Looking for advice for adolescent recently diagnosed

[Tobin S.]

1. Ziprasidone has been a miracle drug for me.

I've been taking it for ten years and I haven't had any serious issues. It has completely controlled my psychosis with minimal side effects. The only distress I had with it is that I had a problem with bladder control a couple of times when sleeping when I first started taking it. But that side effect went away and it's been nothing but progress since then.

The main thing you have to be careful about with ziprasidone is if you have a rare heart abnormality the drug can exacerbate that. But for the vast majority of people that is not an issue.

I have Bipolar I and I was suffering from the same type of symptom that your daughter has been. I started hearing whispers and I spent a lot of time focusing on that trying to figure out what they were saying. I was absorbed in it. Then the voices became louder and more discernible. It was a hellish experience.

I became ill when I was 20 and suffered greatly until I was 30. That's when I finally started to get the proper treatment. I take ziprasidone as well as lithium and bupropion. Like I said, I've been taking that stuff for ten years and it has done nothing but help me. I'm 40 now. I'm married and I have a good job. We are hoping to have a child. My life is normal now in almost every respect. I just have to take those meds twice a day and see a doctor once every three months. It's become routine and mundane. My symptoms are gone.

If you have more questions, fire away. Also, feel free to send me a PM.