hi, my husband is on 5mg and he takes it at night. This knocks him out for 12 hours sometimes, it can be so hard to wake him up. He is then quite snappy & moody too.
My question is would taking it during the day make him really tired do you all take yours at night?
Thanks
I first started taking mine in the morning 10mg but it did make me very tired and sleep during the day so I switched it to night, but after a while of taking it at night I found I would sleep at night, wake in the morning & be back in bed a few hours later so it didn't really matter when I took it after a while I'd still sleep at night & during the day, it may not be so bad as your husband's on 5mg
Thanks Doc. Considering my husband is on a low dose i'm surprised he can sleep for so long.
He does drink most nights though (i've asked him not to) but on nights he doesn't drink it doesn't make much of a difference
Hi Sue. I was on olanzapine for 20 years and to be honest I would recommend that he comes off it straight away. I had the hardest time coming off it but it was the best thing I ever did. It seriously tured me into a zombie gradually changing my personality until I had no real interest in life or anything. It also made me put on alot of weight and ruined my sex life. I tried coming off it several times but gave up because it was too hard, then I Googled ways to come off it and the horror stories I found online made me even more determined to do it and I have and would never go back. I know I was on it a long time but there are people who have only been on it a few months who struggle to get off it. I'm sorry if this scares you but it really is an evil drug
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy, thanks for your reply. My husband has put on a lot of weight too and has no libido.
Can I ask if you tried other meds or are you off them completely?
Hi Sue I haven't suffered any psychotic symptoms for many years and was discharged from the mental health system 10 years ago. I was told then I could come off medication and I tried several times but gave up because it was too hard. This time I took advice from people on forums like this and used 5htp to boost my serotonin levels for a few weeks, also valerian to help me sleep and kalms which help with anxiety. So all herbal things but they do help. The anxiety was really bad and I had real trouble sleeping and still do but no sign of the illness has returned
I'm also off all meds completely now, I was on Olanzapine for 5 years in total, I also gained a ton of weight which I could not shift no matter what I did, also olanzapine is toxic to the pancreas & raises glucose levels & after 3 1/2 years of taking it I became a type 1 Diabetic, after wheening me off Olanzapine they put me on Risperidone which I never actually took, but after coming off Olanzapine I'd lost all the weight in a matter of months
That's great. If you can stay well without meds then it's definitely the best way but obviously some people still need them it's just working out what suits you and also works. Olanzapine is without a doubt the worst one I've been on it just gradually erodes your personality without you realising it until you're finally free from it. Something that really helped me get off it was changing my diet. I find that cutting out certain things and adding things actually helped with the anxiety and made me feel naturally happy. This is the first time for many years I've been actually happy. Part of it is being off the olanzapine but the diet has definitely helped
It's generall taken at night because it wipes you out for so long.
If you take it in the morning you can not function during the day.
I take mine at night because I am still trying to run my own business.
But my dose has just been reduced to 2.5 mg (one 5mg tablet split into two pieces)
so it's not as bad as it used to be. Hope that helps.
AND I did not realise (until now) that it kills your sex drive - no wonder my wife is sleeping in the lounge!!!!! (LOL)
We asked about reducing to 2.5mg but we're told you couldn't.
all these type of drugs kill your sex drive :-(
Hi Jeremy, I was on trifluoperazine for about 12 years and then you couldn't get it, my gp put me on olanzapine without discussing it at all. I took it for 3 to 4 years. Because of the 5 stone weight gain and blood sugar problems I came off it 16 months ago. The first few months were hell but somehow I was determined and got through that. But I'm still not well. I feel like a hypochondriac I have so many problems, I too find sleeping difficult, I get maybe 4 hours a day. I am finally very happy and really interested in life but I'm not well. I have told myself that the olanzapine has ruined my health and I just have to get on but it's a struggle and I'm exhausted.
Do you still feel unwell ?
From my experience taking it during the day makes me doze off in the day and I can't function properly.
what time does your husband take it?
Im on 5mg of the dissolvable Olanzapine at around 7PM each evening and I'm up fresh as a daisy around 6AM.
I believe the grogginess in the morning will pass the longer he stays on it.
I took my first dose during the day just to see how I'd feel. I passed out very tired. So yes I take mine only at night.
May I ask what the difference is btwn the dissolvable form? Why would someone be described dissolvable forms vs tablets?