Abilify And Teens (Page 4)
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My 13 yr old son has just been prescribed Abilify and I need to know if anyone has experience with their teen being on this.

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My 16 yr old daughter started with 5 mg then 10mg and her attitude has changed for the worst. Gained 15bs in 3 weeks. She is also taking lexapro for her depression. I'm going to seriously talk to her dr to review her medication. I'm not comfortable with Abilify did not like it at the beginning and after reading all your comments makes me really worried.

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My 14 yr old daughter was on Abilify for the past month. By day 2, it seemed that the aliens had come in the night and replaced my screaming, rude teen with someone who could do her homework and respond reasonably to other people. She has apparently been spitting it out for the past week. The screaming mimi is back. She also slaps her brother as she walks by him, and got into a fist fight at the library the other day. She is now openly refusing to take it. She complained that it made her sick to her stomach and sleepy. We started giving it to her at dinnertime instead of bedtime, which eased the sleepyness, and we did not go about 5 mg. At no point did I ever see her vomit or lose her appetite. I miss the reasonable, likeable kid very much. :(

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My daughter is 13, she has been on Abilify for the past 5 years. When she first started taking it there was much improvement in her behavior. For the past 2 years the anger has grown, I have continued to note the emotional immaturity with her Dr. as well as her therapist, it seems to be the cause for many of her struggles with friends & school. No one has ever mentioned that the med. can hinder maturity or cause anger. If I am reading the comments right it seems there is a significant amount of talk on this. Where can I find info. on these types of side effects? At this point I am considering taking her off the Abilify, which she takes 12mg., along with .1mg of Clonodine. She has been on some type of medication since she was 5.

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My 12 year old niece has been on abilify for 3 years and recently her dosage has been upped to 5mg. She is now having vivid dreams and false memories and seemingly has developed tardive dyskinesia with a facial tic in the form of eye blinking. Allegations have been made of child abuse and we think this drug my be related to these vivid dreams she has been having. Has anyone else had the vivid dreams that seem so real that they make you believe they are?

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*side note. my doctor started me on 15mg abilify, and it made me very nauseated, dizzy, weak, and eventually led to me throwing up. so i started cutting the pill in half, and that caused me to feel the empty feeling, and feel incredibly anxiety ridden. i started taking 2 2mg's and the anxiety still persisted, so last night, i only took about .5. maybe it won't do anything, because i am feeling a little manic now, but i just couldn't handle the anxiety. maybe i am a wuss for giving up so easily....

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I am 21 years old, but physically my body looks more like 15, or 16 year old's would. for me abilify made me have this empty feeling inside, (which leads ultimately to binge eating..) I just wanted to get rid of that feeling, and also the anxiety. eating is one of the things that softens the anxiety even for just a moment, for me personally. Sounds like your son may have had a similar reaction to the drug. i have only taken it about 3 weeks, but i can tell you, that it has made me want to eat a lot, when i took less than 15mg. but it also made me not want to sit still, i don't know if thats a lasting side effect, or just in the beginning. it made me extremely anxious.

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I dont know if you have recieved any help yet. I just read your post. My son is 18 and has behaved the same way. Needless to say this went on for over 6 months. Poor grades, anger, hearing voices. I took him to a hospital and he was admitted for 7 days and thru therapy and social workers talking to him. He has actually been smoking pot and experianced with bath salts which had caused a bizzare psychosis. The doctors put him on abilify which he refuses to take because of the side effects and poss long term problems ( would not recommend this for any child). He also is on carbatrol which seems to help him with control and concentration. He has not been diagosed with any mental illness. He has been out for a week and has been doing much better. He will also be getting ongoing counseling to learn to make better choices.

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How did you find out that you had a hormonal disorder?

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All the replies I have read on this site regarding abilify have been negative. My son is 15yrs old and has been on abilfy for 3months now. Within 3 days of starting this med, his depression was gone completely, there were no more thoughts of suicide. Within a couple of weeks, he was dramatically more focused in school. His anger issues were gone. Now, all of his teachers say how much better he is doing in class and his grades are much better. He is continuing to do very well. He did suffer from some side effects the first few weeks, such as slight nausea, headache, and feelings of passing out with some tachycardia. All resolved at the 3-4week mark, and it was his decision to stick with it because he said he felt sooooo much better on abilify. I no longer worry about him. He makes good decisions now and is finally a happy teen. Our relationship has gotten so much better as well. Two different antidepressants were tried prior to abilify which made him much worse. He has not been "diagnosed" but my son was having all the symptoms of manic deppressive episodes. He is taking 7.5mg. I believe my son would not be here right now if it were not for this med. I pray it continues to work for him. I would never tell anyone that this is the med that will work for them. But, as the pharmacist said, its hit or miss, you will not know if it will work for you unless you try it. Everyone is different.

