Olanzapine or other antipsychotics

[calmday]

Hi, I've been started on olanzapine a couple of days ago. I'm diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic and after coming off my antipsychotic recently I've felt weird, not being able to concentrate, mood swings and some mild psychotic symptoms. I've been on olanzapine before so I know it works but I just wondered if anyone has any success stories of taking an antipsychotic? I have been on it for a couple of days and I already feel more like me again. Thanks in advance.

Anybody?

Sorry I haven't been on them, but hopefully someone will be along soon. I just didn't want to leave your post with no answers.

Although I've not been on it I met quite a few people in hospital on it. One of them was paranoid schizophrenic who'd been admitted on section, but by the time I met him I would never have guessed there was anything wrong with him at all! And recently I bumped into someone in town I met in hospital who had been forced into taking antipsychotics. He really wasn't well when I first met him but now is doing really well, taking his medication and is like a completely different person.

Ex boys mum when I was younger had paranoid schizophrenia and had been really ill when he was a teenager. He had to move out. By the time I met her she was sorted, took her medication, had been fine for years, remarried and had a job.

You've made the right choice to go back on them and glad you're feeling more normal. Sorry I don't have any personal experience but hopefully someone will be along who does!

Thankyou dangermouse. I've met people in hospital who upon admission to hospital were very ill and had been transformed by taking medication. It was like two completely different people.

I decided to take antipsychotic medication again cos I just wasn't myself without it. I had to weigh up the negatives (such as weight gain) and I decided it was better to be well than to be thin and poorly. I'm chuffed that I'm getting away with not being on an antidepressant, I'm only on the ones med now. Antidepressants tend to make me hypomanic, I was acting really unstable on them. So pleased to be on just olanzapine.

that's good that you are doing ok with less chemicals.

I can appreciate your feelings about weight gain. I'm on 2 antidepressants and one of them turns me into an eating machine. Without it I fall apart though. It's better to be cuddlier and functioning than slim and not.

Is it mirtazapine you're talking about? I was on that a couple of months ago. That and citalopram.

Yup 😂 on the mirtazapine and venlafaxine

i take a small dose of olanzapine (2.5 mg) with mirtazapine .
its slightly brain numbing - don't know how else to describe it.
i don't like taking it , it makes me feel detached so i stop it after a while but i always end up having to go back on it .
i take it for ptsd and bpd .

I feel great today. I've been on olanzapine for three days now and I feel much more like myself. Mood is stable and I have the ability to concentrate. I can't believe I decided to stop my antipsychotic a few weeks ago, I'm so much better on it. I don't find it brain numbing, wfrances, thankfully, it gives me the ability to think clearer. I'm on 5mg for the first week and then up to 10mg. Then I get an appointment with the psychiatrist and he will decide whether to increase me to 15mg. So glad I decided to go back on olanzapine

That's brilliant news calmday. It might be worth printing what you've written out, and sticking it somewhere, if you have a tendency to stop meds or want to stop.

That's a really good idea dangermouse, thanks.

Hi, so glad you are finding it helpful. My DH is in olanzapine and it has been lifechanging. DH suffers episodes of psychosis, he's not curently got a diagnosis or schizophrenia although from what I've read he ticks every box.

Before the olanzapine DH struggled to hold down a job or cope with education and bounced from one crisis to another. The last 4 years since he's been on it he has worked full time and life has been good, except for the one time he stopped it and ended up really poorly.

I just wish someone had spotted what was wrong and started him on the olanzapine 10 years earlier, his life would have been so much easier.

Hi Nolonger. Glad to hear your DH is doing well on olanzapine. It works very well on psychosis. Do they have any plans to assess and diagnose your DH? Does he get the "negative symptoms" of schizophrenia as well such as depressed mood, lack of motivation etc? Thanks for replying.

Yes DH gets the negitive symptoms too, these have been significantly more difficult the last 12 months since his last crisis (when his psychologist decided to stop the olanzapine) with difficulties with personal hygine being a particular problem. That was previously something we had identified as a warning sign, but its been pretty consistantly poor this year, with several trips to the doctor for skin sores as a result.

He has been under an early intervention in psychosis team for 4 years now and despite a 10 year history of symptoms was being treated as first episode psychosis (hence discontinuing the antipsychotics when he seemed to make such a good recovery from the crisis that first got mental health services involved). From discussions with CPNs in his team, they are not diagnosis based. They focus on managing symptoms rather than diagnosis. I don't know if they will eventually give him a diagnosis or stick with a diagnosis of 'psychotic episodes' From what I've read the psychiatric community is split on whether giving a diagnosis of schizophrenia is actually helpful or not due to a)the fact different psychiatrists dont always agree who does and doesnt fit the criteria and b) the stigma asociated with the diagnosis. And I suspect his psychiatrist is in the non-diagnosis camp from the way the CPNs talk. I've never met his psychiatrist myself as he prefers me not to go to those appointments with him, but I have a good relationship with his CPN.

