Geodon for Bipolar Disorder User Reviews (Page 4)

• Ran...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 16, 2020

"I had bad mania and needed to be on something. I couldn't go to sleep, crazy focused on everything and felt so scattered. My doctor recommended Geodon, and it worked for the first 2 months, but then it gave me horrible anxiety. I had to get off it and get on an anti-anxiety. I also had some bad side effects from Geodon - lots of vomiting and nausea, cravings, and anxiety."

• Jil...
• November 15, 2016

"My Dr. switched me from Risperidone to Geodon because of weight gain. I had taken Geodon back in 2002 and didn't have any side effects that I can recall. However, this time it was a nightmare. As soon as I started taking it, I felt sick. The side effects I experienced: sore throat, cough, sore throat glands, restlessness, acid indigestion, heartburn, belching, depression, rash on my neck, loss of appetite, back pain, joint pain, flatulence, hot flashes, insomnia, unable to stay asleep, exhausted. I was on it for 2 1/2 weeks. My Dr. told me to stop cold turkey. The withdrawal was hell. I was dizzy for a week, hot flashes, chills, shaking, nauseous, vomiting, terrible spasms in my thighs. It took about 8 days for me to feel better."

• one...
• October 9, 2009

"Just came off Lithium and Lamictal combo. I needed a change, plus having surgery, have pain medication needs that can't be addressed with a drug like Lithium. Loving the Geodon so far. Energetic and 'lifted,' sleeping like a baby. I hope it lasts."

• Anonymous
• February 15, 2014

"I started taking Geodon back in May or June of 2013. It worked well enough but made me indifferent. Yes, it did help me get out of an incredibly long and terrible state of depression, but I lost the ability to feel anything at all. My legs would become restless (most often at night), and I was always exhausted. I would even doze off or completely fall asleep at work. I stayed on it for a few months, then stopped taking it when I started a hypomanic phase."

• Dir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 8, 2013

"Geodon made me a zombie. I cried a lot more, I could barely drive. My eyes were half shut. I took it with lots of fatty foods as ordered. I couldn't speak coherently. Seroquel caused blackouts and rage, Zyprexa made me gain 45 lb and caused akathisia."

• Rac...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 24, 2021

"I was on Geodon for at least 12 years and then developed a gait disturbance. I got off the Geodon, and it went away. I was off Geodon for 6 years. Now I am in a manic state. Was prescribed 20 mg generic Geodon, and after 1 dose, I feel SO much better!"

• bip...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 17, 2021

"I had a bad experience with this, it didn't really help, it just made me tired. Annoying to take with food. Made me groggy in the morning. I'm so frustrated, I feel like no meds work, and the ones that do give me side effects."

• Jay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 26, 2020

"Geodon is a very fickle drug. Make sure to take it with food (500 calories). Sometimes it sedates you, and sometimes it doesn't. I found to avoid eating beef and hot liquids with the medication, especially hot coffee. I take 40 mg twice a day. Otherwise, it works very well at smoothing out the peaks of mania and mixed states. It doesn't do much for depression or anhedonia. I wonder if, in a way, it causes the anhedonia by preventing excitation. It doesn't mess with cognition though and makes you feel like you're not taking a med. And I didn't gain any weight on it too!"

• Thi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 13, 2015

"I took Geodon alongside Lexapro. I have already taken Lexapro for this past year and never had a dystonic reaction. However, when my nurse practitioner introduced Geodon, I went into dystonia. Dystonia is when your body begins to contort on itself involuntarily. I could literally feel my neck twisting on itself, trying to snap. Thankfully, I was cured with Benadryl, and the dystonia was not permanent. If you want to try this med, keep a supply of Benadryl to stop a dystonic reaction and call an ambulance right away. Even more, this is not the only medication that can cause dystonia. Several others can too - like risperidone, Haldol, and Abilify. When they are combined with an antidepressant, they can increase the risk of dystonia. Good luck."

• ilu...
• October 30, 2007

"I was switched from Seroquel to Geodon (Bipolar 1 Disorder) for about 1 1/2 months. My feelings of 'crawling the walls,' restlessness, sleeplessness, and a general feeling that Geodon was not working like my old Seroquel returned in less than 2 weeks. After the 1 1/2 months, I called my doctor back and requested to be switched back to my Seroquel, and life feels back to normal (as normal as it gets) with the combination of Seroquel and Invega. Thank God for the meds. I can begin to live again!"

