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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by yooper on November 8, 2007, at 23:34:14
Hi. I wonder if anyone has tried to reduce or withdraw from their olanzapine (zyprexa)? I have been on it about 5 years for bi-polar but is only borderline. I have always thought my problem was more anziety and terrible sleep problems. Anyway, was able about 2 years ago to get down to 1/4 of the 2.5 and held steady but impossible to go any lower. I would like to get down to 1/2 of the quarter dose or 1/8 of the total 2.5 mg. Any suggestions? When I try to cut the dose I feel horrible and sleep is terrible and usually only 4-5 hours. You would not think it would be so tought to get off that small amount.
Posted by bleauberry on November 9, 2007, at 21:56:37
In reply to withdrawl from olanzapine, posted by yooper on November 8, 2007, at 23:34:14
I was on zyprexa even longer than you by a few years. I can relate to your story. It took me 6 months to get off. Same as you, I cut little tiny pieces off the tabs or half tabs. I stayed at each new dose for at least a week, sometimes two or three. And yes, the lousy sleep and daytime anxiety were really tough, along with lack of appetite and weight loss.
The final dose for me was about .25mg. I had sleep problems for a couple weeks after that, and day anxiety problems that went on for about 3 months. Sleep did get a lot better, as did anxiety. I think zyprexa is so powerful it is kind of addicting. Because here a year later I still think about it sometimes and would like that wonderful sleep from it, but the thought of coming off it again is just too much torture.
The only suggestion I can tell you is to keep doing what you are doing and keep whittling it down in as tiny chunks/pieces as you possibly can. I found staggering doses helped. For example, if I was on 2.5mg I would drop it to about 2.25mg for a night, then back to 25mg the next, then 2.25 the next, 2.5mg the next, then 2.25mg steady. After a week or two, then I would drop to about 2mg one night, then back to 2.25mg, then back to 2mg, and see-saw back and forth all the way down to zero. I don't know why that helped but it did. I think maybe it gave the brain more time to adjust to what was happening and to have breaks and rests along the way. And because the dose was always in movement and never steady, the brain had no time to settle into a particular pattern. Because of the impossibility to exact doses when cutting tiny chunks, the dosage was always in movement anyway regardless of what dose I was temporarily parked at.
The 3 months post zyprexa were hard. I used some natural help on an as needed basis. Things I found helpful for both anxiety and sleep were passionflower, valerian, or 5htp. I avoided them as much as possible, but when I really really needed something, they gave me what I needed to stay on my path. I would take maybe passionflower one evening at a social event. Then a couple nights later maybe valerian for sleep. Then a week later some 5htp powder (maybe 10mg) for a few days. And I tried GABA or glycine supplements a few times and found them amazingly calming and rapid, though I didn't like the way they depressed me. But if really needed to calm things down in a hurry, they worked. You can use any of these while still on zyprexa and they might help you get off quicker. The key was to keep focused on the goal of being zyprexa-free and that it was going to take a few months. Each day was a victory.
During my weaning process if I ran into difficulty, I would stay at whatever new dose I was on for a while, maybe a week or two or three. But I never would allow myself to go back to the higher dose I had come from, even though I was so tempted to.
About a week after my final dose I did break down and take another small dose one night. That seemed to give me enough relief to go on for another few days, at which point the agony I had previously been in did not return with the same vengeance.
Feelings of improvement came with each passing week, not each passing day. So you have to set your sites on a marathon and not sprint.
Posted by Zyprexa on November 12, 2007, at 13:40:53
In reply to withdrawl from olanzapine, posted by yooper on November 8, 2007, at 23:34:14
I belive it! I take 10mg zyprexa, and have never successfully gotten off it all the way. All my simptoms come back, not sleeping, not eating, anxiety, etc.
Posted by suebirds on November 12, 2007, at 14:48:04
In reply to Re: withdrawl from olanzapine, posted by Zyprexa on November 12, 2007, at 13:40:53
Im in the process of weaning off of 5 mgs of zyprexa that I have been on for 5 months I was put on it for real bad anxiety im also on paxil 40 mgs and klonopin .5 mgs I want to know it is possiable to get off this drug my p-doc has me cutting my dose every 2 weeks over a period of 6 weeks then wants me to stop it but i think im going to cut the last dose in half and do that for 2 weeks so im going to do it in over 8 weeks. Does this sound about right. Thank You suebird also is anyone still on meds while coming off the zyprexa.
Posted by Zyprexa on November 15, 2007, at 12:53:12
In reply to Re: withdrawl from olanzapine-blueberry, posted by suebirds on November 12, 2007, at 14:48:04
I would not take less zyprexa than I thought was possible for me. If I need that much, that is how much I take. If I don't need it I don't take it.
I think it might be easyer to get off it with those meds in place, but who knows. I still have not found a replacement for zyprexa.
Posted by lovelorn on November 23, 2007, at 15:18:41
In reply to withdrawl from olanzapine, posted by yooper on November 8, 2007, at 23:34:14
I'm currently weaning off from 10mg dose. In just over a year, I've been on the medication three times. It's difficult to come off. I think my other attempts I came off too quickly. By adjusting/cutting the dose myself, I went from 10mg to 5mg to 2.5mg in the space of a month. That caused relapses of my original symptoms of delusions and anxiety, which got me back on the medication, etc. This time I've been on three months and am currently at the 7.5mg dose. Gained a lot of weight in this year and dislike the side effects the medication and so am weaning off again. Advice is to not go down too quickly, give each lowering dose a few weeks. Unlike many that post, I don't have too much problems with insomnia when I lower my doses. I do get some increased anxiety and depression and generaly fogginess of mind though. I like bleauberry's idea and reasoning of staggering the dose. I may try that.
This is the end of the thread.
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