Zyprexa and Drowsiness: What Users Say

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 27, 2019

For Depression "Zyprexa made me feel very tired and irritable. I almost cussed my boyfriend over a small inconvenience. My eyesight kept blurring up, always hungry, and then I started getting this uncomfortable drowsy feeling that lasted the whole day. STAY AWAY from this garbage."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 10, 2014

For Insomnia "This medicine is the best sleep aid I have found. I tried Ambien, and it made me crazy. I can sleep with Zyprexa and wake up the next morning with no side effects. I just have to make sure I take it early in the evening. If I take it too late, it will make me groggy in the morning. Unlike some of the reports I have heard, it doesn't affect my weight at all."

• Luc...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 31, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "My boyfriend suffers from manic bipolar disorder. He was off meds for 2 years and recently became manic again. We go to the doctors and this is what she prescribed him at a dose of 3mg. It worked to stop his manic episodes. BUT he is legitimately like a zombie now. He sleeps all the time, is always tired, emotionless, unsure of himself, doesn’t talk, doesn’t eat, doesn’t laugh. He's basically a shell of himself. It’s really sad to watch, and I’m actually hoping his doctor will change his meds this week because this is NO way to live."

• JAM...
• October 21, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "Had a breakdown at age 15 and eventually got on Zyprexa. Like everybody else said, I gained about 30-40 pounds, could be very sleepy sometimes, but it completely stopped the voices I was hearing for the past 8 months. It gave me my life back. Just kinda woke up feeling normal after being on the medicine for a few days. It was amazing. Was on 10mg at the highest and worked all the way down to 2.5mg over the next year. Had a prayer service at my church (Doctor was okay with us taking a trial run off medicines since I had been doing well on a low dose for the past few months) and now have been off meds and completely fine for over 10 years now. Very thankful."

• NoJ...
• March 28, 2019

For Schizophrenia "I take 10 mg of Zyprexa at night, and it makes me feel like I've been chemically lobotomized. Not to mention the irritability and being tired all the time. This medication made me sleep for 10 whole hours, and I still feel sleepy after waking up. Also, my motor skills have been cut in half, I keep stumbling over stuff like I'm drunk and having blurred vision all day. This medication is a mental handicap in a bottle. How in the world does this help with schizophrenia and depression? I would not recommend this medication to anybody. Eli Lilly should be ashamed of themselves."

• hih...
• October 15, 2012

For Depression "I take 5 mg of Zyprexa daily. I'm almost the entire day sleepy and have the feeling of doing nothing. I cannot worry because I have to sleep for about 15 hours daily. But I have tried everything out there, and this is the best at this moment."

• Anonymous
• April 17, 2010

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Zyprexa got rid of all my symptoms - paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, depression, mania, catatonia. It worked so well I have gone off all my other medicines and I got off disability, finished school, and got a full-time job. I have very few side effects - mostly I sleep a lot: 10-12 hours. But that is totally worth it to get rid of my symptoms! And I even lost weight!"

• Jba...
• February 12, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "This medication has made me extremely tired! I feel like I've lost all of my motivation. I am a teacher and a coach and find it extremely hard to get myself 'up' to do these things. I am very tired in the morning and it's not until late at night that I start to feel like myself again. Only in time to take the medication again and start the process over. It has taken away some anxiety symptoms and helped me sleep (a bit too much), but I feel down a lot because I feel like I lost my passion. I am slowly coming off of it and look forward to getting back to feeling like myself again. I empathize with people on this medication."

• Max...
• December 23, 2016

For Depression "Definitely relieved morning anxiety attacks. I'm also taking Effexor and Klonopin. I take the Zyprexa at night because it does make me sleepy. I wasn't eating anything at all before starting this drug, so I'm not worried yet about the weight gain; I'm not overdoing it with the food. I don't plan to be on this for long; my doctor told me it's not really a maintenance medication. But if it gets me through the holidays and my horrible anxiety about work, I'm fine with that."

• Joh...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 19, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "Zyprexa was effective at sedating me, which prevented the psychotic aspects of my manic episodes from happening very quickly. Since I only had 2 manic episodes in the span of a year, I probably should've stopped taking Zyprexa around 6 months later. Unfortunately, I took it for 5 more years, which was a massive mistake. It caused me to be very drowsy and lethargic. Because I started taking it at age 19, I didn't realize that Zyprexa was the culprit until I stopped taking it. I thought I was just a sleepy person. It had a profoundly negative impact on my life because I took it way longer than I should have."

