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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Ric on April 4, 2001, at 14:06:44
Hi I have biolar 2 along with ocd and wanted to know
if anyone out there has used zyprexa to help with
their bipolar disorder and at what dose - I am going
to start at only 2.5 mg every other day which I know is
very low but I have heard the dosages are a lot lower
than what is used to treat schizophrenia-
any opinions or emails are welcome
thank you
peace
Ric"It is not the critic who counts - the credit belongs
to the man who is acually in the arena- who at best
knows the triumphs of high achievement and at worst if
he fails, at least fails while daring greatly - so that
his place will never be with those cold timid souls
who know neither victory nor defeat"
Posted by Greg on April 4, 2001, at 14:57:50
In reply to What doese zyprexa for BP?, posted by Ric on April 4, 2001, at 14:06:44
Ric,
I've been taking Zyprexa for about 6 months at 2.5mgs a day. I have BP II also. It's really been a wonderful med for me. I would suggest taking it a little before bedtime as it can be a little sedating especially at start up.
I hope you have as much luck with it as I have!
Greg
> Hi I have biolar 2 along with ocd and wanted to know
> if anyone out there has used zyprexa to help with
> their bipolar disorder and at what dose - I am going
> to start at only 2.5 mg every other day which I know is
> very low but I have heard the dosages are a lot lower
> than what is used to treat schizophrenia-
> any opinions or emails are welcome
> thank you
> peace
> Ric
>
> "It is not the critic who counts - the credit belongs
> to the man who is acually in the arena- who at best
> knows the triumphs of high achievement and at worst if
> he fails, at least fails while daring greatly - so that
> his place will never be with those cold timid souls
> who know neither victory nor defeat"
Posted by Kathi on April 4, 2001, at 15:34:38
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP?, posted by Greg on April 4, 2001, at 14:57:50
> Ric,
>
> I've been taking Zyprexa for about 6 months at 2.5mgs a day. I have BP II also. It's really been a wonderful med for me. I would suggest taking it a little before bedtime as it can be a little sedating especially at start up.
>
> I hope you have as much luck with it as I have!
>
Hello I have been taking Depakote 500 mg for a couple of years for BP 11 (or they think it is BP 11) Have you been on depakote before and have changed to zyprexa. What is it about zyprexa that you like? Kathi
> Greg
>
> > Hi I have biolar 2 along with ocd and wanted to know
> > if anyone out there has used zyprexa to help with
> > their bipolar disorder and at what dose - I am going
> > to start at only 2.5 mg every other day which I know is
> > very low but I have heard the dosages are a lot lower
> > than what is used to treat schizophrenia-
> > any opinions or emails are welcome
> > thank you
> > peace
> > Ric
> >
> > "It is not the critic who counts - the credit belongs
> > to the man who is acually in the arena- who at best
> > knows the triumphs of high achievement and at worst if
> > he fails, at least fails while daring greatly - so that
> > his place will never be with those cold timid souls
> > who know neither victory nor defeat"
Posted by Greg on April 4, 2001, at 15:58:55
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP?, posted by Kathi on April 4, 2001, at 15:34:38
Hi Kathi,
Yeah, I took Depakote for awhile, but the only thing it did for me was got me really looped. It had no effect on the BP II symptoms at all. I like the Zyprexa for a lot of reasons. It quieted my thinking, I would have so many thoughts running thru my mind at the same time it was impossible to concentrate. It relieved the suicidal thoughts I was having. It stopped my manic behavior, I was spending tons of money among other things. It has helped a great deal with my anxiety as well. I was also having real bad mood swings which have all but disappeared.
I tried a lot of meds before, but none of them even came close to the relief I've had with the Zyprexa.
Greg
> > Ric,
> >
> > I've been taking Zyprexa for about 6 months at 2.5mgs a day. I have BP II also. It's really been a wonderful med for me. I would suggest taking it a little before bedtime as it can be a little sedating especially at start up.
