Hello. My son began taking olanzapine/Zyprexa at age 23. He is now 42 years old and is still taking olanzapine. It has kept him stable since he started taking it and has not shown positive symptoms. Everyone responds differently to different medications. Hope your son finds the best medication(s) that work for him.
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Thanks @buenosaires ! It’s always encouraging to hear positive stories. Glad your son is doing well on olanzapine. Would you mind sharing how he’s coping with the side effects of the medication? I hear people put on a lot of weight on this medication which brings its own problems. Take care.
@Lala thanks for your response! TD can be horrendous! But how’s your son able to function without the APs? Btw, I have a bottle of Benadryl just in case! Take care.
Thanks @Maggotbrane! Just got off the phone with my son’s pdoc. He’s not even willing to consider haldol because of the danger of TD which you mentioned. He is planning to stop quetiapine and risperidone gradually and introduce olanzapine at the smallest dose. He’s concerned that quetiapine and risperidone were causing my son’s severe palpitations. I am concerned about the titration of the 2 APs and the rebound psychosis or relapse! Sigh!! So the journey continues!
Best wishes to you @Maggotbrane ! Take care
My son developed tardive dyskinesia in 2014 which causes mild involuntary closure of his left eyelid. Due to this, he does not drive a car. He takes benztropine mesylate to treat it. As well, my son takes metformin hydrochloride for type 2 diabetes. Both conditions are caused by olanzapine. All antipsychotic medications can cause tardive dyskinesia and type 2 diabetes. My son had always been thin until he began taking olanzapine. Since then, he has gained about 25 lbs. He walks daily, so this helps him stay active.
Thank you @buenosaires! My son’s pdoc is planning to start him on olanzapine. I will keep in mind your son’s experience with it. Wishing you and your son the very best! Take care.
My son had a similar experience . He s now on haldol and says that this is the most relief he has ever had,
Clozapine only med that worked for my grandson
Thanks @lindaS ! My son is on zydis 10mg. He is eating a lot! Mood is not great, seems zombie like. He is able to study though. Sigh! There’s no perfect AP.
If zydis fails, clozapine would be our next option.
Hello Lala
Is your son stille unmedicated? How is he doing?
My brother was given Olanzapine when he was hospitalized in December. He was on 10mg and I found him to be very sleepy and not as alert. He is 72yrs old. With guidance from his psych nurse, we reduced him to 7.5 mg and he is functioning better. More alert and daily functioning more normal. He is diabetic and his sugar did go up and he is on Metforman. He does have mild hand shaking.
My brother never took drugs for 25 yrs prior to hospitalization. I don’t know what caused his breakdown but the medication is helping. He has a hard time making decisions and relies on me heavily to help him. He is more aware of his OCD and has been making changes to his diet he would never do before. He is losing weight even on Olanzapine.
Yes that was the first one my husband was put on in hospital. It worked I think but he never took a high dosage so hard to tell. but made him gain ALOT of weight really quickly and he ended up sleeping almost all evening until the next day, over 12 hours.