Geodon and depression

uhhh I just started taking GEODON 2days ago and i've just got the superrr groggy feeling in the morning thru to mid day....im n bed now and its like 6:30(i cant wait to sleep).... But now that ive come to this website y'all have me scaredddd! ....I was put on PAXIL for my depression and first put on DEPAKOTE for my my bipolar and anxiety but i started hearing the voices and got super more depressed and i called the doc n a panic so he put me on 40mg of GEODON.. my family has no major history of heart conditions and im only 24yrsold...n I dont want to die due to THIS... soooo what do u suggest??anyone pleaseee??im scared??!!

Hello All,

I have been on Geodon for about 3 weeks. It has helped my depression, and I also have had my Lamictal dosage increased. i was doing well on it up to about 4 days ago. I started to have chest pain. I am 35, in great shape, I am a spin instructor part time. The Geodon has helped my ADD and bipolar symptoms. I am going to have to come off the drug due to the chest pain. Today while teaching class, I got a case of chest pain. I pushed through it, but I am not going to risk a heart attack for a more pleasant life. It just isn't worth it. Please, remember is it better to live happy for a short time, because this drug can kill, or is it better to take something different?

I started taking Geodon (40 mg) for depression two nights ago. I am totally groggy. I don't think I've been on it long enough to suffer any withdrawal if I stop taking it as of, like, now.

I just begun with Geodon so my dose is low, 20 mg bid for 3 days, 40 mg bid x 3 days, then up to 60 mg bid. I also take Effexor 150 mg once a day. I am a bit leary in taking this. However am willing to try anything at this time. Better than the depression. Not sure of the bi-polar diagnosis, since the Dr. randomly said it. I just want my life back.

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...

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.

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.

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?
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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'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!

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 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.

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.

Horrible medicine for my 11 year old daughter.Cant believe our doctor would prescribe.Shes been on for 5 weeks 20mg. twice a day.Stomach aches, loose stool, cold like symptoms,exhausted,blood shot eyes and glazed over at night,hyper,horrible itching,nightmares and scared at night,muscle tension or flexing,wakes up early,napping on weekends which she hasnt done since she was three,constant eating,not eating breakfast.Shes all over the place.DO NOT PUT YOUR CHILD ON THIS MEDICATION.Were weaning off now!!

At times this has been a great drug for me. It let me get up from utter depression and start gardening, cooking. But now I think, after 4 years off and on, mostly on, the side effects are hurting me. My tongue is always red and painful. Does anyone else have this problem? I take lithium and Lamictal too for bipolar disorder.

I started taking Geodon only 2 weeks ago and I feel SOOOO much better.
I was going off the deep end for about a month I have BP and depression.
It took only 3 days for me to stable out once I started Geodon. I am up to 80mgs 2 x a day. So far So good.

Taking Geodon for misdiagnosis of BP. Depression yes. Worked great for 6 months until I THOUGHT I needed a smaller dosage. Went fron 80 -60-40-20 all at night. Stayed off 7 days and crashed. I need this drug to keep sanity. Everyone seems to hate Geodon, but I now know it helps me. Did not have any withdrawal symptoms, but learned I needed this drug. Immediately after taking 60 mg everything seemed back to normal. Not crazy about taking any medications, but Geodon has me where I need to be.

I have been on Geodon for a month for depression. I've tried all antidepressants and nothing helped. Geodon makes me happy, but scatterbrained. I'm all over the place! I've also had some kind of cold going on two weeks....dry cough, blood in my nose and a feeling like something is stuck in my throat like a pill that hasn't gone down. Food tastes funny and my tongue feels like it would if I had burned it. Other than that, I can get out of bed earlier and I feel like doing something, but I can't focus on one thing at a time. I can't relax; I have to be doing something but get nothing accomplished.

has anyone had good results from this drug, i am looking for something to add to paxil. Depression and not caring is what i need help with.

