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Q: Zyprexa & Mood Stabilizers
Dr. Phelps:
I am a 41yr old man recently diagnosed with "mini bipolar". Symptoms are low
level depression, anxiety, insomnia,and attention/concentration problems.
Doctor started me on 1.25 zyprexa, which seems to be helping. I would like to
know if I should stay on this med or switch to a mood stabilizer like
Trileptal-I have never been prescribed a mood stabilizer. Thanks for a
wonderfully informative sight-you are helping alot of people!!
Hello Mr. S' --
I hope that my site now reflects (it's been updated since you were there, e.g.
the
mood stabilizers list) that Zyprexa is pretty clearly a "mood stabilizer"
like lithium and Depakote and in fact performed as well as Depakote in one
recent study (Zajecka);
and better in another (Tohen).
(The first study was sponsored by the Depakote manufacturer, and the second by
the Zyprexa manufacturer, with slight study design biases in favor of their
respective drugs in each case).
So, as long as you're not gaining weight (which may
become more of a risk when you go past 2.5 mg, if you ever have to do that),
there is not a clear reason to switch, in my view, both in terms of my
clinical experience (which is extremely strongly supportive of Zyprexa, though
also extremely concerning regarding weight gain risk at any dose higher than
2.5 mg per day) and the medical literature. I hope you continue to see those
same benefits without having to raise the dose!
Dr. Phelps
Published August, 2003
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