![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Lisa P on March 8, 2003, at 20:53:36
I've been on Geodon for nearly a year and have been having some bad muscle problems so I'm finally getting off of it. I started taking 50mg of the Serequel 3 weeks ago and last nite increased it to 100mg and have been decreasing the Geodon. I'm really concerned about weight gain and have been watching what and how much I eat - the no junk food diet and so far I haven't had that problem. I gained 47lb on Risperdal/Depakote in a year and have also gained 25lb 2 different times on Zyprexa. I would usually stop taking drugs due to weight gain and then would lose the weight and then would have more problems as a result of stopping the drugs.
Does anyone know about weight gain with the Serequel - is it dose related - the more you take, the more weight you gain? Also, I've had drugs like Risperdal where I feel like I'm starving and I eat twice as much as normal and gain tons of weight. On other drugs, I don't eat any more but the weight gain just happens - like the drugs alter my metabolism. Does anyone know how weight gain on Serequel occurs? My shrink thinks that I have to take 300-400mg of the Serequel and just told me that I could do what I wanted as far as increasing it. I thought about increasing it by 50mg every 3 weeks so that way I wouldn't have the tiredness of taking too much of a new drug at once. Or would it be better to increase it every week? Several times about an hour after I've taken the drug I've gotten this tremor in my muscles and my arms, legs, and hands start getting numb. But it hasn't happened in the past week so hopefully it won't happen again.
Also, does this drug have cognitive blunting problems - or make you feel like a zombie if you take too much of it? I can't afford to be out of it if I want to do good in school. I don't really have anyone to talk to about drugs that's taken them before, and I would be most appreciative of any opinions of the Serequel so I can know what to expect. Thanks.
Lisa
Posted by xjs7 on March 8, 2003, at 22:00:20
In reply to starting on Serequel, posted by Lisa P on March 8, 2003, at 20:53:36
What sort of muscle problems have you been having on the Geodon? I have taken Geodon for 17 months and at first it made my muscles very tense, and made it difficult for me to walk. I was given Cogentin for these symptoms (EPS) and it resolved the stiffness instantly. I am now quite comfortable on Geodon and don't have any EPS. If you have EPS from the Geodon, you might be able to add Cogentin in. If you have tardive dyskinesia, then switching drugs might be better. I hope this helps.
xjs7
Posted by Lisa P on March 8, 2003, at 23:12:05
In reply to Re: starting on Seroquel, posted by xjs7 on March 8, 2003, at 22:00:20
> What sort of muscle problems have you been having on the Geodon? I have taken Geodon for 17 months and at first it made my muscles very tense, and made it difficult for me to walk. I was given Cogentin for these symptoms (EPS) and it resolved the stiffness instantly. I am now quite comfortable on Geodon and don't have any EPS. If you have EPS from the Geodon, you might be able to add Cogentin in. If you have tardive dyskinesia, then switching drugs might be better. I hope this helps.
>
> xjs7
>
Thanks for your advice. I was put on 160mg/day of Geodon within 3 days of starting the drug. I noticed when I went running that the muscles in my back would tense up and I would start leaning to either the right or left. This didn't happen on every run, so I just kept on running. I did a 13.1 mi 1/2 marathon and the leaning happened after the first mile and I continued running leaning to the left side until the end of the race, and I hurt my back and went to physical therapy all summer. In the fall I started running again and the leaning problem disappeared for about 2 months and then came back. The sports doc and shrink decided to have me take Amantadine - a parkinsons drug that is also used like cogentin - it helped for awhile and then stopped working. Then one of my shoulders was lower than the other as a result. I went to several neurologists and they all thought my problem was the Geodon - now that I'm on 60mg the leaning has gotten a lot better and I'm going back to physical therapy and I've started running - only 1/2 mi per day, but better than nothing. It's not tardive dyskenesia though. I was told that I would never have had these problems had I not been a runner. It really sucks that I have to switch drugs since otherwise the Geodon worked really well. Now I might have to deal with weight gain problems again - but I'm still on the Amantadine and that does something to counteract weight gain too so hopefully it helps. I just hope that I can tolerate the Serequel ok because I don't really have any other options left as far as drugs to take.
