About Zyprexa & Weight Gain

Zyprexa, the brand name for olanzapine made by Eli Lilly, the sole patent holder, is an atypical antipsychotic prescription drug given to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Sometimes it is also prescribed for anxiety and major depression. Many people have benefited from Zyprexa and many people have noticed side effects. One of the most common is weight gain.

Size

• The average weight gain for an adult or adolescent patient on Zyprexa is 20 pounds in three months. Some patients have put on as much as 60 pounds. 90% of patients on Zyprexa not only put on weight, but on excessive weight. Excessive weight is when you gain 7% or more of your total body weight. (MA Crocq 2007 study, see resources)

Function

• Zyprexa is a very efficient mood stabilizer and sedative, so you have more need to sleep and not be very active. But, your appetite also increases. Just exactly how and why it causes such a vast increase is currently unknown. In some cases where mental illness has led to a malnourished patient, weight gain is a great thing. But to suddenly put on so much weight so fast can sometimes trigger Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Significance

• Because of diabetes and hypoglycemia brought on by sudden weight gain, Eli Lilly has been sued many times. Eli Lilly had claimed that after a few months, your appetite would decrease. A general lawsuit settlement was reached in 2005. The FDA has required more warning labels to be put on Zyprexa bottles, which began in October of 2007.

Warning

• Do not suddenly stop taking Zyprexa, because this can lead to some very serious side effects including a return of bipolar mania, hallucinations, hearing voices and paranoia. Zyprexa needs to be gradually cut back on if (and only if) your doctor or therapist thinks that Zyprexa is not for you.

Prevention/Solution

• Patients need to know about their likely chances of gaining a lot of weight before taking Zyprexa, if possible. This can be very difficult if a patient is in manic, suffering from hallucinations or is suicidal. The priority of doctors will be to first save the life and then worry about weight gain later. Patients on Zyprexa need to also be on balanced, sensible diets and a regular exercise routine. There are some patients who have switched to other drugs or added an anti-ulcer medicine Nizatidine to counter effect Zyprexa's appetite increase.

Misconceptions

• Your appetite increases the entire time you take Zyprexa and doesn't go away after the first three months, as rumored to be. Keep in mind that there are very few people who don't gain much weight when taking Zyprexa and you may be one of the lucky few.