# Has anyone taken Lexapro in conjunction w/Abilify?



## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

The reason I ask is because I've been taking 20mg of Lexapro along with Klonopin (0.5 mg 2x a day) and I still suffer from daily anxiety and panic attacks. I've tried most of the other SSRIs with no success and my psychiatrist told me he wanted me to start taking 2mg of Abilify along with my other meds. He said it might help the Lexapro work better and make me feel calmer. He diagnosed me with Aspergers disorder and panic disorder w/agoraphobia. He said people with Aspergers tend to have more severe anxiety, which I'm not completely sure why. I'm just starting to feel more and more hopeless and sad. Thanks for reading and any help.


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

I am also taking lexapro and my pdoc suggested this med to me. I'm not really thrilled to take anti psychotics for anxiety. However I might want to try it, but I don't know about the side effects (nasty with most AP's) . Hope there are more people here to share some experiences with abilify.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

While taking Celexa (essentially the same as Lexapro) I briefly augmented it with Abilify. It renewed my belief that one should never take an AP unless they actually have a psychotic disorder. I really think that augmenting antidepressants with antipsychotics, because the antidepressant isn't working, is a horrible idea. 

Sara, from the people I know with Aspergers, their anxiety disorders do tend to be a bit worse. I highly doubt Abilify will help you at all, that medication is being aggressively marketed right now and that is probably why you're on it. My advice is to get out of the SSRI game completely at this point and demand to try other medications that may help you.

I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. I have spent years in panic and agoraphobic with no hope in sight. I truly wish you the best. If your psychiatrist is unwilling to prescribe you more reasonable medications, I'd find a knew one. again, good luck.

Freesix, In my experience anti-Psychotics never improve anxiety I would not bother even trying it.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

As far as I know it's generally only added on to SSRIs for treatment resistant cases of OCD and depression. I haven't seen any evidence of it helping panic disorder or other anxiety disorders.


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

istayhome said:


> While taking Celexa (essentially the same as Lexapro) I briefly augmented it with Abilify. It renewed my belief that one should never take an AP unless they actually have a psychotic disorder. I really think that augmenting antidepressants with antipsychotics, because the antidepressant isn't working, is a horrible idea.
> 
> Sara, from the people I know with Aspergers, their anxiety disorders do tend to be a bit worse. I highly doubt Abilify will help you at all, that medication is being aggressively marketed right now and that is probably why you're on it. My advice is to get out of the SSRI game completely at this point and demand to try other medications that may help you.
> 
> ...


May I ask what the side effects were from taking it in conjuction w/Celexa that made you think it was a "horrible idea"? BTW I'm not on it yet, but I'm willing to try it because I'm very desperate. If I get out of the SSRI game, what am I supposed to try? Thanks for the input.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

On a plus side abilify is less likely to cause diabetes and weight gain. But more likely to cause restlessness and on 20mg of lexapro you probably got enough restlessness already i bet.


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## Konami (Jul 5, 2011)

Sara2012 said:


> The reason I ask is because I've been taking 20mg of Lexapro along with Klonopin (0.5 mg 2x a day) and I still suffer from daily anxiety and panic attacks. I've tried most of the other SSRIs with no success and my psychiatrist told me he wanted me to start taking 2mg of Abilify along with my other meds. He said it might help the Lexapro work better and make me feel calmer. He diagnosed me with Aspergers disorder and panic disorder w/agoraphobia. He said people with Aspergers tend to have more severe anxiety, which I'm not completely sure why. I'm just starting to feel more and more hopeless and sad. Thanks for reading and any help.


Sara,
all you can do is to give it a try.
good luck!


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

Sara2012 said:


> May I ask what the side effects were from taking it in conjuction w/Celexa that made you think it was a "horrible idea"? BTW I'm not on it yet, but I'm willing to try it because I'm very desperate. If I get out of the SSRI game, what am I supposed to try? Thanks for the input.


Mainly because every anti-psychotic I have taken (seroquel, Abilify and Geodon) cause psychosis like effects for me. Extremely fearful and real hallucinations and an overwhelming amount of lethargy/lack of motivation which makes anything impossible; especially overcoming a psych disorder.

Both Seroquel and Abilify lead to what could have been lethal side effects; compartmentalization syndrome in which my legs became extremely endemic. The overall effects were certainly not conducive to anxiety relief and in my opinion not depression relief either.

I have spent years very desperate and have moved from TCA's, to novel SSRI's like Mirtazapine and Bupropion - using the aforementioned in augmentation to augment an SSRI would be preferable using an Antipsychotic.

