Posted by med_empowered on February 21, 2005, at 17:53:50
In reply to Geodon Question, posted by lizardk on February 21, 2005, at 17:30:21
Most antipsychotics (seroquel is a notable exception here) tend to have relatively long half-lives...this helps minimize the need for multiple doses within one 24 hour period, which in turn minimizes side-effects common to antipsychotics such as drowsiness, cognitive impairment, lack of initiative, etc. After I quit taking Abilify, I waited 2 weeks before I started drinking again at all. With Geodon, you'll want to wait not only to make sure it's out of your system, but also to give your heart time to regain normalcy, since Geodon and many other neuroleptics cause cardiovascular weirdness ("changes in the qTC interval") that are apparent on EKGs and other tests...unfortunately, the significance of these changes is unknown, though some link them to the "sudden deaths" sometimes seen in neuroleptic users (this category of "sudden deaths" excludes the deaths attributed to neuroleptic malignancy syndrome and the seizures some antipsychotics, such as zyprexa, have been found to induce). Whenever you withdraw a substance that has effects on the heart/cardiovascular system, it takes a bit for everything to re-adjust; you see this in use of Tricyclics, for instance, and also in the use of beta-blockers.
poster:med_empowered
thread:461459
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050217/msgs/461472.html