Bipolar Support Group

bangbang - I hope my story is like yours I am taking a VERY Small dose (looked it up online). She has me taking 2.5 mg - and funny enough - I felt VERY drowsy with it, and slept like a BABY! That is such a tiny amount. Those that take 20 must get completely smacked down to the ground. Having said that I know that you build a tolerance and get to 20 you don't start there. I feel groggy today though. Or maybe I just feel subdued, and not manic (for a change). The incease in lithium, decrease in wellbutrin, and addition of the olanzapine has made me feel different overnight. I don't EVER react that fast to a med change....hmmm...strange.

Hi Zyprexa worked great for me but i put on 50lbs so i refused to keep taking it and I was put on abilify. I was on 20mg and it knocked me out every night and really helped with mania.

Zyprexa is the bullet to kill mania. For me it works fast and was my last AP to try. I have gained on it. I am 50lbs over weight. My pdoc added Metformin to mitigate(cease) the weight gain side effect and the metabolic syndrome. I have been on it for a month and a half. The weight gain stopped. During the day I am not constantly hungry and rummaging through junk food to get my craving to stop. There is the munchies i get right after I take the Zyprexa at night. I feel the Metformin is balancing out my insulin levels thus not letting the carbs turn immediately into fat.

Not sure if i explained that right. All in all I am happy the weight has stopped piling on. Despite all that i have been through with other side effects from other AP's, I am sticking it out with this one.

Post edited by: Cages1976, at: 05/09/2012 11:31 AM

I remember when I was on Zyprexa it was very effective for me. More effective than most of the APs I've been on. The trouble was that I got akathycia (although they gave me some med to help with that) and as usual, I gained a chunk of weight. I think, if I remember right, I was doing well and back to work so the pdoc switched me to a different AP. I believe that backfired because I was in the hospital again in a jiffy (again away from work). I've been away from work for years, but I'm no longer that overweight.

Cages, I recall you responding to my thread re: Seroquel. I had gain plenty of weight on that med too (I was on 600 mg for a while). I asked my pdoc about Metformin and he might have yelled my ear off saying "NO!". I've heard the same from others. Not all pdocs are willing to prescribe a diabetes drug.

I have heard that too about pdocs not wanting to prescribe it.

Thanks for the replies all. Has anyone gained weight on 2.5mg only? I hope not (crossing fingers).

I am being prescribed this more for sleep than anything. Can't take sleeping pills, benzos, or trazadone - none work or they have bad side effects I can't deal with. So is it worth continuing with this with the risk of weight gain? Again maybe at this low dose I have nothing to worry about? I have suffered with bulimia on top of everything else, and am at a healthy weight (with much work) right now - and I don't want to torpedo that.

bumping the thread - asking about the dose...??

I have been on 2.5mg for 2 years, and have not gained any weight