Geodon and Weight Gain: What Users Say

• NY ...
• December 13, 2020

For Bipolar Disorder "After trying several drugs that made me feel like a complete zombie, I tried Geodon in 2006, and I have had great results. My psychiatrist says I am the poster child for this drug. No more mania. No more hospitalizations. I was able to finish my masters and have held a stable, professional position for almost 17 years. Happily married for 21 years. Two kids finishing up their undergrads and going on to grad school. I did gain weight, but I’d rather be a little chubby and able to maintain beautiful relationships, than worry about a few pounds. Therapy and Geodon were my cures to get out of the bipolar nightmare I was living in."

• All...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 28, 2016

For Schizoaffective Disorder "This medication was exactly what I needed for my schizoaffective and bipolar disorders. There has been absolutely no weight gain and no noticeable side effects. It has seriously leveled out my bipolar cycles, no paranoid delusions, and the depressive episodes are less painful. I know that one med won't work for some people, but this was exactly what I needed. After being on Zyprexa and gaining 10 pounds a month, this was a lifesaver."

• Mom...
• November 6, 2016

For Schizophrenia "I have been on Geodon for 6 years. It works great for me. Risperdal made me sleepy, and I couldn't think as clearly. I have gained weight, but due to other medication I was taking with it. My symptoms are almost all gone. I still have some paranoia, but nothing like before. I take a lot though, 160 at night. My condition is very manageable. I just wish I didn't have this problem and didn't have to take medicine just to function normally. Good luck to all you guys searching for help."

• Rac...
• November 19, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "I've been taking Geodon for about four weeks. Before that, I was on Quetiapine, which works well but gave me horrible weight gain (their paper says 10 pounds a year on average, and I gained 23 in 6 weeks! Still eating well too!) I have had minor side effects. When I first take it, it affects my concentration. I have a hard time driving, and specifically moving things, like looking at the road makes me sleepy. If I'm not driving (or looking at the road specifically), my tiredness seems to be much better. I have had some short-term memory problems, especially if I'm stressed at the same time. Other than that, this med has worked well for me and is keeping my weight down. Now I just have to exercise off the 23-pound belly and thighs the Quetiapine gave me."

• Me ...
• September 20, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "I have a 10-year-old daughter (bipolar, anxiety, and ADHD) who has been taking Geodon for about two months, and it's been working great! I think the most important thing to remember is to go slow: 20 mg for a couple of weeks, then 40 mg for a couple of weeks, and so on and so forth. It does make you tired at first, but it wears off after a while. My daughter was first on Risperdal for a couple of years starting at age 6, but it stopped working well, and she was gaining a lot of weight. Then we eased her into Abilify, and she was on it for 2 years and still was gaining too much weight. I don't think the Abilify ever worked that effectively, and she was just getting out of control."

• jul...
• October 9, 2015

For Bipolar Disorder "Geodon has worked great for my bipolar. I do not struggle with mania symptoms anymore. My thoughts are more clear and feel more stable than I ever have. I take it at night to avoid the heavy fatigue that occurred when I took it during the day. I had some weight gain, but it is worth the quality of life I now have."

• jen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 5, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "I started taking Geodon last week. It has pulled me out of a terrible depression I was under for over a year! I was taking Latuda before Geodon, and it caused me to have panic attacks and bad thoughts. So far, it has been a miracle medicine! God has answered my prayers! Now I just pray it doesn't cause weight gain."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 12, 2012

For Schizophrenia "I am only on day 3. I have to say I like it. I do not hear or see voices or people. I have a wild thought process that can imagine anything and make it real in my own mind. That is under control almost completely, which is AMAZING! Living in my head without this medicine was a nightmare. 60 mg before bed did not work for me. I couldn't sleep. So, I now take it in the morning. I also have A.D.D. (no medication for A.D.D. though). Just the Geodon and Topamax. It works perfect for me. Weight gain was a BIG problem on the other medicine they tried, so far I think I have lost, I know I have not gained, which is very important to me. I had gained 14 pounds in 3 weeks on the other medication (that's a lot of weight really fast). No jaw issues or shaking."

