Posted by Refractory on December 2, 1999, at 23:58:17
In reply to Zyprexa, posted by DL on November 27, 1999, at 21:28:37
> Hi,
> Anyone taking Zyprexa, NOT as an anti-psychotic, but for its antidepressant and mood stabilizing properties?? I'm curious since some studies are showing it has promise in thesse areas.
> DL
Zyprexa is probably the safest anti-psychotic, but then again there is no such thing as a safe anti-psychotic. Zyprexa probably has the lowest chance of causing permanent neurological conditions like TD and EPS, the reason if probably because Zyprexa works more on serotonin than dopamine. Most anti psychotics work on dopamine however. There is literature out there suggesting Zyprexa can be used with serotonin acting antidepressants, especially the SSRIs, to create a more robust antidepressant effect. In fact, Zyprexa has been used with the SSRIs in treatment resistant depression even in cases of NON PSYCHOTIC depression! Yep, its true. And for antidepressant augmentation, small doses are generally used, thus decreasing the chance of neurological problems.That being said, yeah, you should always be very careful taking any of the atypical antipsychotics. My personal opinion is you should beware of a doctor who seems to want to put you on anti-psychotics just for "irritability." This is not always a good thing and could be just the doctor is worried you might do something and he is covering his own ass against potential lawsuits. Anytime a doc wants to put you on anti-psychotics for "irritability" you might want to get a second opinion. Antidepressants are usually more effective for irritability than antipsychotics by the way.
poster:Refractory
thread:15852
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991123/msgs/16125.html