fluffybirdie Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I've looked around and can find very little personal experience with this stuff. I currently take Abilify, but have gained considerable weight. I'm doing diet and exercise, but it's stubborn and it's got me feeling kinda glum. My doc may want to switch it out for Geodon, because in his experience people gain less. It would be as a stabilizer and to help with depression. So has anyone switched from Abilify to Geodon? What did you notice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybirdie Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 Well, now I'll take it after atrip to the doc's office. We'll see how it is compared to Abilify. Wish me luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Birdie, I'm sorry no one replied. Sometimes the people who could give you personal accounts about drugs just don't happen to log on that day. Keep us posted on how it works. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I took Geodon for a number of years, switching to that after Risperdal and later Zyprexa...sorry, no Abilify experience. It didn't cause any problems with weight gain for me after I figured out that about 8 hours after taking a dose, I'd be ready to eat anything/everything edible in the house. I spoke with my pdoc about it, and he said that that wasn't a recognized side effect, but he did allow me to switch from taking it twice a day to taking it once a day, so I took the daily dose in the evening with a light snack, and then when I'd usually have been ravenous, I was sleeping most of the time. Before I recognized the connection between the dosing schedule and my "eating binges," I'd put on 20 pounds in about 6 weeks. Once I switched the timing, I lost the weight I'd gained. The only negative side effect I experienced was pain in my jaw periodically; it didn't happen frequently enough to warrant switching meds, but when it did arise about once every two to three weeks...OUCH...the pain didn't seem to respond to any OTC pain medication, and I'd spend most of the day feeling like my jaw was out of the socket. Good luck. For me, it was much more effective than Risperdal, and I had had bad experiences with Zyprexa and didn't take it very long. Sophia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarie Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Well, now I'll take it after atrip to the doc's office. We'll see how it is compared to Abilify. Wish me luck! I'm probably not a good Geodon example! I've taken it twice, the first time for maybe six weeks. I was very hypomanic and it did nothing to calm me even at 160mg. D/c'ing, I had the chills the whole time under 80mg. Time passed and I tried it again when I was slipping into depression. It pulled me out but I ended up slightly mixed and then hypomanic. ADs have been very bad experiences for me. Geodon is probably too much AD for me. I was again at 160mg because the higher the calmer for me. However, I had a withdrawal effect (chills and teeth grinding again) as my dose wore off, so I was taking it three times a day to reduce that effect. It also significantly elevated my blood pressure, which is an unusual s/e as is the withdrawal thing. My appetite didn't change, but I gained a little weight that went away quickly when I stopped. I'm guessing water weight or something to do with high blood pressure reaction. Heh, but otherwise it was okay. Like I said, I'm not a typical responder. Geodon can be a very good med for some people. Give it a real chance and go by your own experience. Wishing you good luck!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scatty Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I hope geodon is good to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 It had fewer side effects for me than any other AP but I get next to no side effects off Risperdal either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybirdie Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 Day 2. No headaches, fatigue, dizziness, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scatty Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Glad to hear it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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