Does abilify cause compulsive gambling

Short answer: No, but they could be connected.

Compulsive gambling is a behavior associated with changes in brain chemistry brought about by excitement, anticipation and reward. It may also be used as a distraction to cover problematic issues in a person's life.

Abilify could be involved in at least three different ways. Anti-schizophrenic drugs can cause problems with judgment, and compulsive gambling is certainly a judgment lapse among other things. It may also be that preoccupation with the symptoms of schizophrenia could distract a patient from other things, and that the gambling was then taken up when the symptoms abated.

A related, and perhaps the most likely possibility, is that schizophrenics often need to fill the gap left by the cessation of symptoms, and the patient might have done so with the stimulation of gambling. There seems to be some connection between addiction and schizophrenia, and this could be part of the issue as well.

I would suggest coming clean with the therapist who is treating the schizophrenia, and discussing possible solutions to the problem. Mention should be made of any other potentially mood-altering substances being used, such as medications prescribed by a different practitioner, illicit drugs, or alcohol. Self-medication is also a characteristic of some disorders, including schizophrenia.