Last weekend, I managed to paint myself into a corner. I hadn’t realized that I had run out of Geodon and Cogentin, AND I hadn’t realized that I had no refills left. Okay, no big deal, request refills on-line, they’ll call my psych on Monday, I go get them, no big deal. I just need to get from Friday night to Monday afternoon. I’ve run out of other meds before, and they always take a couple of days before I start feeling any discomfort.
Goddess save me.
I started feeling it Saturday afternoon — tremors, sleepiness, lack of coordination. By the middle of Sunday, I felt like I had Parkinson’s Disease. I could barely negotiate stairs, especially going down them. I kept trying to sleep it off, but it just kept getting worse. I was reading on-line about how unpleasant withdrawing suddenly from Geodon could be, and how long it can take, but frankly I had no idea it would be that bad. I was afraid that it wouldn’t go away, that I had damaged myself permanently in some fashion. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I left a voice mail message on my psych’s cell phone. Thank goodness she checks her messages on the weekend. She didn’t call me back, but she did call the pharmacy and put in a refill for me. I was able to drive over and get my prescription Sunday evening. It pretty much took overnight to get to feeling normal again.
I will NEVER do that again if I can help it. It was one of the most unpleasant sensations I’ve ever had.
porphyrous