Posted by 49er on November 18, 2007, at 9:07:06
In reply to Tapering down from zyprexa, posted by yooper on November 15, 2007, at 7:51:49
> Hi. I am new to the pscho-babble postings. I was wondering if anyone has had experience tapering down from zyprexa? I was on 2.5 and was able to cut down to 1/4 tab but cannot seem to go any lower than that without feeling horrible. Any suggestions what I can do?
Hi Yooper,
Let me preface what I am about to say by letting you know that I have never been on zyprexa and know nothing about the drug. But because of my personal experience in tapering off of psych meds, it needs to be done very slowly and my guess would be that since antipsychotics are very powerful, this situation definitely applies.
The best advice I have seen was on the Paxil Progress Boards, which is operated by a nurse who almost lost her son to a paxil induced suicide. You should reduce the med 10% of the current dose every 3 to 6 weeks.
When you are cutting the way you did, it sounds like you are cutting by around 50%, which is way too high. Your brain needs time to adapt to the neurochemical changes of having less of the med in your body. If you go too fast, it put it into a haywire state. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule but why take a chance on this?
By the way, I am not blaming you for any of this. Most doctors are very ignorant of proper withdrawal techniques. How to do this?
My number one option would be to have your doctor write the prescription for the dose you want and if it is one that can't be filled at your local drug store, take it to a compound pharmacy.
Unfortunately, it can be expensive and might not be a realistic option for alot of people. To find one in your area, go to:Somebody mentioned the water titration method. I had been considering that method for my own situation but recently, a pharmacist told me that at least for my med, Remeron, doing that was not a good idea as you would not get an even mix of the med. So check with your pharmacist.
If a compound pharmacist isn't a possibility, make a small as cut as you possibly can. And wait as long as possible between doses.
In my opinion, the every other day option is a bad idea because your body needs a consistent supply of the drug. If you skip a day, you are putting it into withdrawal.
I am not a medical professional so take that for what it is worth.
49er
poster:49er
thread:795251
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20070929/msgs/795722.html