Zyprexa | ADHD Information

Has anyone been prescribed Zyprexa for yourself or your child/children?  My 6 year old daughter was put on 5 mg of it, in the afternoon to stabilize her moods.  The only changes I see are that she sometimes goes to bed on time, and she is more moodier and whiner than before.  And when she is hungry she has to have the food right than and there.  She doesn't want to wait, its like she is starving which she isnt'.  For example my parents took her and my other daughter to town with them and they at at a steakhouse. Cierra (my 6 year old) at what she wanted from the buffet.  She said she was starting to feel sick so my parents told her to just sit there and let her stomach settle.  They got done and left the steakhouse and went to Walmart (which was like five minutes from the steakhouse).  My daughter proceeds to scream that she is hungry and cry and than she decides to take of and run away from my parents in the store.  I was at work this is what my mom has told me.  My mom has decided that she will no longer take Cierra anywhere now that she acts like this.

To me this sounds like she is having an opposite reaction to the drug, instead of balancing her moods its disrupting them to the point that she is a holly terror. 

Any feedback on this would be tremendously apprecitated.  She also take Adderal XR 10mg in the morning.

My Father was on Zyprexa for a few months. He slept more than usual and didn't seem to take interest in the things he used to enjoy. He was started at 5mg which may have been Ok, but when it was increased to 10mg we had him taken off of it. Note that my Dad was 82 yrs old at the time and in a skilled healthcare facility and had Parkinson's disease. 

my daughter was on zyprexa @ 12 and was on it for 2 years. It was beneficial,but made her gain 50 pounds!!!!!! Two years ago ,I had her taken off the Zyprexa and changed to Abilify(which she is doing great on!!!  Over a 6 month period she lost the 50 lbs....so,watch carefully for the weight creeping up.

Zyprexa is pretty strong stuff. I have taken it at an even lower dosage and it knocked me out pretty quickly, made me incredibly hungry, and mellow. These are typical side effects for this drug. From the same class of drugs, Risperdal is a little gentler and Abilify can be very nice if it doesn't make you more hyper.

Not sure why your daughter is becoming more moody. It could be from the ADHD, rebound from Adderall XR, or something that has not been identified yet, like ODD. I guess it's also hard to say what's going on in a six-year old's mind while being treated  with a stimulant and an antipsych. Not that this is a bad way to go, just fairly unchartered territory.

If it is related more to the Adderall wearing off, the dosage could be adjusted or an afternoon IR added, before dealing with meds like Zyprexa, Risperdal, or Abilify

Good luck!

If ODD is occurring with ADHD your doctor may reasonably prescribe a med like Zyprexa. (I think kids do better with Risperdal or Abilify, but that's just me.) Since there's so much trouble with mood swings and aggression, the "rebound" or wear-off from a stimulant could be really hard for your daughter to handle. Some doctors think you should treat the aggression and mood problems by themselves then add a stimulant if that doesn't cover all the problems.

If Cierra was very moody, defiant, and aggressive before being treated with Adderall XR, ODD is more likely. In that case I'd imagine the doc would remove the stimulant (at least temporarily) and keep a med like Zyprexa or mention a "mood stabilizer" like Depakote or Trileptal.

ODD can come with AD/HD or by itself. Either way something to cool the aggression is probably needed first. Zyprexa, Abilify, Risperdal or possibly Depakote make sense in both these cases. But her behavior would have to be pretty constantly bad to terrible to justify using one of them long-term. (And maybe it is). The next step would be to see if this takes care of concentration, attention, and hyperactivity problems. In case it doesn't, a stimulant might be necessary.

Message boards are probably very good for finding out practical ways of dealing with ODD behavior aside from the medicine. They're convenient and a lot of good parents have experience in this area.

Okay so bottom line...probably you'll want to keep the Zyprexa for now and consider skipping a day or two of the adderall xr and consult the doc. It's very normal to alter your strategy to get your daughter feeling and acting her best. That's much more important than names of conditions or medications.

Best wishes!

Thanks for the information.  She is possibly ODD.  And she is hungrier than normal.  She will eat two to three bowls of cereal for breakfast and still be hungry.  I decided to take her off of the zyprexa but now she is a holly terror.  She is not listening, getting into the sugar again, and she has hit at her grandmother (she watches my girls while I work).  It is getting so bad right now that my mother is asking if I can take some time off from work. Because she can't handle Cierra anymore.  I am wondering if the Adderal XR and Zyprexa is even the correct medicine for her to be on.  I don't know what to do anymore.  I don't even know how to handle her if she does have ODD.

Try trileptal,

My son is on Trileptal and we to were on Adderall XR when all the mean, nasty, yelling, fighting, stubberness showed its ugly head.

30 days on Trileptal to stabilize his mood.  We made it, and did the hyperness come out when the mood is fixed. After that we were back on a stimulant, Concerta 27 mgs, Things are alot smoother then they have ever been, Doc wants to try Focalin XR, it is suppose to be alot smoother.  

Doc said, he was combating depression/anxiety that was brought out by the use of Adderall XR.  The original doctor that dispensed the prescription never mentioned anything about deppression/anxiety being brought out by this drug. Each time I went in to complain about the behavior he would say we needed to up the dose to even him out.  Each time we upped it, he would be good for a month then a living monster would walk thru the door.

Trileptal is a good mood stabilizer in my book, safe for children, no weight gain, no blood work, and helps them get a good nights rest. Is recommended for ODD symptoms.

 

Montana MOM