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yes i totally agree,because i am also 16 and on abilify and zoloft because my mother thought i was getting to irritated to deal with school and thats why ive been getting in so much trouble.But for me it just makes me tired and irritated and just makes me wanna snap on everybody they just says hello to me..so yes you are completely right,teens should not be on this medication!!

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my son is 16 he has bad anger,very defiant does poorly in school, talks about fighting alot i had take him to a therapist and a phsychiatrist he told them he hears voices which he never mentioned to me before they want to put him on abilify i am so afraid about medication about the high risk of suicide i dont know what to do im trying to get any and all information i can get to help me, i told the doctor's when i tell him no about something he cant do or have then hell go into a anger rage if i let him do or get what he wants everything is fine , i dont know if one of his friends said anything about medication cause he is very eager to take it i would appreciate any HELP!

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When I was 16 I was diagnosed bi polar/depression & put on Abilify 5mg & SeroquelRX 200mg. I took both for about 6 months. In 3 months I told my Dr I felt like the meds were not helping. She upped the Abilify to 10mg and Seroquel to 400mg then to 600mg. Two months later I tried to commit suicide for the second time in my life and Im only 20!! I would sleep for what felt like days at a time. I then gradually got off the Abilify and never took it again. Half way into my 11th grade year I dropped out. Before I turned 18 I had my first symptom, I flat out fainted while doing my make up in a bathroom with my best friend. A few months later I had a panic attack while sleeping that literally made me sit straight up and gasp for air..I was so loud I woke up my boyfriend next to me and he was totally freaked out. I can remember that I was dreaming about a spider and it was just about to land on me when I started to panic. Then about 6 months later I had a 2-3 min tonic-clonic seizure where afterwards I pissed my pants and stopped breathing all together. Thankfully a friend was right there to do mouth to mouth. I sat up within seconds completely confused to what just happened. It was very scary and just felt unreal. I also have a social anxiety problem where I sometimes don't want to walk in a gas station! I also have restless leg syndrome every few months & that sh*t is annoying. But Im still standing strong, Im not going to let that pill take over my life. Im not completely happy but I can feel the spirit bringing me more in touch with myself & life. I do meditation & yoga & that helps me a lot. I also have an amazing boyfriend who always is there for me no matter what the situation. He is my angel & I couldnt do it without him, he gives me the strength and courage to keep living.

So all I can say is, a drug is a drug no matter what the label. Everyone is effected differently and it's all at your own risk. Abilify works great for some people, but for the others it's a long, dark and scary road. Sometimes all someone needs is to be reassured that they will be ok, that life is beautiful and full of great things if they can just make it to the next day. To everyone who is suffering from depression my heart is with you I know how it feels to want to die but face that obstacle when it comes to you, don't bring it upon yourself. Think of your favorite memories, your favorite foods, the people you love/the people who love you, listen to music, write down how you feel in a journal/diary, connect with people over the internet, express yourself with some paint, go for a swim, lay in the grass and look up at the endless sky. Step by step you can over come your fears and insecurities, everything takes time and it will all be worth it in the end. <3minnie

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Do NOT give your child that medicine

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aight im 16 n iv been on abilfy for almost a year.IT DOES NOT WORK THAT LONG.......i was put on it after my 2nd hospital visit from hearing voices to cut myself.....which sadly i did n i was goin on well 3 days at the hospital n they took me off my other 2 meds(riseridone n zoloft...i think)n put on abilify.....so wat it worked up until a few weeks ago.o wait i was put on it cuz im bipolar.i had a VERY violent outurst at skool.i almost severly hurt a kid who smirked at me n on top of that a couple of weeks ago i asked if my friend had a knife to cut my nails with(evry1 at my skool carries a knife not clippers)n a girl told the skool counselor n she almost told my mom n i wooda been sent to long term in another hospital......that IS NOT GONNA HAPPEN n then in that violent outburst i was ina half a panic attack i was so tense i coodnt breathe n i was yelling at evry1 n then i started cryin(which i dont hardly).my piont is my meds quit workin on me n now im screwed cuz i have urges to kill people n cut myself n i know i need help ut iv been "helped"in the past n nothing works....not meds not therapy....NOTHING AT ALL..... so for you religious ppl out there who comment on this DO NOT TELL ME TO GO TO "GOD" i am an atheist n i believe "god"hates us all cuz honestly i think imma good person deep down underneath all this anger n "god" lets ad things happen to good ppl.ut i figured since i saw this website id put my 2 cents in on ABILIFY n personally i hate it i hate meds to begin with but itll work for a while n quit...thats wat it did on me anyway...n no im sayin itll happen to evry1 who takes it so dont get the wrong idea.o n my dosage is 15mg which is as high as my psychiatrist will go.

