What are the serious side effects of olanzapine?
Table of Contents
What are the serious side effects of olanzapine?
Olanzapine may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
- dizziness, feeling unsteady, or having trouble keeping your balance.
- restlessness.
- unusual behavior.
- depression.
- difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
- weakness.
- difficulty walking.
- constipation.
Why you should not take olanzapine?
Olanzapine raises the risk of death in seniors (ages 65 years or older) with dementia-related psychosis. Most of these deaths are caused by heart problems such as heart failure, or infectious conditions such as pneumonia. For people with seizures: Olanzapine can cause seizures.
How does olanzapine affect the body?
Olanzapine works by affecting naturally occurring chemical messengers in your brain (neurotransmitters), like dopamine. If you have too much dopamine it can make you see or hear things that are not there (hallucinations), or think things that others do not (delusions).
Can olanzapine make things worse?
Olanzapine may cause some people to be agitated, irritable, or display other abnormal behaviors. It may also cause some people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies or to become more depressed. If you or your caregiver notice any of these unwanted effects, tell your doctor right away.
How can I reduce the side effects of olanzapine?
How to avoid olanzapine side effects
- Talk to your healthcare professional about your health history. Before starting olanzapine, tell your healthcare professional if you’ve ever had:
- Beware of drowsiness.
- Monitor blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
- Stay cool and hydrated.
- Take olanzapine as directed.
What drugs should not be taken with olanzapine?
Sedative medications, such as lorazepam (Ativan®) and diazepam (Valium®) may increase the risk of dizziness or sleepiness when used in combination with olanzapine. This risk is increased when these medications are given as an injection. Carbamazepine (Tegretol®) may decrease the levels and effects of olanzapine.
Do side effects of olanzapine go away?
Some side effects of olanzapine may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.
Will olanzapine side effects go away?
What is the most troublesome side effect of antipsychotic medications?
These effects range from relatively minor tolerability issues (e.g., mild sedation or dry mouth) to very unpleasant (e.g., constipation, akathisia, sexual dysfunction) to painful (e.g., acute dystonias) to disfiguring (e.g., weight gain, tardive dyskinesia) to life‐threatening (e.g., myocarditis, agranulocytosis).
Is olanzapine hard to get off of?
Stopping olanzapine suddenly can cause withdrawal effects and stopping it too early could cause your illness to come back. See your doctor if you want to stop taking olanzapine because it is better to come off it gradually. You might feel sleepy or dizzy in the first few days after taking olanzapine.
What is the most common neurological side effect of antipsychotic medication?
The specific neurologic side effects of the antipsychotic agents include acute dystonias, parkinsonism, motor restlessness, and late choretoathetosis.
How long do you stay on olanzapine?
For psychosis or schizophrenia, if you have had one episode of illness, then it is best for you to keep taking olanzapine for at least two years to reduce the chances of becoming ill again. If you have had more than one episode of illness, then a period of at least five years is recommended.
Does olanzapine damage the brain?
The study found evidence that sustained use of olanzapine verses a placebo was associated with potentially adverse changes in brain structure, namely a thinning of the cortex. These changes were even more prominent in the elderly study participants.
