Editorial Note: Courtesy of Fast Forward, here is a 12 month follow up to Olanzapine Withdrawal: Sally’s Story; some good, some OK and some awful.
Sounds and speech
Twelve months later, I continue to have problems with my hearing. The serious sensitivity to sounds has settled a bit – so I don’t jump out of my skin when a knife scrapes on a plate, or Rob, my husband coughs. However, it has been replaced by tinnitus and fluctuating “fullness” in my ears – which can be painful. The deafness in my left ear remains.
The distortions of sound continue – sometimes a music track will subtly shift into a different key – and once shifted that’s it. I can’t make it go back. Some tones and pitches remain permanently distorted, and painful.
Another curious sensory experience continues – listening to speech I hear sentences in rhythmic bursts. Like an enthusiastic, old ham actor, over accentuating his lines. Again once this starts to happen, I can’t make my brain iron out the rhythms.
Very annoyingly this has started to happen when I read. I am a fast reader – and don’t consciously “hear” what I am reading, but lately I seem to read in rhythmic bursts too – the text takes on a life of its own. Very difficult to describe. And horrible.
Hot flush feet
My hands and wrists and inner elbow joints continue to be acutely painful, particularly at night. Shaking them relieves the tingling. One neurologist thought it may be carpel tunnel syndrome. My gut feeling is that it is a peripheral neuropathy caused by olanzapine, plus maybe some rheumatism – but I DON”T KNOW!!! And probably never will.
The movement disorder in my right foot, unimaginatively but accurately called “moving toes and painful leg syndrome” was diagnosed by a neurophysiologist, and is now in my left foot too, although less badly. My toes move continuously, I have a crawling sensation up my legs, and the feeling of taking wet shoes off ice-cold feet which are coming back to life. So yes, they hurt too.
One of the first oddities of sensation I noticed, a couple of years before weaning myself off olanzapine, was a hot, heavy feeling in my right foot. I never thought to mention it to anyone. It has come back again – every so often, I get a hot flush in my foot.
Depressingly, the middle toes on my right foot have become rigid (despite moving) and won’t bend – which makes getting out of the bath surprisingly difficult. By the end of the day my right foot aches and tends to twist inwards. A neurologist who specialises in dystonia said that strictly speaking the toes and feet aren’t dystonic (I’m not sure why). She also said that any tardive dystonias would appear within six months of stopping the offending drug. Thinking about this I’m not sure where this information comes from. How did she know? And, I began thinking that if muscle and movement disorders can be tardive – why not other neurological damage caused by psychotropic meds? All unanswered questions.
Balance
My balance, and general clumsiness, are easier to live with – but I suspect that is me learning to adjust, rather than any objective improvement. I automatically compensate for things flying out of my hand – and am much more careful about picking things up and putting them down. Despite my GP maintaining there was no point in neuro-physio – it helped hugely. Exercising on balance bars and balls increased my confidence – as did the physiotherapists’ absolute acceptance of the balance problems. They also identified that I never moved my head and eyes either sideways or up – if I did, I fell over! Now I am aware of this, and that makes life easier. I practice my standing and balancing – and am trying-out walking outside without a stick. Takes a bit of confidence.
Acne?
The acne mentioned back in the last post turns out not to be – now there’s a surprise. For the past six years I have had a mass of blackheads and whiteheads on my cheeks and chin – no angry red spots, just the bumps. It was incredibly unsightly. I finally mentioned it to my GP who promptly diagnosed acne, and prescribed a tetracycline antibiotic. I was surprised, as had never had acne as a teenager, or at any times of stress before, but dutifully swallowed the pills. No improvement after four months (but a very sore mouth).
At my check up with the gynaecologist, I asked him whether it could be a consequence of the hysterectomy (hormones and all that). No, he said firmly and peered closely at my face. “That’s not acne” he said and referred me to a dermatologist. She said she had only seen a similar thing when working in Leeds many years ago, near a chlorine factory. Given that I hadn’t been washing my face in bleach, her best guess was – drug damage. Ho hum.
She could find no link with olanzapine. She has treated it with a topical cream and two sessions of surgical extrusion. This was eye-watering but has been successful so far. All for a clear face.
Temperature
The temperature dysregulation has not got worse – but I make sure I don’t get too hot, wear layers that can easily be peeled off, sleep with a fan at night, and put one on my desk for a blast of cold air. I wondered whether I really got hot, or whether it was a perceptual distortion. After my granddaughter had been staying, and a thermometer was hanging around, I stuck it in my mouth when I felt unbearably hot suddenly. Bang! The light monitor turned red. We cancelled a trip to Greece because I knew I would not manage the heat. I have calculated that a temperature of around 20* suits me best – anything either side gives me problems. I struggle with continual thirst – and now find that taking a few sips of water every 15 minutes or so seems to keep me hydrated better.
