Posted by SLS on March 27, 2001, at 18:47:31
In reply to Poop-out of zyprexa; start geodon-Comments, posted by katrina on March 27, 2001, at 9:30:55
Dear Katrina,
> Curious why zyprexa had a robust response for 5 days and then pooped out (it did improve my sleep and anxiety). Theories...?
What were you taking Zyprexa for? Depression?
What dosages have you been taking?
I have seen Zyprexa produce an antidepressant response in the absence of other drugs, but I didn't follow the people long enough to see how things turned out. One person felt well for a week, and then began to feel worse again. I never had the opportunity to speak to her again.
I think drugs like Zyprexa and Risperdal work best when combined with other medications.
You (and perhaps the person I spoke to) might have experienced what I like to call a "blip". A blip is a brief improvement that occurs very early in treatment that may last for hours or days. This is thought by some to be a good sign of eventual success.
It is critical to understand that the true long-term antidepressant response may not show up for weeks. It does not seem unusual that someone will experience an initial positive reaction when Zyprexa or Risperdal is first added, only to have this improvement disappear temporarily. After a few weeks, a trend towards improvement will be recognized, with the magnitude of improvement to grow steadily over the course of a few weeks to a few months in some cases. I know of two people for whom this was the scenario, myself being one of them.
Hopefully, the initial "blip" response you experienced indicates that you will eventually glean a robust antidepressant response. I hope so.
No guarantees, or course.
I am not familiar with the behavior of Zyprexa when it is used for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, so I can't comment on "poop-out" when used for these illnesses.
Regarding Geodon, it might work great, but it is not yet a proven product for depression. My guess is that it will show itself to be effective in the role of an augmenting (helper) agent. It is not supposed to produce weight-gain. However, if you have no other issues with Zyprexa, like weight-gain, it might make sense to stick with it.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:57665
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010327/msgs/57701.html