Olanzapine

[Radha]

have any of u tried olanzapine for anxiety or the adrenaline surges? did u think it helped better than something like xanax and did u take just when needed? thanks for any info,

radha

[doctorguest]

Hi Radha,

Before I reply, I again want to state that I don't know your case and don't know what type of medical conditions you have, so this is strictly my opinion. Olanzapine is from a class of medicaions called atypical antipsychotics. Olanzapine does have some benzodiazepine properties similar to xanax, valium, etc., but it is widely used in psychiatry, for example, for bipolar disorder among other psychiatric illnesses. If you and your doctor are considering olanzapine strictly for anxiety and adrenaline surgers, have you then exhausted choices from the benzodiazepine class? Xanax is not the only one - in fact, clonazepam is longer acting and more effective than xanax, and you can only take it once a day in the morning, but the effect will last all day. My point is that I would not use olanzapine on patients who do not have specific psychiatric illness that necessitates its use. Hope you can work it out with your doctror,

Doctorguest

[Maxine]

Radha,

When I first started having the adrenaline surges in 1982 I took phenobarbitol and it helped settle down the attacks very quickly, but I only took it for about 6 months. I wasn't diagnosed with POTS back then, but a cardiologist diagnosed MVP, then in 1990 I was diagnosed with MVP again and put on beta blockers----inderal LA 60 mgs., and xanax 1mg. , once a day. I only took half of the dose, and ended up tapering off that. I took the xanax until the surges calmed down, then I gradually cut the dose. I had to stay on the beta blockers.

I went to my ANS doctor, and requested klonopin--(clonazepam) after having another set back in July of 2005. It has helped a lot, and I only need about half the prescribed dose.

I don't think that class of drugs----------"antipsychotics" is a wise drug of choice for the type of problems we get secondary to our POTS, over active sympathetic nervous system ect............

One Doctor sent me to a psychiatrist when I first crashed with POTS----he probably thought I was completely nuts, as I had tremors constantly, and I felt like I was on a never ending panic attack, and couldn't get my tachycardia under control even on my beta blockers. The psychiatrist prescribed risperidone------------my intuition said NO. I never took the sample he gave me, and it expired in my bathroom cabinet------------------I found them way in the back one day realizing my intuition was right.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginf...er/a694015.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginf...er/a601213.html

I also took ativan when I crashed with POTS in 2000, and I did not like it. I found xanax and klonopin to be about the same, and they work fine for me---either one of them.

If you are prescribed any type of benzodiazepines, just be careful to not build a tolerance, and end up increasing the doses, and end up being dependent or addicted.

Good luck.

Maxine :0)

[cardiactec]

radha,

did you ever try the sotalol? (i remember our convo a few months back and wondered how you were doing with it).......

[DancingLight]

I take .5 mg of Clonazapam 3x daily for adrenaline surges, myoclonus, forceful heartbeats, sleep, pain, etc. It's helped me a lot.

However, I haven't found that it lasts all day as Doctorguest said...hmmmmmmmmmm.....but I DO like that it is not so short acting and addictive as xanax.

Emily