Diabetes & weight
I have got so fed up with being continually told I am diabetic. I wasn’t – I had drug-induced hyperglycaemia, which settled as soon as I stopped the olanzapine. But NO-ONE LISTENED. Despite the evidence – a blood sugar reading that never went above normal all last year. So I’ve given up arguing about it, as it’s a battle I’m never going to win.
I am still as fat as I was. That metabolic effect has not been reversed, unfortunately, despite a healthy diet. I knocked off the booze last autumn – a stiff brandy helped the discontinuation symptoms and while I was taking medication, it dampened the anxiety and akathasia. But I reckoned I was better off without it.
Malaise
The spells of acute malaise, whatever you care to call it – there are no words, really – have gradually declined in severity. Or, I’m not so frightened by them and have learnt ways of managing. Distraction works sometimes – talk, do an email, engage the brain. Resting with a hot water bottle and listening to the soothingly hoarse tones of old Leonard C. And when it’s really, really bad, just sweating it out. Literally.
But, I feel wiped with exhaustion all too often. A sort of profound, aching, nauseous fatigue. If I have something interesting to do I manage at the time – then pay for it for days afterwards. Sometimes I can work through it – make myself get up and make tea, put a wash on, walk round the garden. Sometimes I can’t. Everything fluctuates wildly.
The most volatile thing of all has been my temper. The bad temper and irritation have been in some ways the worst aspect of discontinuation because it affects the people I love. It got so bad that I went to a Relate counsellor, because I thought I was being emotionally abusive to R; a dear, kind, patient man. She has helped me no end – having someone to talk to, learning techniques for handling anger. She has been fascinated by what she has learnt about the effects of psychotropic drugs – and appalled.
The strokes
How much is due to the strokes that were discovered in 2012? Again, I DON’T KNOW! The neurologists I saw were adamant that the deranged balance was not due to the small infarct in my cerebellum. The audio-vestibular consultant minutely examined my brain scan and was certain that neither the balance problems, or the hearing peculiarities could be attributed either to anything wrong with my inner ears, or the sizeable stroke in the front temporal lobe. “It’s a neurological problem” he said.
I was put on warfarin for the heart arrhythmia – getting to constant blood tests was a nightmare. I did my own risk/benefit analysis and stopped it. My GP prescribed a new wonder drug, Pradaxa, which needed no blood monitoring. “I’m only giving it to you because you’re non-compliant” he said curtly. It never occurred to me (unbelievably) to ask about side effects, feeling deflated by being called non-compliant…but after ten days of indigestion and appalling flatulence I googled Pradaxa to see whether it could be the culprit. It probably was – but more scary was the fact that there was no way of reversing a major bleed and that the drug was the subject of numerous lawsuits in the US. A fact that my GP had omitted to tell me.
I contemplated sending him the GP good practice requirements for informed consent to treatment, but chickened out. And stopped taking it. I try not to think about the atrial fibrillation and mitral valve problem – or whether they will get worse over time. Or the possibility of a further stroke. I have become laissez faire about what might happen in the future, and sceptical about tick box prescribing of preventative medication.
So, no warfarin, no statins, no beta blockers. My cholesterol level has come down since stopping the olanzapine, and my blood pressure and heart rate have gone down significantly.
Nearly invisible
If I’d known what I was going to go through, I wouldn’t have contemplated stopping the olanzapine despite rapidly declining physical health and being a zombie. I was able to taper off without problems – the problems started after I’d completely finished.
I’m only 59. My health is poor. I often ponder the fact that people with serious mental health problems die early. When I first got depressed back in 1998 I assumed this was inherent in the illness – now I think it is the treatment…I have lost sixteen years of my life – when I might have been at the peak of my career, economically productive, paying taxes, and supporting my children. I lost my career, and eventually R lost his.
For most of 2013, doctors kept me awake at night. A combination of unspeakable frustration and anger. I changed my GP and, like the Nearly Invisible post about statins part of staying healthy for me is keeping well clear of medics – particularly GPs – as far as possible.
I despise neurologists more than psychiatrists, which is saying something. I found their inability to think outside the box, their profound ignorance about withdrawal and the effect of psychotropic meds on the brain, so depressing and frankly negligent. The very first one I went to see said that olanzapine couldn’t be the cause of my problems because “It’s a mild drug with no side effects”. He is widely regarded as the best neurologist in this area and an expert on movement disorders.
