[Terabithia]

I know that we all react differently to meds., but I was hoping that by getting a lot of input from those who have tried it or who are taking it now, I could get a general picture of how it might affect me. I'm thinking of switching from Seroquel over to Geodon. I was on Geodon briefly a long time ago, but I've found that the same medications can effect me differently at different times in my life or depending on how it's interacting with my different set of medications.

Thanks everyone

[chroniccryer]

I tried Geodon and it made me hallucinate. So we stopped it immediately.

[lilypup]

I like Geodon. It has helped me. However, I tried to decrease my dosage and got really depressed. Just something to keep in mind.

[Lexi232]

they were giving me geodon as a prn in inpatient approx 3 years ago.. it was for sleep (or so they told me). I had a bad reaction to it, where my muscles were drawing up and pulling away from eachother, and the tendons and joints were pulling apart from eachother as well.. it started with my lip twitching, and i was discharged by them saying that it was just me being full of anxiety about going home (i hate when people write things off as anxiety and dont listen when i'm like "i know what anxiety is! i have anxiety a lot! but this aint anxiety!- tho i am getting anxious because you lack to listen to me!" ... ) but by the end of that night i ended up in the ER being given dilaudid and other meds. and cogentinten (cant spell it). needless to say- it was not anxiety. lol
but, it DID work for sleep when i took it. although after a few days i started to become immune to the sleep affect then it just didn't do anything for sleep in me. (it took about 4 days for it to start doing the lip twitching thing, that led into something much more).
cogentin is like a antidote for when an antipsychotic has that affect on someone. its also taken for other reasons as well.

[Terabithia]

sounds like the medicine from hell!

So far, there have been 3 very different responses. I may just have to try it for myself and see how it goes.

[Fresia]

I have been on geodon for years after trying everything else, nothing else worked for me. It has been a godsend. I like that it can be easily adjusted with its short half life and smaller dosages available, to adjust to moods levels as needed, which can vary depending on the time of year and circumstances and is also much appreciated to have help with this sooner rather than later.

I hope you find what works best for you soon.

[Terabithia]

thanks - it's good to hear that it worked really well for somebody

[BipolaRNurse]

I've been on Geodon for almost 2 years and found it very easy to tolerate. I also lost some weight on it, only to gain some of those pounds back when I had to go on Zyprexa early this year. I don't believe it's as effective as the Zyprexa though, because I've been unable to come off "Vitamin Z" and go back to just taking the Geodon. But the latter is the one my pdoc says he'll probably never discontinue as long as it has positive effects. I hear getting off Geodon is really hard to do, so I'm not wild about the idea anyway.

There was once a time when I was sure I'd be able to come off anti-psychotics altogether, but my pdoc hasn't talked about it in over a year and now I don't think it'll ever happen. My life is so much better with them than it was without them, and in the end that's all that really matters.

[Fresia]

Originally Posted by Terabithia

thanks - it's good to hear that it worked really well for somebody

There will always be horror stories and heaven sent stories of how meds changed people's lives because our body chemistries are so very different. It is important to do your research, know your own history with meds as to what has worked and what hasn't, and use this information in conjunction with your pdoc or prescribing physician knowledge to decide what is best for you no matter how someone reacted to it.

One of my meds, not Geodon, right now is in a lawsuit for causing major problems for some that I have never encountered in 16 years of being on it. If I had only this information and not done research, I never would have tried it. My doc and I agree the benefits outweighs the risk in my case. You have to do what is works for you. There may be some trial and error, which definitely bites, but you will find the right med(s) in the end. Hang in there.

[ChipperMonkey]

Best medication I've ever been on, BUT it does weaken my muscles. I take a very small dose PRN to knock out my symptoms. It just stinks that I can't run anymore. Yeah, my muscles were affected that much.

[Terabithia]

I talked to my new psychiatrist over the phone today and he gave me a prescription of 80mg. of Geodon - does that sound about right? He told me to taper off the Seroquel, going down from 400 to 200 tonight. If it were my old doctor I'd feel good about it, but this new doctor I just don't trust and he has my life in his hands! I'm hoping it all goes smoothly. Every med. has all those crazy possible side affects! Oh, and while he told me to go down on the Seroquel, on the pill bottle it said to stop taking it, completely. I'm trying to get in with another doctor, but so far they're booked.