Geodon side effects

I've been on 300 mg's of Lamcital since last December. Great drug, really helps my mania get under control. Lithium wasn't cutting it for me with my depression, in fact the side effects were making me even more depressed. My pdoc decided to try out Geodon (at 100 mg's). In the most part, it has been great. I feel alive and like myself again for the first time in years. But...
I wonder if making me so stable has also given my mind way to much time to over- analyze what I see and do. I see things out of the corner of my eye all of the time. I had something appear right in front of me the other day. I can no longer sleep past seven in the morning. And I have three facial twitches: my lower lip, the arc in my left eyebrow and the very top of my forehead where the first of my hair follicles start on my widow's peak. Those drive me nuts.
I am also on 40 mg's of Propranolol (Anderall) and Cytomel for my thyroid. For having such a severe case of BP, it's nice to be on so few medications. Geodon has been a lifesaver and has given me back my creativity and my marriage. I'll take seeing things and facial twitches any day for those.

I'm trying to wean myself off Geodon and I had a minor, panic attack,. My doctor won't help me because she said I need to see a psychiatrist but I can't afford to see one. Does anyone know how long the side effect last when you get off Geodon. I am a single parent and have a job I need to function at so any advice will help. I have ,anxiety, all the time the doc had to prescribe some anti-anxiety medicine which I never had anxiety like that before. My symptoms on the medication is sleeplessness, restlessness, loss of appetite, can quit moving, racing thoughts, depression.

Hi all. My DH has been taking Geodon for 5 months for "delusion - other". The docs don't feel he's bi-polar or schizophrenic. He started up on 20mg and was taken all the way up to 160mg at night until he got ridiculously drowsy on this drug from that dose. He was having issues getting up in the morning (even after 9 1/2+ hours of sleep the night before) and was getting scared of driving to work as out of it as he'd be. The doc took him down to 120mg and it was still bad. So, then they dropped him down to 80mg and he started experiencing severe anxiety. He said he felt like his chest was closing in on him. So, now he's on 100mg and still tired, but not as bad.

Don't get me wrong.. if this was the only issue, I'd be fine with it. The Geodon was a godsend, at first. It really made his delusion dissipate (he wanted to run off and preach the word of God on street corners) and he was able to go back to working 8-hour days after a few months.

But now that he's gotten past that (he's had this once before, 6 years ago, and they had him on risperdal and depakote until the delusion was gone and then took him off of everything completely) he is BEYOND depressed. He has no history whatsoever of depression and has never felt this way before.Our family has never seen him like this. It's increasingly interfering with our relationship, as he just stares at me blankly if I happen to get upset about anything. He's just completely dead inside and feeling worthless. He can't even have an emotional conversation with me anymore and he used to be the most attentive, wonderful husband and friend he could ever be before he got on Geodon.

He also has zero interest in sex. I mean, he can go through it just fine, but he just doesn't want it on his own. And that's depressing for me!!

All in all, I want him off this drug as it seems that, once it did its job, it's eating away at his cognitive and emotional sides. He has a hard time reasoning and, of course, then ends up getting depressed because he feels worthless at his job. I just don't get it.

My question is: if he should happen to be bi-polar ( I mean, if the docs have all gotten it wrong) and he's going through a depressive phase, shouldn't the Geodon be helping? He just seems to get more and more depressed as gets further and further away from being delusional.

We're going to the doc on Thursday and I'm going to tell him that I want DH off this med.. no matter what he thinks. We just can't keep going through this crud anymore. I'd appreciate any feedback/advice/empathy you all can give.

I just miss my husband and I feel like this drug is running him into the ground and wrecking our marriage. :(

Its hard to say for sure what people will experience with any of these drugs, but its nice to hear from you all.

I am looking at whether geodon or lamictal is causing me these horride nightmares.

It seems both drugs can.

I started taking catapres, which is a blodd pressure med that has an off-label use to control nightmares which helped quite a bit...

but beware...missing a dose or two of caterpress will give you a rather bad day, as it suppresses adrenaline...which causes nightmares.....so imagine what happens when this suppression suddenly stops???? BAD.

i am tapering off geodon, i had no issue with it, but being seroquel is the only FDA approved anti-psychotic med to treat depression/aniexty....i will find out soon if the geodon was causing the nightmares or the lamictal. i will post later.

just know- for me..tappering off geodon is not going pleasant for me.

my doctor said the drug rep even mentioned it had a high side effect profile...

my friend has been on geodon for about 3 years and is experiencing some very strange things! She gets cramps, like seizures in her legs and can't walk when this happens. Her doctor says there is nothing wrong. She gets neck and leg twitching and recently, the leg things have come with shortness of breath. Does anyone know anything about these side effects?Please reply! Thank you.