I started taking Geodon for depression 3 weeks ago. I was extremely tired for about a week. Then I went on a trip and forgot my medecine and the withdraw symptoms was unbelievable. I couldn't stand my own skin I panicked and was very uneasy. Then the abdominal cramps were very painful. I only missed 48hours of medecine. I got back on it and have not been the same since. I am so uneasy, restless. It's worse than being depressed. I have to get off this stuff.
Thanks
Richard, LA, CA

Geodon has definitely proved useful for me, thus far, for the depression side of my bipolar disorder, and compared to Lamictal (which had many and terrible side effects for me, even at a low dose) and Trileptal (to which I discovered I'm quite allergic), it's been a blessing. Took it for three days and it was like throwing a switch to turn off my depression, which had been increasingly bad and getting worse over the past two years. I've been on it for only two weeks, but thus far, I have had minor problems with a rash (easily controlled with a small dose of benedryl, and which will hopefully go away in time), one night of insomnia, and a day of frequent need to urinate. The jury's still out as to whether or not it is affecting my blood pressure. I'm also taking Klonopin, which may be why I have not had much trouble with sleeping, but the need to suddenly run to the bathroom every two hours (or less) is disconcerting and will be watched. I'm taking what most doctors would probably consider an extremely low dose, only 20 mg, but my particular variety of BPD makes me extremely hypersensitive to drugs of any kind. My doctor has suggested that I try increasing the dose in another two weeks, but so long as I'm doing well at this level, I have no intention of doing so, and he knows it. I am seldom able to reach "normal therapeutic levels" for these kinds of drugs, and if I do, it takes years for me to get there. Thank God my doctor understands that if the level I'm taking is effective for me, it doesn't matter that it's half, or less, of what "normal" people take. Because nobody's body chemistry is the same, and one size does not fit all when it comes to drug dosage.

I had thought of hurting others. I had to bury my cooking knie's to eliminate the impulse to grab one. I had the same thought's flashing over & over & actually drew me over to the knive's. These images played so many time's in my mind & so quickly I felt normal approaching them. This drug is very scary in my mind!!! I have a loving family & to think the solution for depression(minor) could have ended several live's
I am happy to see this website for opinions & experince's will not go unoticed. some may get ignored for they have a mental ilness & their opinion's are clouded, but I tell you what this crap is dangerious! So dangerious I sobered up to the fact I am not a killer & I not gonna start thinking like one. They need to do some more studies on this chemical. I don't know how the fda coud of approved this crap for anything.

Thanks for the opportunity to share my awfull & almost deadly experince. Oh, just so you know this was after about 5 day's of treatment.

after three months of no side effects I suddenly began to feel my skin crawl,could not sit still,began shaking my foot,pacing,slight rocking,impatient attitude. I found out this was called "akathisia" . I began to smoke pot to calm me down as I was not able to contact my docter and that helped the growing depression and anxiety about the way my body was all of a sudden reacting. after 1 1/2 weeks it went away. I had decreased the amount I was taking from 60 mg day to 40 mg. maybe that's why it went away. the nervousness has dissapeared but now I am depressed and am going to ride it out because overall-geodone has been good. if it happens again I will ask my docter for something like valium .

My 12 year old daughter began taking this drug a month ago and I noticed she does alot of twiching while falling asleep.One night I even heard her have a bout with sleep apnea. This scared the heck out of me. This med seems to do nothing for her defiant disorder so why should I keep her on it? After hearing the syptoms of discontinuing this drug I am a bit worried about getting her off of this. She also takes remeron for depression. Can someone give me some good advice on how to confront this drug pushing psyciatrist that put her on this nasty med?

THIS IS HORRIBLE STUFF!!! I suffer from depression and that is all...My doctor currently has me on the max dose of lexapro and welbutrin. Friday he threw Goedon in to the mix. I took one 60 mg and slept for over 20 hours. I went to work on monday and had trouble taking which is a major problem considering I talk on the phone 8 hours a day. I left work after an hour on monday, could not go in on tuesday and after reading what I've read here today. I am never taking this again....EVER. I must admit my dreams were incredible, the most vivid I've ever had. But this medication is vile. Get away from it ASAP.

I have been taking Geodon for 2 wks. It has put out the fire of anxiety that has caused me nights of insomnia and depression. I was diagnosted with OCD and depression. I am thankful for the drug even though it does make me tired and I have weird dreams that I did not experience before taking geodon. I see that many testimonials are negative, but I am a positive one. Living with mental illness has been my life. I am now getting my life back from the constant worry and negative thoughts that run 100 mph in my head. I am now not in constant fear of the future. It has stabilized me.