Lisa
Posted by KrissyP on March 8, 2003, at 23:42:34
In reply to starting on Serequel, posted by Lisa P on March 8, 2003, at 20:53:36
Hi Lisa, May I ask what you are taking Seroquel for? I can totally relate to this "Does anyone know about weight gain with the Serequel - is it dose related - the more you take, the more weight you gain?"-YES IMHO when I took 200mg I woke up bloated-not to mention I gained 40 Lbs. Quite often, yes, when I took it in the beginning and felt so zombie-like- it was a too high of a dose for ME. Your body may differ. I now take 100mg and what a difference I am losing a little weight, I don't feel bloated, and I still sleep. I've never tried Geodon-long story. I also gained on Depakote 30 Lbs in a month.I would usually stop taking drugs due to weight gain and then would lose the weight and then would have more problems like relapsing depression, mood swings, etc. as a result of stopping the drugs.
Why oh why isn't your doc the one who is deciding to increase it? I don't understand.
hang in there and please reply:-)
Kristen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> I've been on Geodon for nearly a year and have been having some bad muscle problems so I'm finally getting off of it. I started taking 50mg of the Serequel 3 weeks ago and last nite increased it to 100mg and have been decreasing the Geodon. I'm really concerned about weight gain and have been watching what and how much I eat - the no junk food diet and so far I haven't had that problem. I gained 47lb on Risperdal/Depakote in a year and have also gained 25lb 2 different times on Zyprexa. I would usually stop taking drugs due to weight gain and then would lose the weight and then would have more problems as a result of stopping the drugs.
>
> Does anyone know about weight gain with the Serequel - is it dose related - the more you take, the more weight you gain? Also, I've had drugs like Risperdal where I feel like I'm starving and I eat twice as much as normal and gain tons of weight. On other drugs, I don't eat any more but the weight gain just happens - like the drugs alter my metabolism. Does anyone know how weight gain on Serequel occurs? My shrink thinks that I have to take 300-400mg of the Serequel and just told me that I could do what I wanted as far as increasing it. I thought about increasing it by 50mg every 3 weeks so that way I wouldn't have the tiredness of taking too much of a new drug at once. Or would it be better to increase it every week? Several times about an hour after I've taken the drug I've gotten this tremor in my muscles and my arms, legs, and hands start getting numb. But it hasn't happened in the past week so hopefully it won't happen again.
>
> Also, does this drug have cognitive blunting problems - or make you feel like a zombie if you take too much of it? I can't afford to be out of it if I want to do good in school. I don't really have anyone to talk to about drugs that's taken them before, and I would be most appreciative of any opinions of the Serequel so I can know what to expect. Thanks.
>
> Lisa
Posted by KrissyP on March 8, 2003, at 23:47:22
In reply to Re: starting on Seroquel, posted by xjs7 on March 8, 2003, at 22:00:20
I forgot this too. When I first started on Seroquel, my joints hurt like heck-BUT I stuck with it and it turned out great.
xjs7-I am happy for you that you are quite comfortable on Geodon and don't have any EPS
YAY:-)
God bless you,
Kristen
> What sort of muscle problems have you been having on the Geodon? I have taken Geodon for 17 months and at first it made my muscles very tense, and made it difficult for me to walk. I was given Cogentin for these symptoms (EPS) and it resolved the stiffness instantly. I am now quite comfortable on Geodon and don't have any EPS. If you have EPS from the Geodon, you might be able to add Cogentin in. If you have tardive dyskinesia, then switching drugs might be better. I hope this helps.
>
> xjs7
>
>
Posted by Lisa P on March 9, 2003, at 0:21:09
In reply to Re: starting on Serequel » Lisa P, posted by KrissyP on March 8, 2003, at 23:42:34
Hi Kristen. I'm on the Serequel because I get manic - I'm bipolar but w/o the depression. I get depressed at times but I'm good at hiding it from people. My shrink doesn't want to tell me what to do as far as when to increase/decrease drugs because I guess he thinks that I can figure it out - he said just to increase the Serequel by 50 and decrease the Geodon by 20 whenever.
So you didn't have weight gain problems until you reached 200mg? 40lb sounds awful. Did the Serequel just make you feel really hungry causing you to eat more, or did the weight gain just appear? My shrink says that of the 30 people that he has on the Serequel, only one person gained more than 10lb, but I think that just sounds too good to be true. I'm not one of those people who gains a few lb - other than Geodon and Lamictal I've always gained at least 25lb on a drug and then I would discontinue it and would have another manic episode.
So how long did that zombie like feeling last? I had that a lot on the Geodon, and it took about 3 months to go away. I'm hoping that if I don't go up too fast on the Serequel that I won't have that happen. Does the Serequel still have that sedated feeling, even after you've taken it for awhile? I guess eveyone tolerates drugs differently, so I probably won't find out a lot of these things until I try taking more of the Serequel. Thanks.