> >
> > I hope you have as much luck with it as I have!
> >
> Hello I have been taking Depakote 500 mg for a couple of years for BP 11 (or they think it is BP 11) Have you been on depakote before and have changed to zyprexa. What is it about zyprexa that you like? Kathi
> > Greg
> >
> > > Hi I have biolar 2 along with ocd and wanted to know
> > > if anyone out there has used zyprexa to help with
> > > their bipolar disorder and at what dose - I am going
> > > to start at only 2.5 mg every other day which I know is
> > > very low but I have heard the dosages are a lot lower
> > > than what is used to treat schizophrenia-
> > > any opinions or emails are welcome
> > > thank you
> > > peace
> > > Ric
> > >
> > > "It is not the critic who counts - the credit belongs
> > > to the man who is acually in the arena- who at best
> > > knows the triumphs of high achievement and at worst if
> > > he fails, at least fails while daring greatly - so that
> > > his place will never be with those cold timid souls
> > > who know neither victory nor defeat"
Posted by Kathi on April 4, 2001, at 16:08:48
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP? » Kathi, posted by Greg on April 4, 2001, at 15:58:55
> Hi Kathi,
>
> Yeah, I took Depakote for awhile, but the only thing it did for me was got me really looped. It had no effect on the BP II symptoms at all. I like the Zyprexa for a lot of reasons. It quieted my thinking, I would have so many thoughts running thru my mind at the same time it was impossible to concentrate. It relieved the suicidal thoughts I was having. It stopped my manic behavior, I was spending tons of money among other things. It has helped a great deal with my anxiety as well. I was also having real bad mood swings which have all but disappeared.
>
> I tried a lot of meds before, but none of them even came close to the relief I've had with the Zyprexa.
>
> Greg
>
> > > Ric,
> > >
> > > I've been taking Zyprexa for about 6 months at 2.5mgs a day. I have BP II also. It's really been a wonderful med for me. I would suggest taking it a little before bedtime as it can be a little sedating especially at start up.
> > >
> > > I hope you have as much luck with it as I have!
> > >
> > Hello I have been taking Depakote 500 mg for a couple of years for BP 11 (or they think it is BP 11) Have you been on depakote before and have changed to zyprexa. What is it about zyprexa that you like? Kathi
> > > Greg
> > >
> > > > Hi I have biolar 2 along with ocd and wanted to know
> > > > if anyone out there has used zyprexa to help with
> > > > their bipolar disorder and at what dose - I am going
> > > > to start at only 2.5 mg every other day which I know is
> > > > very low but I have heard the dosages are a lot lower
> > > > than what is used to treat schizophrenia-
> > > > any opinions or emails are welcome
> > > > thank you
> > > > peace
> > > > Ric
> > > >
> > > > "It is not the critic who counts - the credit belongs
> > > > to the man who is acually in the arena- who at best
> > > > knows the triumphs of high achievement and at worst if
> > > > he fails, at least fails while daring greatly - so that
> > > > his place will never be with those cold timid souls
> > > > who know neither victory nor defeat"Thanks for responding Greg, The depakote doesn't seem to be cutting it for me and the symptoms you have explained are all too familiar to me! One other question-does zyprexa have any adverse effects on the sex drive? Unfortunately so many meds do. Kathi
Posted by Greg on April 4, 2001, at 17:21:52
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP?, posted by Kathi on April 4, 2001, at 16:08:48
Kathi,
If anything sex doesn't seem as important as it was. But I'm not as young as I used to be either :) But I still get stimulated just fine and performance-wise everything is normal. Meds are funny things, they do different things to different people.... If you decide to give the Zy a shot, please let me know how it works out for you.
Greg
> Thanks for responding Greg, The depakote doesn't seem to be cutting it for me and the symptoms you have explained are all too familiar to me! One other question-does zyprexa have any adverse effects on the sex drive? Unfortunately so many meds do. Kathi
Posted by katrina on April 4, 2001, at 20:38:02
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP? » Kathi, posted by Greg on April 4, 2001, at 17:21:52
I think zyprexa is good, too. But I gained weight and it wasn't letting up so am trying geodon.