• sop...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 19, 2022

For Schizophrenia "I've been on Zyprexa at 20 mg for 8 months now. I have schizoaffective bipolar type. Before this, I was on Seroquel 800 mg, and I was still having strong psychosis, mainly paranoid delusions, and I ended up losing my job. I was sleeping 12 hours a day on Seroquel and was getting ready to go back into the workforce, so I wanted something less sedating, so I asked my doctor about Zyprexa, and we switched medications. I was worried about the weight gain, but to my shock, I started losing weight, and after a few months of Zyprexa treatment, I returned back to my 98 lb self. This is because it does not increase my appetite. Overall, my experience with Zyprexa has been very positive. My only complaint is that I still sleep 12 hours a day, but the benefit I receive from the medication makes the sedation worth it. For the first time in my life, I can hold down a job, and life is looking up. I hope Zyprexa really does work for me in the long run, and I'm not changing meds in a few years like I've done in the past."

• GRa...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 26, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "This is the best side effect-free, strong antipsychotic I have taken so far. I have bipolar disorder, and just 2.5 mg is enough to combat mania and minor depression. I also have anxiety, and it makes me calm. I don’t take it every day. I take it sometimes when my doctor says. No side effects, no dizziness, no anxiety, no akathisia, just drowsiness, which I like for anxiety."

• bjo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 7, 2021

For Schizophrenia "Like other drugs, Zyprexa has different effects on different people. For me, the drug was a life-ruining experience. When I was on it (for a psychotic episode), I had severe side effects, including sedation, emotional numbing, and life-threatening metabolic deterioration. With a psychiatrist's help, I cross-titrated from it to Latuda. However, I happened to be in the fraction of people that has severe repercussions from discontinuing Zyprexa. With withdrawal, I had severe insomnia, which half a year later has only mildly improved. I have had to be on Ativan to get some sleep, and there are many testimonials to the same experience I've had-Zyprexa can for an indefinite period of time disrupt sleep regulation. Because of this, it should not be tried unless newer antipsychotics with a more focused receptor profile have been attempted."

• jig...
• December 12, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "I have bipolar 1 disorder. Started with 5 mg Zyprexa, now am on 7.5 mg at night. I find it really helps me with my moods. Some of the side effects for me are swollen ankles, weight gain, and sedative effect throughout the day."

• Dir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 28, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "Got hospitalized. Upped to 10 mg morning and evening. This dose has helped my symptoms. I've had blackouts, panic attacks, and sex problems with every other atypical out there. Zyprexa is great. Only negative is gaining weight fast, while being slightly sedating, which makes it harder to exercise."

• Dru...
• February 15, 2020

For Schizophrenia "I was on Zyprexa for 1 month and 1 week, and in that time, I gained 20+ pounds and did not help with any of the symptoms I was having. Didn't help with voices, delusions, paranoia. Nothing. Was really a complete waste of time, and to top it off, ruined how I look. (I used to be a very thin 160-pound male and am now 220...) That's from all the antipsychotics I've tried combined, Zyprexa being the worst one for weight. I give Zyprexa a 2 only because it did sedate me a bit, relieving anxiety. I'm now on Loxapine, which is supposed to be weight neutral, but I'm still putting weight on from that a bit."

• Opp...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 1, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "Only been on Zyprexa for 5 days, but I'm loving it so far. I was hospitalized five days ago for extreme mania, they took me off of Abilify (which I believe caused the mania, I'd only been put on it two weeks before). They added Zyprexa 10 mg to my trazodone at night (also take Lamictal and Zoloft in the am). It was a bit too sedating at 10 mg, so they bumped it down to 5 mg, and it's perfect. I've always had mad munchies at night from the trazodone anyways, and am still not hungry until dinner anyways, so it isn't really causing me any weight gain. It brought me out of mania the first time I took it, I hope to never be without this med again, as of now. Again, just started it 5 days ago, but I've actually lost 4 pounds since then, and I can't say enough good about it!"

