I've shared about my Geodon experiences at length, so will try to be briefer by sharing in outline form.

* Started at low doses. Initially very sedating. So much so that once I fell asleep sitting up while entertaining a guest.. My dose continued to be raised. I was also on 900 mg of Lithium ER at the time.

* I complained about the sedation and convinced an IOP psychiatrist to let me take all 160 mg at night. That's not the usual. It's usually split in morn/evening. Nevertheless, that was great! I slept well initially. To Lithium and Geodon, Lamictal 100 mg was also added. Then at some time also Tegretol XR. At one point I lowered my Geodon dose to 80 mg at night, without telling my psychiatrist. During this period, I was on a semi-low carb diet. I lost 40 lbs in six months.

* At my lowered dose of Geodon, I started to gradually get manic. Not good! Once I became psychotic at home. Navane (Thiothixene was added). That helped a bit. Then I came clean about the Geodon, so my psychiatrist made me take it twice per day 80/80 = 160 mg. That seemed wonderful and I stayed at a nice hypomanic for quite a while, but of course it became problematic. I stopped sleeping more than four hours per night, driving to 24 hour joints in the middle of the night, baking muffins at 2 am, etc. My Navane was increased. I maintained the weight loss well for a long while.

* I continued to have breakthrough hypomania, and once a full blown when I thought the devil was after me. I called 911 screaming. Six policeman showed up at my house. I had since accidentally locked myself out of the house. They came to see me screaming continuously. I didn't speak. Luckily my husband got home soon after and they let him take me in telling him "I think she's having an episode". After that, my psychiatrist added Seroquel XR. I was on three moodstabilizers, three antipsychotics, and a benzo at that point.

* Looooong story......eventually Geodon gave me wicked nasty akathisia. I lived with it for a long while. My psychiatrist finally started to wean me off Geodon. It was rough with withdrawals (dizziness, nausea, anxiety, sweating, etc.) so my psychiatrist took it very slowly. I had hypomanic/manic breakthroughs, so as my Geodon went down, my Seroquel XR went up. The Navane was since gone because of a dystonia.