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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by kotsunega on May 27, 2003, at 10:59:10
I am bipolar 1 with attention deficit disorder and have been successfully treated with 20 mg of zyprexa nightly for over three years now. There has been one drawback: It seems the zyprexa makes my ADD worse, so for that I take high doses of ritalin - 20 mg 6 x a day. The zyprexa makes me resistant to the effects of the ritalin, hence the high doses. I'm wondering about trying abilify as I read in a couple places that this atypical anti-psychotic helps relieve ADD symptoms. If so, maybe I could stop taking the ritalin, which is a hassle to get refilled monthly. I'm also interested in abilify because from what I've read, it doesn't have the sedating effect of zyprexa. I love that the zyprexa allows me to sleep good at night, but waking up and getting going again is very difficult and I tend to sleep 10-12 hours a day with zyprexa. Once I get past the morning groginess, I'm fine for the rest of the day, but I'm wondering if abilify would be any different. Any comments? Anyone else switch from zyprexa to abilify? Would like to read about your experiences if you have tried switching. Thanks!
Posted by babs on May 27, 2003, at 11:07:11
In reply to Switching to Abilify?, posted by kotsunega on May 27, 2003, at 10:59:10
I am considering switching to abilify from risperdal for many of the same reasons you are- risperdal makes my ADD worse too. I don't have sedation but I hve gained 60 pounds instead. Please keep me posted what you find out. Good luck, babs
Posted by canwetalk on May 28, 2003, at 10:07:30
In reply to Re: Switching to Abilify? » kotsunega, posted by babs on May 27, 2003, at 11:07:11
Well my daughter has been on both zyprexa and risperdal. Abilify has been doing a much better job for her than the two of them.
Now the only drawback that we have found with Abilify is that it does cause insominia in some people. My daughter has been on it now for 4 months starting with 10mgs, gradually increased to 15mgs and just recently up to 30mgs.
She is now going to sleep whereas when she initially started the abilify it was difficult for her to fall asleep. She still however, wakes up in the night early in the morning but after awhile manages to fall back to sleep.
Now another thing is anxiety/aggression that we have noticed as a side effect of the abilify, however her psdoc added depakote (mood stabailizer) and it is slowly beginning to work.
So yes I think that abilify is an excellent choice. Give it a chance and hopefully it can help you much better. Zyprexa does tend to put weight on. Abilify we have noticed no added weight problem. Now that my daughter is on depakote, however, we are going to have to be sure that she does not put on added weight. She is a good weight now.
Hope this helped you. Good luck with the abilify.
Posted by kotsunega on May 28, 2003, at 11:06:56
In reply to Re: Switching to Abilify?, posted by canwetalk on May 28, 2003, at 10:07:30
> Well my daughter has been on both zyprexa and risperdal. Abilify has been doing a much better job for her than the two of them.
Canwetalk: Thanks for your input. If you don't mind my asking, what are the positive things Abilify is doing for her that neither the risperdal or the zyprexa did?
Thanks!
This is the end of the thread.
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