Posted by leopard on January 5, 2004, at 15:10:16
In reply to Geodon - JLMspeak to me oh fountain of knowledge, posted by Utopia on January 4, 2004, at 15:37:59
Your subject title has me confused. I won't try to sort it out. ;)
I have recently (as in the past couple of months) been diagnosed with BPII and even more recently begun the long and arduous journey of exploring different ways to treat this disease.
Previous to my diagnosis, I thought I was a nervous, depressed person…plain ‘ol vanilla diagnosis. For the past 10 years I have tried several SSRI’s, various RX sleep aids, most herbal and vitamin remedies, all without success. I would become a “sleeping giant” on the SSRI’s…I would sleep 10 to 18 hours p/d only to wake up as a risk taking rageaholic. I look back on the personal/business decisions I made while taking these meds and I just cringe.
I tried Wellbutrin and Effexor last year…overlapping them for a few months. I eventually dropped Wellbutrin altogether. With all the meds I took, there was a honeymoon phase, a feeling that my brain shut down and I seemed more focused and less agitated/paranoid. The much maligned Effexor seemed to be the most effective med out of the long list I had tried.
I started taking Geodon a few months ago while I was still on Effexor. I have finally phased out the Effexor and now I am taking Geodon exclusively. I could feel the effects of Geodon from the very first pill.
Geodon has pretty much cleared up my constant negative/obsessive/paranoid thoughts. I didn’t realize how bad things were until I was no longer experiencing them. I am more even keeled and less agitated/angry. I am able to listen to others without a negative record playing in my head…I don’t “read into” things and form opinions around my warped perceptions. I am a lot less defensive, I leave the house more, I feel more at ease and accepting of others…they should dump this stuff into the general water supply. 
By far, the most interesting and conclusive proof that I have indicating am better off, is to watch other people who remind me of my pre Geodon days. It lends tremendous insight into just how much damage the chemicals in our brains, when out of control, can do to us.
My life would look much different than it does today had Geodon been around 10 years ago. I can only imagine. For now I am very happy/relieved and very sad too…I wasted so much of my life and didn’t know it…all I can do is make up for it and let as many people out there know that BP is the most mis/non/under diagnosed disease we have today… it is more prevalent than previously thought.
Reading these boards is tough sometimes…I feel like I can almost sense when someone is BP…any flavor of it… and then I read the high doses of various unipolar drugs they are taking…specifically SSRIs and I feel for them… Too bad the new antipsychotics have such scary names like, “psychotic” or rather too bad there is such a stigma surrounding mental illness and the term “psychosis.”
I have no idea why Geodon isn’t discussed more frequently on this board. I try to talk about it as much as I can and hopefully help people who remind me of my previous behaviors/feelings…a place I never want to revisit.
The generic name for Geodon is Ziprasidone. I take 20 mg at lunch time every day. It must be taken with food to work properly and it has a very short shelf life…6.5 hours…and yes, I can feel it wearing off…when it does I hit the gym or go for a walk and that seems to bring down the anxiety. I could pop another pill but I want to use the minimum amount necessary and I don’t believe there is one drug that can do it all…we need to be proactive…
I also take four teaspoons of Carlson’s fish oil every day (two teaspoons in the am and another two teaspoons in the pm), a multi vitamin, I do not drink any soda of any kind anymore and I make sure to stay away from all artificial sweeteners. I try to eat organic when possible but I never drink or eat dairy that is not organic…way too many pesticides in non organic dairy…I prefer the Horizon brand but that’s me…what else…oh, caffeine, how could I forget…the only caffeine I get nowadays is from either green tea or hot cocoa. Unfortunately, cutting back caffeine has made a huge difference in my mental stability…it was hard to let it go…but the results are worth it.
In addition to the meds, I see a shrink and have successfully used EMDR to augment my psycho therapy.
Hope this helps and best to all.
tell me few things about your condition e.g. besides Bipolar II was there any otherco-morbid cinditions. Agitation, anxiety, etc. have you been treated on multiple regimens and have had multiple multiple failures? Why was Geodon so succesful?
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> Iknow very little about the drug Geodon, please include it's generic or pharmaceurical name so that I may do a bit of research.
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> Thanks a ton
poster:leopard
thread:109623
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040105/msgs/296796.html