn’t mention? How do you cope? Do the benefits of the medication outweigh the side effects? Leave your comments below!