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Has anyone come off Olanzapine (2.5 mg) successfully after taking it for 3 months?

Posted , 16 users are following.

nancy76309
nancy76309

I have been taking Olanzapine for 3 months. Most of the time it was 1.25mg.  I can't tolerate it at any strength. For the last 6 days, I have been taking only a quarter of a pill or about .60 mg.

As I write this, I am shaking, agitated and feel awful. Is this normal? Will this ever go away?

When will it go away????? I can't even get our of the bed. Please share your experience.

4 likes, 19 replies

19 Replies

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  • apu91247
    apu91247 nancy76309

    Edited

    Tapering method of olanzapine,10% reduction of every month.As you are shaking ,better to reinstate 1.25 or 2.5 mg or where you won't feel withdrawal symptoms.once your nervous system stabilized,then start tapering 10% of last dose.search surviving antidepressants in Google for forum help.

  • bruce47310
    bruce47310 nancy76309

    Posted

    Hi Nancy, My own personal experience is that Olanzapine is addictive; what you are experiencing is withdrawal symptoms.

    I have successfully switched from 2.5 mg to zero in one go, felt like crap for awhile but through it now.

    Healthy eating and exercise definitely helps, even just walking the dog.

    Those are my words of encouragement for you today!

    • Ash1234
      Ash1234 bruce47310

      Posted

      How long did u feel like crap for ? I think im feeling the same.doc cut my dose from 10 to 5 in one go. Some days im fine and other days I feel rubbish
    • Ash1234
      Ash1234 bruce47310

      Posted

      hi.

      ive gone from 5 to 2.5 and feeling heightened anxiety . is this withdrawal symptoms ?

  • kate85501
    kate85501 nancy76309

    Posted

    Hi Nancy.  How are you feeling today?  Are you fully over the zyprexa withdrawals now?  I sure hope so..  I stopped cold turkey almost 2 months ago after having taken them for 2 months.  Many of my withdrawal symptoms have gone away minus the insomnia which slowly seems to be getting better, but i can't say for sure yet.

    Hope you are doing better as time progresses.

    • nancy76309
      nancy76309 kate85501

      Posted

      Kate, I stopped after 3 months. The side effects were awful. 

      I have now been taking Prozac for 9 weeks. Still have bad anxiety but not as bad as olanzapine. The dr thinks I tried to rush the  dosage of the Olanzapine and that’s why I had the terrible side effects. 

      Are you taking any other AD?

      Take care. 

    • kate85501
      kate85501 nancy76309

      Posted

      I was taking abilify for 3 weeks and stopped that about a month ago.  I am completely psych drug free at this point.  The withdrawals for the most part have gone away...  I just don't trust the psych drugs or like how they make me feel or do to me.

      Thank you for replying.  Please keep us (me) posted on your progress.  It certainly helps.

    • nancy76309
      nancy76309 kate85501

      Posted

      Kate, I do hope you continue to do well without meds. I am almost to that point myself. I’ll stick it out through week 12. 

      I stay in bed most of the time and that can’t be good. 

      Please post and let me know how you are doing. 

    • kate85501
      kate85501 nancy76309

      Posted

      Hi Nancy,

      Please try to get some daily form of exercise in, even walking.  Sunlight is supposed to be very helpful as well.  For me, forcing myself to try to live somewhat of a normal lifestyle helps to keep the anxiety and panic attacks at bay.  I also hope that week 12 will be a big milestone in this journey.  I am just so shocked and upset that any thing could have such detrimental effects when trying to get off of them.  Somehow, it feels like that was the intention all along to prevent people from getting off of psych meds.  *Sigh.

      In hope and sincerely yours,

       

    • nancy76309
      nancy76309 kate85501

      Posted

      Kate, I just saw my psycharist today and he gave me the same advice you did regarding sunlight and exercise. I finally decided that a psycharist knows a lot more about these meds  I had tried 6 of them before leaving the gp. 

      I am determined to follow this good advice no matter how much I may not want to , because I know you are right. 

      Thanks for your help, and please continue to let me know how you are doing. 

    • Ash1234
      Ash1234 nancy76309

      Posted

      im on 2.5mg for the last month and used to be on 10mg for a year.saw the doctor today and he said come off the last 2.5mg in a months time. how long can i expect the withdrawal to last before it stabilizes ?

    • Tadgh78
      Tadgh78 nancy76309

      Posted

      Thats great that you got off Olanzapine. What was the exact taper that you used?

  • kate85501
    kate85501 nancy76309

    Posted

    hi Nancy,

    so glad to hear from you and that your psych apparently has given you what seems to me like good advice.  Daily sunlight, daily exercise (i'm finding this to be key in my recovery), magnesium (the more soluble kind, this has helped tremendously in my muscle aches going away), chlorella powder in my acai and berry smoothie I try to have each morning, omega 3, and a sam's club multi vitamin which has high b-12 and b-6 vitamin, and yogurt and bananas seems to be helping me in this recovery.  I have read that other vitamins and supplements help, so I am open to looking into those currently.  Anything to help me fight this horrible withdrawal off zyprexa. One thing I will say is that for me, going with the mentality of day by day, and slowly but surely and consistency is helping me a lot to recover.  

    I hope you are finding each day to be a little better.  

    sincerely and in hope,

    a fellow cold turkey member off zyprexa (10 mg)

    • nancy76309
      nancy76309 kate85501

      Posted

      Kate, all of that is good advice. I’ll look into the vitamins. 

      It’s so hard to get out of bed and exercise, but I am determined to do it. 

      It sounds as if it’s working for you and that’s so encouraging. 

      Please keep all of us updated. 

    • Ash1234
      Ash1234 kate85501

      Posted

      Hi Kate,

      Did you come off 10mg Zyprexa in one go ? or did you do 5mg and then wait a few months and do anoher 5. Reason I ask is the psychiatrist reduced mine from 10mg to 5mg in one go. Week 1 was ok, From weeks2 ive been having withdrawal symptoms the worst of whic his the low mood daily.

      Can you tell me how long it took to come off Zyprex ? were u on other meds too at the time like an ssri ?

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