Posted by med_empowered on June 13, 2006, at 0:20:59
In reply to Geodon Zyprexa together?, posted by MSWGradStudent on June 12, 2006, at 20:06:59
combining atypicals is catching on, but it seems pointless. You rack up more side effects, which totally defeats the point of using atypicals, which were supposed to improve quality of life...
basically, it seems like a good idea **only** for special cases, like treatment-resistant schizophrenia or perhaps something like using low-dose seroquel in a bipolar patient already taking, say, abilify.
Plus, if zyprexa gave your mom diabetes...she probably shouldn't take it. If she has schizophrenia, a different atypical (maybe Abilify?) could be used, possibly along side an anti-convulsant like Depakote or even with Lithium if needed. For bipolars, neuroleptics generally aren't **required** long-term (although some people prefer the newer ones to say, lithium therapy), so there's definitely not much rationale for giving your mom 2 atypicals.
My advice: if your mom **MUST** take an antipsychotic, make it something that isn't zyprexa. You could try Geodon or Abilify, maybe Seroquel or possibly a low-dosed older drug (maybe a "semi-atypical" like Moban or Loxitane). Plus...some people with psychotic disorders can lower or even discontinue neuroleptics as they get older; some do well on bipolar-style meds...so, the best thing to do might be to minimize neuroleptics in general.
Personally, I'd get your mom another doctor...unless she's so flagrantly psychotic that she really **needs** an untested combo, this doc is stepping out of line.
Good luck!
poster:med_empowered
thread:656151
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060610/msgs/656302.html