how long does olanzapine withdrawal last?

Hi Jamesmilly! I’m kinda late to the party. But anyway I’ve been taking Olanzapine for 6 years now and I wish I would have read your story before I started taking it. I gotta say I use to be thin and athletic before Olanzapine as well. I had minimal to no voices in my head, I just had a lot of social aniexty and depression. When I started taking Olanzapine I gained over 100 pounds in one year. And I was 5’9” at 150 pounds. Gaining that much weight that quickly was very unhealthy on my body and my brain. Not only that, Olanzapine gave me high blood pressure and acid reflux. But of course my mother and doctor supported the drug even when I told them about these symptoms. So about two years later I decided to drop the drug completely, cold turkey they would call it. I lost over 100 pounds in 4 months and was at a weight around 160-170 pounds. Losing weight that quick did take an unhealthy toll on my body. But not only that I had no clue about the withdrawal symptoms, which of course I experienced. These symptoms were so terrifying, since I did not understand them I thought I was dying slowly everyday. Back pains, constant vomiting, diarrhea, fevers, headaches, insomnia, lost of appetite, full numbness of the body, limbs and face, involuntary movement, aggression, mood swings, dizziness, blacking out (I even quit drinking alcohol at the time), nose bleeds, dialated pupils, sexual urges and many more. I got to the point of confusion that I thought people were poisoning my food because it happen every time I ate as well. Not only that I suffered from various stages of schizophrenia. Consistent loud voices in head my head. Racing thoughts I couldn’t control. That were completely false but I ended up believing in them, even if I denied them. Some how I managed to alter the voice’s personalities in my head to basically be comedic. So when I ended up having nervous breakdown I would laugh like a psychotic maniac and nobody would know why. And the jokes these voices in my head told me weren’t pleasant either. The jokes were about rape, death, aliens, demonic creatures. Things of pure evil, but I’ll just laughed continuously to cope. I couldn’t come up with a logical reason for this happening, the only thing I could look forward to was that I was healthy physically again. But not mentally. When I was taking the drug Olanzapine I didn’t feel right either. My body was constantly healing its self and in need of protein. I would have to eat large amounts of meat to feel healthy enough to go to sleep. And sleep didn’t go well either. I developed a large snoring problem and loss of breath during sleep. It was so bad I couldn’t breathe through my nose. And I can’t continue this story anymore. But long story I got back on the Olanzapine and now I fatter than I ever been in my life. Every time I lose weight I gain back double the amount. I’m losing memory, my reaction time is lower than usual which is a problem for me cause I use to be a Professional gamer. 

Hey man if your reading this don’t take any antipsychotic, it’s like taking heroine. No matter how strong you are mentally you won’t be able to deal with the health issues while on it or the problems that come from it’s withdrawal. I recommend Zoloft only but that’s even powerful to the point it’s unbearable. And the withdrawal symptoms are bad too. Expect excessive depression, anxiety that’ll turn a war hero into a coward. Consider yourself warned and hopefully you’ll come out of it sane and in tact, seriously. I’m currently a victim to illegal actions perform by my current doctor and mother. I am a grown man, I cannot be admitted to a hospital unless I give my own consent. Even though I know my rights my mother still gets me admitted for no reasons at all. I could be having a stroke and she’ll admit to the hospital, no lie, I’m dead serious it happened before. And while didn’t even give me medical attention. I just prayed I would heal on my own. She even gets cops involved and all she has to do is tell them that I have a mental illness and they won’t believe a word I say. 

Hi James, sorry to hear you are struggling. If you ever need support or just someone to talk to, that has actually taken olanzapine and understand what you are going through, feel free to chat.

Ive been trying to ge off these tablets and it is really hard. I don't think anyone can relate unless they've been there.Olanzapine stuns your metabolism to a halt and makes you insulin resistant in the way you body burn fat cells. All the other symptoms, headaches, sweating, anxiety, nervousness, lack of concentration, etc the list goes on. Since ive been taking these tablets i slowly started doing less things that i like until i finally stopped them all. I really want to do them, eg cycling and gym, but somewhere the connection between wanting to do it and actually doing it is broken, even normal household chores takes effort.  I feel totally disconnected from people. At first i thought it was just me being lazy, until i stumbled across this site. I was healthy and active before i started taking this drug and now i am just a shadow of the person i used to be and honestly i want my old self back, so do some of my close friends and family. So i decided to play open cards with them, told them to have patience with me, because the problem isn't me, it is the drug and taking it has consequences and withdrawals. Luckily they are very supportive, a friend comes to take me for a cycle, it goes slow, but at least im on the bike, because on my own i cant to it, the other comes and we walk the dogs etc. A supporting structure is important

