I was on 5mg abilify for a few months, it got rid of all my SzA symptoms, like completely erased them. However, it also gave me akathisia - I would rather hear my voices than have akathisia, it’s AWFUL.
My Pdoc is tapering me off the abilify and has suggested 20mg geodon to replace it. I’m very sensitive to meds so I’m not worried about the low dosage. I was just wondering if it has a much lower incidence of akathisia? He told me it did, but I’m skeptical.
I also worry for my heart - I have PSVT (a non-fatal heart flutter) and I’ve heard geodon can wreak havoc on weak hearts.
It’s nice to meet you all and I look forward to hearing about your experiences with this drug!
Hello. I take Geodon 80 mg twice daily. What normally happens is they do ECG’s on you while you’re just starting on Geodon to rule out that it is causing any disruption to your heart. If all those are normal, then you’re not likely going to experience any issues taking it. As for akathisia - i take the maximum dose and i have absolutely no side effects from it what so ever. I find it a very tolerable medication, so hopefully you will also.
All I can tell you is that my experience with Geodon has been really good. Geodon has gotten rid of my symptoms and has much fewer side effects for me than other medications. For some people Geodon is a godsend. I think that out of about eight or nine people who I’ve talked to on this site only one had a negative experience with Geodon.
I’ve been on Geodon for the better part of a decade and it hasn’t killed me. I have a congenital heart defect called transposition of the great vessels with complications. This was nautrally occurring, I was born with my heart flipped around backwards and it has a number of deformities. The mean age of death for people with this condition is 40. I’m 50. And I’m not worried about my Geodon, which has been a very good medication for me.
Geodon(Ziprasidone Hcl) is not a very safe drug. It has the property of increasing the Qt/Qtc interval of the heart. Special care must be taken when using it. It should not be used with another drug which has the property of Qt prolongation. In such a case it increases the probability of Torsa de pointes and sudden death. Not only Geodon but other anti psychotics like Amisulpride has this tendency to increase the Qt prolongation. You should check your ECG periodically when using Geodon. Normally this occurs when the dose is high but you can also get it sometimes in low doses. Your doctor is the best person to guide you when using Geodon.
Well, if you put on weight naturally it increases the cardiovascular risk. Each drug acts differently to different people. But that does not make Geodon a safe drug. It has the third largest Qt prolongation among the antipsychotics(others being Amisulpride and Haloperidol). If it suited you then you are lucky. Just make sure that you do not use it in combination with other Qt prolonging drugs. That increases the risk.
I took geodon and had really bad paroxysmal atrial fibrillation on it. Apparently it was idiopathic (no known cause) but aggravated by the meds. I had to be taken off it right away. I’ve been on metoprolol for years after now.
Just to let y’all know, I got my heart checked after the first week on geodon and everything is alright! The akathisia is fading as I stop abilify, so I’m really hoping a low dose of geodon is gonna be good for me!