Lisa
Posted by KrissyP on March 9, 2003, at 1:07:43
In reply to Re: starting on Serequel, posted by Lisa P on March 9, 2003, at 0:21:09
Hi Lisa,
Yes the Seroquel just made me feel really hungry causing me to eat more-really hungry. I hate to say this, BUT a lot of shrinks and psychiatrists when starting their patients on a possible weight-gainer med, tend to fib a little-after all, they don't know-everyone is different, and they may not want their patients to NOT give these meds a try-to not worry. Understandable.I think they do this because they have no other idea and want to see how a patient does on a med. Does that make sense? It's just my opinion and I feel very strongly about it-it has happened to me a lot. What dose of Lamictal are you on? Are you taking it now? With me, the "zombue" feeling with Seroquel lasted quite a while about 6 months to be exact. I was then cut down a little on it though.
Since I have decreased it to 100mg from 200mg-YEP I don't feel at all as zombie-like as I used to.
Hope this helped?
Hang in there and please keep me posted:-)
Kristen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi Kristen. I'm on the Serequel because I get manic - I'm bipolar but w/o the depression. I get depressed at times but I'm good at hiding it from people. My shrink doesn't want to tell me what to do as far as when to increase/decrease drugs because I guess he thinks that I can figure it out - he said just to increase the Serequel by 50 and decrease the Geodon by 20 whenever.
So you didn't have weight gain problems until you reached 200mg? 40lb sounds awful. Did the Serequel just make you feel really hungry causing you to eat more, or did the weight gain just appear? My shrink says that of the 30 people that he has on the Serequel, only one person gained more than 10lb, but I think that just sounds too good to be true. I'm not one of those people who gains a few lb - other than Geodon and Lamictal I've always gained at least 25lb on a drug and then I would discontinue it and would have another manic episode.
So how long did that zombie like feeling last? I had that a lot on the Geodon, and it took about 3 months to go away. I'm hoping that if I don't go up too fast on the Serequel that I won't have that happen. Does the Serequel still have that sedated feeling, even after you've taken it for awhile? I guess eveyone tolerates drugs differently, so I probably won't find out a lot of these things until I try taking more of the Serequel. Thanks.
Lisa
Posted by laurarn on March 9, 2003, at 9:11:01
In reply to Re: starting on Serequel, posted by Lisa P on March 9, 2003, at 0:21:09
Hi Lisa. I was on Seroquel 25-50 mg at bedtime to help with sleep disturbance. This med was a excellent for me. I recently stopped it to try Abilify. Even though I think staying on a new med for at least 2-3 months is important. suffice it to say I am stopping the Abilify and going back to my much beloved Seroquel.
I also use Seroquel for anxiety and it has helped my depression in the long run. I did gain a few pounds at first from increased appetite and decreased metabolism, but it leveled off and I am slowly taking the pounds off. I am decreasing my calories and increasing my exercise. Wow. And some people pay big bucks for that info. :D
I sure wish you luck with Seroquel. I am feeling so much better just knowing I am going back on it.
Posted by Lisa P on March 9, 2003, at 11:07:12
In reply to Re: starting on Serequel » Lisa P, posted by KrissyP on March 9, 2003, at 1:07:43
Kristen,
I was on 150mg of the Lamictal for a year - I was taking it with Zyprexa but I gained 25lb in 8 weeks so I discontinued the Zyprexa. The Lamictal didn't cause weight gain but it also didn't help me and I had 2 manic episodes on it, so I stopped taking it and switched to Geodon. I thought that the Lamictal made me feel not so depressed, but at the same time my distance vision got blurry from it and has since never cleared up all of the way.
Lisa
> Hi Lisa,
> Yes the Seroquel just made me feel really hungry causing me to eat more-really hungry. I hate to say this, BUT a lot of shrinks and psychiatrists when starting their patients on a possible weight-gainer med, tend to fib a little-after all, they don't know-everyone is different, and they may not want their patients to NOT give these meds a try-to not worry. Understandable.I think they do this because they have no other idea and want to see how a patient does on a med. Does that make sense? It's just my opinion and I feel very strongly about it-it has happened to me a lot. What dose of Lamictal are you on? Are you taking it now? With me, the "zombue" feeling with Seroquel lasted quite a while about 6 months to be exact. I was then cut down a little on it though.
> Since I have decreased it to 100mg from 200mg-YEP I don't feel at all as zombie-like as I used to.
