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Mood Disorder Community
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 Topic  |
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Administrator
Administrator
14912 Posts
Gratitude: 593
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 Posted - 05/28/2005 : 12:43:54
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Dear Members,
It is important to have a balanced discussion about the medications used in the treatment of Bipolar Disorder.
Thus it can be very misleading to present a list of a hundred side-effects for a medication without a statement that only the minority of patients experience these side-effects. Most side-effects (except weight gain) disappear after a few weeks on these life-saving medications.
It is true that what may be a miracle medication for one individual with Bipolar Disorder, can prove to be intolerable for another individual. Nevertheless, for the majority of individuals with Bipolar Disorder, medication can literally save their lives.
Now, just for comparison, I want to list all the documented side-effects for aspirin.
ASPIRIN
Contraindications
Salicylate sensitivity, active peptic ulcer.
Warnings
ASA is one of the most frequent causes of accidental poisonings in toddlers and infants. Tablets should be kept well out of the reach of children.
A possible association between Reye's syndrome and the use of salicylates has been suggested but not established. Reye's syndrome has also occurred in many patients not exposed to salicylates. However, caution is advised when prescribing salicylate-containing medications for children and teenagers with influenza or chickenpox.
Precautions
Salicylates should be administered cautiously to patients with asthma and other allergic conditions, a history of gastrointestinal ulcerations, bleeding tendencies, significant anemia or hypoprothrombinemia.
Patients taking ASA daily are at an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal bleeding following the ingestion of alcohol.
Caution is necessary when salicylates and anticoagulants are prescribed concurrently, as salicylates can depress the concentration of prothrombin in the plasma.
Diabetics receiving concurrent salicylate and hypoglycemic therapy should be monitored closely: reduction of the sulfonylurea hypoglycemic drug dosage may be necessary; insulin requirements may change.
Pregnancy
High doses (3 g daily) of ASA during pregnancy may lengthen the gestation and parturition time.
Salicylates may alter valproic acid (VPA) metabolism and may displace VPA from protein binding sites, possibly intensifying the effects of VPA. Caution is recommended when VPA is administered concomitantly with salicylates.
Adverse Effects
Gastrointestinal
(the frequency and severity of these adverse effects are dose related) nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding and/or ulceration, dyspepsia, heartburn.
Ear
tinnitus, vertigo, hearing loss.
Hematologic
leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, purpura, anemia.
Dermatologic and Hypersensitivity
urticaria, angioedema, pruritus, skin eruptions, asthma, anaphylaxis.
Miscellaneous
mental confusion, drowsiness, sweating, thirst.
When you read the above list of side-effects, your first impression could be that aspirin must be a very toxic medication. But it isn't. The problem with these quick lists of side-effects is that they don't give the frequency of occurrence of these side-effects. Almost all of the side-effects of aspirin occur in less than 1% of the population.
That is why "a little information is a dangerous thing". You can't judge a medication from a quick listing of its side-effects. We will look forward to hearing from our members that are on these medications. I believe this is a far better way to evaluate these medications than just listing their rare side-effects.
Phil Long M.D.
Administrator   |
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| pharmacistdan2005
Starting Member
31 Posts
Gratitude: 4
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Posted - 05/28/2005 : 16:18:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Administrator
Dear Members,
It is important to have a balanced discussion about the medications used in the treatment of Bipolar Disorder.
Phil Long M.D.
Administrator
For more than 50 years, doctors have relied upon the Physicians' Desk Reference for the latest, most accurate drug information. Today that trusted knowledge is available to you and your family through PDRhealth.
http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/index.html
The drug information on PDRhealth is written in lay terms and is based on the FDA-approved drug information found in the PDR. It gives consumers plain-English explanations for the safe and effective use of prescription and nonprescription drugs—explanations that are consistent with the information professionals are referencing in the PDR. Use to read about a drug your doctor may have prescribed to check for side effects, drug interactions, and other important information.
