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Abilify
I am looking into Abilify for a friend of mine-she has a 4 year old son with recently dx'ed ADHD and ODD (oppositional defiant disorder). She's not quite ready to delve into the exhausting world of being a "special needs" parent-we've all been at that crossroads, so I volunteered to ask around. Has anyone had experience with a child on Abilify (it's a anti-psychotic) and please be detailed. Thanks!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Christina Shaver on -
Haven't tried Abilify. What has your friend done to control the ADHD so far?
So right now with my son in the psych unit, I can say that if the child has ADHD that the first drugs they should try are stimulants. At least this is what our psych unit is telling us about my son. First get the hyperactivity/impulsivity under control. If that is "well-treated" (the doc's words, not mine), then you can go down the line and start addressing the other issues. The thought being that if the child were more focused -- if the ADHD were well-treated -- then they could see how severe the other conditions are. It is possible that the child would only need therapy for the other conditions than medication. ADHD may exacerbate other issues and they may not be so severe if the ADHD is controlled.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Christina Gable on -
It's kind of a strange situation. No other meds have been tried; this was the first one the doc ordered. She has her doubts about medicating a 4 yr old, as many of us can relate. She was expecting an ADHD med, I think, so the Abilify prescription caught her off guard. I suggested that she needs to get more info from her doc as to why this particular med, but I have heard of a few kiddos on this stuff for the same reasons and that it was effective. Other than meds, he's receiving some counseling and therapy-behavior and OT, and that's about it.
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Permalink Reply by Christina Shaver on
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Hm. Well, you know me! I'm no doctor. Maybe there was another reason to try it -- because it's sedating and maybe that will help slow things down? Wish I had more info. on the Abilify for you. I hope others will.
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Permalink Reply by cassie on -
I don't have alot of experience, but my nephew was just diagnosed Bipolar, he is 7, and was put on Abilify. He's been on it a week and so far is doing very well on it. The only side effect he is having is being tired at night, but that only means that he goes to bed at 8pm instead of being up all night--10pm and being really hard to get to sleep, so this was a good thing. He also has ADHD but they are not medicating for it yet b/c they want to get his mood/depression under control before they add anything else now. I wish I could give more info, but that is all I have.
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Permalink Reply by brenda barton on -
Hi, I have a 12 year old daughter, a few years ago we were having really BAD behavior problems/meltdowns, etc., the dr. put her on Abilify, not only did she gain weight, she also developed "tics"/"jerks" that got worse and worse. Abilify can cause unreversable jerks, we quickly weaned her and she had to go on seizure meds to stop the jerks. I really don't like the effects we saw with the Abilify. Hope this helps.
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Permalink Reply by emma wiegman on -
My foster daughter is 11, and has been diagnosed with ADHD,PTSD(post traumatic stress disorder), and just this past September RAD (reactive attachment disorder)We were given Abilify almost a year ago first 5mg and are now up to 15mg.
She was also taking Yvanse for ADHD. I thought in the beginning that it was helping with mood changes and anger outbursts, and after a couple of months didn't see any affect the Dr raised it and had her take 5mg in am and 5mg before bed, I really didn't see any noticeable difference, the Dr added 5mg more taken at noon. Behaviors continued some got worse, we were having daily meltdowns and tantrums, self harming and physical aggression towards her siblings. The Dr added Seroquel 25mg. I still didn't see much improvement. In September RAD was added to her diagnosis and we switched psychiatrist and therapists. The psychiatrist said that she did not believe Abilify to be an effective mood stabilizer for children under 18 if they were also taking a psycho stimulant for ADD. The stimulant increases the dopamine and Abilify is not a effective mood stabilizer to handle that. She suggested and we are in the process of switching to Depakote. I myself am bipolar and have been taking Depakote (along with other meds) for over 2 1/2 years, and I am convinced that it has been a major part in dealing with my illness. I just don't think Abilify is that effective at least not for us. Is he on a medication for ADHD?
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Permalink Reply by Christina Gable on
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This is the first med her psychatrist rec for her son. She's concerned of course, and this is all new to her. I really wish the first step would have been an ADHD med combined with behavior therapy; it doesn't seem as dramatic a step forward to me. I think she is going to try the Abilify b/c his behavior and outlook are not good right now. I'm hoping she sees some positive changes without major side effects.
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Permalink Reply by Mary Greene on -
I have but we took our son off of it and went back to Risperdal. 2 reasons: Risperdal seemed to work better and there are actual child studies on the safety of Risperdal but none re Ability. Abilify is simply the newer generation of Risperdal - sometimes it works better and sometimes not.
If your friend is thinking about medication for the first time, I would suggest she ask her doctor why they shouldn't start with Risperdal first - its safer and most times just as effective (though it can cause weight gain, I understand, more than Abilify - that's not a problem for us though as our son needs to gain weight).
Good luck!
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