Abilify and CD?

[MrsJarheadSM]

Hi all!!

Sorry I have been MIA...lots going on around here (as I am sure you all can commisserate with!). Hubs got home a few weeks ago and has, to his credit, jumped in on the "no freedoms" policy for SD2. She had no clothes or toys in her room, but she took her furniture and left her with a laundry hamper and a mattress with sheets & an army blanket.

(Brief background on why I got to that point by myself : Hubs was away training for the longest 5 weeks of my life and this was the first time he'd ever been gone for an extended period since his girls moved in with us 2 years ago. Youngest (SD2) has CD and hit a child on the school bus - unprovoked- and then lied to everyone she knows about it for a week before I finally reached the principal and figured it out. She got grounded and we all know how that goes - escalation time! She decided physical defiance was the way to go and the end all was that she got off to school the next morning and fed her guidance counselor some story about how I abuse her. After all the fighting I've done FOR her, that was it. I decided that the more freedom and more "stuff" she has access to the more she can hide the things she steals and manipulate situations so that was that).

In recent weeks, her doctor put her on Abilify, which (PLEASE KNOCK ON EVERYTHING WOODEN NEAR YOU!) seems to be working fairly well, but has kicked up some arguments about how much she needs to eat (abilify somehow turns off the "I'm full" switch). Her thought process is still incredibly twisted around, but she hasn't been escalating nearly as much.

Anybody have experience with Abilify long-term?

Thank you all for being here...and for being so incredible. CD has made me one exhausted, frustrated stepmom. YAYYYY!!!!

 

[keista]

HI!

Son's been on Abilify for 3 years now. Since he was entering puberty, the increased eating didn't seem to be a big deal. He's stabilized, but we have a pretty strict eating schedule (most ppl don't think so but for a kid who never seems full it's strict). As a matter of fact, his grandmother just commented that he looks like he lost some weight. YAY!

DD2 on the other hand, was on Abilify for 2 1/2 months. She was absolutely RAVENOUS. Since we are always discussing eating and nutrition, and have the eating schedule it wasn't too bad. To satisfy her new appetite, she got to indulge in "zero calorie" foods as much as she wanted. Broccoli, carrot sticks, sunflower seeds, lettuce, cucumbers, pickles. As much as I could afford, at least. Since she's been off of it, that has finally subsided, but she still eats out of boredom and frustration, so I still direct her to "zero calorie" or "minimal calorie" like fresh fruits (good thing it's apple season).

 

[Liahona]

Sorry, I don't have experience to share just wanted to welcome you. Who did the diagnosis? And what testing was done at the state hospital she was in? I've heard that they can either be great or not good at all.

 

[confuzzled]

there are lots of people who do wonderfully on abilify and love it, so its best to take a wait and see approach for your own's situation...she may do wonderfully.

in our case, my gfg12 gained 60+ lbs. she also continually honeymooned on abilify...we'd have 6-8 decent weeks, and then same old, same old....and we'd increase to the next dose and lather, rinse, repeat. i dont really see much benefit to it in our case (except to say she wasnt having auditory hallucinations, HOWEVER, we dont actually really know if she was to begin with), and the SE's just stink for a teen girl. we are gearing up to start the weaning process in hopes of getting off it totally. it was her only medication until this summer and we've since added stuff that seems to be much better choices for mine. (i'd have preferred to wean first, but frankly, school was starting and i wasnt up for *no medications* )

mine was constantly RAVENEOUS too, and not the best eater to begin with.

but dont let anyone tell you its her diet, its her lifestyle, its whatever if she starts to gain...its the medication.

 

[Steely]

My son has had experience on all APs, and there are pros and cons to this class of medications. The more important question is - has she been evaluated by a psychiatrist or neuro psychiatric? If so, what are the results?

These medications should not be given arbitrarily....but rather after a diagnosis has been made. To have husband come home, after being gone in a war zone, and do tough love is probably not the answer. She is scared, and worried. Where is her mom in all of this?

 

[lovemysons]

Hi MrsJarheadsm,

I have been on Abilify for almost 5 yrs now...since a psychotic breakdown in Feb 07.

I have gained a significant amount of weight on Abilify. However, I have tried to go off of it and cannot. I am a blubbering emotionally unstable/suicidal mess with days of being off this medication now.

Abilify makes me somewhat "flat" emotionally and has taken away some of my creative drive that I used to have. It has also caused me to be quite tired and just worn out most of the time. So, the weight comes on easily since I don't have the same "manic" energy that I used to live on.

Hoping that you get good results for your daughter while she takes this medication.
For me it has been a "life saver" but with all medications it has some negative side effects.

LMS

 

[confuzzled]

ohhhhh...i want to nod at LMS--my daughter constantly complains of the loss of her "creative process" (she's artsy) and, i forgot to mention....has a big issue related to short term memory which we can directly tie to abilify. she was tested over the summer and it was very notable, and the evaluator mentioned how she could see how it has a dramatic impact on her school performance. she's also slightly impacted in the word retrevial area, but not as drastic as the memory.

i dont see flattening, but we also saw a lot of tiredness too.

 

[keista]

but dont let anyone tell you its her diet, its her lifestyle, its whatever if she starts to gain...its the medication.

Seconding this.

 

[MrsJarheadSM]

Dad was gone for *just* five weeks and was doing artillery support for another unit that IS deploying. Thankfully, he is not slated to deploy at this moment. BioMom flits in and out as she sees fit. Funfortunately, SD2's stance about telling people I abuse her, etc, was that Daddy would come home and "save her from me and her consequences" (he is quite the softy) and so she did need just the opposite so that NOBODY was reenforcing her behavior (too many have done it for too long which is why we're here now!)

She has been diagnosed by a neuropsychologist. ADHD and Conduct Disorder, period. No implications of BiPolar (BP) or anything like that...you can tell by the way she acts in day to day life that nothing MAKES her do the things she does other than choice and unwillingness to see things for what they are. Explaining what she has done wrong only makes her get craftier, etc etc.

The Abilify seems to have decreased the "fly off the handle and run out of the house" episodes. Fortunately, we sort of live in the country so other than running through big, dark woods alone, she doesn't have far to go.

 

[MrsJarheadSM]

The sleepiness and weight-gain side effects we were forewarned about. We do have a pretty good schedule set up for meals and such so mostly we can moniter it. husband has a harder time than I do with telling her she can't have more breakfast/dinner/snack etc but he's getting better. At some point he said "well, the doctor said the medicine will make her hungry" ....response " yes, but that doesn't mean we need to keep feeding her".

I appreciate all the support (and the tip for the "zero calorie" foods, though I don't want to get her into the habit of munching all of the time as she's a "bored eater" already and struggled with eating habits as a kid due to her ADHD)! I know you've all been down this blurry, winding road or are on it yourselves right now. She's *only* taking 4mg/day at the moment and we won't be able to up it anymore due to the sleepiness so I'm not sure how long it will last before her body gets used to it. Would her body get used to the sleep factor as well?

 

[compassion]

Hi, my daughter has been on abilify since Aug. 2008. She is on the maximum dose, 30 and it cuts out the rages. I am not sure it helps her CD.

 

[compassion]

P-doctor replaced lactimal with topomax and she has lost weight.

 

[zoo_keeper]

my son is on abilify. overall its been a godsend. it takes away the part of his personality I call 'mr evil.' We had to increase the dose every other month or so because he seemed to build a tolerance tho. He's been on it for eight months and was just admitted to the psychiatric hospital for a medication wash (psychiatrist thinks it MAY be the abilify. also may be puberty?). it practically eliminated my sons violence and agression until recently.