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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Louise on May 11, 1999, at 16:32:10
I'm about to withdraw from lithium and need to find an anti-manic drug for store cupboard purposes in case my mood starts to go up. I'm going to discuss this with my doctor soon but would like to get some opinions/ reports first if I can.
I've tried chlorpromazine, flupenthixol in the past but hear that olanzapine can be used for this. (I've had some side effects with these)>
Does anyone know whether this can be used on an as and when required basis, or is it just prescribed for a longer term effect?
I suffer from insomnia due to mind racing sometimes but have managed to prevent my mood going up by intervening with drugs before anything drastic happens.
Do you think olanzapine would be a good drug to use for this?
Has anyone had sucess with any other anti-manic drugs with early recognition / intervention of looming manic episode??
Any info appreciated
Louise
Posted by Elizabeth on May 11, 1999, at 23:52:44
In reply to Olanapine as an anti-manic drug?, posted by Louise on May 11, 1999, at 16:32:10
Olanzapine is just as good as the older antipsychotics for this. Do you have mania or hypomania, or both?
I think that for identifying a manic episode, the best thing to do is tell people you're close to what the warning signs are.
Posted by katie on May 12, 1999, at 19:32:24
In reply to Olanapine as an anti-manic drug?, posted by Louise on May 11, 1999, at 16:32:10
> I'm about to withdraw from lithium
> I suffer from insomnia due to mind racing sometimes but have managed to prevent my mood going up by intervening with drugs before anything drastic happens.
>
> Do you think olanzapine would be a good drug to use for this?
>
> Has anyone had sucess with any other anti-manic drugs with early recognition / intervention of looming manic episode??
>
> Any info appreciated
>
> Louise
************************************************I guess you could say I'm bi-polar with a sprinkling of schizophrenia or what I think is what is now called schizoaffective disorder. I had been taking navane(thiothixine), which is a really ancient drug, but has some really nasty side effects when taken for prolonged periods of time. The olanzapine (zyprexa) is a newer and safer version and has really stops the night-time "racing thoughts" etc. for me so that I can sleep through the night. However, for me, it is not a replacement for the lithium, as I still need a mood stabilizer. I hope you can find good results in your quest for the best meds. Good luck!
Posted by Louise on May 13, 1999, at 16:41:41
In reply to Re: Olanzapine (zyprexa)anti-manic drug?, posted by katie on May 12, 1999, at 19:32:24
> > I'm about to withdraw from lithium
>
> > I suffer from insomnia due to mind racing sometimes but have managed to prevent my mood going up by intervening with drugs before anything drastic happens.
> >
> > Do you think olanzapine would be a good drug to use for this?
> >
> > Has anyone had sucess with any other anti-manic drugs with early recognition / intervention of looming manic episode??
> >
> > Any info appreciated
> >
> > Louise
>
>
> ************************************************
>
> I guess you could say I'm bi-polar with a sprinkling of schizophrenia or what I think is what is now called schizoaffective disorder. I had been taking navane(thiothixine), which is a really ancient drug, but has some really nasty side effects when taken for prolonged periods of time. The olanzapine (zyprexa) is a newer and safer version and has really stops the night-time "racing thoughts" etc. for me so that I can sleep through the night. However, for me, it is not a replacement for the lithium, as I still need a mood stabilizer. I hope you can find good results in your quest for the best meds. Good luck!Thanks for the info.
Is olanxapine / zyprexa a drug you can take as and when required, or is it only prescribed for regular doses?
Louise
Posted by Elizabeth on May 14, 1999, at 10:54:28
In reply to Olanzapine anti-manic drug?- question for Katie, posted by Louise on May 13, 1999, at 16:41:41
> Is olanxapine / zyprexa a drug you can take as and when required, or is it only prescribed for regular doses?
You can take it "as needed," I don't know how effective this would be for bipolar disorder. What did you have in mind, exactly?
Posted by katie on May 14, 1999, at 16:47:40
In reply to Olanzapine anti-manic drug?- question for Katie, posted by Louise on May 13, 1999, at 16:41:41
> > >
> > >
> Is olanxapine / zyprexa a drug you can take as and when required, or is it only prescribed for regular doses?
>
> Louise************************************It is most definately prescribed regularly as a p.m. drug for me.
Posted by katie on May 14, 1999, at 16:58:16
In reply to Re: Olanzapine anti-manic drug?- question for Katie, posted by Elizabeth on May 14, 1999, at 10:54:28
> > Is olanxapine / zyprexa a drug you can take as and when required, or is it only prescribed for regular doses?
>
> You can take it "as needed," I don't know how effective this would be for bipolar disorder. What did you have in mind, exactly?**************As I stated to Louise , in my case I have been given prescription to be taken regularly every p.m. If I may reitterate, the Olanzapine (or Zyprexa) is mainly used to calm the schizoaffective disorder, not just the bi-polar alone.
