Abilify

April 20, 2003

I have never heard of the Paxil or the Abilify doing that but then Abilify

is new.

If you do a web search of each med with the name of the med side effects and

involuntary muscle movements in the search line you should find out if any

of them have that problem.

That is what I do when I have a problem like that and no one from my bipolar

group has a clue either. It has helped me several times. I use

extended search and it is usually pretty good.

I hope you find the culprit soon.

Betty Ann-61 yo, possibly Bipolar but undx'd, Effexor, Buspar

grandma and guardian to

- 11 yo-- Bipolar/ADHD on Depakote, Adderall, Singular

Evan - 9 yo nonverbal autism on 3 mg Risperdal, 5 mg Abilify stated

3/11/03

- 6 yo- Bipolar/ADHD/PTSD on Tegretol, Adderall, Clonidine .1 mg,

mother to -32 yo, their mom - Bipolar/ADHD on Topamax, Singular

wife to Bob - 71 yo, Effexor and too more many meds to remember

Abilify

> Alot. Including strattera and paxil to name a few.

April 20, 2003

Thanks, I think it is the abilify which is really sad because it was

helping with aggressive behaviors and now it will probably have to be

stopped after starting it a few weeks ago. So sad. Thanks.

April 20, 2003

That is too bad. Unfortunately there is not a single med that works for

everyone.

So far we are pleased with the results that we have seen in Evan. I hope

that he does not end up with any side effects that cause us to have to quit

it but then he has been on the 5 mg for over two months now. Today he was

actually playing appropriately with the helium ballons that we gave each

boy. Well, sort of appropriately. He was pulling on the strings, first to

make them go up and down to the ceiling and then he tried to 'dribble' one

of them like you would a basketball. Something that he has never done

before.

Betty Ann-61 yo, possibly Bipolar but undx'd, Effexor, Buspar

grandma and guardian to

- 11 yo-- Bipolar/ADHD on Depakote, Adderall, Singular

Evan - 9 yo nonverbal autism on 3 mg Risperdal, 5 mg Abilify stated

3/11/03

- 6 yo- Bipolar/ADHD/PTSD on Tegretol, Adderall, Clonidine .1 mg,

mother to -32 yo, their mom - Bipolar/ADHD on Topamax, Singular

wife to Bob - 71 yo, Effexor and too more many meds to remember

----- Original Message -----

From: " psarar " <Psarar@...>

> Thanks, I think it is the abilify which is really sad because it was

> helping with aggressive behaviors and now it will probably have to be

> stopped after starting it a few weeks ago. So sad. Thanks.

April 21, 2003

Oh, that is encouraging about Evan playing appropriately and no side effects

after two months of taking Abilify. Karac has been on Abilify just a week

and yesterday we had the best Easter luncheon at church; Karac sat at the

table eating appropriately for the entire time that we were all eating and

visiting; usually I have to spend the whole time trying to keep him in his

chair!! Has Evan quit the drooling? Does he have any aggression? Does he

ever have bouts of crying? Pat K

April 22, 2003

Hello,

I thought I posted this last night but it got lost somewhere. I

found it on the web and it basically says that using (Paxil) can slow

the body's ability to eliminate Abilify and that the Abilify has to

be less (at least half) the usual dose. This means that not only was

he getting too much to begin with but the Paxil caused the abilify to

accumulate instead of being excreted. Abilify also has a half life

of like four days so he got way too much. Right now he is being

taken off of it completely and maybe sometime next week, assuming

that all the shivering and trembling go away, we can start it again

at a tiny dose. The reason he was started on such a high dose is

because he seems to need a lot of medication to get any response. I

was so pleased with the abilify because he was starting to not be so

aggressive and was able to think more clearly, understand better to

the point that he was starting to poop on the potty instead of his

pullups. He was finally starting to get it!

Abilify Drug-to-Drug Interactions

The anticonvulsant mood stabilizer, carbamazepine (Tegretol), induces

CYP3A4 and 2D6 liver enzymes which can increase the ability of the

body to remove Abilify, and so decrease Abilify's concentration in

the blood. The manufacturer recommends that the dosage of Abilify be

doubled as long as both drugs are taken at the same time. This

consideration brings up the question as to whether Trileptal

(oxcarbazepine, an analogue of carbamazepine) can cause this same

increase in clearance as Trileptal also has some effect on the liver

enzyme CYP3A4 that normally removes Abilify. The possibility seems to

exist, but no one has a definitive answer about this yet and careful

dosing ad an attentive eye to the clinical picture will be required.

Antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac) fluvoxamine (Luvox) and

paroxetine (Paxil) can slow the body's ability to eliminate Abilify by

inhibiting CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 liver enzymes, and so increasing blood

levels of the drug. When any of these SSRIs are prescribed with

Abilify, the manufacturer recommends that the Abilify be reduced at

least to one-half of its current or usual dose.

Again, physicians who have patients on either class of these

medications will have to monitor the clinical picture carefully and

make adjustments as needed.

Mother

April 22, 2003