# The Abilify + Zoloft thread



## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Hello Everyone,


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Is 5mg the smallest possible dose of abilify?


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

This means you could start with 1mg? If I really should take this I'd start super low.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Could I also start with 500mg? I have a fine scale at home which allows you to measure 0.01 gr.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

But if I weigh 0.5 mg for example then I dont know how much active agent I get cause the pill also contains fillers. I mean a 5mg capsule also weighs more than 5 mg. This means you could only work by splitting into half.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

But what if it doesnt do anything below a certain dose? Like for example would 0.1mg do anything?


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

My combo is Saphris 5mg and Lamotrigine 150mg. Don't take antidepressants anymore.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

You may of said this already but what was wrong with Abilify and Wellbutrin? I still may give it a shot im always a ***** and stubrun when starting new drugs. Do you think it worthwild to try it together? I need some restlessness. Wellbutrin doesn't provide any of that. But any SSRI can probably give me that. I guess i still got depression maybe caused from a lack of activity. The only downsided to Wellbutrin is you shouldn't drink on it some SSRI are maybe more alcohol or alcohol withdrawal friendly. But in the end alcohol will just add to restlessness. I think 450mg might of been able to work if i didn't drink on it.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

How bout abilify + zoloft + remeron?


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Who cares about social role function? I only care about how I feel.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Day 4 Zoloft 3 weeks abilify: A bit restless today, only if I sit in my seat doing nothing though. Like right now I'm typing this post up, have a clear path of what i'm doing so i'm feeling relaxed. As soon as I get bored and have nothing to do I start getting restless in my chair and have to lay down in bed to alleviate it or get myself busy with something. Anyways, here's a study that shows that abilify actually LOWERED prolactin which is a great sign that it's working to raise dopamine. Also side effects were pretty much the same as placebo.



> *Aripiprazole, an antipsychotic with a novel mechanism of action, and risperidone vs placebo in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.*
> 
> Potkin SG, Saha AR, Kujawa MJ, Carson WH, Ali M, Stock E, Stringfellow J, Ingenito G, Marder SR.
> *Source*
> ...


There was some weight gain but if you ever met someone with schizophrenia you will know they usually under eat. At least I don't want to stereotype but those that I have met did.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Abilify treatment for attention deficit disorder:



> *Aripiprazole in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.*
> 
> Findling RL, Short EJ, Leskovec T, Townsend LD, Demeter CA, McNamara NK, Stansbrey RJ.
> *Source*
> ...


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Here's an interesting case report where cognitive function improved significantly for a patient. I noticed it improving in myself as well.



> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2583964/
> 
> *Cognitive-enhancing effects of aripiprazole: a case report*
> 
> ...


Now I have always been above average in cognition and I still notice it. This person in particular seemed below average and showed very significant improvement.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Another for cognition:



> *Effect of aripiprazole on cognition in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia.*
> 
> Riedel M, Spellmann I, Schennach-Wolff R, Musil R, Dehning S, Cerovecki A, Opgen-Rhein M, Matz J, Seemüller F, Obermeier M, Severus E, Engel RR, Müller N, Möller HJ.
> *Source*
> ...


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

> *Effect of Aripiprazole on Verbal Memory and Fluency in Schizophrenic Patients : Results from the ESCAPE Study.*
> 
> Bervoets C, Morrens M, Vansteelandt K, Kok F, de Patoul A, Halkin V, Pitsi D, Constant E, Peuskens J, Sabbe B.
> *Source*
> ...


I realize most are for schizophrenia but at least it shows promise. Oddly enough while I've always been intelligent and can write my thoughts quite well I've always had trouble with expressing myself verbally. This has overall improved since I started taking drugs but right now it's at its best no doubt since starting abilify.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

This sounds interesting. If only I wasn't so scared of this stuff. 
My main fear is that taking something like this could not work and then make symptoms even worse. I mean what if you take abilify for example and it doesnt help and then you get off and then you feel worse than before because the brain adapted to it and became more sensitive or less sensitive to NTs? I don't think that such a scenario is unlikely.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Well like I said before if you don't do anything about your depression, that can worsen and it can lead to Parkinson's or other problems if the right neurotransmitters are messed up. Quitting alcohol will give you insane insomnia if you've been using it to sleep for this long, but you knew that. So the same goes for any of these drugs. You have to take chances if you truly want to fix your problems. Otherwise, we will assume you are 100% happy with yourself.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Why do you wanna scare me with parkinson? That's not nice. I'm not gonna take abilify only cause you scare me.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

thundercats said:


> Why do you wanna scare me with parkinson? That's not nice. I'm not gonna take abilify only cause you scare me.


First of all I'm not trying to scare you. I'm telling you the harsh realities of not taking medicine. These are people like us who can get mania, schizophrenia, debilitating anxiety where we can't even get a job or leave the house. These are the real side effects of not taking medication. You wonder why people think you troll. You whine about medication having side effects yet drink alcohol daily like it's nothing. Imagine alcohol came with a side effect pamphlet. But yah agomelatine may be bad for the liver so you don't want to touch it. Figures.... You also seem to have some obsessive compulsive disorder which others are pointing out too but yet you rather have it ruin your life than take necessary steps. So the real question is, why are you even in a medication forum? You know that the Majority of people do not get side effects. I never got any with abilify, I got a bit of dry mouth with Zoloft but that's already gone. For the minority that get them most of them have it subside eventually. Anyways, don't tell me i'm trying to scare you when I'm giving you the other side of the story, a legitimate one.



Guide 4 Dummies said:


> Can you describe your anhedonia in details before and after taking Aripiprazole?


Before I would stare at my computer screen, hit refresh on forums or just read about fixing myself. Wellbutrin sort of restored my love for gaming but not fully. Once I started abilify I started enjoying games fully to a point of thinking about what i'm going to do to solve problems in the games while not even playing. I also started reading books on programming again. I've always loved programming but because of anhedonia I stopped. It was considered one of the most fun things for me in the past and then it became the most boring. So I'm happy to say i'm actually starting to slowly program again. woot.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Just cause you didn't get side effects means nothing. I feel like I have more problems since I quit wellbutrin. Thanks a lot wellbutrin. And who knows how much worse I'd feel after going on something like abilify. This is like russian roulette. This stuff can as well totally wreck you. 
And just because you feel good atm also means nothing. It could be that a few weeks from now your stuff stops working and then you're off onto something else. That's also no solution.


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## Ben12 (Jul 8, 2009)

thundercats said:


> Just cause you didn't get side effects means nothing. I feel like I have more problems since I quit wellbutrin. Thanks a lot wellbutrin. And who knows how much worse I'd feel after going on something like abilify. This is like russian roulette. This stuff can as well totally wreck you.
> And just because you feel good atm also means nothing. It could be that a few weeks from now your stuff stops working and then you're off onto something else. That's also no solution.


Thundercats, this is a really interesting bit of information about dihydrogen monoxide in the link below.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_ban_dhmo.htm

FYI, in case you don't know what dihydrogen monoxide is... Wait, no ... I won't say what it is, I'll let you figure that out on your own thundercats. However I will say this, I'm having some dihydrogen monoxide right now.


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## ricca91 (Mar 11, 2012)

Ben12 said:


> Thundercats, this is a really interesting bit of information about dihydrogen monoxide in the link below.
> 
> http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_ban_dhmo.htm
> 
> FYI, in case you don't know what dihydrogen monoxide is... Wait, no ... I won't say what it is, I'll let you figure that out on your own thundercats. However I will say this, I'm having some dihydrogen monoxide right now.


Hahaha without dihydrogen monoxide life would not exist. But if you "use" it too much you get poisoned, not a nice condition!


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## Ben12 (Jul 8, 2009)

ricca91 said:


> Hahaha without dihydrogen monoxide life would not exist. But if you "use" it too much you get poisoned, not a nice condition!


Wait wait... Let him figure out what it is first. This might help him realize the irrationality of his fear of taking medications.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I think I'm going to jump to 100mg of sertraline tomorrow. It's been 5 days it should have reached steady state by now. I want to be on 100mg as I was really high in the past at 200mg so I'd at least like to be halfway there.

K my morning pills are packing 100mg. I feel Zoloft is so anxiolytic for me. But it was much more at higher doses in the past so we shall see.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Can zoloft also cause TD? I bet it can. If it messes with DA it probably can and you simply cannot read it anywhere. And once you're a wreck your pdoc will simply get rid of you and move on to the next person he can wreck.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Abilify can cause TD, too!

http://www.cnsspectrums.com/aspx/articledetail.aspx?articleid=468


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Man read the studies TD is not possible unless you combine it with something that could cause it. That is 1 case study of some guy who was on every drug imaginable and then happened to get TD. Keep in mind TD can come way after drug use is stopped. Anyways, even if it did cause TD, I don't care. I love the drug and have no plans to get off it. Plus doses as high as 15mg are rarely used for depression but simply 5mg-10mg is the highest with an adjunct agent.

On a side note, did 100mg of sertraline today and took a really nice poop this morning. I think wellbutrin was making my poops less awesome.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Wait, after being scared about everything, now I hear our founder of the Frighteners drinks alcohol on a regular basis?!

Do you know what side effects and long term consequences are involved thundercats? :afr


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Inshallah said:


> Wait, after being scared about everything, now I hear our founder of the Frighteners drinks alcohol on a regular basis?!
> 
> Do you know what side effects and long term consequences are involved thundercats? :afr


When you are dependent on alcohol, you make excuses for it.  Sounds like alcoholic behavior, as I've met a few in my time. I sort of used to be one.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

I can't take this seriously anymore. Which sane person would rather take something like abilify than drink a little wine every day? Yeah wine is more dangerous than abilify. :roll
That's why all those people who drink a little wine all have TD and are totally wrecks. I forgot.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

> *Alcohol and dopamine.*
> 
> Di Chiara G.
> *Source*
> ...


You are flooding your neurons with dopamine consistently daily, you will get decensitized and it can lead to TD. You obviously are not educated on these matters and as such it's easy to plead ignorance.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

lol this article has nothing to do with TD. Porn also increases dopamine. I guess porn causes TD, too. :roll


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Porn doesn't release dopamine from vesicles forcefully like alcohol. Defend your precious elixir.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

You're obviously not objective anymore. That's like saying smoking can cause cancer and radiation can cause cancer and this means it's not difference between smoking and exposing yourself to high levels of radiation. I wonder what you'd do if you got TD. Then you can feel as good as you want lol. You're still screwed.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Yep millions of people are walking around with TD yet you can only find 1 case reported and of someone using other drugs too. *sigh*


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

lol






This guy here has some good points.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Cool some neurotic guy on youtube makes statements of dangers without any scientific merit backing it up. Sounds like something thundercats would eat up. I mean you believe in the Bible, so you gotta be legit. 

Studies all show abilify is pretty much as safe as ssri's if not safer.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

The guy is an idiot because abilify isn't even in the same class as atypical antipsychotics such as Seroquel and he probably dumps it into that. IT is the ONLY unique third generation antipsychotic. There are no others like it. There is no Extrapyramidal side effects like with the others.



> the first agent of a third genera- tion of antipsychotics, the so-called "dopamine-serotonin system stabilizers". Preclinical studies have provided evi-
> dence that aripiprazole possesses potent partial agonistic properties at D2 receptors and also exhibits partial agonism at 5-HT1A receptors, as well as antagonistic properties at 5- HT2A receptors. The promising features of this new antipsy- chotic may be associated with its unique pharmacological receptor profile.


Once again only drug I took that gave me no side effects. Even Zoloft gave me a few.

With that being said, 100mg of Zoloft today and feeling pretty good. A bit on the lazy side though but eh it's snowing and dark.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

You think abilify will cure my pssd or lower my bloodpressure? I think that may be the cause for alot of things. Ultimately if a ssri can increase my endurance and lower my bloodpressure. i may just have to bite the bullet on this. Cause the ssri actually now improves my sexual function i think. Maybe that just caused from dependence or depression it been so long i might as well stay on it for life if that can only take the pain away.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I think it's blood pressure neutral. You can definitely have sexual side effects just from having high blood pressure. I know this sounds crazy but drink 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder daily. It can balance your electrolytes. I get this one:


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

My buddy's own words today:

"Are you still on that expensive drug because I notice you have been getting your sense of humor back the last few weeks".

Yah I'm also chatting with him constantly. He says I never message him he always has to try so hard with me. So yah making me social no doubt. I'm even making plans with him to have him as a workout partner.


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

Hey, kehcorpz, aripiprazole god, could you answer the following question? 

Would it be worthwhile to combine abilify with agomelatine? My doc just put me on Valdoxan, I'm on day 2 as we speak. It's a 5-ht-2c antagonist, and aripiprazole is a partial 5-ht-2c agonist. How would this turn out?


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

thundercats said:


> lol
> 
> 
> 
> ...


hahahaha, man, the abilify commercial is hilarious! As in, hilariously bad! It's about as negative as it is positive, they spend half the add time telling you abilify could lead to death :clap


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Mr Bacon said:


> Hey, kehcorpz, aripiprazole god, could you answer the following question?
> 
> Would it be worthwhile to combine abilify with agomelatine? My doc just put me on Valdoxan, I'm on day 2 as we speak. It's a 5-ht-2c antagonist, and aripiprazole is a partial 5-ht-2c agonist. How would this turn out?


Well depends which one has a higher affinity. From what I understand the partial agonism of 5-ht2c is part of its therapeutic effect. You don't want to completely get rid of 5-ht2c but you don't want to completely activate it. This normalizes it. Sometimes deactivating it completely can cause too much norepinephrine increases and higher anxiety, which Prozac is known for. I've never known a compound other than abilify to do the partial agonism and I read recently it's considered part of the therapeutic effect. So that's your call, honestly have no clues on agomelatine as I only research drugs I want to try.


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

Ok thanks. Experience is always key, after all. Convincing my psychiatrist is going to be hard though. The last time we met and I started to talk about precise pharmacology, he said I clearly knew more than he did when it came to meds...

And it's not like I can just show him clinical trials done in america, I doubt the guy understands english... in France abilify is only prescribed to skizophrenics and bipolars, officially.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I don't know where this thread is going but I just wanted to say to those who are treatment resistant to depression. Abilify and a few other anti-psych meds (like Saphris) are definitely worth a try if you can afford the med. Some doctors have samples too. I've been taking free samples of Saphris for about 2 years now thanks to my doc.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

Some people just dont know when they have used the same words to death. Its like knowing when to leave a party. Some get it, a few dont.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Love this guy. I would definitely like to have a consultation with him 
The crazy pdoc !
This is his short summary on abilify:


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

metamorphosis said:


> Love this guy. I would definitely like to have a consultation with him
> The crazy pdoc !
> This is his short summary on abilify:


Nice vid


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

It did cause akathisia in me as well as much weight gain. Aside from that, it is very helpful for treatment-resistant depression for some folks.

I don't take abilify anymore though. My drug of choice is Saphris.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Most of his vids. are pretty good. He knows his stuff for the most part.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

bazinga said:


> It did cause akathisia in me as well as much weight gain. Aside from that, it is very helpful for treatment-resistant depression for some folks.
> 
> I don't take abilify anymore though. My drug of choice is Saphris.


I had a bit of akathisia at 2mg but went away at 5mg. It was more restlessness when I was bored not when I was actually involved in something. Saphris like other antipsychotics scares me because it drops dopamine and it does it at d1-d4. But if it works for you kudos.



metamorphosis said:


> Most of his vids. are pretty good. He knows his stuff for the most part.


I've pretty much seen almost all his vids. He's insane! lolol. I know he does it on purpose but he's been in trouble as a result.

I agree with him Abilify should not be labeled an antipsychotic as it's completely different. It's like saying Remeron is an antipsychotic because it blocks 5-ht2a.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Abilify is a prescription drug I actually liked. Might be going back on that one since high dose Effexor failed me :no


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

thundercats said:


> lol
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Haha the guy in the first video is good 

Guy in 2nd behaves like he's on an AP himself, the twitchy eyes are a classic AP user symptom.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> Cool some neurotic guy on youtube makes statements of dangers without any scientific merit backing it up. Sounds like something thundercats would eat up. I mean you believe in the Bible, so you gotta be legit.
> 
> Studies all show abilify is pretty much as safe as ssri's if not safer.


He doesn't believe that most of the side effects listed for a certain drug will never happen, yet he does believe in the Bible? For real? LOL

You could have told us you believe in fairy tales from the beginning thundercats!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Inshallah said:


> He doesn't believe that most of the side effects listed for a certain drug will never happen, yet he does believe in the Bible? For real? LOL
> 
> You could have told us you believe in fairy tales from the beginning thundercats!


I don't really care if he doesn't want to take these drugs but it pisses me off he's on here trying to scare everyone that is new and may actually pay attention to him. The benefits outweigh the risks, that's just a fact.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Where do I find his posts on religion?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I don't know, I don't think he posts on religion, just believes it 

I have nothing against that but don't discredit science and just believe things blindly (I realize that's what religious people do).


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Quoting pubmed articles isn't science this falls more into the category mental masturbation.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Inshallah said:


> Guy in 2nd behaves like he's on an AP himself, the twitchy eyes are a classic AP user symptom.


Actually my face used to twitch (from anxiety) and Saphris put a stop to that.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

thundercats said:


> Quoting pubmed articles isn't science this falls more into the category mental masturbation.


Do you really believe in the Bible? Why?


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Your name suggests you're a muslim.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Inshallah said:


> Guy in 2nd behaves like he's on an AP himself, the twitchy eyes are a classic AP user symptom.


He really makes a kind of disturbed impression. But this doesn't mean that abilify is good. I'd not take this crap even if they paid me for it. This silly commercial alone is enough reason not to take it.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Its your opinion that its crap.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

thundercats said:


> Your name suggests you're a muslim.


Thank God I'm not 1!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I love abilify!##!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Ben12 (Jul 8, 2009)

thundercats said:


> Quoting pubmed articles isn't science this falls more into the category mental masturbation.


No offense thundercats, but is there a dislike button.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

There man i done it. I picked up some abilify and zoloft. Lately ive been bed ridden so i convience my self to take a cipralex and immediately like an hour or two later music started sounding better and i started planning in my head. Lately my vision been blurry Wellbutrin maybe to blame. I may drop it. High bloodpressure is counter productive. hell it can probably cause dementia sooner or later. It probably the sole root of my sexually dsyfunction. But my bloodpressure can be high even without wellbutrin. But i think i need to get the right medication. Get my bp stabilized and the rest may follow. Maybe 300mg is just to much.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@gotanxiety awesome man! Hope it works as well for you as it does for me! What did your doctor say about them?

What dosages?


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

The same 50/5mg nah i just did a walkin and lied. i said i was already on it for the past couple months. Maybe he didn't believe me cause he only gave me a one month supply. Short and easy hehe. I still wanna give Cipralex and Wellbutrin another shot befor i jump ship. I shoulda trusted my instinct and took cipralex like i was planning it seems like all the dr suggestion get me destabilized. Abilify not cheap. hehe that like a new pair of shoes every month so it better be worth it. If it can help fix and activate my prefrontal cortex then it will be well worth it.

That stuff will pay for it self if it gets my brain working.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Oh im gonna need a pill cutter i think so i can taper onto it.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Oh yah i'm going to have to do a walk in this week to refill because my doc is all booked up. I usually bring the pill bottles so they believe me haha.

Depends on you but you may need to take abilify in the morning at first, even though they recommend it at night. It just is too activating at first before reaching steady state. I also read it helps modulate Gabaergic marker genes so it may have a GABA side to it. Though more studies need to be done on this.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

What are the chances of abilify causing TD anyone know?


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I already got some tounge wiggleling and im not even on abilify yet the girls dun seem to mind altho : )


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

That docter was pretty funny he was like for more viagra? Even tho he gave me like a life time scirpt for it lol. Umm ya i used like 1000 dollars worth the viagra in one month. I need more hehe. I need a docter like the one off the simpsons that would be awesome lol. 

The docter should take your word for it even without the pill container. I just psych myself up put my game face on and try and act serious.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Holy crap that's a lot of Viagra. Yah they should believe me but I already have the bottles so no biggie. If I were to lie yah obviously wouldn't have anything, and have no trouble doing it.

The TD is unlikely with abilify. You probably have higher chances of winning some money.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@kehcorpz 

So what one did you find more activating Cipralex or Abilify from past experience?

I've only been on Cipralex for one day my body so sore. i musta did more walking today then i did in the last 2 weeks. I get a burning pain when starting cipralex. i get so active then eventually i burn out toughen up or feel like crap. 

Just got off the phone from talking to my ex for 3 hrs. Back when i quit my ssri i deleted everyone phone number mostly. I guess that a bad sign. 

How does abilify make you feel if it so activating compared to cipralex? 