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I myself am on this drug, as i understand it, it is used to help with people who have scztnaprenia, i suffer borderline personality disorder, but have the symptoms of the above. I find this drug is really helpful to me, it controls the voices and hallacanations i have, if you are worried about weight gain, ask your family gp, if they can prescribe help to get into a gym, or swimming or any physical activity, or if there is a care co-ordinator, ie, a cpn, ask them what help is available, hope this helps anyone, best wishes and care, love janine

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My 13 year old son was recently prescribed Abilify by a psychiatrist who spend a grand total of 15 minutes speaking with him. When I expressed my concern about this medication, the Dr told me I could always get a second opinion. So that is exactly what I did. I also learned that Abilify is considered an atypical medication, meaning an anti-psychotic. My son has not been diagnosed with any form of psychosis! Look before you leap. Just because they have medical degrees does not mean they know what's best for our children!

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My son,17, was diagnosed with Major Depression Disorder and was on Lexapro for about 6 months, he was doing good till he started school again and anxiety and panic attacks begun more frequently and more severe. He was placed in an outpatient treatment program 1/2 day school and 1/2 day program. While at the program another psychiatrist, not his regular, prescribed abilify (2mg), He completed the program about 1 week later ( originally a 20 day program but after they discovered that the insurance only covered 13 days, He somehow was able to successfuly complete the program in 13 days ) Anyways, 1 week later he had the first of 2 all time lows. He had strong suicidal ideations and his demeanor changed to that of not caring about anything. I stayed awake with him through out the night the next day we went back to the center where he was prescribed the Abilify. The following week not much had changed and his don't care attitude increased. the 2nd all time low was 5 days later and had to be hospitalized for 7 days. Leaving him at the hospital and seeing him in such a state of hopelessness was the most heartbreaking thing I had ever done While there I explained that the only new drug since his lows was abilify and I did not give consent to administer till his regular doctor evaluated him, His doctor did take him off the abilfy and his condition improved back to where he was before. We still struggle with his disorder daily but nothing like when he was on abilify. Since then, I have seen the Abilfy commercials where it specifically says that it is not approved for persons under 18 years of age. I wonder if the Dr who prescribed it, knew that.

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I am 21 now, and some of my worst memories as a teenager are from the time I was on Abilify (at age 16). I have heard very few people come off that drug with positive experience.
While I was on it, I had terrible tremors (which I later found out can become permanent, and may be linked to a life threatening disease (neuroleptic malignant syndrome)). They lasted 3 years afterwards, and I was on the drug for little over a week.
I also had ferocious sweating fits, night terrors, panic attacks, dizziness (to the point of not being able to hold myself up), vomiting, and an overall numbness to the world around me. I'm only glad I wasn't on the drug longer, because in many cases, there have been extreme weight gain and/or weight loss.

Not to mention there's a whole list of other horrific side effects like, fainting, seizures, coma, and death.

This drug should not be given to teens, let alone anyone else that gives a care about their health.

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16, depressed,
5mg abilify
1 day
shakes
confusion

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My fiances son was recently taken to a Dr who has had his license suspended twice. The Dr was recommended by child protective services. Anyways, he met with his son, who is 13, for an hour diagnosed him with asbergers syndrome (which is ludicrous) and prescribed Abilify and Buspar. I tried to explain all the negative side effects of Abilify and that some can be perminent but she isnt listening. I do not want him to struggle even more than he is already. I KNOW from professional experience this drug can cause suicidal behavior in young adults and teens and the younger they are the worse it is but because it is professional experience I cant share my stories with her. Is someone out there willing to share their story? Please help me help him!

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Hello, Has anyone experienced a relief in chronic pain while on Abilify. I am convinced it is this medication that relie...

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