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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by temoigneur on December 13, 2005, at 21:20:42
Hi, I'm wondering if everyone could share their experience with Abilify. I read that it acts like a thermostat at the dopamine receptor, raising D(2?) levels when they're too low and lowering them when too high. I was wondering if anyone felt that abilify was unique to other anipsychotics in that it was regulating levels of an stimulating neurot. that might be seen as dopamine.
Please all experiences, positive and negative, welcome and sought, I'm Canadian so it will be difficult to access, and if I do I wanted to make sure it stood a good chance of being indicated. My dx. is Schizoaffective, with an anxious, obsessive edge. Thank you
Posted by med_empowered on December 13, 2005, at 23:03:30
In reply to Abilify experiences, posted by temoigneur on December 13, 2005, at 21:20:42
hi! yeah, abilify is called by some a "third generation" antipsychotic; the first generations was Thorazine, Haldol...the old stuff...the 2nd was clozapine, zyprexa, etc...and now, there's Abilify. No one's **sure** as to how it works, but it would appear that Abilify can both dampen dopamine (act as an antagonist) and boost dopamine (act as an agonist). This would explain why Abilify tends to cause fewer noticeable side effects. It may also have similar effects at serotonin receptors.
I have Bipolar Disorder, which occasionally has some psychotic features. I tried Abilify for a while; its OK at lower doses (10mgs or below)..higher doses cause more akathisia, anxiety, and depression (for me, at least).
Some people with schizoaffective find that abilify does more for their depressive symptoms than the other atypicals. No one knows the TD risk with Abilify, but it would appear to be pretty low.
Good luck!
This is the end of the thread.
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