"i&#039;m a 42 year old female with bipolar ii.  i took this in combination with paxil for about six months.  i started off at a low dose and gradually increased to 20 mg.  i put on 20+ pounds in the months since the last increase, but i know the paxil was causing weight gain so i&#039;m not sure that&#039;s abilify&#039;s fault.  also i started smoking and craving sweets all the time.  it was like i was never full!  i will admit in the beginning the abilify made me hypomanic.  that finally settled down (took about two months) and now i&#039;m functioning normally.  my psychiatrist and i switched me from paxil to wellbutrin xl and i&#039;m starting to lose weight and i quit smoking.  all in all it was a rough start with abilify, but now i&#039;m glad i&#039;m on it."