zyprexa isn't working out so well for me

[ehygon]

I started taking zyprexa at 10mg in addition to risperdal/wellbutrin/ativan. The last two nights, I woke up after about 3 hours sleep, super agitated, and absolutely starving. I picked up some benadryl after the first night, but it didn't help the second night. I have read descriptions of it enough times to know this is akathisia. It's not earth shattering uncomfortable, but it's definitely not something I will tolerate long term.

So my question is, does akathisia go away on its own over time? or will it stay the same/get worse? I don't think you can get cogentin in canada, so I bought benadryl. I only took 1 last night with the rest of my pills, should I have taken more?

[LikeMinded]

Yeah, sounds like akathisia to me. (A bit biased here, though, it ruined my initial, might I add potentially very successful, attempt at a career since my pdoc couldn't figure out what it was, and I had no idea what akathisia was back in 2004).

Now, as for your case, you are on 2 AP drugs, if you are indeed taking Zyprexa+Risperdal. Risperdal (judging by what people on this board have said before) causes horrendous akathisia and an upped appetite. Zyprexa will obviously not help with this. Have you considered dropping the Risperdal and replacing it with the Zyprexa?

Also, I see you are on Wellbutrin... in my case, said above pdoc prescribed it for the zone-out fatigue that Z gave me. It may have made the akathisia worse, I don't remember much.

Also, benzos are used in akathisia, another point to bring up with your pdoc.

Good luck getting over this horrible symptom, it sucks.

[Silver]

50mg of Benadtryl is generally used for akathisia; most OTC caps are 25 mg. Standard dosing of Benadryl is 25-50 mg anyway. (Cogentin isn't OTC in either country. I believe you can get Cogentin by rx in Canada - it's Akineton you can't get in Canada for some reason.)

Akathisia is not something that generally goes away. Although Risperdal is a more common culprit than Zyprexa. Interesting.

Worth calling your psychiatrist about to discuss; she may want to shift dosing around.

[ehygon]

Update and clarification; i had been instructed to cut my risperdal in half (2mg pills), and that eventually it will be stopped. I have run out of wellbutrin, because i forgot to get a prescription for more when I saw the shrink last (hes very hard to talk to. I spent an age trying to clarify i was taking one 2mg pill instead of 2 1mg pills. i said I needed a refill, and then realized i was cutting them in half, so I had enough to last the 2 weeks, but forgot about wellbutrin in the process). I don't have enough risperdal to make it to my next appointment, because hes very hard to schedule with. He told me 2 weeks, the secretary gave me 3 weeks. So by the time i see him again, i will be on zyprexa and ativan.

The benadryl was not helping at all. I couldnt sleep through the night, I'd wake up after like 4 hours, and feel completely unable to lie still, and voraciously hungry, so I'd get up, eat something I wished I hadn't, and go back to bed where I'd spazz for a while until my ativan kicked in and i got back to sleep. my neighbor (a doctor) told me to keep taking ativan as I need it, so I take it every night so I don't wake up. No worries about running out, because I've backlogged a million prescriptions for it at the pharmacy. I dont like taking it, because I am afraid that sometime when I'm really upset, I wont feel relief from it, because of tolerance. I don't like waking up and eating more, I guess.

my neighbor told me to try and get in to see the shrink asap, and I left a message on thursday on the voicemail, and my neighbor tried to reach him too, without success. Pretty much just twiddling my thumbs while I wait.

thanks for the replies:)

[Silver]

Silly tip that may help: eat some fruit - apples - with your Zyprexa. Fiber helps with the deep down hungries and the fruit may help with the omgineedsugarNOW feeling.

Or I could be talking out my ass.

Won't hurt, though.

[rainyeffingday]

wellbutrin is what causes jitteriness, agitation and the like