Im gonna find out soon for myself here i maybe switching soon.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Cipralex kept me in bed, I was super fatigued. Do you mean Zoloft? Zoloft is a bit activating. I definitely can't take it before bed. It does relax you a lot though. Abilify was super activating at first but eventually I moved it to taking it in the evening time which I find best for me.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Ya i was using cipralex as a baseline for comparsion. Since i know Youve taken it as well. it probably completely unrelated in effect. but i find it the most activating drug I've taken. it can make me feel pretty yucky. I still gogo on it with the pain or try too.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I think Abilify keeps prolactin down and dopamine from dropping too drastically. I think I realize this because when I get horny and I climax my erection hangs around for a good 10 minutes at least. It just doesn't want to go away. Typically when you climax your prolactin levels sky rocket and dopamine drops, this is how you get that quick refractory period where you lose your erection. This is definitely being stopped by Abilify. I guess it's not a bad thing if you want to go multiple times.  hehe


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## Eversosweeten (Dec 11, 2012)

Hi all, I have treatment resistant SA and depression. I take 200 mg Zoloft, 30 mg remeron, 15 mg adderral xr and recently got added to 5 mg abilify to try and calm me down. I was just curious if anyone has had any of this combination ?


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

There yay i just got my abilify! Im gonna have to use a razor blade or something i can't afford a pill cutter at the momment.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Eversosweeten said:


> Hi all, I have treatment resistant SA and depression. I take 200 mg Zoloft, 30 mg remeron, 15 mg adderral xr and recently got added to 5 mg abilify to try and calm me down. I was just curious if anyone has had any of this combination ?


Adderall or any amphetamine is known to produce anti-depressant resistant depression. Have you always used Adderall? This is something your doc should be aware of unless you are truly suffering from a disease that requires it. Granted you aren't taking that much but if it can go I would try getting rid of it.


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## Eversosweeten (Dec 11, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Adderall or any amphetamine is known to produce anti-depressant resistant depression. Have you always used Adderall? This is something your doc should be aware of unless you are truly suffering from a disease that requires it. Granted you aren't taking that much but if it can go I would try getting rid of it.


I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid but my psych thinks it was depression/anxiety all along.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@Evensosweeten 

How is your current medication combination working for you?


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## Eversosweeten (Dec 11, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> @Evensosweeten
> 
> How is your current medication combination working for you?


Not too well, I've had anxiety what seems like my whole life and I feel like my drs are getting frustrated with me. I've tried Klonopin, Xanax, Zoloft etc nothing seems to work. It's so frustrating for me as well. I practically shut down in the docs office


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Probably caused from the amphetamines. Alot of these drugs can not go together that well. Downers like xanax klonopin there depressants so there gonna interfere with antidepressants which are uppers. Dopamine is actually a serotonin antagonist so increasing dopamine gonna lower serotonin and cause depression.


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## Eversosweeten (Dec 11, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Probably caused from the amphetamines. Alot of these drugs can not go together that well. Downers like xanax klonopin there depressants so there gonna interfere with antidepressants which are uppers. Dopamine is actually a serotonin antagonist so increasing dopamine gonna lower serotonin and cause depression.


Interesting. Thanks for the info ill be sure to consider this!


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

Not to hijack this thread, but I just got a trial sample of Seroquel 50 mg and have added it to my 100 mg Zoloft regimen. Actually I take the Zoloft in the morning, but took the Seroquel last night since I heard it could act as a sleeping pill.

I got scared and took the Seroquel alone in place of my usual 50 mg trazodone, the result being that I didn't sleep as well as I'd like. Next time I'll take both at the same time. It was pretty hard to get going this morning, and in fact I've felt kind of tired most of the day, though I'm not sure whether that's the drug or the lack of sleep. As for any mood stabilizing effects, it's probably also too soon to say. Today I've felt similar to the time period when I was on Lexapro rather than Zoloft, which is not really caring about much of anything, and not really caring that I don't really care. It is not an unpleasant feeling, but not terribly conducive to productivity. Again this could also be entirely due to sleep deprivation.

No ill effects otherwise, though from what I can tell, I wouldn't recommend this drug for anhedonia. That being said, I've heard that although Seroquel and Abilify are in the same class of atypical antipsychotics, they have almost entirely opposite modes of action. Yet I wouldn't mind if I could tolerate Seroquel at a therapeutic dose and it seemed to help against intrusive thoughts and mood swings, if only because it's so much cheaper.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

R86 said:


> Actually I take the Zoloft in the morning, but took the Seroquel last night since I heard it could act as a sleeping pill.
> 
> I got scared and took the Seroquel alone in place of my usual 50 mg trazodone, the result being that I didn't sleep as well as I'd like. Next time I'll take both at the same time. It was pretty hard to get going this morning, and in fact I've felt kind of tired most of the day, though I'm not sure whether that's the drug or the lack of sleep.


Saphris knocked me out and made me tired for about 2 days, then I felt great.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

GotAnxiety said:


> What are the chances of abilify causing TD anyone know?


I would have to look for the study and the statistics. But the 4% possibility sticks in my head because it's so damn low for any AP. The simple reason is abilify has a completley different set of pharmacodynamics compared to the 1st or 2nd generation anti-psychotics. The others being D2 antagonists, where abilify is a D2 partial agonist or "silent antagonist". Also a partial agonist to 5HT1a and antagonist at 5-HT2a receptor, partial agonist 5HT2c, antagonist at the 5-HT7 receptor. Unlike other atypicals aripiprazole binding rates are high throughout the brain.



> unlike others in its class, it doesn't block dopamine (specifically, dopamine D2) or serotonin (specifically, 5-HT1A) receptors. Rather, it's a partial agonist at those receptors. It can activate those receptors, but not to the full biological effect. In lay terms, then, it can both enhance dopamine and serotonin signaling where those transmitters are deficient, and inhibit signaling where they're in excess.





> Abilify is not an all-or-none drug. It's not an on-off switch. It's more of a "stabilizer," or, in the words of Stephen Stahl, a "Goldilocks drug."
> 
> Thus, Abilify can be seen, at the same time, as both an antipsychotic, and not an antipsychotic. It's both an antidepressant, and not an antidepressant. And when you have a drug that is (a) generally well tolerated, (b) seems to work by "stabilizing" two neurotransmitter systems, and (c) resists conventional classification in this way, it opens the floodgates for all sorts of potential uses in psychiatry.





> the mechanism of Abilify allows for such elegant explanations of pathology ("we need to tune down the dopamine signal to get rid of those flashbacks" or "the serotonin 1A effect might help with your anxiety" - yes, I've heard both of these in the last week), that it would be anathema, at least to current psychiatric practice, not to use it in this regard.
> 
> This fact alone should lead us to ask what this says about psychiatry as a whole. The fact that one drug is prescribed so widely-owing to its relatively nonspecific effects and a good deal of creative psychopharmacology on the part of doctors like me-and is so broadly accepted by patients, should call into question our hypotheses about the pathophysiology of mental illness, and how psychiatric disorders are distinguished from one another. It should challenge our theories of neurotransmitters and receptors and how their interactions underlie specific symptoms. And it should give us reason to question whether the "stories" we tell ourselves and our patients carry more weight than the medications we prescribe.


http://thoughtbroadcast.com/2011/09/13/how-abilify-works-and-why-it-matters/

Concerning tardive dyskinesia
A report of instances of T.D. .in an 8 yr period of patients on aripiprazole at the Baylor College of Medicine Movement Disorders Clinic was 3.4%. During their treatment, 18.4 ± 26.4 months, with aripiprazole
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20818603
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17592907



> J Clin Psychiatry. 2008 Dec;69(12):1928-36. Epub 2008 Dec 2.
> *Adjunctive aripiprazole in major depressive disorder: analysis of efficacy and safety in patients with anxious and atypical features.*
> Trivedi MH, Thase ME, Fava M, Nelson CJ, Yang H, Qi Y, Tran QV, Pikalov A, Carlson BX, Marcus RN, Berman RM.
> Source
> ...


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@metamorphosis Thanks for replying to my question!

I just like to figure out now what are the chances of getting diabeties well on this medication to?. To bad they don't include this in the infomation sheet they provide with all the side effects.

it's probably hard to come up with a statistic for these questions cause it must be dose related as well. 

Considering ill just be taking 2.5 to 5mg a day. So i hope it won't be to big of a deal. 

I did have a childhood when i was on Risperidone for 2 years well taking Ritalin then he took me off those. I don't think i caught anything from that one. Better of not. I used to be so tiny when on that stuff. Then my docter switch me to Dexedrine i ballooned to. 205lb at 12 years old befor that i was 120lb to 140lb. Kinda weird that happen.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

It can't be any worser then seroquel. That pretty sedating stuff.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

GotAnxiety said:


> It can't be any worser then seroquel. That pretty sedating stuff.


*
Could Abilify cause Diabetes mellitus? A study of 1,815 users*
This is a real world study of Diabetes mellitus (Diabetes) among people who take Abilify. It is created by eHealthMe based on 1,815 reports from FDA and user community. In total 26,787 Abilify users are studied
*Abilify*
Abilify has active ingredients of aripiprazole. It is used in depression, bipolar disorder, bipolar i disorder, bipolar ii disorder, mood swings. Commonly reported side effects of Abilify include weight increased, diabetes, type 2 diabetes, insomnia, tardive dyskinesia

On Dec, 13, 2012: 26,787 people reported to have side effects when taking Abilify. Among them, 1,815 people (6.78%) have Diabetes Mellitus.








from:
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/abilify/diabetes+mellitus

Here's a quote about the use of Abilify and its affect on diabetes from emedtv:
"In clinical studies conducted before Abilify was approved, between 1 in every 100 and 1 in every 1,000 people taking Abilify developed diabetes. Since the medicine's approval, there have been several cases of extremely high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) in people taking the drug, which have led to coma or even death.

"It is not entirely clear if Abilify is the cause of these cases of diabetes. People with schizophrenia (whether they are taking Abilify or not) may be at a higher risk of developing diabetes. Also, diabetes is on the rise in the general population. These factors combined make it unclear whether there is a relationship between Abilify and diabetes. However, studies suggest that people taking Abilify may be at a higher risk of developing diabetes."

One of the reasons it may increase the risk of developing diabetes is its connection with weight gain, and it may affect a patient's blood sugar.



> *Abilify and Diabetes*
> There are a number of potential side effects with Abilify, and diabetes is one of the more serious side effects. It is not entirely clear why the medication may cause this problem. However, weight gain -- which is a primary risk factor for diabetes -- is a common side effect of Abilify. Diabetes can have serious health consequences, so you should monitor your blood sugar levels regularly while taking this drug.


from:
http://bipolar-disorder.emedtv.com/abilify/abilify-and-diabetes.html

On this website concerning anti-psychotics and diabetes,"Abilify and Geodon do not have a significant risk of metabolic syndrome and thus are not considered a diabetes risk (although the FDA has ordered all makers of antipsychotic drugs to include a warning about a possible link with diabetes on their product label). "
http://www.healthyplace.com/diabete...ychotics-carry-the-highest-risk-for-diabetes/

Take what you will from the above studies. Antypsychotics, including atypicals, often cause issues with weight gain and blood glucose levels. Diabetes is often the result of these side effects. Though it appears that abilify presents the best safety profile to date. 
Although I am impressed by abilify's low % on T.D., diabetes, and it's unique profile. I am still wary of all AP's for use in anxiety disoerders. They have tended to give me worse side effects, the few times I have tried them. Abilify works on a completley different set of psychodynamics though.

I mentioned abilify to my pdoc the other day because of the abilify thread by kehcorpz. I wanted his take on it. I am currently in a washout phase. So, I really wasn't asking for myself. He likes the medication and has had good results with it in combination with the SSRI's. It is an expensive med, if you do not have insurance.
As far as side effects, he mentioned weight gain and akathisia, as the most common but also noted that abilify has been the easiest atypical, therapeutically and side-effect wise, for him to work with for Bi-polar and depressive disorders. In general, unless I had schizo, schitzo-effective disorder or bi-polar, an anti-psychotic potential dangers outweigh the benefits for my disorders of SA, GAD, and Atypical Depression. It would be a 4 or 5th line tier of med. treatment for me.

This abstract basically sums up my overall feelings on abilify and diabetes, physical health, diet, and exercise in combination.



> *Treatment of Co-Morbid Mental Illness in Primary Care: How to Minimize Weight Gain, Diabetes, and Metabolic Syndrome*
> Maria Gibson A1, Peter J. Carek A1, Brigid Sullivan A1
> A1 Medical University of South Carolina
> 
> ...


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@metamorphisis. The TD studies though are at 30mg+ doses which is what is used for schizophrenia. Also people with schizophrenia are also more prone to TD. 

The same goes for Diabetes melitis most people are taking it at high doses plus as you mentioned the biggest factors are diet, exercise and self control.

I think though even at the 5mg dose it does have a way of making me super hungry. Now, I don't go and eat bad food I actually appreciate healthy food even more as it tastes better. I could see people losing control and going on sugar binges though. This could be highly individual though.

@gotanxiety at those doses the chances are non-existent. Keep in mind you can get diabetes just from eating food, this is the biggest factor. Consider that a lot of people don't take responsibility for their own actions but simply blame a drug. While yes a drug can add to cravings, you still have the power to control them.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

The drug made me eat 3 bags of potatochips! Well you still had the choice to puke it up so it your fault hehe.

Alright i cut my first 5mg pill today and i took 2.5mg. I probably coulda started at 5mg. I guess ill try and get a feel for each dose. 

My mood kinda flat lined when i discontinune the 5mg cipralex the other day. But as aspected my bloodpressure drastically improved when dropping down to 150mg Wellbutrin. Cipralex produces a discomforting burning pain in me that last 2 days.

So hopefully Zoloft different. I dunno if i wanna do 50mg of Zoloft 150mg Wellbutrin 5mg Abilify. That alot of drugs. So maybe Zoloft / Abilify will be just as effective down the line.

That would be 180$ a month about. That kinda a lot.

My Zoloft APO so hopefully that won't make a differences. Whatever that means.

This will be my one month trial of Abilify. Hopefully it will make me shine. Heh that kinda sounds lazy. make me.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I just went to a clinic to get my Abilify/Zoloft. Holy crap the doctor was defiant trying not to give it to me. He kept saying a psychiatrist should be giving them out and I kept telling him my psychiatrist is booked and it aint pretty when I go off these. So eventually after throwing science on their safety he agreed lol.

Man Abilify makes me less inhibited. Even when I was walking in the shopping center parking lot some guy had a box under his car and it was scraping. So I basically got in front of his car held my arm out for him to stop and started pulling at the box. We couldn't really get it out but at least we tried. Eventually he reversed it out lol. But yah I would never do that normally.

Oh and after arguing with the doctor about safety and all that he basically goes "you don't seem depressed" and I go "yes because of these drugs" lol.

Oh and also while waiting for the doc when I knew it was my turn next my heart started going nuts and I really felt it, but yet I wasn't anxious. I was at peace and relaxed and my heart just slowed down right away. It's as if the drugs cut in on the process and stop the anxiety when it starts to rev up.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Hehe you put him in his place that musta felt good. Jeez what kinda stuck up docters you seeing anyways?.

Amphetimines like Dexedrine and Adderall always made me raveously hungerly as well maybe they increase the risk of diabeties.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Yah I think the increase in dopamine is making me so hungry. I just ate a butt load. I just keep eating. It works out for me cuz im trying to gain weight as I've gotten skinny since depression. And I'm pretty much sticking to healthy food though xmas is coming up so i'll binge this month. hehe


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Ya. im trying to lose some weight to help with the bloodpressure strengthen the heart. Sometimes when i get depressed i couldn't eat. But i also had it when i over ate to. They both can be sucky forms of self punishment. One to comfort the other to torture.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Chug 3 cups of water at a time every time you get hungry. The volume in your stomach will put you off or at least make you eat less hehe.


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## Eversosweeten (Dec 11, 2012)

This is making me so nervous to take this combo!


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I had to get off of Abilify because of insatiable hunger. Also I was sleeping less on Abilify, so less sleep + more hunger = the most I ever weighed in my life.

I switched to Saphris. I've had nothing but pleasant experience with it.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

About 4 hr's in so far so good. Not dead yet. No TD or Diabeties as of yet lol.

I just feel lightly sedated no side effects really not even restlessness. 

Darn'it i was kinda hoping for akathisa maybe it will kickin in abit.

Way superior vasodilation properties compared to buspar that for sure.

Had my first meal of the day peanut butter sandwich and a glass of skim milk.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

It hits peak plasma in 5 hours. I didn't notice the extra energy till day 2 or 3 maybe, don't think I felt it first day.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

interesting



> *Sequential improvement of anxiety, depression and anhedonia with sertraline treatment in patients with major depression.*
> 
> Boyer P, Tassin JP, Falissart B, Troy S.
> *Source*
> ...


The timeline coincides with my past Zoloft/remeron treatment response.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

How's the withdraws coming off abilify anyone know?

Ya i was reading you could dose this every 2nd or 3rd day if you wanted to that pretty flexible.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Maybe I'll try adding 12.5 or 25mg of zoloft soon. I do miss the mood boost of the ssri.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I don't know if it's just me or not, but switching from Abilify to Saphris I didn't notice any withdrawals. And when I tapered Saphris I didn't notice any withdrawals. The most I seem to experience is racing thoughts when I forget my dose.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

bazinga said:


> I had to get off of Abilify because of insatiable hunger. Also I was sleeping less on Abilify, so less sleep + more hunger = the most I ever weighed in my life.
> 
> I switched to Saphris. I've had nothing but pleasant experience with it.


As far as the insatiable hunger, sounds exactly like when I was on lyrica (pregabalin)


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

The whole hunger thing is fading for me though. May be as Zoloft stabilizes the hunger does too. Sex drive has climbed back to high again. Maybe it wasn't the wellbutrin or maybe it was the abilify or I just happen to have such a high sex drive.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I had a glass of wine that I bought from a winery here. I find that when I was depressed wine would make me feel so good but now I feel way better when I'm not drinking. I see why alcohol is so popular because people with depression do so well on it. Once you're not depressed it's no longer relieving your depression so it's kind of useless. I still enjoy the taste though so i'm not against moderate amounts.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I try to avoid alcohol because it brings out some manic in me.


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

Well, adding the 50 mg of Seroquel to my usual nightly 50 mg of trazodone (with 100 mg Zoloft in the morning) is much more of a knockout than without the trazodone. I slept for over 9 hours, not including at least an hour more later in the day. I'm not sure whether this means that Seroquel is not for me, or that I'd just have to get used to 50 mg each night on the way to building up to a therapeutic dose (which I assume 50 mg isn't). Part of the problem is that I took them too late at night. So I just now took the Seroquel alone, and will take the trazodone later when I'm ready to go to bed.

It took about 15 hours for the stupor to lift entirely, which would be well worth it if the Seroquel gives me some relief from obtrusive thoughts. I didn't really notice much of that today, but I'll watch for it tomorrow.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Saphris tends to knock you out as well. It knocked me out every night for months. But the first two days I had taken it I was extremely exhausted, mentally and physically fatigued. It wore off after a few days.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

bazinga said:


> I had to get off of Abilify because of insatiable hunger. Also I was sleeping less on Abilify, so less sleep + more hunger = the most I ever weighed in my life.
> 
> I switched to Saphris. I've had nothing but pleasant experience with it.





R86 said:


> Well, adding the 50 mg of Seroquel to my usual nightly 50 mg of trazodone (with 100 mg Zoloft in the morning) is much more of a knockout than without the trazodone. I slept for over 9 hours, not including at least an hour more later in the day. I'm not sure whether this means that Seroquel is not for me, or that I'd just have to get used to 50 mg each night on the way to building up to a therapeutic dose (which I assume 50 mg isn't). Part of the problem is that I took them too late at night. So I just now took the Seroquel alone, and will take the trazodone later when I'm ready to go to bed.
> 
> It took about 15 hours for the stupor to lift entirely, which would be well worth it if the Seroquel gives me some relief from obtrusive thoughts. I didn't really notice much of that today, but I'll watch for it tomorrow.


Seroquel can be very sedating. Used at a low dose it is primarily a histamine receptor blocker (antihistamine) and a adrenergic blocker. Add to that the Trazadone and you have a pretty potent sleep med. combo. Many people find Seroquel effective at 25mg for sleep. Also, you probably know that Trazadone is usaually used at 25-100mg for sleep. So, if you want to try to adjust the potencies and the "hang-over" effect. You can try a reduction of either one by around 25mg and see what works better for you.

Also, like you mentioned; Given some time your brain/body will adjust to the combination and the extremely strong sedative effects should lessen to a degree. But reducing one of the meds. may produce a better result with less amounts of the meds. in your system.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

metamorphosis said:


> Seroquel can be very sedating. Used at a low dose it is primarily a histamine receptor blocker (antihistamine) and a adrenergic blocker. Add to that the Trazadone and you have a pretty potent sleep med. combo. Many people find Seroquel effective at 25mg for sleep. Also, you probably know that Trazadone is usaually used at 25-100mg for sleep. So, if you want to try to adjust the potencies and the "hang-over" effect. You can try a reduction of either one by around 25mg and see what works better for you.
> 
> Also, like you mentioned; Given some time your brain/body will adjust to the combination and the extremely strong sedative effects should lessen to a degree. But reducing one of the meds. may produce a better result with less amounts of the meds. in your system.


Yeah I think that combo would be doubling up on a1-adrenergic receptor blockade a fair bit so dizziness might be a prominent symptom. Otherwise it's probably pretty good in the sense that it's likely allowing for lower doses of seroquel and trazodone to be used to reach sedation, so less individual side effects.


