u/User5790

Not really a question, but was the closest flair I could find. I did a couple of months on abilify, starting at 2mg then up to 5mg. I initially felt a lot of activation, but was probably just hypomanic. So it felt like it was working because I was actually doing things but that wore off. Went up to 5mg and still nothing. So going to taper off of that and try Pramipexole next. I’ll give an update when I get there. I’ve tried so many things that haven’t worked it’s hard to have any hope, but gonna try anyway. Interested to hear anyone’s experience with either of these drugs.

As far as I know there is no recommendation to service the transmission if you haven’t been doing any towing, which I haven’t. I have just over 140K miles and I don’t think it’s ever been touched. I’m thinking of getting a simple drain and refill done. Or should I just leave it be? I have had a weird occasional slip when going into 1st gear from a roll, but I think it might be a computer issue because it’s done that for years, it is very occasional, and hasn’t gotten worse. So what do you think, do the drain and refill or nothing?

I started the beginning of May on 2mg. I’m BD2 but was taking it for anhedonia and to help with motivation. I felt like it was working at first but I think it just mostly caused hypomania so it seemed like it was doing something but that ran its course and feeling more down now. I went up to 5mg a couple of weeks ago and not sure if that did much for me. Some days I think I might be slightly more motivated, but still have the anhedonia and depression. If it is doing anything it’s really subtle so not sure it’s worth it. Just wondering if anyone has any words of advice before I add this to the list of things that didn’t really help.

I ran into someone that I knew, and did some freelance work for years ago. I haven’t worked for the past 4 years because things have been too hard. It’s been rough getting older. I’m almost to retirement age, but not yet. She asked if I was working and I could tell she was trying to make sense of why I said no. Then she asks if I took an early retirement, so I just said yes. I’ve been living in my minivan since then to keep my expenses down. Everyone sees it as my vanlife adventure, they imagine me going to all these cool places, but reality is more like bed rotting in the van in some parking lot somewhere, but at least with a nice view sometimes. It makes me feel like I’m living a lie, but trying to get people to understand is just too hard.

Going through old family scrapbooks and just thinking how things have changed over the past century. Let me know what you think.

This is one of my tells, when I’m filling up notebooks with ideas, sketches, etc. I have a feeling this is probably pretty common. I’m also older, so maybe physical notebooks is an old school thing. If not notebooks, then what? Sometimes all those ideas just won’t fit in your head and you need somewhere to put it all.

I’m considering living downtown in a building that doesn’t have dedicated parking (Benton Plaza). My understanding is that downtown residents are not allowed to park downtown, I assume just during business hours. So what do people do? I assume you can pay for a spot in a private lot somewhere, but sounds expensive. Do people park blocks away and just walk, move their car back and forth every night and morning? Ideally I’d just get rid of my car, I lived car free for many years, but I have my reasons for not wanting to do that this time.

I have been post menopausal for some time now and have seen my depressive episodes become much worse as time has gone on. I am starting to realize that hormones may have played a part in that. When I was starting perimenopause I thought that doing it as “natural” as possible was better and I avoided taking hormones like estrogen. I don’t know this for sure, but I think if I had I would be better off now. I didn’t think of this until it was too late, because apparently your body is more receptive to hormone therapy when you are going through that transition or shortly after. So I’m not saying you should do it or not, but it’s definitely worth considering and discussing with a Dr that understands both hormones and the impacts on mental health and bipolar. I’m hoping maybe this helps someone out there.

I’m only on 2mg and I’ve heard this is possible, it’s more activating at lower doses. Funny because I just recently posted how I haven’t been hypomanic for several years. I’m not even sure if that’s what it really or its just that it feels similar. I spoke with my therapist yesterday and she didn’t directly say I seemed hypo, but she did imply that I might be. I have an appt with my prescriber in a couple of weeks and I’m planning on just riding it out until then. It’s nice that I’m actually getting some shit done. Not sure how this will go, if I’ll crash out soon or just keep going as long as I’m taking it. Don’t worry, I’ll call my provider sooner if things seem like they might get out of hand. Interested in hearing others that may have experienced this with Abilify or similar stimulating meds.

I’ve been doubting my diagnosis for some time now because of this. I have definitely had episodes in the past that are different enough from my baseline that you could probably call it hypomania, but it was never anything that was super obvious or caused much trouble. My partner was the only one that really noticed, so I’d say it was on the milder end of the spectrum. I’ve been on and off various meds, mostly trying to treat depression, but nothing has ever worked, so I haven’t been on anything long term that could explain the lack of hypomanic episodes. I do have a theory though. Four years ago I moved into my minivan and have been living in it since. I am in the pacific NW US in the summer and the SW in the winter. I think that has something to do with it. I get more sun year round and maybe more importantly I am exposed to a more natural daily light schedule. I have blackout shades, so not too much morning light, and very low light in the evening after the sun goes down because it’s just more practical for my lifestyle. I was reading that light therapy is sometimes used as an augment to treatment. Too much morning light can cause hypomania, but reducing light in the evening can help to prevent it. So maybe my diagnosis is wrong, or my hypomania is mild enough that I’ve accidentally found a way to treat it. Now, if I could just get rid of this damn depression.

I’m just wondering if anyone has tried Abilify and had it help with anhedonia. Other than a couple “as needed” meds this is the only thing I’m taking right now, it’s only been about 10 days so far. I’ve been really med resistant, nothing has worked yet. I am diagnosed BD2. My depression has been the hardest thing to tackle, and anhedonia has been my biggest complaint in addition to generally feeling low. I have heard that lower dose Abilify can be activating and might help anhedonia. I know I just need to be patient and wait and see but just wondering if any other anhedonia sufferers out there had any luck with this.

When people are having a casual conversation in public I’ll sometimes make a comment. For example maybe we’re in line at the store and they are talking about camping in a certain area and I happen to know about a great campsite there, so I’ll tell them about it. I try to keep it brief, then disengage unless they seem interested in continuing. I am an older woman and I’ve done this most my life, but I’m wondering if it’s becoming less acceptable, or maybe it was never acceptable. I feel like I’ve been getting some unfavorable reactions recently.

I don’t hear it mentioned a lot but I’m sure many of us here also have avolition, “the decrease in the ability to initiate and persist in self-directed purposeful activities.” For me it’s more than just lacking motivation or anticipatory anhedonia. It’s like I’m trapped in a box that I have no will to get out of and I have no idea how to just function and go about my day like a normal human. Decision making is part of this too. Sometime I try to shop for groceries and I just stare at the shelf unable to even process what it is I want. I’ve actually had to just leave empty handed a few times because it was so hard. Just wondering if this seems relatable to anyone else.

Decided to try a low dose (2mg) of abilify aka aripiprazole. I don’t know that this means much, but right away I’ve noticed that I can feel caffeine from a couple of cups of coffee again. At first I thought it must be placebo effect, but after looking in to it I’ve found that it’s possible to feel something like this right away. The headaches and constipation are real, so it’s doing something. I’m aware of antipsychotics being problematic, but I’ve tried and failed so many things and I’m kind of desperate. I am sure for some of you this is what caused your anhedonia, but I’m already there so thought it was worth a try. I’m going to give it a month, unless I get akathisia then I’ll stop sooner because I’ve had that before and it was hell. The f you have tried this drug I am interested in hearing your experiences.