Olanzapine for Schizoaffective Disorder User Reviews (Page 2)

• Owl...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 14, 2017

Olanzapine "This medicine never made the voices I heard go away-though I'll admit they were a bit calmer. They couldn't have been anything but, though, considering the fog I was in because of the side effects. I felt NOTHING, not happiness, depression, calmness, anxiety. I saw no wonder in the world, felt no kind of joy. It was no way to live-it wasn't living. It was existing, and that side effect didn't go away despite my taking it for months. Another side effect was the weight gain-in three months, I'd gained thirty pounds."

• She...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 23, 2019

"I have been on olanzapine 15 mg for several months and have gained two sizes in weight, my hair is falling out by the handfuls, and I really don't want to get out of bed in the morning or do much of anything. It's a rather high dose, and I am going to be cutting it down soon. I'm not having much luck with other antipsychotics, however, options are running out."

• Anonymous
• April 23, 2017

"This medication is very effective in making me have a mainly normal day. It does make me feel drowsy when I first wake up, but I do not hear any voices or have any racing thoughts or other disturbances throughout the day. I am also able to sleep well. I do, however, notice a difference in being on 15 mg versus 10 mg. I need the higher dose for it to be as effective, I was still having some disturbances on the lower dose."

• Ang...
• May 25, 2021

"I have been on olanzapine since July 15, 2020, and olanzapine works, in my opinion, better than clozapine. Olanzapine controls my symptoms of my schizoaffective disorder better than clozapine, and there is an additional benefit of olanzapine helping keep me calm and decreasing agitation. I am on 20 mg of olanzapine at bedtime and 600 mg of lithium. I would definitely recommend the olanzapine and lithium combination to anyone who has schizoaffective disorder."

• Ola...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 19, 2023

"Taking olanzapine is a whole process. Went through psychosis last year and went through many medications, but olanzapine worked best for me. Getting out of the psych ward, I was taking 20 mg, but I successfully moved from 20 to 10 and finally 7.5 mg to this point. It does great things as far as relieving psychosis symptoms, but I do relate to others as feeling dull and less energetic. It can be hard to carry a conversation, and your social battery can be easily drained, but talk to your psychiatrist to see what they recommend for the period of how long you should be on the drug. I’ve been on it for a little over a year, and reducing my dose has helped. I’m happy for what the drug has done for me, but I’m also excited to be off of it in hopes to return to my more lively self. To summarize, it works for what it’s needed for, but you’ll feel a difference socially and mentally."

• ant...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 19, 2024

"I've explored a wide range of medications, including older options like Loxapine. While I was initially concerned about weight gain with Olanzapine, I found it to be the most effective antipsychotic I've tried, with minimal movement-related side effects. Admittedly, I did experience some weight gain (over 20 pounds), which is something to discuss with your care team before starting this medication. However, the benefits have been significant: my auditory hallucinations are almost entirely gone, and I'm able to live a fulfilling life with much improved daily functioning."

• Kre...
• October 17, 2015

Olanzapine "It's day two on this med. I started it to treat my focus, depression, anxiety, and paranoia. It's been good so far. I am hoping to increase my dose to 10 mg in a week. Hopefully, things keep getting better. I am on lithium, ability, Paxil, gabapentin, and Zyprexa. Seems to be a great combo for me."

• kit...
• July 20, 2015

"This drug will make you fat and stupid, not only that but you will sleep more than a hibernating bear for the first couple of months. Followed by a strong crappy lethargic feeling. Food will become your best friend even if you are a skinny minny like me with a small stomach and not much of a capacity to intake, expect that to change. Luckily, I've always been thin, about 113 lbs, and I'm 5'2. On Zyprexa, I gained until 140 lbs, and a lot of it was water. Heart disease runs in my family, this denotes high blood pressure and blood sugar being on this water/fat pill. I'm personally safer not being on this medication."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 25, 2021

"For my schizoaffective disorder with hearing voices and paranoia. This medicine definitely helps with my Seroquel as I feel normal, no side effects for me except maybe a little groggy and appetite, but I can live with that. As long as it's effective at treating symptoms."

