> Hey Scott,
> Oh, there is an *extensive* family history of depression and substance abuse (which might be mental illness in disguise).
>
> The pdoc seemed to think it was fine to stop at 3 mg; I didn't question him on raising the dosage, he seemed pretty sure.
>
> I'm on Symbyax now, which actually seems to be working a bit. It's been about three weeks.
I could be wrong, but...
It might be that bipolar depression requires higher dosages of Abilify to produce improvements. People with unipolar depression appear not to need as much and actually have difficulties tolerating more than 5.0 mg.
Did you encounter any difficulties tolerating Abilify 3.0 mg?
One could argue that your family history indicates that there is some bipolarity in your affective disorder. It might not hurt to treat you as if you have bipolar disorder. Of course, Symbiax is indicated for bipolar depression. If you continue to experience depression, I would suggest that you not exclude from consideration revisiting Abilify at a target dosage of 10 mg. Also, there is a drug called cariprazine that is close to approval that is similar to Abilify that will hopefully be more potent and more tolerable.
Good luck with the Symbiax. Check your blood sugar from time to time.
- Scott
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