I liked the energized feeling Geodon gave me, but ended up having to stop taking it because it caused agitation in me. I wasn't on a very high dose, either. One night I more or less caused a fight with my husband and planned to divorce him. Totally unlike me. I went off the Geodon and things were better fast.

geodone gives me a long anxious feeling, the kind that makes you want to keep moving constantly. but it also sucks you of your energy, making it difficult and uncomfortable to move around as much. so wether you're sitting still or moving, you generally feel wasted tired and horrible.

hey, my name's Sam, I've been on Geodon for a little over a year. Yesterday I raised my dose from 160, 80 two times daily to 240, two eighties and one at night. wow. um i did this because i was feeling like i did when I'm withdrawing from caffeine, about 3 hours after my morning pill. Other side effects are I can't drink caffeine because it will usually make me 'freak out' at things that are too much and sometimes triggering mental and heart panic attacks. I'm 22 and schizoo

I have been on geodon for about one year. My dosage have been changed too many times to count. I am presently taking geodon 60mg, lamictal 200mg and lunesta at bedtime. On some nights, I am unable to sleep and I have to get up at 430 am. I am very depressed and I feel that nobody understands what I am going through. I don't know which of my meds are causing which side effects, but I need a change. I am 5ft 7in tall and I now weigh 118# (one year ago I weighed 142#).

I honestly do not like taking Geodon. It can have negative effects on your heart. However I have been taking Geodon for at least six months now.

If I miss just one dose I start to feel extreme withdrawal. My withdrawal side effects are blurred vision, nausea, headache, and weakness.

And I've never had withdrawal from a medicine before. But for some reason it's really bad with Geodon.

I'm going to ask me Doctor about this.

I took Zyprexa for 11 yrs always pleading with my psychiatrist to let me try something else. I had gained 90+ lbs with Zyprexa and slept about 12-14 hrs every day. Plus I just sat around watching TV all the time. No motivation. But it did stabilize me when it seemed nothing else could.

Two weeks ago my doctor changed me to Geodon. What a wonderful change! At least the first 12 days I had no problems and lost 7 lbs. My head is clear, I am hypomanic which is so much better than mired in drowsiness and trouble thinking. Now I have energy galore and feel maybe I can even return to work soon.

HOWEVER, the last two nights I just can't go to sleep. Night before last I tossed and turned for 2 hrs before I could sleep. Last night it was 4 hrs. I tried taking the Geodon (80mg) this morning instead of taking it tonight, hoping that would help the situation. But after taking it in the morning, I was in terrible shape. I couldn't seem to keep my mouth closed -- it kept falling open and I looked like an idiot. I couldn't concentrate to drive -- I know I ran at least one red light. Finally I just went home and slept for a couple of hours. Then I was fine.

Also I have light headaches and nausea off and on and totally no appetite. I like the appetite part but have had anorexia in the past so I have to be careful when I don't want to eat. Insomnia too, as I said. And hypomania. All in all, a trade up from Zyprexa, which I hated. I just hope I can manage the side effects enough to stick with it. I hope they will go away, but you never know about that. Zyprexa's side effects never went away.

Hi All,
I am very concerned about the effects of Geodon. My 12 year old daughter is on it has been on it for some time and now is having speech problems. When she talks its as if she has what I call a"Mush Mouth" you can barley understand her and it's almost like a whisper talk. Has anyone else experienced this? Please I am in need of any input. Thanks,Annette from Michigan

I was on 80mg at night and discovered it was far too high of a dosage for me. I became severely depressed, my throat closed up, and the hangy-ball in the back of my throat swelled up to the point where I'd occasionally choke on it. I would wake up in the morning (very late), only to find that I couldn't move out of my bed. It was as if I was paralyzed. I almost lost my job. I wasn't able to get ready and leave the house until hours after waking. If you are experiencing any of these side effects, stop taking Geodon immediately. I went through a month of this thinking I needed to wait it out until it would work. If only I had talked to my doctor sooner, I would've been able to avoid all of it.

