Progress and abilify

Since coming off of that devil drug Abilify and starting on Olanzapine I have started feeling a lot better. I still dont feel safe and believe myself to be followed but my obsession with the government is starting to fall away. Today I saw my psych and he increased my Olanzapine to 20mg which is maximum dose here in uk. I think this will help me get even better.
Abilify may work for some people but for me it was a nightmare from the start. I began to feel I needed to barricade myself in my house, wouldnt go anywhere at all and believed all the stuff I have posted on this site. This is because abilify is a partial agonist at a crucial dopamine receptor whereas all other anti psychotics antagonise that receptor. So Abilify messed me up fast.With Olanzapine, so far I have not gained weight and am not even drowsy so it seems great so far.

Great to hear that you found something that works for you.

Some people, including my doctor, aren't convinced that Abilify is an effective drug, but it would seem that it works for most people.

I was on olanzapine for a year myself, and it caused weight gain and some other problems, but it may work better for you.

Cheers,
Mirage

I am so glad to hear you are doing better! And that the delusions are starting to subside. That is a major marker of progress. I think you should celebrate somehow. I was thinking of buying myself a cake for getting my period again.

Risperdone was pure hell for me. It gave me flat affect and made me zombie like from time-to-time. I felt depressed too. Abilify, ironically, seems to be doing a lot for me, especially with stablizing my moods. It may be causing me to have insomnia, or that could be withdrawal from the Risperdone as Mirage said.

It sucks that we have to fight through several drugs before we find one that helps. But its worth it in the long run.

Mabs

Risperidone made me a zombie as well! I Was on 9mg and was sleeping at least 15 hours a day. It was frustrating because most of my positive symptoms disappeared on risperidone. Eventually though it stopped working even at that high dose. I even had one dr tell me it wasnt sedating - this was after I got up at 2 30pm!

Oh no, not you too! I wonder if it has that affect on most people. I was on a pretty high dosage when I got home from school for Christmas break. I didn't even recognize myself. My mother was devastated when she found me like that. The girl she sent away to college in Texas was so vibrant, full of life and ambition. I've become a shadow of myself...thats kind of where the ghost part of my name comes from. I'm a ghost of my former self.

Mabs

Meds continuously frustrate me. I have been on Zyprexa, seroquel, risperdal, abilify and now zyprexa again. All of them just quit working at one time or another and abilify made me worse. At the moment Zyprexa is starting to work for me but if it stops I shall have to try the old style anti psychotics. I really dont want to go on Clozaril as here that involves going into hospital for around 4 weeks to get the right dose, and then weekly blood tests. I have been in hospital before and it was no fun.

Leon1301 wrote: I have been on Zyprexa, seroquel, risperdal, abilify and now zyprexa again.

You haven't tried all the atypical APs. There are many more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atypical_antipsychotic

As you can see, the list is quite extensive. I don't know why doctors always prescribe just a very few of these. I had to tell my doctor what to prescribe, because he just doesn't come up with more options by himself. This truely is frustrating. I tried pretty much all of them, and they all suck. Just so you know.

Clozaril is the most effective antipsychotic known to man. If all else fails, then this can be your medication of choice.

I dont find they all suck at all. Without risperidone for the year I took it I would be dead. Now Olanzapine seems to be helping and pretty quickly as well.
Also that atypical list is worldwide. I dont know if you are from the UK but many of those meds are not available here - we dont even get Geodon.
And Clozaril may be great but there is no way I am going to hospital for 4 weeks to get the dosage right. Hospital is the worst place for me and I am not prepared to go there again.

They all suck, because they all have nasty side effects.

I'm not from the UK, but I'm pretty sure that most of them are available in the UK. Many of them are generics already, so they might be sold under odd names. Even wikipedia doesn't list all the names, but your psychiatrist will know most of them.