Posted by CareBear04 on January 18, 2005, at 14:11:30
In reply to Atypical Antipsychotics in Anorexia Nervosa?, posted by Racer on January 17, 2005, at 23:34:16
hi racer--
i agree about zyprexa. when i was on it regularly, i gained about 3-4 pounds a week, which isn't that much when you think of people who gain something like 30lbs in three weeks. still, as my pdoc said, when you're like 60 pounds to begin with, it's a lot. now i'm not 60pounds or close, but i'm really small, so 3-4 pounds is about 3-4% of my body weight each week. even though i know that i could use some extra weight and i don't have to worry about getting fat, being on zyprexa stressed me out, and it also made me a zombie. to avoid being put back on zyprexa, i remind the pdocs of the zombie effect and they agree that i don't need more sedation. it streses me out to not be able to control the weight gain being zyprexa did more than just stimulate my appetite. i couldn't map out the mechanism of the weight gain because it wasn't just increased intake. i don't think any woman, no matter how thin or fat, wants to feel so out of control over her body and her eating. in the case of a friend who gained 30 lbs on depakote in three weeks and became pretty overweight at age 15, we talked about how we begin as fragile people with usually low self-esteem, and these drugs just make us more and more depressed about ourselves.
zyprexa would probably be an effective drug for stimilating your appetite and causing weight gain, but going on it will probably require your willingness to sacrifice a feeling of control over yourself and your weight.
poster:CareBear04
thread:443561
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050113/msgs/443754.html