• FSE...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 9, 2017

"I guess drugs really do affect people differently. I have nothing but good things to say about Geodon. I've been on it for a year and a half, and my mania has only revealed itself twice since, but didn't last as long. It has also helped with my anxiety. The only thing I wish it helped more of is my depression. I am not as depressed as I used to get, but it's still there. And I really don't laugh a lot on it. But as far as treating my bipolar episodes, it's a great drug. I have had no side effects with it."

• hun...
• February 17, 2010

"I have been taking this medication for 2 months. I am so unbearably tired. It has affected my quality of life. I called my doctor today and am waiting on a call back. She has to change my meds. I can't tolerate the point of exhaustion. I can't even make it through a grocery store without feeling the uncontrollable need to sleep. My husband is fed up with me right now due to this, but it is not something I can help as long as I take it. If it wasn't for that, it would be a miracle drug. I have felt better besides that."

• CM3...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 3, 2017

"When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, my doctor prescribed Geodon at 40 mg once daily to help with my mixed episodes. I immediately felt the effect of the drug. I had insomnia. I was hallucinating, I would hear voices at night. I was agitated and yelling at my husband and children for no real reason. My mixed episodes got much worse. I quit taking it after 4 days of absolute hell. I know everyone reacts differently to these drugs, but my experience was awful."

• Loa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 7, 2019

"I started taking this medication for my mania. I really didn’t notice a difference in my manic episodes while on it. At night, the ziprasidone would make me uncomfortably drowsy, and even then, I would be unable to sleep through the whole night. On nights where I barely slept, I would wake up so terribly drowsy that I couldn’t keep my eyes open. This impaired my driving and made work and school really difficult, if not impossible. My manic episodes remained the same until I tried stopping the ziprasidone, in which they became alarmingly worse than I’d ever had them before. One night without taking ziprasidone, I had a major manic episode and was awake for over 36 hours. I was only able to rest after taking the ziprasidone but could only sleep 9 hours after being awake for so long. I’m still trying to get off the ziprasidone, but I’m unsure how to do this without sacrificing an entire night's sleep and my sanity."

• ber...
• February 6, 2020

"I’ve been on this med, Geodon, for about a year for bipolar and BPD. I am on a dose of 160 mg, and I take it all at night. I still have mania symptoms, but the only symptom I have is not sleeping. A couple of weeks ago, I was up for 60 hours nonstop, and this past week, I've been getting 3-4 hours of sleep and have felt fully energized. The first time I took this medication, I slept from 8 pm to 5 pm and was groggy for the 4 hours. I was awake before I went back to bed. I haven’t been tired because of it since, though. I also developed an acute dystonic reaction called an “oculogyric crisis” because of this med. I am on amantadine to stop it. This med has been a game changer for me, despite this. I don’t get severely depressed anymore, and my depressive episodes would be really terrible, and my manic episodes would always end me up in the hospital because I'd go on a bender and overdose, or I'd be up for days and be extremely irritable and cranky."

• Bh2...
• December 17, 2016

"I have been taking Geodon for 2 weeks yesterday, 20 mg x 2. And this is my first day on 40 mg x 2. So far, I can't tell if I'm manic or getting better. I'm getting a lot more done and it feels like manic. I don't mind. But you hope it lasts. I have been in a dark depression for almost 3 years (and had 2 children), so now I'm just happy to be motivated to do anything at all. I'm really happy."

• Vio...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 11, 2022

"I say 'Who Knows' for my condition because they (psychiatrists) can't make up their minds. I'm being re-tested for ADHD soon, which is what I was diagnosed with as a child. Anyway, this drug is terrible. Never again. I have only slept 3-4 hours a night for the past 4 nights, and I just started taking it. I stopped it the night before last per my doctor, and I still couldn't sleep a day later. I was like the Energizer Bunny until today, now I feel like a zombie. The energy was not good, either, it was a manic energy. I am now breaking out in a rash/hives, which can be a dangerous side effect. I am so annoyed, I wouldn't recommend this to my worst enemy."