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

These are all good points and (as I wrote on the Zoloft/Seroquel thread) might be worth considering. I will certainly bring up Seroquel when I meet with my pdoc in a few weeks. From my limited experience, Seroquel doesn't seem as sedating by itself as with trazodone, so I wonder if maybe 25 mg twice a day would help me with intrusive thoughts during the day, help me to sleep better at night, and allow me to stop even my occasional use of Z-drugs, all at the same time. :idea

I won't lie, I also wouldn't mind being on Seroquel as opposed to Abilify, though I'm certainly open to trying Abilify too. It's not even so much the cost as the fact that everyone and his brother is recommending Abilify these days. It's a bit creepy. On the other hand, for all I know my pdoc will recommend a third and completely different drug from either of these....


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Wow I've been sleeping pretty good since starting the abilify. Sometimes after i eat food i get tired and go for a nap. I'd used to get that same effect well taking Dexedrine. I have been eatting a bit more. But i also came off an ssri recently and low serotonin can cause increased hunger 2. Abilify been good so far no side effects. Its only been 3 day's. It will probably work better with an ssri.

It feels like abilify normalized my sex drive back to it usually self. It doesn't give you the fake horny like amphetamines. It increases feeling but at the same time helps premature ejaculation. It gives me the normal horny how kinda i used to feel befor drug's. I have been getting alot of erections thur out the day. So far it been pleasants. I haven't had that obcessive compulsive feeling to wank it like Amps either. Still kinda to early to tell.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@r86 for the zopiclone I find that taking a 7.5mg pill and splitting it into 4 pieces still works great. Lasts long too!

@gotanxiety Yah I usually take the Abilify 5 hours before my bed time since that's when it reaches peak. By then I'm nice and relaxed and can fall asleep easily. Odd how for you it started off relaxing as it was so activating for me first few days. Man I'm soo hungry constantly and lately I've had bad food cuz I always eat bad during the xmas holiday month. It's the one time of the year that I let myself. I thought you were on both Zoloft/abilify? What time do you take the abilify before bed?

The erections are NUTS with abilify. I came across some porn today and got a pretty hard erection. I didn't do anything and had to go clean dishes and such. The erection stayed with me for a good 10 minutes. I mean I was washing dishes and it would not go away. I understand if I'm still thinking sexual thoughts but I wasn't I was completely focused on the task at hand. Freaken weird though will be handy in bed for multiple runs.


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> @r86 for the zopiclone I find that taking a 7.5mg pill and splitting it into 4 pieces still works great. Lasts long too!


I haven't tried zopiclone, only Lunesta or the pure S enantiomer. My doctor prescribed me a few 2 mg tablets, but I cut them in half and find 1 mg to be plenty enough. If anything, it lasts a bit too long. So my favorite Z drug is plain old Ambien. The CR version gives me a hangover, so what I do is take half a 10 mg tablet with my 50 mg trazodone when I go to bed, and then when (not "if") I wake up at 4:00 a.m., I take the remaining 5 mg. But I know this really isn't something I should do more than about once a week. Hence my interest in the effects of both Seroquel and Abilify on sleep, when combined with Zoloft.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Yeah it hasn't been activating as of yet. Ive been taking it at noon everyday so far. Maybe ill switch to 6pm or something. I like the morning wood it gives me. It's probably safe to start off at 5mg. Abilify is like the Prozac of it generation. 3 day halflife whoo ah. 

Since chrismas around the corner I've been thinking about ceasing all medication. Just so i can drink with the rest of my family. Im still debating on this. If i do go do chrismas. I don't wanna be to wacked out on these drugs.

Is it okay having caffeine on Abilify? That might go good together eh hehe.

I've lost 8lb just from making lots of salads and my own juices. I alternate from chicken salad and peanut butter sandwiches thur out the day.

I think Abilify helped stabilized my bloodpressure even lower maybe the extra vasodilation and the alpha blocker proterties along with the extra sleep helped. Or maybe not it still to early to tell.

I haven't tried it with zoloft yet. Im still taking it with Wellbutrin 150mg at noon when i wake up.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Cool If I could afford it I would take 150mg wellbutrin xl with the other stuff. You should be fine with caffeine I drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day.  Since quitting wellbutrin I've used it as my norepinephrine source. I also had some wine and it's fine with abilify/Zoloft. I don't feel it hitting me harder or anything. You can always try having a glass one day, 2 glasses the next, etc to find what you're comfortable with.

Yah I take my abilify at 4pm every day. I take Zoloft as soon as I wake up typically at 8am.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

It will probably be more activating with zoloft i hope. Ya i like Wellbutrin. But i may eliminated it for the time been when i add the zoloft to lower interaction.

Hopefully zoloft and abilify are alcohol friendly that would be cool. But knowing me ill drink like a fish.

i think colors maybe appearing brighter if that even possible.


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## louiselouisa (Jul 12, 2012)

what would happen if you didn't take them routinely?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

You wouldn't get the intended therapeutic effect. Steady state is only reached by taking it consistently. Missing it every once in a blue moon is fine but taking it every other day or less will just not reach the intended steady state and the results may be unpredictable. Even with a long half life you are still coming out of therapeutic steady state.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

So I took my abilify about 2 hours late today and since I wanted it to hit me quicker I dissolved the tablet in my mouth and held it under my tongue for 20 minutes. Yep, you hear right, 20 minutes. Oh man am I focused after this. Now I know how superman feels.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

That weird so far abilify and zoloft been a sleeping pill to me. Maybe it cause of my ADD. First day taking zoloft so far it givinn me a numb d***. I increased the abilify to 5mg as well. Just popped it 2 mins ago will how it goes.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> That weird so far abilify and zoloft been a sleeping pill to me. Maybe it cause of my ADD. First day taking zoloft so far it givinn me a numb d***. I increased the abilify to 5mg as well. Just popped it 2 mins ago will how it goes.


First time I took Zoloft I got numb dick initially. That should go away within a few days.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Phew. i thought we were gonna have to amputate hehe.

So far the antidepressant effect hasn't kicked in right away like lexapro. But there is less side effects.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

lol

Yah I may actually try sublingual Zoloft tomorrow. Pop open the capsule under my tongue like with abilify. I am going to take abilify this way from now on, I want to see what it does with Zoloft seeing how its metabolite is pretty much useless.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Ok so this morning woke up at 5am after 6 hours of sleep and just could not sleep anymore. Maybe it was the sublingual abilify but I'm feeling very rested. So then I decided to do the sublingual sertraline. I must say this felt really weird in my mouth either too acidic or too alkaline, I can't even tell it was just weird. But man did I feel good after a while. 

Now I know sertraline is a hydrochloride but still not sure on its ph as I recall it's a combination of hydrochloric acid (acid) and ammonia chloride (base). So I don't know if it's supposed to be acidic or not. Either way I don't think I will do this regardless of how good I felt because I wouldn't want to ruin my teeth. The abilify i'll continue sublingually as it didn't seem acidic to me.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

lol

Sertraline hydrochloride
Solubility:
water = 3.8 mg/ml at 25 °C, pH 5.3 isopropyl alcohol= slightly soluble

Ok that freaked me out. Turns out it's not that acidic. *phew*


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## ricca91 (Mar 11, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> lol
> 
> Sertraline hydrochloride
> Solubility:
> ...


Haha, nice method for taking meds. I think that sublingual should be the new delivery system. I do it when I take klonopin and it kicks in in 30 minutes as opposed to 1 and a half hours when I take it the classic way. Sublingual is quick, effective and, in some cases, tasty!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Seriously I don't know why more companies don't make sublingual. When I took Remeron it came in this dissolving tablet you were to use sublingually and it worked sooo well.

A lot of these drug's actions are studied based on the main ingredient yet the liver depending on the person can change the entire contents of what's in the blood. I've read some studies on abilify how some people convert the entire drug to either the active metabolite or other metabolites and don't respond very well. I'm taking everything sublingually now. 

Ricca what's your take on adding a bit of baking soda to the mix, will the alkaline ph make it tougher for penetrating the mucous membrane?


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Now I know sertraline is a hydrochloride but still not sure on its ph as I recall it's a combination of hydrochloric acid (acid) and ammonia chloride (base). So I don't know if it's supposed to be acidic or not.
> 
> Solubility:
> water = 3.8 mg/ml at 25 °C, pH 5.3 isopropyl alcohol= slightly soluble
> ...


I might be able to help here since I'm a chemist.  Amine hydrochloride salts are generally considered acidic, since it's the product of a weak base (the amine free base) and a strong acid (hydrochloric acid).

The pH of 5.3 for the Zoloft solution doesn't surprise me, but remember that the pH scale is logarithmic -- so at a pH of 5.3, it's almost 100 times more acidic than pure water. That being said, we regularly eat and drink things more acidic than that -- carbonated beverages come to mind, coffee and tea are probably down there too, and of course there are citrus fruits.

As for adding baking soda, other than making it taste horrible, I doubt it would do much for the pH since I expect that the tablets are already buffered because of some of the fillers. In fact the fillers might well already be certain carbonates and phosphates that would raise the pH anyway.

Looking at the structure of aripiprazole, I see nothing particularly acidic or basic. The amide group is pretty much a wash, while the amine groups are slightly alkaline at most. If the taste is anything toward the fishy or bitter side, then it's alkaline, but I doubt by very much. It'd be easy to make the mono- or dihydrochloride salt of this stuff, but it seems they use the free base.

*tl;dr* While I can't comment on the sublingual method either way, I doubt there's anything particularly dangerous about either Zoloft or Abilify in terms of acidity.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@r86: lol you always have a tl;dr portion. Thanks for the info! Yah even fruits are more acidic than that. You are probably right about the fillers. I never felt this good after taking it orally so I'm definitely going to continue taking both sublingually. Thanks again man!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Man I'm feeling good today. It's either the sublingual abilify/Zoloft or both have been in my system long enough to start kicking in.


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## ricca91 (Mar 11, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Seriously I don't know why more companies don't make sublingual. When I took Remeron it came in this dissolving tablet you were to use sublingually and it worked sooo well.
> 
> A lot of these drug's actions are studied based on the main ingredient yet the liver depending on the person can change the entire contents of what's in the blood. I've read some studies on abilify how some people convert the entire drug to either the active metabolite or other metabolites and don't respond very well. I'm taking everything sublingually now.
> 
> Ricca what's your take on adding a bit of baking soda to the mix, will the alkaline ph make it tougher for penetrating the mucous membrane?


I fully agree with you. Sublingual preparations would give the benefits of both the parent drug and the active metabolites. First pass metabolism "ruins" much of the drug's effects.

I think the pharmacology of aripiprazole is fascinating. Not only it has all the actions on all the plethora of receptors, but also it is metabolized to 2,3-DCPP. Its actions are not really known, but it may contribute to abilify's great benefits.

I think, if I remember correctly, that having a bit of baking soda can aid absorption by reducing the ionized fraction, being aripiprazole a weak base.

Just as an info, here in Argentina sometimes we chew coca leaves. Commonly, we chew it with baking soda to enhance absorption. It is a weak stimulant similar to coffee and makes your mouth completely numb.

So, maybe you can try to alkalize your saliva pH and see if you get stronger effects.


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## ricca91 (Mar 11, 2012)

R86 said:


> I might be able to help here since I'm a chemist.  Amine hydrochloride salts are generally considered acidic, since it's the product of a weak base (the amine free base) and a strong acid (hydrochloric acid).
> 
> The pH of 5.3 for the Zoloft solution doesn't surprise me, but remember that the pH scale is logarithmic -- so at a pH of 5.3, it's almost 100 times more acidic than pure water. That being said, we regularly eat and drink things more acidic than that -- carbonated beverages come to mind, coffee and tea are probably down there too, and of course there are citrus fruits.
> 
> ...


Well, you are surely more knowledgeable than me about this, so kehcorpz follow his advices, not mines haha


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

ricca91 said:


> Well, you are surely more knowledgeable than me about this, so kehcorpz follow his advices, not mines haha


damn I already ordered some cocoa leaves!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

So I wanted to see how it would go switching Zoloft to nights so I took my pill now sublingually. At first it was just a weird feeling but after a bit it started burning so bad. I swallowed it but the burning kept going. I swished baking soda around and it did nothing. The burning must be something else, it also has left me a bit numb tongued as if I was at the dentist hah.

I know sertraline is a powerful anti-fungal and there is small amounts of fungus in peoples' mouths, particularily there is a small colony of candida that is kept in control by immune system and good bacteria. I wonder if it's possible that it was killing it. Who knows, big mystery to me.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I got a couple games and a movie for myself. I got Robocop triogly, Rage, Red fraction guerrilla and Terminator salvation. All together for like 55 bucks. 

Today the feeling been coming back. I've been able to bust twice. Compared to once the last couple day's. I've been sweating more i dunno if it the Zoloft or the Abilify. I got some beer today. Im gonna try having a drink or two.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Does the hunger subside on Abilify? I took it for a month but I gained 16lbs because I couldn't stop eating. I'm on Saphris, but Abilify worked well. If there's no risk of TD I'd like to give it a try again. I just don't want to gain the weight. Insatiable hunger.

I've got samples of Abilify. I wonder how long I should wait before switching. I remember switching from Abilify to Saphris immediately.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

It hard to say. it increases dopamine so food taste better but it antagonizes alpha and histimine. So it shuts down some chemicals that could help with burning fat. I think it may be depending on self control and just saying no. But lately i have been eatting more. Its like marijauna i do get the munchies. 

Some anti-histimine effect can increase hunger as well i heard?.

I wonder what this is like compared to Remeron? What one makes you eat more. i don't eat this much even with seroquel. But that one sedates me way more.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Hey for Abilify to touch histamine you'd need 10-15mg/day from what I read. If it does at any point at 5mg then it's super weak. I don't really get tired on abilify so don't think it's touching H1 for me. A1 would be in the same league. 

I agree it's like marijuana, everything tastes sooo good. Even freaking potatoes. 

I was on Remeron 45mg didn't get any food cravings but others apparently got insane cravings.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> Hey for Abilify to touch histamine you'd need 10-15mg/day from what I read. If it does at any point at 5mg then it's super weak. I don't really get tired on abilify so don't think it's touching H1 for me. A1 would be in the same league.
> 
> I agree it's like marijuana, everything tastes sooo good. Even freaking potatoes.
> 
> I was on Remeron 45mg didn't get any food cravings but others apparently got insane cravings.


Are you taking any neuroprotectives while on abilify (antipsychotics)?
No one seems to know much about preventing free radical damage/eps with the use of supplements


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

A Sense of Purpose said:


> Are you taking any neuroprotectives while on abilify (antipsychotics)?
> No one seems to know much about preventing free radical damage/eps with the use of supplements


No, abilify doesn't have that problem. It doesn't even belong in the same drug class as the other antipsychotics. Like Dr. Mind said in the video metamorphisis posted, Abilify should not be called an anti-psychotic.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> No, abilify doesn't have that problem. It doesn't even belong in the same drug class as the other antipsychotics. Like Dr. Mind said in the video metamorphisis posted, Abilify should not be called an anti-psychotic.


But due to its D2 Blockade... that happens to some degree, it can still result in TD. Which to me spells out that it does degrade the same circuits that other AP's do leading to EPS


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

A Sense of Purpose said:


> But due to its D2 Blockade... that happens to some degree, it can still result in TD. Which to me spells out that it does degrade the same circuits that other AP's do leading to EPS


No it's known not to have EPS. I have posted studies about this before. There's a difference between d2 stabilization and blockade. It does not actually block d2 from doing its job post-synaptically. It simply stays bound to presynaptic receptors but it does a way weaker job than if dopamine were bound to those same presynaptic receptors. It tells it to slow down dopamine release but less than if dopamine were bound there slowing it down. It doesn't completely eliminate this. Also dopamine will only start helping it out when there's too much in the synaptic cleft. If there's a smaller amount dopamine will be binding post-synaptically and abilify will be taking the pre-synaptic roll. Look at the graph on first page it raised it after dopamine was at 0 and it lowered it when it was too high. Either way it only touches dopamine presynaptically at those doses.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

> In a study employing positron emis- sion tomography, administration of aripiprazole over 14 days resulted in a dose-dependent receptor occupancy be- tween 40-95% after the administration of 0.5-30 mg per day. Interestingly, even with striatal D2 receptor occupancy values above 90%, which occurred at higher doses of aripip- razole, extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) were not ob-served (Yokoi et al., 2002). Previous theories on the mechanism of action of atypical antipsychotics claimed that a D2 receptor occupancy higher than 70-89% would lead to EPS (Farde et al., 1994). However, the aripiprazole data suggest that this association may only be true for full antagonists, but not for partial agonists.


Even at 90%+ occupancy it doesn't lead to EPS.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

Interesting. Ive noticed a slight shaking to my fingers in the past week. Im not sure if its resulted from Quetiapine use or just an increase to the zoloft that might be causing it. Either way im keeping an eye on it. Maybe there is a future in switching my Quel to Abilify.

This is why im curious.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

That's really weird. I used to have shaking in my hands heavily. It's why I started going to doctors and such. I thought it was the anxiety but recently since taking abilify my hands have become more stabilized. I notice more like when holding a camera to snap a picture, before I would not be able to keep it still(subtle shaking but noticeable to me). So it's not like a constant shaking but only when I really need to keep something stable, but yah now it's gone which is probably cuz im so relaxed.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Last night I took the Zoloft and slept ok. I woke up about 3 times but was able to fall back asleep. Today I took the abilify at 12 oclock and I'm feeling good, not tired, just ravenously hungry, but only once I get a taste for food. It is very much like Marijuana munchies. I am also going to take the Zoloft at 5pm. I think these 2 times will be best for me.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I do agree on that. Potatos do taste frigging good.

I love drinking beer. I like how it makes my skin glow and my dark hair shine.

Even without the Wellbutrin my diastolic over 100. Wish i never took you Effexor. The reason why my heart messed. Thanks for the 25 pt increase in diastolic bloodpressure.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

it may still go down. Take a baby aspirin 80mg daily if anything.

Yah i'm going out for beers with a friend tomorrow. Yah it's very social of me, I'd never do that but for some reason I had this urge to do it.

Man I'm so going to have these:


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

lol gross. I like home style cut hashbrowns. Yum yum.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

What's this? Fried tapeworms?


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Gonna go for a beer right now! Screw my heart. Im gonna try Dexedrine with the Abilify / Zoloft. I doubt it would do anything.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Nah not worms, it's Mccain Curly fries, they are sooo good!!! Especially with yogurt or sour cream.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Amazingly zoloft and abilify were pretty alcohol netural in side effects. When i usually drink on lexapro it increases akathisa big time and it can make me somewhat manic as it seems.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Amazingly zoloft and abilify were pretty alcohol netural in side effects. When i usually drink on lexapro it increases akathisa big time and it can make me somewhat manic as it seems.


For sure, I found Remeron affected my drinking as did Lexapro. This one thus far hasn't affected me differently than if I wasn't on meds.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I must say that after 30 minutes of sublingual abilify I get this really warm euphoric feeling. I'm experiencing it as I type this. It feels really good almost like an opiate.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

So you crush it up then sublingually do it? Or do you just place the whole pill under your tounge?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I snap it in half first and put it under my tongue and move it around. It melts nicely. 

Wish I could do that with Zoloft but it burns hehe


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Sounds like some really dangerous experiments are going on here. I doubt that a doctor would approve of that. If it's not in the manual don't do it.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Except Abilify exists in sublingual form so epic fail on your part.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

My Zoloft is APO-Sertraline so i don't think it works as good as brand name.

What kind you got kehcorpz?


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Except Abilify exists in sublingual form so epic fail on your part.


I'm not aware of this. But even if it does then you still don't know what could happen if you take a non-sublingual abilify sublingually. And as far as I know sublingual doesn't even make that much of a difference. Remeron also has sublinguals and according to my knowledge there is no difference between sublingual and ordinary.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> My Zoloft is APO-Sertraline so i don't think it works as good as brand name.
> 
> What kind you got kehcorpz?


With sertraline it shouldn't matter brand/generic, just take it with food. Mines Co-Sertraline. Although I used to use APO I did notice a slight difference when I switched to CO. There was some differences in the product monograph mostly peak plasma and such. It wasn't super big gap though.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@gotanxiety how are things going for you? Last night I went drinking. I noticed that the alcohol gives me the "good" feeling but doesn't give me the co-ordination issues. I felt perfectly normal walking my head was great I just felt euphoria. I also didn't go into mania.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@Kehcorpz I got s*** faced last night as well. I had about 9+ drinks the previous days i built up from 4 and 2. Im not really feeling that sick besides a headache. no side effects or interaction. Im gonna cooldown from the booze for now i like to just drink on the weekends. 

No side effects from the antidepressants but im not getting a super antidepressant effect like the lexapro. Just outta curiosity i may try it with the Abilify one day. I still wanna give zoloft a chance i feel it working lightly. Im not really a hater of it.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

awesome man. If you feel it a bit try going to 100mg. That's where i'm at right now.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Actually i do feel a tad shakey today. But unlike lexapro alcohol doesn't make the akathisa worst with zoloft.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> @Kehcorpz I got s*** faced last night as well. I had about 9+ drinks the previous days i built up from 4 and 2.


Good work! See if you can get up to 20 drinks. Titration baby.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

That right!


