Coming off Olanzapine

It sounds like Olanzapine totally messes up all the neurotransmitters in the brain. The fact that it reduces dopamine is terrible because we need dopamine for giving us get up & go, cognition & clarity of thought. I can understand why jeff said he's not willing to stop taking Adderall like his doctor recommended he try while taking Olanzapine. He could end up being a total zombie because of reduced dopamine. Adderall increases dopamine. It is an upper, while Olanzapine is a downer. I'm just so glad I did my research on Olanzapine after being prescribed it. There was no way I was going to take it after reading about the devastating side effects! I'm now also free of valium, zopiclone, tramadol & zoloft, having stopped cold turkey, & I'm weaning off Mirtazapine. Looking back to when I was prescribed all those incredibly nasty drugs and the hell I was suffering daily while on them, made me realize my prescribing psych didn't have a clue and didn't care. I'm so glad I suspected the combination of all these meds were making me so ill physically & especially mentally. I'm now very stable mentally, very happy & calm, my tummy pains are a thing of the past and life is good again. I'll never understand why my psych (who I never saw again & cancelled my last appt with her, back in June), had prescribed Olanzapine as I'm neither bipolar or schizophrenic but would have ended up with these neurological disorders it's supposed to help with, if I had taken it. If I hadn't researched it and began taking this drug, it would have caused a severe imbalance in the neurotransmitters in my brain. I'd be very overweight and would have worse bowel problems & probably other physical issues. It would have destroyed my life! I'm only on 3 meds now, for arthritis & phantom limb pain, & weaning off 1, as opposed to the 8 or 9 that the psych would have had me on. What a joke! Makes me wonder how her other patients fare. I was fortunate I had the foresight to study the effects these meds would have on the brain's neurotransmitters. I discovered more natural ways to re-balance these neurotransmitters. Yes, medication is sometimes needed to kick start the process of re-balancing them. Getting the right ones can be tricky though. But Olanzapine? Hmm!

Anyone prescribed the medication Olanzapine, should research it on the net first before going ahead and taking it. Be careful!

My story is somewhat similiar to some of yours in that i feel that this drug 'olanzapine' has stolen 10 years of my life.Ever since getting sectioned in 2004 i hae gone through what i can only describe as an absolute nightmare in the mental health system.I used to be young,outgoing person with my whole life ahead of me,iam nearly 32 years old now.When i was first addmitted to hospital i refused 'medication' as i knew i didn't need it,until one day the doctors gave me the ultimatum 'take these tablets,otherwise we will start to inject you' (horrible i know) from that day on i took 'olanzpine' .In hospital they gave me no insight into the drug or it's terrible side effects.On coming out of hospital i gained 5/6 stone pretty much imediately & was sleeping for 16 hours a day.I was put on lots of other medications along with the 'olanzapine' & even tried other medications,but always ended up back on the olanzapine,which i have been on,on its own fo the last 6 years or so.I spent over 2 years on sleeping tablets because i couldn't sleep as my eyes were rolling in my head & it took the doctors over a year & half to recognise that it was a condition callled oculogyric crisis which is caused by the 'olanzapine' ,for this they tried me on 2 different medications to combat the 'eyes rolling' side effect of the olanzapine,one was called procyclidine and the other orphenadrine,both of these drugs had there own side effects whic is 'sleeplessness' which to be honest just made things even worse.The doctors agreed that iam extremely sensitive to the olanzapine & i get all of the side effects,but insist i need the drug otherwise i will end up back in hospital & its for my on good.Other side effects included sensitivity to sunlight & red skin aswell as all the common side effects associated with olanzapine.After reading yor stories about 'olanzapine' i felt compelled to share some of my story about the drug (and yes,this is just some of it) as i thought i was completey alone on this medication.I'am determined to come off 'olanzapine' this year with or without the help of the mental health system,as i don't want to spend the next 10 years or even the rest of my life on 'olanzapine'.This medication is supposed to help,support & improve your life,not destroy it.

btw - my diagnosis is paranoid schizophrenic . . .

looking forward to getting off 'olanzapine' and taking control of my life once again

peace

x

Oh, that's so awful for you, bonna! Were you diagnosed as being paranoid schizophrenic before taking Olanzapine? It sounds like this drug has exacerbated any symptoms you may have had. There are better ways to improve your well-being and mental health, than using Olanzapine. When dopamine & serotonin are low, schizophrenia & panic disorder can occur. Foods high in tryptophan, such as cottage cheese, wheatgerm, chicken & turkey and many other foods, can help to re-balance these 2 neurotransmitters. Trytophan, available by prescription, also helps with sleeplessness. Extensive research into neurotransmitters & hormones, has found that most mental health issues stem from an imbalance of both the neurotransmitters in the brain and hormonal imbalances.

Best wishes for getting off this nightmare drug. and getting your life back in order!

Hey Christine,No i was NOT diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia on been admitted to hospital where they first put me on medication,i hadn't had any contact with the mental health system up until that point,to be honest it was the police who sectioned me,i did NOT see any doctors/nurses before been admitted to hospital who gave me any kind of evaluation,i think the police had no idea of what to do with me other than to take me to a mental institution.I think in the UK this is quite common,the mental health system i a messy business to be quite frank,i definitely think your right though in that the olanzapine & my experience in hospital exacerbated any symptoms i had,and if the police & the doctors had have dealt with me more effectively i wouldn't have to go through that or be on medication for 10 years,like i say its a messy business

I think doctors & pyschiatrists have no idea in how to deal with patients on a one to one personal basis & alot of them don't seem interested in your well been whatsoever & medication is an easy way to deal with people & basically brush them under the carpet . . .