Currently I am having the most success with an opp pairing of benzos or anxiety and lamictal+buprpion for depression. Best I've felt in years but everyone is different.


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

istayhome said:


> Mainly because every anti-psychotic I have taken (seroquel, Abilify and Geodon) cause psychosis like effects for me. Extremely fearful and real hallucinations and an overwhelming amount of lethargy/lack of motivation which makes anything impossible; especially overcoming a psych disorder.
> 
> Both Seroquel and Abilify lead to what could have been lethal side effects; compartmentalization syndrome in which my legs became extremely endemic. The overall effects were certainly not conducive to anxiety relief and in my opinion not depression relief either.
> 
> ...


So you're saying anti-psychotic drugs actually made you feel more psychotic, that's odd. Were you on a high dose Abilify? Wow you've been through the ringer, I'm glad that you've found a something that works for you though, gives me hope.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

Sara2012 said:


> So you're saying anti-psychotic drugs actually made you feel more psychotic, that's odd. Were you on a high dose Abilify? Wow you've been through the ringer, I'm glad that you've found a something that works for you though, gives me hope.


Yeah, All three Ap's I have been on were like being on a 24/7 bad LSD trip. All three had their own additional side effects which I found miserable. I never got to a high dose of abilify because after being on medium doses of Seroquel and Geodon and quit the Abilify once I realized it was the same old bag of tricks.

The thing is I have never experienced any psychotic symptoms EXCEPT when I was on Anti-psychotics. That's why I do not recommend using them unless you do have psychotic symptoms (in whic case the can be quite helpful). But do som reading about how Abilify effects your various NT's and what the effects of that will be on your body and mind. From there, decide if that is an experience you want to have.

Unlike the commercials advertise, it's not just "Abilify may augment your current antidepressant and help you fully recover from depression." Abilify has certain effects and will have those effects read and decide if you want those effects. It doesn't just make your current antidepressant stronger or more effective; it adds a totally new a different drug and set of effects to your current condition.

Best of luck to y'all.

Edit: I realize my posts have had some misspellings, sorry about that I'm pretty tired and not proofreading as I usually do.


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

UPDATE: I have been taking Abilify (5mg) in conjunction with Lexapro and it really does help a lot. Just putting it out there, I would definitely suggest it to anyone who's on Lexapro or other SSRIs that don't seem to be helping enough. It's not a "cure all", but I'm definitely a lot more talkative with people and don't often get those horrible bodily sensations I used to get from my panic attacks.


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

istayhome said:


> Freesix, In my experience anti-Psychotics never improve anxiety I would not bother even trying it.


Already tried one risperdal it it made me even more depressed. Stopped after few days.

Good to hear Sara. I might give abilify one try.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Antipsychotics for me get rid of irrational paranoia and racing thoughts which has reduced my anxiety tenfold. It also helped a great deal to get me out of depression although not for long (bipolar/needed a mood stabilizer)

Abilfy made me gain a ton of weight so I take Saphris. I had good experience with both of them though. The effects were pretty instant.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I don't get restlessnes with Saphris like I did with Abilify. Aside from being groggy for about 1-2 days I, personally, don't notice any side effects at all from Saphris. It's weight neutral. It will also help you sleep like a champ.

I tended to have problem with the other AP's I tried.


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

bazinga said:


> I don't get restlessnes with Saphris like I did with Abilify. Aside from being groggy for about 1-2 days I, personally, don't notice any side effects at all from Saphris. It's weight neutral. It will also help you sleep like a champ.
> 
> I tended to have problem with the other AP's I tried.


I haven't had any bad side effects w/Abilify, I don't feel too tired or feel over medicated in any way. My sleep pattern is the same. As far as weight gain, I don't really have much of an appetite; maybe it's the Lexapro that diminishes it. I've lost like 10 pounds with my drug cocktail, so I'm happy about that. Abilify makes me a lot calmer and it does help w/those awful racing thoughts. I like how it slows down my sometimes torturous mind. I've never heard of Saphris, glad it's working for you.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

I am currently taking Zoloft and Abilify with great success. 2mg is going to make you very restless at first, it may not go away, it went away for me after I moved onto 5mg. 

Have you tried Zoloft? The thing about SSRIs is they are not all the same. For example, Zoloft, Luvox and Paxil are also sigma-1 agonists which make them better for anxiety.


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Have you tried Zoloft? The thing about SSRIs is they are not all the same. For example, Zoloft, Luvox and Paxil are also sigma-1 agonists which make them *better for anxiety*.