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I really don't wanna go over a 6 pack. No point having such an high tolarance. Where your body treat alcohol like water. Been there done that. The hang over isn't so much fun specially when it could kill ya.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Even though I've been drinking moderately for years now I still don't tolerate much. A few days ago I had 2 cups of wine during the day on a rather empty stomach and then felt it in my head for hours. It's weird. Usually you'd expect that if you drink regularly you become more resistant.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Most beers i drank was 37 boxers. Most wine 4 bottles plus one pitcher of beer and i was on cipralex. So i probably nearly died that time i was suprised i woke up. Hardliquer too easy to consume i don't like drinking that stuff.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

You mean 4 x 0,75 litre bottles? In which time?
I could probably drink 1 six pack beer but if I drink too much I directly feel miserable which is good. It's better to not tolerate much than to tolerate much. 

When I was 16 I was invited to a party and before going there I already had 1 beer and at the party I kept drinking beer and liquor and I remember that I sat there and suddenly throw up on the floor. For a short time I thought maybe nobody had noticed it lol. The guy who gave the party was pretty pissed. I think I threw up a second time that evening. But short time later I was able to walk home and was relatively clear in the head again.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

lol that reminds me of my brother friend puking on my mom new couches in her new house on new years lol. 

Yeah 4 750ML 12.5%+ 4 to 5 hours. i think it was. I was drinking with my job career teacher. He was british. I passed out and cut the side of my eye socket open. We were drinking absinth to i think just alittle bit.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I seem to have a very high tolerance to alcohol. I try not to drink anymore, but I can still go through 7-10 beer in a few hours. Maybe it's the medication.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Most beers i drank was 37 boxers. Most wine 4 bottles plus one pitcher of beer and i was on cipralex. So i probably nearly died that time i was suprised i woke up. Hardliquer too easy to consume i don't like drinking that stuff.


You must have a hell of a beer belly


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> lol that reminds me of my brother friend puking on my mom new couches in her new house on new years lol.
> 
> Yeah 4 750ML 12.5%+ 4 to 5 hours. i think it was. I was drinking with my job career teacher. He was british. I passed out and cut the side of my eye socket open. We were drinking absinth to i think just alittle bit.


You mean you cut your eye open or only the skin?
Damn. You have some very unhealthy habits.This sounds like a scene from trainspotting. Do you also snort cocaine and bang prostitutes on dirty subway toilets?


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

GotAnxiety said:


> I really don't wanna go over a 6 pack. No point having such an high tolarance. Where your body treat alcohol like water. Been there done that. The hang over isn't so much fun specially when it could kill ya.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

kehcorpz said:


> You must have a hell of a beer belly


I have an old stoner friend who *really* enjoys his Pabst.:drunk When the subject comes up, he says "Dude, I look like I'm pregnant with twins" 
Pretty healthy guy!!! ;P :[
I usually have the same reply. You need to get your liver enzymes checked, not to mention a full panel of bloodwork and a physical. Doesn't help matters that he is on the heavy hitters, Clozaril and Haldol for schitzo-effective disorder. Never has experienced any signs of T.D. or dyskinesia after yrs. on the meds. But I do fear he is borderline diabetic.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@Kehcorpz Oddly enough i don't got a beer belly. My fat evenly proportion through out my body. I wish all my fat was in my belly lol.

@Thundercats Only sometimes : )


J/k


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

GotAnxiety said:


> @Kehcorpz Oddly enough i don't got a beer belly. My fat evenly proportion through out my body. I wish all my fat was in my belly lol.
> 
> @Thundercats Only sometimes : )
> 
> J/k


Actually, it is better for your health, that your fat is distributed in a more balanced proportion. Fat stored in the belly and the weight associated with it, actually puts more stress on your organs, and people who store fat in the stomach area tend to have more serious health issues and illnesses.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I've added 1.5-2.5mg of lexapro to the 50mg zoloft. That seems to make me wanna move around more. Will see how this goes.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

metamorphosis said:


> Actually, it is better for your health, that your fat is distributed in a more balanced proportion. Fat stored in the belly and the weight associated with it, actually puts more stress on your organs, and people who store fat in the stomach area tend to have more serious health issues and illnesses.


Classic sign of high cortisol.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Im unsure about my money situation next month. So i may have to discountine the Abilify. I still got 21 pills left so maybe i could stretch it out.

But since adding the lexapro i feel my heart beating more forceful. I think it helps my bloodpressure. Ive been sweating alot tho. Maybe combining these 2 antidepressants can keep side effects down or something.

Getting rdy for chrismas here. Gonna spend a night at the farm. Then gonna go to turnervally with the family.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety split them in half that will give you 2.5mg. I am actually playing with timing and such. I'm doing 2.5mg twice a day now. I realize that it has a high half life anyways, but controlling that peak seems to work well for keeping me energetic.


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

Just something I learned. Abilify blocks any euphoria from stimulants I used to get. This med is not interesting for the drug heads.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Merry chrismas ya all! So far i've been feeling pretty good. Gonna be having chrismas diner soon. i've had like 6 cup's of coffee today so im just flying today hehe.

Lexapro was a good addition. i've been moving around more making more body movement in such seem's to positively effect my mood.

Only thing is ive been sweating alot but that could be a good thing. But lexapro seems to put me in a some what meditative state of mind.

I was thinking if i was stretching it out. I could do 20 day's at 2.5mg, 20 day's every other day, then 30 days every other other day. which would give me about 70 day's.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Yah I took 150mg Zoloft and 5mg abilify today plus lots of coffee feel super chipper!

Going to stay on 150mg Zoloft for a while and see how it goes.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Look at this GotAnxiety:

http://www.canadadrugs.com/search.php?keyword=abilify

Basically the cheapest one is the 10mg pill. Cheaper than the 5mg pill, that makes no sense. I'm going to see if 2.5mg abilify/Zoloft 150mg work as well. Trying to find the cheapest way to do this. I could buy 10mg pills and cut them in 4 so that would be more worth it as it would last 4 months vs. 1 month.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I wish you guys could see my doctor. He gives out free samples of alot of popular antipsychs (Seroquel, Geodon, Abilify, etc.) Saves me untold amount of money.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Freesix88 said:


> Just something I learned. Abilify blocks any euphoria from stimulants I used to get. This med is not interesting for the drug heads.


And that's good!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

bazinga said:


> I wish you guys could see my doctor. He gives out free samples of alot of popular antipsychs (Seroquel, Geodon, Abilify, etc.) Saves me untold amount of money.


Lucky! Problem is a lot of people on these drugs don't have jobs either because their illness wouldn't allow for it. So it sucks that it's so expensive but I mean the companies need to get their money back for the billions spent on R&D.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Well it was an amazing chrismas! Amazing food! Amazing people. 8 coffees 10-14 drinks later. I woke up actually feeling okay suprisingly didn't get a whole bunch of sleep but i still felt good. Now im gonna lay off the booze for awhile.

Yah heh next time i gotta ask for free samples duh.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> Look at this GotAnxiety:
> 
> http://www.canadadrugs.com/search.php?keyword=abilify
> 
> Basically the cheapest one is the 10mg pill. Cheaper than the 5mg pill, that makes no sense. I'm going to see if 2.5mg abilify/Zoloft 150mg work as well. Trying to find the cheapest way to do this. I could buy 10mg pills and cut them in 4 so that would be more worth it as it would last 4 months vs. 1 month.


That so messed up we don't even pay that much for are 5mg.

Isn't the full 30mg like 600 a month i thought.

Adderall XR is also 4-5 bucks a pill another expensive medication. A bit unrelated but ya ouch.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I pay 120 bucks for 5mg 30 pills. Still if the pricing is similar then the 10mg should be cheaper. Either way I'm at 2.5mg now I prefer it to the 5mg. It's more energizing. Although I have heard some people saying 10mg was the point that really made the difference to them but won't even try because of price.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Just looking at a study with D2 and D3 occupancy of the different doses of abilify.

The dose followed by average occupancy:

*D3:*
*0.5mg:* 33.7%
*1.0mg:* 57.2%
*2.0mg:* 71.6%
*10.0mg:* 85.3%
*30.0mg:* 86.4%

*D2:*
*0.5mg:* 30.4%
*1.0mg:* 49.1%
*2.0mg:* 74.3%
*10.0mg:* 85.5%
*30.0mg:* 92.3%

The differences after 2mg seem very small but likely enough to start causing some antagonistic like behavior. I actually think that 1.25mg may indeed be better but I will give each dose 2 weeks to see which one I like best. Thus far 2mg has been the best for energy/anhedonia. 5mg was damn good for anxiety, pretty much non-existant. Also amazing for making eye contact which I usually suck at.

source: http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v27/n2/full/1395894a.html


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

^Good idea.


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

I take 5 mg abilify along with 10 dexamp (still tapering off) 4 mg clonazepam and 25 mg atenolol. Got some work again after years and im STILL nervous as hell. Just waiting and looking at my clock so time passes by. Sorry I post this in this thread but I don't want to start an new one with my crappy posts. My alcohol cravings are so high at the moment. 

Interesting find kehcorpz. Maybe lower dose of abilify would do me better but Im still only using it for couple of days.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

^How is Dex and Abilify?


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

Terrible , don't start with it. 5 mg dex makes me anxious while 15 mg works really good for focus/depression for only some hours. I like stims the most as needed.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I still got some Dex and Adderall left. But i stopped my self from using it last time i said i would try it. Might not be worth it.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Does the akathisia wear off? That was a big problem that I had with abilify,


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I only got akathisa right now from drinking. I havn't really had a problem with it. I paced alot today and got a lactic acid bubblebath. Lexapro makes me more restless. Abilify was sedating at first. I need some restless tho. Just the right amount i need balence.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> I pay 120 bucks for 5mg 30 pills.


Thats insane! Soooo much more expensive than here in Aus.

60 x 100mg seroquel brand name costs me about $35


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## Konami (Jul 5, 2011)

A Sense of Purpose said:


> Thats insane! Soooo much more expensive than here in Aus.
> 
> 60 x 100mg seroquel brand name costs me about $35


thats is because Seroquel comes in generic form. he in Israel seroquel 60 pills 50mg costs(without insurance)10$
Abilify on the other hand cost 250$ for 28 pills for 5mg. reason:
no generic for abilify yet.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Freesix88 said:


> Interesting find kehcorpz. Maybe lower dose of abilify would do me better but Im still only using it for couple of days.


It's possible but it could be the dex making you nervous, it's not unheard of.



bazinga said:


> Does the akathisia wear off? That was a big problem that I had with abilify,


Yes it wore off for me but at the same time I raised the dosage to 5mg. It was a weird restlessness that only occurred while I was bored, if I kept busy I didn't even notice it. I'll see if it returns once the blood plasma level stabilizes. I already feel more energy since lowering it but blood plasma would take about 10 days to get to steady state as it has an insane half life so the higher levels are still in my blood.



GotAnxiety said:


> I only got akathisa right now from drinking. I havn't really had a problem with it. I paced alot today and got a lactic acid bubblebath. Lexapro makes me more restless. Abilify was sedating at first. I need some restless tho. Just the right amount i need balence.


You should try removing the Lexapro and let Zoloft do its work. It's a much better ssri. At 150mg is when I really start feeling its effect. The higher dopamine may be responsible.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I'm feeling super awesome today. I feel that dopamine warm relaxed smiling feeling you get. I'm having a coffee and enjoying it. I have been drinking more since quitting wellbutrin as wellbutrin caused me to get jittery after a few cups. 

But yah this is how normal people are. When you do something you enjoy like drinking morning coffee you should be feeling good about it. This is what it's about, anhedonia just makes you go through the motions, you don't get that awesome feeling. I can tell people I enjoy drinking my morning coffee. With anhedonia I would never even think back to my morning coffee moment because it was just another moment, no warm memory of it.

Anhedonia also makes it tough to fill out a dating profile as you have to fill in things you enjoy but man I could never do it. So i'm hoping things change now.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I think the 2 SSRI compliment each other at low doses im trying to make a more favorable side effect profile Zoloft being more tolarable Lexapro being more effective but more side effects. Lexapro always works instantly. Zoloft takes a couple weeks to take effects. Plus i only got 50mg of Zoloft so i can't up the dose atm.

But ill take away the the lexapro and see how i feel without it in a bit. Im hoping it covers a wider spectrum of recepter. Maybe even making Zoloft more effective. I only like using low doses of any medication i use.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Turkey sandwiches are a little piece of heaven had a couple for breakfast.

I notice coffee was pretty good. Maybe its the zoloft. I don't normally drink that much coffee .


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Alright no more caffeine my bp rocking at 180 over 120 now. My heart hurts. I think drinking alcohol senitizes alpha recepter making them more receptive to alpha. This would be a bad thing cause there would be more recepters. So normal adrenaline wouldn't be as good. But it also cold outside and lack of sunlight could be a factor.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Alright woke up with an nightmare after some sex dreams 4hr sleep. Classical signs of high alpha and serotoin. Will give it one more day if sleep don't improve ill drop the lex. 

The nightmare was of these sabortooth cats made of metal and covered in blood and guts. We were traping them in a jurssisicpark type storage cages but we had alot in there trying to get there king but more came in and they kept on getting loose. Kinda like the t 600 all ragged and dirty with gore and blood on them. Or that movie virus with the ship or was it ? Lol.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Yah 2 SSRIs is just asking for trouble.

I didn't sleep much either woke up at 6:40am and just couldn't fall back asleep, but I am feeling energized anyways, brewing some nice coffee.

That dream sounds messed up! Do you take Zoloft before bed or in the morning? I take mine at around 1pm.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I take them all in the morning now. 

im thinking of taking a break from the lex today and see how i feel. It might be to much atm with the alcohol withdraws.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I find that even though I did go drinking I have no craving for it at all. I actually prefer how I feel without the alcohol. Although alcohol makes me more social so I reserve a bit for those situations. 

Feeling good again today, took 2 coffees this time but just have a content smile while reading news and forum. I think you'd be better off with Zoloft at higher doses and no Lexapro. Keep in mind 10mg Lexapro is the equivalent of 100mg Zoloft. It's max therapeutic range is I believe 20mg? And max for Zoloft being 200mg. Lexapro doesn't mess with your memory? It screwed my memory big time.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

There went back to bed for 2 - 3 hours yay.

It improved mine. I found my self recalling thing from the past i got really good with direction st signs and ave. Going to the libary was trying to learn different languages. 

i think it lowered my bloodpressure by making me move around so much causing an improvement in memory. 

Ever since Dexerine or Ritalin my memory and eye sight was mess with as a kid.

Being on lex makes my eye sight clear and they look white in the mirror. Without it similair to a static tv somewhat blurred and outta focus.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Yeah i been on 20mg of lex. 

I just hated it. Way to strong it works to well. I would call that over kill. 

I was only able to sleep 4 hours a night on that. i was so restless. 

So sweaty waking up in a pool of cold sweat every night.

It made me weak I didn't like it for the physical labour job i was doing at the time.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I took my abilify at 1 instead of 6 and i'm pretty restless today. It could be that the higher dose I had in my blood has leveled a bit. Now it's having more of a dopamine release type of effect. It's also about time my Zoloft reached steady state at 150mg. So I won't make any assumptions just yet until both have normalized. It's not a bad restlessness though just need something to do or I get bored as hell. Even just reading a book relieves it.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Guess I'm gonna hit the gym. Been on hiatus the last 2 weeks because of holidays.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

You too eh bro. I constantly almost need to change my position. The test that i can tell how well im relax\restless is how long i can stay in a bath tub. Cause Dexedrine and Abilify by it self kinda made me stay in there till the water ran cold. But on these SSRI i can only stay a couple mins.

Well i applied for a job today at the mall. I go there enough i might as well work there lol.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

sweet man! Pick up some mall babes. Yah man I feel really relaxed after the gym as I get all that energy out. Man I went up in all my lifts. I love 2.5mg abilify/150mg Zoloft. It's good though because it keeps me working out. I remember feeling like this when I was a kid. I'd be sitting inside and bored out of my *** so I would get restless and end up going out biking or calling friends to do something. It's not restlessness more than it is just boredom. Try reading a book in the tub and see if you still can't sit long, I find reading a book relieves the restlessness.


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Yeah i been on 20mg of lex.
> 
> I just hated it. Way to strong it works to well. I would call that over kill.


I was also on 20 mg Lexapro for about a month, and found exactly the same thing. It made me a little too happy, to the point that I didn't care about much of anything. I much prefer 100 mg Zoloft over 20 mg Lexapro.

Looks like I'm seeing my pdoc in about a week now. I'm hoping he'll add either Lamictal or Seroquel rather than Abilify (which sounds more activating than would be good for me). I thought 50 mg Seroquel was great if I didn't mind either being asleep or wanting to be asleep for 15 hours, so not sure how I'd manage getting up to a therapeutic dose....


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@kehcorpz Ya i defintely shoulda asked for a higher dosage of Zoloft. What was i thinking only 50mg. 100mg woulda been better. ill go ask my viagra doc. Not that i need Viagra anymore. Alcohol and Abilify = lots of spontanous erection with the SSRI so far.

Im thinking about taking up reading again alot of my cognitive abilities are coming back.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@R86 thanks for posting your experience.

Did you find the lex had an effect on your eye sight as well?


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

Not that I noticed, but I wasn't on it for all that long. I was more concerned about the munchies that lasted all day, and about having to keep reminding myself that it really did matter a lot what I did and did not do.

Funny you should mention eyesight, I was just thinking yesterday while driving that my latest eyeglasses prescription suddenly isn't all that great. But that could just as easily be due to old age.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> @kehcorpz Ya i defintely shoulda asked for a higher dosage of Zoloft. What was i thinking only 50mg. 100mg woulda been better. ill go ask my viagra doc. Not that i need Viagra anymore. Alcohol and Abilify = lots of spontanous erection with the SSRI so far.
> 
> Im thinking about taking up reading again alot of my cognitive abilities are coming back.


This post is great! It makes me happy because I'm also happy on this drug!

It's the low doses. I've been reading all the good reviews on askapatient and the people that are getting the best results are on 2.5mg-5mg. The ones with problems are on like 30mg. I noticed my memory has gotten really good too. For example, I saw a porn star that I used to be into when I was younger and I actually remembered her name! I never remember stuff like that. It's insane all the info that is stored in our brains. hehe


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Even playing video games or watching movies i kinda find boring now. Think ill go to the gym today.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Weird I don't watch movies but I find playing video games really awesome. I've been playing Borderlands 2 and it's just great!


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## gilmourr (Nov 17, 2011)

I want interests back. GIMME. I feel like your 1-2.5 mg of abilify strat is going to make my combo awesome.

I want to finish my final year in the summer this year. I need to get this **** solved. I know it all comes down to A) Getting something with serotonin and dopamine B) Getting more gaba or partially blocking glutamate receptors.

It's interesting that when I go for rTMS, that they will be able to see how anxious I really am. They do something called a corticol silent period which basically shows your gabaB levels. And they do something called a short interval corticol inhibition to show your gabaA levels or something like that. 

What they do is they send a magnetic charge, which will basically cause an involuntary muscle response (hand twitching). Then they assess the corticol silent period as to how long it takes for your voluntary muscle to go back to normal. Depending on how long it takes, they can asses whether you have deficient GABA levels = severity of your anxiety.

And I think while they do the treatment, they check whether your corticol silent period is changing to show that you're responding. **** I want to be better, I want my life back again. Depression continuously unmotivates me after I start a project, get amped about it, and then quit because I have like a bunch of huge mood swings.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Yeah i drop the lex today and immediately i crashed.

That crap so hard on the body im not nearly as restless. 

I can only tolarate 4 to 5 day's of the lex my body is so sore.

I went back to sleep for a couple hours. I probably needed it.

I think the lex was making the games not interesting. By causing alot of restlessness.

Zoloft name sounds relaxing. Oh im just chilling in the Zo - loft hehe.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Just finish my workout it was alright i talked to some of the people at the recreation center. 
Some of the girl's said hi and i had a conversation with them. Wasn't too bad did a full upper body workout and 5min of cardio. I walk to and from the gym as well so i guess that can count as my cardio as well.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I find I feel very euphoric after a workout and a shower. How many days have you been on the abilify 2.5 now?


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Musta been at least 2 weeks altogether about 2 days back on 2.5mg. Maybe it the addition of the coffee causing the euphoria? Im thinking about trying this instant coffee i just brought. My bloodpressure is 140/100 so it a bit lower without the lex.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I think abilify may be raising my bloodpressure i want to eliminate it to find out. When im at bed rest my bp can be in the 130/80 but when sitting it can be high.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Hmm I don't see how it could increase blood pressure since it has no affect on alpha receptors. Keep in mind withdrawal from Lexapro could cause higher blood pressure.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I'll mention it here too. I woke up feeling damn great this morning after seeing the beautiful sun.

GotAnxiety: Keep in mind that if you just went 2.5mg you have to wait 3 weeks to steady state. In fact, if you stop taking Abilify you still have to wait 3 weeks to see if it impacts your blood pressure. Keep in mind it has an insane half life like Prozac.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Might as well wait 2.5mg out then drop it down. Ever since Effexor my bp been screwed anyways. Effexor at first lowered my bp then something traumatic happen. Now even unmedicated if i workout a bit my bp would stay at 140 over 100 for four hours befor it would dip back down.