• Anonymous
• August 2, 2010

Olanzapine "This medicine made me gain about 15-20 lbs when I was staying at the hospital when I was 13. I'm now 22. I started taking Geodon a few weeks ago, and I'm feeling much better. No more paranoia in the night at all anymore. No thoughts that there's a serial killer watching me or a serial killer in a room in my house or on a chair in the room I'm in. I'm on Risperdal, I'm trying to get off of it completely because it also made me gain a lot of weight. I'm 166 right now and 5'8”. I used to always be slim and have no hunger. I'm also on Paxil, which hasn't helped me with my depression at all, just a terrible medicine, and I'm on Lamictal, which has helped keep me stable - I have the manic type."

• Jun...
• August 30, 2014

Olanzapine "It made my delusions disappear, but made me gain weight, and I still experience some paranoia, though I'm on 5 mg once a day, which is a low dosage (won't increase it since I don't want to gain more weight)."

• moa...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 7, 2018

"Worked even at 5 mg, though as time passed I needed more and more and am currently on 25 mg (past the maximum), but it was worth it. Gotten rid of voices completely except when I'm stressed (like work or school tests) or eat lots (I also have an eating disorder). If not for extreme weight gain, which pushed a former underweight into the overweight category, I'd rate this a 10."

• Bip...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 21, 2016

Olanzapine "Very effective medication if you can handle the side effects. I gained over 100 pounds from this medication. But the medication does work. That's why I am still on it. I now get a Zyprexa injection once a month (used to get it twice a month) and I take an oral tablet at night before bed. I take a Topamax pill now so I don't gain as much weight anymore. The other side effect is fatigue and lethargy, but it's worth the side effects to stay stable and out of the hospital."

• Ism...
• February 20, 2016

"I will say good for the most part. My wife was on Zyprexa for a while but did not like it (did not know exactly why) and was chaotic. Hospitalization after hospitalization. But since switching to 20 mg olanzapine HCl, it's like a night-and-day difference, and things are normal again. No more catatonia, abnormal activities, or thinking everybody is an enemy and conspiring. Now she takes daily doses on her own without being reminded. Asks and actively participates in refills. Only drawback is the increase in appetite and likes to sleep until noon most days. O.K. and can be corrected with a little plan and coordination (daily goals, etc.) compared to, say, tardive dyskinesia and an increase in blood sugar, which can happen with any psych meds. Please monitor."

• Ola...
• September 16, 2016

"I have used this medication for around two years. It is very good with helping schizoid-type thoughts, however, I would not recommend the medication as a long-term medication due to weight gain and its ability to affect whether or not you can wake up in the morning. It has a tendency to make me fall asleep for two days straight. From - adult male who has had sleep cycle problems from a young age."

• Lis...
• March 9, 2016

"I am currently on Zyprexa, it's a miracle since it took the voices and hallucinations away. Life is good in that sense, but it's given me acne, and I am gaining weight, like a lot. I also have no emotions, not happy, sad, or any at all. I am a zombie these days, but no other drug has taken the voices away, so I think I will stay on it for a while."

• MAA...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 1, 2021

"Zyprexa Zydis literally has saved my life. It is my miracle medication. I used to be in and out of the hospitals. Now I haven’t been in a hospital for maybe 5 years, which is as long as I’ve been on Zyprexa Zydis this go around (I was on it before but stopped it because I feared weight gain). I have been losing weight actually, and I even have the energy to exercise. I gained a lot of weight from taking Seroquel, unfortunately. The voices and paranoia aren’t as bothersome to me while I’m taking Zyprexa, and I feel calmer too. I can’t recommend it enough."

• Ete...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 29, 2021

"I have been taking olanzapine for 5 years, and it works best for me more than anything else. When I take it during nighttime, the following day, my reaction to things doesn’t get the best of me, which is what I seek to feel better. I am diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and it is what I am treated for. I have a second diagnosis, which is BPD."

