Some drugs can interact with geodon or ziprasidone when used concurrently and may lead to severe side effects. You should inform your doctor of all the medications you are using and those you have just stopped using.
Do not take geodon or ziprasidone if you have unpreventable heart failure, history of Long QT Syndrome, heart rhythm problem or if you suffered heart attack recently.
How Geodon Works?
Geodon or ziprasidone is an antipsychotic medicine. Geodon or ziprasidone medicine works by altering chemical effects within the brain.
How Effective is Geodon?
Geodon or ziprasidone is effectively utilized in treatment of schizophrenia and manic signs of bipolar disorder (manic depression) in children above 10 years and in adults. Stop geodon or ziprasidone dose and contact your doctor immediately when you feel serious dizziness, pain in the chest, battering and rapid heartbeats. These may be symptoms of severe heart rhythm disorder.
In rare situations, geodon or ziprasidone can cause serious skin reaction which can be deadly if it scatters to other sections of the body. Stop your Geodon dose and contact your doctor at once if you have severe or new skin rash with swollen glands or fever.
Geodon or ziprasidone is not permitted for utilization in psychotic cases connected to dementia. Geodon escalates death risks in elderly people suffering from conditions connected to dementia.
What to Know Before taking Geodon?
People who are allergic to ziprasidone should not use geodon or ziprasidone, or those having:
- Heart rhythm problem
- History of long QT syndrome (family or personal)
- Untreated or uncontrollable heart failure
- If you suffered heart attack recently.
This medicine geodon or ziprasidone is not permitted to treat psychotic situations connected to dementia. Geodon or ziprasidone can escalate fatal risks in elderly people with conditions connected to dementia.
Geodon or ziprasidone should never be taken together with any of the following drugs, or a life-threatening heart rhythm disorder could occur:
Geodon or ziprasidone should not be used concurrently with the following medicines or you may suffer deadly heart rhythm problems.
- Tacrolimus
- Anagrelide
- Methadone
- Drugs that inhibits vomiting or nausea such as ondansetron, droperidol and dolasetron.
- Antibiotic medicines like clarithromycin, azithromycin, levofloxacin, pentamidine and moxifloxacin.
- Cancer medications such as vandetanib and arsenic trioxide.
- Antidepressants like ascitalopram and citalopram.
- Anti- malaria medicines like mefloquine, chloroquine and halofantrine.
- Heart rhythm medications like disopyramide, amiodarone, dronedarone, dofetilide, Ibutilide, flecainide, sotalol and quinide.
- Psychiatric disorder medicines like haloperidol, chlorpromazine, pimozide, mesoridazine and thioridazine.
What is the Recommended Dosage of Geodon?
General Adult Dose of Geodon or Ziprasidone for Treating Schizophrenia
Initial dosage of Geodon or ziprasidone: Take 20 milligrams twice daily.
Maintenance dosage of Geodon or ziprasidone: edit as clinically advised at periods not below 2 days.
Maximum dose of Geodon or ziprasidone: Take 100 milligrams twice daily. Any dose higher than 80 milligrams twice per day is recommended generally.
Muscle Injection: Recommended dose: between 10 to 20 milligrams of muscle injection, you can repeat 10 milligrams of shots every 2 hours or 20 milligrams of shots every 4 hours until you reach maximum daily dose.
Maximum Dose: 40 milligrams of injection daily.
Duration of therapy: Usage for over 3 consecutive days has not been researched.
- Geodon injection is not recommended in patients who are on oral ziprasidone treatment.
- For long term treatment, oral capsules must be used in place of injections immediately.
- Geodon or ziprasidone is effectively used for treatment of schizophrenia.
- Geodon injections are used in treating acute schizophrenia.
General Adult Dose of Geodon or Ziprasidone for Treating Bipolar Disorder:
For treating Mixed or Manic Episodes:
Initial Dosage: Take 40 milligrams twice per day
You can add the dose amount to 60 milligrams or 80 milligrams twice daily from the second day. However, the subsequent dose adjustments rely on the efficiency and tolerance within dosage range of between 40 to 80 milligrams twice daily.
Maintenance Dose (as adjunct to valproate or lithium)
Continue with the dose of 40 milligrams to 80 milligrams twice daily once stabilized.
- The mean geodon dose given in clinical trials was about 120 milligrams daily.
- Monotherapy has not yet been scrutinized systematically for maintenance dose of bipolar I problem.
- As monotherapy for controlling acute mixed or manic episodes related with bipolar I disorder.
- As adjunct to valproate or lithium for maintenance dose of Bipolar I disorder.
What are the Side Effects of Geodon?
Seek emergency medical assistance if you experience allergic reactions to geodon or ziprasidone; like breathing difficulty, hives or swelling if your tongue, face, throat and lips.
In rare incidences, geodon or ziprasidone may lead to serious skin reaction that can be deadly if scattered to other body parts. Stop taking geodon or ziprasidone at once and inform your physician if you experience new or escalating skin rash with swollen glands, fever, signs of flu, easy bleeding and bruising, jaundice, serious numbness and tingling, chest pain, weak muscles, breathing problem and cough.
Contact Your Doctor Immediately If You Have The Following Severe Side Effects Of Geodon Or Ziprasidone:
- Battering or fast heart rate and chest pain
- Feeling like you want to faint and light headed
- Uncurbed movements of the tongue, eye, frowning, blinking, lip smacking and chewing.
- Increased blood sugars causing drowsiness, dry mouth and skin, hunger, increased urination and thirst, weight loss and unclear vision.
- Decreased white blood cell counts causing chills, fever, abrupt weakness and feeling sick, sore mouth and throat, painful throat, swollen or red gums.
- Serious skin response like swelling tongue and face, burning eyes, fever, sore throat, painful skin that causes purple or red rash that scatters and causes peeling and blisters.
- Serious nervous system response leading to sweating, agitation, confusion, high fever and very tight muscles.
Common Side Effects of Geodon or Ziprasidone are:
- Drowsiness
- Dizziness
- Uncommon fatigue
- Constipation
- Stomach upsets, diarrhea are also side effects of geodon or ziprasidone
- Nausea
- Restless feeling
- Increasing or worsening cough and running nose,
- Rashes
- Tremors.