My systolic used to be high and my diastolic low. But since the Effexor it the other around. It 

Losing 40lb should lower it by 20/10. That would bring me to 160lb.


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

I'm still meeting with my pdoc on Thursday, but now I wonder whether I might just wind up augmenting the Zoloft with Klonopin. I am no big fan of benzodiazepines, though I have tried Xanax and Ativan as well. The problem with the last two (I lump them together since I can't much tell the difference) is that they are so short-acting, and I can feel it wearing off suddenly the next day. This is on even 0.5 mg Ativan or 0.25 mg Xanax. I can even feel the urge to take more in order to make the resulting anxiety go away, which I have usually refused to do -- I'd rather have the 4-6 hours of discomfort than risk becoming dependent.

But yesterday afternoon I took 0.5 mg of Klonopin, which some say is like 0.5 mg Ativan and some like 0.5 mg Xanax in strength. Either way, my mood feels considerably stabilized, have even shrugged off a couple of incidents that would have made me significantly paranoid in the past. With the longer half-life, I expect it to wear off maybe tomorrow or Tuesday, and hopefully gradually enough that I won't notice.

Some say that benzos just mask the problem, but I will mention to my doctor about supplementing the 100 mg Zoloft with 0.5 mg Klonopin maybe twice a week. Unless he's really excited about it, though, I kind of hope he suggests something else.

Aaaaand since it seems to be expected of me:

*tl;dr* Is it even worth considering supplementing my 100 mg Zoloft (+ 50 mg trazodone at night) with 0.5 mg Klonopin about twice a week, or is it too much to expect it to help with intrusive thoughts / sudden anger / paranoid ideations?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@r86 you could try it, won't hurt. See this thread:

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f30/little-euphoria-with-klonopin-225706/


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

kehcorpz
I know you usually have a high sex drive. in fact, you could make a new thread on just this subject. 

But... even with the Abilify, has the high dose of Zoloft caused any sexual side-effects (plumbing, ejaculatory problems, or low sex drive)?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

metamorphosis said:


> kehcorpz
> I know you usually have a high sex drive. in fact, you could make a new thread on just this subject.
> 
> But... even with the Abilify, has the high dose of Zoloft caused any sexual side-effects (plumbing, ejaculatory problems, or low sex drive)?


I think abilify at 5mg lowered it a bit, but back at 2.5mg and it's high again. It could have been a transient affect that would have went away but I find that 2.5mg does better for anhedonia. The zoloft does increase time to orgasm but nothing insane. It's actually good for me since I get excited easily haha. But yah I think that zoloft actually increases sex drive because I mean I wake up in the morning and I'm thinking about it. But I always take high doses I only ever stayed on the low doses for a few days. There is an initial lowering of sex drive at higher dose but that goes away.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Orgnized the sh*t outta my room last night and rearranged stuff . I got more flow better space and increased zen in here now. 

Well I'll give 100mg of Zoloft a shot today and will see how i feel. Im gonna need to make another docters appointment and get some 100mg. Hopefully the 100mg will be better then the Lexapro Zoloft combination i was just trying.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Reading a case study where a patient with HIV significantly improved immune status while on abilify. The suspected mechanism of action is the ability for abilify to balance the hpa and cortisol in particular. This can be said about any antidepressant.



> Another possible reason for the improvement in the patient's immune status is an indirect effect of aripiprazole on cortisol levels brought about by improvement in depression. The dysregulation of the HPA axis function (e.g., increase in adrenocorticotrophin-releasing hormone and cortisol levels) has been associated with stress and depression in humans, and such dysregulation may negatively impact the immune response
> 
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2847761/


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Think im feeling alittle something on 100mg. I've been talking up a storm with random people wtf. It like im a social butterfly. Hehe i wish. Gonna go to the mall in a bit for exercise.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Will see how i feel in a couple days. My bloodpressure so high 160 over 100 at least it aint any higher. Probably doesn't help when ya take a benedyl and some muscle relaxants for sleep.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

why don't you take a blood pressure med? You can get some light weight ones that work well.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

There i just got another game to bring more meaning and purposes to my life hehe. That one of my favorvite sayings.

@Kehcorpz I could. But i don't think i need them. There probably bad anyways for ya. 

What light meds are you taking about btw?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

My mom takes enalapril and she doesn't get any side effects. She only takes a tiny dose too. 

You could try to eat more potassium and see if that helps. It is abundant in cocoa powder, potatoes, bananas, etc..

I just finished playing borderlands 2. Already put 18 hours in and got it 2 days ago haha.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Nice nice . I brought Duke Nuken Forever and Street Fighter IV hehe. Games are so frigging cheap!. Im happy i sold my xbox last year. Games that were 60 are like 15 right now.

im thinking i need a diuretic. Maybe my kidneys are ****.

I can't believe it already new years!. Im doing alot better then last year.

Last year i spent it stopping zopiclone ct that was no fun.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Nice I have SFIV arcade for pc. Yah man I never have trouble quitting zopiclone. I'll take it for half a year and then just be able to drop it by titrating doses.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

That intern chick docter tried to give that med to me. She forgot to give me the bloody scirpt.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Ahh that sucks!

You should have had her call it in.

Man Abilify just makes me so hungry, I just wolfed down 2 big cans of chick peas.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

You think milk chocolate would help? Darn i may go cook some potatos hmm.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

nah it has to be dark chocolate! Man potatoes rock, just boil them whole and then add sour cream or something.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

u 2 eh hehe.

Here a question for ya.

Whats the longest you took Zoloft for? And did it ever burned out your body like Cipralex?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I took it for a good 6-7 months in the past but then I switched things up to try and get rid of anhedonia. Since I started both remeron/Zoloft at the same time I didn't know which to replace so I replaced both. But now I've been taking it for almost 2 months and I continue to feel good. I think the abilify may work with Zoloft to keep it from pooping out. Only time will tell. I barely noticed anything at 100mg, just a bit but 150mg - 200mg you notice there is no doubt.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

So your mom gets no sexual side effects with the Enalapril? Sorry i just had to ask. Hehe.


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

Mixed review on adding my first dose of 0.5 mg Klonopin to 100 mg Zoloft. It definitely smoothed things over, and lasted a good two days. I like how it wore off gradually, unlike Ativan and Xanax which drop me like a sack of delicious potassium-rich potatoes 12-15 hours later.

But it helped only a little against anger (stupid people in the supermarket who LEAVE THEIR CARTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AISLE WHILE STARING AT PICKLES FOR TWO HOURS suddenly get my ire up), and hardly at all against the music constantly going through my head. Granted I consider myself fortunate that it's music rather than voices telling me to kill people.

So I'm hoping that my pdoc prescribes Seroquel or something similar at night. If so, I can kiss Z-drugs goodbye for sure, and possibly benzos as well. I'm sold on 100 mg Zoloft in any case, at least for now. It's been about 10 months and hasn't pooped out yet.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

^^ Good choice. Seroquel is way less addictive and habit forming then Z-drugs.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

GotAnxiety said:


> So your mom gets no sexual side effects with the Enalapril? Sorry i just had to ask. Hehe.


LMFAO! :wife


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> So your mom gets no sexual side effects with the Enalapril? Sorry i just had to ask. Hehe.


Haha, no clue she's 63 but if she's still got a sex drive good for her. I want to have one at 63. Although I hope to be doing 20 year old girls at the time, who knows.



R86 said:


> But it helped only a little against anger (stupid people in the supermarket who LEAVE THEIR CARTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AISLE WHILE STARING AT PICKLES FOR TWO HOURS suddenly get my ire up), and hardly at all against the music constantly going through my head. Granted I consider myself fortunate that it's music rather than voices telling me to kill people.


Omg same thing happened to me the other week and I actually moved the cart for a woman and said "don't leave it out in the middle you're not the only one in the store".

Normally I wouldn't say it but inhibitions are not as strong as they used to be.


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Omg same thing happened to me the other week and I actually moved the cart for a woman and said "don't leave it out in the middle you're not the only one in the store".


For some reason I'm glad I'm not the only one. It makes me doubly glad I don't have voices telling me to kill people. If I did, I'd have to stay out of the supermarket.

If this is the Abilify acting on you, then I think even more that it is the opposite of what I need. I don't need my inhibitions lowered, I need to be calmed down without ceasing to care about my behavior (if that's possible). I wonder whether my pdoc will prescribe a different atypical antipsychotic than either Seroquel or Abilify -- I know there are others, but I don't hear them mentioned often.

And now I'm off to play some games myself. I'm too old-school for these newer games (apart from Diablo III), so I got a PS2 and a bunch of cheap games and am having a blast. 

Finally, for some reason I'm happy to see your "Superman" avatar back. I have yet to find one I really like for myself, but Gai-sensei will do for now.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> Haha, no clue she's 63 but if she's still got a sex drive good for her. I want to have one at 63. Although I hope to be doing 20 year old girls at the time, who knows.


Haha! I see your longterm plan the same as mine 

Omg! That like the same plan i have of being 100 doing 25 year old girls. lollol j/k.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I decided to go back to 5mg. Ultimately 4mg is what I would like to try but don't have such a precise way of cutting these pills. Or even 3.3mg by cutting a 10 3 ways. Instead i'm going to take 5mg till I see my doctor. The reason is while my anhedonia has gotten better the calmness has disappeared since lowering it and I get a bit anxious at times. 

To be honest I didn't give the 5mg a fair chance since I also increased Zoloft so it's possible the anhedonia problems were a transient Zoloft effect. I will see how it goes till I see my doctor and see what he says.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Actually, was thinking about it and today I already just took the second 2.5mg to make 5 but tomorrow i'm going to cut the pill into 4 equal 1.25mg pieces and then I'll take 3 pieces to make 3.75mg.

I know there's some dose in between 2.5mg to 5mg that is perfect because while I lowered to 2.5mg the steady state of my blood was slowly going down as it has a long half life and it was a few days later that I started to feel awesome but then as time went on I started to get anxious. So my guess is that 3-4mg is the perfect dose. This drug is so strong even .5mg can make a difference.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Happy new year's ya all! Just over at my mom she making turkey diner since i missed it with my mom"s.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Happy new years to you too! Mmmm turkey.

Man I stopped taking zopiclone yesterday and I only slept 5 hours. It's no biggie I fell asleep right away just woke up sooner. It may be due to a poo I had to take though. Who knows we will see tomorrow, but yah I have energy even though I slept only 5 hours, geee.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

lol i got up early to. Got drunk last night. My mom salad was the best.

How was boardlands 2 compared to 1?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> How was boardlands 2 compared to 1?


WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY better. I'm actually quite addicted to it. I also always do all the side quests I just accept everything and then start selecting the ones I want to do. It's hard though, some say better to play in co-op because of how hard it is. I can manage though as I'm the best sniper in Pandora


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I took 3.75mg a few hours ago and talk about being hyper focused. I may be burning a hole in my monitor while reading.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

5 hours of sleep and only 1 cup of coffee and feeling energized and really good. Not manic though as I have been manic before and know what that's like. I'm actually going to have a cup of coffee cuz it tastes so good. On a side note I think I know why coffee makes me tired.



> When caffeine was coadministered the *Cmax and AUC of melatonin were increased on average by 142%* (_P_ = 0.001, confidence interval on the difference 44, 80%) and 120% (_P_ < 0.001, confidence interval on the difference 63, 178%), respectively. The inhibitory effect of caffeine was more pronounced in nonsmokers and in individuals with the *_1F_/*_1F_ genotype.
> 
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1884289/


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

omg hahaha


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

^^Yeah. i showed my roommates that they laughed pretty hard.

I had my ace inhibitor rampril in stock. So i decided to take it too help bring down my blood pressure will give it another shot.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Nice man let us know how it goes!

Man I'm feeling good this morning. I slept 7 hours this time, so I guess it was a one off because I stopped zopiclone. 

I got an appointment with my doctor on Saturday and I will see if he scolds me for having changed to Zoloft without his approval hhehe.


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## R86 (May 2, 2012)

Well, I just got back from seeing my pdoc and the verdict is 100 mg Seroquel to replace the 50 mg trazodone, or else 50 of each like I've tried before. He also prescribed some 50 mg Zoloft so that I can up that dose to 150 mg if need be. I have some experimenting to do over the next month it would seem.

My psychiatrist is fine with my occasional use of benzos or Z-drugs, but my hope is to discontinue them entirely except in emergencies. I'd rather take as few drugs as possible. But we'll see how it goes.

Thanks again for the advice, and best wishes for 2013 to all of you! In the meantime, I'm off to resurrect the Zoloft/Seroquel thread.


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## gilmourr (Nov 17, 2011)

Hey Keh, I'm guessing since you're taking abilify + zoloft that even though abilify is a partial agonist of d2 receptors that it still is stronger than zoloft's impact on dopamine, right?

Let me know if this is right... zoloft just affects the dopamine transporter. Abilify has strong affinity with the D2 and D3 receptors.

Zoloft creates more dopamine within the synaptic cleft, and then abilify uses the higher concentration of dopamine with its strong affinity for D2 and D3 receptors to grab those dopamine neurotransmitters and lock into the receptor.

I'm not sure if that's exactly how it's supposed to work--my mind is really lagging atm due to the major depression and just overall feeling of lethargy.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

gilmourr said:


> Hey Keh, I'm guessing since you're taking abilify + zoloft that even though abilify is a partial agonist of d2 receptors that it still is stronger than zoloft's impact on dopamine, right?
> 
> Let me know if this is right... zoloft just affects the dopamine transporter. Abilify has strong affinity with the D2 and D3 receptors.
> 
> ...


They work completely differently so they can only enhance each other and don't compete.

Zoloft works on DAT by stopping it from recycling dopamine from the cleft. When you have more dopamine floating around in the cleft it can bind to post-synaptic receptors and trigger an action as a result. If you recycle it, it will not be available to do that.

Abilify pretends to be dopamine and binds to D2 and D3 receptors presynpatically. But it doesn't create a strong action like dopamine does, it does a very weak action. The reason this is important is the presynaptic part. Dopamine flows out of presynaptic cell and enters that synaptic cleft. It can bind presynaptically and postsynaptically. Think about presynaptic as the sending part of a cell and postsynaptic as the receiving end. You send a stimulus and receive it and as a result you receive a reaction whether it's pleasure or who knows.

Dopamine can both bind to the sending and receiving ends. When dopamine binds to the sending end it tells that cell to stop sending dopamine into the cleft. That's what the sending end receptor is there for. Postsynaptic(receiving end) actually creates the stimulation itself. Now dopamine will bind in the sending end and tell it to stop sending because well we have enough. But Abilify has an insane affinity for the sending end of the cell, so it's already in these receptors and not allowing dopamine to bind. The difference is that abilify unlike dopamine is very weak in telling the sending end to stop sending, it's basically just saying slow down a bit but don't stop completely. So as a result you can attain more dopamine in your system.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I was thinking about asking the doctor to add 10mg of Strattera (Atomoxetine) to this combo. This way I would be attacking it from the DA/NE/SERT angle. I find that when I drink a lot of coffee I am so much more motivated but coffee also has a way of making me tired eventually. I'm guessing it could be the norepinephrine portion helping with the motivation. I know that wellbutrin was helping in that area as well. I don't want to take wellbutrin because of price, Strattera is generic and it doesn't touch nicotinic receptors or anything so that's a good thing. I have motivation right now but it's not as high as it could be. I get reward from doing things but I still have to force myself to do them unless I drink coffee in which I become super motivated.

Anyways, anyone want to comment on it with experiences or knowledge? David? Metamorphisis? Anyone!?? hehe


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

Hey guys, I just changed psychiatrists, and the new one just prescribed me abilify, brand name. 2,5mg/ day.

I'm dropping the Valdoxan (agomelatine).

How long should it take to start working?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@bacon you need to give it 3 weeks just to reach steady state. 6 weeks to see full results. Now, most people will start noticing a difference within a week or 2.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Oh man i just got some Ketamine. But i guess the drugs i am on blocked it. Go figure. I still got ton's left for a rainy day. 

It worked for my roommates at least hehe.

Im taking 50mg Zoloft 2.5mg Cipralex 150mg Wellbutrin 2.5mg Abilify 5mg Rampril.

Think im gonna reevaluate my medication situation. Im only on low doses of everything. But if i can get by partially using cipralex and maintain minimal side effects i rather do that. 

I want to restart from cipralex and build from there and see if i need the others. ive seem to make mile stone improvements just from that. Ill stay on the blood pressure medication of course for now till it runs out. It kinda effects erections tho.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

That or the ketamine was fake 

But you could try going to 5mg abilify. I've been doing a lot of anecdotal readings and many people seem to do well on 10mg. Some will say they didn't cure their anhedonia till 10-15mg. But I'd have to sell my left testicle, which coincidentally is also known as earth, to pay for that.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Ya it coulda been and there just idiots experiencing placbo effect wouldn't suprise me. It would be to easy to replace another substances for that. But they said they done it befor and that was it. Live n learn i guess if it was fake. Im never buying iliigel drugs again. I did kinda felt dissociated nothing special tho.

i coulda got some expensive imported german beers instead to bad now i guess i just gotta make more money.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Ya it coulda been and there just idiots experiencing placbo effect wouldn't suprise me. It would be to easy to replace another substances for that. But they said they done it befor and that was it. Live n learn i guess if it was fake. Im never buying iliigel drugs again. I did kinda felt dissociated nothing special tho.
> 
> i coulda got some expensive imported german beers instead to bad now i guess i just gotta make more money.


LCBO sells this one, it's freaking GODLY.










Thor himself approves.

oh wait lcbo is Ontario only.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Yum yum! Think I'm only gonna drink imported german beer from now on. It's so much better!.


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## gilmourr (Nov 17, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> They work completely differently so they can only enhance each other and don't compete.
> 
> Zoloft works on DAT by stopping it from recycling dopamine from the cleft. When you have more dopamine floating around in the cleft it can bind to post-synaptic receptors and trigger an action as a result. If you recycle it, it will not be available to do that.
> 
> ...


Really well said. Going to even save that in a .doc


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Just got back from my doctor. He gave me 2 month supply because he's no longer going to be at that clinic. He referred me to another psychiatrist. He told me he has never had a patient like me that knew so much about stuff, so that's cool hehe.

Anyways he was cool with the idea of Zoloft he in fact thinks it's better than wellbutrin as at least there are some studies backing it up. 

I hope the new person is as open minded. Apparently he warned me she likes doing talk therapy haha.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Ya i took 5mg of abilify today it made me tired again. When on it for awhile i gain resistence to that effect. Weird how it affects us differently.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Take it at night then


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

I'm going to try low dose of abilify one more time to increase my reward pathways in my brain. I don't know what's next? Opioids ? You learn fast kehcorpz, keep it up. Enjoy reading it.

I'm going for memantine + amphetamine again. Only thing that was sustainable on the long run.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Abilify is about giving balance to reward pathways. Keep in mind anhedonia isn't just having low dopamine it's having a dopamine imbalance between the prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens. Too high in one area but low in another will cause anhedonic symptoms. At least that's the running theory in research right now.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Interesting:


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I got my bloodpressure normalized some what 130/85. I dropped the Zoloft and the Wellbutrin for now. Oddly enough i started smoking and drinking coffee. I like Wellbutrin. But i don't wanna be on to many drugs. Im taking 5mg of rampril and 2.5mg of cipralex along with abilify still i like to keep that one. But i wanna quit taking it to reevaluated it effectiveness as an add-on and restart it eventually. I was reading it can block the effects of Ketamine. I still wanna investigate into partially using Cipralex maybe i can do 5mg 4 days a week and drop to 2.5mg for 3 days. 

Probably ill quit smoking again for the billionath time. I went about 40 days this time. I started up cause i drank 15 beers and couldn't sleep after new years. It was a dumb idea. But i had to get up to get to try and work. 

Im curious about Focalin or instant release Wellbutrin. Maybe they might be better for ocassional use. But coffee or nicotine might be more realistic.

Rampril has impotent as one of it side effects. But it kinda lowered my blood presure signicantly when i check it at home and it normal when i check it at the mall. Maybe i can get another ace inhibitor that doesn't have that as a side effect.

haha maybe it the smoking and the coffee lowering it.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@gotanxiety I can't give up coffee I just love it too much hehe. You're all over the map though, you need to pick some medications and stick to them.

Ok update from me since I haven't really done any really.

The cutting abilify to 3.75mg was short lived. I ended up just sticking with 5mg. The 5mg is working great and actually is much better for memory than the lower doses.

***I'm reading again (I had a brief time I read when I had the wellbutrin honeymoon period but that disappeared, with this one it has been consistent and actually started happening 6 weeks into it so it's not a honeymoon effect)
***Playing video games and actually completing them! hah I always flipped to newer games constantly. Finished Mass Effect 3 yesterday, awesome game! 
***Going to bed at a normal time and waking up nice and early and feeling really good.
***Not using any sleep aids anymore as I don't seem to need them.
***making prolonged eye contact without feeling weird(this one was always odd but hey that's how I was even though I didn't have social anxiety)
***Getting along with my family
***Socializing, even my friends have noticed this one cuz they try so hard to talk to me but I have always been very non-responsive and cold, now they say i'm funny again and chatty.
***Starting to become a bit goal oriented. I'm thinking about the future and planning things out. This one is just recently coming so it's still mild but I assume it will get even better.
***I smile! Yah I appreciate all the little things that others do, from morning coffee to opening the blinds and seeing the sun. This is how humans should function.

