Olanzapine for Insomnia User Reviews (Page 2)

• Broke...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 23, 2019

"there have to be another way to get in sleep mode, meditation and a nice routine of exercise and diet, however when I took this drug I sleep, I really don't want it but is the only salvation, now I'm fat and just a month has passed. But I sleep!"

• Russell
• August 31, 2019

"I have been diagnosed with a mood disorder and possible bipolar. I was recently put on zyprexa 10 mg 1×daily. Is this medicine addicting? Also I experience severe anxiety and paranoia.What would you say is my problem? I need help!!"

• Weaned
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 6, 2023

"I went through a mental health crisis, with suicidal ideation and hadn't slept more than about 30 mins to about an hour a night. I was a total mess. I was hospitalised voluntarily. The psychiatrist started me on 10mg of olanzapine and 10mg of melatonin, and for the first time that night actually slept. It was also a very good mood stabiliser. I was started on a range of antidepressants that weren't very effective, so luckily olanzapine kept me hanging in there. I saw my psychiatrist regularly. Eventually we found a regime of antidepressants that worked - mirtazapine at night and venlafaxine in the morning. I was still continuing with the olanzapine and the melatonin. I eventually discussed I'd like to slowly come off the olanzapine now the antidepressants were working. Over the course of about 3 months I tapered down slowly. Overall I was on it for 10 months. It did its job well, I had no tapering side effects. So I'd recommend it to others if needed. Get a good psychiatrist too."

• sleep
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 24, 2019

"For side effects how about dreaming? Now I have long dreams, funny part of this drug. However I wish I had another way to get sleep because the other side effect of olanzapine is getting fat which is horrible."

• Shice
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 9, 2023

"Just DON'T DO IT. If I had visited this page before starting to take it, I could have saved myself a lot of suffering. I'm not going to go into details, but taking this pill for 8 months, even at a low dose, has ruined my life. I have never slept more than 2-3 hours without any medication after stopping this drug. I have been denied the residual effects and withdrawal syndrome of olanzapine. I don't know if it is only an exception for a few of us, but using such a dangerous drug capable of destroying your life for years or forever just to sleep is crazy. I wish someone had warned me."

• TCC
• February 25, 2009

Zyprexa (olanzapine) "This medication was prescribed to help with my insomnia. It was in combination with my antidepressant medication. It did help me sleep, but it was difficult for me to wake up and function normally the next day."

• mitel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 22, 2012

Zyprexa (olanzapine) "I do have really bad insomnia (for the past 6 years) but this was prescribed to me for daytime use to help keep me calm. It in no way makes me sleepy but works great for my ADHD. I have also gained nearly 10 pounds in only 2 weeks. I'm not a normal eater, usually I only eat dinner, but on this medicine I seem to have doubled what I would normally eat. I'm addressing that issue now. Good calming down medicine I must say."

• mlf
• August 28, 2015

Zyprexa (olanzapine) "Ok, so while I have only begun this last night.. I can say I did fall asleep, which doesn't happen until after midnight, and I only woke up once to pee. I slept for almost 10 hours compared to my restless 4 if that. My only complaint so far is this entire day I have wanted to do NOTHING. I am so tired, I don't want to do anything besides sleep and I don't like this feeling. And I can say I've been hungier today than usual, so I'm paying attention to what I'm eating so I don't overeat.. After a while I'll update my review."

• Reedu...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 31, 2018

"I started zyprexa about 5 years ago. The first time I took it, it definitely helped with sleep but I was very groggy in the morning and had a hard time doing my chores and daily things. I took it for a while longer and learned you have to take it very early in the evening so your not so groggy in the morning. It helped calm my mind and anxiety. I started gaining weight so I went on a diet and exercise regime. It helped but I still wasn't happy with my amount of weight loss. So I had my Dr put me on something else. I've been miserable for 5 years with anxiety which I take a benzo for and I had the racing thoughts and depression. I tried all sorts of drugs for my insomnia, doxepin, mirtazapine and seroquel. They all had horrible side effects. I felt like I was in outer space. So today after a lengthy time of stress and no sleep asked my new dr if I could go back on zyprexa so tonight I'm taking 20mg of zyprexa and 200mg of trazodone. I'm a little nervous so we will see what happens. Wish me luck!"

• Pinky
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 19, 2020

"I have experienced significant cognitive problems as a side effect of olanzapine. The forgetfulness is pretty bad, and can be alarming at times. When the dosage was decreased, I saw improvement, especially in my short-term memory. It is significant and noticeable. I’m coming off the medication solely to address the memory problem, otherwise, I would still take it for insomnia. Losing so much working memory makes it very hard to read much, etc."

• Bipol...
• March 7, 2016

"Success, success, success! I have been on and off olanzapine since I was 18 years old, more off like 99% off and I can say my sleep has been horrible but now I take olanzapine every second night, 10MG and I sleep approximately 8 hours a night. No hangover effects like taking 10MG a night. Shit, doctors say to take 10MG a night are they crazy? why don't they try and take olanzapine before they dose up and ruin lifes. I have taken 10MG a night in the past nightly and it's virtually impossible to get out of bed and during the day you can't think or talk like a human being, I become a social introvert. Doctors want to take this? Only side effect I can say with olanzapine is appetite up/weight gain carbs so watch diet *paleo* carbs kill/weight"

• heather
• February 18, 2017

"Olanzapine puts me to a restful sleep. Works better than OTC sleeping drugs, hands down. Many prescription sleeping pills I had a bad reaction to, like being groggy in the morning having restless leg, very nervous. it slows my thought process down for a great restfull sleep."

