Beetzart Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I was put on olanzapine over four years ago to help me sleep. The original dose was 2.5 mg and eventually increased to 10 mg. I don't have any psychosis or mania, just depression. My pdoc (not the one who put me on it) has taken me off it but I am overweight and a recent blood test showed a high blood-sugar level. I do an active job but can't seem to shed any weight which flucuates between 16-17 stone. It worked great for sleep but surely I shouldn't have been on it for so long? Two doctors have now told me that olanzapine can cause depression, pdoc and GP, and to say the least I am slightly annoyed with this. The pdoc who prescribed it originally looking back was a pill pusher. He shoved me on lithium, through one his minion doctors, and when I asked him if he had anything for anxiety he casually prescribed buspar, which again, my present pdoc said can also cause depression. So in a nutshell, I have been suffering from depression form drugs I don't really need! All I want is to be on ADs because I am depressed. Now I am not knocking olanzapine or buspar as I am sure they have saved many lives, but they are not for me, and I certainly shouldn't have been on such a strong drug for sleep for so long. I just hope my next blood test shows a normal blood-sugar level as I am really worried about diabetes even though I have no obvious symptoms of it. On a positive note, my sleep is fine or as good as I can hope for. Getting to sleep is hard but I normally get through the night and if I wake up I normally get back off ok. Really the object of this post is to ask has anyone had a similar experience or can offer some advice, especailly on the diabetes issue. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I gained a HUGE amount of weight on Olanzapine too, 3 stone (42 pounds) in 6 months. It was great for mania but I found that when I was no longer manic, and still on it even at 10mg I lived in a complete FOG, felt overly sedated and depressed and once I went off it slowly I started living in the real world again. That's only my experience. There are many people who don't feel sedated or depressed and benefit remarkably well from it. I found it much more sedating than Seroquel whereas lots of people experience much more sedation on Seroquel. Sorry, went off the point a bit there!! Thankfully I did not develop diabetes or even raised blood sugar levels on it, but then I was only on it for 6 months in 2003 and for 2 months in 2010. However it has been known to contribute towards the development of diabetes in some people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetzart Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Thank you for your repsonse Rowntree. I am though starting to feel as if I have been done over here. No-one, surely, should be on an AAP just for sleep for four years! I will discuss this with my GP when i see him in a fortnight. I know that there is no way a doc would give out, say, zolpidem for four years, well not that I have heard of. What happens if I have diabetes? Is it the drugs fault or mine? Or just one of those things? I fully understand the risk-benefit argument when it comes to illnesses like mania or schizophrenia. But trouble sleeping! I would rather be an insomniac then diabetic. It scares me if I am honest. Sorry bit of a rant there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Plenty of docs would give out ambien for 4 years. It's not habit forming in everyone. Hell, my mom's doc has been giving it to her for longer than that. I can understand the frustration though of being on an AAP for sleep prior to trying anything else, are you sure there was not another reason as well? The good news is your b.s. levels MAY return to normal now that you're off it, it does happen. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimpmaster Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Yep I also gained a lot of weight on olanzapine. I was admittedly on the max dose, 40mg/day. I must have gained, i don't know, maybe 30kg over a couple of years. Its so much harder to get off than it is to put it on. The drs I see now are very cautious about pre-diabetes, blood sugar etc. Fortunately I don't have any of these problems yet - just the weight gain. Im trying to do more exercise which helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetzart Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Plenty of docs would give out ambien for 4 years. It's not habit forming in everyone. Hell, my mom's doc has been giving it to her for longer than that. I can understand the frustration though of being on an AAP for sleep prior to trying anything else, are you sure there was not another reason as well? The good news is your b.s. levels MAY return to normal now that you're off it, it does happen. Anna Everytime I have been prescribed zolpidem or zopiclone the docs have always been really cautious, like don't take it everyday, and are there any reasons why you not be sleeping?, etc. And when they do give it out it is usually only a 7 day supply of a low dose. I just thought that z-drugs just stopped working after a few weeks and caused