Anyways that's just a quick list for now I could probably go on but i'll just update it another time.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Yay. I just got Final Fantasy Xiii for the 360 about time they bust out games for that platform. Screw ps3. 

@kehcorpz Ya i wanna reduce the meds i take. I wonder if coffee increases DHEA. I need to even reduce my intake of that to one cup a day. So Abilify maybe useful to reduce hyperactivity that cool. I like how Wellbutrin can cause a burn out event. Wellbutrin can cause muscle tension tho and maybe protential prostate tension/problems. Only crappy thing Wellbutrin has so man halflife and Cipralex is so activating i believe maybe taking peroidic breaks can solve that for me and give my body down time or recover time. Abilify been good to me to i like 5mg better. That back during chrismas i was yeilding pretty good result. I dunno maybe 7.5mg will yeild better results. Im getting gentiall numbing but that could be the rampril. It not such a bad thing i got the desire still. I can last a decent time i hope.

Gonna quit smoking tomorrow.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Nice I think im the only person who hasn't played any FF games. I never heard of coffee increasing DHEA. I think you need to pick a drug plan and follow it, most drugs require being in steady state for a while before they give results.

Yes I also prefer higher abilify after experimenting. I would be curious to try 10. I will have to ask on Wednesday at the pharmacy how much they charge for the 10mg ones.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Just check it 140 at walmart for 10mg and same with the 30mg


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## gilmourr (Nov 17, 2011)

Hey Keh, you were on Zoloft and remeron right? I just saw on drugs.com that there was a major interaction between the two even though I don't see why.

I was going to do 15 mg of remeron + 100 mg of Zoloft since I need relief from depression badly. No Lamictal = major dips that just continue non-stop.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Yah it used to be believed that there would be serotonin syndrome with remeron and an ssri but this has been debunked with research. Although there's always going to be a case or 2. Some use it to prevent serotonin syndrome. I used to use 200mg Zoloft with 45mg Remeron and had no issues.

Remeron was great but pooped out within a few months.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

GotAnxiety said:


> Just check it 140 at walmart for 10mg and same with the 30mg


You can get Abilify for free if your yearly income is below a certain amount, $22,000 a yr. I forgot the exact amount. All you have to do is fill out your paperwork. have your pdoc. fill out his/hers and send it in. \
Bam!!! name brand Abilify for a yr, you can also do this for many other meds. that are not generic!


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

metamorphosis said:


> You can get Abilify for free if your yearly income is below a certain amount, $22,000 a yr. I forgot the exact amount. All you have to do is fill out your paperwork. have your pdoc. fill out his/hers and send it in. \
> Bam!!! name brand Abilify for a yr, you can also do this for many other meds. that are not generic!


I don't think i even made that much in my lifetime! Now what do i win? lol must be why alot of them crazies get there drugs for free.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I tried the abilify free stuff it's only available to Americans. At least it was when I was checking, maybe I was in the wrong area.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I tried 7.5mg of abilify today. Even onions taste amazing!. 20 hours into quitting smoking. Doing amazing. almost over the 24hour hump! 

i feel lightly sedated today. Could be from the lack of coffee and cigerettes. But so far so good i only had one cup of coffee. I dropped my rampril down to 2.5mg to reduce side effects.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I've decided to try 10mg of abilify today. 

Can't really tell the difference. But i think i like 7.5mg better. 

What are the dosages of Abilify they use to treat depression?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Well 1 day shouldn't impact you that much since it takes 2-3 weeks to reach steady state. I actually noticed the most benefits after 4 weeks. 

For depression it's from 2-10mg. Anything above 10 is usually for bipolar.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Cool. Maybe it would be the cheapest bet to get 30mg pills and cut them 4 ways. That only 35 a month then.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@gotanxiety I noticed my blood pressure has dropped since being on abilify for a while. I'm hovering at around 110-115/65-70. Typically I'll be right at 120-122/75-80. Will see if it persists.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

That good! I think mine been improving to. I just wanna keep it stabilized that will make me happy. Since i dropped the zoloft it been lower and i stuck with the cipralex. Im unsure if it was the abilify raising it. 

Phase 2 Im taking my 2nd break from from cipralex this is important cause i wanna see how i handle without the antidepressant. Maybe there a way into tricking the brain into not needing it. Seems like it getting easier to go without.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I do get increased tension in my neck and im noticeably more tired and slow when i don't take my antidepressant. Maybe ill bump it up to 5mg this round and decrease too 2.5mg this round for a breaks. Think i may need It daily. It so hard to take breaks. My days have been profoundly good lately. Just a little slower on off days. Im getting drunk tonight. I got 5 expensive german beers. Just gonna chill maybe play FinalFantasy i beat DukeNukem today.


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

One week in and I'm starting to feel a lot of stimulation on abilify. It's crazy, I'm more talkative, I can't stand still, I have to move around the house and do something with my hands. I can't just sit and watch a movie, I don't have the patience :b

However the insomnia is getting strong. I have to take some baclofen to go to sleep. I think I'll have to take my dose way earlier, like at around 8 am.

btw kehcorpz I think your new pic is a little creepy . Where's superman at?


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I like the new picture it more becoming  

@Bacon I move around like that normally. Maybe that why the abilify doesnt bug me.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

What dose of zoloft you guys on btw? 

im thinking of increasing my antidepressant maybe it will yeild a better response I've been fooling around with these low doses far too long. Maybe it will make the Abilify better. Hopefully this isn't the reason why my akathisa not to bad.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> I do get increased tension in my neck and im noticeably more tired and slow when i don't take my antidepressant. Maybe ill bump it up to 5mg this round and decrease too 2.5mg this round for a breaks. Think i may need It daily. It so hard to take breaks. My days have been profoundly good lately. Just a little slower on off days. Im getting drunk tonight. I got 5 expensive german beers. Just gonna chill maybe play FinalFantasy i beat DukeNukem today.


Just take 5mg and if you take it long enough all side effects will disappear. It doesn't make sense to cycle it since it has a super long half life. Yah I beat mass effect 3 finally which freaking ROCKED HARD. Now I'm back to playing borderlands 2 and darksiders II. The graphics in darksiders 2 are nice when you force ambient occlusion using NVidia card.



Mr Bacon said:


> One week in and I'm starting to feel a lot of stimulation on abilify. It's crazy, I'm more talkative, I can't stand still, I have to move around the house and do something with my hands. I can't just sit and watch a movie, I don't have the patience :b
> 
> However the insomnia is getting strong. I have to take some baclofen to go to sleep. I think I'll have to take my dose way earlier, like at around 8 am.
> 
> btw kehcorpz I think your new pic is a little creepy . Where's superman at?


Initially I had that restlessness where I had to move that subsided eventually but the talkative part remains. I'm always chatting up my friends now hehe. The pic is the misfits logo, it's a band. I saw someone else rip my superman logo in the forum so I had to change it to avoid 2 of us having it.



GotAnxiety said:


> What dose of zoloft you guys on btw?
> 
> im thinking of increasing my antidepressant maybe it will yeild a better response I've been fooling around with these low doses far too long. Maybe it will make the Abilify better. Hopefully this isn't the reason why my akathisa not to bad.


I'm on 150mg. I didn't really feel it before 150mg. I usually need 150-200mg. I may even go up to 200mg someday but we shall see if my new psychiatrist will be as open minded.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Interesting:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130110094415.htm



> *Dopamine Regulates the Motivation to Act, Study Shows*
> 
> Jan. 10, 2013 - The widespread belief that dopamine regulates pleasure could go down in history with the latest research results on the role of this neurotransmitter. Researchers have proved that it regulates motivation, causing individuals to initiate and persevere to obtain something either positive or negative.


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## meedo (Oct 4, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> I just went to a clinic to get my Abilify/Zoloft. Holy crap the doctor was defiant trying not to give it to me. He kept saying a psychiatrist should be giving them out and I kept telling him my psychiatrist is booked and it aint pretty when I go off these. So eventually after throwing science on their safety he agreed lol.
> 
> Man Abilify makes me less inhibited. Even when I was walking in the shopping center parking lot some guy had a box under his car and it was scraping. So I basically got in front of his car held my arm out for him to stop and started pulling at the box. We couldn't really get it out but at least we tried. Eventually he reversed it out lol. But yah I would never do that normally.
> 
> ...


**** that is awesome stuff!!


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

Thanks for the info kehcorpz. Do you still have bouts of insomnia? When did it subside for you?

I know you've played around with the dose, going from 2,5 to 5 mg a day. What difference does it make?

These pills are damn hard to cut in perfect half. These are so incredibly small. Instead of 2,5mg x2, it's more like 1,8mg + 3,2mg.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Mr Bacon said:


> Thanks for the info kehcorpz. Do you still have bouts of insomnia? When did it subside for you?
> 
> I know you've played around with the dose, going from 2,5 to 5 mg a day. What difference does it make?
> 
> These pills are damn hard to cut in perfect half. These are so incredibly small. Instead of 2,5mg x2, it's more like 1,8mg + 3,2mg.


I find that at the 5mg dose I sleep better as it gives me an overall relaxed feeling. This only becomes noticeable after it reaches steady state so you need about 2-3 weeks. The doses are different in that I will take 5mg much later since it can help with sleep and with 2.5mg it would give me too much energy so I had to take it in the mornings. The 2.5mg I still had some anxiety while the 5mg removed a lot of that. There's a slight trade off where you have less energy but also less anxiety. I find that coffee balances it out well though.

The ones I have are not hard to cut, in fact if you put it down on a flat surface and press down on both sides with your thumbs it tends to split in half on its own pretty close down the middle.

I just got a refill, I just cringe every time I have to pay so much. It will eat away at my savings. It was 115$ this time so it dropped a bit in price it seems.

I should add that I woke up last night in the middle of the night and had some trouble falling back asleep, though I did. I took 200mg of Zoloft at around 5pm so that could have been why. At this dose it starts hitting dopamine strongly through sigma antagonism, 5-ht1a and DRI action.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Last 2 days I have taken 10mg of abilify and I must say it's much more soothing at this dose. It feels really good almost as if dopamine is even higher at this dose. It's not a tired feeling either just soothing/calming. I'm only going to try for a few days and after I may alternate taking more every other day or something. I just don't have enough supply and see a new psychiatrist soon so who knows what they will say.


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

I simply had to discontinue abilify. At least the 2,5mg dose. After not sleeping for 4 days, my brain is a mess, and as I am just starting a new internship in a big company where the demands they put on my shoulder are extravagant, I simply cannot continue. Plus the anxiety is monstruous. I never felt so much pressure on my chest. I could barely breath. What's worrying me as well is that the effects are inconsistent: throughout the day I have periods of massive sedation followed by periods of hyperactivity and restlessness (the wrong kind).

I'll talk with my psychiatrist to see if bumping to 5mg or more would be smart. But now, I just can't continue 2,5mg...

Like you say kehcorpz, I'd rather have a nice soothing feeling than feeling hyper tense, I cannot continue like this.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

That sucks man! You have bad luck when it comes to sleep hehe. Yah 2mg is super activating. I recall the restless feeling, it's possible it only went away because my doc only had me on 2mg for a few days and then I went up to 5mg. I wonder if I stayed on 2mg whether it would continue. Ahh I guess i'll never know.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

Why is 2,5mg more stimulating than 5 mg?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Well from what I have been reading the insomnia/restlessness is actually transient and goes away for most people, just most don't wait long enough. Apparently could take 2-3 weeks and that's too long for someone who needs their sleep, but that's why adding a sleep aid like zopiclone could help.

My guess is it's more activating because it only really starts to hit the other receptors like 5-ht2c, 5-ht7, and alpha1 at higher doses. 

Dopamine itself would give you motivation but shouldn't really make you stimulated where you can't sleep. It's possible some people convert the dopamine to norepinephrine as it doesn't happen to everyone. I have read some people still getting this restlessness at higher doses too. For me it seemed more like a transient effect but I do notice more calming affect at higher doses but that does not mean at lower doses i'm restless, i'm just not as calm hehe.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

I don't know much about abilify. Does this also help against depression on its own if it also hits serotonine receptors?

And why does dopamine calm you down? Do you have ADHD? I thought dopamine only calms down people who have ADHD but not normal people.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Man i got some kinda flu. It been rough.

I Seroquel Xr 150mg myself to sleep for a couple days. For quitting smoking and this cold i got. Now im done with sleeping meds they all produce rebounds of some sort.

Gotta reload my abilify as well. I wonder how bad the withdraws are from that? Im curious anyone got any experience with that?

Gonna try 600mg of wellbutrin for 2 days to help me quit smoking.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

yay said:


> I don't know much about abilify. Does this also help against depression on its own if it also hits serotonine receptors?
> 
> And why does dopamine calm you down? Do you have ADHD? I thought dopamine only calms down people who have ADHD but not normal people.


At higher doses it may be used on its own but typically it's a combination treatment. But at high doses like 30mg it actually has some serotonin reuptake inhibition.

I don't think I have adhd, although things like coffee do calm me down.



GotAnxiety said:


> Man i got some kinda flu. It been rough.
> 
> I Seroquel Xr 150mg myself to sleep for a couple days. For quitting smoking and this cold i got. Now im done with sleeping meds they all produce rebounds of some sort.
> 
> ...


Yah there's some flu epidemic in the united states and it has come to Canada now. My parents both had it, I still have yet to have it though my throat is a bit sore this morning.

I actually took 250mg Zoloft and 15mg abilify yesterday and it was pretty damn good. I only tookt he 10mg-15mg abilify the last few days to load up and get stable 5mg dose into my blood quicker. Though I found the 10mg was a good dose, still today I'm back to 5mg and I'll try the 250mg Zoloft for a few days to see how I react.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

So are taking zoloft + abilify because zoloft alone didn't work or how did you figure out that you also need abilify? 
Does this mean if a ssri doesn't do the job then the conclusion must be that you need to hit more than only serotonine?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Well I wanted something that works on dopamine as I needed motivation. Zoloft was good for anxiety and such as I have taken it in the past. I also took Remeron which worked but pooped out. So I wanted something similar and abilify was similar in that it blocked some of the same receptors such as 5-ht2a and modulated 5-ht2c even though remeron blocks 5-ht2c. It also is a partial agonist of 5-ht1a which marijuana cannabinoids seem to bind to and I responded well to Marijuana in the past.

I actually took 300mg of Zoloft today and feeling pretty good. I like to experiment based off my experiences and tolerances and of course I take safety into consideration.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

I also thought about giving zoloft a try. Or maybe prozac. But I rather tend towards zoloft.
But now I also heard about stablon. I don't know what I should try first. It sucks that you have to take every drug for such a long time before you can even tell if it works or not. 

But I also don't know if zoloft alone would be enough for me. I do have anxiety and depression. But I also feel like cognitively I'm not functioning normally like not being able to concentrate and feeling spaced out often times. My memory is also not satisfying to me. Even when driving around in the car I often feel like I can't really pay attention to everything around me.

What would be cool if there were like questionaires where you're asked all kinds of questions and then based on your answers it tells you what you're most likely lacking: DA,NE,Serotonine.

Because if you don't know what you need then how can you even choose the right meds? Then you can as well throw a dice.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I wonder what type of similarities there are between Vyybrid and Abilify. Wikipedia for Vyybrid says:
"Partial agonism of the 5-HT1A receptor is a relatively novel mechanism of action and is also shared by the anxiolytic buspirone (Buspar), and the atypical antipsychotic / antidepressant aripiprazole (Abilify)."

I am just starting Vyybrid. I had good experience with Abilify in the past.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

yay said:


> I also thought about giving zoloft a try. Or maybe prozac. But I rather tend towards zoloft.
> But now I also heard about stablon. I don't know what I should try first. It sucks that you have to take every drug for such a long time before you can even tell if it works or not.
> 
> But I also don't know if zoloft alone would be enough for me. I do have anxiety and depression. But I also feel like cognitively I'm not functioning normally like not being able to concentrate and feeling spaced out often times. My memory is also not satisfying to me. Even when driving around in the car I often feel like I can't really pay attention to everything around me.
> ...


Well Zoloft is highly tolerated so give her a try. Listen thundercats it's not going to get any easier if you avoid drugs.



bazinga said:


> I wonder what type of similarities there are between Vyybrid and Abilify. Wikipedia for Vyybrid says:
> "Partial agonism of the 5-HT1A receptor is a relatively novel mechanism of action and is also shared by the anxiolytic buspirone (Buspar), and the atypical antipsychotic / antidepressant aripiprazole (Abilify)."
> 
> I am just starting Vyybrid. I had good experience with Abilify in the past.


Yah hope your vyybrid experience is good. It sounds like it has potential though quite new still.


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## pudderkiz (Jun 18, 2012)

I struggle with some paranoia and tought racing, it's really my main problems. I've gone up from 150 zoloft to 200, but it seems to have put me in an odd and agressive mood. Could this be what one would call a mixed episode?

The thing is, I know zoloft causes dopamine increase at these levels, and I think I might be sensitive to dopamine for some reason. I've tried wellbutrin, ritalin, concerta and Strattera and they all make me feel completley out of, like you have caffeine in your eyes and barbwire around your chest kinda feeling. The same happends with caffeine, I get insane jitters and bad anxiety.

Could this be related to too high dopamine? I generally become very socially awkward by the dopamine effecting meds, noticing this aswell with the higher dose of zoloft. Side effects of ritalin and sutch are: having difficulties with abstract tought, general small talk, motivation, feeling constantly bored, time moves slowly, a feeling of impending doom.

The feeling of impending doom might be what you define as just anxiety, but my anxiety regularly comes from my own internal pressure and toughts, tough most of my tought racing is gone with these meds, I practicly can't think of anything to say, do, or think about. 

If this med truly stabelize dopamine instead of increasing or decreasing alone I'd very much like to try it.

tl:dr Reacts badly to dopamine meds, could I have too much of it`?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Already responded to your pm dude 

and i'm having this right now:


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Had a great day today things are starting to return to normal. It been at least 5 days without smokes so i made it over that hump. Spontanous erection are starting to come back since i quit there flowing more fluidly. I remember when i was a child in school i used to get alot of those. 

Unfortunately that 600mg of Wellbutrin kept me awake for 2 days. I never redose either. But despite that i still got up and went to work. Wellbutrin must be pretty strong if it can have that kind of effect. Bad call on my part. But it got rid of the withdraws. All those metabolites and halflifes are so long and last forever. That can be a disadvantage to that med.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

Hmmmm... I'm suffering from anhedonia/emotional anesthesia, and I'm tempted to try Abilify because I can no longer "wait" until my god damn brain will want to recover from taking Prozac when I was 15 years old. This anhedonia is honestly ruining me, I'm almost 20 years old, and I can't even enjoy life. I never leave the house, because what's the point if you can't even enjoy anything?

I'm worried about side effects of taking any type of drug after taking Prozac. 

Kehcorpz, how do you compare life before and after medication? I know you said you can feel emotions again, but what about motivation/wanting to do stuff/being able to have interests, etc. I'm curious, because I'm honestly fed up with living like this... it's killing me.

I'm also tempted to try stimulants (ritalin/adderall). I don't have any anxiety (not even sure what that means, so I guess I don't even have it, lol.)


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## ironman28 (Jan 18, 2013)

Hi, anyone have anesthesia of the glans with zoloft?, i was prescribed but, i have fear of numbness

Pd: first post, sorry x my english


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

pudderkiz said:


> If this med truly stabelize dopamine instead of increasing or decreasing alone I'd very much like to try it.
> 
> tl:dr Reacts badly to dopamine meds, could I have too much of it`?


Antipsychotics work really well for racing thoughts and paranoia, Abilify included. I have the same problems. Abilify has good antidepressant properties as well.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@anhedonia, yes i'm playing video games, programming, stuff I didn't do while in extreme anhedonic state. Granted, it's not 100% recovered yet but i'd say I'm 75% there.

@ironman, if it lasts longer than 2 weeks I would get a doctors opinion or stop.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> @anhedonia, yes i'm playing video games, programming, stuff I didn't do while in extreme anhedonic state. Granted, it's not 100% recovered yet but i'd say I'm 75% there.
> 
> @ironman, if it lasts longer than 2 weeks I would get a doctors opinion or stop.


You see, with anhedonia, my perception of the world changed. Was that the same for you?

Did the world seem grey before medication?

With medication, do you have the desire to leave the house and do stuff again?

One more, what do you think about using stimulants to treat anhedonia?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Well as far as perception, I only saw humans like robots and our purpose here was simply logical to procreate/survive. Now was the world grey? I wouldn't say grey, it just lacked vibrancy and curiousity. 

I do leave the house and am comfortable in public.

Stimulants would definitely work and fast too, but long term you may develop a dependency and make the condition worse if you get off them.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

anhedonia said:


> You see, with anhedonia, my perception of the world changed. Was that the same for you?
> 
> Did the world seem grey before medication?
> 
> ...


