Olanazpine/zyprexa - weight gain help?

Hello Amelia, WOW.  Oh my god, you poor thing! You've got your hands full with a new baby and everything rlse in life and then you've got this out if control thing with no help in sight. I totally get it!

A couple of questions. Were you on fertility meds prior to pregnancy?

Are you on any other meds?

Did the doctors ever figure out what triggered the psychotic event?  

Have you had your thyroid tested?

Any other symptoms besides weight gain?

If you read the warnings and information on most medications, nearly all have warnings about kidney and liver disease. Unfortunately  a toxic liver or sluggish kidneys generally go undiagnosed unless  they are to near failure or other acute condition. 

I understand completely, what you’re dealing with. I read the posts on this group because my mother became extremely ill due to this  medication, however I’ve struggled with thyroid disease, which can cause weight gain. Worse, several years on thyroid medications that are supposed to help thyroid disease, resulted in horrible side effects and massive weight gain. I too am used to being quite slender, and am bloated and fat. It’s horribly demoralizing! And the weight fluctuations made it impossible to dress nicely because for several years I was gaining weight so quickly that I’d buy new clothes and they wouldn't fit in 2 weeks. Often they were too small behore I could even wear them. Enough commiserating, other people don’t understand why the weight gain is such a big deal. And unfortunately, weight gain IS a medical condition that is often ignored.

So you’ll have to do some investigating on your own as best you can. You can have blood tests done by your doctor, read the many posts on thyroid disease and pancreatitis- both are major causes of weight gain. You can get yourself somw supplements to support your body.

It’s likely you have multiple subacute medical conditions going on. Something is causing your body to think you’re starving, and the body’s response is to hoard weight.

Pregnancy can mess with your hormones and can leave massive hormonal residues in your system that can act as toxins and build up in the liver. Medications can also result in toxic liver. You generally won’t get a diagnosis for toxic liver.  There are many ways to clean your liver through natural methods of herbs and cleanses. Liver abd gallbladder heakth are very connected,  so problems with one often lead to problems with the other: you get liver and gallbladder problems together .  If your liver (and gallbladder) is unhealthy,  you will have a tough time  losing weight.

Next, stress and liver conditions can result in subacute pancreatitis. Olanzapine is known to cause diabetes, so certainly pancreatitis is a possibility.  There is a condition called  chronic pancreatitis that causes massive belly bloat, gut and digestive problems, rapid weight gain, food sensitivities, edema and autoimmune disease.  It also results in malnutrition due to the inability to digest foods properly. 

There is no medical treatment for chronic pancreatitis. The group on this site has a lot of posts from people who say that fasting is the only way to stop a pancreatic attack. Digestive enzymes also help enormously. I’ve found a white rice fast to be extremely helpful. And when I’m not feeling well, I find white rice to be helpful, as it is easily digested. 

Thyroid disease- Hashimoto’s Hypothyroid can result in weight gain and a myriad of gut and autoimmune disorders. There are many medications for thyroid disease, however my own experience is that the treatment is worse than the disease. Check out the thyroid group if you’re inclined.  There are many things you can do to curb thyroid diaease as well. However to start, you'll want a full thyroid blood panel. You can post your results in the thyroid forum as diagnosis and treatment for thyroid disease are often elusive. Others can help you understand your blood test results.

In the end, there is no pill for weightloss, really. Underneath or between any medical conditions, your body believes it’s starving, or can't process foods or both. Malnutrition is dealt with by using high potency supplements. Prenatal vitamins are perfect as they are high potency and have less fillers that can trigger the immune system. Multi mineral supplement is also important. Essential amino acid supplents can be extremely helpful.

Good luck!

Amelia , be your own kind of beautiful. Artificial or real tattoos can beautify your stretch marks.

How did you come off olanzapine?

hi, saldy it was a stillbirth, which they think is what trigged the phycosis as it was so traumatic.

I had a blood test a few weeks ago, my body functions came back normal. Liver, kidneys, thyroid all working fine.

I just can't shift the weight :[

Get some counselling if you think it will help, but with someone who knows a bit about anti-psychotics, olanzapine specifically. The trauma, grief, loss and weight gain are all interlinked.  I wish you well on your journey of healing.

Bridget.

Hello Amelia

That drug and all its ongoing side affects should be totally banned!

It's criminal and I'm making it my mission to do something about it!

I've done a survey for MH consumers on medication management which has,been accepted by the DHB Management where I live and I've done a personal submission for our Government Inquiry into the services!

These drugs are being carelessly mismanaged!

I'm really sorry this has caused you ongoing grief!

I had been 53kgs for years and in one year Olanzapine increased my weight to 62kgs Luckily I'm back to normal now as I'm very active by nature and eat super healthy!

I do hope things get more in balance soon for you! :-)

Kerry