HiI have had 2 instances of ppp now. The first time Quetiapine worked to resolve the symptoms. This second time though it wasn't effective, so I have been switched to ablify/aripiprazole. I am just wondering how long the side effects lasted for anyone else who took this medication?
I have been on 15mg for 3 weeks and am worried it is blunting my emotions, and giving me a bit of restlessness and a slight tremor in my right hand. Did anyone else experience anything like this? What did you do?
Hi Zebrawhite,
Welcome to the forum, my name's Jenny - I'm one of the peer support coordinators at APP.
I'm sorry to hear you've experienced PP twice and do hope you're doing ok.
I had PP after my first son was born in 2012, I took quetiapine which worked well for me too - I'm sorry it's not been as effective for you second time.
I don't have experience of abilify but did experience some similar side effects on quetiapine. The side effects did lessen over time so hopefully you'll find that they'll settle as the weeks go on. Do discuss any concerns with your team though.
I was initially prescribed some medication to counter the stiffness and spasm-type side effects I had but was taken off this when discharged from the MBU. I did continue to suffer from restless legs, particularly in the evenings, but the other effects of that nature did resolve. I think most if not all anti-psychotics have a bit of a dampening effect on our emotions - I know I felt like I'd lost my 'spark' when on antipsychotics but it wasn't forever 
If you haven't already, do get in touch if you're in the UK and would like to access 1:1 peer support or one of our café groups - you can read more here: app-network.org/get-help/pe...
If you haven't found our insider guides, the 'Recovery after PP' guide may be helpful as well: app-network.org/postpartum-...
Take good care.
Best wishes,
Jenny x
Thank you so much Jenny. I hope the emotional blunting isn't forever as it is so hard to deal with!
Hello Zebrawhite, welcome to the forum, I am glad you have found us, but I am sorry you experienced pp twice. I take Aripiprazole 10 mg, and recently switched from Olanzapine as that was making me very lethargic in the mornings. I did experience some of the side effects you mentioned in your post. I initially experienced anxiety and would wake up in the middle of the night, it lasted for about a month or so. I take the medication in the morning and I prefer it that way as I would not rest so easily otherwise. Very rarely I am experiencing involuntary movements in one of my hands, but I also used to get it with the olanzapine.
I would suggest to keep on talking to the professionals who are following you at the moment and if things don't resolve for themselves in a week or 2 then perhaps ask for a change in medication and take it from there. I found Aripiprazole to be less sedating than Olanzapine and as I have to take it long term for my bipolar I opted for Aripiprazole, but we all have different needs at different times.
I hope the side effects resolve soon for you, here if you have any questions or just want to share,
Maria
Thank you so much for your reply. It gives me some hope that the side effects may still resolve. I am also waking up with anxiety, so maybe that will also stop soon. I really hope so.
I hope the same for you, hang in there, you are doing so well. All in small steps.
I have not taken Quetiapine but I did take Abilify for a little while. The Abilify gave me tremors, restlessness, and also noticeable facial tics. They took me off of it for that reason, because those can become permanent.
Other antipsychotics I took blunted my emotions considerably. I didn't cry or laugh for years when I was on Geodon. It was also extremely sedating. When I stopped taking it, for months afterward I would be watching TV and just burst into tears suddenly. To this day, when I laugh hard over something, I end up crying, sometimes quite hard. I'm not sure if it's because of that medication but it's really embarrassing.
Several psychiatrists have told me that once you discontinue a medication, it may not be as effective if you start taking it again. I have done this a couple times and found that to be true. It was a big deterrent to me switching medications and trying to find something better, because I never knew if I'd be worse off.
I'm now off all antipsychotics, but I do take Lamotrigine and Bupropion for bipolar disorder.
Thank you for your reply. Which medication do you think worked best for you overall? Were there any that didn't make you sleepy during the day?
The restless is still there for me and I swear it is making me weaker on ablify.
There are some newer medications now that are much less sedating and have fewer side effects. I think drug manufacturers are also recognizing that extreme weight gain is a problem and are attempting to find meds without this effect. That was a big issue for me and I gained 100 pounds which I’m still working on losing.
When I started taking Latuda (lurasidone), that was by far the best medication for me and the least sedating. It also did not cause a great deal of weight gain although they all had that effect on me to some extent. (I didn’t gain weight on Latuda but I was unable to lose weight.) I felt much more “myself” on Latuda. In particular it did not blunt my emotions and I felt like my creativity came back.
If you are in the UK, I don’t know if this medication is available to you. I haven’t ever seen anyone on this forum mention it. It is extremely expensive, and I was able to afford it only with health insurance. Of all the meds I took, though, it was by far the most tolerable.
Hi Zebrawhite ,
I started on aripiprazole 6 years ago, following a second hypomanic episode I had when I was diagnosed as bipolar. I had a lot of restless arms especially at night. It got a bit better when I changed the time of day I took it to evening. It gradually became less frequent and I rarely notice it these days. I did, however, have very restless legs during third trimester of my pregnancy 2 years ago, which may or may not have been related to the aripiprazole. It would wake me up at night to the point I was trapsing round the block at all hours of the night with my husband for the last few weeks of pregnancy.
I dont know about blunting and anxiety. I think these are much improved since the early days when I was originally diagnosed as bipolar. Was never really sure whether it was medication related or bipolar though. I suspect both. I do get really tired first thing after breakfast but think that might also be related to having a little one. Like everyone there are good days and bad days. I hope this helps.
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