While great care has been taken in organizing and presenting the material on PDRhealth, please note that information on a web site should never be substituted for the advice of your doctor or other health professional. |
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| autumn2night
Full Member (100+ posts)
175 Posts
Gratitude: 4
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Posted - 05/28/2005 : 16:47:16
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Dr. Long,
Would you be able to answer one question. www.crazymeds.org is an interesting site about medications and their side effects. I am a factual person and seldom take what I read on the internet as fact. I maintain it is entertainment unless backed by a nationally known media source. Yet when I read through the Topamax description on this particular site, a lot of the side effects were the same as the ones I was experiencing.
Could you give me your thoughts just on this one site? I haven't gone back to look at any other med. that I am on.
Duffy |
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| aquamarine
Amazing Member (1000+ posts)
1238 Posts
Gratitude: 300
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Posted - 05/28/2005 : 17:10:55
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Hi Duffy,
Like you I am very skeptical of internet info unless backed up by a recognized source. I love the Crazy meds site. Usually what I do is read the med info on the old Internet Mental Health site, go to Crazy meds, and get a printout about the med from my pharmacist. I also discuss every med I try with my pdoc after I've done my research.
Used to be that I was a lot more particular and cautious...mostly because, like Dr. Long said, the HUGE list of potential side effects scared the you know what out of me...
I avoided mood stabilizers for a long time because of those lists...too bad, especially given that the med that is working (4 years later )...could have helped me a long time ago...argh. Oh well, Coulda, shoulda, woulda!
...Aqua
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| Administrator
Administrator
14912 Posts
Gratitude: 593
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Posted - 05/29/2005 : 01:40:05
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quote:
Originally posted by autumn2night
Dr. Long,
Would you be able to answer one question. www.crazymeds.org is an interesting site about medications and their side effects. I am a factual person and seldom take what I read on the internet as fact. I maintain it is entertainment unless backed by a nationally known media source. Yet when I read through the Topamax description on this particular site, a lot of the side effects were the same as the ones I was experiencing.
Could you give me your thoughts just on this one site? I haven't gone back to look at any other med. that I am on.
Duffy
Good question Duffy about www.crazymeds.org,
I just looked at the site and found it to be very misleading. For example, let's look at what www.crazymeds.org said about Zyprexa.
Quote from www.crazymeds.org
"Zyprexa's pros and cons:
Pros: There is no better medication if you or a loved one are in some kind of mental health crisis! Seriously, if someone is flipping out, Zyprexa (olanzapine) is just the thing to calm them the hell down right now and let them think straight about long-term treatment options. Maybe it will be part of their long-term med *****tail, maybe not, but until you can think straight in the first place, you can't make any long-term decisions. Fast-acting and effective, it's great to have in the medicine cabinet for bipolar emergencies. When combined with the right antidepressant, it could be just the thing to conquer that treatment-resistant depression that nothing else will deal with.
Cons: Along with Effexor (venlafaxine) and Depakote (divalproex sodium) this is a med that everyone loves to hate. You'll gain five pounds (two kilograms) just by filling the prescription. You'll sleep 10-16 hours a day. You won't care about anything. You might come down with type 2 diabetes. But all of these things are going to be issues only if you take Zyprexa (olanzapine) at medium-to-high dosages for a long time. Except for the sleeping and not caring, you'll feel like that the first time you take the med, but those eventually wear off. Usually."
I give www.crazymeds.org full credit for trying to educate consumers about psychiatric medications. It is obvious that they are dedicated and have volunteered hundreds of hours creating their website.
Unfortunately, www.crazymeds.org is very misleading.
For example, www.crazymeds.org states for Zyprexa: "There is no better medication if you or a loved one are in some kind of mental health crisis!" If the manufacturer of Zyprexa, Eli Lily, made that claim, they would be instantly sued by the Food & Drug Administration for false advertising.
Zyprexa isn't useful as a first-line medication in most common mental health crises (such as depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicidal crisis, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, adjustment disorders, personality disorders, anorexia nervosa etc.). Basically, Zyprexia is only licenced for the treatment of Schizophrenia and the manic phase of Bipolar I Disorder.
Zyprexa has major problems with weight gain, sedation, and increasing the risk of diabetes mellitus which www.crazymeds.org makes light of by incorrectly stating: "But all of these things are going to be issues only if you take Zyprexa (olanzapine) at medium-to-high dosages for a long time."
