Posted by Ellen S. on March 29, 2003, at 10:17:40
In reply to Re: Geodon, posted by hawkeye on March 28, 2003, at 15:05:14
My teenage son has taken 20 mg/day of Geodon (I think 20 mg is the smallest pill available) for over a year, in addition to other medications (Celexa and lithium) for anxiety and depression.
We think the Geodon has helped him a lot, by reducing his irritability and his tendency to misinterpret other people's social behavior (thus reducing his anxiety). This is what it was originally prescribed for. The pdoc (in another city) who originally prescribed it selected this for him because this particular atypical antipsychotic does not cause weight gain.
Geodon boosts serotonin a bit, as well as acting on dopamine. This and some other APs are being used off-label as mood stabilizers for bipolar disorder. My son's current pdoc tried to greatly increase his dose in order to use Geodon as a mood stabilizer (he thinks my son is bipolar) and a replacement for his SSRI, but my son didn't like the nausea he had after he started to increase the Geodon dose. He also has continuing problems with somnolence (sedation) that we think is largely due to the Geodon, but everyone's side effects are different.
poster:Ellen S.
thread:213796
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030329/msgs/214040.html