atypical antipsychotic1 medication Abilify - generic aripiprazole - was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in treating schizophrenia in November 2002. The black box warning regarding suicidality in children and young adults emphasizes that this medicine is not approved to treat mood disorders in children. Off-label prescriptions of Abilify to treat bipolar disorder became common while the medication was still in clinical trials for bipolar mania.

Abilify's FDA Approval History
In September 2004, Abilify was approved to treat manic and mixed episodes, and in March 2005, further approval was granted for maintenance therapy in bipolar disorder. In October 2007, FDA approval was granted for treatment of schizophrenia in patients ages 13 to 17, and in November 2007, although Abilify is not an antidepressant, it was approved for the adjunctive treatment of adults with major depressive disorder. At that time, a new warning was added to the black box regarding suicidality and antidepressants in children, adolescents and young adults.


What Abilify is Used For
Abilify treats the same symptoms of schizophrenia as other drugs such as Zyprexa (olanzapine), Risperdal (risperidone) and Geodon (ziprasidone) - symptoms that are also found in manic episodes of bipolar disorder and in schizoaffective disorder. These include:
Delusions2
Paranoia3
Hallucinations4
and others.


How Abilify Works
The mechanism of Abilify is different from other medications used for the same symptoms. Most antipsychotics work by shutting down dopamine receptors; Abilify appears to work by forcing these receptors to behave more normally. In clinical trials, most patients lost a limited amount of weight on Abilify, which is an improvement over medications like Zyprexa; however, it should be noted that about five percent of patients gained seven percent or more of their initial body weight. Abilify was also found to be less likely than older antipsychotics to cause tardive dyskinesia5.
Other important facts about Abilify
It may be one to four weeks before you notice improvement of symptoms.
Low blood pressure and lightheadedness can result. Do not take Abilify if you you have a cardiac condition.
May cause drowsiness, so take the usual precautions regarding driving, etc., until you know how you will react.
A higher dosage of Abilify may be needed if you are taking Tegretol (carbamazepine). This was not true of Depakote (valproic acid) or Lithium.
A lower dosage of Abilify may be needed if you are taking Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine) or other SSRI medications.
Most common side effects were headache, anxiety, insomnia and nausea; however, these side effects were also the most common with placebo. In fact, although 20 percent of patients in clinical trials experienced anxiety with Abilify, 17 percent of those on placebo did, too.
Do not drink alcohol while you are taking Abilify.
Do not breastfeed when taking Abilify.
If you experience rash or anxiety attack symptoms, contact your doctor immediately.
Avoid overheating and dehydration.
Animal studies suggest Abilify may cause birth defects. The manufacturer advises that Abilify should only be used during pregnancy if the potential benefits outweigh the risks to the fetus.
Abilify carries the following black box warning:
WARNING: INCREASED MORTALITY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA-RELATED PSYCHOSIS
Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death compared to placebo. Analyses of seventeen placebo-controlled trials (modal duration of 10 weeks) in these patients revealed a risk of death in the drug-treated patients of between 1.6 to 1.7 times that seen in placebo-treated patients. Over the course of a typical 10 week controlled trial, the rate of death in drug-treated patients was about 4.5%, compared to a rate of about 2.6% in the placebo group. Although the causes of death were varied, most of the deaths appeared to be either cardiovascular (e.g., heart failure, sudden death) or infections (e.g., pneumonia) in nature. ABILIFY (aripiprazole) is not approved for the treatment of patients with Dementia-Related Psychosis.

WARNING: SUICIDALITY AND ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. Children, adolescents, and young adults taking antidepressants for Major Depressive Disorder and other psychiatric disorders are at increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior.

Other Cautions
Rare cases of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) have been reported by patients taking Abilify. Review the symptoms of NMS6 and seek emergency help if you should experience them.

Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and diabetes have been reported with antipsychotic medications. At this time there are few reports of hyperglycemia in patients treated with Abilify, but the data are incomplete. Fasting blood-glucose monitoring should be done on all patients taking atypical antipsychotic medications.
Pediatric Use
Abilify is now approved for adolescents aged 13 to 17, and is being studied for children below that age. Two chart reviews found that 67 to 71 percent of participants were either "improved" or "much improved," and found that Abilify was well-tolerated in the participating children and adolescents.
Financial Assistance
Like many newer medications, Abilify is very expensive, but you may qualify for the Abilify Patient Assistance Program7.

Disclaimer: This is not intended to be all-inclusive or to replace information provided by your doctor or with the prescription from the manufacturer.

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Why are you posting this?

Every woman needs a jar of Vaseline in her cupboard. Stop the snickering, please, and give us a chance to explain. Makeup artists, beauty experts and many of our own mothers have been relying on this cheap, multi-purpose goop for everything from dry skin to frizzy hair for years. Get yourself a jar - stat - and check out these top beauty uses for one of our all-time favorite beauty bargains.

1. Eye Cream
Sure, you will glisten in the dark, but petroleum jelly will soften the skin around your eyes while you sleep. We cannot attest to its wrinkle-fighting powers, but we know some (good-looking) grandmas who will!

2. Dry Skin
From scaly elbows to rough heels or cuticles, your driest patches will be no match for the mighty Vaseline. (Tip: cover slathered feet in socks to keep your sheets clean!)

3. Frizz Tamer
From split ends to untamed eyebrows, the tiniest dab rubbed between your fingers will tame any out-of-control hair.

4. Lip Gloss
Out of lipstick? Grab a lip liner, blend some color all over your lips, and top with Vaseline for instant color shine on the cheap.

5. Eye/Cheek Gloss
Mix a bit of Vaseline with powdered eye shadow or blush for a highlighting sheen. Apply sparingly – you don’t want people to see their reflections in your makeup.

Maybe I should do a post about Haldol Decanuate and the need for Cogentin to mitigate side effects..........

What do you think?

go for it, I am hoping OP meant this thread to be informative - so I too posted something informative and important - Vaseline a way of life

Or how about Risperdal versus Risperdal Consta versus Invega?

Or Geodon and the need to eat food when you take it for efficacy?

Vaseline is a boy's best friend.....

There are a lot of people with mental illnesses who post in this section so making fun is kind of sucky if you ask me.

We are not making fun of mental illnesses.... where on earth did you get that idea?

Do you think with my posts I know nothing about MMI's?

this was in the general forum - not in the misc advice/help forum

This was meant for everyone who is taking any of these meds for their information. I wasn't sure where to post it so I posted it here. I felt people needed to know. There are alot of people who buy what the docs sale and don't ask why and what til it is too late, thinking they are getting the desperate help they need. And when some of them even ask their doctors or psychologists what the side affects are, they ask them a stupid question like, is it working? Are you going to continue taking it? And than they don't tell you what the side affects really are, or that the pill they gave you can cause major damage especially if taken for a long time. Now these days people are more informed, but there are many people who are not. My posting was for them. Also, beware of Lorazepam or Ativan, it cause severe acid build up in your stomach and will give you acid reflux disease. How do I know this, it happened to me. Also it tends to increase anxiety in certain people rather than help it.

Lilwick..... what would be great is if you explained this in your post, so we know....that is why we were being sarcastic. It was meant in fun.... I hope you know that.

Thanks for explaining what you meant.

I know your area of expertise but my brother is has schizophrenia and it just hit a nerve.No worries.

im on this med, it does help a bit. thanks for the info.