At lower doses, Geodon still wasn't giving me the results I was looking for. I was rapid cycling between depression and extreme mania where I experienced delusions and (for the first time in my life) auditory hallucinations. I think Geodon is one of those medications that either works for you or doesn't. There really wasn't much inbetween for me.

Another common side effect I experienced was weight loss. I lost 10lbs in a month. So I'm now 115 and 5'5''. That was the only good thing about the pill.

I am on 60mg 2x a day of GEODON. I tried to stop taking it completely and went through bad trembling almost like a never ending anxiety attack. I had to start taking it again the 2nd night. I am not giving up I am going to try again this is the worst medication ever created. and I've been on alot.

I've been on Geodon for 3 years now. At first I was on 120mg per day and then I was so sick of being drowsy in the morning that I reduced my dosage to 80 mg a day. I'm really sad and frustrated because I told my doctor that I wanted to go off of it, because I don't think I have a mental illness and she refused to help me go off of it. Its a really hard drug to come off of. And it makes me so angry because she never warned me when I was first forced to go on it that going off of it would be so difficult. It makes me so angry and sad and even suicidal that other people think they know whats best for me. I had a beautiful religious experience with Jesus. I made the mistake of telling my family and doctor, and they labeled me as schizophrenic and forced me onto medication (Geodon). I think its so unfair and I have resentment that my family did this to me. Nobody believes me that I had this religious experience (I'm a Catholic) and they all think I'm crazy. Now I want to enter a religious order and become a nun. I tried to enter an order and they asked me if I take any medication. The religion teaches that its a sin to lie, so I told the truth and told them about the medication. Religious orders are strict about not admitting people with 'mental problems' so she refused to admit me. Now I want to go off of the medicine so that the next time a religious order asks me if I take medication I can say 'no' and therefore avoid the whole subject of mental illness. My advice to anyone who is starting this medicine is quit before you get addicted because going off it is next to impossible. I really resent my psychiatrist and I think she's a horrible person for forcing me on this drug. They wouldn't let me leave the mental hospital and told me they would make a court order and give me shots if I refused to take the medication. Looking back, what I should have done is just quit the medication right when I got out of the hospital because they couldn't have done anything about it. Sorry this is so long but this whole issue has caused so much friction and even hatred for me for my mom, who refuses to believe in my religious experience. I think she says she believes me to shut me up. But if she really believed me she wouldn't see the need for me to be on this medication. I'm planning on slowly weaning myself off of it, but based on what I've read I know its going to be almost impossible. I work so I need my sleep every night. I asked my doctor for Xanax and sleeping pills to help me with the withdrawal symptoms, and she refused to give them to me. I'm afraid I'll overdose on sleeping pills just trying to get the sleep I need because going off Geodon causes awful excruciating insomnia. I buy the store brand sleeping pills because my doctor wont give them to me. My opinion is most mental illness can be solved with God and prayer to Jesus. Psychiatrists put everyone and their mother on medication and I think the ones I've had are awful, sadistic, uncaring, unfeeling, unloving, do more damage than good, godless, learned in the wrong kind of knowledge, wretched people. What I wanted here was advice or any tips to going off of Geodon. I kind of got off track. If anyone has gone off of it successfully, lend me your advice.

I am 21yrs old and was just diagnosed with Bipolar 2 disorder. My doc put me on Lamictal,Prozac and Geodon. I take 80mg at night. I feel pretty manic after being on it for only 2 days. I have enough energy for 3 people and my hands shake and my vision is quite blurred which isn't good because I'm legally blind in one eye anyways. The only real side effect that I find troublesome is when I feel like I can't breathe. It only happened when I took it the 2nd time though. It felt like I couldn't get enough oxygen in my body. It was literally hell. My mom finally gave me benadryl thinking that maybe it was allergies and I fell asleep when the benadryl kicked in.

I felt the same with Geodon when I took it for the 2nd time. The first time I took it I had no side effects but this time I could not sleep and finally took benadryl to put me to sleep. I felt like I could not breathe. It was horrible but I'm hoping it won't happen tonight.

