bipolar- experiences with Geodon?

[Mike1977]

I was taking Zyprexa and Lexapro and getting good effects on my mood, but I had to stop the zyprexa due to the weight gain. My shrink put me on Geodon a week ago and I'm now up to 60 mg a day and upping to 80 mg today. Eventually I'll be up to a dose of 120 mg, 40 in the morning and 80 at night. Stopping Zyprexa seems to have done the trick with regard to stopping the weight problems, but my mood has been crap lately. In addition, I'm having awful anxiety problems whenever I'm in public or around large groups that I never had when I was on the Zyprexa.

I have another appt. next week and will talk to my doc about it then, but has anyone else been on this med? Are these just side effects that I'll tolerate better with time, or is this stuff just not working for me?

[shutterbug]

I haven't heard of many peeps being on Geoden, but I have heard of it around here or in the Nami boards.

As for the Zyprexa and the Lexapro....I haven't heard of anyone doing well on either...and my father got very suicidal on the Lexapro. Both have a side affect of tiredness....something I can't tolerate anyway since my depressions are extremely fatiguing on their own.

There are some anti-ds that can help with anxiety also. My effexor offers me a bit of help with the anxiety, but many people don't like the side-affect feelings that happen if you don't take the dose at about the same time each day.

On average it takes about 2 years for a bipolar to go through the rollar coaster of meds to find the right combo (not that I'm saying you are bipolar....but if you have only been diagnosed with depression then I would ask your shrink to refer to a good psychologist for some in-depth testing to see what your depression may be a symptom of...such as bipolar, ADD/ADHD, or any of 20 or so other things...depression can even be a symptom of thyroid issues or sleep apnea...so it's good to rule out everything that may be contributing).

Also...you may just not have had enough time on the Geodon yet....it typically takes 4-6 weeks for psych meds to kick in full gear.

Welcome to SR and keep letting us know how things are going for you,

Hugs,
Jenna

[Mike1977]

Originally Posted by shutterbug

I haven't heard of many peeps being on Geoden, but I have heard of it around here or in the Nami boards.

As for the Zyprexa and the Lexapro....I haven't heard of anyone doing well on either...and my father got very suicidal on the Lexapro. Both have a side affect of tiredness....something I can't tolerate anyway since my depressions are extremely fatiguing on their own.

There are some anti-ds that can help with anxiety also. My effexor offers me a bit of help with the anxiety, but many people don't like the side-affect feelings that happen if you don't take the dose at about the same time each day.

On average it takes about 2 years for a bipolar to go through the rollar coaster of meds to find the right combo (not that I'm saying you are bipolar....but if you have only been diagnosed with depression then I would ask your shrink to refer to a good psychologist for some in-depth testing to see what your depression may be a symptom of...such as bipolar, ADD/ADHD, or any of 20 or so other things...depression can even be a symptom of thyroid issues or sleep apnea...so it's good to rule out everything that may be contributing).

Also...you may just not have had enough time on the Geodon yet....it typically takes 4-6 weeks for psych meds to kick in full gear.

Welcome to SR and keep letting us know how things are going for you,

Hugs,
Jenna

thanks for the advice. I talked to my Doc today and he seemed to think it might be the stopping of the zyprexa before I was up to a high enough dose of the geodon. I must admit, I was doing a lot better on Saturday and Sunday after the hell I went through Friday night. Yesterday, however had it all come back and hit me again. I was horribly irritable, very anxious and very depressed(crying for no reason, overall sense of dread and then a full blown panic attack). oh well, I guess, my appointment is tommorow, and I suppose I can stick it out until then.

[shutterbug]

How did the appointment go?

[reader]

Hi Mike how are u doing today? That is one of a few I haven't tried! I take Lamictal and Effexor and it seems to work pretty good. I hope u are feeling some better today.

[Mike1977]

I'm doing a lot better now. My doc upped my amount of geodon and added a betablocker for my hand tremors. I seem to be tolerating the change well except for a little drowsiness.

[reader]

I am glad that seems to be doing the trick- Hand termors are the worst