Schizotypal Disorder Resources & Support Forum

Morning, everyone.

I was just wondering what experiences other people had had with Abilify, in any dose, specifically if you had experienced any apathy resulting from the medication.

I ask because I underwent a severe bout of apathy while taking Abilify, to which I attributed a causal relationship. Since then, I've wondered if I may have made a spurious correlation.

Any experiences with the drug would be appreciated.

~Matt

Good morning, Matt!

So far my experience with Abilify has been pretty much side-effect free. I was told it would be activating rather than sedating, but unfortunately I haven't felt that side effect either. I take it at night because it helps me sleep!

What you're describing sounds like negative symptoms (apathy, avolition, anhedonia, flat affect), which can be symptoms of StPD. Personally, I struggle a lot with these things too, but for me it began way before I started Abillify. I was really hoping Abilify would help me out here, but I guess I was unlucky. As far as I know, there is no official drug to treat negative symptoms yet.

If you feel that the onset of these symptoms came after you started Abilify, this is definitely something to take up with pdoc. How long have you been on it, and what is your dose? Are you still titrating?

I find it activating - sometimes a little too much, I get restless. It completely knocked me out during the first week, but after that I didn't feel much. It takes good care of the symptoms, so as long as I can manage the restlessness, I think it's all right.

I think you should ask your doctor about it too - maybe he/she's heard about Abilify making people apathetic before.

Hello Matt

Abilify was the worst drug for me, the akathesia was so bad. Now I'm on Seroquel, which is okay. I've heard that some people find it sedating, but I've never heard of anyone becoming apathetic from it.

I started taking Abilify one month ago, as an augmentation to an antidepressant. Apathy is the predominant result. While it does seem to improve my overall mood, I just can't find the will to do anything discretionary. At work, I can barely function because of these waves of apathy that occur, where I simply want to put my head on my desk and nap. (Which I do when I can get away with it.) And I've been sleeping much more than usual, to tackle the sedative aspect of it I suppose, though with no refreshing results. I'm going to ask my doctor to take me off of Abilify later today during my monthly visit.