Anti-Psychotic Endocrine Disturbance Counters? + Some Back Story

[Jwicks1995]

TLDR; Olanzapine (Zyprexa) is meant to majorly disturb the endocrine system, increase prolactin, lower testosterone etc. Is there a way to mitigate this? HCG? Pregnenolone? Not using the medication is not a possibility for this stage - at least until I stabilize. The dosage will be low - 2.5mg


So after many years of many varying pursuits at treating my health both physically and mentally, I think I've finally come across something that works. The Anti Psychotic - Zyprexa - although it is too early to tell - 2 days in I can actually FEEL again. My mind isn't stuck inside of a small box of avoidance and paranoia of every possibility of every bad thing possible.

My issues arose when I started to become EXTREMELY fatigued. Thought it was sleep apnea. Got tested. High AHI. although dodgy doctor looking back. Put on a CPAP. Things slowly got worse and worse. Got put on SSRI things got bad. Then discovered low carb/carnivore. BING BING BING! A light bulb in my head turns on! I'm cured! Or so I thought. After about a year on SSRI's I tapered off. And then surely but slowly things got REALLY BAD. I was extremely malnourished and super skinny. Not on any medication and eating OMAD Carnivore while still using a CPAP. (turns out I suffer from some sort of hypersensitvity to stimuli/allergies) and the CPAP was flaring my symptoms up so bad which presented as physical fatigue and mental disturbances i.e brainfog etc etc.

The icing on the cake was when I was experimenting with high doses of DHEA as it gave me alot more stamina and stress resistence. However, after about a month in i completely broke. Had a motorcycle accident because I was so anxious on the road, malnourished and stressed everynight hooked up to the hellish CPAP machine.

Since then I have been locked inside hell in my brain. Not as bad as before I stopped using CPAP though, the first night off that I wondered how the hell i'd never even gone one night off of it test what it'd feel like. Although I was much more tired the foggyness vanished like 50%. However most of these issues have stayed ever since.

Unfortunately, I'm back on an SSRI as I thought I'd screwed up my serotonin system. The past 3 months I've read much about raypeat. Implemented many of his methods. Cyproheptadine & Nortriptyline provided some relief - although it was hit and miss. And seemed to make me backed up. Anti- seretonin substances always seem to make me feel the most "normal" yet have never been able to find something that really works. Perhaps its actually the dopamine ANTAGONISM that is the icing on the cake for my brain. I've tried at least 30 different medications.

I feel so much more stable on Zyprexa - but I'm terrified about the weight gain and endocrine disturbances.
I have 5 adhp, progesterone & pregnenolone on hand luckily. My dose is small - going to go 5mg for the first week to tone down my hyperactive mind - and then down to 2.5mg for however long it takes to get to the route of my health. Whilst also SLOWLY tapering off of lexapro.

 

[JudiBlueHen]

Recommend you stop all supplements while you stabilize on olanzapine (5mg, then to your goal at 2.5mg). Eat regularly and don't skip meals. Get some gentle exercise such as walking or easy cycling. Olanzapine is a very useful medication in spite of its known downsides. Get several weeks of increasing stability under your belt before you start experimenting with supplements, so you will know what effects they have and won't confuse them with your body's adjustment to zyprexa.

 

[equipoise]

Recommend you stop all supplements while you stabilize on olanzapine (5mg, then to your goal at 2.5mg). Eat regularly and don't skip meals. Get some gentle exercise such as walking or easy cycling. Olanzapine is a very useful medication in spite of its known downsides. Get several weeks of increasing stability under your belt before you start experimenting with supplements, so you will know what effects they have and won't confuse them with your body's adjustment to zyprexa.

Great post. OP take heed.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

Since you have been using CPAP, I suggest looking into Buteyko breathing and taping your mouth shut. It should help normalise breathing.

 

[Uselis]

Here is my personal experience (just sharing so you can be more informed).

Due to my own stupidity I had very painful experience with psychiatry. Olanzapine was prescribed from 2.5mg and higher for insomnia. It took me very quickly to start gaining weight. Appetite became ravenous but my whole organism was so sedated that even walking became act of discipline. Emotions gone. Feeling like I was human being vanished.

During all of it I started to read a lot about Zyprexa and followed blogs on website where people were tapering such drugs. Here's what I found: nobody wins with Zyprexa long term (except manufacturers). Out of perhaps 20-30 personal stories I didn't find single one who wouldn't become overweight with time. Some people got diabetes from it. All of of them complained drug making them emotionless zombies also which I think is due to drug doing something to frontal lobe. Some got involuntary face movements (dyskynesia). I can't find exact post but some person digged up info where it's been counted that from Olanzapine invention till this day lots of people died from it. Number was in early thousands. People had really rough time tappering dose as low as 2.5mg and abrupt discontinuation send some to withdrawal lasting year.

I really think it's horrible drug and catches up quickly "long term". Not going to advice anything here but I felt I need to share this since I was on a drug myself and read decent amount of cases where Zyprexa did serious damage.

 

[JudiBlueHen]

I took a low dose for about 6 months, gained 15 unwanted pounds, but was able to stop it without too much difficulty. It helped me get through a tough period. Can't say I'm a fan, but it was not terrible. I lost about 1/2 of the excess weight after stopping it.

It's hard to know if the deaths @Uselis mentioned were due solely to the drug - most likely there were other factors involved. With psychiatric drugs, there are usually multiple factors including the underlying illness, previous drug use, SMI-induced stress, etc.

 

[aguineapig]

I would try other different 5-HT2A antagonists as that is probably where the therapeutic benefit is coming from.

Another quite safe drug to try (considered a pea shooter/placebo by most psychs) is buspirone, but it worked extremely well for me with no side effects. My theory is that it allows 5HT1A receptors (the negative feedback ones) to resensitize by shielding them from the much more powerful activation by our endogenous serotonin, which when chronically high would desensitize the receptors fairly quickly, and is often the case with psychiatric conditions