Has anyone out there taken zyprexa for severe depression? I am not bipolar. Per the internet, it is mainly prescribed for schizophrenia and bipolar. My doctor says it is prescribed for depression, too. She wants me to start it tonight and not wean off the effexor. It is apparently in a different "class" of anti-depressants. I have always taken the SSRI's (?). Any information from anyone? Thanks!

zyprexa is, to the best of my knowledge, an anti psychotic. It helps with severe anxiety and racing thoughts. I was on a combination of effexor and zyprexa for a while when I was in hospital. It really worked for me, and I have a friend who suffers from schizophrenia who swears by it too.
I came off it because my already healthy appetite increased, and I have no self control!

Eli Lilly, Inc. doesn't have a new antidepressant under patent so it is marketing this "atypical" antipsychotic as an antidepressant instead.

Lilly was successful in getting FDA approval for use in bipolar illness as a "mood stabilizer." For a year or two in the late 90's, as a brand-new drug it actually was listed on the highly influential Texas Algorithm as a first choice for Bipolar Illness, alongside tried-and-true Lithium until a whistle blower in Texas state government alleged that political influence had been involved in Zyprexa's sudden popularity. George W. Bush happened to be governor of Texas at the time. And Daddy Bush sat on the Eli Lilly board of directors.

This is really a travesty. Commerce has dictated a fundamentally unsound approach to treating depression. The last time antipsychotics were a first-line depression treatment was in the 1950's.

Other drug companies are following suit with Geodon, resperidal, Abilify, Seroquel, etc.

As gwenatron points out, these meds do have a role as an add-on in treating depression with psychotic features or severe anxiety as well as acute mania. They really are for slowing down thoughts rather than lifting mood or energy. Depressed and bipolar patients I've seen who take these meds as their primary treatment often become fat, apathetic, and unmotivated -- too addled to figure out what's wrong, too helpless to ask their doctors for a change. They may look placid on the outside, but often are often very restless within (akathisia).

Very recently, the American Diabetic Association issued a warning that ALL atypical antipsychotics significantly raise one's risk of diabetes.

--Kj--

Thank you for all the informaiton on zyprexa. You added some that I have not read. I tok my first one last night because I am scared of not being on any medicine. I don't know if I want to continue it or not. Especially the weight gain!!!! My doctor said I should tell a difference in 3-4 days. I definitely DO NOT need any more fatigue, etc.! Thanks again!