does anyone have experience with Zyprexa?

[A.E.V.]

as anyone reading these posts knows, I am slowly tapering off Lamictal... and I am certain that the pdoc will try to put something in its place.

I went through some of the meds used for bipolar disorder, I have gone through all the ones that I don't want: those that require more blood than a vampire can take in one sitting, those with funky side effects, and those that tell me I have to drink my weight in water.
needless to say, that knocks most of them out.

then I came across Zyprexa, which claims to not have major side effects, and supposedly less side effects in general (unless of course, I don't know how to read).
it also claims that one of its off-label uses is to help with borderline personality disorder... whether I want to admit it or not, I do have BPD as well as bipolar.

has anyone had any experience with this med? I know that not everyone reacts the same to a specific med, but I'm hoping for a bit of feedback before I go into my pdoc appointment in two weeks.

thanks for your help!

Anne.

[Woody]

Hi Anne, I have no experience with Zyprexa but the impression that I got from the drugs.com site is not as good read here

[A.E.V.]

drats... and I had completely missed that entire section about gaining weight!

[leila63]

Hi Anne

I've been on zyprexa for about 10 years now but I'm due to go off it as my pdoc wants to go with lamactil to control and lows and lithium to control the highs. Zyprexa just stopped working for me this year but hey ten years is a good run.

I had a really weird experience with zyprexa. I was very depressed when I first went on it and within a couple days colours became very vivid to me. I guess when you're really depressed all the world really does turn grey.

The only thing that I would really caution you about is the weight gain side effect. I gained 60 lbs before I knew it. Went to weight watchers and took it off but it was very difficult. There is a class action suit in both Canada and the US re people who gained a lot of weight and got diabetes or heart disease.

Rats, there's always a catch. Good luck with your search and I hope you can find a med or combo that works better for you.

[leila63]

I just wanted to clarify, Zyprexa wasn't the only drug I was on for the last 10 years and I couldn't be called stable, but I think, working in various combos, it seemed to help with the depression.

[paul m]

Hello Anne. I took zyprexa for a while and I found it much like any other atypical antipsychotic. That is, I did gain weight, I did sleep a lot and I did get relatively stable in a hurry.

The key word is relatively stable. It is a good med for getting stable but I found it too sedating for the long run. Many people say that wears off and your system adjusts to it, but for me it never did.

All antipsychotic type drugs have the potential for long term problems, but so does chemotherapy, insulin treatment or any other treatments for major illness. Sometimes we have to try it and hope for the best.

As I said, zyprexa is often a good drug to get stable with, once stable we can experiment a bit more without terrible consequences.

www.crazymeds.us also has a good article, one written from a users viewpoint. Take Care. paul m

[AJ]

Like eating candy for me. Okay not that bad. It didn't make enough of a difference to stay on it. And I gained a lot of weight too.

[A.E.V.]

eesh... I'm getting crossed-eyed, and discouraged looking through all the meds out there!
part of me wishes I wasn't so stubborn, and I'd tried a bit longer on the lamictal.....

[paul m]

Hello Anne. Never be sorry that you gave up on a med once you gave it a good try(and you did). As you can see from AJ and I's response's the same drug will react totally different on two different people.

Unfortunately all we can do is try them one after another until we hit success. Take Care. paul m

[Woody]

It is mind boggling when you start looking at all the possibility...

The hole idea of taking these meds is to make us better and if they do not do that... then you know what ... no I am not going to take them. Simple cost vs benefit analysis.

[A.E.V.]

it is...
it's mind boggling, and scary too!

[uni]

I really can understand your frustration, Anne. The answers always seem so complicated when it comes to mental illness in general and medications in particular. I have been on that carnival ride a time or seven. You will get there, it will get sorted out, but (drats, as you say) it takes so much longer than seems necessary. My pdoc kept telling me to have patience. Well, after the umpteenth time hearing it, I was frighteningly close to poking his eyes out (he has no idea of his narrow escape).

[AJ]

Maybe we should all head down to Vegas and try the slot machines. Okay, maybe the odds aren't that bad. On second thought, now would not be a good time for me to go... hypomanic.... money... hmmmm.

[paul m]

Hello Anne. As you go through this maze, you should start taking notes on why you did not like a certain medicine or combination of meds.

I really hope that you get well soon, but if you do not, somewhere down the road some new doc or a lazy doc will not ck back in his notes and try and re-prescribe a med for you.

Or they will ask you what dose you took and you will not be able to remember and they will say, "well lets try this" and it will be the same darn thing you took before.

Believe me I know. I saved at least one of all my perscription receipts otherwise I would have no clue. For me it's just too much info to remember. Take Care. paul m

Hello AJ. I'm a bit depressed, but if you want company going to Vegas, I usually can go straight to mania pretty quick if I apply the right triggers. It would have to be a quick trip as in about a week(or whenever my charge cards ran out) I would be in major depression, but what the heck, winter is coming on and I will be pretty depressed anyways. Take Care. paul m

[Woody]

OoOoOo Vegas They make it an art of keeping you up and going like Energizer Bunny!

Like Paul I keep all my slips of prescription drugs as a history, but I also keep an running list of all the meds that they have taken. Also try to keep a current copy in my wallet just in case for paramedics and hospitals.