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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sienna on September 27, 2002, at 17:58:10
Hi all,
Im new here but have been reading what I can. Im taking 40mg of Geodon at night and that is all. Does anyone know if it is really important to take it twice a day? It seems that most people are splitting there dose to twice a day. It seems to be helping, but my doctor had me increase to 80 mgs at night and i got so dizzy and messed up from it that i had to cut back. ANd he had wanted me to up it another 40 mgs in the mornign.
I think I should talk to him about splitting the dose but now i only have the 40 mg pills and dont know if I can cut them in half because they are capsules.
Any info would be great. It seems to be helping me but it also gives me insomnia at night and im not getting up the next day until noon. Its like I have to sleep 9 hours at least no matter what, but i cant get myself tired and asleep until around 3am. I dont know how to fix the sleep cycle. I have tried taking it earlier and it helped some, but i am a gymast and train in the evenign 2 days a week and those days i cant take it until later. The otherdays I train early and try to take it earlier.
Anyways, thanks I know this is really long.
Sienna
Posted by xjs7 on September 28, 2002, at 19:53:11
In reply to Geodon dosage, posted by sienna on September 27, 2002, at 17:58:10
Hi Sienna,
I am not a doctor but I think it is important to take Geodon twice a day (or even 3 times). I take 120 mg of Geodon and if I skip a dose I can definitely feel it not working.
40 mg once a day is a very low dose. You might do better on at least 80 mg; I found 120 mg to be best for me. (I'm assuming that you are taking for psychosis. If you are using it for some other condition then a low dose might be adequate.)
I hope this helps. Geodon is a powerful medication, and I hope it works out for you. It did for me.
xjs7
Posted by hawkeye on September 29, 2002, at 10:57:41
In reply to Geodon dosage, posted by sienna on September 27, 2002, at 17:58:10
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http://www.priory.com/focus17.htm
Hope this helps.
Posted by wcfrench on September 30, 2002, at 2:02:06
In reply to Re: Geodon dosage, posted by hawkeye on September 29, 2002, at 10:57:41
Geodon is recommended to be a twice a day medicine. When I started taking it, I tried 20mg twice a day, but when I took it, it made me feel this really wierd tiredness, and I couldn't take it during the day. I'm not sure if this is going to happen with you. It worked OK taking it at night, but I gradually needed to increase the dosage and eventually got up to 80, then 100mg at bedtime. There IS an activating effect that will keep you awake and thinking, for me it lasted a few hours sometimes and was very frustrating. I think you should try taking it during the day and see how if affects you. If you are still functional on it, then I would consider taking it twice a day. The night time dosage, take a few hours before bedtime to avoid lying in bed awake.
But if you can't take it during the day and you wind up increasing your nightly dosage, beware. When I got up to 80-100mg nightly, I could feel it wearing off the next day. I would take it around 9-10 PM and then the next day, around 5 to 6 PM, I would feel withdrawal effects and would feel very wierd, scary feeling. Like something really bad was going to happen, or like I was going to die. That's why it's a twice a day medicine, because it doesn't last for 24 hours. If you stay at 40, I think you'll be OK, but if you go higher on a single nightly dose, this might start happening. Your best bet with Geodon is to take it twice a day. If it makes you tired during the day and you can only take it once at night, you might want to consider a different, 24-hour antipsychotic, like Zyprexa.
Good luck,
Charlie
Posted by sienna on September 30, 2002, at 16:00:13
In reply to Geodon dosage, posted by sienna on September 27, 2002, at 17:58:10
Thanks everyone for all the help. I saw my doc today and he wants me to just stick with it a little longer at 40 mgs at nite because when i upped it to 80 i got horribley dizzy. I think it does wear off that i can feel it, but it seems to be still helping a little bit. I think if I can keep it at 40 then maybe just add 20 in the mornign in couple weeks, that might help. I have to do things slowly because i always get the side effects.
Thanks again!
Sienna
Posted by karla on October 1, 2002, at 15:54:02
In reply to Re: Geodon dosage, posted by wcfrench on September 30, 2002, at 2:02:06
I take 40mg in am and 40mg in the pm. I agree with everything that has been said so far about it being a twice aday drug. It has been wondderful for me to be on it. It has eliminated all the phycotic symptoms I was having.
Posted by katiemom on October 3, 2002, at 14:26:33
In reply to Re: Geodon dosage, posted by karla on October 1, 2002, at 15:54:02
I have been trying to adjust my dose on Geodon. What has puzzled my pdoc and me is that in the afternoon starting around 1pm I get high anxieties that are uncontrollable, unless I take Klonopin and Xanax together. I was on 120mg of Geodon at night for it does cause some sedation (falling asleep at work) and he thinks it might be causing activation and my anxieties. I have always been prone to high anxieties. We lowered the does to 40mg at night and 40mg in the morning. I can start feeling some anxieties, but it might also be due to being on Xanax, which has terrible withdrawals. Has anyone had this problem with Geodon. It is working for my psychosis and I can think clearer. I just wish I didn’t have the anxieties. I’m also on Wellbutrin and Paxil CR.
Posted by gregg on October 4, 2002, at 15:07:22
In reply to Re: Geodon dosage, posted by katiemom on October 3, 2002, at 14:26:33
> I have been trying to adjust my dose on Geodon. What has puzzled my pdoc and me is that in the afternoon starting around 1pm I get high anxieties that are uncontrollable, unless I take Klonopin and Xanax together. I was on 120mg of Geodon at night for it does cause some sedation (falling asleep at work) and he thinks it might be causing activation and my anxieties. I have always been prone to high anxieties. We lowered the does to 40mg at night and 40mg in the morning. I can start feeling some anxieties, but it might also be due to being on Xanax, which has terrible withdrawals. Has anyone had this problem with Geodon. It is working for my psychosis and I can think clearer. I just wish I didn’t have the anxieties. I’m also on Wellbutrin and Paxil CR.
Katiemom,
You might check the prescribing information for Wellbutrin. I seem to recall that it can increase anxiety. If it is the SR version, it reaches peak plasma concentrations about 6 hours after you take it.
I am also curious how much of the Wellbutrin you take and if you have ever had any problem with it agravating the psychosis?
greg
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