I was told by my doctor that zoloft can be stimulating (not great for people with severe anxiety). Glad it's working for you though. He said Lexapro was the least stimulating of all the SSRIs.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Sara2012 said:


> I was told by my doctor that zoloft can be stimulating (not great for people with severe anxiety). Glad it's working for you though. He said Lexapro was the least stimulating of all the SSRIs.


Zoloft is better for vigilance, memory and cognition no doubt. It can be stimulating at first but that usually balances out. Zoloft is probably the only SSRI that doesn't cause issues with cognition.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

That sounds worrying. Maybe having a benzo at hand the first few days on zoloft would be helpful in order to counter acute anxiety attacks.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Yah but it doesn't happen to everyone. I was never stimulated by it, simply more alert, I guess that's considered stimulating. But it wasn't anxiety. I think people don't understand what stimulation is.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

I drink lots of coffee maybe I'm immune to stimulation anxiety. Wellbutrin also didn't make me more scared.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Yah coffee actually relaxes me and makes me more focused. I consider that stimulating.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

I cant say that coffee makes me more alert. I simply drink it cause I'm used to it.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Not to mention it tastes damn good.


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Yah but it doesn't happen to everyone. I was never stimulated by it, simply more alert, I guess that's considered stimulating. But it wasn't anxiety. I think people don't understand what stimulation is.


Well, for me stimulating is like when your brain goes haywire. For instance: Going somewhere and hearing the music, peoples incessant talking, etc. all at once. Like your surroundings are just too much for your brain to process. I just get over stimulated, like I can't tune out certain things. That in turns brings on the horrible sensations in my body that provoke anxiety.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Sara2012 said:


> Well, for me stimulating is like when your brain goes haywire. For instance: Going somewhere and hearing the music, peoples incessant talking, etc. all at once. Like your surroundings are just too much for your brain to process. I just get over stimulated, like I can't tune out certain things. That in turns brings on the horrible sensations in my body that provoke anxiety.


Ok but that's not necessarily the point of a stimulating substance. If you take Adderall you will become focused on 1 thing easily and not distracted. So really there's different ways of stimulating. Any substance that doesn't "inhibit" could be considered excitatory and stimulating. It doesn't mean it will trigger anxiety. So the Zoloft stimulation is definitely not anxiety inducing for everyone and it's usually transient. Anything that is an agonist at sigma-1 will always end up relieving anxiety.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

I think zoloft sounds much cooler than lexapro. At least for me names also play a role. I mean if a drug has a lame name then I already have smaller expectations. Xanax for example is a really cool name. You hear it and directly think that this stuff has to be awesome. Remeron on the other hand is not a good name.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Sara2012 said:


> I haven't had any bad side effects w/Abilify, I don't feel too tired or feel over medicated in any way. My sleep pattern is the same. As far as weight gain, I don't really have much of an appetite; maybe it's the Lexapro that diminishes it. I've lost like 10 pounds with my drug cocktail, so I'm happy about that. Abilify makes me a lot calmer and it does help w/those awful racing thoughts. I like how it slows down my sometimes torturous mind. I've never heard of Saphris, glad it's working for you.


You should be fine then. Abilify gave me insatiable hunger which is why the weight gain.

Ap's are such.a god send for racing thoughts. I can think so much more clearly and my anxiety has dropped.

Ssri helped with depression related anxiety, but I don't take any ssri anymore. Lexapro gave me mania for 3 weeks straight. But I was unmedicated bipolar at that time and didn't learn that for a long time.

Iv had good experiences with zoloft, cymbalta and Prozac. I respond well.to.ssri.so they all worked fairly well. The only one for me that was stimulating was cymbalta. It's an snri and great for low energy type.of depression. None of them ever made me feel jittery Or overstimulated.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Sara2012 said:


> Well, for me stimulating is like when your brain goes haywire. For instance: Going somewhere and hearing the music, peoples incessant talking, etc. all at once. Like your surroundings are just too much for your brain to process. I just get over stimulated, like I can't tune out certain things. That in turns brings on the horrible sensations in my body that provoke anxiety.


I know exactly how you feel. Makes it hard to focus on anything because there are so many things going on. I am certainly overstimulated and things I used to love to do like going out in public overwhelm me. Fortunately with medication I have improved and don't feel overwhelmed much anymore. It's mostly Saphris (AP) and Lamotrigine (mood-stabilizer) helping me to feel normal.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Sara2012 said:


> Well, for me stimulating is like when your brain goes haywire. For instance: Going somewhere and hearing the music, peoples incessant talking, etc. all at once. Like your surroundings are just too much for your brain to process. I just get over stimulated, like I can't tune out certain things. That in turns brings on the horrible sensations in my body that provoke anxiety.