• Suc...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 3, 2023

"My journey with meds started when I was pregnant with my daughter at 21. At 28, I found a really expensive but really good psychiatrist that put me on Geodon. No more manic episodes, no more waking up to voices yelling, no more depression, no more hospital visits. I have also lost 50 lbs. I take 20 mg in the morning and 40 mg at night. Starting Geodon, I was able to go back and finish my degree and work in IT at a Fortune 500 company. I’ve been sober for 6 years and in a relationship for 5. This medication has made me a normal functioning member of society. I take it with bupropion and naltrexone. The only side effect I have is mouth movements that I can’t control. This side effect really sucks, but I’ll take it over my hopeless life before."

• dea...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 12, 2022

"I've been on this medication for almost seven years and actually have Major Depressive Disorder. If you don't have Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia, STAY AWAY from this medication. It has severely ruined my quality of life. I've been on the highest dose possible and am almost off of it completely. The involuntary facial movements, weight gain, withdrawals from missing a dose by 30 minutes to an hour, paranoia, passing out at jobs from feeling so sedated and drugged out-all of it, and more, are NOT worth it. I don't think I'll ever recover from this medication. STAY AWAY! Don't let your pill-pusher psychiatrist suggest it to you if you have Depression, Anxiety, BPD, basically anything but Bipolar and Schizophrenia. If you're in recovery from an Eating Disorder, STAY AWAY! I haven't been myself for the past 6 1/2 years. I don't even know who I am anymore. The withdrawals are so deadly. Please don't put yourself through this. This medication has been pulled off the market by the FDA multiple times. Stay safe x"

• Jas...
• November 12, 2009

"I have taken so many different atypical antipsychotics and became worried I would never find the right one. I was diagnosed bipolar, although I believe I may be schizoaffective instead, due to the classification guidelines I have read. But this medicine is amazing. I gave it a P because the only negative effect I have experienced was sleepiness, but Adderall or Provigil fixes that, and I have become so much more willing to do things and have fun with life rather than just be in a negative mood all the time or become agitated with people."

• Apr...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 18, 2017

"This causes crazy weight gain. I was 120, now 177 pounds... yup! Other than that, it works. I take 80 mg before bed every night, but the craving at night for food will get the best of you. It took not long to gain weight, now it's taking forever to lose it. But I'm still happy with this drug. Better than Haldol and Seroquel :)"

• Anonymous
• August 3, 2011

"I've taken Geodon for the past year, and it's the best thing that has ever happened to me. It gave me my life back. I no longer bounce between mania and depression. The best thing is that I can sleep at night. I had never experienced a good night's sleep until this medicine was prescribed for me. I didn't even know it. While I do miss the mania, I feel much more stable and well. I eventually got used to the drowsy feeling, and it's mild now. My only wish is that I didn't have to ingest the calories for it to work. Sometimes I would like to have a salad for dinner but can't because it's not enough calories. That is my only complaint. This is a great medication that changed my life for the better."

• Col...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 20, 2015

"I have been on the drug for about a month. I'm getting off my Depakote this month because of weight gain and tiredness. It's hard to see the whole effect of this drug. I can tell you that the drug makes you tired. I take 40 mg at lunch and 40 mg at dinner. It seems to be better than Abilify. That drug made me gain 30 pounds, and I couldn't stay still. It has just been hard because of all the weight I have gained from mood stabilizers. I just hope that when I stop my Depakote and only take Geodon, it will help me with my weight loss."

• Pre...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 10, 2020

"Geodon has consistently blocked auditory hallucinations for me for 13 1/2 years. However, I ended up with ulcers that landed me in the emergency room about 6 years in. After that, everything went well until about 11 years in, I began to develop what turned into about 10 side effects, and a few were serious. Tried a side effect med, and it worked for about 9 months. Sadly, I'm looking for an alternative. Sadly, because Geodon carries almost no risk of Parkinson's, which is a terminal illness."

• Anonymous
• November 15, 2009

"I took this medication to help stabilize my mood. Within the first few weeks, I began getting muscle spasms in my calves. It felt like a constant cramp in my calves. While it did help me stabilize my mood, the constant muscle spasms were too much for me to handle."