The persistent weight gain and over-sedation caused by Zyprexa can occur at even a small dose and commonly starts in the first month of treatment. A weight gain of 20 to 40 pounds on Zyprexa (over 3-6 months) is not uncommon (and is quickly reversed once the patient is switched to a "typical" antipsychotic medication). A number of my patients on Zyprexa have already developed diabetes mellitus, so I take exception to www.crazymeds.org dismissing this complication so lightly.
I think the staff at www.crazymeds.org are devoted, well-meaning individuals who are dead-wrong in their evaluation of Zyprexa.
In fairness, I haven't read the content of all their website to see how many other evaluations are incorrect.
In conclusion, I would strongly recommend that consumers rely on psychiatrists to evaluate psychiatric medications. Lives are at stake, and consumers can't afford to be misinformed.
Thanks again Duffy for your many contributions to our community.
Phil Long M.D.
Administrator |
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| Helen
Starting Member
4 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2005 : 15:35:19
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I've just looked at the crazy Meads site. Its got to be the weirdest site I've ever encountered. just look at what they are pushing for a self help group.
Step 3: Make a decision to turn our lives over to the care of medical science.
Step 6: We're entirely ready to have our medications remove all these defects of character!
Step 7: We swear to $DEITY/ancestor(s)/philosophy to remain med compliant.
Step 12: Go out and recruit other bipolar types for this new cult so I can get rich as a guru. Make them get cash advances on what credit cards they have left and send me all their money. Paypal works.
Some one has taken AA 12 steeps and rewrote then in the strangest way. Apparently for the purpose of getting reach quick.
Just who is behind the crazy drug site? As it states in the their introduction this site is "No one with any useful credentials". A former co-host of the Medications Issues folder and former host of Mead News.
Don't just trust some random website. Just because somthing is on the Internet doesn't make it true!
As for me I'll stck with the PDR for my sourc of information on meads! |
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| RedRocket
New Member
92 Posts
Gratitude: 5
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Posted - 05/31/2005 : 06:54:16
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Dr. Long, I found crazy meds helpful for the first person experiences that are shared on the message forum. Mind you, like anything I read or see, I put it together with all the information I already have, consider the source and accept or reject the information as valuable.
I took the 12 steps as kind of a parody and although they had some good advice, I did not feel compelled to drain my bank account and send it all to Jerod.
Please don't reject the site out of hand there is a lot of valuable information on that site and in my initial stages of diagnosis, I felt like I was getting answers I did not feel comfortable getting anywhere else.
Yes, some of the information may be inaccurate or blurred, but there are alot of pharmaceutical companies who minimize the risk that their drugs pose to patients, so like anything, take it all with a grain of salt.
PS. So Dr. Long, you are an internet based website, should we question your info? LOL |
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| Administrator
Administrator
14912 Posts
Gratitude: 593
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Posted - 05/31/2005 : 10:10:01
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quote:
Originally posted by RedRocket
Dr. Long, I found crazy meds helpful for the first person experiences that are shared on the message forum. Mind you, like anything I read or see, I put it together with all the information I already have, consider the source and accept or reject the information as valuable.
You're Right RedRocket,
The first person experiences that are shared on the "crazy meds" message forum are often excellent. These first-hand personal experiences are a much-needed antidote for the often misleading information that the pharmaceutical companies post on their websites.
Duffy had asked me to look at how "crazy meds" evaluated medication. I concluded that their evaluation of medication was well-intended, but misleading. False claims for medications that exaggerate their benefits and minimize their short-comings are a very sensitive issue with me (http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag/p53-corp.html).
Other than this medication evaluation issue, I enjoy "crazy meds" friendly and relaxed approach to mental health.
You are very correct RedRocket in questioning everything you read on the internet (including our information). Evaluations of therapies and medications are rapidly changing. Thus this knowledge must be shared as quickly as possible with the mental health community. That is why the first person experiences shared at "crazy meds" and elsewhere on the internet are so important.
P.S. It's great having you as a new member RedRocket.
Phil Long M.D.
Administrator |
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| runher
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2005 : 08:01:27
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Just wondering....my husband began taking Lexapro approximately 9 months ago for anxiety. He failed to get the last prescription ordered and went 3 weeks without it. I noticed in the last month he has begun stuttering. He's begun to take notice of it in the last week (after I repeatedly pointed it out). I'm concerned about this issue and I'm not sure it's related to his medication. He's also on a blood pressure reducing med too but I'm not sure what it is. Any feedback?
