I never read anything good about Geodon. Just wondering if anyone had success on this with their difficult children? My difficult child is 14, but we did a short trial of Geodon years ago, and he went a little biserk on it, so we stopped it. Just wondering if maybe we should try it again. difficult child was on Abilify and did fine, then changed to Risperidone and also fine, but he's eating everything in sight and won't stop. Starting to get obese. Thanks in advance
Anyone like Geodon?
crazymama30
Active Member
Why are you changing both medications? Abilify is weight neutral, the risperdal is what is causing the increase in appetite. If it did not work before, I would be leary of trying it again. What about leaving the abilify in place and switching the risperdal for something else? Just curious.
Just wanted to chime in and say that Geodon has worked for my difficult child when many other medications did not. Abilify was ineffective for my son at lower doses and higher doses caused a lot of drooling and cognitive dulling for my son. I hope you find the right medication/combo for you son.
crazymama30
Active Member
As far as I know, geodon and abilify are the most weight neutral ap's. Not sure where seroquel falls on the weight gain scale. Good luck, and I hope you find something that works with minimal to no side effects.
Steely
Active Member
Geodon did nothing for difficult child except make him crawl out of his skin. It is a new fav amongst psychiatrists however. I am not sure why. Zyprexa and Risperdal are the worst for medication weight gain. Seroquel is a little better for some - and it is more affective in mood stability in my opinion. Has he tried Seroquel?
smallworld
Moderator
From what I've read, here's how weight gain stacks up for APs, from most to least:
Zyprexa
Risperdal
Seroquel
Abilify
Geodon
However, Abilify and Geodon may have more problems with efficacy, from what I've heard anecdotally.
Zyprexa
Risperdal
Seroquel
Abilify
Geodon
However, Abilify and Geodon may have more problems with efficacy, from what I've heard anecdotally.
timer lady
Queen of Hearts
Our kids all have different rates of success or failure on various medications/it's all bio chemical. I have nothing either positive nor negative to say about this medication just wanted to remind you of the personal reactions to medications.
Saying that, I'd take an overweight "functional" difficult child over a thin out of control. Once your difficult child is on the right track & functioning then you can work on eating healthy, exercise & portion control. It's what we have done with kt (whose been on seroquel forever). Once we saw a level of stability we pushed the healthy eating & exercise & it's made a huge difference.
medications are a grand experiment in terror ~ it takes time to hit the right combination. Once you've hit the right medication combo then the behavioral interventions begin ~ our difficult children need to unlearn the responses & antics they used before the medications started taking effect.
Saying that, I'd take an overweight "functional" difficult child over a thin out of control. Once your difficult child is on the right track & functioning then you can work on eating healthy, exercise & portion control. It's what we have done with kt (whose been on seroquel forever). Once we saw a level of stability we pushed the healthy eating & exercise & it's made a huge difference.
medications are a grand experiment in terror ~ it takes time to hit the right combination. Once you've hit the right medication combo then the behavioral interventions begin ~ our difficult children need to unlearn the responses & antics they used before the medications started taking effect.
crazymama30
Active Member
Wow, I could not agree more
Linda I could not agree more. Do you mind if I save this? It is a great description of how I feel about medication changes.
W
Wonderful Family
Guest
Geodon has worked great for my son. Any time there is a medication change, he's very sleepy for a few days and then he evens back out. The Geodon has worked where nothing else did before.
The most important thing is eating with Geodon. The medication is metabolized much better through the system with the food. Not eating with Geodon can reduce it's efficacy by half. Seems like most docs miss this.
If what you are doing, it's important to think twice before switching. But Geodon has worked well for us.
The most important thing is eating with Geodon. The medication is metabolized much better through the system with the food. Not eating with Geodon can reduce it's efficacy by half. Seems like most docs miss this.
If what you are doing, it's important to think twice before switching. But Geodon has worked well for us.
