Geodon withdrawal side effects

[songwriterdelta]

Nine months agao I came off Geodon  in less than a week.. It left me  with QUIVERS in portions of my body and  daily HAND  tremors that still continue in a daily cycle.   I have worked extensively with a hypntherapist andf anxiety has basically gone. BUt tremors  AND SOME QUIVERS REMAIN EVEN THOUGH i TAKE 1 MG OF aTIVAN 2 TIMES A DAY.  the ativan never stopped the tremors.
   I have tried mysoline 50mg and it did no thelp the tremors at all.  I have had complete workups of endocrine and thyroid buit all ar negative.  Unbelievely, the tremors stop late at night and always start after I wake up-- a few hours after waking on a regular cycle.
   Have you seen any patients who have had a similar experience left by Geodon withdrawal and how can it be treated after 9 months.
2--Am I permantly  damaged? What medication can I try.  No SSI or benzo stops them.  I  am also on neurontin 300mg --3 times a day as a mood stabilizer but it has no effect on the tremors.
    I never had any TREMORS in my life until I came off this medication-- 40mg for 4 months only.
   Any insight will greatly assist me as noone seems to know  how to treat it.My doctor claims the mediation did not cause the tremors.. There is no Parkinson's in my family history either.   It leave me with daily agitation  still in my body. songwriterdelta

[PaulMD]

Hi there Mr songwriter.

First of all I'm sorry to hear that you are experiencing all of these things.  I think you may be suffering from a withdrawal syndrome from the drug.  Drugs like Geodon should never be stopped abruptly or you will indeed develop these symptoms no matter what drug you take to counter act them.  

I suggest you go back to your doctor and ask for the proper way of tapering the dosage of this drug until it is completely withdrawn (usually tapered not less than 4 weeks).  I don't think you are permanently damaged.  Also ask your doctor regarding substitutes for this drug.

Balanceseeker has an excellent outlook and style on taking his medications.  Always ask your physician on how you go about these things.  

Hope you and your doctor would find a solution soon. Best of luck and God bless!

[balanceseeker]

This is just a suggestion, as one who has had to wean herself off some psychiatric drugs, including Effexor and Geodon.  I am not a doctor, only an informed patient.  Geodon is a neuroleptic/major tranquillizer.  You should never abruptly stop any psychiatric medicine, especially any drug in this category.  You may be experiencing the adverse reaction known as Tardive Dyskinesia, which means abnormal movement after stopping a (psychiatric) medicine that persists even when the drug is out of your system.  You should have a very good psychiatrist if you are using Geodon, and he or she should know about this potential side effect.  If not, seek out another doctor.  Mine is wonderful, and he told me the following rules for weaning off.  Go slowly, one dose step at a time.  (For Geodon, by 20 mg steps).  Take at least! 2 weeks to get used to each and every dosage change.  If you feel too bad or get any bad side effects on the dosage change first day or so, don't make the next step down until you feel more stable.  Take your time, based on how stable you feel, and keep a record of what you take and what effects you feel.  There are some drugs that are prescribed for tardive dyskinesia, but it is a notoriously difficult thing to manage.  One thing I did when I was experiencing severe withdrawal from Effexor was to go back on it, get stable for a good while on it, and then reduce my dose as above.  As I said, my doctor is wonderful and works closely with a great hospital outpatient group therapy.  I highly recommend individual and group psychotherapy while experiencing dosage changes and in general.