Posted by Caper on May 18, 2004, at 4:05:42
In reply to Re: Symbyax for Bipolars:can someone share experience?, posted by bark2323 on May 16, 2004, at 8:06:33
Thanks for the info, you've been helpful. The part about decreasing your desire for alcohol is especially encouraging. Did you have a problem with alcohol before starting Symbyax?
Caper
> > I may have mispelled the name of the med, but what it is is a combination of prozac and zyprexa (which is an anti-psychotic, but supposedly also used for mood stabilization). This is being praised as the first medication specifically FDA approved for Bipolars in a depressed phase. My questions and concerns are:
> >
> > 1. Is anyone taking it? If so could you tell me how it is working or not working for you? Side effects, how long it took to work (if it did), and anything else you'd like to share.
> I just started taking it like a month ago. Ive taken zyprexa many times before, and prozac once (I couldnt tolerate prozac by itself). I was "up" with some intruding depressive thinking starting to happen when I first went on it. It definately brought be down from my high immediately, though it doesnt really flatten me or anything, and after a few weeks it helped depression some. I have since added wellbutrin which has gotten rid of the rest of the depression. I think if I had waited longer though, I might not have needed the wellbutrin.
> > 2. Has it caused weight gain? The patient info says 3% of placebo study participants reported weight gain, while 21% of those actually taking the med had weight gain, an average of 8 lbs. I think.
> So far it has increased my appetite, but its to soon to tell if Ive gained any appreciable amount of weight. The increased appetite seems less strong on symbyax than when Ive been on zyprexa alone. The wellbutrin is also there to help the weight gain. You can ask your doc about this or other meds (amantadine and metformin ( metformin is actually used for diabetics) are supposed to help, as are H-2 blockers like axid or tagamet)
> > 3. The info I've read says to use caution when giving it to a patient with a family history of diabetes because it can cause ketoacidosis even in people who were not diabetic before, and often once this happens the patient remains diabetic. I have an extremely strong family history of diabetes, both type I and II, [both of my siblings have been diabetic since childhood and my mom has Type II] so I have not yet started the medication. I fully expect to become diabetic someday, but I'd like to delay it as long as possible! I've gained a lot of weight (though it's coming off now) from my year of alcoholism and I know that weight gain alone increases my risk of developing diabetes. So, I'm afraid to take the medicine, even though I've heard from my doc that it has worked on other patients when nothing else did. Anyone have advice about this?
> Get glucose tests when you start and periodically throughout the time youre on it. To me, it would be worth the risk; I think its an excellent medicine. But it might not be for you. As a side note, it really decreases my desire for alcohol.
> > I heard the medication works great but was then freaked out by the diabetes thing. Any thoughts? Especially from those who might be doctors or some sort or mental health professional?
> Seems to work great, but almost everyone does gain some weight, so look into the drugs mentioned above and talk to your doc. Also, supposedly those who have a higher BMI gain less. If you decide not to try symbyax you can always combine another atypical with an antidepressant and theoretically get similar results (risperdal, abilify, and geodon are all not associated with anywhere near as much weight gain as zyprexa), although the researh is best on the symbyax combination.
> > I'd greatly appreciate any info you may have.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Caper
> >
> Hope this helps,
> Matt
>
poster:Caper
thread:347314
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040515/msgs/348056.html