Abilify is awful! I gained 30 pounds on it in less than three months despite being a long distance runner. I stopped sleeping completly despite taking higher doses of medication that had helped me sleep with no issues for years. I ground my teeth till my gums bled and had heart palpitations and constantly sweat from over heating. I would vomit from the hot flashes and still gain weight non stop, even if I dieted and ran 40 miles a week.
I say stand up for yourself, call your doctor over and over until they get you in and on something else. My doctor would not listen to me, and he misidentified shingles for a lamictol rash and put me on the abilify with out taking me off. Now, after over a year I have permanent nerve damage and pain where the shingles were.
I started having seizures and totalled my car because no one believed me I had seizures, no one made the connection between the abilify and everything that was happening, they told me it was stress. Keep trying, medication changes are awful but don't stop standing up for your self.
I read an article about how they have identified 5 types of chemical imbalances in the brain in adults with major depressive disorder. Not all are seritonin issues, some have to do with copper imbalances in people who can't digest meat for example.
Best of Luck!