Would you ever try going back on an SSRI?.

i believe once a person goes on one it may potentially alter the serotonin system so you may need it to function. I was the same without it i don't even feel the wind blowing on my skin. Music doesn't sounds as good either.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Well as far as perception, I only saw humans like robots and our purpose here was simply logical to procreate/survive. Now was the world grey? I wouldn't say grey, it just lacked vibrancy and curiousity.
> 
> I do leave the house and am comfortable in public.
> 
> Stimulants would definitely work and fast too, but long term you may develop a dependency and make the condition worse if you get off them.


Hmmm... interesting. I want to try Ritalin just to see how it feels like to be a normal human being. Don't think I'll use it long term though.



GotAnxiety said:


> Would you ever try going back on an SSRI?.
> 
> i believe once a person goes on one it may potentially alter the serotonin system so you may need it to function. I was the same without it i don't even feel the wind blowing on my skin. Music doesn't sounds as good either.


I don't know man... I ****ing hate SSRI's. Prozac ruined me, so I don't think I want to ever go on one again. I feel so hopeless, to the point where there's no point of even trying to get medication for anhedonia... I literally feel that all hope is lost. I just feel destroyed as a human being.

There is no motivation or desire to even leave my bed... I just physically force my body to get out of bed... not sure if you have the same issue or not.

Have you found anything that works for anhedonia (assuming you have it)?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

anhedonia said:


> There is no motivation or desire to even leave my bed... I just physically force my body to get out of bed... not sure if you have the same issue or not.
> 
> Have you found anything that works for anhedonia (assuming you have it)?


I think you have depression with anhedonia. I never felt that way, just logically there was no reason to live for me, nor did I have any emotion to complain about it. I simply made a decision it was cold, calculated, there was no emotion behind me not being able to enjoy things but simply I truly believed it was a dream and I had to end it. I thought that all the routine in life didn't make sense. The getting out of bed and talking about how terrible it is is a sign of depression. My guess is if you had depression that made you go on an SSRI I doubt it would go away and you could just stop it that easily. It is quite common to get anhedonia as a result of depression. It makes it easier to treat as you cure the depression you cure the anhedonia.

Just as an example. When I had anhedonia I could stare at a wall for hours, and I would do it without being bored. Time would just fly by as I stared at the wall. I didn't feel that it was boring or I hated it, this was just me and I was like a machine. I only realize how bad it was when I started getting a bit better. Now there is still different variants of anhedonia, but I don't think you are full out without emotion because of what you say. Full without emotion would mean you would act just like I and not even notice. You may have depression + anhedonia, I'd give the Ritalin a try I guess just to see how you react. But you may consider a long term solution for depression/anhedonia.

I went to seek treatment when the plans for suicide came about. I thought about it logically that we are supposed to sustain life and survive, it should be embedded in our subconscious to survive yet I wasn't planning on it, so I knew something was wrong. There was a lot of logic that went into my reasons for seeking treatment.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> I think you have depression with anhedonia. I never felt that way, just logically there was no reason to live for me, nor did I have any emotion to complain about it. I simply made a decision it was cold, calculated, there was no emotion behind me not being able to enjoy things but simply I truly believed it was a dream and I had to end it. I thought that all the routine in life didn't make sense. The getting out of bed and talking about how terrible it is is a sign of depression. My guess is if you had depression that made you go on an SSRI I doubt it would go away and you could just stop it that easily. It is quite common to get anhedonia as a result of depression. It makes it easier to treat as you cure the depression you cure the anhedonia.
> 
> Just as an example. When I had anhedonia I could stare at a wall for hours, and I would do it without being bored. Time would just fly by as I stared at the wall. I didn't feel that it was boring or I hated it, this was just me and I was like a machine. I only realize how bad it was when I started getting a bit better. Now there is still different variants of anhedonia, but I don't think you are full out without emotion because of what you say. Full without emotion would mean you would act just like I and not even notice. You may have depression + anhedonia, I'd give the Ritalin a try I guess just to see how you react. But you may consider a long term solution for depression/anhedonia.
> 
> I went to seek treatment when the plans for suicide came about. I thought about it logically that we are supposed to sustain life and survive, it should be embedded in our subconscious to survive yet I wasn't planning on it, so I knew something was wrong. There was a lot of logic that went into my reasons for seeking treatment.


Everything you say literally applies to me. I think I have depression, because of my anhedonia, not the other way around. You see, from my point of view, everything is pointless. I don't understand what's the purpose of having a relationship, going to uni/college, or even leaving my house. I can't enjoy anything... everything is literally a chore, and it's ruining me. Every single day is the same day, no matter what I do... like you, I could stare at the wall for hours and time would go by really fast. I can't get bored or anything... the hottest chick in the world could go down on me, and I wouldn't get turned on at all. I have no libido at all, whatsoever.

I became depressed because I was traumatized with things that happened in my life... I didn't have anhedonia... then I took Prozac, and I lost every single feeling/emotion. I'm never mad, happy or sad... every single feeling/emotion is literally gone.

Worst part is, a p-doc would try to shove an SSRI down my throat, even though I have anhedonia. If I can cure this anhedonia, I would literally be the HAPPIEST person in the world. There would be no depression, because I would be enjoying life again... but because of anhedonia, I literally thinking about blowing my freaking brains out 24/7.

I honestly want to get better, but I literally don't even that's possible... not with this severe anhedonia that I have. I literally feel as if my life is over, and that there's no point even bother with the hassle of getting better, because treating anhedonia is very hard.

P.S. forgot to mention, I also don't see the purpose of talking to anyone in life anymore. I understand that's not normal, but to me, it is. I just feel that life is meaningless in my case, and there's no point in even continuing this existence.

I don't think I even have the strength to try to get better, because I feel destroyed as a human being. Nothing is funny at all... literally, nothing. Nothing can make me laugh at all.

This quote perfectly describes me:

""With my self and emotions gone, life has been a completely non-existent experience. I spend literally all my time in bed and eating and have gained over 50 pounds. As the days and months pass, I am oblivious. I do nothing, yet I'm not bored.
The world is going by without me, yet I don't care. Because of this broken consciousness, no matter where I go or what I attempt to do, everything is a non-experience for me. Basic feelings about being alive that I always took for granted are no longer there. The concept and schema of summer along with everything it used to mean doesn't exist anymore, so the fact that it has passed me by doesn't matter.
If the area of my brain containing my personality, emotions, self, and psyche were a hard drive, it's as if someone has used KillDisk to format and completely obliterate its contents. None of those aspects of me exist anymore, and so in a very real way I don't exist. I can't "feel" anything towards this, because my capacity to feel has been completely destroyed. "


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

When I say I never leave the house, I literally mean it. I know it's not normal, but to me, it is... and I honestly can't see this anhedonia being cured. I wish it could be, but I honestly don't think it can. I don't even know what to do anymore.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

anhedonia said:


> When I say I never leave the house, I literally mean it. I know it's not normal, but to me, it is... and I honestly can't see this anhedonia being cured. I wish it could be, but I honestly don't think it can. I don't even know what to do anymore.


Im kinda like that too without an ssri i could be in my room for days. The ssri has side effects. But it made me somewhat functional and more objective with my life. Otherwise i just be in there playing video games. All day not moving barely eatting and sleeping.

Try any medication the goal is to become functional. Cause living that way is unhealthy. It sounds like it torturing your self. Becoming functional worth a couple side effects i think.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Im kinda like that too without an ssri i could be in my room for days. The ssri has side effects. But it made me somewhat functional and more objective with my life. Otherwise i just be in there playing video games. All day not moving barely eatting and sleeping.
> 
> Try any medication the goal is to become functional. Cause living that way is unhealthy. It sounds like it torturing your self. Becoming functional worth a couple side effects i think.


See, I already have no libido... I wouldn't consider myself a "human being" anymore, because I'm not a human anymore... everything that made me human has been destroyed (emotions/feelings/personality/identity) etc.

I do know that actually having a libido is desired (I have none, whatsoever. The hottest girl in the world would not even turn me on, at all) I know that's not normal, but to me, it practically is.

I believe this state is more than just anhedonia/emotional anesthesia... I think it's a rare form of hell that I never knew was humanly possible, and I'm not sure how long I can last like this. My mind is completely blank... my head just feels empty. There are no thoughts of any kind... it's simply blank. I think I'm a vegetable.

I'm not even joking, or looking for sympathy of any kind... I think I'm honestly done. I literally think I've completely and utterly destroyed as a human being.

I think I'm just going to lay in bed for the rest of my life... I know logically that it's not normal, but to me, it feels normal. I don't even understand why I'd even want to talk to another human being anymore. I don't even have the strength to "get better"... as my ability to care has been destroyed.

I do not care, I do not feel or have any emotions... to me, this sounds like a vegetable.

Well, if there's anything I learned in this very short life of 15 years (when I was actually a human being) it was pretty awesome to be a part of it, but whatever state I'm in right now, it honestly feels like a nightmare/living hell.

All I can do is think about the good old times, because those were the days... there was something magical about life that cannot be explained. The feelings of excitement was unreal... but now, when everything is meaningless, I don't even see the purpose of continuing this existence as a vegetable.

This state that I am in is honestly ruining my sanity, day-by-day. I think it's paralyzing me... not physically, but mentally.

I honestly don't know what to do anymore. How is recovery possible when you've been destroyed? That's something I honestly don't even understand.

Can anyone explain to me what's the purpose of leaving the house/talking to people/going out? Because I don't... not anymore. I know those were things I used to do, but now, I don't even understand why I'd ever do those things anymore. I've been completely annihilated, and I cease to exist, as if I'm on life support.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@Anhedonia My desire was hijack from an ssri as well. Oddly enough it only low when not on an ssri now. It called pssd for reason. Returning to the ssri will return some function it may never be the same again tho. Me my self only use low doses of lex for now i get way less side effects. I find sitting around doing nothing boring now. I can't stand it. I must do something. Use it or lose it they say and it true i believe. Sitting around doing nothing made me weak instead of being the men i coulda been.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> @Anhedonia My desire was hijack from an ssri as well. Oddly enough it only low when not on an ssri now. It called pssd for reason. Returning to the ssri will return some function it may never be the same again tho. Me my self only use low doses of lex for now i get way less side effects. I find sitting around doing nothing boring now. I can't stand it. I must do something. Use it or lose it they say and it true i believe. Sitting around doing nothing made me weak instead of being the men i coulda been.


Funny how I was placed on antidepressants when I was 15. Oh well, RIP life.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

That sucks. life is rough me too i was on drugs since i was on 7 just from that i guess i develop avoidment personalty disorder. Then i grew up thinking there was something wrong with me cause i was drugged at an early aged.


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## baxman (Aug 18, 2012)

anhedonia-if you truly didnt care and were as blank and absent-minded as you claim i highly doubt you would be typing out these long posts.i suffer from anhedonia and its nasty business but treating it is even harder.i have yet to find a med that works for it besides GBL and thats illegal.stimulants only made my anhedonia worse in the long run.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> @Anhedonia My desire was hijack from an ssri as well. Oddly enough it only low when not on an ssri now. It called pssd for reason. Returning to the ssri will return some function it may never be the same again tho. Me my self only use low doses of lex for now i get way less side effects. I find sitting around doing nothing boring now. I can't stand it. I must do something. Use it or lose it they say and it true i believe. Sitting around doing nothing made me weak instead of being the men i coulda been.





baxman said:


> anhedonia-if you truly didnt care and were as blank and absent-minded as you claim i highly doubt you would be typing out these long posts.i suffer from anhedonia and its nasty business but treating it is even harder.i have yet to find a med that works for it besides GBL and thats illegal.stimulants only made my anhedonia worse in the long run.


It's really hard to explain about the "not caring" part. I don't think I can really explain it in words.... you see, I know that anhedonia is the worst thing that can ever happen to a human being, and that I'm suffering from it. In a way, I do want to get better, but at the same time, I don't see hope and I don't care anymore, because I've been destroyed as a human being. I literally don't care about anything anymore... again, really hard to explain. I have no reason to lie, and don't benefit from lying... so why would I?

What is GBL? I'm not surprised that it's illegal though... I guess it's because it actually works.

I lost complete faith in humanity.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@anhedonia you need to get on some good medicine. That dinky dose of 100mg Bupropion may not help or may take a long time. You need 300mg to really get any benefits. But cheer up you're on your way to recovery as long as you're doing something about it and trying meds. It may take some trial and error but there's hope.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> @anhedonia you need to get on some good medicine. That dinky dose of 100mg Bupropion may not help or may take a long time. You need 300mg to really get any benefits. But cheer up you're on your way to recovery as long as you're doing something about it and trying meds. It may take some trial and error but there's hope.


In all honestly, what drugs can you use to treat SSRI induced anhedonia? I don't know man, it's hard to imagine hope in this state.

I just feel destroyed as a human being... I don't even remember what it's like to have emotions.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Try going back on an ssri you may get relief. it cause from the imbalence that the ssri created it can help restore it somewhat.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Try going back on an ssri you may get relief. it cause from the imbalence that the ssri created it can help restore it somewhat.


I'm never taking that soul destroying pill ever again, no matter what.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

How much prozac were you on and how did you discontinue it? If you don't mind me asking. Just curious.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> How much prozac were you on and how did you discontinue it? If you don't mind me asking. Just curious.


For about 4 to 5 months, and apparently it was a low dose (I can't remember how much) but my mom told me I took 5 mg.

I'm gonna check my drug history crap or w/e, and see what dosage I was prescribed.

I mean, this anhedonia is so bad I don't even want to shower ever again... and I know that's disgusting, but I don't care anymore. I really don't give a damn about anything anymore, because I've literally have been destroyed as a human being... that's why I don't think recovery is even possible. It's not because I don't want to, it's just there's ****ing way I can recover...

That's how bad it is... I left the house less than 20 times the past few years. No exaggeration, this is why I believe I'm finished. I cannot relate to humans at all.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Man i got busted.


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## anhedonia (Dec 29, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Man i got busted.


???


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I got a refill of 300mg of Wellbutrin. At the pharm the other day. Today i went to the doc to get 200mg of Zoloft 20mg of Abilify. I guess he checked or what ever cause i got greedy he said im to much a liability go to my family docter :-(

I told him the truth of what i did .

Whatever worst come to worst ill go see a real psych.

He only pretecting me right i might be in trouble tho.

They were writing stuff down n crap the receptionist was there.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Ive only got 7 1.25mg Abilify left then im done i gotta go to my family docter to get more. But he may fire me after this. Maybe. But o well.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

lol.,You got busted for abilify, wellbutrin, and zoloft. watch out, those are some serious meds. your trying to get!!!


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Ya no kidding. He just doesn't want me dying cause of an interaction or overdose cause it his ***. If i would stayed with 50mg of Zoloft and 5mg of Abilify it wouldn't of been a problem. But 20mg of abilify woula saved me 360 bucks. Instead of paying 120 everytime for 5mg everytime.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

You do realize that in Canada pharmacies have a unified database to see all your prescriptions over all pharmacies? It's to prevent things like you are doing. People do it with walk in clinics all the time, especially with oxycodone abuse. This was recently introduced, I know it exists in Ontario. You get flagged if they see things like that. Next time a pharmacist goes to pull up your info it is flagged.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Oh well i shoulda been flagged ages ago. 

im still gonna try and aquire more abilify.

Will see what happens. It was interesting if i wouldn't of got that wellbutrin filled and if i wasn't asking for such high doses i wouldn't of been caught live and learn i guess.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

YAh sometimes they ignore it as it's meant for the more hardcore drugs like oxycodone. I mean the stuff you are using isn't really a big problem but they still may be on alert just in case you get way too many prescriptions filled.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Ya he wouldn't of checked. But he wanted to make sure it was okay to presribe me 20mg of abilify he was okay with 5mg. Guess i got greedy :-(


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

In the U.S.
Schedule II drugs include opiates and amphetamines, like oxycodone and dex.,adderall etc.
When your talking Abilify, it's not even scheduled.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I've been adding 15mg remeron for bed time the last few days and man I have to stop cuz it's drying me out like the desert. I've been drinking so much and haven't had a bowel movement in the last 2 days. Damn Remeron!


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

That sucks i thought remeron suppose to cause water retention. Well im starting working full time again. Im getting off of social assistance this is about time i made my recovery complete it been 2 years.

Im gonna miss abilify for now. But ill have time to cool down off of it to revaluate it usefulness when i restart. Haha hopefully my boners don't go away. I think they might but that from the rampril.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

Goddamned 20 pages about those 2 horrible meds, they butter pumped a ****load of money in this one.

I saw a fancy text in the first page that the sellers use, stabilise dopamine, haha oh dear, reminds me i need to buy some more toilet paper to throw something interesting in this thread


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

crayzyMed said:


> Goddamned 20 pages about those 2 horrible meds, they butter pumped a ****load of money in this one.


why is zoloft terrible?


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

yay said:


> why is zoloft terrible?


It has the same marginal effiacya as all other ssri's, the only one thats a bit decent is lexapro because its very selective, works faster, and also kinda acts as a sero PAM ( a novel mechanism future ssri's can be based on).

As mono therapy they are weak, however they can be extremely usefull as adjunct or in combined regimes, as an example i currently take lexapro added to my regime.

Maybe your one of the cases where its a sero defieincy causing your issues but thats extremely rare, it may help some issues but if it does its part of the puzzle.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

anhedonia said:


> When I say I never leave the house, I literally mean it. I know it's not normal, but to me, it is... and I honestly can't see this anhedonia being cured. I wish it could be, but I honestly don't think it can. I don't even know what to do anymore.


Curing anhedonia has been discussed in this thread:
http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/59549-the-anhedonia-thread/page__st__30

As a conclusion only those compounds have been found as potential effective treatments, take in mind that several have severel issues with addiction such as opiates and GHB, the issues regarding some treatments should be further discussed, a potential solution for this is the addition ot naltrexone wich works for alcohol addicts that get prescribed GHB atleast in a few case reports.



> Amisulpiride
> Zyprexa
> Low doses of stimulants (with something for tolerance)
> Low daily treshold doses of psychedelics
> ...


This are pretty much the only options, however we are constantly looking for more succes story's, also take in mind there's a difference with anticepatory anhedonia:
http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/60431-the-anticipatory-anhedonia-thread/

Anhedonia induced by depression or somthing like that is not relevant to those threads.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

So it didn't work for you, no biggie. It's the only thing that has helped me with my anhedonia at about 75% remission. I found wellbutrin/abilify worked better but wellbutrin weakened my memory long term while abilify actually enhances my memory. I'm actually slowly dropping the Zoloft to about 50mg and then going to possibly add something with norepinephrine action but still deciding what to augment. I may even consider adding memantine and go the nmda/d2 agonist route.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

crayzyMed said:


> Curing anhedonia has been discussed in this thread:
> http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/59549-the-anhedonia-thread/page__st__30
> 
> As a conclusion only those compounds have been found as potential effective treatments, take in mind that several have severel issues with addiction such as opiates and GHB, the issues regarding some treatments should be further discussed, a potential solution for this is the addition ot naltrexone wich works for alcohol addicts that get prescribed GHB atleast in a few case reports.
> ...


Definitely opioids, as oxycodone does help my anhedonia tremendously. Not a good long term solution for me though.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

kehcorpz said:


> Definitely opioids, as oxycodone does help my anhedonia tremendously. Not a good long term solution for me though.


Opiates have 2 severe issues:

1. Tolerance, it appears that this can be counteracted by the addition of nmda antagonists like DXM and memantine.
2. The addictive property's, unlike other drugs of abuse a potential solution for this is naltrexone, however as it will directly interfere with the drug this wont work with opiates, however an alternative may be low daily doses of ibogaine wich is more experimental, if you need more information about ibogaine i can post that later.
Coadministration of rimonabant investigated for addition may work too, its like a weed antagonist, cb1 is also implicated in addiction but not so much as MU as mu is the receptor that actually causes reward (its very complicated, da causes wanting, individuals that have high da levels are far less less likely to get addicted while showing threads of being on "drugs" as an example being far more talkative and outgoing.

That said there are case reports of succesfull long term use of opiates just for therapeutic reasons, ppl have been doing this with amphetamine for ****ing ages, amp is addictive and ppl with adhd have a higher addictive personality and giving it to them works, opiates are more addictive but in the case of amp they fix a certain issue, so if its simular with opiates there may not be a higher risk.

Offcourse this isnt well studied but very pleasible.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

The study's using GHB for alcohol addicts are the ultimate example that addictive drugs can be used in a population where ppl get addicted easily (simular to adhd) the increased effectiveness in those study's after adding naltrexone clearly shows its not the replacement of a high that causes the effiacy.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

What's memantine good for when you don't have dementia? I thought this is only for dementia.

@ crazymeds

I took celexa and it did nothing. I thought maybe I might give zoloft a try since it doesn't only work on serotonine. I doubt that lexapro would be much different than celexa.


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## ironman28 (Jan 18, 2013)

I'm taking sertraline 50 mg and i wanna take tramadol is too risky?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I was actually thinking about dropping Zoloft and putting in tramadol. Simply because opioids help me with anhedonia. Not sure how strong its effects are though. Ugh. nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist

That's a deal breaker. Wellbutrin after long term use started screwing with memory.


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## ironman28 (Jan 18, 2013)

Tramadol is opiod and snri, but tolerance is fast for me


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

ironman I know but it is an nicotinic acetylcholine antagonist which will cause memory issues. I don't like that.


