Zyprexa 5mg once a day?

Question

Just looking for anyone who takes it or has a child taking it. My son was on Risperdal but was having asthma attacks and gaining to much weight with it, so they switched to abilify which made his sleepy during the day so he was cranky and emotional all day. The Dr prescribed Zyprexa 5 mg at bedtime for him to try and we go back in two weeks. I was reading about it online and got scared of all the adverse reactions listed especially seeing suicidal stuff on there several times. He is 6 years old and diagnosed with PDD.

Answer 1

All medications have listed side-effects; the FDA requires the drug companies to list all side-effects noted during clinical trials or those reported by physicians who have prescribed the drug and have seen side-effects in their patients. The trick is finding a medicine that has the fewest for the individual who's taking them.

The worst side-effect I had while on Zyprexa was weight gain.

Was he on the lowest dose of Abilify, or did he not have good control unless he was on the higher dose that made him sleepy?

I would think that trying Seroquel might be the next choice.

The suicidal thing in kids and adolescents has been very hard to tease out-- it's kind of the proverbial "chicken and the egg" scenario. Were the kids driven to suicide from too low a dose, such that they didn't have the desired results of suicide prevention (perhaps due to parental objection to "too high a dose", or "I don't want to medicate my kid")? Was it the medication that drove them to suicide? My vote is for the first scenario.

I doubt suicide would be likely in a kid with PDD; it wouldn't even occur to him/her in most cases because they have so little insight into their disorder.

Hang in there. It can take a lot of experimentation to find the right drug to manage a patient's symptoms.

Answer 2

the best thing i think you can do is phone the dr who prescribed it. and tell him your concerns. h**l understand your concerns and if he thinks advise able will change them medication. hopefully it'll settle your mind.

Answer 3

You have nothing to worry about except for weight gain.  Zyprexa is a safe drug and at 5 mg. day there will probably be no restlessness which goes away anyways.  I've never heard of Zyprexa being associated with suicide.  If there is, it's very rare.

Answer 4

For a time, I was on Zyprexa (5mg), but a bulletin in a Canadian Medical Journal forced Psychiatrists to find alternative treatments.

What the bulletin said, or in what publication it could be found, I don't know.  My psychiatrist simply told me a clinical study had been done, and we had to get me off Zyprexa right away.

I didn't notice any adverse effects from Zyprexa, other than massive weight gain. (I probably put on 50lbs.)

He quickly switched me to Risperdal (3mg) and that worked well.

I have since come off all medications (I was diagnosed as BiPolar 2), and am in perfect physical, emotional and mental health.

My concern here is this:  

I was told at the age of 33 that "We need to get you off Zyprexa immediately".  I spoke to my Family Physician about the change, and he echoed the sentiments but, again, did not fill me in on details.

It was only after I had been on Risperdal for a while that I found out the truth: a class-action suit had been brought against the manufacturer of Zyprexa (Eli Lilly) in Ontario, Canada claiming that the drug caused diabetes, and that there were clinical studies to prove this was a side-effect.

Simply search "Zyprexa Diabetes" on Google ... you'll find a shocking number of hits (172,000)

If this occurred to me at the age of 33, I have concerns about your 6 year old son.

Best wishes to you both.

Answer 5

I have serious concerns about zyprexa used on a 6 yr old with PDD.  First off, its not FDA approved for children, and it is more likely to have a weight gain side effect than risperdal.  I don't like abilify either for him as it is not approved either and I don't see it used in this area for PDD kids.  I live a hop skip and a jump away from top autism facilities like kennedy krieger, and we are at the forefront of psych meds here for this specialty population.  

What I see working for this population is risperdal, lamictal (mood stabilizer), and xanex (anti-anxiety)

What I don't see working on PDD kids are stimulants.  Focalin, vynase, ritalin, strattera

I am not concerned about suicidal ideation.  This only affects 4 percent of the population, and I am certainly not concerned in a patient so young.

I like seroquel but haven't seen it used in kids, it is usually used in adults with bipolar or schizoaffective disorder and they are usually insomniacs that are manicy and somewhat paranoid

I suggest getting a second opinion