Posted by SalArmy4me on April 5, 2001, at 2:52:28
In reply to What doese zyprexa for BP?, posted by Ric on April 4, 2001, at 14:06:44
My personal opinion is 10 mg of Zyprexa for treatment of mania.
> Hi I have biolar 2 along with ocd and wanted to know
> if anyone out there has used zyprexa to help with
> their bipolar disorder and at what dose - I am going
> to start at only 2.5 mg every other day which I know is
> very low but I have heard the dosages are a lot lower
> than what is used to treat schizophrenia-
> any opinions or emails are welcome
> thank you
> peace
> Ric
>
> "It is not the critic who counts - the credit belongs
> to the man who is acually in the arena- who at best
> knows the triumphs of high achievement and at worst if
> he fails, at least fails while daring greatly - so that
> his place will never be with those cold timid souls
> who know neither victory nor defeat"
Posted by JohnL on April 5, 2001, at 16:14:30
In reply to What doese zyprexa for BP?, posted by Ric on April 4, 2001, at 14:06:44
I think Zyprexa is a truly awesome medicine. There have been a lot of success stories with it, in terms of treatment resistant depression and bipolar.Starting with 2.5mg every other day sounds fine to me. That's what I did too. After a week I was up to 5mg a day with no side effects. And I feel better than I have in years.
It deserves mention though that most of the success stories I've seen, including my own, involved combining Zyprexa with an antidepressant. In clinical trials either Prozac or Zyprexa worked well, but the two together worked much better than either alone. I experienced that too. Zyprexa is synergistic with other antidepressants, but seems to have some kind of specialness with Prozac in particular. In any case, I'm a big fan of Zyprexa for a wide variety of psychiatric applications.
John
Posted by Kathi on April 6, 2001, at 11:09:56
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP?, posted by JohnL on April 5, 2001, at 16:14:30
>
> I think Zyprexa is a truly awesome medicine. There have been a lot of success stories with it, in terms of treatment resistant depression and bipolar.
>
> Starting with 2.5mg every other day sounds fine to me. That's what I did too. After a week I was up to 5mg a day with no side effects. And I feel better than I have in years.
>
> It deserves mention though that most of the success stories I've seen, including my own, involved combining Zyprexa with an antidepressant. In clinical trials either Prozac or Zyprexa worked well, but the two together worked much better than either alone. I experienced that too. Zyprexa is synergistic with other antidepressants, but seems to have some kind of specialness with Prozac in particular. In any case, I'm a big fan of Zyprexa for a wide variety of psychiatric applications.
> John
>
>Hi John
>Zyprexa seems to work for a lot of people. Did you have any weight gain and I wonder how it would work with SJW St. Johns Wort. I am also one of the people on this site who have had severe withdrawl symptoms from effexor xr and am now very causious about new meds. Interested in your thoughts and other peoples.
Karen (Kathi)
Posted by Wendy B on April 8, 2001, at 9:40:43
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP?, posted by JohnL on April 5, 2001, at 16:14:30
>
> I think Zyprexa is a truly awesome medicine. There have been a lot of success stories with it, in terms of treatment resistant depression and bipolar.
>
> Starting with 2.5mg every other day sounds fine to me. That's what I did too. After a week I was up to 5mg a day with no side effects. And I feel better than I have in years.
>
> It deserves mention though that most of the success stories I've seen, including my own, involved combining Zyprexa with an antidepressant. In clinical trials either Prozac or Zyprexa worked well, but the two together worked much better than either alone. I experienced that too. Zyprexa is synergistic with other antidepressants, but seems to have some kind of specialness with Prozac in particular. In any case, I'm a big fan of Zyprexa for a wide variety of psychiatric applications.