I feel the time has come to take a stand for my life & future happiness . . .

i have had enough of been a drugged up zombie dancing to the beat of the mental health systems drum haha

thanks for your wishes

peace

x

Hello HOW TO GET OFF THE DRUG SAFELY

I've just found your forum. I have been olanzapine for eight years. I had two psychotic breaks. One in 1992 in the Netherlands and one in my home country down under in 1998. Both due to emotional upsets (ok boy troubles). Prior to 2005 I was on Navane (old anti psychotic) and at low doses. They took this drug off the market, with out warning so I suffered greatly withdrawal syndrome and then suffered trying to find a drug that suited me.

I finally settled on 2.5 mg of Olanzapine in 2005. I am sensitive to drugs so didn't tolerate 5mg which a new doctor tried me on. In fact this was disasterous and I ended at mums for three months with little energy, nautious, dizzy and headaches. I thought I had a virus. I dropped the drug to 2.5 again and experienced all kinds of difficulties. I had anxiety for months (never had before), mouth ulcers which the dentist said was a virus in my mouth but wasn't.

I did some ringing around and even managed to talk to the drug company.

I LEARNT

When reducing olanzapine alternate doses ie if you start at a regular 5mg then take 2.5 every second day. Do this for some weeks before dropping to a level 2.5mg

Do not skip a dose, take some every day even when you get down to the minute dosages.

This process takes MONTHS not weeks.

My pharmacist says if you have a problem at any level go back to the level you last felt good at then stay for a few months until you drop again.

I am now on 1.25mg and have been for 2 years because I am weaning off another drug first which has taken some time. I use a pill cutter. If you save offcuts remember to wrap them in tinfoil or glad wrap until the next day.

I am doing so under doctors supervision. I have a great doctor though I mainly get advice from my pharmacist.

There are some excellent videos on youtube interviewing doctors from Finland treating first time psychosis. They give medication as last resort but do family intervention (talking) and address the problems people present with that caused the issue . Very high success rates in stopping symptons and reoccurances.

Thanks christine for your info on neurotransmitters

Good luck Adam. Stick at 5mg for a while until you feel settled ready to alternate 5mg and 2.5mg

Marbel

Some good advice Marbel.

I've been on Olanzapine for years, though not bi polar or schizophrenic. On 2.5mg. I don't like all the side effects.

I tried to come off the medication recently, just by stopping it. I was fine, then after two months I got some terrible withdrawal symptoms and had to go back on it.

I can well believe it takes months of slow reduction of dose, before you are free of it.

Withdrawing slowly seems to be the only safe way.

Jon

My experience of being on Olanzapine 5mgs for years was fine as I did not get any negative side effects and I felt well on it - working and functioning well but I objected to taking medication. I tried to stop taking it after a year and even with tapering the dose I had overwhelming free floating anxiety, insomnia, nausea, vomiting which disabled me. This was far worse than the psychotic episode I was originally medicated for.

The Drs would not believe me when I explained it was withdrawal effects they insisted it was a returning of my psychosis. I knew it wasn't but as returning to taking the drug cured me I was stuck. I have tried several times to come off it by reducing the dose slowly but always the anxiety, insomnia and nausea returned - all be it to a lesser extent with a slower reduction. I am now on 1.25mg every other day by cutting the tablets in half and I wait until I feel good on a dose before I reduce it again. Not sure if I can quarter the tablet as it is tiny but I suppose I could try to stop completely now and put up with effects.

I would carry on taking it to feel well but I cannot rule out that it is causing my neutropenia and increased heart rate. I am amazed that such a small dose can prevent the withdrawal effects but trial and error proves to me it does. Of course people say it is psychological but the return of the nausea often reminds me when I forget a dose and if I stay with a dose after a couple of weeks I return to normal. It is reassuring to hear similar stories from other people.

Psychiatrist just want to medicate and if you get side effects they give you another drug to combat the side effects and so you can end up on a cocktail of drugs. They had me on 3 drugs for a psychotic episode that was caused by the trauma when my brother died suddenly. I believe I would have recovered without medication but as I was sectioned and very psychotic I had little choice. I physically fought them for days as I did not want to take medication but they held me down and injected me. I eventually agreed to take Olanzapine but it was as I was feeling more rational and in touch and now I feel I was getting better anyway. I will never know what would have happened had I not taken Medication but I do know how difficult it is to get off of it. They are starting to use Olanzapine for children with ADHD in America. I feel the children are heading for a cocktail of drugs and many serious side effects.

I hope everyone is filling the yellow card to report adverse effects available at pharmacies.It took them many years before they recognised that there were any withdrawal effects and even now they do not think it is a problem. The drug companies would have many more of us on them by over claiming their usefulness and trying to deny the side effects if they could. I am always suspicious when the drug companies are involved in the research. If everyone speaks out they may find it more difficult to prescribe it for trivial conditions as they are doing now. Eating disorders, sleeping problems etc They have stopped prescribing it so readily for the elderly after it was highlighted that there was an increased risk of dying as it was being used for patients with dementia related psychosis or to calm them down.

There is research and articles being published about the withdrawal effects and we should speak up to add weight to these papers.

I have been on olazapine for nearly 2 years. It works well as I had an episode of psychosis with delusionsand hallusinations (sorry about spelling). This medication solved these problems but I am now stuck on this drug and have tried coming off, even really slowly, but it seems I have to go through a hellish period of fear, massive anxiety attacks, mood changes, no sleep, severe lows, loud inner voice coming back, heartracing. The only way to stop all this is to give in and take olazapine. The fear of not being able to sleep and go through this nightmare is as bad as being ill in the first place. I often wonder if I had been able to stay in the mental hospital and left to recover from my breakdown or episode of psychosis, maybe it would have taken a bit longer, but I wish I had never been forced to take this drug. If you have a choice do not takeolazapine, I repeat, do not take it.