Coming off Olanzapine

Hi Will

I would not recommend missing doses as this messes with the drug levels.  you can take 1.25mg for six weeks and then 3/4 of this dose for six weeks and then 1/2 this dose (.625mg).

Another slower strategy is to alternate dose for six weeks until dropping a level. eg 1.25mg one night and then 3/4 of that the next night and then 1.25mg the next night and 3/4 of that the following night.  after six weeks drop to the 3/4 of 1.25 mg dose and sit on this for six weeks until alternating again to a lower dose ie.625 mg.  I used this successfully to come off an anti depressant and if I remember rightly to reduce olanzapine too.  I got down to .625mg but had a major event so am now back to 2.5mg but you have not been on it very long so you should get off it fine.

the alternating method called titration was a method recommended by the anti psychotic drug company and my pharmacist.  But go slow.  a useful herb for sleep and irritability when reducing olanzapine is zizphus. but as I said missing doses is not recommended.

Marbel

Noted and appreciated.

 

Hi florencia

I titrated the dose which means alternating doses before dropping a dose.  For example 10mg one night and then 7.5 mg the next night and then 10 mg the next.  do this for a number of weeks and then settle for a number of weeks on an even 7.5 mg dose.  How long you stay at each drop and alternation is up to you but I found 4-6 weeks the best. continue reducing alternating 7.5mg and 5 mg for a few weeks and then drop to an even 5 mg etc.  Ask me about the lower doses when you get that far.  Good luck. Marbel

Hi Marbel,

Thank you for your message. Actually, I already did this for my daughter, alternating with 10 mg and 7.5 mg. However,after a week,  she immediately changed her behavior.  So, I changed my strategy of giving her 7.5 mg once a week, but the same result. It seems that she has difficulty in sleeping with changes of her dose, even very slight. I wonder if you have additional strategies or experiment in doing this.  I really wish that we will be successful in 2016.  Many thanks in advance for your help,

Flor

 

Florencia, I've never taken this drug but I've seen its effects - both during use and withdrawal - on a dear friend, so I understand the problem. I know the effect even very small changes in dosage can have. My only suggestion is to get a pill cutter. I think some pharmacies sell them though I've never looked for one myself. This would allow you to fairly accurately cut up tablets into smaller units than half a 5mg tablet, which is what I'm assuming you're doing right now.

And Marbel, I'd like to thank you for your note of condolence on my friend's death, written two months ago, and which I've only just seen. That was very kind of you. Although I'm "following" this thread, I find I don't always get notifications in my inbox.

Hi Flor,

In response to your reply to Marbel...she is right in what she says. You need to alternate the dose. You'll just have to work out what that is . It's all trial and error as each individual is different. I've been on this forum for about two years and the people who have had the most success getting off or lowering their dosage have been the ones who alternated with a lower dose. I was on olanzapine for 10 years. It took me 18 months to wean off from 10mg a night, i haven't taken any medication for almost a year now and I have to say so far so good. Iv said this before on here though....you can't just stop taking meds and expect to be ok or live the life you use to. You have to have a plan in place which means you will have to make significant changes to your life and lifestyle. This is because you were sick, you got sick because of the life/lifestyle you led. Then you go on meds which might fix the mental sickness but doesn't do much for the physical aspect of yourself. So now you get mentally well but are physically sick...so you then have to fix that. Moral of the story....stay active, eat well, sleep well, make good friends, be happy. Recovery will follow. It's not an overnight thing, you have to keep working at it. I had so many setbacks while trying to get off this stuff. Even now that I'm clean I still have my moments but they are easier to manage....well for me they are, I can be a nightmare to live with but if you love your daughter and want her off this stuff you too will have to make some changes. She needs a strong positive support network around her to help her get through it. You have to realise she has changed and you might not see the person you once new ever again. You have to be positive about it though in order for her to grow into the person she needs to become. And if you look at it in terms of growing pain it can help you both get through. You're both growing here as you learn each day what is needed to be done to get well. It's not easy and it can be a long ride so you have to be prepared for that. But it can be done. If you give up though it's a life long downhill battle, better to go through the pain now and do whatever it takes to break free. Best of luck. Colin

Thank you so much Sack / Colin for your encouragement. May I kow how you did your reduction alternating dose? Is ot the same with Marbel? from 10mg to 7.5mg alternating? We don't have available supply here of 2.5mg so we will just divide it, approximate it. Were you under the supervision of psychiatrist when you reduce it and finally withdrew it? Like Marbel, thank you for giving me hope.

