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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 rachel1309 on April 24, 2006, at 19:41:17
hi, i would like to know if anyone has experienced any withdrawl symptoms from olanzapine and if so what were they? i would be grateful for any bits of info anyone could give!
Posted by blueberry on April 24, 2006, at 19:41:17
In reply to olanzapine, posted by rachel1309 on April 23, 2006, at 15:51:45
Zyprexa withdrawals. Oh my. Yeah, I can tell you about that. I don't want to scare you. But I'll tell it like it was/is for me. I don't know if you are considering taking it, if you have been taking it, what dose, or how long.
I found 2.5mg zyprexa added to ongoing prozac was very helpful in a lot of ways, in terms of sleep, overall calm, boosted motivation, and improved cognitive function. I later went to 5mg.
The total time was 5 years.My doc wanted to withdraw me from all meds and see how I would do. Prozac went first. That was worse than I expected. Zyprexa was next. It took me 4 months to wean off of 5mg, by cutting little tiny chunks off the pill each night, and then increasing the size of the chunk I cut off about every week.
The first couple days after being completely off were not bad. I got cramps in my legs. But from then until now, 10 weeks later, here's what I have...
Startle response...any sudden normal sound scares me, makes me jump, startles me.
Insomnia...I could only sleep 2 to 3 hours for a while, but it improved to about 6 hours.
Anorexia...I just don't eat much. I went from 142 pounds and 132 pounds in 3 weeks and I am 6' tall.
Depression...it hit real bad between day 3 and day 6, and ever since has been pretty bad.
Anxiety...fierce. No words to describe it.
Waking up...first thing in the morning there is this unexplained fear, terror, paranoia that is absolutely frightening.
Cognition...I can't think as clearly and I forget things I never used to.
Tinnitus...I've always had a low grade ringing in my ears. Zyprexa quieted it down pretty well. Now it is quite loud and steady.I really feel like I need to go back on it, just to stop all this stuff. It's bad. My doc just started me on klonopin to ease the anxiety which it does, to get some sleep which it does, to ease the fear, which it doesn't, and maybe to help depression which it makes it worse.
The question is, did longterm zyprexa cause all this stuff, or is this a progression of my underlying condition that zyprexa was treating? I started with just plain ole depression 5 years ago. But now it is more like something schizoaffective.
On remedyfind.com I've seen plenty of people who got off zyprexa after short term and didn't complain of any problems. But longterm I think it is a different story. There was a guy here a few months ago who was cross tapering from zyprexa 10mg over to geodon. He had already been tapering zyprexa for 9 months.
Withdrawals from any med are not cool. I found zyprexa to be particularly frightening. And it still is 10 weeks after being completely off it. I'm at a crossroads and have to do something.
I'm not sure what your situation is, but my best most compassionate wishes go out to you.
Posted by rachel1309 on April 24, 2006, at 19:41:17
In reply to Re: olanzapine » rachel1309, posted by blueberry on April 23, 2006, at 16:55:09
thankyou so much!! my dad has recently come off olanzapine. he was taking it for about 2 years and this is the third time the doctor has tried to take him off it. the recommendation was to half the dose for 1 week (from 10mg to 5mg) then to stop taking all together. he has done this and is now going through hell!!! he is suffering from extreme anxiety all the time, is not really eating and has turned to alcohol. his gp advised he would get through it...eventually!!! any ideas of what to do?
Posted by med_empowered on April 24, 2006, at 19:41:17
In reply to Re: olanzapine, posted by rachel1309 on April 23, 2006, at 17:21:01
I think withdrawing from the atypicals is probably a lot like withdrawaing from the older drugs--it helps to have stuff for sleep and anxiety on hand, so if your doc will rx some benzos for a little while, that'd be helpful. Lacking that...start back on the olanazipine, slowly--get him to a dose where the withdrawal is minimal, and then taper it very, very slowly (over a month or more). I think Peter Breggin has all kinds of info on neuroleptic tapers--google him and see what you get.
Posted by blueberry on April 24, 2006, at 20:40:40
In reply to olanzapine, posted by rachel1309 on April 23, 2006, at 15:51:45
Without any hesitation I would definitely say to get back on zyprexa, at half the dose he was on previously, and then continue the taper but very very slowly. I'm talking months, maybe many months. It took me 4 months to go from 5mg to zero. It took someone else more than 9 months to go from 10mg to zero, and that was with another antipsychotic on board to help during the process. Unspeakable torture, addiction to something else like alcohol, massive disruption of family and job and physical health, and in a worst case scenario suicide...these are things that happen with rapid tapering.
My heart goes out to him. I send you and him my deepest compassion. That post-antipsychotic anxiety is straight from hell. Even benzos or alcohol only touch part of it.
Get a sharp single edged razor blade for making custom sized doses. Whatever size pills they are, cut them in half. Swallow one half. With the other half, cut off just a tiny chunk from the corner and throw the chunk away, swallow what remains. Cut the same size chunk off, or as close as you can get, for about a week. Then the next week, make the little chunks you are cutting off a little bigger. Eventually you will be down to just half a pill. Just keep going this way until it's over. Don't rush it.
The doctor who gave you that tapering schedule...I would love to see him do that himself. Actually, I do not wish harm on anyone. I just think many doctors have no idea the intense power of these medicines and the dramatic effect they have on the brain and the entire body. It takes a lot of time to unwind all that, and sometimes can't be unwound at all. Someone at remedyfind.com said that if you are bipolar but not schizophrenic and you take an antipsychotic for bipolar or depression for a few years, you will be schizo when you stop. Personally, my experience is telling me that just might be true.
I've been off for 10 weeks. I have improved maybe 5% during that whole time. Withdrawals today are just about as bad as they were 10 weeks ago.
Do the withdrawals ever end? Do we need the antipsychotic forever? I don't know. I have heard from other people that still had bad withdrawals a year later.
Very slow taper.
Posted by SLS on April 25, 2006, at 10:44:56
In reply to Re: olanzapine » rachel1309, posted by blueberry on April 24, 2006, at 20:40:40
> Someone at remedyfind.com said that if you are bipolar but not schizophrenic and you take an antipsychotic for bipolar or depression for a few years, you will be schizo when you stop. Personally, my experience is telling me that just might be true.
That's a scary thought.
What is it about your personal experience that leads you to believe that it might be true?
- Scott
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