[wiredidiot]

It's only been a few days and god I miss my Zyprexa. It was my miracle drug. Made me feel normal for the first time in 9 years! Problem was...I gained about 30 or 40 lb (afraid to weigh myself) in a matter of months.
So my pdoc took me off them and started me on Lamactil. Now I'm more than willing to forge ahead with the Lamactil since it appears to be the gold standard for bipolar, but I'm only on day 4 of the 25mg, so with the titration schedule, I have a long way to go. I can say I am "functional" and trying to have patience.
Is it possible to add a very low dose of Zyprexa until I reach the therapeutic doses of Lamactil?

Thanks for listening!

[Nightside of Eden]

If Zyprexa worked so well, I'm wondering if you tried everything to mitigate the weight gain? There are some drugs, like Metformin, which help stabilize blood sugar and thus reduce weight gain. Diet and exercise help too, of course.

[Moose72]

I am on metformin and zyprexa and i think its just holding the weight gain at bay. Its not going down at all.

[wiredidiot]

Well I'm going to give the Lamactil a whirl, because I had Gastric Bypass back in 2001 and can't afford the food gorging I was doing, plus diabetes runs in my family like wildfire, so I don't think that should be anything to play around with.
If the Lamactil doesn't work, I will mention taking Zyprexa with Metformin.
Thanks for the replies. =)

[BipolaRNurse]

I put on 25 lbs. in four weeks the first time I went on Zyprexa and my blood sugars spun way out of control, so I had to stop taking it. That sucked, because the drug really works well for me.

Turned out that I didn't do so well off Zyprexa, and I was put back on it in March. This time, however I've gained a grand total of 3.5 lbs. and my blood sugars are great for a diabetic. I'm not sure why I've been so lucky this time, especially because I'm on a higher dose than last time (although it's still a small dose). But whatever the reason for my good luck, I'm glad it's working it's magic.

I don't really understand why your pdoc is substituting Lamictal for Zyprexa. Lamictal is a mood stabilizer and doesn't do a lot for mania, while the Vitamin Z is good at keeping mania at bay and can even be helpful with depression. You've got a long way to go before you're at a therapeutic dose (~200 mg). I think you'd better talk to him about tapering the Zyprexa.....even 1.25 mg is better than nothing.

[littlemiss44]

I also tried zyprexa and when I gained ten pounds in three weeks I got right off of it. Then I too went on lamictal. It's my miracle drug. I really loved how the zyprexa made me feel better but I can't stand to gain weight. I'm on 200mg 2x a day of lamictal so you will start to feel bettor as you get up to a therapeutic dose. I'm also on geodon, lexapro, buspar which all help balance out my depression and anxiety. I wish you luck. The geodon helps the lamictal and lexapro work better together. It totally lifted my depression. Let us know how yr doing. Hugs

[wiredidiot]

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

I put on 25 lbs. in four weeks the first time I went on Zyprexa and my blood sugars spun way out of control, so I had to stop taking it. That sucked, because the drug really works well for me.

Turned out that I didn't do so well off Zyprexa, and I was put back on it in March. This time, however I've gained a grand total of 3.5 lbs. and my blood sugars are great for a diabetic. I'm not sure why I've been so lucky this time, especially because I'm on a higher dose than last time (although it's still a small dose). But whatever the reason for my good luck, I'm glad it's working it's magic.

I don't really understand why your pdoc is substituting Lamictal for Zyprexa. Lamictal is a mood stabilizer and doesn't do a lot for mania, while the Vitamin Z is good at keeping mania at bay and can even be helpful with depression. You've got a long way to go before you're at a therapeutic dose (~200 mg). I think you'd better talk to him about tapering the Zyprexa.....even 1.25 mg is better than nothing.

I really don't have mania except for the anxiety mania that I've been reading about. She didn't tell me which bypolar I have, but from what I have been reading it's Bipolar II. Just really sucks, because with the Zyprexa, I could actually time the time it took to start working. About 15 minutes and the world is "right". lol