Geodon/Ziprasidone Experiences

Please post any and all Geodon experiences here.

My story:
I began taking Geodon as I was weaned off Risperdal. I began taking 20mg in the morning. It was heavily sedating for me at this dosage. I would be fine for a few hours and then needed a several hour nap every day. I felt like a zombie. My doctor had me switch to take Geodon at night and I felt a million times better with no need for a nap.

My emotions were muted at first. That got better with time as I adjusted. I did not experience mania or psychosis, so in general it seemed to be effective.

I gained 8 lbs in 2 months when I first began taking Geodon. It is supposed to be weight friendly, but I kept my physical activity and eating the same and still gained. I am an active person. I tried being slightly more active and eating less calories. My weight kept creeping up. I finally began circuit training for 30 min every day alongside a reduced calorie intake. I was then able to lose the weight I gained. I am maintaining my weight using the same plan.

I will be weaning off Geodon starting next week. I will post updates as I go.

Geodon helped me with my moods but left me with a very flat affect that cost me my job (fortunately I was a contractor and was just moved to another contract; my actual employer felt I was good at my job). I remember having light sensitivity and I was very tired on it. Eventually I had tongue thrusting and lip smacking and was taken off it.

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.

Geodon was part of a cocktail that saved my life and pulled me from the brink. It was October of 2016 and I had had my last daughter in August. I went downhill fast due to the BPII not being under control and the hormones. I ended up in the hospital. They put me on it with a couple of other things and within 4 days I was a new person. That was 16 years ago and havent been in a mental health crisis since.

I take 80 mg of Geodon daily. I was taking the whole dose at bedtime but developed akasthesia (which could have been from an interaction between Geodon and Remeron but it was hard to tell). Recently, I cut my dose down to 60 mg and took it at night with Doxepin for insomnia...but Doxepin works best on an empty stomach so I stopped eating food with my night time meds. Since I stopped the calorie intake, I wasn't absorbing much Geodon and I recently became very irritable, which I guess was my version of being hypomanic. I'm now taking 60 mg with dinner and 20 mg with breakfast; I just started this regimen so I'm hoping for good results. Bottom line is Geodon, when taken properly, keeps me evened out/prevents mood swings.

I tried it during a really horrible ptsd episode.

Of course it didn’t help, so I decided to quit cold turkey and it was pure hell, literally lost days, freezing cold to boiling hot, felt like the flu x 1000000

I seriously don’t see myself trying it again.

But I know so many people that are very stable and enjoying life because of it

My experience with Geodon was not pleasant or helpful. I stuck with it for 3 months, then finally admitted it was causing more problems that solutions. The biggest issue I had with Geodon was that it had a strange effect on my sleep. No matter when I took it, I felt sleepy all day but when I tried to lie down and sleep at night I was wired and wide awake. As a result, I was in a constant state of being physically and emotionally unsteady.

I want to emphasize, however, that Geodon is helful for many people.

After a few days on Geodon, I felt like I'd "eaten an atomic bomb"- as I then described it. Now that I think of it, it felt like getting the IV contrast fluid during a CT scan- I could feel each organ getting hot as the fluid moved through. With the Geodon, it was a similar experience but not as "strong".

I’m slowly tapering off geodon at 2mg now

I just finished my taper last week. So far, so good. I hope you are able to go symptom free!

Are you taking anything else?

Never took it, but I was in the hospital with a ton of folks who were on it. Did not hear a good word about it. People hated it.

No that’s it am done with meds for a while... I’m at 20mg at night then off of this medication can’t wait

Me too. I was also on 20mg at night and that was my only med. My doctor decided it was time to wean me off. I took one every other day and then every third day to taper slowly. It worked well.

How much did you taper from? I take 60 mg at night but I haven't been taking it with food for the past week so I'm probably really taking about 30 mg (?). Did you taper by 20 mg at a time and how long did it take? I've started Lamictal and am hoping to taper off of Geodon and stay off of antipsychotics. I see my doctor next week.

20mg was the highest dose I ever took. My doctor intended to raise it, but I wasn't showing any symptoms the entire 8 months or so I took it. He had weaned me off Risperdal and assumed I needed more Geodon, but it never came to that.

20mg is the lowest dose they make so to taper I took one every other day for two weeks and then every third day for two weeks.

If I were you I'd probably drop to 40mg for two weeks and then to 20 for two weeks and then every other day for two weeks.

Good luck to you with your taper. Keep us posted!

This is a great suggestion I’m gonna start tapering slowly like this I’m at 20mg for one week so far I feel more like myself I’m alive able to feel my emotions good and bad... able to see the world clearer this drug really made me dull