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I want to get off Olanzapine

Posted , 4 users are following.

ozm8ey
ozm8ey

hello I have been on Olanzapine/zyprexa for about a year and a half and it works great but i want to get off it because I have put on about 30kgs which is ridiculous also it makes me appear dumb, like my speech is slow and i forget things. I know its the zyprexa.

Anyway Im only on the 2mg zyprexa and wondering should i just suddenly stop or what?

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • lily65668
    lily65668 ozm8ey

    Posted

    Is that 2mg once a day? If not, I think it would be safe to reduce it to once a day. And you don't say how long you've been taking it at this low dose, or what dose you scaled back from, and when, nor the condition you've been taking it for. As I'm sure you know, neuroleptics have to be tailed off very slowly indeed to avoid causing psychiatric side-effects. On the plus side, olanzapine is less likely to cause this than many other drugs in the same group. Never let them put you on Risperdal (risperidone) btw. It's the worst of the neuroleptics for causing rebound psychosis.

    I think you should discuss this with your doctor and decide what's worse - the side-effects or the condition for which you started taking this med. It can be prescribed for a whole spectrum of conditions, ranging from mild depression to severe psychosis. There's not really enough info in your post for anyone to give you reliable advice, and in any case your doctor or therapist should know if you're going to stop taking olanzapine.

    Good luck!

    Lily

  • MK5460
    MK5460 ozm8ey

    Posted

    ozm8ey don't EVER suddenly STOP taking your meds unless you WANT SERIOUSLY consequences doing so. Dangerous to just come off anything that you have been on that long. But then you live in the UK where I guess you do whatever
    • lily65668
      lily65668 MK5460

      Posted

      Why do you think he's in the UK? Not everyone on this UK-based blog lives in the UK. You don't, and I don't either (though I spent the first 30 years of my life there). His/her writing style looks more US than UK to me.
    • vickylou
      vickylou MK5460

      Posted

      What difference does it make whether he's in the UK or Timbuctoo. I totally agree with you that you shouldn't up or down meds without consulting your Dr. This is a health forum where people air their views and opinions. "I think it would be safe to reduce to once a day" is quite a dangerous statement from someone who is not a doctor. How do you know whether or not it's safe?
    • lily65668
      lily65668 vickylou

      Posted

      I'm a trained nurse, Vickylou. 2mg, even if taken twice a day, is a very small dose - almost insignificant. At that level, there would be no serious effects from reducing it from twice to once a day. The usual dose is up to 20mg per day. You would, however, have seen if you'd read as far as my second paragraph that I was strongly urging him/her to discuss reducing or stopping the drug with his/her therapist or doctor first.

      And no, I don't see what difference it makes where he is either. I was merely responding to MK's puzzling post in which she assumed he was in the UK and seemed to be angry with him because of that. Judging from his ID, I'd guess Australian.biggrin

    • MK5460
      MK5460 lily65668

      Posted

      lily65668 because every time I read these posts and in the times when I have responded, most everyone on here is in the UK and I am reminded of that when I respond. I am reminded of how everything is different in the UK
    • lily65668
      lily65668 MK5460

      Posted

      Yes, well, I don't entirely approve of the way they do things in the old country either. They have this rather touching view that their National Health Service is "the envy of the world". I know for a fact that it's the laughing-stock of continental Europe! There's an old English adage: "You pays yer money, you takes yer choice". I fear that's what my former countrymen have done. Only they're not paying enough money to make it work. In reality, the NHS is only the envy of the Third World.
    • MK5460
      MK5460 lily65668

      Posted

      I'm sorry, what?  I am from Minnesota and temporarily live in Wisconsin
    • MK5460
      MK5460 vickylou

      Posted

      vickylou, YOU did NOT read that right. I did NOT say to reduce to once a day, lily65668 told him that if you scale UP and read. I told him NOT to change anything it is dangerous to self medicate. Im told it differs in the UK
    • vickylou
      vickylou MK5460

      Posted

      MK5460

      I was agreeing with you and critising the person who advised altering the medication. Lily65668 said it was ok to reduce the medication and I said (same as you) that self medication is dangerous. I also said I thought it wrong to advise someone to reduce their medication on an open forum. Anyone can say they are a trained nurse, brain surgeon, psychiatrist ect. Some people will do what anyone tells them to do. The only person to advise altering medication is your Dr, not some random person saying it's safe to do so as they are a trained nurse.

    • MK5460
      MK5460 vickylou

      Posted

      vickylou, THANK YOU for clearifying that. Yes some people WILL do what anyone tells them to do even if the end results ends in a near tragedy. In the case of someone stopping meds without Drs ok could result harmfully
  • ozm8ey
    ozm8ey

    Posted

    couldn't find edit button, anyway this is my story

    Well let me begin late last year I was smoking weed in my room just late every night i would have weed before i go to sleep to make myself feel good then all of a sudden I got a panic attack and thought i was going to die and it kept on happening everyday all day and night.

    So i then started to drink lots my mission was to try and kill some brain cells i know sounds stupid and i did that for about 1 month I also had quit weed completely then all of a sudden i decided I had to tell someone so i told my dad and he called the doctors and i went in for an appointment he prescribed me a benzodiazepine  and booked me in to see the mental health nurse.

    So i kept taking the medication, it helped me relax but i still felt like crap and i was getting these weird trips like I was looking through a tunnel and hearing a cat meow, stuff like that anyway i finally got to see the mental health nurse and I told him everything from when i used to steal cars and get into fights when i was drinking to myself getting bashed and robbed (btw i was hanging around the wrong people at that time) he then thought the panic attacks was from psychosis and put me on an antipsychotic and booked me an appointment to see a professional psychiatrist for a second opinion.

    Anyway I went home feeling like crap and went through all the bad thoughts and just before bed i took 1 of the antipsychotic pills and it made me freak out, I finally got to sleep and when i woke up i felt dizzy and tired really bad i then got a lift to the psychiatrist which cost me $250 and we spoke pretty much about the same stuff as what i told the mental health nurse and they then had a talk with each other over the phone and the psychiatrist said he doesn't have psychosis and that I was just having psychotic episodes and some sort of anxiety disorder at the same time so he put me on an SNRI for the anxiey and a different antipyschotic for the racing thought and psychotic episodes and after about 3 weeks I started to feel awesome i then saw the mental health nurse again and he made me start Karate and he also told me to never smoke weed ever again, ever! and said I'm one of the lucky ones if i had continued that habit and didn't get the help that i got I would have ended up with schizophrenia but he want to be continue taking the medicationto prevent it and to stop the racing thought and now I'm here 1 year later

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