• LordS...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 3, 2015

Zyprexa (olanzapine) "If you take this medicine, don't expect to be able to stay awake during the day for a while. It takes time to get used to. As far as how good it is at helping you get to sleep? 10/10, I can't imagine propofol would be more effective."

• Cwilson
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 13, 2019

"This medication Olanazapine is great for sleep and OCD (Obsessive Thoughts) I take 10mg at night and sleep all night long. I didn't rate this a 10 because is does 100% have a side effect that is hard for me to become comfortable with, which is the increase in hunger. When I started taking this drug I was under weight. Now I am back to my normal weight. It just increases your hunger for sure. So if you struggle with weight issues I would look into something else before this drug, but as far as sleep goes, it is perfect. I just am going to have to get used to the increase hunger and how to control it."

• JimYork
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 2, 2022

"I have been on olanzapine 3 years, I now take 5mg once a week for sleep however off it the insomnia is horrific, 2-5 hours most nights and some nights total insomnia. If prescribed for sleep - say no. It has damaging effects on health however the worst effect is the complete destruction of your personality, ambition, sex drive, confidence and thinking while on it. A very toxic drug and I am sure it has destroyed many lives."

• donna
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 26, 2021

"Olanzapine ruined my life. if you don't have bipolar or schizophrenia do NOT take this horrible garbage. Doctors say it isn't addicting or part of the issue so they will never take responsibility of the real permanent damage caused by this horrible drug. If your doctor tries prescribing you this stuff just for insomnia, run. the doctor does not care if anything were to happen to you."

• Reagan
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 26, 2022

"I've tried everything for sleep, Trazadone, Amitriptyline, Benzo's etc.... Never have I slept so well than with Olanzapine 5mgs. I don't take it for anything else but I've been told I'm even more calm than normal by people who I work with. (Nothing wrong with that, I guess!) I love Olanzapine."

• Scadd...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 26, 2018

"I take 10mg late evenings alongside my anti depressant called Depokote...Makes me tired and quickly settles me down 1hr then quality sleep normally. Have weird dreams and lots of dreaming seemingly. Appetite wise I'm seemingly feeling constantly hungry and therefore doubling my usual daily ifood intake so weight gained real quick... How can I lose it again whilst on olanzipine ?"

• Bipol...
• July 10, 2016

"Success, success, success! Review Part 2. I now take Xyprexa every day. I take it early so I don't get a hang over effect the next day. Before, I got away with taking it every other day but that doesn't work anymore. with 8 hours sleep an night I am thankful. I don't feel like a zombie. I am taking a higher dose for awhile as to better the longer term effect."

• Barnes
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 29, 2019

"On 5mg Helps me sleep 8 hours the only downside is it increases your Cholesterol and Excessive eating. I take 20 mgs of Crestor to hep control the cholesterol or it will be off the charts, I take Gabapentin with it before bed but when I wake up I’m an eating machine went from 110 pounds to 125 pounds in a month."

• deadi...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 5, 2022

"I took olanzapine 5mg for one year it. It slowly took away my ability to sleep one day after taking it. I couldn't sleep at all and it has stayed that way since Feb 11, 2019. I've been awake for 3 years. When I do get sleep it's just a 5 minute dream and I keep the sleep fatigue. Don't take this poison it will ruin your life like it did mine."

• Gdog
• January 16, 2021

"Prescribed olanzapine 5mg tablets in order to withdraw from zopiclone following severe anxiety and insomnia. I have nothing but praise for olanzapine -it gives you a peaceful calm feeling allowing you to get natural sleep. No after effects at lower dosage. 5mg is enough for a 13 stone man in my case. I only got this prescribed by my primary mental health team as doctors seemed happy to prescribe Z drugs which left me dependent on them to sleep."

• Tim
• July 24, 2015

"I was prescribed Olanzpine for insomnia and it worked like a charm, was on 2.5 mg sometimes 5mg and would always get 8 - 10 hour sleep without waking, also no severe hangover effect the following morning. Downside is it significantly increases your appetite so you need to be cautious of subsequent weight gain thus I would only recommend olanzapine if you're suffering from a severe bout of insomnia."

• ACDF
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 22, 2022

"I was on olanzapine for 10 months at 10 mg for insomnia. My new GP suggested that I taper off over a 15 day period. After 21 days from the beginning of the taper period I have only slept a few hours on a few days. I wish I had never started this medication. I have to wait another 5 days to see my GP again to get back on this drug so that I can sleep again and begin a very slow tapering off. Stay away from this medication."

• John...
• March 10, 2017

Zyprexa (olanzapine) "I developed an illness that evolved in stages. A few stages in I lost the ability to sleep naturally. This was about eleven years ago. A few years went by trying every sleep med with utter failure. Ambien, Lunesta, benzodiazepines, trazadone, most atypical antipsychotics. Eventually a new lifestyle evolved where I would be up for near three days straight then sleep for a full day, repeat. What finally put me to sleep was a little risperidone and a megadose of seroquel. Risperdal "allowed" me to fall asleep, while max dose of seroquel "KEPT ME in sleeping state "long enough" and "deep enough." 3am now, tried 10mg of zyprexa an hour ago alone, its barely affecting me. Remeron with halved seroquel/risperdal, put me down great."