> Hope this helped?
> Hang in there and please keep me posted:-)
> Kristen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Hi Kristen. I'm on the Serequel because I get manic - I'm bipolar but w/o the depression. I get depressed at times but I'm good at hiding it from people. My shrink doesn't want to tell me what to do as far as when to increase/decrease drugs because I guess he thinks that I can figure it out - he said just to increase the Serequel by 50 and decrease the Geodon by 20 whenever.
> So you didn't have weight gain problems until you reached 200mg? 40lb sounds awful. Did the Serequel just make you feel really hungry causing you to eat more, or did the weight gain just appear? My shrink says that of the 30 people that he has on the Serequel, only one person gained more than 10lb, but I think that just sounds too good to be true. I'm not one of those people who gains a few lb - other than Geodon and Lamictal I've always gained at least 25lb on a drug and then I would discontinue it and would have another manic episode.
> So how long did that zombie like feeling last? I had that a lot on the Geodon, and it took about 3 months to go away. I'm hoping that if I don't go up too fast on the Serequel that I won't have that happen. Does the Serequel still have that sedated feeling, even after you've taken it for awhile? I guess eveyone tolerates drugs differently, so I probably won't find out a lot of these things until I try taking more of the Serequel. Thanks.
>
> Lisa
>
>
>
>
Posted by KrissyP on March 9, 2003, at 17:22:15
In reply to Re: starting on Serequel, posted by Lisa P on March 9, 2003, at 11:07:12
Hi, Lamictal doesn't cause as much weight gain with me as the Zyprexa and Seroquel did. I was on. (I'm still on 100mg of Seroquel) and like I said I'm not as bloated when I wake up which is great. I also am drinking more water which helps everyone A LOT.
May I ask what your dosage was when you had these 2 manic episodes on it??? Whoa.... I can also relate to the decreased distance vision. My night vision has decreased also since these meds and I'm sure because of age too lol
All the best, Kristen:-)
==================================================================================================Kristen,
I was on 150mg of the Lamictal for a year - I was taking it with Zyprexa but I gained 25lb in 8 weeks so I discontinued the Zyprexa. The Lamictal didn't cause weight gain but it also didn't help me and I had 2 manic episodes on it, so I stopped taking it and switched to Geodon. I thought that the Lamictal made me feel not so depressed, but at the same time my distance vision got blurry from it and has since never cleared up all of the way.
Lisa
Hi Kristen. I'm on the Serequel because I get manic - I'm bipolar but w/o the depression. I get depressed at times but I'm good at hiding it from people. My shrink doesn't want to tell me what to do as far as when to increase/decrease drugs because I guess he thinks that I can figure it out - he said just to increase the Serequel by 50 and decrease the Geodon by 20 whenever.
> > So you didn't have weight gain problems until you reached 200mg? 40lb sounds awful. Did the Serequel just make you feel really hungry causing you to eat more, or did the weight gain just appear? My shrink says that of the 30 people that he has on the Serequel, only one person gained more than 10lb, but I think that just sounds too good to be true. I'm not one of those people who gains a few lb - other than Geodon and Lamictal I've always gained at least 25lb on a drug and then I would discontinue it and would have another manic episode.
> > So how long did that zombie like feeling last? I had that a lot on the Geodon, and it took about 3 months to go away. I'm hoping that if I don't go up too fast on the Serequel that I won't have that happen. Does the Serequel still have that sedated feeling, even after you've taken it for awhile? I guess eveyone tolerates drugs differently, so I probably won't find out a lot of these things until I try taking more of the Serequel. Thanks.
Posted by Lisa P on March 9, 2003, at 18:57:20
In reply to Re: starting on Serequel » Lisa P, posted by KrissyP on March 9, 2003, at 17:22:15
Hi Kristen. I was on 100mg of Lamictal the first time I had a problem and then 150mg the second time. Did the Serequel worsen your distance/night vision at all or do you think that it was the other drugs?
Lisa
> Hi, Lamictal doesn't cause as much weight gain with me as the Zyprexa and Seroquel did. I was on. (I'm still on 100mg of Seroquel) and like I said I'm not as bloated when I wake up which is great. I also am drinking more water which helps everyone A LOT.