That's good you have a good relationship with his CPN, my partner has a great relationship with my CPN and she has supported him a lot when I've been bad. My CPN is retiring in a month or so and I'm so sad about it. I'm going to have to get used to having a new CPN.

Do you mind me asking what dose of olanzapine is your DH on? I'm doing a week on 5mg then up to 10mg. Then I will get an appointment with the psychiatrist in two months time and he will decide whether to increase me to 15mg.

Sorry to hear your DH suffers from negative symptoms too, when I'm bad I find it really hard to shower or bath and I've gone about a week without washing in the past. I must be feeling better now as I jumped in the shower this morning then put makeup on. I intend to have another one tomorrow morning too.

Glad that you are feeling better

DH is on 15mg at the moment. When he first started on it it was 20mg then gradually reduced to 5mg, which he managed well on for a long time before it was stopped. When he had the last episode of psychosis they wanted to start he straight on 20mg again but he didn't want to because of the drowsyness so compromised on 15mg and he told the psychiatrist he wanted to stay on this at his last review. Hes had a few wobbles though and his CPN has suggested going back to 20mg might be a good idea. I'm hoping not though as It's hard for him to work and deal with the drowsiness.

Sorry to hear your CPN is retiring, will there be any crossover whilst you get used to the new one?

Well they've been trying to get me a new CPN for a while now so I could see them at the same time as my current CPN but they've been unable to as they are so short staffed. So I'll just have to wait and see.

Hi OP I take an anti psychotic which is Aripiprazole- I started it in late 2012 and the side effect was terrible restless limbs which took a good 3 or 4 months to stop. Also with my other meds it makes me sleepy.
But before I took Aripiprazole I was very ill, now I'm like a new person except for the odd blip.

I was taking 20mg but started to get anxious, and was seeing things recently so my psychiatrist increased it to 25mg then I got bad nightmares so he decreased it to 22.5mg & they are t so bad.

My diagnosis is Recurrent Depressive disorder with Psychosis.

Calmday; do you mind me asking what your psychosis symptoms are like?

With mine I get very paranoid about my work colleagues mainly, also I can see objects as having faces & personalities which is really weird.
I even have trouble admitting that one to my psychiatrist.
I also get intrusive thoughts which I've had since I was a child and it can be distressing.

When I had my first psychotic episode It was awful because I thought everyone was out to get me, mi6 were spying on me, my neighbour wanted to shoot me etc.

Hi Op

Just wanted to chime in in case it helps.

During a psychotic phase ten years ago I was put on quetiapine and then olanzapine. I started to gain weight heavily on the quetiapine, I was ravenous for cake and other shit foods! Can't remember if that was why I was switched to olanzapine, but I remained on that for at least a year. Everything did get better during that time and I eventually came off them (my life improved, got married etc so that def played a part). The olanzapine made me hugely drowsy, I always had to take it before bed and then I just crashed for the night. But it did work as far as I recall.

Best of luck and hope you feel better soon.

Hi tehmina,

DH also has a tendancy to get paranoid about work collegues and neighbours. Before his diagonis he had 10 years of what I think of of low grade psychosis, which was this paranoia, I also think that he heard unpleasant voices (though he doesn't recognise either of these things were happening) as we would be walking down the street at he would suddenly say "did you here what that person just called me?" It was very distressing for him.

When he got very unwell (leading to his diagnosis and first recognised psychotic episode) it sounds very similar to yours thinking that he was under survelance from the government and that people were going to shoot him. Eventually this paranoia included me he thought that I was an undercover police officer, that I was having an affair, that I was trying to poison him, thatI had harmed his family. He also thought that other peple could hear his thought and that he could hear other peoples thoughts.

The most recent episode of psychosis he thought that he had a secret mission to complete.

With the olanzapine he has none of this (as far as I know)

Hi tehmina. My psychotic symptoms are as follows:

I get worried that items get stuck to me eg the hoover or the kettle.

I get worried when I'm passing people on the street that bits of their body parts are getting stuck to me and they're gonna decompose and get infested with maggots.

I get messages from God on my phone and through clocks.

I get the idea that someone else is controlling my body.

Those are my main ones, the medication takes them away except I still get messages from God on my phone.

Thankyou everyone for replying.

Thanks, it's really hard to admit these things to anyone!

My other symptom made my mum laugh, which is I think I can control traffic lights by staring at them!

I know I can't rationally but I still believe it underneath... never mind..

To be honest my symptoms are a lot better with more Aripiprazole though.
It hasn't made me gain weight either.
I seem so-called normal to everyone who knows me.

In fact my colleagues don't know I have psychosis and I rarely remind my friends.

I don't drink alcohol at all because it doesn't mix with Aripiprazole plus my anti depressants don't work well if I drink, but I lie to people & say I don't drink because of my epilepsy meds.