coming off olanzapine

I have been on it for 11 years as well. The last 4 years I have gone from 10mg right down to .625mg. About 3 months ago I switched from taking it at 6pm to 7am. At the time I was still on 2.5mg. Within those last 3 months I have dropped down to .625mg pretty much when I need it. By that I mean somedays I do not even take it anymore. If I feel a bit "loose" in the mind I take some (.625mg) Since taking it in the morning I have not missed a nights sleep and I wake feeling much more refreshed. Actually, now when I do take the small amount in the morning I can really feel the effects of the drug. What I mean by that is my mood changes and I become quite dark. This actaully has given me insight into the need to get off it. The counter to that is that when I have not taken it for a few days I start to notice heightened euphoria. This is the sign to take a smalll dose. These episodes are slowly getting wider and wider apart meaning I can go longer without having any. Anyway, the point of my reply is...since changing from night to day everything has become easier and I have dropped down very quickly with virtually no issues.

My advice from my psych before doig this was "just have the meds on you if you need them"

Hope that helps.

 I have been on Olanzapine for the same amount of time if not longer. When my first psychiatrist reired she referred me to a young psychiatrist who knew little about the side effects of Olanzapine. And get this... when I told him about my sleep disturbances he dobled my dose of Olanzapine. What a fool. My sleep patern got worse. I ended up staying up all night long sometimes. I also felt zombied out the next day. I also developed Diabetes because of the high dose of Olanzapine (at the time my blood sugar level had spiked to 25). After doing a lot of research, I aproached him about the side effects. He agreed to slowly reduce my dosage, but by only 1/4 mg. per month. I noticed slightly fewer side effects already but I still have trouble getting to sleep at a decent hour. My Diabetes is manageable now. I can't wait to get off Olanzapine complletely. I still lack motivation the next day. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Keep me informed on your progress. Your level of reduction is far greater than mine. Believe it or not I'm still on a total of 23.75 mg./day of Olanzapine.