Hello members of Schizophenia.com forums,
I am writing to people who have taken or know a bit about the antipsychotic Geodon (ziprasidone). First my report, then my questions.
I began taking 60mg capsules once a day at bedtime, for the symptoms of paranoia and hearing voices. The first day was very uncomfortable… I lost my balance trying to get out of bed in the morning, felt moderate-severe akathisia for most of the day, was moderately sedated, and had urinary retention (it was difficult to empty my bladder).
That was only the first day. Things started getting much better afterwards - so far I’ve been on it a week. Now there is no akathisia and no sedation - sometimes I have a mild headache for most of the day. It reminds me of the feeling I got while taking Zoloft. I feel less inhibited and happier.
But towards the evening, when it has been nearing 24 hours since my last dose, I start to feel overly excited. My pulse is normal but my heart will be pounding very forcefully as it would if I were running. My sex drive is off the wall and my penis feels extra sensitive. This overexcitement concerns me and so I’m going to ask my doctor if I can take a lower dose and have it still be therapeutic.
Also note that I am taking other medications and supplements - vilazodone, lamotrigine, buspirone, metoprolol, amlodipine, 5-htp (800mg/day) and L-tyrosine (1000mg/day). The effects on my serotonin and norepinephrine from the supplements could be causing some amplification of the effects of the ziprasidone.
Now, onto my questions and concerns. I am, as with all medications, concerned with sexual dysfunction as a side effect. SSRIs would cause me delayed ejaculation and sometimes anorgasmia. Risperidone gave me retrograde ejaculation or anejaculation (dry orgasm, no ejection of semen). So far on the Geodon, my libido has stayed the same or slightly increased, my testicles sag more than they used to, and I no longer pass semen with my bowel movements like I used to (this may be because I abstain from masturbation, therefore I do not ejaculate and maybe my prostate becomes engorged).
Because I am not sexually active with a partner and I do not masturbate, I can not know what my ejaculation will be like, if it will be delayed or retrograde. My erections seem to occur normally. Is there a way to predict if my ejaculation will be affected based on the details I provided? I am just concerned that when I do find a sexual partner, I will have problems with ejaculation, and that if I have been taking Geodon for long enough, that even after stopping it I would still have problems just from having taken it for a long period. So this is all what is going on in my mind as I am trying to decide if I should continue taking it, and if so, at a different dosage, or with lower amounts of the supplements I’m taking on top of it.
What are your experiences with taking Geodon? Explain your dosage, side effects and therapeutic effects, or other medications you are taking with it. I am curious to see if anyone could say if it is possible to anticipate problems with ejaculation, also at higher or lower doses or if libido will decrease at a certain dose. Also I’d just like to make this a thread to discuss with each other Geodon in general.
And pardon the sexual graphics but I needed to emphasize how obsessive I am about the side effects and mention every detail or else something could be overlooked.
Thank you for reading!