Abilify, a popularly prescribed antipsychotic, has been used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia.

However, critics now believe that Abilify linked to compulsive behavior is the cause behind many people’s uncontrollable behaviors.

Many who take Abilify do so to treat major disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and certain types of autism.

Abilify (aripiprazole) was developed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it in 2002, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, along with Otsuka, began to market it as a treatment for schizophrenia.

Abilify is one of the world’s top grossing drugs. It is also one of the world’s most commonly prescribed drugs. In one twelve month period spanning 2013 and 2014, Abilify brought in nearly $7 billion dollars for Otsuka.

In 2015 alone, doctors in the United States wrote 1.5 million prescriptions for Abilify.

Abilify Linked to Compulsive Behavior

Some claim that Abilify linked to compulsive behavior is one of the major problems with the drug. Some of the compulsive behaviors reported in association with Abilify are compulsive gambling, binge eating, compulsive shopping and compulsive sexuality.

A woman in New Zealand claimed that Abilify compulsive behavior was the reason she gained 20 pounds in six months and lost thousands of dollars due to compulsive gambling. When her physicians took her off of Abilify, her symptoms stopped. She lost weight and stopped gambling.

Researchers believe that Abilify contributes to pathological gambling behavior and other compulsive behaviors because of its action as a dopamine agonist in the brain. Dopamine is a brain chemical responsible for controlling the reward and pleasure centers of the brain.

Other studies show that Abilify linked to compulsive behavior was a real and present problem for patients.

On May 3, 2016, the FDA issued a safety communication warning the medical community and the public that Abilify can cause uncontrollable urges to shop, have sex, eat and gamble. The FDA noted that after discontinuation of the drug or reduction of dosage, the urges stopped.

Before this FDA warning, the label only reported incidences of compulsive behavior rather than issue a warning. The FDA said, “This description does not entirely reflect the nature of the impulse-control risk we identified.”

The FDA reported 184 cases of impulsive behavior connected to Abilify, and nearly all of them were gambling-related.

One researcher believes that the psychiatric side effects of drugs like Abilify occur in at least 10% of patients. This is far higher than, for example, the risk of suicide that is associated with anti-depressants. He says that this is an “astronomical” rate in the terms of adverse risk.

If you or someone you love has been affected by compulsive behavior following treatment with Abilify, you may be entitled to compensation.