Posted by JohnL on March 13, 2003, at 5:36:02
In reply to Zyprexa and dastardly weight, posted by Steeler Tookahn on March 11, 2003, at 18:11:35
I'm glad Zyprexa is working out for you. Don't stop! It is so hard to find a drug that helps. Your best bet, I think, would be to deal with the weight gain head-on. Realize and respect how much the drug has improved your life, and work with it.
I gained serious weight on Zyprexa when I started. It seemed to level off. After about three months, I started losing the weight without even trying. By month 5 I was back down to my beginning weight again. So the weight gain might stick with some people, but not all.
I got myself in a habit of eating smaller snacks and smaller meals and exerting more activity. I'm not sure if the weight subsiding was a natural process that took time or whether it was due to a change in habit, or both.
> I'm taking Zyprexa for Bi-polar disorder and it has been incredibly effective. Unfortunately with each increase of the dosage I gain more weight. I can't really determine if it's because I'm hungry so I'm just eating more, or whether it is affecting my metabolism (or some other direct effect). Sometimes we lower the dose and I start to lose the weight immediately.
> The doctor has told me I can start Topomax for the weight but I'd hate to add one more thing to the mix considering the billions of meds I'm taking now.
> I guess I'm hoping to hear from somebody who has taken Zyprex and beaten the weight gain -I wouldn't mind hearing from those losing the weight gain fight either.
>
> Thanks,
> Steeler
poster:JohnL
thread:208179
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030310/msgs/208681.html