Anyone having difficulties gaining muscle mass after taking Zyprexa, if so do you know why? When i first took zyperxa i initially lost some muscle mass and in the year and a half since then iv been unable to gain any muscle including during the 3months i stooped taking zyprexa.
Sounds interesting. Only recently started doing some free weights…like last 2 months or so and I’m developing muscle ok but I’ve little to compare it too pre psychosis as my body is so different! ie I’m carrying a heap more weight.
I’m doing more reps at lighter weights though as I’m not trying to bulk up and actually trying to lose weight! Zyprexa works really well for me mentally so it’s something I have to live with!
I will follow this thread. I’d be interested as well!
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not sure about muscles but picked up man boobs thanks to Risperdal/ Zyprexa.
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The interesting thing is Ive been weightlifting since i was 14 and started taking zyprexa when i was 21 so i had 7years of good muscle gains and know how my body works in terms of building muscle. So theres got to be something wrong with my body caused by zyprexa.
Yeah don’t doubt it. It does change things for your body. I’d suggest going to a normal doc and doing some blood work. Just check everything is going well. Could be other reasons but it’s worth testing anyways. Could be another issue but there’s not much research into long term antipsychotic use.
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If anything i think it would help in the bulking phase due to its ability to cause weight gain. I am not currently on it fully. I take it prn. But i have taken it before and have no problems gaining muscle. But its weird if you lost muscle. I guess it does cause some metabolic issues and probably affects testosterone.
Unfortunately you’ve noticed it right. You will not gain any muscle mass on Zyprexa (or any other antipsychotic). And don’t try to bulk on Zyprexa, you will only gain fat. I’ve struggled for 8 years to gain muscle mass, each year with different diet/schedule. I’ve been to a regular doc, sports doc, both didn’t do anything about it.
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I went a year off antipsychotics (Zyprexa) and gained 5kg muscle mass. I’m guessing why one can’t gain mass is because antipsychotics antagonize dopamine throughout the body but it’s just a guess. Maybe you should get on Abilify, Cariprazine or Rexulti and try again since they’re partial dopamine blockers.
I was a big gym rat before I took zyprexa. In grade 9 and part of 10 I could easily bench like 130-140ish which was in line with the other guys my size. Take zyprexa for a week and I could only bench like 80lbs. Good if you want to worry about getting beat up by the girls! I tried for years to get my muscle back to no avail. I packed on the fat and hated myself. Worst part was since everybody in my family knew I was a gym nut… So everytime they needed a refrigerator moved or the like… They’d call me. Then I’d have to decide between taking my meds and dropping the damn thing or go crazy cause my aunt is moving. Seriously.
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The thing is though iv been off of Zyprexa for 3months now and still cant gain any muscle mass. How long were you off it before you were able to gain muscle mass again if at all.? The only other medication i take is amisulpride but i dont know if that affects my muscle gains
Also i did some research and i know that zyprexa affects the liver and that there’s something called the jak-stat signalling pathway which regulates how muscle mass is lost or gained and that zyprexa affects this pathway. So that’s a strong possibility
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It’s probably because of the Amisulpride. Also Amisulpride is one the known antipsychotic that jacks up your prolactin levels.
I was totally of antipsychotics when I was able to gain again. Even on Latuda I am unable to gain mass.
I don’t know of that pathway but I’ll look it up.
I tried Abilify for a couple of weeks but couldn’t tolerate the anxiety so couldn’t test it while lifting. I guess you’re also from Europe since you take Ami, I would say give a partial agonist (Abilify) a try (don’t know where you live but Cariprazine will be available here in October and Brexpiprazole will be available in Europe in the first half of 2019).
Rexulti (Brexiprazole) is what finally helped my auditory hallucinations and allowed me to lose weight.
I don’t know about muscle gain, my calories have mostly been low, but I have gained strength while losing weight and that is something I couldn’t always do.
Until recently after having been on Seroquel for a while. Ugh! I gained 4 pounds just this week, although 2 were lean mass. It makes me binge eat.
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I’ve managed to keep my weight stable when I only was on Latuda but again, I couldn’t gain muscle mass. After adding the smallest dose of Zyprexa (2.5mg) my weight went up again and I’m 10KG overweight atm.
I hope I will finally have success with either Cariprazine or Brexpiprazole to lose the weight again and in the hopes I will be able to perform better in the gym. I’m a small guy and just can’t get used to have a belly. Lean/athletic look suits me.
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BTW @TheNicestFreak did you try Abilify in the past? If so, apart from getting rid of auditory and losing weight on Brexi did you noticed other benefits? On mood and sleep for example?
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Well you take it in the morning and it doesn’t tend to cause much sedation. I have to take something for sleep because of that. (Hence the Seroquel)As far as mood, my bipolar stuff usually only gets bad with terrible sickness or med side effects, I mean it didn’t seem to prevent my psoriasis meds from putting me in a predominantly depressive state. I still have to take Lithium for mood so I don’t think it helped that much with that. Although they do give it to some people with only mood problems, so maybe it does help them? I’m not sure.
I did try Abilify. Out of the over 1 dozen meds I tried it may have been that one that helped but I couldn’t continue due to twitching and shaking. There have only been those two that had any effect.
Good luck @YoungSchizo! We’re in about the same boat. I have 19 pounds to lose now after the weight gain. I want to look more like someone slightly more lean and muscular than average, and less like pre cancer Walter White from Breaking Bad that I look like now. Well I’m a little more firm because I’m younger lol
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I’m on abilify and saphris and had major muscle mass gains…edit not planning on being on much but popped by
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Abilify is the best ap for me…take in morning
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YHe @TheNicestFreak keep on fighting
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Yeah, I think if I can get my meds changed and the new meds picked up the same day, Monday, I’m going to be doing better with that soon.