• Kod...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 3, 2020

For Bipolar Disorder "I've been on Geodon for several months now, and I have to say the side effects that bother me the most are being tired/exhausted and extreme weakness! Sometimes it makes me so tired I literally just can't get through the day. It is like my whole body feels like I'm surrounded by sand, but so far, this is the only drug that has helped stabilize my mood and helps me have a more positive outlook without putting so much effort into it. It has helped my paranoia and suicidal ideation a little bit. I can definitely notice a difference when it starts to wear off. I could use a higher dose, but I absolutely cannot go up because of how tired and weak it makes me. I have gained weight, but that's only because I'm so tired that just going to work takes all I have :("

• Net...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 31, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "Worse experience ever. I was on it for about 3 years. Gained over 100 pounds and was so out of it I couldn’t even figure out that it was this medication that was doing it. Missed out on those years of my kids' lives and still paying for it. Stay away from this medication."

• Max...
• August 25, 2023

For Schizophrenia "I have schizophrenia for most of my life. I have severe illness symptoms. I have tried many antipsychotics. Most made me gain weight. I have been on Geodon for 4 months or so. I did not gain weight on it at all. When I started, I felt very tired, but that went away the longer I was on the med. I still have slight hallucinations on it, but without it, it is very disabling. I take 80 mg once a day in the afternoon with food. I am happy with this medication. God bless."

• sea...
• April 15, 2011

For Schizophrenia "I take 160 mg of Geodon, half at dinner and half before bed. I used to take it in the morning, but it would knock me out cold. Now I am dead to the world at night but can get through the day. I have been on many medications, and Geodon is the only one that didn't make me feel that my life was in danger and claustrophobic. I never did hear voices or delusions, just grandiose thinking. If you have to take medication, Geodon is far superior to the other antipsychotics. I developed partial blindness and tardive dyskinesia on the others. But Geodon does slow you down and cause weight gain."

• cla...
• February 14, 2012

For Schizoaffective Disorder "I was originally on 160 mg of Geodon, mainly for delusions and paranoia. It helped a great deal for paranoia, but I wanted to decrease the dosage with a view to coming off it altogether. I managed to get down to 40 mg, but couldn't get off it altogether as the resulting insomnia was awful. I just could not sleep without it. Unfortunately, due to paranoia, I am now back up to 120 mg and I can't see myself ever getting off this medication, and I do suffer a lot of bloating with it, although it is not as bad as Zyprexa or Clozaril for weight gain. Overall, a good medicine for paranoid delusions."

• Dir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 8, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "Geodon made me a zombie. I cried a lot more, I could barely drive. My eyes were half shut. I took it with lots of fatty foods as ordered. I couldn't speak coherently. Seroquel caused blackouts and rage, Zyprexa made me gain 45 lb and caused akathisia."

• Jay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 26, 2020

For Bipolar Disorder "Geodon is a very fickle drug. Make sure to take it with food (500 calories). Sometimes it sedates you, and sometimes it doesn't. I found to avoid eating beef and hot liquids with the medication, especially hot coffee. I take 40 mg twice a day. Otherwise, it works very well at smoothing out the peaks of mania and mixed states. It doesn't do much for depression or anhedonia. I wonder if, in a way, it causes the anhedonia by preventing excitation. It doesn't mess with cognition though and makes you feel like you're not taking a med. And I didn't gain any weight on it too!"

• Ros...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 9, 2020

For Schizophrenia "Geodon was a bad drug for me!!! Made me gain a bunch of weight and didn't even touch my symptoms. I was put on this during my second hospitalization and got up to a really high dose and still didn't work but was kept on it after discharge. Caused my moods to be really unstable and led to a misdiagnosis of bipolar. Made me feel like such a zombie and made me miss Abilify, which also made me a zombie, but Geodon was so much worse. Beware!"

