Zoloft/Zyprexa

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My 16 yr. old son who is 6 ft. tall and weighs about 200 lbs. takes 200 mg of

Zoloft (he was just bumped up to 200 after being on 150 mg of Zoloft for about 2

months)and 7.5 mg of Zyprexa. He was first prescribed Zyprexa as part of a

combination pill called Symbyax which was a very low dose (20 mg to eventually

50 mg) of prozac and 6 mg zyprexa. This was prescribed by his first

psychiatrist, who I now know didn't really understand how to treat OCD. There

was little improvement with my son's OCD with these doses.

His current psychiatrist said that a much higher dose of anti depressant was

needed for OCD (which it also what it says on the OCD Foundation website). It's

hard to say what is really working now and what is actually doing what (treating

depression, helping to battle thoughts, etc.). I can say that since his Zoloft

has been increased there has been definite improvement overall (less rituals,

less anxious about going to school, better overall mood).

We would eventually like to get him off the Zyprexa because he did gain a

significant amount of weight (about 50 lbs - but he was probably too thin for

his 6 ft height to begin with) and it does make him tired. He also complains

that he has a problem focusing in school. But when we cut his Zyprexa dose in

half for 2 days we did notice he seemed more agitated/restless. Since he's at a

critical point right now (back in school after two months out for intensive

therapy, seeing a new therapist, able to go to school with much less anxiety)

we're reluctant to take him off the Zyprexa now. We may wait til summer and try

again then. His OCD symptoms are not gone by any means. He still sometimes

gets " stuck " and can't do homework, he still takes long showers, repeats

motions, etc. but, all in all, he is significantly better since his Zoloft was

increased.

As far as what Zyprexa is, the Zyprexa website

http://www.zyprexa.com/patient/howworks.jsp describes it:

" ZYPREXA is a kind of medication known as an atypical antipsychotic. It belongs

to a larger category of medications that affect the mind, called psychotropics.

Antipsychotic medicines are psychotropic medications that treat the symptoms of

psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. They may also be prescribed to treat

acute mixed or manic episodes of bipolar disorder.

Antipsychotic medicines are also prescribed to treat acute mixed or manic

episodes of bipolar disorder. They may improve such symptoms as sleep

disturbances, irritability, racing thoughts, and anxiety. Some antipsychotic

medications are also prescribed to help control ongoing symptoms. "

Again, Zyprexa was first prescribed by a psychiatrist who didn't really " get "

OCD. He was leaning towards diagnosing my son with bipolor disorder.

Anne Marie

Questions re. Zoloft and Zyprexa

Hi everyone, I can't believe the accumulated wealth of information and

ideas in this group. It is wonderful. I have a couple of questions

now about Zoloft and Zyprexa. If your child/adolescent is on Zoloft,

can you post me the dose that he/she is on right now? My daughter is

on Zoloft and it is the most effective medication (with least side

effects) that we have found so far, but I am thinking her daily dose

might be too low. We are finding, so far, that the Zoloft seems to

work but then after a pretty short period (6-8 weeks), it doesn't; we

up the dose and so on. And if the Zoloft is working for your

son/daughter, is it impacting on the obsessions at all, or is it just

good for treating the depression? I would really like to get a sense

of what the " average " treating dose is-- 100 mg or 200 mg or?

Zyprexa: I have seen many references to this on this site, and I

don't know what it is and how it works for OCD. We have tried many

combinations of drugs, but Zyprexa has never been on the list. Is it

an antipsychotic like Risperadone? Is it used to augment or to

" boost " the

SSRI or SRI that you are using? Thanks,