Posted by grapebubblegum on March 22, 2001, at 9:22:21
In reply to zyprexa and children, posted by Moors on March 6, 2001, at 8:39:43
Yes, my son (5 yrs old) was first diagnosed with BPD a month and a half ago. His most troublesome symptoms were aggressive behavior and "dark" talk about people being hit by cars or killed and he also often told me (his mom) that he hated me or didn't like me or that I would be killed or that he wanted me to frown instead of smiling.
Also, he was troubled by nightmares every night.The doctor put him on zyprexa which brought good symptomatic relief and I was very pleased to hear of no nightmares, and the violent actions and talk almost completely ceased. My child became much easier to manage and happier, too. Only problem: constant obsession with food as in: "What can I eat now?" or "I NEED another cupcake!!!" Another doctor I spoke with clued me in to the fact that zyprexa not only causes increased appetite but raises blood sugar levels causing a double-whammy weight-gain effect and it can actually play a role in causing diabetes. I saw fat rolls springing up on my son. He was bursting out of his clothes. I raised this concern to his doctor at his one month follow-up visit and the doc immediately switched him to topomax. The overeating has ceased and the mood improvement is twice as good as with the zyprexa. I am finally seeing the child I feel my child was meant to be. I couldn't be more pleased to see my bright, enthusiastic and creative child being all those things without the cloud that was obviously hanging over him before. He seems to be liberated and it is good to hear him giggling with his brothers over jokes and not erupting into shouting and kicking tantrums like before. I have not heard the muttered, "You're stupid and I hate you" talk that used to be a staple of every day life. I also put him on the scale recently and was alarmed to see that he has gained 10 lbs. in the last month and a half which is outrageous for a formerly 61 lb. child, so I am glad that weight gain is under control now. I urge anyone to speak to their doctor about this medication because it seems to have been a life saver.
> My ten year old son with pdd-nos has been on zyprexa for over two years. He was on anafranil alone when his doctor added zyprexa. He was having extreme tantrums and rages. We have just weaned him off anafranil because I began to talk to other parents whose kids on anafranil had also had rages, tantrums etc. I began to wonder if the anafranil were the reason for the severity of his tantrums and we had put him on zyprexa because of the anafranil. He did well with the zyprexa but has gained an amazing amount of weight and I no longer can just watch him become so unhealthily overweight. Has anyone experienced taking their child off zyprexa? What can we expect? Did you find another medicine to help with less side effects. Thanks
poster:grapebubblegum
thread:114
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/child/20000813/msgs/135.html