GEODON - Will it affect ejaculation or sex drive?

Medications
#1

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!

#2

Geodon has a shorter half life than other medications. Some doctors underestimate the problem this causes, and say once a day is fine. But it is very noticeable for a lot of people. Splitting your dose into morning and evening doses could help a lot.

Also, starting on 60 mg is quite a bit, which could account for the intense side effects at first. If you were more stable, I would guess your doctor would have preferred to start you on 20 mg for a week and slowly increase. The side effects should wear off as you gey more used to the med.

Another thing to be aware of with geodon is that you need to eat at least 500 calories right before you take it, or else it won’t build up in your system. It will just make you really dizzy for a few hours, then get washed out.

#3

Not for me. I, uh, shoot and score just fine.

:wink:

1 Like
#4

In very high doses, it made my sex drive disappear. At my current dose of 80 mg, it causes no problems with sex drive. But I do not have the same anatomy as you.

#5

Never bothered me at high doses, I was a horndog, but the lack of circulation from cardiac issues kept me from doing anything about it for a while. THAT was depressing. I think sex organs that work with poor circulation are a much better design.

1 Like
#6

@ninjastar @velociraptor

Thank you for your prompt feedback. I was not aware of the 500 calorie minimum - I had been taking it with a half of a bagel (only 140 calories) so maybe the absorption could be affected.

Mr. squirrel, you say “sex organs that work with poor circulation are a much better design.” What do you mean by that?

I have had high blood pressure for the last 5 years, and I am controlling it with metoprolol and amlodipine. I took it last night - the Geodon caused it to increase to 146/78. Does that go into consideration?

#7

Females don’t suffer from erectile dysfunction.

#8

im also taking geodon, 60mg twice a day, feeling pretty good on it, losing weight too im happy. i eat breakfast with it.

#9

Geodon is much more sexfriendly than other antipsychotics. I’m sure you still will feel the lust to chase women. I’m on 160 on geodon and I still find women interesting.

#10

Caplyta > Latuda > Vraylar > Abilify > risperdal in terms of shooting performance lol jk haha. I mean it’s more art than science now I guess at least from my end. The ED and higher doses and stuff and poor diet, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, and stuff all make an impact. Even my cymbalta (AD) gives me some issues. I used to be a bull or high performance before the schizophrenia. I got severe damage but at the same time I’m probably a normie now lol.

#11

I think risperidone is one of the worst in terms of sexual side effects because of the raised prolactin levels don’t know much about geodon haven’t been on it efore

#12

I find Geodon to be best for sex, active lifestyle but you need high doses for it to have strong effect as Solian or Zyprexa to treat symptoms.