Much appreciated from someone who loves him deeply, his wife, Phyllis. |
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| ejy0608
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2005 : 18:00:49
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| Forgive me if this is the wrong venue to ask this. This is my first time ever doing a community. I have been taking Lamictal and Seroquel at night. I skipped one night, so it was 48 hours till I took my next dose. I was so dizzy and nauseous I threw up and was very dizzy I had to lay down and couldn't move. I was finally able to keep it down and felt better. You think that was really skipping a dosage? |
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| lopez176
Starting Member
9 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2005 : 19:28:50
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| Runher, was there any problem in getting that drug regularly or doctor had told to stop the medicine? So if u feel that stuttering is the cause of discontinuation of the medicine why not to continue it. For regular supply of drug there are several drug supplier now-a-days worldwide, while quick surfing through net I found this one www.drugdelivery.ca/ which may be helpful to get regular supply of medicine if at all getting medicine is the difficulty. For stuttering related problem I will get back to you after collecting some information . |
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| xandy13
Starting Member
15 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2005 : 19:48:07
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| I have been touring the websites to get proper information about medicine. I have seen yours and will try. |
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| StrungOutOnLife
Starting Member
3 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2005 : 21:57:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Administrator
Good question Duffy about www.crazymeds.org,
I just looked at the site and found it to be very misleading. For example, let's look at what www.crazymeds.org said about Zyprexa.
Quote from www.crazymeds.org
"Zyprexa's pros and cons:
Pros: There is no better medication if you or a loved one are in some kind of mental health crisis! Seriously, if someone is flipping out, Zyprexa (olanzapine) is just the thing to calm them the hell down right now and let them think straight about long-term treatment options. Maybe it will be part of their long-term med *****tail, maybe not, but until you can think straight in the first place, you can't make any long-term decisions. Fast-acting and effective, it's great to have in the medicine cabinet for bipolar emergencies. When combined with the right antidepressant, it could be just the thing to conquer that treatment-resistant depression that nothing else will deal with.
Cons: Along with Effexor (venlafaxine) and Depakote (divalproex sodium) this is a med that everyone loves to hate. You'll gain five pounds (two kilograms) just by filling the prescription. You'll sleep 10-16 hours a day. You won't care about anything. You might come down with type 2 diabetes. But all of these things are going to be issues only if you take Zyprexa (olanzapine) at medium-to-high dosages for a long time. Except for the sleeping and not caring, you'll feel like that the first time you take the med, but those eventually wear off. Usually."
I give www.crazymeds.org full credit for trying to educate consumers about psychiatric medications. It is obvious that they are dedicated and have volunteered hundreds of hours creating their website.
Unfortunately, www.crazymeds.org is very misleading.
For example, www.crazymeds.org states for Zyprexa: "There is no better medication if you or a loved one are in some kind of mental health crisis!" If the manufacturer of Zyprexa, Eli Lily, made that claim, they would be instantly sued by the Food & Drug Administration for false advertising.
Zyprexa isn't useful as a first-line medication in most common mental health crises (such as depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicidal crisis, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, adjustment disorders, personality disorders, anorexia nervosa etc.). Basically, Zyprexia is only licenced for the treatment of Schizophrenia and the manic phase of Bipolar I Disorder.
He wasn't talking about depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc. He was talking about mania. I am honestly wondering if you did not read below the red text in that block. In that particular section, at least. The "Off-Label Uses of Zyprexa" section, where you do see Borderline Personality Disorder, OCD, etc. is something else. Zyprexa may not be a first-line med for those, but it has been used for them. That's all it takes to get a use listed there. It doesn't matter if it was/is spectacularly ineffective. And he (usually) will list the PubMed (it's sometimes Medscape or something else, but it's usually PubMed) links to prove that they're not made up--by him, at least. So does "There is no better medication if you or a loved one are in some kind of mental health crisis!" after the first two words. If there is no PubMed link leading away from the use, then it's probably under "Dead Tree References" at the bottom of the page.
quote:
Zyprexa has major problems with weight gain, sedation, and increasing the risk of diabetes mellitus which www.crazymeds.org makes light of by incorrectly stating: "But all of these things are going to be issues only if you take Zyprexa (olanzapine) at medium-to-high dosages for a long time."
