Well, here I go again bending your ears. Three days ago the doctors put my mother on Zyprexa [Olanzapine]. It is an antipsychotic med. used to treat Schizophrenia and some behavioral problems that occur with dementia/alzheimers. She is on a low dosage 2.5mg. I read most of the sites on this drug and it has LOTS of side effects. My questions is this are any of your LO on this med.? For the last three days it has been a roller coster ride with Mom. Part of the day she is like always then all of then sudden she has her personality back and doing things for her self [like she was a year or so ago] then we go into hostility over things she hears on the t.v.. Yesterday was wonderful for awhile. I had my mother back for 5 hours. Then she was gone again. The doctor said to keep her on this drug for at least a week or more and don't take her off without calling him. I am very nervous about this medicine. If any one can calm my concerens with good news of their LO on this med. it will be so appreciated. Thanks!

Yellow rose, the wilted rose can be brought back with a little refreshment and peace of mind.With all medicine, from my experience, there are positive and negatives that result from them.It seems to be a catch 22 situation.It sounds like your mom has responded beautifully.Many times we have to settle for half the pie.My mother had bad reactions to every medicine prescribed for AD.You are fortunate she has responded this much on the respirdal.My mother went to hell and back.Just watch for changes that could affect her well being.The bad side affects will be quite noticable to you as you are around her all the time.

My AD mother has been on Zyprexa [anti-pychotic medication] for 9 days now and what a turn around. Personality is back, performing simple tasks, laughing & and trying to make jokes. Still having difficulty forming sentences. Remembers I am her daughter. Made her own bed this morning for the first time in 1 yr. Today she found her crossword puzzle books and was able to get many of the words. All so unbelieveable! But as her caregiver I am wondering if I'll have to go through the stages all over again. Don't know if I can "hold up". On the down side she has gone back to doing things that she did over a year ago. Hiding wet diapers, hiding toilet paper in her room, locking me out every time I go outside [yes, I have a key hidden] and so on. She also fell yesterday. A possible side effect. Of course, I don't want her to go back to before Zyprexa but I am conceren because they gave my MIL anti-psychotic med. also. The turn around was a miracle but it only lasted 4 wks. then the decline was HUGE. The prospects are scary! Yellow Rose is wilted.

Once again you have put things into perspective. This all should be very interesting to see how this med. will work on my mother. She was up almost all night but was very thoughtful not to wake my husband up. I have a baby monitor in her room so that I know what is going on. Anyway, she got dress at three in the morning. Now this is a little lady that hasn't dressed herself in over a year. She got up in a wonderful mood this morning and when I went into the bathroom to rediaper her she was brushing her teeth. Unbelievable! And, for the last few days she takes nice long naps but no more "in and out of bed every 15mins" stuff. Praise God. When she gets up from her nap we'll see how things are going. Guess I'll just have to watch for and be thankful for the good parts of our 24/7. Zyprexa miracle drug----just don't know yet.

Zyprexa takes two weeks or more to get to theraputic levels. Your Dr should start at the lowest possible dosage and then if needed increase the level. The list of side effects is really not much different then any other medication to help with Alz. behavioral problems. You do want to be aware of what side effects you need to watch for. Remember your LO may not show any of the side effects. Side effects are somthing only a limited amount of people taking the medication may experience. Many more people on the medications will not show any side effects.

Edyth Ann aka Bubblehead aka Queen Bubble
AOL IM EdythAnn12
edythann@netzero.net

Take a look at the Zyprexa website at http://www.zyprexa.com

In particular I suggest that you take a look at the "prescribing information." This area contains a lot of info on side effetcs and the clinical info on the drug... http://pi.lilly.com/us/zyprexa-pi.pdf This page may take a while to load up.

The Zyprexa is likely presribed by your doctor to treat the symptoms of the dementia, not the dementia itself. Dementias is treatable with anti-cholinesterase inhibitors like Aricept or Exelon. Other drugs may be prescribed for symptoms such as agitation.

I would also be interested in the experiences that you all have with this and other drugs. Remember that there is always a potential for side effects when you are taking one or more drugs. Some drugs may make a person drowsy or unstable on their feet, so be aware for any changes and the possibility for falling.

Rich/Casey