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Q: Lost Weight after
Being Tapered Off Zyprexa by Doc
My husband was on 5mg Zyprexa daily. Due to the side effects, his
doctor started him on Lamictal. He ramped up to 200mg daily of Lamictal. After
stabilizing at 200mg Lamictal, he tapered off Zyprexa over a period of 2 months.
About two weeks after completely stopping Zyprexa, he started losing weight -
about 15% of his body weight over 3 months. Is it possible that this slow and
steady weight loss could be due to the stopping of Zyprexa?
Thank you.
Dear Kim --
That's easy: yes.
I suppose I
should caution others: tapering Zyprexa just to lose weight can lead to
disastrous consequences. In general, one should only consider lowering the dose
of a medication after a discussion with one's physician. This allows the doctor
to know what is going on; to offer guidance on how that reduction should take
place; and to explain what the potential consequences are, as well as designing
a "safety net" in case bad things happen as the dose goes down.
Dr. Phelps
Published May, 2009
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