I went cold turkey, the first day or so i was fine, then it started. Anxiety, depression, lack of concentration etc.II told my boss i stopped taking them and that im going to be on a rollercoaster ride for a while and that i don't know what all to expect and for how long. Hopefully i wont end up loosing my job because of this. They understand, want a letter from my doctor that specifies what symptoms they can expect in order for them to help me when im having a bad day, which is a lot. Some easier than others, some worse. Now i drink one, skip one if i can

I spoke to my doctor and told her i want to stop the tablets because of the weight gain. The response wasn't positive. She explained it like this:  like a person that walks with a cane and suddenly the cane gets kick from under you. You will fall. Even with weaning the tablets. There is nothing they can give you to stop the fall, only more meds to take some pain away of the fall. And like that person with a cane, needs time  to learn to walk again, so does your body needs to learn to adjust without olanzapine and that is going to take some time, how long i dont know. From what i read, it can take up to two years for your body to heal and get your metabolism going again.

I think people trying to quit olanzapine must get an award and a sobriety chip like in AA, because it is a difficult and bumpy road ahead

Good luck

Marriette

I am not familiar with that medication but have you talked to your medical team about these issues? It would seem that maybe you needed a lower dose to begin with or maybe you needed a lower dose and something else to go with it or perhaps some other type of medication altogether. I have been on pretty much everything you can think of and never had any withdrawl issues, except the return of my anxiety symptoms which I figure is normal if I'm not on the medication to control them. I would talk to your doctors about it and see if there is anything else they can give you to help with your symptoms and ease your transition from this med. You can try st. johns wort and other herbal remedies but check with your doctors about those too in case you have any medical issues they won't work well with. Melatonin is great for some people, others say it has the opposite effect, I think the best way is to start at the lowest dose possible and work your way up to a comfortable level. My daughter has been taking 10mg of melatonin for years with no problem (it is time released so you don't get 10mg all at once, the outer layer releases quickly so you can fall asleep quicker and the inner layer releases slowly to help you stay asleep longer). Best of luck to you!!!

Hi James milly , how are you coping with everything now ?? Are you off Zyprexa ? ? Im into my 4th wk of Withdrawals and still having aches an pains headaches an insomnia an some Dizzy spells. Did you suffer from any of these symptoms ? ? Take care Lloyd

First off, Im just learning how terrible this drug is, how it works, and how much I despise my psych for putting me on it in the first place. I have bipolar I, and an addict. Been clean 6 months. Wife has had cancer six months, so Im dead serious about my sobriety. Anyway, had a lot of lethargy, loss of interests and motivation, and gained an enormous amount of weight. A friend who is an NP in psychiatric care asked if I was on it (regarding my serious change of lifestyle, not just sobriety, change to paleo diet and hardcore 7-day a week fitness routine), because I had lost NO weight. He said drop it. I did. Losing weight immediately. I feel fine, no major side effects except TERRIBLE insomnia. Because Im an addict, my psych wont give me sleep meds. Says my brain needs to heal. (Like 3 hours of sleep isnt detrimental...duh.) So it looks like my wife will be sharing some benzos to help me deal with it. Whatever it takes. I will never take this drug again, and tell anyone I encounter to avoid at all costs. Horrible.

