[*Beth*]

7 years ago, prescribed Seroquel. Weighed 110lbs and was physically active. Sleep was not great. Seroquel knocked me out to sleep and caused me to gain an immense amount of weight, but it didn't not have any benefit besides sleep.

I now weight 260lbs (5'6"). I am short of breath, in chronic pain, high blood pressure/glucose/bad cholesterol.

About 2 months ago I finally convinced Dr. W. to allow me to go off the Seroquel. I was having some mild paranoia and the usual vicious agitated anxiety.

So Dr. W. prescribed Zyprexa. Within 6 weeks I gained 7lbs.

I'm now on Metformin and 2 blood pressure meds, in addition to the psych meds.

Mania/hypomania is pretty much non-existent, but so is my very creative self. I feel flat and fat and useless.


Mild paranoia is mostly (not remarkably) gone.


I have decided to stop taking the Zyprexa, give it some days and see how I feel. Dr. W. will be annoyed, but too bad for her. Whatever happened to "do no harm"?

So this is my thread to keep track of this journey. To see how I'm doing day to day with not taking an AP.

[downandlonely]

Are you stopping the Zyprexa cold turkey? I think it is usually best to taper off psych meds slowly or you can experience withdrawal symptoms. Also, when are you planning to let your doctor know?

[Fuzzybear]

Thanks for sharing this. I was prescribed Seroquel a few years ago. It helped me sleep but did nothing else. The doctor wanted me to increase the dose. When I tried this, I became allergic to the med so stopped it. The doctor wasn't happy but I had no option. I put on a bit of weight but wasn't on it for long enough to gain a lot of weight (a few months I think)..

I wish you all the best of luck with this. I also sometimes think about doctors and what happened to ''do no harm''

[Fuzzybear]

(PS) I agree, the doctor might be annoyed but too bad for her. Well said.

I do agree about the point made about tapering off slowly, which I imagine you already know.

[Moose72]

Last time I went off seroquel I got manic. I will NOT ever take zyprexa again. Too many bad side effects. Seroquel is bad too but my brain tells me seroquel is better than zyprexa. So its a toss up- be skinny and healthy or be sane. I always think id be better off healthy and batshit.

[~Christina]

Do you have a picture of yourself pre psych meds ??? Sometimes a Pdoc needs to freaking see it to understand what has happened weight wise and how it’s a domino effect on your overall physical health.

I don’t think you should go off cold turkey tip , if your adamant about getting off it at least do a taper.

Hi Beth. I remember when you posted about first going on Zyprexa. I was really hoping it would be a good medication for you, and that you might be one of the lucky ones who found it weight neutral. It sucks that it was not.

I'm a little curious why your doc would switch you from one notorious weight gainer medication to another. I know both medications have good reps in terms of helpfulness with bipolar disorder, but there are some friendlier meds out there in terms of weight. I do worry that you will have a severe mood episode. Have you ever trialed APs that are notoriously more weight friendly? I don't know, Geodon, Abilify, and there are others. Even some of the 1st generation APs are frequently weight neutral. I found Navane (Thiothixene) to be weight friendly, but it did give me a worrisome other side effect. But not all people get that. Some people really like Haldol. My view is that the lowest effective dose possible should be used. I know that when my doc lowered my Navane to stop the other side effect I referenced, that side effect stopped, but unfortunately my mania returned. Ugh!

Hi Beth,

We've talked on other threads about how our weight gain makes us grieve for our former thin fit selves. I don't mean to take the wind out of your sails; everyone is different. But cutting down on Seroquel did not help my ravenous appetite. Mind you i am still on Respirdal. I went from 150mg of Seroquel to 25mg without any reduction in appetite. I *did* actually have an acute episode which might have been psychosis, still not sure. I'm going back up on the Seroquel as i certainly don't want it to happen again but just to 100mg. The sedation is awful.

I've concluded that my weight gain was due to an abrupt change in lifestyle at the time i started serious meds. I got divorced and stopped working and my days have been chaos ever since in terms of schedule.

Anyways, something to think over. Like the others said, a slow controlled taper is best. I cut by 25mg a month. I respect your right to try and hope you have better results.

[Sometimes psychotic]

I hate to say this but secretly I call zyprexa the fat maker...abilify and geodon are generic now....both cause less weight gain than zyprexa but it hasn’t been zero for me. Latuda if you can afford it seems the best. I think everyone deserves a trial off AP if they aren’t having psychotic symptoms....my trial lasted 9 months then psychosis returned. This was after extensive tapering with the permission of my pdoc. Tapering is critical if you don’t want rebound psychosis....this can happen even in people who have never had psychosis.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by downandlonely

Are you stopping the Zyprexa cold turkey? I think it is usually best to taper off psych meds slowly or you can experience withdrawal symptoms. Also, when are you planning to let your doctor know?

Hi d&l, normally I would never stop a psych med cold turkey. In this case I've been on the maximum dose for only a week or so. Before that, the dose was low. I'm hoping that since I've taken Zyprexa for about only 5 or 6 weeks I'll be able to stop it okay.

I would tell her either this Thursday or change my appointment to the following week and tell her then.I'm anxious about telling her, but I am genuinely worried about the effects the AP's are having on me. I climb stairs and can hardly breathe. It's not good.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

Do you have a picture of yourself pre psych meds ??? Sometimes a Pdoc needs to freaking see it to understand what has happened weight wise and how it’s a domino effect on your overall physical health.

I don’t think you should go off cold turkey tip , if your adamant about getting off it at least do a taper.

Good idea and yep, I showed her a picture of me before Seroquel. I was wearing junior's size 4 clothing & unhappy because I felt like I looked like a boy. Ha, little did I know!