• dea...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 12, 2022

For Bipolar Disorder "I've been on this medication for almost seven years and actually have Major Depressive Disorder. If you don't have Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia, STAY AWAY from this medication. It has severely ruined my quality of life. I've been on the highest dose possible and am almost off of it completely. The involuntary facial movements, weight gain, withdrawals from missing a dose by 30 minutes to an hour, paranoia, passing out at jobs from feeling so sedated and drugged out-all of it, and more, are NOT worth it. I don't think I'll ever recover from this medication. STAY AWAY! Don't let your pill-pusher psychiatrist suggest it to you if you have Depression, Anxiety, BPD, basically anything but Bipolar and Schizophrenia. If you're in recovery from an Eating Disorder, STAY AWAY! I haven't been myself for the past 6 1/2 years. I don't even know who I am anymore. The withdrawals are so deadly. Please don't put yourself through this. This medication has been pulled off the market by the FDA multiple times. Stay safe x"

• Anonymous
• March 21, 2012

For Schizophrenia "I have severe schizophrenia and have been on Geodon for two years. I have trouble pronouncing some words since I started, but overall it has made me appear normal. I can think without the inner voices. I have gained some weight but not as bad as with other medicines."

• Apr...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 18, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "This causes crazy weight gain. I was 120, now 177 pounds... yup! Other than that, it works. I take 80 mg before bed every night, but the craving at night for food will get the best of you. It took not long to gain weight, now it's taking forever to lose it. But I'm still happy with this drug. Better than Haldol and Seroquel :)"

• Lee...
• August 6, 2019

For Schizophrenia "Antipsychotic weight gain is an absolute nightmare. I was on Risperdal, and it made me gain twenty pounds. At first, I didn’t know what was going on. I thought I was just getting old. Then I got up to 160 pounds without even eating. This med made it so I can’t pee hardly at all, so if I just want to drink Diet Pepsi to lose weight, I have to deal with water weight. I mean just how big am I supposed to get? I have to be on this stuff for life, and I’m gaining about 2 to 3 pounds a week without even eating. How many times am I supposed to go jean shopping for bigger sizes? And I can’t say I trust Geodon much more. I’ve been on it for a month now, so far, I’ve lost five pounds by just starving myself as usual. It works for my voices, but I can’t even get off the stuff if I wanted to because the withdrawal gives me terrible insomnia. So, basically, they’ve got you for life and you're going to be fat."

• Col...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 20, 2015

For Bipolar Disorder "I have been on the drug for about a month. I'm getting off my Depakote this month because of weight gain and tiredness. It's hard to see the whole effect of this drug. I can tell you that the drug makes you tired. I take 40 mg at lunch and 40 mg at dinner. It seems to be better than Abilify. That drug made me gain 30 pounds, and I couldn't stay still. It has just been hard because of all the weight I have gained from mood stabilizers. I just hope that when I stop my Depakote and only take Geodon, it will help me with my weight loss."

• Cat...
• November 5, 2018

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Gained 50 lbs in 3 months. Ate half a refrigerator a day. The doctor told me that Geodon is weight neutral and I need more self-control. I've been on oodles of antipsychotics and other psych drugs. Only Zyprexa, lithium, and Depakote make me gain weight. Lithium was a pound a week, Zyprexa is 0.75 lbs a week, and Depakote is 3 lbs a week. Geodon is 4 lbs a week. A personal high."

• Aus...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 5, 2024

For Autism "We tried Risperidol, worked at first, but the weight gain was horrible. Then we tried Abilify. Every time it was given, the first 30 minutes or longer were pure aggression. Finally, Geodon/Ziprasidone was prescribed. A miracle happened. We noticed the difference immediately. Started at a low dosage and have increased the dosage per mg as needed through the years. My son, who is now 21, has been on it since 2017. I have no complaints and wished we found it sooner."

• jac...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 5, 2015

For Bipolar Disorder "I've been using Geodon for 2 years. It has stopped my racing thoughts and irritability. I have, however, gained 20 pounds in the first 6 months, even though you are told it is weight neutral. Their own website states this med can cause an increase of 15 pounds (a weight gain mean of >7)."

• Nan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 4, 2020

For Bipolar Disorder "Been on it for a month, and my mood swings are smoother. I don't feel as manic. But it doesn't get rid of the anxiety or low moods. I don't feel as negative. I don't experience intrusive thoughts as much. I did gain a few pounds, and I do feel tired and weak."