Posted by blueberry on June 12, 2006, at 19:02:56 [reposted on June 12, 2006, at 21:37:42 | original URL]
In reply to whats so bad about stopping antipsychotics?, posted by xbunny on June 12, 2006, at 8:58:54
What is so bad about stopping antipsychotics is how long you've been on it and at what dose. The longer the time and/or the higher the dose, the more problems there will be getting off. Antipsychotics block dopamine and serotonin receptors. Those receptors are accustomed to having that blanket around them. They are not accustomed to working naked and will friek out when the blanket is removed.
Anyway. I was on 5mg zyprexa 5 years. I weaned to 2.5mg over 2 months, then to zero over 2 more months. Each step down was hard. I got waves of nausea, increased free-floating fear and paranoia that didn't exist before, anxiety that didn't exist before, cramps, muscle spasms, and ringing in the ears, and several days of deep despair sobbing type depression.
After finally being off of it, all of these things hit like a ton of bricks on day 4. The cramps and muscle spasms went away after a few weeks, but the loss of appetite continued, waves of anxiety, terror, and depression kept coming, and I was easily startled and scared by small everyday noises like footsteps or setting something on a table or shutting a car door, and sleep was absolutely lousy and sometimes not possible. Like I said, those receptors were just frieking out with all the stimuli they were not accustomed to receiving.
I went 10 weeks drug free. No sign of improvement. I finally gave up and restarted zyprexa at 2.5mg. Now I am in a very treacherous situation of finding other meds to stabilize on so I can again wean off zyprexa...this time a lot slower and in much smaller steps, like maybe even just crumbs for the last few weeks.
Anyway, you asked. It really depends on how long you've been on it. For me, 5 years was a long time.
poster:blueberry
thread:656193
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20060602/msgs/656199.html