I was forced to go off geodon after finding out that I couldn't afford it in the new state I moved to (no Medicaid, no job). OMG I had an anxiety attack that escalated to a paranoid incident raising my blood pressure incredibly high. I went through sleeplessness, sweating, did I mention total paranoia and finally went to the emergency. I will never put my mental health at stake because I can't afford a drug. My mental illness alone is better than what I went through.

ive been on geodon for 4 yrs now im taking 30mg now but i wanna get off this will be my 4th attempt to try and get off this drug its been a day since my last dose i have a bad headache and i cant sleep i know this is only the beginning but i am determine to get off this time

Been on Geodon, substituted for weight-gaining Zyprexa, 3 weeks. No more paranoia, clear thinking, but want to go off because of horrible insomnia. Racing heart while on too high a dose of Geodon. Doc won't let me off, so here I go myself....

I was on Geodon for bipolar in addition to lithium and depakote. I had to stop the Geodon after 2 months because I had intense shaking. I also could not stop fidgeting/restless movements. My first night without Geodon I have a massive headache and nausea/chills/sweats.

I have been on 40 mg Geodon for over 6 months, and I stay like I am in the clouds and my legs and hands will shake ,bad anxiety,I don't want to go out and do anything.I want to get off this drug against my docs orders , does anyone have any information on withdrawals from the Geodon?and how do you tapper yourself off it . email me *** thank you Melissa

update on Geodon-
Last week I wrote a raving review on Geodon, this week, not so good... I have lost a total of 11 lbs. in 9 days which should make me feel great, right? Nope! Because I went straight from feel good to full fledged mania (spent $300+ worth of nothing on eBay) to wading in mud depression and borderline psychotic. My husband wants me to "call the doctor and get back on the Seroquel!" I'm still trying to stick it out. The nausea is coming and going vs. staying that way all day but I'm still running (feels like crawling) back and forth to the bathroom. So- the ultimate question- to be fat and lazy, 'out of it' and with no life (including sex life) on Seroquel? or be skinny, sick and totally bipolar on Geodon? Yesterday at work, (I am a personal care assistant) I watched myself pour pepper in the pot of boiling water when I wanted salt, attempted to dry dishes with a wet dish rag, on the way home I was repeatedly forcing the windshield wipers to off trying to get them to turn on in a freezing rain storm... My words are jumbled, confused, can't make sense, crying and Belligerent, pistons aren't firing right... we'll see what happens...

So...
The Geodon seemed to make me too drowsy and I felt it was causing my sleep issue. I couldn't wake up in the morning. It was like I was still in REM while trying to wake. I could sleep until 12 noon and then realize I was late for work. Adderall barely seemed to help anymore.
After swearing off medications forever, I finally hit rock bottom realizing that my BiPolar had gotten the best of me. A DUI, WAY BAD CREDIT...I dug my self a hole of DEBT! My compulsive EVERYTHING had dug me a hole that thank God my Mother is still willing, after 22 years, is willing to help pull me out.
On my own, no psychiatrist involved, with my samples of Geodon and a prescription of Adderall provided by my primary care physician...I decided to go back on medication and so far...a week into it, I have noticed a significant difference...and so has others. Yes, I still might not want to wake up in the morning, but I am able to effectively work and actually somewhat enjoy doing it. I feel like I want to do things where as before...I just wanted to sleep or lay on the couch watching TV. I want to have a future and I want to better myself, where as before I wanted nothing but another drink and some pills. I feel that my quality of life has already improved and I hope with seeing my new psychiatrist on Tuesday, he might better my therapy.

Here is my current problem before asking my doctor.... hadn't taken any adderall for days. I took the Geodon at night, 60mg one day and 80mg the next thinking it might help with my sleep but it didn't do a thing. I Then the next day I took adderall around 7AM and 80mg of Geodon about 9PM and I couldn't keep my eyes open about 1-2 hours after taking the Geodon and I over-slept that morning and didn't wake up until after 10:30am when I am suppose to be at work at 9:00am.

Is it common for the extreme drowsiness to occur with the combination of Adderall in the morning and Geodon at night? I know before when I took both never missing either one, I was always extremely drowsy and that's one of the reasons I stopped taking meds. But after experiencing Geodon without adderall, I am wondering if the TWO don't mix well.

PLEASE HELP.