Posted by Louise on May 16, 1999, at 13:59:28
In reply to Re: Olanzapine anti-manic drug?- answer again, posted by katie on May 14, 1999, at 16:58:16
> > > Is olanxapine / zyprexa a drug you can take as and when required, or is it only prescribed for regular doses?
> >
> > You can take it "as needed," I don't know how effective this would be for bipolar disorder. What did you have in mind, exactly?
>
> **************As I stated to Louise , in my case I have been given prescription to be taken regularly every p.m. If I may reitterate, the Olanzapine (or Zyprexa) is mainly used to calm the schizoaffective disorder, not just the bi-polar alone.......What I had in mind was something to take as an early intervention measure if I feel e.g that my mind is starting to race which will result in no sleep which could trigger and episode. I find that if I just take sleepers e.g. zimovane, or use temazepam or something, the hypnotics don't work if I'm starting to speed up and I then can't get off something like temazepam once I'm on it. I've used other tranquilisers / antipsychotics such as chlorpromazine in this type of situation and I think that it's nipped things in the bud - trouble is I've had some side effects and I'm not sure but I think that this drug is 1 class higher than olanzapine on the tranq ratings. Although I've used this type of drug in the past for this reason, I don't know whether I'm really supposed to have (although it worked so I won't knock it!!) as when it was originally prescribed, it was for a regular prescription as I was manic at the time. If I know whether olanzapine can officially be prescribed to use in this way (on an as and when required basis) then I know I'll stand a beter chance of getting it prescribed in case I need it, and I'll feel 'safe' because I can do something fast if I think my mind's speeding up.
I don't know whether all of that makes sense, but any info is much appreciated.
Louise
Posted by Elizabeth on May 16, 1999, at 15:49:07
In reply to Re: Olanzapine anti-manic drug?- answer again, posted by Louise on May 16, 1999, at 13:59:28
Louise,
Yes, you can use Zyprexa and other antipsychotic drugs as sleep aids, and I think that in bipolar disorder this would be potentially very helpful.
It's not entirely clear whether insomnia is an early symptom of mania or a possible *cause* of mania - it might be both (where the symptom drives the mania, creating a positive feedback loop).
I sympathize with your reasons for not wanting to use benzodiazepines (temazepam etc.) for sleep. They don't tend to work for long anyway.
Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) is not exactly a "stronger" tranquilizer than olanzapine, but it does tend to have more side effects.
Posted by katie on May 17, 1999, at 21:23:52
In reply to Re: Olanzapine anti-manic drug?- answer again, posted by Louise on May 16, 1999, at 13:59:28
prescription as I was manic at the time. If I know whether olanzapine can officially be prescribed to use in this way (on an as and when required basis) then I know I'll stand a beter chance of getting it prescribed in case I need it, and I'll feel 'safe' because I can do something fast if I think my mind's speeding up.
>
> I don't know whether all of that makes sense, but any info is much appreciated.
>
> Louise*********************I don't know if your doc would prescribe for use in that way. Effectiveness usually takes a good 4 to 7 days for the drug to "kick-in". I'm leary of it's effectiveness as an only "as-needed" basis. You do realize that there must be a certain level maintained in the bloodstream to be effective? Of course I'm no Dr. but I'd advise to take only as prescribed by YOUR Dr.
Posted by ryan on June 9, 2000, at 19:28:24
In reply to Re: Olanzapine anti-manic drug?- answer from Katie, posted by katie on May 14, 1999, at 16:47:40
I've been taking olanzapine for 8 days and i'm exhausted everyday at work. I read an article saying the tiredness will go away after longer use . Is this normal feeling so tired? Will the drowziness go away?
Posted by Craig on June 10, 2000, at 2:09:19
In reply to olanzapine, posted by ryan on June 9, 2000, at 19:28:24
I take Zyprexa (olanzapine) and after awhile, it stopped tiring me out. Are you taking it just at bedtime? I could sleep 10 hours easily and not even hear my alarm clock go off. I started off at 2.5 mg and now I take 5 mg once a day. I discovered that taking it earlier made me less sleepy the next morning. I don't have any problem taking it 6 or 7 hours before I go to bed. I know that's hard for you to believe at this point, but feeling exhausted will go away. I've been taking Zyprexa for 2 years and if I could remember, I'd tell you how long it takes before the exhaustion goes away. The best I can recommend is that you take it before bedtime and go to bed earlier because it causes you to sleep longer than usual. Good luck.
> I've been taking olanzapine for 8 days and i'm exhausted everyday at work. I read an article saying the tiredness will go away after longer use . Is this normal feeling so tired? Will the drowziness go away?
Posted by JohnL on June 10, 2000, at 3:24:00
In reply to olanzapine, posted by ryan on June 9, 2000, at 19:28:24
I agree with Craig. I found that if I took Olanzapine around 4:00 in the afternoon it worked best. That way the sedation kicked in strongest at about bedtime, and the sedative effects didn't carry over into the next day so much.
JohnL
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