Abilify Side Effects and Whether it's worth it

It seems like half the people I know are taking Abilify these days.  Many of them are concerned about it because they experience many detrimental side effects such as occasional irritabilty and weight gain.  My friend recently talked about the drug with me and said that although the drug is supposed to level him out and take the edge off of his bipolar disorder, he can't help but feel a little depressed about his weight gain.  After gaining about ten pounds over the past six months he feels less attractive and is concerned about it; paradoxically, the drug may be leading him to feel worse.

Indeed, many people who take antipsychotic medications report a lot of side effects that make the drug seem like it's not worth it.  But I also know from personal experience that many people forget what they are like without their medication, and it's a tragic and depressing cycle they enter when they go back and forth from them.

As usual, I looked into it a bit and it seems this is a pretty common phenomenon.  I'm concerned about his mental health if he stops taking the drug, and he's certainly thinking about it.  There just don't seem to be many options available to him, and the abilify side effects are not as harsh as similar drugs.  I hope he can resolve it without going unmedicated; I've seen a lot of people go out of control after ceasing their medication.  Maybe one day, they'll have a medication that is more precise and has fewer negative side effects.