• cho...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 17, 2015

For Schizoaffective Disorder "I've been on Zyprexa since 2006. Although it causes weight gain, I've decided to weight train or do cardio for an hour every day, which is helping. The weight can continue, but from my experience, it was only when I was inactive. I also feel a little sedated, but that doesn't keep me from doing things. The hallucinations are about 90% gone. Overall, Zyprexa works for me, as it's one of the two drugs that worked because most of the other drugs I tried were not effective, reacted with my skin, or did nothing."

• lal...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 6, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "This medicine sucked! I was asleep all the time, all day long! Couldn't function in school, couldn't function at work. I was tired all the time and was eating every food that I saw in front of me. If I could give 0 stars to this medication, I would."

• elu...
• September 28, 2018

For Schizophrenia "I took this medication for 9 months before the voices in my head went away. I continued taking this medication for two years. I'm still not convinced that this medication had anything to do with the voices going away. I think if it were effective, the voices would have stopped sooner. I also always felt sedated and never had any motivation to do anything. I used to be the person who always read all of the recent news and was well-informed, but this medication turned me into a lazy and ill-informed person. I also used to run and do yoga often, but this medication made me have no motivation to do those things anymore. I gained 40 lbs on Zyprexa. I just started taking Latuda two weeks ago, and I have already lost 10 lbs and I feel like I have much more energy and motivation. The only issue is that now I have insomnia from Zyprexa withdrawal. I wish my doctors would have originally prescribed Latuda instead of Zyprexa so I wouldn't have had to deal with the withdrawal."

• bww...
• March 4, 2012

For Schizophrenia "The medicine brought my wife's symptoms under control, finally. Was very sedating to the tune of her sleeping 14 hours per day. We are trying Invega instead, but Zyprexa is always the fallback plan because it works."

• Czr...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 17, 2019

For Schizophrenia "I was on 15 mg of Zyprexa, and it completely got rid of all my symptoms. The only complaints I have are weight gain and sedation. I gained 70 lbs in a 6-month period and slept for 14 hours every night. My cholesterol went over the maximum limit, and my blood sugar rose to a level that made me a prediabetic. Other than that, I would try this drug again."

• Sle...
• March 24, 2016

For Insomnia "I have been prescribed Zyprexa 10 mg just two days ago. It was prescribed for insomnia and an extra medication for my depression. I have not slept as well as I was told I would. I have had major restlessness in my legs and arms to where I haven't slept well at all. I have felt very drowsy during the day. I have also tried Ambien, which also gave me restlessness in my legs. Not sure if this is the right one for me either. Maybe I just need more time? I have noticed I am eating more throughout the day. Not worried about that so much since I need to put on some weight."

• Sha...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 6, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "This medication, Zyprexa, has helped me out a lot for my bipolar. The biggest downside is being tired a lot, but sleep is very important. Once I take it, I can’t do anything at all and force myself to stay in bed. I can sleep for a long time and feel very groggy in the morning. I did not gain any weight whatsoever on Zyprexa. I suggest that people listen to their doctor and give it a try. I’ve been on it for a little over 2 years and staying on 2.5 MG for 'maintenance.' I am in remission now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do much for anxiety, so you will absolutely have to continue seeking treatment for that if you have any anxiety issues."

• Nic...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 4, 2021

For Schizophrenia "I took this yesterday, and that will probably be my first and LAST time taking it EVER!!! I got this garbage back in March of this year for schizophrenia and anxiety. I took it once on March 28, and I had a horrible experience! I was super sleepy, more annoyed, and hungry like a bottomless pit! I went from a small cute 123 lbs, where I was in shape and everything, where I looked my BEST so far in my adult life, and my weight went all the way up to 178!! I feel so gross now. I weighed 178 by May 1 of this year due to eating MEALS every 5 minutes. I didn’t take this ever since until yesterday. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been experiencing Ativan withdrawal, where I was more paranoid than usual, dreamlike, and lashing out at everyone. I took this yesterday, and I felt WORSE!!! MORE paranoid, enraged, very sleepy, I kept scrunching my face and wanted to go to sleep, even in public, 4 night terrors in one night, insanely hungry. I got my Ativan today, and these effects wore off. Never again. 0/10"