Dr. W. looked at the picture and her comment was something about my cute hairstyle. That was when I knew she was bonafide nuts.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by BirdDancer

Hi Beth. I remember when you posted about first going on Zyprexa. I was really hoping it would be a good medication for you, and that you might be one of the lucky ones who found it weight neutral. It sucks that it was not.

Yes, I remember, and thank you.

I'm a little curious why your doc would switch you from one notorious weight gainer medication to another. I know both medications have good reps in terms of helpfulness with bipolar disorder, but there are some friendlier meds out there in terms of weight. I do worry that you will have a severe mood episode. Have you ever trialed APs that are notoriously more weight friendly? I don't know, Geodon, Abilify, and there are others. Even some of the 1st generation APs are frequently weight neutral. I found Navane (Thiothixene) to be weight friendly, but it did give me a worrisome other side effect. But not all people get that. Some people really like Haldol. My view is that the lowest effective dose possible should be used. I know that when my doc lowered my Navane to stop the other side effect I referenced, that side effect stopped, but unfortunately my mania returned. Ugh!

I guess she went for Zyprexa because I had the worst reaction to any med with Geodon...felt wired, didn't sleep for 3 nights. We tried Abilify over the summer, but I had akathesia that wouldn't stop. I felt like I was crawling out of my skin (Cogentin didn't help).

Navane was an old favorite of mine, so we tried it in about July. I had some strange reaction and slept for 3 days straight. I managed to take care of the cats and the bare basics, but it was as though I was dreaming. I missed appointments that I didn't have any perception of, not like me at all. Freaky stuff. So that's what led to Zyprexa.

I have thought of Haldol, too. I took it many years ago...seems to me that it wasn't too bad.

[*Beth*]

Thanks to each of you, I very much appreciate your input. You're all correct...as much as I want to just stop the Zyprexa, I'll do a slower dose reduction. Since I've been on the full dose for only a week or so, I think I'm okay to drop it back to half the full dose tonight.

If by about Tuesday I'm batshit crazy you'll all be the first to know

It's my 57th birthday today and it scares me that I can't walk 1/2 a block without stopping to rest, and that I'm in chronic pain, so walking is practically impossible to begin with.

Oh - and Latuda was mentioned. Yes, I was on it for exactly 1 year. I thought it was pretty good. Then right at the 1 year mark I had to go and get TD signs that were strong (hand tremor was even worse, jaw tremor, and muscle stiffening). So the pdoc I was seeing then stopped the Latuda. But I was on a high dose. I wonder how a lower dose would be.

[Victoria'smom]

Happy Birthday! Do you have a plan to take the weight off while tapering?I know when I went without an AP for a little the weight fell off but sometimes it's not that easy.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Sounds like a plan.....the one thing to remember about tapering that people sometimes forget is that you can always go back up and then taper more slowly. Good luck with this

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

Happy Birthday! Do you have a plan to take the weight off while tapering?I know when I went without an AP for a little the weight fell off but sometimes it's not that easy.

Hi Mm, I have a problem because my achilles tendon is messed up, so walking is very painful. I just bought some shoes that I'm hoping will ease the pain so I can walk. If I could drop even 15 lbs I think the tendonitis might ease up.


And thank you for the b-day wish!

[*Beth*]

Last night 10mg down from 20mg. I don't feel any different.

[Wild Coyote]

HI BethRags,
Just catching up with your thread. great idea to have a thread to document your journey!
I will be following. I wish you the very best!

[*Beth*]

How kind of you, WC. Thanks
-----------------------------------------

12/29: Feel moderately depressed and was feeling pretty anxious. No different than I felt on the 20mgs Z. I took a prn K-pin and that took the edges off the anxiety. What a relief.

[Wander]

Originally Posted by BethRags

Hi Mm, I have a problem because my achilles tendon is messed up, so walking is very painful. I just bought some shoes that I'm hoping will ease the pain so I can walk. If I could drop even 15 lbs I think the tendonitis might ease up.


And thank you for the b-day wish!

Med weight gain is one of the cruelest of side effects. It seems like you have reached a point where you simply cannot tolerate it anymore - and rightly so. Tapering is a great idea. I am glad that the first night went well. As for exercising; can you get to a local pool? Exercising in water is much easier on our bodies overall. Just a thought. Keep us posted.

[~Christina]

Happy Birthday !!!

[Wild Coyote]

I'd forgotten to wish you a Happy Birthday!

BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I hope you have had some FUN!!!

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Wander

Med weight gain is one of the cruelest of side effects. It seems like you have reached a point where you simply cannot tolerate it anymore - and rightly so. Tapering is a great idea. I am glad that the first night went well. As for exercising; can you get to a local pool? Exercising in water is much easier on our bodies overall. Just a thought. Keep us posted.

Thank you for your reply, Wander. Thank you for understanding. And your advice is excellent - I am doing pool exercise at my physical therapy place. It's an indoor salt water pool & I love it. The only issue I have that's negative is people talking to me when I'm trying to exercise...there's always a little group that hangs out in the pool to chat.


Christina suggested wearing sunglasses, which is a good way to signal to people that I'm not into chatting, but it's an indoor pool, so...I think I'm going to make myself be assertive and tell them I really need to exercise.

[*Beth*]

Thanks for the birthday wishes!
-----------------------------------------------

2nd night, so far, so good. I slept well. Of course I'm still taking a 1/2 dose. Since I haven't been on the Zyprexa too long, the withdrawal probably won't be terrible. When I get anxious (almost always late afternoon) I've taken 1mg K-pin prn. Klonopin is still a magic pill for me.


Today I see my T...I don't know whether to mention my plan to go off Zyprexa, or not. If I tell her I know she let Dr. W. know before I'm even out to my car. I'm stuck on this one.

[Fuzzybear]

Happy belated Birthday