Geodon for Bipolar Disorder User Reviews (Page 5)

• Anonymous
• March 3, 2009

"I have been on Geodon for approximately 2 years and have found it to be very effective. The only side effects I have experienced are significant sleepiness in the morning and muscle twitches and stiffness. My doctor prescribed Provigil to get rid of the morning zombie, and it works great too."

• bip...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 2, 2017

"I was prescribed this during a bad mixed episode, and it did wonders for me. It worked within the day! My only complaint is the sedation side effect. I get knocked out within two hours of taking it, so I take it at night. I also find that you can't take it with carbonated drinks, or else you get nauseous."

• Not...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 14, 2019

"Ziprasidone made me feel like a zombie. It made me really tired all day. I had a hard time waking up and carrying out my daily activities. I am not sure whether it helped me with controlling mania. Also, it made my vision really blurry and dry. I had a hard time seeing things literally."

• Gra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 10, 2020

"I've had a very similar experience to the last post. Began taking Geodon for bipolar disorder and felt cured, energetic, happy. My depression was gone, as was my anxiety, and I had a much better work ethic. Fast forward a few weeks and the effects are subsiding. I upped my dose to 60 mg, but it's still not the same as initially. I've had some pretty low points. I'm hoping it still works to prevent manic episodes despite not having the antidepressant effects any longer. Considering switching to Latuda or adding an SSRI/SNRI to the mix."

• hay...
• June 21, 2015

"I was on Geodon for 7 years. I was extremely tired in the morning - couldn't drive. About 2 years before I stopped, I began to have pseudo-dementia. I had pseudo-Parkinsonism for 4-5 years. 6 months before I stopped, I began to fall - about 40 times. Three times, stitches in my head and now a knee problem rated 10/10 severity. Then I became comatose. My husband called an ambulance. I don't remember anything. When I got off Geodon, dementia and pseudo-Parkinsonism went away, as did the falls."

• Mar...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 9, 2014

"I have been taking Geodon for about 10 months now, and unfortunately, it has given me erectile dysfunction. I started to reduce the dosage in order to stop, but not taking it affects my mood tremendously. Without it, I feel hopeless, I cry a lot, and it is difficult for me to get out of bed. However, I can't risk it affecting my sexual well-being (I sincerely hope it's not too late!) So I guess Geodon did not help me and my bipolar disorder."

• rik...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 6, 2015

"I felt like a zombie while on this. I gained ten pounds in the first week - and I am one to watch my weight! Also, my hands began trembling a lot, and I felt very nervous. I was always quivering when I spoke. This medicine ended up being quite scary, with a trip to the emergency room because I felt and looked like I was having a seizure. My family called paramedics, and it was a dystonic reaction."

• Chu...
• September 9, 2013

"Medication works great-I was on Haldol, and this is so much better, and I get up rested in the morning. My perception is good-even better than anything I've ever taken. I take 120 mg at 7:00 pm, and by 10 am, I'm ready to sleep. I take 40 mg in the morning and feel good the rest of the day. Caution-always take with food."

• Anonymous
• April 3, 2012

"I just came through another manic episode, but with Geodon I don't think it was as severe as it has been in the past. Bipolar disorder has made me make some very poor and self-destructive choices, but Geodon has really helped. I don't know where I would be without it."

• Its...
• September 4, 2009

"What I liked best about this medicine was that it made me sleep perfectly. No trouble falling asleep and no waking up during the night. I slept a full 8 hours and felt completely refreshed and ready to go when I woke in the morning. Then, at a dosage of 80 mg, instead of putting me gently to sleep, it gave me waves of paralysis in my whole body and had me hysterically crying for my daddy and hallucinating. I was immediately instructed to stop taking it. I don't take it for my mood anymore because of that. I just take the smallest dosage to help me sleep."

• Anonymous
• August 3, 2019

"I was on this drug years ago when it was covered by a manufacturer patient plan. When they discontinued the plan, I had to go off the drug because it had been cost prohibitive. Since then, and many psych meds later, my life has been a constant state of flux. My doctor is putting me back on Geodon now that I have PART D. I couldn't be happier."

• jac...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 5, 2015

"I've been using Geodon for 2 years. It has stopped my racing thoughts and irritability. I have, however, gained 20 pounds in the first 6 months, even though you are told it is weight neutral. Their own website states this med can cause an increase of 15 pounds (a weight gain mean of >7)."

• Obo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 25, 2017

"Bipolar II with mixed episode, tried Geodon. Severe somnolence, with insomnia (read: trapped in half-asleep purgatory) upon starting. Triggered full-blown manic episode with hallucinations, jabbering, rambling, and fast talking, distractibility and inattentiveness, poor judgment, and dissociation with the passage of time, over the following couple of weeks. Shaking hands (could not perform ordinary fine motor tasks such as cutting my nails). Stopped and switched to quetiapine, with success."

• kdj...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 30, 2018

"This medication is awful. I took it for a week and had a complete schizophrenic meltdown, I couldn't stop crying and hearing sirens and thinking that demons were growling at me and that hideous voices were in my room. I had seizures all day the next day. Take with caution."