Happy New Year!

Thank you Lily for the sympathy and advice. And condolence too for your friend.

Yes, as Lilly says...use a pill cutter.

Like I said it's all trial and error. I did this basically.

Start:

M - 10. T - 7.5. W - 10. T - 10. F -10. S - 10. S - 10

Then the next week I went:

M,W,T,F - 10 AND T S 7.5.

My theory was...If I can get through just one day on a lower dose Ill then go back up for a few days to calm myself then drop down for one day again further on.

This gave me the courage to face a day on a lower dose and get through it while knowing if it all went pear shaped I could get back on top of things pretty quickly and easily.

I did this alternating from 10-7.5 for quite awhile until I was fully comfortable with the up/down routine...and I mean FULLY comfortable. The real test came when I went from doing 10 one day and 7.5 the next and so on...to....10 one day then 7.5 for two days straight. This is because it's a real leap of faith on your own part...can I make 48 hours on this lower dose??? I followed the same format. I only did the 48 hours once a week until I was very comfotable that I could get through those 48 hours with ease, which took weeks. In the beginning the panic was all about "can I make it" the more I did it the less panicked I was. Then I focused on going 48 hours on a lower dose twice a week. Do you see where Im going?

This is why I say it takes months and months. It took me 18 months to do it this way, but I did it. Remember the tortiose and the hare....slowly slowly wins the race.

There will be set backs even doing it this way. I flipped out a couple of times and had to go back up for awhile but then I carried on. DO NOT VIEW ANYTHING AS A FAILURE. It is just a hurdle to get over and you will get over it. You just have to keep going.

I did one thing at the start and I realised one thing as I progressed. They are:

1 - Set a time frame to get off this drug. Mine was two years.

2 - Understand that if for some reason (and there quite possibly will be reasons) that you need to take more medication....then take it. But get back on track toward your intial goal...which was to be clear.

As i got closer to being clear the realisation that the drug was masking my ability/inability to cope with the real world became obvious. So i used that to my advantage. I decided if things get so bad I WILL take this medication to get me through this period. But I was adamant that I would still move forward because my goal was to cope with the world or my own issues rather than take meds and bury my head in the sand.

After I was clear I always had meds on hand just in case.

With every passing day now I get further from the meds and am stronger and better able to deal with life.

I had a pretty major episode just before xmas that a year ago would have had me back throwing pills down my throat but when you get drug free you just start to be able to cope more each day. It took me two weeks to recover but I did it without taking meds this time.

Flor, like I said...it's not an overnight thing. You just have to hang in there for as long as it takes, both of you. But if you stick to your plan and goal you will make it.

I'm always on this site and I get every post that comes through on this thread so feel free to stay in touch.

Regards,

Colin

Many thanks Colin! I will try to follow the path you went through.  Now, I understand, it is not straight every other day.  I hope and pray that my daughter can overcome it.

Wishing you all the best for helping people like us.

Regards,

Flor

hi florencia

you could try alternating with a higher dose as lily describes.  say 10mg one night and 8.75 the next.  I don't have experience at theses higher doses as the most I took was 5mg which I did not tolerate.  And am now on 2.5mg of olanzapine. But the mantra for success is really lower by small increments and over a long period of time.  I got off citalopram successfully this way. I am now doing the same coming off clonazepam.   I am still annoyed that I was prescribed this drug for sleep only to find it is an anti anxiety drug notoriously hard to come off but I have learnt a lot about decreasing meds so will persisit.  Nice to hear from you again Colin.

Marbel