Posted by ronaldo on October 2, 2006, at 6:02:57
In reply to Re: sleep - melatonin, temazepam, bipolar management, posted by survivin bpd on October 1, 2006, at 18:22:55
Hi Maria
When I first used Olanzapine, the end of 2002, I was only using it for sleep and then only occasionally. 2.5 mg gave me a very good night's sleep. 5 mg knocked me out for 12 hours. At that stage I was hypo-manic and I used it once or twice a week - just to get some guaranteed good quality sleep. My mood was unaffected.
Later on, with the encouragement of a new pdoc I started taking it regularly at 5 mg every night, sometimes 7.5 mg. By August 2003 it started to flatten my mood. I felt apathetic disinterested unmotivated lethargic poor concentration - all the signs of depression. I went through a variety of anti-depressants none of which did me any good: Amitryptiline, Trazodone and Fluoxetine. Possibly my GP did not have the courage to prescribe a decent dose for fear of sending me manic. I was waking up at 4.30 am and not getting back to sleep again. I didn't know if I was not sleeping because I was depressed or if I was depressed because I was not sleeping.I am trawling through my old diaries. It's a real eye opener. I have forgotten what it was really like. I've got one note that says "Olanzapine...generally not used long term in Manic Depression with exceptions." Don't know which book I got that out of .
The more I look through my old diaries the more ugly this drug Olanzapine gets. It was great when I first started to use it, when I only used it sporadically; but when I had used it every night for six months or more it started to make me feel depressed - not severe depression but still depressed. On 22 August 2003 I wrote in my diary "I am beginning to feel depressed. Is it time to reduce Olanzapine?" It seems I never bothered to read my own notes and I just believed blindly whatever the pdoc told me. He told me the Olanzapine helped the Lithium to work...! I've got rid of him now.
I think Seroquel is probably better for sleep. There are some pretty favourable comments on this at askapatient.com. Seroquel has not worked for me but that may be because I am still withdrawing from the Olanzapine. I've only been off it for just over a week now. I was on it for nearly four years. I changed my pdoc to come off Olanzapine. There are some unpleasant things that I would like to do to my old pdoc who pushed the Olanzapine on me full time.
I am sorry Maria. I seem to have gone the full circle from praising Olanzapine to cursing it. I reckon it is safe enough if just used occasionally in small doses to get a good night's sleep. But I would not recommend anyone who is Bipolar to take it continuously, long term. Not from my experience of it.
poster:ronaldo
thread:688575
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060927/msgs/691097.html