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## ironman28 (Jan 18, 2013)

I just take it for a few days and feels great, makes me calm, social, like instant AD, i discover tramadol by an injury


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

You don't feel your ability to recall information slowing down?


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## ironman28 (Jan 18, 2013)

kehcorpz said:


> You don't feel your ability to recall information slowing down?


i believe no, but i used maximum 4 days in a row, just for recreational purpose


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

So what you planning next Kehcorpz?

Strattera? 

If worst come to worst i may just go back on Wellbutrin and augment it with a low dose of lexapro 1.25mg to 5mg. 

If my docter fires me. 

I like wellbutrin. But i don't like all the metabolites and long halflifes it makes interactions a *****. And the nicotine antagonist effect on memory kinda sucks.

i got enough wellbutrin and lexapro stock for the holocuast.

I wouldn't mind trying another medication. But i fear my docter would say no.

Abilify was good. But to expensive. I took the last of my tabs i got one 1.25mg left and thats it.

Wouldn't tramodol produce the same withdraws as effexor?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Dunno yet, i'm thinking of maybe lyrica + Zoloft + abilify 1.25mg so that it ends up cheaper. Or baclofen + Zoloft + abilify 1.25mg. I want to see If that gaba study has any merit for anhedonia. Tramadol I would probably need to drop the Zoloft and just take it with something else. Abilify 2mg possibly.

Still have a lot of thought to go on. I also ordered some phenibut to see how I react to it. Although I would never use it as a long term solution. I'm just curious. It may end up a weekend thing.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Abilify goes generic in 3 years almost, bah.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

kehcorpz said:


> Abilify goes generic in 3 years almost, bah.


Prozac should potentiate Abilify in theory perhaps allowing for a lower dose to have the same effect at a lower cost.

Doctors used to use this liver enzyme method by adding Luvox to Zyprexa to save the patient money.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

jim_morrison said:


> Prozac should potentiate Abilify in theory perhaps allowing for a lower dose to have the same effect at a lower cost.
> 
> Doctors used to use this liver enzyme method by adding Luvox to Zyprexa to save the patient money.


Yah but Prozac comes with its own host of problems. My friend is telling me not to go off this drug. It's made me much more social hehe. I think i'll try Effexor though or who knows, maybe I could convince the doc of a dopamine agonist. I have an appointment sunday, so will see how she is and what she suggests.


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## ironman28 (Jan 18, 2013)

am adding modafinil to sertraline


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

Since when do doctors work on Sunday? That must be a very weird or greedy doc. Or maybe he wants to lure you into his office on Sunday when there's noone around to do experiments with you.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

In Canada doctors are 24x7 for walk in clinics, not sure how they are in Germany.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

That's cool. I also wish I could go to a doctor 24x7 would make me feel much safer. But you still need an appointment right? Or can you just walk through the door and say here I am I need something new and I need it now!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

yay said:


> That's cool. I also wish I could go to a doctor 24x7 would make me feel much safer. But you still need an appointment right? Or can you just walk through the door and say here I am I need something new and I need it now!


Depends, if it's a regular GP you just walk in, if it's a psyche you need an appointment


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

Is a walk in clinic a hospital?

If I wanted to see a doc on Sunday I'd have to go to a hospital. Depending on how big the hospital is they will have psychiatrists but as small hospital usually only has interns or surgeons.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Nah we have hospitals, walk in clinics and standard doctor offices. Walk in clinics were created to treat patients who either don't have a regular doctor or want to see a doctor quickly. They wanted to take the workload away from hospitals to let them deal with more serious cases. They are actually quite nice, other than not really knowing which doctor you may get. Though they usually only have 1 person per specialty, and a few GPs.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

Isn't it a disadvantage if you don't always see the same doc who knows you?
And do they have a record of your past meds?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

yay said:


> Isn't it a disadvantage if you don't always see the same doc who knows you?
> And do they have a record of your past meds?


Yah it's part of why Canada has created this unified database that pharmacists can see to view all the drugs you have been prescribed. It is mostly to stop people from abusing drugs like oxycodone. They would go to multiple walk in clinics and multiple pharmacies to get these opioid drugs.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

Woah, this means he can see ALL your prescription meds even hemorrhoid creams and really awkward stuff? Damn, this sounds really nightmarish. In Germany they also want to give every person a card where all data is saved on so that every doctor knows who you've been to in the past.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

And he can really see everything you have ever gotten from every doctor you have been to? I don't think that's okay. I think nobody except a doctor should be able to see this. Imagine you give him your card and he looks at the screen and then he gives you an awkward eye thinking boy what's wrong with this kid? 
I already feel uncomfortable when I go to the pharmacy and buy antidepressants cause they probably think he must be disturbed otherwise he wouldn't be taking this stuff.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

yay said:


> And he can really see everything you have ever gotten from every doctor you have been to? I don't think that's okay. I think nobody except a doctor should be able to see this. Imagine you give him your card and he looks at the screen and then he gives you an awkward eye thinking boy what's wrong with this kid?
> I already feel uncomfortable when I go to the pharmacy and buy antidepressants cause they probably think he must be disturbed otherwise he wouldn't be taking this stuff.


so many people are prescribed AD's that no one cares whether or not you are taking one, are you taking an antidepressant now thundercats?


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## exithumanity (Jan 20, 2013)

I'm taking Abilify 5mg, and Prozac 40mg. The Abilify was added 8 days ago, and I just don't notice anything. Is that weird? I think I might have treatment resistant depression.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Abilify and active metabolites reach steady state at 3 weeks so 8 days is a long shot.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

ironman28 said:


> am adding modafinil to sertraline


good choice!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

hmm 2 months of abilify or new tv?

One thing that I hope I don't lose out on after quitting abilify is the memory enhancing effect. I mean my memory has been awesome, but my guess is this is due to some remission occurring not the abilify itself.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Alittle update.

Well these last 4 days went good. I manage to work everyday im dropping my lex down to 2.5mg to catch up on some sleep and give my recepters a break. 5 days on 5mg lex and i notice black bags under my eyes. Will see how it goes. It's amazing how tired i get when i miss or lower the dose i slept 12 hours lastnight. I had a headache tho. 

I did get somewhat shakey when running out of abilify. That subsided quickly. Abilify did make food taste amazing my last days taking 5mg i had a feast for my farewell to the abilify. 

Eventually i wanna start driving and go back to school. Hopefully ill pass and get my english one day lolly.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

So guys it was a good run with Abilify and Zoloft but I saw my doctor and after discussing with her the price point we decided to cut it out. First of all I had a talk to her about my past and how I landed where I am because she's a new doctor. See now that I am on abilify and thinking clearly I was able to explain everything so well from the past due to my memory being so great. After some discussion it seems I had quite a lot of delusions and as a result she believes I have psychotic major depression. This also is the depression where Anhedonia is extremely common. So she doesn't mind the Effexor but she will want to add a low dose of zyprexa which could help with the anhedonia she says. First I am going to titrate up on Effexor and then add the zyprexa.

Now for those who can afford Abilify, I still recommend this drug if money is not an issue. It is a great drug and really helps if you have memory problems and removes the anxiety quite well.


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## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> So guys it was a good run with Abilify and Zoloft but I saw my doctor and after discussing with her the price point we decided to cut it out. First of all I had a talk to her about my past and how I landed where I am because she's a new doctor. See now that I am on abilify and thinking clearly I was able to explain everything so well from the past due to my memory being so great. After some discussion it seems I had quite a lot of delusions and as a result she believes I have psychotic major depression. This also is the depression where Anhedonia is extremely common. So she doesn't mind the Effexor but she will want to add a low dose of zyprexa which could help with the anhedonia she says. First I am going to titrate up on Effexor and then add the zyprexa.
> 
> Now for those who can afford Abilify, I still recommend this drug if money is not an issue. It is a great drug and really helps if you have memory problems and removes the anxiety quite well.


Psychotic major depression? oh god... didn't even know this existed. So the zyprexa is for the delusions, and on the side, anhedonia? Isn't the shrink making it sound more complicated than it really is? You really had serious delusions?

I guess you know how you feel better than any of us.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

The psychotic stuff also made me sceptical. I'd simply try the meds and see what happens but I wouldn't embrace the psychotic diagnosis and now go around thinking I really am psychotic. That could turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Good luck i had a friend on that combination.


Don't be a fool and binge drink on Effexor like me. Maybe it coulda worked out if i didn't do that.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Mr Bacon said:


> Psychotic major depression? oh god... didn't even know this existed. So the zyprexa is for the delusions, and on the side, anhedonia? Isn't the shrink making it sound more complicated than it really is? You really had serious delusions?
> 
> I guess you know how you feel better than any of us.


Yah about a year ago I had delusions like believing I would be fired from my job. This would persist even after I got a 15,000 dollar raise at one point. Like I believed my friends hated me and were always talking trash behind my back and my dad hated me. I always thought it was just paranoia but I was pretty convinced hehe. Either way Zyprexa will be for the anhedonia mostly as you would need higher doses for psychotic symptoms. Since I control these delusions with even all the drugs I have been taken I don't think it's necessary to have a full blown antipsychotic. Zyprexa is known to help anhedonia for some reason. I read mixed info on it.

I didn't tell the doctor this but when I was younger I believed Aliens were abducting me, like truly believed it. I had scars on my body probably from playing and hurting myself but I would believe that aliens implanted **** in my skin. I didn't want to tell her that because she would think I do have schizo or something. I got over that after puberty. But I mean I believed they were coming in through the window I had such a fear too and I wouldnt' tell anyone because I thought they were listening through the implants.

only reason im remembering this stuff is cuz abilify has really helped my memory, I love that part of it!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Mr Bacon said:


> Psychotic major depression? oh god... didn't even know this existed. So the zyprexa is for the delusions, and on the side, anhedonia? Isn't the shrink making it sound more complicated than it really is? You really had serious delusions?
> 
> I guess you know how you feel better than any of us.


Yah it exists and here is a good list of symptoms:


depressed mood most of the day nearly every day
noticeably increased or decreased sex drive (increased for me)
loss of interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day nearly every day
significant weight loss or weight gain, OR decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day (In my case I never could gain weight but I could eat like no tomorrow)
insomnia OR hypersomnia (sleeping excessively) nearly everyday
psychomotor agitation (moving more quickly) OR retardation (moving more slowly) nearly every day, so much that other people notice
fatigue OR loss of energy nearly every day
feelings of worthlessness OR excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick)
diminished ability to think or concentrate, OR indecisiveness, nearly every day
recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent ideas about suicide without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or specific plan for committing suicide
delusions or hallucinations
increased and intense daydreaming
In red are the ones I experienced.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> After some discussion it seems I had quite a lot of delusions and as a result she believes I have psychotic major depression. This also is the depression where Anhedonia is extremely common. So she doesn't mind the Effexor but she will want to add a low dose of zyprexa which could help with the anhedonia she says. First I am going to titrate up on Effexor and then add the zyprexa.


Join my Olanzapine / Zoloft thread 

Olanzapine has been fantastic for me so far. Good luck


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

A Sense of Purpose said:


> Join my Olanzapine / Zoloft thread
> 
> Olanzapine has been fantastic for me so far. Good luck


For sure man. I will be asking questions soon!


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

kehcorpz said:


> hmm 2 months of abilify or new tv?
> 
> One thing that I hope I don't lose out on after quitting abilify is the memory enhancing effect. I mean my memory has been awesome, but my guess is this is due to some remission occurring not the abilify itself.


I think it helps to calm the brain down so you can focus better. It stopped my racing thoughts what has helped tremendously.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

bazinga said:


> I think it helps to calm the brain down so you can focus better. It stopped my racing thoughts what has helped tremendously.


Did Zyprexa not do the same?


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I've never taken Zyprexa, so I don't know, but Saphris works the same way for me. It calms my mind and stops all the racing thoughts which makes my mind feel so much clear. Helps a lot with anxiety.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Yah it exists and here is a good list of symptoms:
> 
> 
> depressed mood most of the day nearly every day
> ...


I also have almost all symptoms in there. What does this prove?
The questions remind me of the southpark scientology episode where Kyle is being tested by a scientologist. "Does life sometimes feel vague to you"? Yeaaaah.

Young man, I fear you're totally depressed. 
I am!?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

yay said:


> I also have almost all symptoms in there. What does this prove?
> The questions remind me of the southpark scientology episode where Kyle is being tested by a scientologist. "Does life sometimes feel vague to you"? Yeaaaah.
> 
> Young man, I fear you're totally depressed.
> I am!?


Lol then you may have psychotic depression. Explains the irrational fear 

Seriously though that sounds funny because that's how naturapaths work. "You may have candida if" and they list a bunch of stupid symptoms that are super vague haha. Candidiases is so damn rare. The gluten free bs too. It's all hilarious.

At least those symptoms above are very real, who cares what you label them, you need to fix them is what matters. I already know it's possible since I experienced it. I mean my memory is so awesome these days! Thanks abilify even though i'm going off it.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

I also want an awesome memory.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Ill give you an awesome memory.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Ill give you an awesome memory.


Orly?


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## Milco (Dec 12, 2009)

kehcorpz said:


> Now for those who can afford Abilify, I still recommend this drug if money is not an issue. It is a great drug and really helps if you have memory problems and removes the anxiety quite well.


It's great that you've had good experiences with it, but I'd be hesitant to recommend it.
Abilify has increased my stress tenfold, messed up my sleep, given me severe restlessness and discomfort from just being in my own body and thoughts, clouded my thinking and inhibited my memory, just to mention a few things - and I'm on a quite low dose even.
It has not made me feel better nor removed any anxiety.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Think i may be more paranoid after coming off of it. I alway think people are talking about me or maybe they are haha.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Think i may be more paranoid after coming off of it. I alway think people are talking about me or maybe they are haha.


They're talking bout you, too? 
I thought they were only talking bout me.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Haha your paranoid too  Quite offen i go up to complete strangers and confront em.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> Haha your paranoid too  Quite offen i go up to complete stangers and confront em.


Really? I do this too. I like communicating with people.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

kehcorpz said:


> So she doesn't mind the Effexor but she will want to add a low dose of zyprexa which could help with the anhedonia she says. First I am going to titrate up on Effexor and then add the zyprexa.


Hey Kehkorps,

Do you know where i can find the pharmacological binding profiles/affinities for Olanzapine?

As in what dose it starts hitting what? I kinda want to know (much like there is rough ballpark dosages of effexor that start hitting specific receptor subtypes) how olanzapine works.

Cheers


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

^ select olanzapine from the 'test ligand' drop bar then hit the 'submit query' button. http://pdsp.med.unc.edu/pdsp.php


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

@ASOP: yah jim's site looks good.

Today I took 75mg of Effexor and about 4 hours after I felt quite calm and warm. I think this is the antinociceptive effect it has.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

My old teacher always used to say: Calm & warm is better than cold & convulsive.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

yay said:


> My old teacher always used to say: Calm & warm is better than cold & convulsive.


He was a smart man, plus I have the best avatar in the world.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

Nah my avatar is the best. Nobody messes with Lion-O.


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## Thorsten (Apr 6, 2010)

kehcorpz said:


> Abilify goes generic in 3 years almost, bah.


Do you mean generic within the US? I've recently purchased generic abilify quite cheaply, without any issues. Perhaps it's because I'm in Europe, though?

I personally don't care for the effects of abilify. It's dopaminergic modulating qualities kind of take away the excitement of life, for me. I always just feel 'ok'. So it's sexy actions at 5HT7 and 5HT1A (kind of sexy, modulating at this receptor too) are a bit irrelevant considering D2 is very important for feeling pleasure during moments that warrant it. That's why low dose amisulpride has greater efficacy as a mood booster (especially for anhedonia/dysthmia). It doesn't restrict what goes on at the D2 receptor. And if it isn't restricting what goes on at D2, it's actions at 5HT7 are going to be far more robust (abilify is potent at 5HT7).

In conjunction with an SSRI though, its actions as a 5HT1A partial agonist, 5HT7 antagonist and a 5HT2C partial agonist are going to likely help a great deal with potential side effects you'd get from the SSRI. Zoloft, for me, is intolerable during the adaption phase. Maybe one day I might trial it with abilify to see if it calms it down a bit.

In terms of positive effects though, Abilify definitely had decent qualities about it. Note, I only took it for a week at 1.25mg as a standalone agent.

Anyway, positively, I noticed; significantly improved libido and erection quality. I woke up each morning feeling very good (perhaps this shows how **** I normally feel in the morning). My mood was stable. No dips. I had lots of energy.

Negatives were: Worse quality of sleep, much hungrier and never satisfied with what I've eaten and hardly any joyous moments (everything seemed boring).

Overall, Abilify is a cool mood stabalizer. It undoubtably had an antidepressant feel to it.


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## caller (Aug 5, 2012)

Thorsten said:


> In conjunction with an SSRI though, its actions as a 5HT1A partial agonist, 5HT7 antagonist and a 5HT2C partial agonist are going to likely help a great deal with potential side effects you'd get from the SSRI. Zoloft, for me, is intolerable during the adaption phase. Maybe one day I might trial it with abilify to see if it calms it down a bit.


You have any experience with buspirone??


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

kehcorpz said:


> @ASOP: yah jim's site looks good.
> 
> Today I took 75mg of Effexor and about 4 hours after I felt quite calm and warm. I think this is the antinociceptive effect it has.


lol, is this the first day you took it?
And your describing these types of feeling ?
On day one at 75mg?
Give me a ****ing break!
If you can feel a drug like this that quickly, then you'll be jumping drugs, thinking orgasm in a regular cycle. You are already on the drug treadmill.
:roll


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

metamorphosis said:


> lol, is this the first day you took it?
> And your describing these types of feeling ?
> On day one at 75mg?
> Give me a ****ing break!
> ...


Well it's only day one at 75mg I took it at 37.5mg previously. In fact I have been on it for 2 weeks now at 112.5mg and I still feel it. This is a very calming drug which is probably why it's indicated for things such as social phobia. Don't confuse what i'm saying for euphoria, which is what you seem to be doing. I know the difference. I get euphoria when I take oxycodone. This is simply calming and raises my body temp a bit. I get a similar feeling from coffee. Although I doubt it's because of norepinephrine when it comes to Effexor since that doesn't kick in till above 150mg.

Thus far it hasn't done anything for mood or anhedonia but it is amazing at removing anxiety.


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## meffect (Oct 30, 2012)

I'm on pristiq 50mg for 1 week and have been on klonopin .25mg every day for a while.

Yesterday I tried adding abilify 1mg (2mg cut in half). Made me insanely tired and a little irritable pretty much the whole day. Then of course at night I'm wide awake and need an ambien to go to sleep.

Here's a quiz I did, i feel it's mostly accurate


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## Thorsten (Apr 6, 2010)

caller said:


> You have any experience with buspirone??


No, its weak affinity has never appealed to me. Plus, it does things at other receptors which I don't trust.

Tandospirone is far more appealing, but totally unavailable to us Westerners (unless you order through a dodgy Chinese chemical company).

Vilaz, also, is of interest to me, but I have no idea of how to acquire it here in Europe.


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## blanddan0 (Sep 17, 2014)

Thorsten said:


> I personally don't care for the effects of abilify. It's dopaminergic modulating qualities kind of take away the excitement of life, for me. I always just feel 'ok'. So it's sexy actions at 5HT7 and 5HT1A (kind of sexy, modulating at this receptor too) are a bit irrelevant considering D2 is very important for feeling pleasure during moments that warrant it. That's why low dose amisulpride has greater efficacy as a mood booster (especially for anhedonia/dysthmia). It doesn't restrict what goes on at the D2 receptor. And if it isn't restricting what goes on at D2, it's actions at 5HT7 are going to be far more robust (abilify is potent at 5HT7). In conjunction with an SSRI though, its actions as a 5HT1A partial agonist, 5HT7 antagonist and a 5HT2C partial agonist are going to likely help a great deal with potential side effects you'd get from the SSRI. Zoloft, for me, is intolerable during the adaption phase. Maybe one day I might trial it with abilify to see if it calms it down a bit. In terms of positive effects though, Abilify definitely had decent qualities about it. Note, I only took it for a week at 1.25mg as a standalone agent. Anyway, positively, I noticed; significantly improved libido and erection quality. I woke up each morning feeling very good (perhaps this shows how **** I normally feel in the morning). My mood was stable. No dips. I had lots of energy. Negatives were: Worse quality of sleep, much hungrier and never satisfied with what I've eaten and hardly any joyous moments (everything seemed boring). Overall, Abilify is a cool mood stabalizer. It undoubtably had an antidepressant feel to it.


I feel similarly. My psychiatrists/therapists have suggested these in combination becuase the result always drives me out of depression. But, in my experience I've always had significant weight gain and increased appetite, I am never as satisfied for as long or as effectively from eating as normally, just OK moods that never seem really influenced by situations that should stimulate good/bad emotions, and difficulty sleeping through the night. I wake up in the middle of the night with brutal migraines and dry mouth. I'm also taking a number of natural supplements, so it could be due to some of that combination, but I know some of these are normal side effects of zoloft or abilify. Does anyone know if P-5-P, tryptophan, MG Plus Guard, or Pro-EPA would interfere with the effects or worsen the side effects of abilify/zoloft? I do want to use all natural supplements if there is an effective combination. They just take forever to get into your system completely.


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