• Has...
• December 20, 2016

Olanzapine "I started Zyprexa 6 months ago after I was hospitalized to the psych ward and diagnosed schizoaffective. I'm also bipolar. It has been pretty darn good, makes me sleepy, which is good for bedtime. I get between 8-15 hours of sleep a night. In July, when I was in the hospital, I weighed 98 pounds, I have gained 30 pounds since, but I'm worried I'll keep gaining more weight, which is why I am thinking of looking for other medications that can treat both the ups and downs and the delusions and hallucinations. Other than the major weight gain, it's good."

• Sav...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 26, 2015

"I found this medication to numb everything. I had no emotion. I was extremely tired and would sleep 14 hrs a night. I also gained 120 pounds in a year. I found this medication provoked my bulimia due to uncontrollable hunger. I would recommend this medication for very short term on an emergency basis."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 21, 2023

"I had a history of drug abuse that left me homeless. I ended up going to jail and having a horrible manic episode where I tore out a lot of my hair and wouldn’t eat because of voices. I met with a psychiatrist who put me on olanzapine. I slowly started to feel better, but I hardly ever talked. I continued to take it and gained a lot of weight. I started from about 90 lbs and now I am around 180 lbs. That has been the worst side effect for me. I was able to work, and I have a new job now, which is great, but sometimes I feel like olanzapine holds me down. I have been on it for 3 years now. I sometimes have involuntary movements that I can’t control, some days I sleep for more than 12 hours and have a low sex drive. I have tried to get off of it because of these reasons, but it’s very hard to quit. I cannot sleep well without it, and I start to hear voices and see things. I don’t know if I will ever get off of it or if I should, but it helps a lot with my delusions and voices."

• HPS...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 22, 2017

"This medication was great. My anxiety was probably the lowest it was ever when I was on Zyprexa. The only thing was that the risks outweighed the benefits. I'm already short and overweight, with high cholesterol and triglycerides. So I stopped Zyprexa. I've tried every drug out there (literally, even the old typical antipsychotics), and Zyprexa is comparable to Haldol in effectiveness. Haldol was once considered the 'gold' standard of antipsychotics. The other thing to worry about was my heart murmur. These atypicals can knock your heart out of rhythm."

• Sti...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 1, 2022

"Olanzapine is good medicine for the voices and hallucinations, but truly thinking of having too high a dose because of the major side effects. The most significant is tiredness and lack of motivation, plus the medicine's capability to retain body fluids, which causes me some extra kilos. I am trying soon to lower my dose if it is fine with my doctor. I don't care if I hear minor voices, meaning getting back normal emotions is more important."

• 2sn...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 4, 2022

"Works well to dampen ruminations and come to a realization that I am more than just my thoughts. I feel like I have more conscious control over my brain in the day, and 10 mg is a great sleeping pill to brag about (others like Dramamine have tolerance dependencies). Quite interesting dreams in general. I have gained and lost weight both, keto with a 1200-1500 calorie target worked well at one point in conjunction with the metabolic pathways that olanzapine invokes, but still trying to lose weight on a vegan diet (Splendid Spoon baseline), mostly due to occasional extra binging. No hospitalizations since beginning, and only one instance of dizziness. I have concerns about long-term metabolic syndrome and dependency as a thienobenzodiazepine, but no harm I know of so far in the past 5 years."

• Kar...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 15, 2022

"I was on Abilify (10mg) on its own. I was having sleep problems at night, but I managed to get my hands on olanzapine (10mg). It worked instantly, and over time, now that I reflect, it gives you the ability to block out the voices and function throughout the day, at least for me. It gives me the ability to function, be happy, and live a life with schizoaffective without the voices/symptoms really being in the way. Of course, olanzapine made me gain weight. About 20 lbs, but the advantages other than the weight gain are great. For my personal experience, it saved my life when I really needed it and gave me the ability to just block all the schizoaffective symptoms away. Really helped productivity and function. I would recommend this pill with Abilify. I'm on 10 mg Abilify and 10 mg olanzapine, with it, I achieved Dean's Honor Roll in college. Of course, everybody is different, but just for me, that's my experience."