> John
John or anyone else,What do you think about Zyprexa combined with Wellbutrin SR, 300 mg per day? I'm on that plus 1800 mg Neurontin per day, for recently-discovered bipolar dx.
Thanks for any information, hope you are well. I've followed your posts, and I really respect you for the help and sympathy you've shown to others on this Board for such a long time...
Wendy
Posted by ChrisK on April 9, 2001, at 4:39:29
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP? » JohnL, posted by Wendy B on April 8, 2001, at 9:40:43
There was a point for about 6-8 months that I took Zyprexa with Wellbutrin and had no problems. I assume that the Zyprexa also helped with any anxiety problems that Wellbutrin can sometimes cause. I only stopped the WB because it was not as stimulating as I had hoped it would be.
Chris
> John or anyone else,
>
> What do you think about Zyprexa combined with Wellbutrin SR, 300 mg per day? I'm on that plus 1800 mg Neurontin per day, for recently-discovered bipolar dx.
>
> Thanks for any information, hope you are well. I've followed your posts, and I really respect you for the help and sympathy you've shown to others on this Board for such a long time...
>
> Wendy
Posted by JohnL on April 10, 2001, at 4:06:55
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP? » JohnL, posted by Wendy B on April 8, 2001, at 9:40:43
>
> John or anyone else,
>
> What do you think about Zyprexa combined with Wellbutrin SR, 300 mg per day? I'm on that plus 1800 mg Neurontin per day, for recently-discovered bipolar dx.
>
> Thanks for any information, hope you are well. I've followed your posts, and I really respect you for the help and sympathy you've shown to others on this Board for such a long time...
>
> WendyHi Wendy,
I think Zyprexa combined with any antidepressant stands a good chance of helping. Both Zyprexa and Wellbutrin will work on dopamine and NE chemistries, except by different mechanisms and from different angles. Zyprexa also enhances serotonin. So the combination could work well. In literature Zyprexa seems to show the most promise when combined with Prozac, but I think it has good potential with any antidepressant.I don't have a whole lot of faith in the mood stabilizers. None of them ever did me any good. And realistically it is difficult to find many uplifting success stories here that were a result of mood stabilizers. Every now and then we hear of someone who did super well with Lithium or Depakote or Lamictal or Neurontin or whatever, but not very often. Usually we hear reports that they sometimes are helpful, but nothing earth shattering. In a lot of cases I think the mood stabilizers can actually make things worse by numbing or flattening emotions in a way that antidepressants cannot overcome. I have a lot more faith in Zyprexa.
Though it is accepted common practice to prescribe mood stabilizers for a bipolar diagnosis, I personally have not seen a whole lot of success in trying to match a drug to a diagnosis. We see that here all the time. Instead I prefer the approach of trying several drugs from different categories to find out what works and what doesn't for the particular person. In the end, a lot of success stories happened when drugs that did not have clinical relevence to the diagnosis were tried. In any case, I favor Zyprexa and put the mood stabilizers down toward the bottom of the list. I think they are much more helpful in calming down mania than they are at fixing depression. A lot of doctors and scholars would disagree with me, but that's just what I've observed over the years.
John
Posted by katrina on April 10, 2001, at 12:08:47
In reply to Re: What doese zyprexa for BP? Wendy, posted by JohnL on April 10, 2001, at 4:06:55
>
> >
> > John or anyone else,
> >
> What do you think about combating the weight gain from zyprexa? pepcid? I think it is great, too.
Posted by vince on April 10, 2001, at 14:19:10
In reply to weight issues...zyprexa is great...but, posted by katrina on April 10, 2001, at 12:08:47
> What do you think about combating the weight gain from zyprexa? pepcid? I think it is great, too.
Katrina, Are you saying that pepcid can combat weight gain caused by some medications? I haven't heard that before. Have you tried this? How does work, by controlling appetite? What about Zantac, would that work too?
Vince
This is the end of the thread.
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