I have been on some different medications since told I was BiPolar. My first Doc prescribed Seroquel, Lexapro and eventually Adderall. The combo worked well seeing that I had no life after leaving home and moving up north with an aunt where I knew no one. I worked and slept. I felt like a robot. With the Seroquel I was falling asleep and barely able to make it up the stairs to go to bed. After moving home my new doctor informed me that a woman at the age of 20 really should have some form of sex drive, which I was completely lacking since taking the medications. He started me on Wellbutrin rather than Lexapro and Geodon rather than Seroquel. Needless to say, my sex drive did come back...but not out of control like before treatment. Things got better and a couple years later my doctor lost his license due to malpractice...long story. Searching for another doctor...I was told I was not BiPolar...just depressed and he took me off of every thing switching the Geodon to PROZAC and changing the Adderall to a low dose Dexedrine (10mg twice daily vs. the 40mg Adderall twice daily!!!). Needless to say...he was a quack and after 4 visits being bullshit...the appt was at 5 and I wasn't seen until after 8PM. He over booked and was a QUACK!!! So...after swearing off medications forever...

Too be continued.

I've only been on Geodon for three weeks and I have had nightmares so bad I'm afraid to go back to sleep. I even had a nightmare so bad that I couldn't snap myself out of it even after I woke up. I had to be sedated finally

originally posted to Queenie30
(also should mention that in addition to the Geodon, I take Lamictal and Wellbutrin)
I have been on Geodon for just under a week and have already lost 5 lbs! I was on Seroquel, which I loved and depended on for over a year, but could no longer stand by and watch the needle on the scale get higher and higher... 50 lbs total. Talk about depression. The Seroquel was previously the only thing that worked to halt my mania and put me to bed. Since the switch from (50 mg) Seroquel to (20 mg) Geodon I feel all around better than I have in years! I felt an improvement in mood almost immediately. I am clear headed, awake, smiling and laughing, have energy, and my previously (insatiable!) appetite is clearly suppressed. I have a natural nervous/anxious/self-conscious disposition which I attribute to my personality- in addition to the BP, all of my life which limited my eating, but in a healthy way- I was not underweight/overweight. (The Seroquel turned me into a lazy, careless cookie monster to say the least.) I have gone from sleeping 12 hrs a night (and still feeling exhausted) to sleeping 6 hrs a night and waking up feeling well rested, refreshed, and actually wanting to wake up! (That says a lot, I haven't felt like I wanted to wake up since I was a kid and I'm almost 30...) The not-so-fun part- I am extremely nauseous with diarrhea. I have called out of work the last 2 days because of the constant trips to the bathroom and vomiting. I really hope this part ends soon because I want to be able to tolerate this drug and not have to go back to the seroquel. I was in such a fog w/ the Seroquel that I did not see the true zombie effect it has had on me for over a year. I completely stopped doing the things that I loved and enjoyed- including using my creativity and intelligence. I feel 'alive' again on Geodon. I have felt myself when triggered, mind racing into mania which does have me on guard. I stayed awake in bed the first 2 nights til' at least 3am unable to stop the thought train/obsessing about something stupid my husband did 6 years ago :-) This is the part however, I want to learn to control on my own without meds which I why I am aggressively seeking therapy. Though, when my mind is racing/obsessing the geodon does seem to give me that strong sense of reality/insight that what I am doing is not normal or healthy, whereas before, I'd just be extremely angry and blame my husband or whoever 'wronged me' for my obsessing/anger/rage. Now I have a clear sense that I am (or should be) in control of myself/thoughts and feelings. I need to work on that missing link between obsessing about something I can not control or change, and reality- what is healthy for me. A med can not do this for you.
Hope this makes sense! Good Luck :-)

I forgot to mention this site:
http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20825&name=GEODON

You can read patient reviews on this or any drug and submit your own. I must admit, the page on Geodon is quite scary, but since my experiences have been mostly all good, I am staying extremely hopeful :-)

Geodon - Weight Loss, Mania Anyone?
________________________________________
I've been on Geodon for 5 wx & have lost 15 #'s. I usually weigh 130, now 115. looking anorexic, but my depression is a lot better now, I'm happy, first time in ovr a yr. nothing else could break the barrier except the Geodon, but it makes me manic, on top of already being manic…can't sleep. as I was about to crash & burn (thu), before I went running to the ER, i found my stash of 4 mg Risperdal that I just weened myself off of 3 mos ago, due to the long term side effects I was having (td, slurring, twitching, sexual dysfunction...). it took the edge off, til I can talk to the pdoc on tue.

