Does Olanzapine suppress REM sleep?

anubis · October 1, 2019, 7:40pm

I am asking this question because I never remember my dreams with Olanzapine and it seems like I never dream.

Thanks

everhopeful · October 1, 2019, 11:49pm

Yes it does.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Olanzapine increases slow-wave sleep: evidence for blockade of central 5-HT(2C) receptors in vivo.

AL Sharpley, CM Vassallo and PJ Cowen, Biological psychiatry, Mar 2000 01

The study aimed to determine the effects of the atypical antipsychotic agent, olanzapine, on the polysomnogram in healthy subjects. We predicted that olanzapine, via serotonin(2C) (5-HT(2C)) receptor blockade, would increase slow-wave sleep (SWS).We studied the effects of single evening doses of olanzapine (5 mg and 10 mg orally) on the polysomnogram of 9 healthy male volunteers, using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over design.Compared to placebo, the 5-mg and 10-mg doses of olanzapine significantly increased SWS, sleep continuity measures, and subjective sleep quality. In addition, 10 mg of olanzapine suppressed rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and increased REM sleep latency.Olanzapine (5 mg and 10 mg) produced substantial (59.1% and 83.3%) and highly significant dose-related increases in SWS in humans probably via blockade of brain 5-HT(2C) receptors. 5-HT(2C) receptor antagonism may account for some of the therapeutic and adverse effects of olanzapine therapy.

agent101g · October 2, 2019, 12:41am

I remember my dreams often on 10mg Olanzapine. They are mostly mild nightmares. I can remember usually like every other day, sometimes I post stuff about them here.

LovelyCreature · October 2, 2019, 11:49pm

What does this mean in lamens terms

everhopeful · October 2, 2019, 11:56pm

The relevant bit is this bit :

So it stops you from dreaming. According to that study anyway.

Schizoidman · October 3, 2019, 1:10am

Does anyone know if latuda does the same thing? I’ve been on it for a year or two now but it seems like I never dream and my sleep is very shallow.

anubis · October 4, 2019, 12:35am

I have been on Latuda in the beginning of the year and my dreams were incredibly intense. I saw a lot of web sites mentioning this effect.

Maybe if you don’t dream is because your sleep is too shallow but I can’t tell you why.

Good luck!

Schizoidman · October 6, 2019, 1:37am

Thanks for the reply. I’ve had sleep problems my whole life, so nothing new there. But in the past year since I’ve been on Latuda, I’ve been having middle of the night insomnia problems. I’ll get tired and fall asleep fine between 11 and 1 am, but I’ll wake up all of a sudden between 3 and 5 and can’t fall back asleep. So those days are usually a ■■■■■ since I’m not a nap taker. I’ve been good on Latuda but I might have to switch to a sedating AP, since it seems like my pdoc doesn’t give enough of a ■■■■ to give me a real sleep aid, instead of trazadone or doxepin. Anyone have any recommendations?

anubis · October 24, 2019, 2:32am

Hello therube,

I am not surprised at all by what you said about your middle of the night insomnia!!! While I was on rexulti then on Latuda, I was waking up at 3 am EVERY night and was unable to fall asleep after. This problem is well known by a lot of users of these antipsychotics.

I sleep well on Zyprexa but it has many downsides. Saphris as been a good alternative to Zyprexa for me during 2 years. It is sedative (so you will sleep well) but it will not slow down your brain too much. Also, it will not make you take weight.

anon62973308 · October 24, 2019, 6:01am

Hey, welcome back to the forum. I remember you weren’t doing well when you left. You sound better now so good for you!

Joker · October 24, 2019, 7:24am

I was on Olanzapine for a little while again and I am still experiencing lucid dreams. It’s kinda weird but I like dreaming.

If a drug is stopping you from dreaming that’s not good. I like my dreams.

Schizoidman · October 25, 2019, 4:55am

Thanks for the reply. I see my pdoc next week, so I’ll bring it up with them. Latuda would be a good med if it wasnt for the insomnia issues. I’ll see what they say about saphris. I might try and go back on perphenazine, which worked well for me after I had my first break.

Platomic · September 23, 2021, 9:57pm

I’m on Olanzapine 12.5mg and have been for a few years. I hardly notice the stuff and have never actually asked my family if it’s changed me. I dream a lot and have been writing down my dreams since long before I got diagnosed. Olanzapine hasn’t changed dreaming for me at all. Maybe it affects people differently as we all have different brains. So, for me, no it hasn’t affected my dreaming. Maybe you’re just going through a sleep phase or something. I’m no expert.

Headspark · September 23, 2021, 10:08pm

I was on 40mg of olanzapine for 17 years, although I started tapering down about 4 years ago. I slept 12 hours a day on average. I don’t remember having any dreams.

But I don’t think it is just olanzapine, I have been off it for almost 4 months now and have been taking Lurasidone since about 2018/19 and am also on 1.5mg clonazepam for insomnia and I still don’t dream.

The only dream I remember having over the last 17 years was from when I was psychotic in 2018, I had lowered my dosage of olanzapine too much because of side effects. I ended up in the hospital and I had a wet dream that I was banging one of the nurses It was shortly after that that I started Lurasidone. I think it’s all the drugs that prevent me from dreaming.

AndrewJohn · September 24, 2021, 4:41am

My doc said something about beta waves…dont know if that means more or less dreams but somehow good for you? So antipsychotics supposedly induce beta waves.

Joker · September 24, 2021, 5:21am

@rogueone @Moonbeam

rogueone · September 24, 2021, 5:46am

@Platomic

Typically, we like to leave inactive threads alone and just start a new thread instead. This is different than how some forums are run, but we do it this way because it frequently upsets users to have old topics revived when they are no longer relevant. It can also be frustrating to the person who revived the thread when they don’t get a reply, because the original poster is no longer active or no longer finds the topic relevant. Feel free to start a new thread on this topic.

Thanks,

Volunteer Moderator