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Insomnia - dependency on olanzapine

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  1. #1

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    Insomnia - dependency on olanzapine

    My family member has had case of psychosis and she has been taking olanzapine (zyprexa) on and off few months, where doctor tapers it down and switch to latuda to help with mood etc but lately she can't sleep at all unless she takes olanzapine.

    She seems to have created dependency on the med, now the doctor suggest to use stilnox for 2 weeks.

    Question: how can she treat her insomnia without depending on the meds. All these meds have made her weak and can't exercise much other than walking for a few kms


  2. #2

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    How old is she? Does she sleep during the day and is not able to sleep at night? Any caffeine consumption - tea / coffee during the day? Acid reflux or other medical conditions like snoring or muscular restlessness? Is the room too hot or cold?

    Asking this as I also have aging family all around me who cannot sleep. My dad (90s) used to be on all sorts of medication and managed to ween himself off the more stronger meds. My mum has just accepted she should sleep when she can but ends up being tired and worn out all day.

    Takes a fair bit of effort to find the right mix and I suspect that doctors in HK are not incentivised or diligent enough to go through a multi-month cycle of trials and also might not be looking at all the issues related to aging in a holistic manner.


  3. #3

    Maybe try going to a Chinese medicine practitioner?


  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by junichitsuyo:
    Maybe try going to a Chinese medicine practitioner?
    Not sure if that helps - the smell from the brew can be rather severe! I assume the original poster is Indian, given the name. If that is the case, Ayurvedic supplements made from plants, roots etc are probably better to go.

    BUT - all of this is assuming that there are no underlying medical or psychological issues at play.

  5. #5

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    Ashwagandha might be a good and harmless thing to try @rohits79


  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by rkenia852:
    Ashwagandha might be a good and harmless thing to try @rohits79
    With a lot of care. Some of these herbal medicines can interact with existing sleep medications.

  7. #7

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    @shri - Are you speaking of Ashwagandha specifically? I was just about to start using it myself....so curious


  8. #8

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    Not specifically - I've been told that some of these meds may interact badly with existing western meds. I don't know of a database or authoritative website which says (as an example) it is ok to supplement olanzapine with Ashwagandha. Or a list of medications that Ashwagandha (or its core ingredients) may have interactions with.

    May be I'm being too paranoid.


  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    How old is she? Does she sleep during the day and is not able to sleep at night? Any caffeine consumption - tea / coffee during the day? Acid reflux or other medical conditions like snoring or muscular restlessness? Is the room too hot or cold?

    Asking this as I also have aging family all around me who cannot sleep. My dad (90s) used to be on all sorts of medication and managed to ween himself off the more stronger meds. My mum has just accepted she should sleep when she can but ends up being tired and worn out all day.

    Takes a fair bit of effort to find the right mix and I suspect that doctors in HK are not incentivised or diligent enough to go through a multi-month cycle of trials and also might not be looking at all the issues related to aging in a holistic manner.
    She is 38, she does not sleep during the day, she drinks coffee in the morning and that is it, no more tea/coffee for the rest of the day. She is not physcially very strong/active she is now on sleeping pill for this week (stilnox 6mg) and with that she is sleeping well for the rest of the day.

  10. #10

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    Original Post Deleted
    Yes i agree and that is why i have not given her anything as long as she is on these meds. Olanzapine is a crazy med and we equally love and hate it, it helps her with her psychosis but creates dependency and has side effects

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