Your experience with Zyprexa or Olanzapine

I am thinking about switch of meds to Zyprexa. Currently I am on Amisulpride 250 mg. This med is pretty good with only two major shortcomings : poor concentration and high prolactin level. It did caused a bit weight gain to me (about 10 kilos) and it is slightly sedative in the morning.

Now I am thinking of Zyprexa. I know it can give me weight gain, but I am more concerned about attention span because I want to be more focused so that I can do reading and writing.

Does anybody have the experience of Zyprexa? What dose do you take if you are on this med? How was your attention span when you were on Zyprexa especially can you study ?

Yes I have been on zyprexa and I can tell you that you can study allright on it, I was even first in class on it when I was studying educational sciences. I dislike the medicine itself for personal reasons , but I can say it’s a good antypsichotic. The patent for Olanzapine is no longer held by Lilly though, and you can find cheaper versions on the market now, other than Zyprexa itself.

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Thanks very much for your kind reply. Could I know what dose was it when you were on Olanzapine years before?

Unfortunately, no. It’s been 8 or 9 years since and I wasn’t in a phase where I could keep track of my meds. But dosage is different and has different effects for every patient, so you should find your own best dose with your pdoc.

I have taken the lowest dose available (5 mg.) for 6 or 7 years now. I’m ok with it.

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My doctor told me wrongly, them. I’ll have to talk to him about that.

It gave me massive weight gain. I am still trying to lose that weight over a decade later. It also pushed me over the edge into diabetes, which causes me grief. Things will have to get very VERY bad for me before I would ever consider that medication to be an option again. Devil drug. I am still of the opinion its makers deserve to be jailed for life.

10-96

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Hmm Zyprexa - For a drug that did well in the CATIE study - it did absolutely nothing for me - it actually made me tell others what I really thought - no filter. It raised my blood sugar levels worsening my diabetes - I was at a low dose 5mg but still, nothing positive for me

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When I was on Zyprexa in 2003-2004 it made me feel dead inside, I stopped taking it because of that, and because I developed cutting urges on it due to the deadness. I then went into hospital and my meds were switched. My mind was foggy and so my concentration wasn’t good.

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I take 15mg Zyprexa. It has made me gain a bunch of weight but I cut sugar and wheat almost completely out of my diet and as of today I’ve lost 34 pounds. I still need to lose a bunch more though. It makes me sleep 10-14 hours a day. Taking that into consideration though, it works loads better than the ones they had me on previously. I haven’t had a hallucination in several years and it doesn’t make me feel like I need to bounce off of the walls.

My concentration was okay on Zyprexa until my general practitioner (who used to be a psychiatrist) prescribed strattera to me. Strattera has made it so that I can read again. I take 25mg of Strattera.

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I’ve been taking Zyprexa for as long as it’s existed. I take 15 mg. And other meds too, so it’s hare to tell about attention span. Right now it’s 0 and heads down the scale to the negative numbers some.

I can say that when I started taking it it was the best med for me that I had taken. I could follow things better - things I came across, my thoughts. I’ve tried some others since.

I gained 145 lbs in 20 or 25 years. of which I’ve lost 65. I developed diabetes which I now have under control through diet.

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it made me gain 28 pounds i the two years i was on it. i slept ok though. can’t really tell about the concentration levels tbh as i wasn’t working or studying at the time. i did have young kids though and i was fine with them. as for positive symptoms it did absolutely nothing for me. xxx

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Thank you all for your input to this thread. They are helpful for me to make a decision about whether I should switch to this med.

Hey,I was going to switch to this meds also,in the hope that my sexual function will return to normal(reduced prolactin),I hope it can do this…

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i am using zyprexa +20mg melt tablets. the pill form doesnt work for me.

my concentration is still poor, yet i can somewhat function.
zyprexa makes me more numb, and the weight gain is indeed a problem.
you really get the munchies from zyprexa.

i did a test with zyprexa myself, which involved flicking a pen fast.
and with zyprexa there was less motion blur steps, so i concluded that it filters
or dampens your perception.

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I am surprised that 2.5 mg Olanzapine would make you agitated. They said Olanzapine is relatively mild in terms of agitation and anxiety… I feel agitated , too , now due to the medication of Amisulpride 250mg. Yes, it is the agitation that makes me difficult to concentrate.

Made my mind feel calmer(stopped the war zone in my head as i used to put it) but very sedating, not good as at the time i was looking after a wife with dementia.

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On 5 mgs daily, I put on 15 lbs in two weeks. I cut that med short and refused it.
my pdoc wasn’t happy and told me (this was back in 1996) that “the pill has no calories in it so if I’m putting on weight, it’s because I’m eating too many calories, so it’s NOT the pill!”

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