Abilify

My doctor has suggested that I add Abilify to my "cocktail" of depression meds as a mood stabilizer.  I have read in many blogs about people gaining lots of weight when put on Abilify. I am terrifed of putting on weight as I feel that a med that would make me gain weight would just depress me even more as I would no longer feel good about myself; thus defeating the purpose. Can you please tell me what the likelyhood is of a person gaining weight on Abilify and some suggestions of other mood stabilizers that would not cause this side effect? I mean, I am all for feeling better but not at the expense of my self esteem. I would really appreciate your help with this as I am seeing the doctor on 02/11/09. Thanks-
Steph

[Sandra Y, RPh]

Clinical trials show the average weight gain is 0.7 kg (1.5 pounds) for people taking Abilify, with 8% of the participants gaining more than 7% or more.  Those with lower BMI's tend to gain more.

Effexor or Trazodone does not cause weight gain and are options to discuss with your doctor.

[kitten246]

I just recently started seeing commercials about this Abilify if your current anti-depress meds are helping enough - so what is so special about this stuff and why can't they just put you on that alone by itself, why does it need to be combined with other meds?