That sounds like Sensory overload. For some people (eg; those with ADHD) stimulants seem to reduce this and the anxiety associated with it by enhancing the brains ability to process the external sensory stimuli. 
It just depends how your brains wired really.


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

jim_morrison said:


> That sounds like Sensory overload. For some people (eg; those with ADHD) stimulants seem to reduce this and the anxiety associated with it by enhancing the brains ability to process the external sensory stimuli.
> It just depends how your brains wired really.


I was diagnosed with Aspergers which is part of the autism spectrum. I know sensory issues are a problem with people on the spectrum, so I can see what you're saying. I told my doc about my racing thoughts, brain overload issues and focusing problems and he never suggested anything stimulating, he seemed to be veering from that.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

I also have this sensory overload stuff. I tried to describe it to my doc but he didn't really jump onto it. Like when too much stuff is going on around me I feel kinda hyper as if I'm being sleep deprived. Very unpleasant feeling.


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

The above symptoms you all mention sound like me. I am always overloaded. 
Damn, I have all of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia (no hallucinations or hearing voices.) Now I´m really willing to try anti-psychotics one more time. Put me on anti-psychotics!


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Then Zoloft would be perfect for all you. 
It organizes all those out of control thoughts. Abilify sure as hell makes it work better.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

But if a person has ADD then I don't know if APs would be the right choice. 
Would be interesting to compare ritalin and abilify.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I've had pretty good experiences with Antipsychotics. Works great for racing thoughts and paranoia.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

How'd you know you have paranoia?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

thundercats said:


> How'd you know you have paranoia?


You read all the side effects from a drug and get scared of taking it.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Primarily feelings of being watched.

Ever since I've been on saphris I.don't really feel.like that anymore. My mind is clear and more organized. I don't even have clang associations anymore.


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

bazinga said:


> Primarily feelings of being watched.


Wow, I have that too!


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Sara2012 said:


> Wow, I have that too!


We have a lot in common.

I would do silly stuff like adjust every one of my car mirrors.so.noone could look.at me including myself. Dangerous. I don't know why but mirrors made me super nervous. Twitchy-nervous. And going out in public is a trip when you get the feeling every single person is looking at you. I felt that everywhere. In public. At home. Inside/outside.

Mostly just irrational.fears. I have moved onto better stuff to worry myself to death with.


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

Lol I was paranoid about cameras. My work laptop had a camera on it and I put a piece of tape over it so they couldn't turn it on remotely. HAHAH

Anywhere I went I thought everyone was looking at me.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I'd do stuff like that too. Unplug things just in case someone is listening.


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## ricca91 (Mar 11, 2012)

kehcorpz said:


> Lol I was paranoid about cameras. My work laptop had a camera on it and I put a piece of tape over it so they couldn't turn it on remotely. HAHAH
> 
> Anywhere I went I thought everyone was looking at me.


Me too man! It also happened to me with cellphones, I used to think that someone could listen to me through the mic. I still have these things sometimes though...


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

^ I get what you guys and gals are describing too. I've always had it at a low level. The only atypical I've been on is Seroquel @ 150mg, didn't really help with those thoughts but I guess it's a low dose.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

I also cover the camera of my laptop. That's not paranoid.


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

bazinga said:


> Primarily feelings of being watched.


I have that too, and now itś fully blown because I know it happens right now to me all the ****ing time even behind the computer because they are looking tracking at me. Im trapped now.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Have you ever had one of those black helicopters hover over your house and when you go into the garden and stare at it and then all of a sudden it takes off in a hurry?


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## riptide991 (Feb 1, 2012)

thundercats said:


> I also cover the camera of my laptop. That's not paranoid.


Sure it is. The chances that someone is watching you is less than winning the lottery.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

No it's not. I have a lot of online enemies. They could easily be trying to spy on me. Also neighbors could try to hack themselves into my wifi and then spy on me. Way too risky.


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)




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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@Sara in what way is abilify helping u with the lexapro?

@istayhome what were the doses of the anti psychotics u were takin?


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## Sara2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

GotAnxiety said:


> @Sara in what way is abilify helping u with the lexapro?


It basically helped by stabilizing my mood somewhat. I was still getting anxious even on 20mg of Lexapro and I'm also taking Klonopin. It just has a calming effect for me. I had a lot of racing thoughts/disoriented thinking and it helps slow it down a bit. It basically is supposed enhance the effects of SSRIs when they are not doing enough for you.


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