> May I ask what your dosage was when you had these 2 manic episodes on it??? Whoa.... I can also relate to the decreased distance vision. My night vision has decreased also since these meds and I'm sure because of age too lol
> All the best, Kristen:-)
> ==================================================================================================
>
> Kristen,
> I was on 150mg of the Lamictal for a year - I was taking it with Zyprexa but I gained 25lb in 8 weeks so I discontinued the Zyprexa. The Lamictal didn't cause weight gain but it also didn't help me and I had 2 manic episodes on it, so I stopped taking it and switched to Geodon. I thought that the Lamictal made me feel not so depressed, but at the same time my distance vision got blurry from it and has since never cleared up all of the way.
>
> Lisa
> Hi Kristen. I'm on the Serequel because I get manic - I'm bipolar but w/o the depression. I get depressed at times but I'm good at hiding it from people. My shrink doesn't want to tell me what to do as far as when to increase/decrease drugs because I guess he thinks that I can figure it out - he said just to increase the Serequel by 50 and decrease the Geodon by 20 whenever.
> > > So you didn't have weight gain problems until you reached 200mg? 40lb sounds awful. Did the Serequel just make you feel really hungry causing you to eat more, or did the weight gain just appear? My shrink says that of the 30 people that he has on the Serequel, only one person gained more than 10lb, but I think that just sounds too good to be true. I'm not one of those people who gains a few lb - other than Geodon and Lamictal I've always gained at least 25lb on a drug and then I would discontinue it and would have another manic episode.
> > > So how long did that zombie like feeling last? I had that a lot on the Geodon, and it took about 3 months to go away. I'm hoping that if I don't go up too fast on the Serequel that I won't have that happen. Does the Serequel still have that sedated feeling, even after you've taken it for awhile? I guess eveyone tolerates drugs differently, so I probably won't find out a lot of these things until I try taking more of the Serequel. Thanks.
>
>
Posted by KrissyP on March 9, 2003, at 23:25:48
In reply to Re: starting on Serequel, posted by Lisa P on March 9, 2003, at 18:57:20
Hi Lisa,
YES I know it was the Seroquel because the vision thing NEVER happened before I started it. Seroquel does warn of the long term effects -of glaucoma (I know-ouch)So you are on Geodon instead of Lamictal right? I asked my pdoc about Geodon and she replied "What-you wanna try every med that's on the market"-I was pissed. Oh well. I'm not done with this issue yet-I've heard too many good things about Geodon-do you have any? I would be interested in hearing.
Thanks.
Take Care
==================================================================================================Hi Kristen. I was on 100mg of Lamictal the first time I had a problem and then 150mg the second time. Did the Serequel worsen your distance/night vision at all or do you think that it was the other drugs?
Lisa
Posted by Lisa P on March 10, 2003, at 18:59:36
In reply to Re: starting on Serequel » Lisa P, posted by KrissyP on March 9, 2003, at 23:25:48
Kristen,
The first 4 months I was on Geodon (put on the max dose in 3 days), I was a total
zombie - the first 6 weeks I was on it my vision was blurry and I wasn't able to see well enough to take notes in class in the mornings. Then I adjusted to it just fine and then had insomnia which I've never had before, and ended up getting hooked on Ambien. And my muscle problems got progressively worse until it was finally determined that Geodon was the source of them.As far as good things about the drug - once I got used to it, I didn't even know I was taking it since it didn't make me feel any different than normal. I was under a lot of stress with school and often felt like I couldn't handle it anymore, but I managed to get through it all. Also, I lost 30lb on this drug - it didn't reduce my appetite, but it didn't increase it either so I got the motivation to eat less and work out more and it happened.
If it wasn't for the muscle problems, this would have been the perfect drug for me - no weight gain, no cognitive blunting, etc.
Good luck with your decision of whether or not to try it.
Lisa
> Hi Lisa,
> YES I know it was the Seroquel because the vision thing NEVER happened before I started it. Seroquel does warn of the long term effects -of glaucoma (I know-ouch)So you are on Geodon instead of Lamictal right? I asked my pdoc about Geodon and she replied "What-you wanna try every med that's on the market"-I was pissed. Oh well. I'm not done with this issue yet-I've heard too many good things about Geodon-do you have any? I would be interested in hearing.
> Thanks.
> Take Care
> ==================================================================================================
>
> Hi Kristen. I was on 100mg of Lamictal the first time I had a problem and then 150mg the second time. Did the Serequel worsen your distance/night vision at all or do you think that it was the other drugs?
>
> Lisa
>
Posted by KrissyP on March 11, 2003, at 0:47:24
In reply to Re: starting on Serequel, posted by Lisa P on March 10, 2003, at 18:59:36
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.