rebound insomnia/addiction. Then again do you know if the long term use of them causes any serious pyhsical problems like olanzapine might do? Also isn't it hard to come off them after long term use? I am in the UK where the guidlines might be different to other countries. What I can't understand is docs are quite happy to fill repeats of olanzapine for years yet so reluctant to use possibly safer drugs like Ambien, even though they are addictive. Could it not be the case that olanzapine is addicitive in a way that it helps you sleep; you end up relying on it even though, what can I say, it doesn't make you slightly high like Ambien? As for other reasons for being prescribed it, well I have never been told of any. There was a time when they thought I might be bipolar and that was when they increased the dose from 2.5 mg to 10 mg. It turned out I wasn't but they never dropped the dose and I have also been told that I am not psychotic either. So I think it was just the sleep issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 I hate insomnia. I was diagnosed with diabetes some 20 years ago and it is easy to deal with compared with insomnia. A couple shots a day with a needle so fine it is almost invisible (at least now that's true) or even just a few tablets. Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Well, SOME people get tolerant to z drugs and have trouble coming off them, other people just really don't. It depends. I've never had problems and I've been on ambien for months at a time, and once I was more stable (my sleep varies with my mood cycle) have come off it no problems. It really depends on the person. Could well be in the UK they tend to be more cautious. Seems like they are more cautious generally with meds. I find it hard to believe that zyprexa was prescribed for sleep only. That seems rather ridiculous...... Zyprexa CAN have an AD effect in some people so I wonder if the docs were looking for that. Or, perhaps they were just being idiots. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetzart Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Well, SOME people get tolerant to z drugs and have trouble coming off them, other people just really don't. It depends. I've never had problems and I've been on ambien for months at a time, and once I was more stable (my sleep varies with my mood cycle) have come off it no problems. It really depends on the person. Could well be in the UK they tend to be more cautious. Seems like they are more cautious generally with meds. I find it hard to believe that zyprexa was prescribed for sleep only. That seems rather ridiculous...... Zyprexa CAN have an AD effect in some people so I wonder if the docs were looking for that. Or, perhaps they were just being idiots. Anna I fully appreciate that ambien etc can be used long term for some people. Personally I don't think I would like to be on too long because I have a habit of getting addicted to things like that, plus I couldn't imagine ever getting it on repeat here in the UK. Surely it should be used as a short term aid to promote regular sleep again? With regards to olanzapine being a AD in some people I think the problem for me was that the effects of it would last into the next day and make me feel down. It was only prescribed for sleep, they never told me otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetzart Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 I hate insomnia. I was diagnosed with diabetes some 20 years ago and it is easy to deal with compared with insomnia. A couple shots a day with a needle so fine it is almost invisible (at least now that's true) or even just a few tablets. Thomas Really!? I have known a few people who have it and it seems like a real burden. Ok I will admit it does scare me because it could have been prevented so maybe it is my fault, but I haven't been diagnosed yet so I maybe worrying about nothing. Surely I shouldn't have been put on a drug that can cause it, just for sleep. Now I know I am going on about it but I just want to be heard amongst people that will understand, which is rare for me. Thank you all for replying and offering opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enlightened_plutonian Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 I'm another who finds insomnia a much bigger problem than diabetes, though I do have the childhood onset one. Most of the time diabetes isn't an issue at all for me. But if I have insomnia for even one night, it is a big issue (though insomnia makes my hallucinations a lot worse, which really isn't fun, and that makes my anxiety a lot worse). I'm with Thomas, but I do realise that everyone is different. I hope that you can find a med that works for you without too many side effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koloth Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Zyprexa (Olanzapine) was a great medication for me. It made me feel really happy and calm. Unfortunately I had to come off it after three weeks due to the large weight gain. I gained 5kg (0.78 stone) in three weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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