I also am withdrawing from zyprexa. I been pretty much abused by meds my whole life. I was told I had a problem by my parents. I am finding out that I do not have bipolar. Been medicated since 13 years old on pills I didn't even need. I first had major chest pains in my chest. So badly I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Until I started myself dosing down. Was on 10 MG a day then I went to 5 MG myself. Then after it was just everyday having this horrible chest pain that was alot of pressure in my chest. I mean it was bad. I thought I was going to die most of the time and having a heart attack. Until my friend told me it was. Then looked up to see if my med zyprexa had any problems with chest pain. Yes it seems that was the cause. I started dose down to a fouth of a 5mg pill. The pain in my chest slowly day by day going down. I told my doctor about it and when I had a doctor for mental meds. I told him I dosed down to a fouth of a 5mg pill. WE had a disccussion and I told him these pills have been hurting me all my life. Then as reading into bipolar manic attacks. Noticed I never had one every from what goes on in them. I started educated myself on what was going on through internet reading. He told me to stop taking the pills. And also didn't get a follow up appointment cause of the abuse charges. He knew that there was wrong going on. I been off of them for over a month now. When I was geting off my other meds my head pain was very bad. But I coup with it everyday. It went down a good amount over time. Now my doctor told me to take alieve for the pain. Also alot of caffiene. It help some but I notice somewhat a pain in the brain at times. I do not know if my mind will ever be right with that little bit of pain. Only time will tell from the abuse over years of heavy dosing from meds that I didn't need. I also drink a good amount of green tea help a good amount. 

Hi folks  I've been on zyprexa for 4 months and lost my appetite about 3 months ago. I'm tapering off 5mg down to 2 and now I'm on half of 2mg. The anxiety is terrible and I'm worried about the loss of appetite. Does anyone else have this problem. I feel worthless and do not want to leave the house. This drug should be outlawed. The dr put me on it for depression. I could at least function before this drug ever came in my life.

I took a series of different bipolar medications for over 20 years olanzapine Was the first one I had to with drawl off of when I decided to use natural herbs to treat my bipolar disorder it turned out that the medication I was taking after doing research not only causes diabetes and obesity and neuropathy but it takes over 20 years off of your life so I have been taking omega 3 choline vitamin b12 and probiotics I’ve been off the meds for almost 2 months don’t go back on them once you stop I didn’t taper down to 2.5 I was taking 10 mg a day and I taper down to 5 mg for two months and then stopped turns out that’s going cold turkey to you should taper down to 2.5 use a cutter i’ve been off the meds for almost 2 months don’t go back on them once you stop I didn’t taper down to 2.5 I was taking 10 mg a day and I taper down to 5 mg for two months and then stopped turns out that’s going cold turkey to you should taper down to 2.5 use a cutter withdrawal pains are horrible if you need some relief get with your doctor have her prescribe you clondine hcl 0.2mg It will help with some of the withdrawal pains but just a release I took them for about a month and then you have to come off of those I take one every other day start looking up natural ways to deal with the anxiety trust me I have an anxiety disorder already and I do take Clonopin for that I have for years probably got 15 that’s the next medication that I’m going to come off it but I’ll give it another year before I come off any more meds take a nice hot bath trust me I understand anxiety because if you have anxiety disorder and you’re taking medication for that and the withdrawals from the Meds Are so bad that it feels like you’re not even taking anxiety meds so my doctor increased my 3 mg a day to 6 mg a day while I was coming off of the Zyprexa I read up on a are so bad that it feels like you’re not even taking anxiety meds so my doctor increased my 3 mg a day to 6 mg a day while I was coming off of the Zyprexa I read up on this medication a lot and I never saw any success stories but I took a month off of work rested drink lotta water keep in contact with police your primary care doctor keep yourself preoccupied talking helped for me sometimes but don’t give up trust me the long-term affects of those medications all of them are horrible and you never feel like yourself I have been off bipolar meds before and I did it alone and I will do it again so don’t give up I’m back at work and I feel better than ever I have some days where I don’t feel good but then it goes away eventually it’ll go away completely good luck

hi.

i came off 10mg of olanzapine but i did it very very slowly. took months till i stopped taking it totally but even after thst, next 3 weeks were bad. had headaches, severe anxiety, fekt scared a lot of the times but i didnt give in as i hated how it made me feel. 6 weeks on now and im feeling a lot better.i would not say 100 percent normal like i was before i got ill three years ago but i feel a lot better. i can truly say what helped me is just plain will and meditation. i do the chanting version rather thsn just focus on breathing as when im in the mudst of a very stupid thought causing severe anxiety,only thing that worked for me is chanthing. im nit particularly religious or spiritual but the method works for me. i still do it in tje morning and evening and it helps me a lot.

I've been off it 2.5 for 5 months took it for year and half still tapered down about 6 months and still feel nausea in mornings and no appetite causes heart problems take cbd capsules they help think ill have to get mood stabiliser depakote as sleep OK but can hardly drink alcohol as it makes you sicker feel down terrible this drug should be banned