He's changed "only" to "probably" since then. He might have meant "probably only."
quote:
The persistent weight gain and over-sedation caused by Zyprexa can occur at even a small dose and commonly starts in the first month of treatment.
He had the second thing (see Comments on Zyprexa for details).
quote:
A weight gain of 20 to 40 pounds on Zyprexa (over 3-6 months) is not uncommon (and is quickly reversed once the patient is switched to a "typical" antipsychotic medication). A number of my patients on Zyprexa have already developed diabetes mellitus, so I take exception to www.crazymeds.org dismissing this complication so lightly.
He split up each of the med pages--well, he intends to have them all like that at some point in the future--so the side effects are mainly on a separate page, which says
quote:
Originally written by Jerod Poore
Zyprexa's Typical Side Effects: The usual short-term side effects for atypical antipsychotics - headache, nausea, dry mouth, sleepiness or insomnia, diarrhea or constipation, not giving a damn about anything (a.k.a. the zombification effect), loss of libido and a host of other sexual dysfunctions. Most, if not all of these will go away in a couple of weeks. Except for the excessive sleepiness (up to 16 hours a day!), which could hang around for as long as you take this med. The sexual dysfunctions could also stick around if you're taking a high enough dosage. What Zyprexa is absolutely notorious for is weight gain. Almost everyone who takes Zyprexa gains a significant amount of weight - on average 7% of their initial body weight, or about 20 pounds (9 kilos). Zyprexa is a potential triple threat when it comes to weight gain, as it could slow your metabolism, may make you want to sleep 10 or more hours a day, and often make you want to eat more. And since it hits the H1 histamine receptor, it's going to make you crave carbohydrates like there's no tomorrow, so good luck sticking to that Atkins diet. But, hey, at least it's the goddamn med's fault and not any lack of willpower on your part.
For tips on how to cope with these side effects, please see our side effects page. The only med-based solution for the weight issue is Axid (nizatidine). Everything I have on that is on the side effects pages.
These aren't all the side effects possible, just the most popular ones.
He's updated the Tips on Dealing with Weight Gain page since then to include metformin, amantadine (yes, there is a "this could have you doing cartwheels down Main Street/send you into status epilepticus" warning), and bupropion, depending on history and how one does on dopaminergic drugs (and sibutramine if one doesn't have a history of seizure and/or bipolar disorder). He lists a meds-based solution because he knows that there must be someone out there who a) really needs Zyprexa for the psychiatric effects, b)has not had as good a response to other drugs, c) do not want to wind up like the guy in this abstract (yes, I know that sodium valproate is not Zyprexa. I selected for the severity of drug-induced weight gain) and d) has tried all the non-med-based obesity treatments.
quote:
Zyprexa's Not So Common Side Effects: Diabetes. Accidental injury. Tremor. Irregular heart beat. Like any antipsychotic there is a slight, but real risk for extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), tardive dyskenesia, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS). Please see the page on these risks. Zyprexa (olanzapine) tests as having one of the lowest risks for EPS and TD and has been used to treat people with TD.
These may or may not happen to you don't, so don't be surprised one way or the other.
Zypexa's Freaky Rare Side Effects: Getting intoxicated from water (score!) and getting hung over with no previous intoxicating effects (bummers!). Fecal incontinence. Priapism (i.e. the never-ending hard-on) from an overdose along with Neurontin and at a high dosage all by itself. There have been other reports of this freaky rare side effect when mixing Zyprexa with other meds, including lithium. Kids, don't try this at home as a Viagra substitute.
You aren't going to get these. I promise.
For all side effects, read the PI sheet.
Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the Universe.
--Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus
Anyone who expects you to "snap out of it" is essentially asking you to perform your own brain surgery via telekinesis.
--Me |
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| StrungOutOnLife
Starting Member
3 Posts |
Posted - 11/26/2005 : 22:10:17
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quote:
Originally posted by StrungOutOnLife
quote:
Originally posted by Administrator
Good question Duffy about www.crazymeds.org,
I just looked at the site and found it to be very misleading. For example, let's look at what www.crazymeds.org said about Zyprexa.
