Abilify and Insomnia? - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

ladyofkypros · 03-15-2007, 07:16 AM

Has anyone had a problem with insomnia while on Abilify? My son is AWAKE all the time! I put him to bed at 9pm and he will sleep till about 11:30pm and then he wakes up and can't go back to sleep till like 2 or 3am and then will sleep till about 6am and then is up again... usually for the remainder of the day. I don't know his body is even functioning... He has only been getting 4 or 5 hours of interrupted sleep for the last week and half. I talked to the pdoc about it and she was like, "Oh, I will discuss it with his inpatient doc"... so what do we do in the meantime? He is keeping everyone up when he wakes up and I about lost it myself last night. I'm a walking zombie.

goody2shuz · 03-15-2007, 07:27 AM

Hi....I think that when my daughter was on Abilify she had the same thing happening.....waking up a few times a night with broken sleep.

When does he take the Abilify??? Sometimes just changing the time he gets it or taking it in divided doses may help. My daughter seemed to get more sedated on it during the day and no matter what they did, either by decreasing it or adjusting the times, she just continued with the sedation. Eventually, they took her off of it. What dosage is your son on???

I would defintely bring this up to your doctor. If the med is working well otherwise, perhaps adding some Seroquel or another med at night will help with his sleep. There is a natural med called Melatonin....it comes in I believe 3mg tabs. You could try giving him a half a tab and see if that helps. It is a natural chemical released in the body that helps with sleep and will not leave a groggy feeling. You can find it in the vitamin section of the store. I tried it and it does work well...give it to him about a half hour to an hour before bedtime.

Also....alot of kids with BP have anxiety especially at nighttime. So that may be what is going on with your son and eventually they may have to perscribe something for that as well.

Hope this helps....and do take care of yourself. Catch up with some sleep while he is in school if at all possible.

((((HUGS)))) ~ Goody

tsohl · 03-15-2007, 07:31 AM

Abilify is known to be activating rather than sedating in most people. Does he take it in the morning?

goody2shuz · 03-15-2007, 07:37 AM

Hi....just looked up Abilify and sleep problems (insomnia) is listed among it's side effects. My daughter, as I have often said around here, often has a rebound effect/paradoxical effect with meds, that is, it does the opposite of what it is suppose to do. Meds affect our children differently that is why it is important to inform your doctor what affect the med is having on them.

~ Goody

roz5 · 03-16-2007, 01:54 AM

I take Abilify in the morning and still end up sleeping only 4-5 hours (uninterupted sleep). I am now backing off to a mere 5mg of Abilify to see it that works.