Abilify Restlessness Help

I was recently hospitalized. The doctor gave me Abilify and it really helped stabilize my mood. Racing thoughts disappeared and I am much more productive at work. However, the inner restlessness makes it impossible to keep still. I feel the need to get up and pace around in circles every other second. It's even hard to pee. This drug does wonders for my mental state but I can't stand this restlessness. I no longer see a psychiatrist cause it's just too much money and I order my drugs online, so I really only have people like you guys to help me out here. I stopped taking it completely a few days ago and only now is the restlessness wearing off. I've been drinking alcohol in the middle of the day to calm me down but it only makes me dizzy. Sleeping pills have almost no effect. It's inner torture really. I'm taking only 10mg a day also I take 90 mg Cymbalta. I read online that taking vitamin B6 helps but has anyone tried it? I'm definitely functioning at a higher level with Abilify so I know I probably shouldn't stop taking it. Thanks

I'm by no means a dr. but.... Abilify is an antipsychotic that usually works with taking away the edge and manic feelings, and I think restlessness would probably fall under that category. If you're not going to a psychiatrist maybe you could talk to a general practice doctor? Abilify used in conjunction with an antidepressant is supposed to help combat major depressive disorder. If you're feeling very restless and you might want to get your A/D changed or a add a mood stabilizer or even change the abilify to a different medication. Regardless I think it's best to talk to a Doctor because every medication can have different side effects on people, and it's best to let a Dr. know about this so you don't continue taking medication that will no longer benefit you. Good Luck.


Side note: I think your post was originally posted in the Bipolar forum and got moved to the medication forum. IF you are bipolar and taking a high dosage of an anti depressant without a mood stabilizer it can trigger you into hypomania (even if you are taking it with a mood stabilizer) Abilify is not a mood stabilizer. Talk to a dr. so you can get something that will be effective for you.

I was recently pescribed Abilify 6 months ago. Took it before I went to bed and it kept me awake all night. Now I take it in the morning and have had less side effects except for the jittery - nervousness which is bearable. There are a lot of reports that claim Abilify has the side effect you described as well as many others: restless leg syndrome, racing heart, nervousness, anxiety, and restlessness. You should speak with a Dr. because if the side effects are incapacitating you, that is a sign that a change in medication should be considered. There is a large selection of alernative choices you may want to discuss wth your Dr.

I was recently pescribed Abilify 6 months ago. Took it before I went to bed and it kept me awake all night. Now I take it in the morning and have had less side effects except for the jittery - nervousness which is bearable. There are a lot of reports that claim Abilify has the side effect you described as well as many others: restless leg syndrome, racing heart, nervousness, anxiety, and restlessness. You should speak with a Dr. because if the side effects are incapacitating you, that is a sign that a change in medication should be considered. There is a large selection of alernative choices you may want to discuss wth your Dr.

I've been taking Abilify for probably about 4 or 5 years.
It has helped me alot with the voices and hallucinations.
I'm not sure if the Abilify makes me restless or if it's just my problems making me restless.

I've learned ALOT about medications over the past 6-7 years that I have been getting counseling and been on medication.
I'll go ahead and say it, sometimes you find the right meds for you immediately, and other times it may take months, or years. It just depends on you and your body/symptoms/what's right for you.
I've been on various medications ever since the first time I asked for help.
The doctors have tried me on
Lithium, Prozac, Cymbalta, Abilify, Seroquel, Zoloft, Geodon, ect ect.
I am currently on Zoloft, Abilify, and Ambien.
The Abilify has been working ever since i started taking it, up until recently.
The zoloft doesn't do anything for me.
The Ambien helped me sleep for a little bit and now it doesn't help at all, I actually think it may be making things worse.

It's a very tough situation when you have a medication that helps you, yet makes things worse at the same time.
I honestly would have to say to consult a doctor or someone who knows about these types of things.
I know that it is expensive and I also know that not everyone has the money or insurance to do that.
If you can't do that, then I would say, try and find a site on the web where you can post questions for actual doctors to answer. I've never tried doing that, but I do know it exists. Not sure how hard it would be to find one, and I doubt it would cost anything, but you never know. That's pretty much all I can tell you, and I hope it helped, I really do.

Not to scare anyone, but I took 30mg of Abilify for a year and it turned out the constant restlessness, and the skin crawling sideaffects were Tardive Dyskinesia.

I take 20 mgs abilify aday. at 1st I was a little manic but it did bring me alive. then I calmed down I fell great now. some people have to give it time. ask your pdoc.

The inner restlessness is a common side effect of many anti psychotics like Abilify and is called Akathisia. You may want to speak with your Dr. about the medications clonazepam or propanolol to help alleviate the sypmtoms.
Michael