Quote from www.crazymeds.org
"Zyprexa's pros and cons:
Pros: There is no better medication if you or a loved one are in some kind of mental health crisis! Seriously, if someone is flipping out, Zyprexa (olanzapine) is just the thing to calm them the hell down right now and let them think straight about long-term treatment options. Maybe it will be part of their long-term med *****tail, maybe not, but until you can think straight in the first place, you can't make any long-term decisions. Fast-acting and effective, it's great to have in the medicine cabinet for bipolar emergencies. When combined with the right antidepressant, it could be just the thing to conquer that treatment-resistant depression that nothing else will deal with.
Cons: Along with Effexor (venlafaxine) and Depakote (divalproex sodium) this is a med that everyone loves to hate. You'll gain five pounds (two kilograms) just by filling the prescription. You'll sleep 10-16 hours a day. You won't care about anything. You might come down with type 2 diabetes. But all of these things are going to be issues only if you take Zyprexa (olanzapine) at medium-to-high dosages for a long time. Except for the sleeping and not caring, you'll feel like that the first time you take the med, but those eventually wear off. Usually."
I give www.crazymeds.org full credit for trying to educate consumers about psychiatric medications. It is obvious that they are dedicated and have volunteered hundreds of hours creating their website.
Unfortunately, www.crazymeds.org is very misleading.
For example, www.crazymeds.org states for Zyprexa: "There is no better medication if you or a loved one are in some kind of mental health crisis!" If the manufacturer of Zyprexa, Eli Lily, made that claim, they would be instantly sued by the Food & Drug Administration for false advertising.
Zyprexa isn't useful as a first-line medication in most common mental health crises (such as depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicidal crisis, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, adjustment disorders, personality disorders, anorexia nervosa etc.). Basically, Zyprexia is only licenced for the treatment of Schizophrenia and the manic phase of Bipolar I Disorder.
He wasn't talking about depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc. He was talking about mania. I am honestly wondering if you did not read below the red text in that block. In that particular section, at least. The "Off-Label Uses of Zyprexa" section, where you do see Borderline Personality Disorder, OCD, etc. is something else. Zyprexa may not be a first-line med for those, but it has been used for them. That's all it takes to get a use listed there. It doesn't matter if it was/is spectacularly ineffective. And he (usually) will list the PubMed (it's sometimes Medscape or something else, but it's usually PubMed) links to prove that they're not made up--by him, at least. So does "There is no better medication if you or a loved one are in some kind of mental health crisis!" after the first two words. If there is no PubMed link leading away from the use, then it's probably under "Dead Tree References" at the bottom of the page.
quote:
Zyprexa has major problems with weight gain, sedation, and increasing the risk of diabetes mellitus which www.crazymeds.org makes light of by incorrectly stating: "But all of these things are going to be issues only if you take Zyprexa (olanzapine) at medium-to-high dosages for a long time."
He's changed "only" to "probably" since then. He might have meant "probably only."
quote:
The persistent weight gain and over-sedation caused by Zyprexa can occur at even a small dose and commonly starts in the first month of treatment.
He had the second thing (see Comments on Zyprexa for details).
quote:
A weight gain of 20 to 40 pounds on Zyprexa (over 3-6 months) is not uncommon (and is quickly reversed once the patient is switched to a "typical" antipsychotic medication). A number of my patients on Zyprexa have already developed diabetes mellitus, so I take exception to www.crazymeds.org dismissing this complication so lightly.
He split up each of the med pages--well, he intends to have them all like that at some point in the future--so the side effects are mainly on a separate page, which says
quote:
Originally written by Jerod Poore
Zyprexa's Typical Side Effects: The usual short-term side effects for atypical antipsychotics - headache, nausea, dry mouth, sleepiness or insomnia, diarrhea or constipation, not giving a damn about anything (a.k.a. the zombification effect), loss of libido and a host of other sexual dysfunctions. Most, if not all of these will go away in a couple of weeks. Except for the excessive sleepiness (up to 16 hours a day!), which could hang around for as long as you take this med. The sexual dysfunctions could also stick around if you're taking a high enough dosage. What Zyprexa is absolutely notorious for is weight gain. Almost everyone who takes Zyprexa gains a significant amount of weight - on average 7% of their initial body weight, or about 20 pounds (9 kilos). Zyprexa is a potential triple threat when it comes to weight gain, as it could slow your metabolism, may make you want to sleep 10 or more hours a day, and often make you want to eat more. And since it hits the H1 histamine receptor, it's going to make you crave carbohydrates like there's no tomorrow, so good luck sticking to that Atkins diet. But, hey, at least it's the goddamn med's fault and not any lack of willpower on your part.