like many of you, i’ve tried everything. i’m at my wit’s end. This bizarre combo seems to work for me. It puts a muzzle on the mania, allowing me a more hypomanic state where I can function & still feel really happy. although I’m going to try 40 vs 60 mg geodon. & try going down to 2 mg risperdal or try another a/p. adding the risperdal allowed me to sleep, along w/the lorazepam. but, I prefer not to be on risperdal

So, as of now…i'm on 60 mg geodon, 675 mg lithium, 4 mg risperdal & 1 mg lorazepam X 2/day.

has anyone else had this experience? Especially w/the mania & weight loss?

PLZ HELP! QUEENIE

I take 5 diff. drugs and am trying to figure out which side effect is associated with which drug. I have a really shotty memory now where I have lost perception of time. I thought I had spoken to my friend two weeks ago and I spoke to her two days ago. I read the news all day at work and can't remember any of it. This could be from the Ativan, Ambien, Lamictal or Provigil that I am also taking, but I have no idea which or if its the combo of a few. I am on all of these drugs because i have Bipolar 1 disorder. I take 160 mg of Geodon at night. Also, horrible facial paresthesia and insomnia. Does anyone know if this drug causes memory loss?? Thanks

Geodon was not worth it for me. I took 60 mg in the evenings and noticed I had a clenched jaw, anxiety, blurred vision, late menstrual periods, and HORRIBLE insomnia. I took myself off it with no problems.

I thought I sent one already but I'm on Cymbalta, Provigil, WellbutrinXL, Xanax, Vytorin, Norvasc. After two weeks on Geodon, I'm not depressed but today I'm talking stupid and fast to people and feel pretty badly about that, so I don't feel good. Paranoid? Also Shaky but obviously no one else sees it. Any Comment?

My mother is on Geodon. I cant remember how long shes been on it. but in the changes I have seen in her. I want her off ASAP. she used to enjoy life...you know..going to work, going out with friends, talking and hanging out with me but now I don't even recognize her. to me its like she is a zombie. all she does now is just sits at the house and watches TV all day. and as far as talking to her....it seems like shes not even interested in having a normal conversation with anybody. I think shes taking a bigger MG than she should but that cant be it cuz shes only taking 60mgs twice a day. half of the things she says I can barely understand. I have to listen carefully or I have to ask her to repeat what she said. anybody have ANY COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS PLEASE LET ME KNOW

I've been on 160 mg at night for most of this year. When my doctor switched me to a different anti-psychotic (Invega), I started having suicidal thoughts, so I went back on Geodon. I feel like I am happier and starting to do more things, but I have horrible physical side effects like brain zaps, energy running through my face and teeth, pins and needles in my eyes and on the tip of my tongue...It also gives me horrible insomnia. I have to take 25 mg of Ambien and 6 mg of Ativan at night just to get to bed! and then it makes me tired in the morning, so I take Provigil to stay awake during the day. I am confused as to what to do because I feel more sane and am becoming less preoccupied with myself daily, but these physical sensations are freaking me out!

having giving this drug two chances I'm ready to give up on it. while it has been great for bipolar symptoms, I've struggled with the side effects. one that I'm attributing to Geodon I haven't really read about is back and chest pain(muscular). has anyone else experienced this or am I alone?

I've been on Geodon for about 3-4 weeks and about 3-4 days ago I doubled my dosage to 80mg just once at night. I'm going to be 16 in two days. Last night my heart started racing and beating hard. Today, my heart's fine I'm just extremely shaky and almost nervous feeling. I'm staying off this stupid pill but I will be okay right? Is this withdrawal or just a nasty side effect?

I was put on GEODON because my Doctor believe I am hypomanic. I'm also on Lithium. I'm taking 40 of the Geodon in the morning and 80 at night. I want to start taking 40 am 40 pm...it makes me so tired. When I'm not on it though I FEEL LIKE I am on cocaine. It terrible. I don't even have to do drugs anymore to become talkative and hyperactive. I wish I never started doing drugs. I've been clean for 3 weeks.

