side effects of Geodon

[Kim]

I'm Type II Bipolar and my pdoc just switched me from Seroquel to Geodon, to what I found out was a pretty high dose. Felt great for about a week. Really felt normal and loving. Then I felt like I had the flu. Nauseous, dizzy, chills, shakes, fever, etc. Went to the ER, per pdoc orders. They brought me down off Geodon and I met my new pdoc. He wanted me to give it another try but from a low dose. Again, felt ok for a few days, but "the flu" hit again. Am now off Geodon for good. Worst med to date that I've been on.

[Joy]

Iv been on geodon 20 mg for 1 wk, ablify 7.5mg and lamictal 250 mg for years. the ablify mafe me gane 75 lbs in the last 2 yours.I have had only 1 problems so far on the Geodon. I fall asleep about 1 hour after taken it. This is not such a big problem because i take it at night. It has only been a week. am I in for problems?

[Lila]

I was prescribed Geodon at a very young age. There is a lot of evidence that it is very unsafe in children and it is widely accepted that you should not prescribe it to kids. I was force fed it for over a year, and during that time I experienced intense nausea every morning and vomiting about half of the days I could even drag myself out of bed. It actually made my "illness" a lot worse and I was eventually thrown out of my house, but when I moved in with my father he agreed to give me the chance to go off the medication, and as it turns out, what was diagnosed as bipolar disorder was just the fact that I was a bratty child. I'm 16 now and I'm a thousand percent better with no chemicals in my body than I ever was on anti-psychotics. What I'm trying to say is that this medication was detrimental to my health, more like a chemical lobotomy than a real solution, and it should never be prescribed to a child.
Thanks, Lila

[Susan]

I just turned 18, and was given geodon. I experience bouts of violence, bipolar, and hyperness. I can get really mean. I was great when I first came home from Oakwood Center, but now, a week later, I'm bouncing from 1 high mood to the next. I hate it!

[Susan]

Ryan wrote:

Its been a life saver for me. The first day i hated my Doc for prescribing it but since then it's been amazing. I haven't had any good effects from other drugs. This one has saved my life.
My mum is smiling again.:*)

How old were u when u started It?

[Susan]

Star wrote:

My daughter takes 240 miligrams of geodon at night and 1 mg of chlonapen. She does not go to sleep until after she raids the refigerator or orders a pizza. She has to eat when she takes the medicine. During the day she has no appetite at all. I am also concerned about the flu-lik syptoms that she has. She constantly blowing her nose and dealing with drainage issues. She does not tolerate respridal consta well. She is also irritable. Do you think her medication shoud be changed or just lower the dose?

Lower dosage.

[mandy]

LynKoren wrote:

My 15 year old son is in the autism spectrum. He has been taking Geodon for nearly 3 mo. The last few days he keeps complaining of not feeling right. He has had episodes that sound almost psychotic. He gets extremely agaitated. I am wondering if this is caused by the Geodon. <quoted text>

sounds like my daughter.

[laura]

soo I just wanted to post to anyone who is thinking of getting off their Geodon med. It has been about 5months since i got off my dose of 40mg per day and i have never felt more like myself. I have been on that med probably since junior or sophomore year of highshool and I am now a senior in college. I believe this drug does have its benefits but it does wear off after a period of taking it. Since ive been off it i have absolutely HARDLY any anxiety and stress. I am taking 5 classes plus clinicals and i have never been more relaxed. Currently i am on paxil and yaz(birth control) which such a combonation of SSRI and birth control has proven to benefit women who have drastic mood swings/anxiety cuz that all may be attributed to low estrogen levels. You can read about this in "the female brain" a great book that has helped me understand my female body alot. It is written by a neuropyschiatrist (female). Parts are biased but a lot of it is fact based concerning our female physiology. Anyway when i was on geodon + paxil, i could not remember what i used to feel like before not being on geodon. If you are experiencing increased anxiety and doctors are telling you to increase your geodon please be an advocate for yourself and suggest to get off it completely or lower the dose and if you are female to maybe trying an SSRI plus birth-control to even your moods. I have had ZERO anxiety attacks and the amount of times i have 'cried' have drastically decreased and are down to little to none. Please consider this. thanks. I do have an email [e-mail] if you need anything or have any questions.

[concerned]

My friend just started using this. He has only been on it for a week and now cannot talk without stuttering. They are saying it is a rare side effect and cannot even tell him if it is reversible or not.

[Geodon is AWFUL]

I struggle with depression, anxiety, compulsive behaviors (various addictions). I am currently on Klonopin (at night or as needed), Lamictal 400mg per day, Cymbalta 120 mg a day and Trazadone 100 mg for sleep. This combo works great for me. Well, I went to see a new psychiatrist yesterday and he thinks I am bipolar. He put me on 80mg Geodon. OMG I have never been so damn drowsy in my life. I slept hard and could barely get up in the AM. I tried to make some coffee........I put the coffee grounds in without a filter and then forgot to put the water in the coffee maker. What a mess! All day I have been in a fog. Now, I have flu like symptoms. I say screw this! I am NOT taking this drug again. I am going back to my old doctor and stay on my old med's. Scary stuff!

[laura]

Geodon is AWFUL wrote:

I struggle with depression, anxiety, compulsive behaviors (various addictions). I am currently on Klonopin (at night or as needed), Lamictal 400mg per day, Cymbalta 120 mg a day and Trazadone 100 mg for sleep. This combo works great for me. Well, I went to see a new psychiatrist yesterday and he thinks I am bipolar. He put me on 80mg Geodon. OMG I have never been so damn drowsy in my life. I slept hard and could barely get up in the AM. I tried to make some coffee........I put the coffee grounds in without a filter and then forgot to put the water in the coffee maker. What a mess! All day I have been in a fog. Now, I have flu like symptoms. I say screw this! I am NOT taking this drug again. I am going back to my old doctor and stay on my old med's. Scary stuff!

Yea...when i initially started taking Geodon I was very tired and I only ever took it at nite. My yoga instructor in HS would let me sleep during class hahaha. Is the 80mg of Geodon in addition to what you are taking? or did he lower any doses on your other meds? I can relate as i do have anxiety and compulsive behaviors and i do have klonopin as a back up to calm me down, however honestly,since ive been OFF the Geodon I have not really had to use it at all. I would suggest getting a GYNO appt and see if you could benefit from birth control (increased estrogen supplement) plus one of your SSRIs and maybe get off the geodon entirely. Usually when you start a new med, im sure you know, you experience a lot of drowsy symptoms. Geodon does work a lot for Bipolar related symptoms since it is an anti-psychotic however sometimes you just really need to see what YOUR body needs. If you are female, i suggest examining your intensity of PMS symptoms prior to menstrating and then check in to a GYNO appt. This helped me drastically.

[laura]

concerned wrote:

My friend just started using this. He has only been on it for a week and now cannot talk without stuttering. They are saying it is a rare side effect and cannot even tell him if it is reversible or not.

i would say get him off the drug immediately. I have heard this about Geodon and in some cases it does go away. Wean him off it.