Hi all, I've just been prescribed 2.5mg of Olanzapine to treat my stubborn severe depression and anxiety along with increase dose of Venlefaxine to 300mg.
Apart from weight gain which I understand is a common side effect has anyone any advise or experience With this drug?
Neil
I have been on effexor 300-375 for years, but sorry, I don't know what the other med is. All I know is I am still sometiems stressed and I sleep a lot!
my friend took this for skitzophrenia but probably at a higher dose. He sort of lost alot of personality - he really flattened out, he used to have a bubbly character but he became flat. he couldnt concentrate on anything and his eyes had this look - that the lights were on but no one was home - a very dead behind the eyes thing. he put on alot of weight and got bad sweats. thankfully he came off it and is not his usual self. however Im sure he was on a much higher dose - its very very tranquilising... its good in the mental hospitals because it keeps everyone chilled...i wouldnt take it myself.
the drs are prescribing this alot now for depression and anxiety when these are anti phsychotics. i thinks its very experimental treatment and its possible to get all the side effects and none of the reward. the idea is to make you so vacant you arent even aware you are depressed.
i been taking olanzapine for 13 years and its very good, over them 13 years i have been prescribed many different anti depressants and anxiety drugs none really work but onlanzapine is very good for quieting the mind and sleep i have no complaints. i was on 20mg for a while but now on 10mg have been for years, yes weight gain but appart from that it seems good i will say if your taking olanzapine make sure you have plenty of milk as olanzapine makes it hard for your body to absorb it 
sorry absorb calcium
Thanks, it's a very small dose 2.5mg at night, if it makes me feel like your friend I'll come off it but suggest your friend was on a much higher dose.
I did a bit of research and it is used to treat manic depression and depression which is being stubborn and not reacting to standard SSRI or SNRI's so is considered something to compliment the treatment. I'm giving it a go and will see, as I went private for the consultation I can ring for advise if I get side effects I don't like but am back to see him in two weeks.
n
thank you for positive reply, I'm on a starting tiny dose to take at night..2.5mg , I'll take your advise over calcium also.
N
Hi Aspinan,
Yes I have had some adverse side effects from Olanazapine. The thing is I'm on a MUCH higher dose than you are on. I'm taking a total of 27.5 mg/day. One major side effect for me was that my blood sugar level rose to 25 each day. I had developed diabetes because of my high dose. I also found that I felt zombied out the next day. I confronted my psychiatrist about all this, and he agreed to slowly reduce my dose of Olanzzapine by .25 mg day for a month at a time. Thanks to the fact that I'm on two Diabetes meds and the slight reduction in Olanzapine I am feeling a little bit better. My blood sugar level is between 6.5 & 10.5 per day (which are safe levels), depending on what I eat. You should be safe at that low dose of Olanzapine. Just don't let your doctor try to increase it for any reason. The side effects can be enormous. To tell you the truth, I can't wait to get off it completely. I suffer from bi-polar illness and feel like I'm over medicated in general. I take other psych meds as well... carbamazepine, divalproex & primidone. I had brain surgery in 1991 and it caused the bi-polar illness to appear. It's been a constant battle trying to find the right cocktail of medications. Luckily I don't suffer from depression any more. All I have to deal with is the mania... i.e. staying up all night long, memory loss, over spending & anti-social behaviour etc. I see my psychiatrist on a monthly basis and he's a good listener but offers little in the way of coping skills and proper medication control. Get this... when I approached him about my sleep disorder what he did was increase my Olanzapine a lot. What a jerk off.
in my experience of medication its the safest and with less side efects than any other medication i have been on and i have been on many different types. after a year of taking it the foggy mind wont be as bad good luck mate
Been on it for 2 weeks and been ok, my rose increased to 5mg which is the starting dose, so far so good. N
Hi Apsinan,
I was put on this for fibromyalgia two weeks ago and so far so good. I also suffer with anxiety and depression and I am finding life generally easier to handle since I started taking it. I hope it works for you
-Leim
*Aspinan (sorry, I should really proofread my messages before I post them :P)