I hate Geodon.. I hope to get off of it soon... My doctor took away one of the 60 mgs I took,, I was taking 200 mg of Geodon a day... so now I am down to 140 and hope to be off of it son I am also on Cymbalta 90 mg and he did not when me off of it.. but It sucks it takes away creativity and original thought be careful when having to think a lot...Also i have TD because of it but I take Cogentin to counter the affects.. no one told me about the side affects of explained them to me.. I wish I knew sooner because I have ruined a couple of teeth because of all the teeth clenching...but like I said before I can't wait to get off of it...

I have been taking Geodon for 3 yrs and have been trying to get off of it. I started on 40mgs once a day and was driving crazy from the Withdrawal side effects my pdoc and I did not anticipate. Geodon should be taken twice a day to even out the effects. Geodon has a wear off effect. About two yrs ago I was upped to 100 mgs a day and dealt with many side effects. I take 40mgs in the am and 60mgs in the pm. Now I deal with constipation, facial twitches, something stuck in my throat constantly, feeling cold all the time. I would complain to my pdoc but we never made the connection it was Geodon doing this to me. I am considered bp1 w/psychotic features and have not had a major episode since my dose was raised to 100mgs a day. Off and on I try to wean myself off Geodon but I find it impossible. My body screams for the Geodon when I don't take it. Nausea, hot & cold flashes, a feeling of total unwellness, dizziness, loose stools & stomach cramps all start about three days after I start the weaning process and last till I take some more Geodon to make it subside. I only have Ativan to help me get off this stuff and it is not much help. I am also on 75mgs a day of Topamax. Since I was raised to 100mgs I have had real troubles with insomnia. I go to bed at 9pm and I am fully awake between 3 to 5am. I never got up that early before Geodon. Ambien does not help to keep me sleeping. I will admit my mania is gone on Geodon but I still have some low lying depression that never seems to go away. I hate Geodon because it is next to impossible to get off this medication. I have tried to wean myself down several times without success. I don't want to be attached to this drug for the rest of my life. The addiction factor of this medication is not talked about in the brochure for this medication. The Withdrawal effects are horrible if you want to taper down or get off of it all together.

Hi Everyone,

Doctor put me on Geodon about 3 months ago. I started out 60 mg in the sample package the Doctor gave me. After using the sample pack I was prescribed 2 60 mg tablets (120mg) at night. It worked well for awhile and all of a sudden it seemed to stop working for me. I read a lot about how this drug is a nasty one and decided to cut down to 1 tablet (60 mg at night) The very next day I was trembling and having hot and cold flashes along with "brain zaps" and heart palpitations. I was hoping the Lamictal would cushion the side effects of the Geodon. Well it sure didn't do that and I know as the day goes I will have the same symptoms as I did yesterday.
The Geodon website makes this drug sound like a miracle drug but does state that heart related issues are there especially for the elderly people. This is a nasty drug that I hope I can get off and maybe go back to Lexapro because I have ADHD and not Bi-Polar.

Within 5 days of beginning course of Geodon, 40mg daily, doc doubled my dosage to 80mg, began to have problems. Intensely manic, easily frightened, insomnia, terrifying dreams. I decided to get out of hospital ASAP and decide if to quit taking Geodon.
On day six already my face was twitching, was irritable and manic, pacing, increasingly manic throughout day, decided to skip evening dose, keep total dosage same as before, 40mg. Began tripping around midnight and it was all downhill from there. Sleepless all night, by morning I had convulsions, increased heart rate, fear and anxiety, psychosis, uncontrollable crying. Had another seizure 12 hours later. Slept a little with help of Valium. Next day developed Parkinson's like symptoms, had my father not been there to help me, Lord knows what would have happened to me. Still awake in day 3 of withdrawal. Hoping the worst is over.

Hi I'm Link! I'm only taking 40mgs of Geodon after taking 120mgs for 6 years,I also take 1200 mgs of lithium,600mgs of Depakote and 2mg of Klonopin for sleep.My only side effects that stand out to me are very bad dry mouth and sexual dysfunction which is mostly caused by the Geodon since I did not have these problems since before I started on it,but my doctor sees a mark improvement in me and feels confident that we can go off the Geodon soon.Hopefully the ED will go away since I am a married man.This is my biggest concern because I know the dry mouth will certainly lessen even though I do take a lot of lithium,but my doctor says he only went up on that to go down on the Depakote so I may switch from Depakote to Lamictal because the Depakote gives me harsh tremors in my extremities and then I will go down on the lithium on the amount I was on before.

