Anyone had Zyprexa for sleep and/or OCD and/or rapid cycling?

[SirSwede]

As the headline states: Anyone had Zyprexa for sleep and/or OCD and/or rapid cycling? If so, what did you have it for? What were your doses? And, most importantly, what were your experiences?

 

[clubcard]

Just an opinion but neuroleptics have a long list of chronic side-effects. They only get licensed because they are supposed to be treating a crippling class of symptoms; schizophreniform disorders. Their use as hypnotics became a huge scandal in the UK where they were used to sedate the elderly in care homes. Acute insomnia may be treated with mirtazapine. Bipolar's treatment with neuroleptics is, let us say contentious. The 'regulatory creep' in which existing drugs are licensed for new purposes is becoming an accepted problem. In short - it's much cheaper to sell more of an existing drug than make a new one. The testing requirements are much lower. Thus the maker profits more. As for the treatment for OCD, several trials in people who were refractive to SSRI medication who had moderate symptoms responded better response to clomipramine than olanzapine. In the UK CBT would be used before ANY drug.

I am only too aware of circadian bipolar but for me it was lifestyle changes that helped more than anything. No alcohol, only prescribed medications, regular sleep. I got amitriptyline for pain which also improved sleep. Of course, nobody knows another's pain. Just editing this post I am reminded that the tricyclics are a very effective drug. Meta analyses show they are (on average) better than SSRIs, SNDRIs, SNDIs and related drugs for depression. Better treatment for OCD and for some people they are also effective in the treatment of bipolar disorder. For people who do need meds for bipolar, there isn't a single drug that could be classed as 'widely effective'. From people I have known, quetiapine had a brief vogue until the number of people it had zombified became a scandal. Before that everything from the anti-epileptics to benzos to eugeroics have been tried. It appears to be the case that finding the right medication(s) must be tailored the the individual. I remain skeptical of doctors and even psychiatrists who have begun to use neuroleptics as a first-line option.

It is just my opinion that a 'positive outcome' from the doctors perspective is the patient not reporting the lack of utility. Neuroleptics have such a profound effect, I suspect people compare the 2 mental states, presume that they are taking the BEST medication and decide that if the first-line med is so bad, nothing will work or will be so awful that they cannot function on the drug. They go on unmedicated. If it doesn't work or you are unhappy with a med for any reason, go back. Keep going back until a specialist finally decides it's easier to put more effort into finding you the right treatment than seeing you again and again. It is hard to treat well and the best choices are almost unique from patient to patient. I know people on amitriptyline and lithium, valporate and clonazepam, gabapentin and just about every other combination of anti-epileptic, antidepressant and eurogenic you can think of.

I hope this note finds you well.

 

[SirSwede]

Just an opinion but neuroleptics have a long list of chronic side-effects. They only get licensed because they are supposed to be treating a crippling class of symptoms; schizophreniform disorders. Their use as hypnotics became a huge scandal in the UK where they were used to sedate the elderly in care homes. Acute insomnia may be treated with mirtazapine. Bipolar's treatment with neuroleptics is, let us say contentious. The 'regulatory creep' in which existing drugs are licensed for new purposes is becoming an accepted problem. In short - it's much cheaper to sell more of an existing drug than make a new one. The testing requirements are much lower. Thus the maker profits more. As for the treatment for OCD, several trials in people who were refractive to SSRI medication who had moderate symptoms responded better response to clomipramine than olanzapine. In the UK CBT would be used before ANY drug. I am only too aware of circadian bipolar but for me it was lifestyle changes that helped more than anything. No alcohol, only prescribed medications, regular sleep. I got amitriptyline for pain which also improved sleep. Of course, nobody knows another's pain. Just editing this post I am reminded that the tricyclics are a very effective drug. Meta analyses show they are (on average) better than SSRIs, SNDRIs, SNDIs and related drugs for depression. Better treatment for OCD and for some people they are also effective in the treatment of bipolar disorder. For people who do need meds for bipolar, there isn't a single drug that could be classed as 'widely effective'. From people I have known, quetiapine had a brief vogue until the number of people it had zombified became a scandal. Before that everything from the anti-epileptics to benzos to eugeroics have been tried. It appears to be the case that finding the right medication(s) must be tailored the the individual. I remain skeptical of doctors and even psychiatrists who have begun to use neuroleptics as a first-line option. It is just my opinion that a 'positive outcome' from the doctors perspective is the patient not reporting the lack of utility. Neuroleptics have such a profound effect, I suspect people compare the 2 mental states, presume that they are taking the BEST medication and decide that if the first-line med is so bad, nothing will work or will be so awful that they cannot function on the drug. They go on unmedicated. If it doesn't work or you are unhappy with a med for any reason, go back. Keep going back until a specialist finally decides it's easier to put more effort into finding you the right treatment than seeing you again and again. It is hard to treat well and the best choices are almost unique from patient to patient. I know people on amitriptyline and lithium, valporate and clonazepam, gabapentin and just about every other combination of anti-epileptic, antidepressant and eurogenic you can think of. I hope this note finds you well.

Yeah, I am on Seroquel right now and I do feel pretty zombified.

 

[browri]

I now use divalproex as my primary mood stabilizer because I couldn't tolerate the necessary doses of antipsychotics without getting akathisia. However, they are still a critical part of managing the manic side of my symptoms even at super low doses and some have had a positive effect on my anxiety and depression as well. Most notably olanzapine and brexpiprazole. Asenapine did a fairly good job as well and I wasn't even on an antidepressant at the time.

 

[Speed King]

Screw these neuroleptic drugs, if you don?t really need them. I am perscribed risperidone, for some bull shit. I don?t really take it. You want me to be calm, focused and cool? Give me a pipe or vape filled with high quality cannabis,. That?s just me.

 

[Dresden]

Works like a charm for sleep.