• Jay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 17, 2022

"Absolute crap. Made me bedridden for two months straight. Horrible anxiety, and I only left the house to buy food. Warning to anyone with bipolar. This medication is trash, and the only worse drug is Effexor/Venlafaxine."

• Str...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 23, 2016

"I am a 48-year-old woman with bipolar I disorder. A year ago last fall, I was severely depressed. In the hospital, they put me on 20 mg of Geodon for depression and 10 mg of trazodone for sleep. I was already on 1000 mg of Tegretol. At first, this combo was a lifesaver, and I felt the best I have felt in years - even became slightly hypomanic and over-the-moon happy. Then, 4 months in, my mood swung to a deep suicidal depression, so I went back in the hospital for 2 weeks, and they upped the Geodon to 40 mg, then 80 mg, and the anxiety and insomnia became so bad they gave me the max they could with sleep meds, and I left the hospital worse than ever. Anxiety so bad I had to take clonazepam to counteract. Would not take again."

• Bug...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 14, 2016

"40 mg of Geodon made me terribly ill. I vomited every day for a week, then every other day for another week. I changed my diet to red meat and milk, added Alka-Seltzer chews like Skittles, and took Prilosec twice a day. I did this because Geodon gave me remarkable improvement in my life. It felt like an awakening. Very little depression and just mania every now and then. It gave me back my personality."

• Geo...
• July 23, 2015

"I felt extremely woozy, nauseated, and shaky while on this medication. I had 2 trips to the ER for severe dehydration caused by the Geodon. I was so shaky I was pretty much convulsing, my heart was going crazy, and it felt like my brain was shutting down. By the time I got to the ER, I could barely form sentences and very nearly blacked out. It was a terrifying experience. I felt sick the entire time taking this drug."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 28, 2012

"I am diagnosed bipolar with psychotic features, and I started taking this medication in 2009 when I first got hospitalized after I found out I was 'allergic' to Abilify. Geodon was like a miracle. It took away all of the voices and visual hallucinations that I would experience, and it worked for a very long time with no side effects, which was perfect, but just recently, last December to be exact, it just stopped working. So now I am being weaned off the Geodon and am being put on Saphris. Hopefully, it will work just as well as the Geodon, it has been a hard couple of months, including a hospitalization and two bouts of IOP. Geodon was great with little, if any, side effects, but hopefully it will last longer for you than it did for me."

• Mug...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 19, 2018

"I was on Geodon from 2004 to 2014. The effect actually made me like a zombie. My neurologist actually diagnosed me with Parkinson’s, drug-induced. Pale skin, stone face, never smiled or showed expression, my tongue would be sticking out, and I had no clue. I stumbled and fell often. My daughter researched it in college, and her psychopharmacology professor told her how bad it was. Took me 2 months to be weaned off. Four years later, and I am having extreme anxiety and trust issues. Been on other psych meds for 15 years, new psychiatrist researching to find answers. Wish me luck."

• Nan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 4, 2020

"Been on it for a month, and my mood swings are smoother. I don't feel as manic. But it doesn't get rid of the anxiety or low moods. I don't feel as negative. I don't experience intrusive thoughts as much. I did gain a few pounds, and I do feel tired and weak."

• Wil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 15, 2017

"I was only on it for about 3 months! I was on the toilet all day with explosive diarrhea! I lost 40 to 50 pounds within that time period. My weight was down to 125 pounds. I’m 42 years old now. The last time I weighed 125 pounds was in high school!"

• Anonymous
• July 12, 2010

"I have been on Geodon for over 4 years now. Granted, it was tough to start this medication with excessive sleepiness, but I did not give up on it because my doctor really recommended it and we titrated up to 120 mg per day taken in 4 separate doses of 40 mg. Geodon is an integral part of my bipolar disorder regimen! It stabilizes me perfectly with lamotrigine and Wellbutrin XL. It's a miracle drug!"

• Anonymous
• October 4, 2010

"I have been on this for about a month now. I'm just so sleepy all the time. I can't snap out of it, and even on the lowest dosage (40 mg at night), I can't kick it. I feel like I'm a different person, not in a good way. I'm going to call my doctor and tell her that I discontinued it on my own. I cannot perform my daily functions as a wife and mother when I feel like I'm going to fall asleep behind the wheel."

• But...
• December 15, 2016

"This was the worst experience I've had with a medication. I had to go off Lithium because it gave me hypothyroidism and diabetes insipidus, and Geodon was a replacement. I was given Geodon at the lowest dose for about two weeks. I was okay, but experiencing a bit of random anxiety. Then my dose was upped, and I had a panic attack (I've only had 3 of those in my life before) within 24 hours. Several days later, I was in the ER with suicidal thoughts for the first time in 20 years. As far as general effectiveness goes, before the dosage increase sent everything haywire, I got depressed right away once totally off the Lithium, so it wasn't really helping anyway. The suicidal thoughts and anxiety were gone within 48 hours after I stopped taking it."