For tips on how to cope with these side effects, please see our side effects page. The only med-based solution for the weight issue is Axid (nizatidine). Everything I have on that is on the side effects pages.
These aren't all the side effects possible, just the most popular ones.
He's updated the Tips on Dealing with Weight Gain page since then to include metformin, amantadine (yes, there is a "this could have you doing cartwheels down Main Street/send you into status epilepticus" warning), and bupropion, depending on history and how one does on dopaminergic drugs (and sibutramine if one doesn't have a history of seizure and/or bipolar disorder). He lists a meds-based solution because he knows that there must be someone out there who a) really needs Zyprexa for the psychiatric effects, b)has not had as good a response to other drugs, c) do not want to wind up like the guy in this abstract (yes, I know that sodium valproate is not Zyprexa. I selected for the severity of drug-induced weight gain) and d) has tried all the non-med-based obesity treatments.
quote:
Zyprexa's Not So Common Side Effects: Diabetes. Accidental injury. Tremor. Irregular heart beat. Like any antipsychotic there is a slight, but real risk for extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), tardive dyskenesia, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS). Please see the page on these risks. Zyprexa (olanzapine) tests as having one of the lowest risks for EPS and TD and has been used to treat people with TD.
These may or may not happen to you don't, so don't be surprised one way or the other.
Zypexa's Freaky Rare Side Effects: Getting intoxicated from water (score!) and getting hung over with no previous intoxicating effects (bummers!). Fecal incontinence. Priapism (i.e. the never-ending hard-on) from an overdose along with Neurontin and at a high dosage all by itself. There have been other reports of this freaky rare side effect when mixing Zyprexa with other meds, including lithium. Kids, don't try this at home as a Viagra substitute.
You aren't going to get these. I promise.
For all side effects, read the PI sheet.
Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the Universe.
--Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus
Anyone who expects you to "snap out of it" is essentially asking you to perform your own brain surgery via telekinesis.
--Me
Wow, and here I thought that went to Bit Heaven! If I didn't say it before, the Pros section is purely for emphasizing the positive, sometimes sarcastically so, like on the Cymbalta page ("It's new, so it must be better!" and this is qualified with, "It's still too soon to tell what the pros and cons really are,...").
On the Comments page (which I linked because the link on the first page of the Zyprexa article is broken, but the links to it on other pages aren't), he specifically mentions getting the sedation effect at only 2.5 mg/day. By sedation, I mean in bed, all day long, day after day.
Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the Universe.
--Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus
Anyone who expects you to "snap out of it" is essentially asking you to perform your own brain surgery via telekinesis.
--Me |
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| hudsonv2
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2006 : 06:21:51
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| sorry this is not the proper place to put my question but i could not find the proper place. i put a question in the forum about lithium and diarrhea and i put my own name as a nick and this may cause me lots of problems. could you please delete the questions about lithium and diarrhea sent by me. the site where the question is http://www.mytherapy.com/discussion/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2500 |
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| Dee
Starting Member
7 Posts
Gratitude: 1
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Posted - 04/02/2006 : 08:37:21
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www.crazymeds.org is an excellent resource for med info. The site is run by fellow "crazies" and clearly states that fact. Alot of the info is based on personal experience in using these meds, but also links to proper scientific links for more information.
It may seem "bizarre" to some, but they are missing alot of excellent tounge-in-cheek humour. IMHO, this site is a valuable must read for the MI. I am not suggesting anyone limit their research to one website. Read as much as you can and try to understand both your illness and the medications you are being prescribed.
I also highly recommend www.crazyboards.org for a terrific online support community.
Dee |
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Fairness In Evaluating Medications