Before I was on Geodon I was on Zyprexa. That was the worse mistake of my life. Before I started with these anti psychotic I was 5'9 male who weighed 140 pounds after a few months I gained 50 pounds. Geodon stopped that though and I'm thankful.

The problem I have the most trouble with is never feeling awake unless its at night and I hate that.Now just a couple days ago I have been feeling that my jaw is locking. Other than that I do appreciate Geodon for what it does. I haven't been depressed for over 4 months now.

I was fine when I first started taking Geodon but when my doctor increased the dosage I started getting really anxious and was sleeping for so long on the weekends My body chemistry didn't work well with Geodon so my doctor said to stop taking it. Only take it if your body' s chemistry works with it. I feel a little better now but it's not totally out of my system. Anxiety can be a side effect too for those researching the medication.

i'm 15 and have been on the medication for a couple of weeks. i feel like my vision is blurred. other symptoms i have are bleeding in the nose, dry cough,trouble concentrating, my leg won't quit moving, and i can't eat. looking at food just wants to make me hurl because when i do eat, i get a terrible stomach ache or sometimes i just tasting the food makes me sick. my head always hurts and my legs are weak just after walking up stairs. that's not normal for me. also, i'm always thirsty and i have trouble remembering things, which i didn't before.

At first I felt really stoned on the Geodon (60mg). Took about 2 weeks to adjust to it. I am also on Lithium 600 at night. Seems now that by the end of the day it has all worn off and I feel bad. The suicidal ideations come back at night. In the morning I feel good. Also take restoril 30 and Klonopin 2mg at bedtime. I mentioned to the MD about taking Geodon twice a day and he was unimpressed. I feel like I burn through it. Any comments would be appreciated! Thanks.

Geodon has been wonderful for me!! I have been on it for 2 years (I think). My dose was just increased due to some depression. I am on 40 mg in the AM and 40 mg in the PM. I take it at 7 am and 5:30-6 pm. I think it helps to have the even doses throughout the day. I am also on Lamictal (awesome drug!) and Wellbutrin. My medley works great for me. The only side effect I had when my dose was recently increased was a little sleepiness in the AM. Now, 5 days into it, no more tiredness. Actually energy because I am no longer depressed. Best of luck to y'all. I am bipolar, and it sucks to have to take medicine for the rest of my life, but I feel great and I certainly don't want to go back to the depression and mania I felt off the drugs.

Geodon has been great for me. I was on Zyprexa and gained 125 pounds. Got off of Zyprexa and started taking Geodon. I have already lost 14 pounds. On Zyprexa I was sleepy all the time. I slept all day long. I hated it. On Geodon I'm not sleepy. I don't even need naps. I love it. The only side effect I have is a runny nose. I'm happy I switched to Geodon.

I have had my third relapse of mania and will be on geodon for life. It has been a godsend and no side effects i can tell except when i take 80mg at night i get wobbly at some point when i stand up. During day i take 20 mg as I am still on 6 mg of klonipin, hoping to taper off by end of year. Geodon has been a godsend

I'm on 40mg at night, and have been having good experiences with it before. I don't experience anxiety, if anything, I feel less anxious than I ever did before. I was on Risperdal and gained 75 lbs VERY quickly, even after changing my diet to low-cal, low-fat, and doing everything else in the book. Now I'm off that Risperdal garbage, on the 40 mg of Geodon, and couldn't be happier. I am bipolar, and don't experience the rapid cycling that I did before, even on the Risperdal. I'm considering asking my psychiatrist to take my oldest son OFF that Abilify mess that makes him miserable and put him on Geodon. Thumbs up from me!

I have been on 40 mgs of Geodon since April 2006 and I have had absolutely no side effects from it. In fact, it is far better than the 7.5 mgs of Zyprexa I was on previously (gained 70 lbs on Zyprexa) and I have lost 40 of those lbs already. I told my doctor to take me off the Zyprexa as I couldn't stand to gain any more weight, so that is when he put me on Geodon. I was still in somewhat of a dark mood all the time and still paranoid on the Zyprexa, but when I started on Geodon it cleared it all up almost immediately. Geodon has been a life saver for me. I'm sorry to read about the bad experiences of some on this medication. I have never experienced any of the symptoms mentioned in previous posts. In fact, I have no side effects from it whatsoever.