[hamster-bamster]

I am on Geodon (ziprasidone) because it is the least weight gain producing of the atypical antipsychotics. I know that it cured maddening and horrifying baseless sexual jealousy in me in the past, so I can attest to the anti-psychotic effect. My new pdoc now is raising the dose to 160 mg / day in the hopes to achieve more mood stability, prescribing it alongside with Lithium of course. Hope it does the job. But I almost never see Geodon mentioned. Why? Is it less effective than other neuroleptics? Is the benign weight gain profile the "price" for less anti-manic efficacy?

[Hydrophobic1212]

I don't want to cause alarm, so I put the trigger icon on here...

It could be because it can change something in your heart beat that can cause sudden death. Most psychiatrists wait to suggest it and try other antipsychotics first. My pdoc suggested it for me but my parents said absolutely not after reading about the heart beat thing.

Other than that, I wouldn't know of a reason why it wouldn't be mentioned.

[Moose72]

I took it - am now on its cousin zyprexa- a year ago or more now. It made me feel very weird. I couldn't explain it then but I just felt like I HAD to stop taking it.

[Secretum]

Thanks for the warning, Hydro. Natalya, my pdoc has suggested geodon, but I told her I didn't want to take it. I don't want to take an antipsychotic if I don't have to, due to fear of weight gain (turned down depakote for the same reason) and neurological dysfunction.

[cybermember]

I take Geodon. I've been on various doses as well as the max. No weight gain, prolactin levels low and a good EKG. It took care of my mania and psychosis with a few adjustments from time to time. I understand it may not be for everyone but it works for me.

At one point I took geodon. It really worked quite well for me and I didn't have weight gain problems with it, but it also made me incredibly drowsy in the mornings. I was literally falling asleep while driving. I just couldn't function that way so he took me off of it.

[SingDanceRunLife]

My current pdoc told me she doesn't use it as much because it's not as effective.

[FireBird]

I took Geodon before and I had a very fast heart rate because of it and had to be taken off. Resting heart rate was about 140 bpm. The side effects of all the pills are just ridiculous.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by farmergirl

At one point I took geodon. It really worked quite well for me and I didn't have weight gain problems with it, but it also made me incredibly drowsy in the mornings. I was literally falling asleep while driving. I just couldn't function that way so he took me off of it.

My new pdoc suggested I take both doses in the PM, to prevent drowsiness and to cause better sleep. For the first night, wonderful. Next night, I wake up in the middle of the night realizing that the left side of my body is shaking involuntarily. This never happened while I was taking AM and PM doses. I got scared and went back to AM and PM doses, and will talk about it with pdoc this week.

I must say it is also expensive, even with insurance, because there is still no generic.

[cybermember]

Geodon's patent is said to expire in 2012 which would allow for a generic version to be made available with lower costs.

[dragonfly2]

I was on Geodon for years and the only side effect I had was the drowsiness. It can cause Long QT Syndrome, but as long as your doctor does a baseline EKG and periodic monitoring, you should be fine. They can detect any changes through the monitoring and can discontinue the med if needed.

Oh, one other thing about Geodon: avoid grapefruit products. Not all pharmacies will tell you that. The grapefruit inactivates an enzyme process in your stomach that can cause an abnormal spike in your serum drug levels, leading to toxicity. This also happens with some cholesterol meds.

[Fresia]

I know my doc initially said he tries other things first for his patients due to the serious side-effects it can cause but began to push for it after a period of time when I had certain, serious reactions to all of the others. I still put it off for years in favor of continuing to try others for the reasons mentioned, after reading Geodon's literature. I have been taking it now for 7 years; it does cause the drowsiness in the evenings, which is when I take all of my dose but am refreshed by morning. I cannot take it during the day. My follow-up EKGs and other work-ups have been normal over the years with no other side-effects; it has worked beautifully for me in controlling my rapid cycling with dosage adjustments. Would not have known that I would have had a such a positive reaction as everyone's chemistry so different and know that not everyone reacts the same to it or to any of the others. Never know until tried unfortunately; sometimes with negative results and in this case turned out thankfully to be positive.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by cybermember

Geodon's patent is said to expire in 2012 which would allow for a generic version to be made available with lower costs.

Great! Will save me $500 a year, no kidding.

I was curious if anyone had the same experience with both abilify and geodon? I tried both of them within the last five yrs, solo, with no other meds. I can't recall any ill effects for the limited time I took them, except for the sleeplessness part. Basically I had 2-3 weeks of sleepless, manic, hyper-productivity, followed by plateau-ing. Both regimens were abandoned. I'm really not looking forward to lithium but it may be my only option.

[Moose72]

I like lithium so much more than either of those. Ability gave me uncontrolae muscle movements. Geodon just made me feel so odd inside! I felt I had to get it out of my body ASAP.