I have thought long and hard about the ethics of treatments which do so much damage and how this relates to the Hippocratic Oath’s injunction to “Do no harm”.
I have been frustrated by the inability of the English legal system to provide a remedy for harm caused. There is no group action tradition, the erosion of legal aid means law firms will only take on the most cast iron cases, and where causation is complex, no one will go near it. The Seroxat litigation looks like it has failed. I spoke to the solicitor leading the action, and she said that should it fail she feared that would be the end of any legal curb on the drug companies. There was a weariness in her voice.
I have felt more alone during the past 18 months than ever in my life. At times that has come close to despair, but also a perverse determination not to give in. Some of the despair comes from having no voice. Challenges to the orthodoxy are so fragmented – and there seems to be no way of gathering them together, working to really tell the world what happened to me and thousands of others.
And if I have no voice – what about all those still locked in a world where they struggle to stay awake, think through the fog, cope with obesity, drooling, slurring and collapsing physical health. Who speaks for them? No-one. It slightly pisses me off when four MPs get up and say they have mental health problems and are applauded for their astounding bravery. It is the people who cannot do that, because no-one would listen to them, who are brave.
I feel though, that out of the intense heat of mental illness and its aftermath, a small nugget of gold has been forged; my true self. I couldn’t care less what people think of me. I wear bright colors, dyed my hair blonde, had my teeth repaired, and started learning print-making in a small art workshop. Making a print of some medic who particularly annoyed me has been extremely therapeutic – when we have our end of year show, I am thinking of sending an invitation to the subjects themselves…..
And, so far, my mind seems to have come through. Even my legal knowledge is there – in fact it seems to have gently matured over the bleak years of nothingness. I have no optimism that it will stay that way – dementia would seem to be a short step away, judging by the literature. But for the time being I can think and reason and debate and love and that is enough.
Two things were, in the end, the only way I could think of to leave a constructive legacy. I have donated my brain to the Royal Neurological Society. It is entirely possible that it will end up in the hands of Big Pharma research – but I can’t prevent that.
And I am writing a book. I wish there was more I could do. I wish I could get those of us who have been so dreadfully damaged together to share experiences, help each other and make a very, very big noise.
Continued in Olanzapine: Still Treading Water.
Ruth says
There is so much here I can relate to, I am also 59. The problems with the ears, temperature regulation, balance problems, general malaise, temper control.Mine was after stopping Seroxat.I have had the negativity and disbelief from specialists too. I feel exactly the same ‘ nearly invisible’ it’s so frustrating and upsetting.
Marilyn McNeil says
I am currently on .50mg risperdal & have mild myoclonic epilepsy after being on 1.5mg for 28 years. My GP is willing to let me try to reduce the dosage but feels we should leave well enough alone when I get down to .25mg. I’ve had a relatively easy time compared to Sally but most Dr’s just don’t know. My Dr calls all meds a “crap shoot”. He prefers a holistic approach. I’m 69 years old but don’t want my remaining years to be hell. God Bless Sally for her courage.
Johanna says
Thanks so much Marilyn. Patients here in the US are being told there’s no need to worry about taking these drugs for depression, because the doses are a lot lower than they give to people with schizophrenia (who usually are put on 4 – 8 mg of Risperdal, or 10 – 30 mg of Abilify).
“Little baby doses” was my doctor’s theme-song … what harm could they possibly do? Plenty, it turns out! Best of luck getting off the drug — would love to hear how you’re doing a few months from now.
katerina says
i hope you will be ok
Johanna says
Sally, this is brilliant. I love your determination to get back into life – and your calm intelligence in trying to understand the details of a horrible situation. I’m looking forward to that book …
Some of your symptoms probably are after-effects of stroke. But irritability and quick temper, weird acuity of hearing, speeding up of words heard or read – none of those sound like stroke survivor’s problems. They do strike me as plausible long-term “rebound” effects from taking a dopamine suppressant drug for years, then going off it. Apparently this is one of the biggest obstacles in coming off antipsychotic drugs for people who actually have experienced psychosis. There can be “rebound” psychotic symptoms that last for several months, and most doctors assume this just shows the person needs to go back on the drugs.
Maybe your mood and sensory problems are what “rebound psychosis” looks like in a person who has no tendency or potential for psychotic experiences? I’ve always heard that in active psychosis one feels assaulted by sensory inputs, sounds especially – unable to screen any of it out. And a newfound tendency to lose your temper at those around you – maybe that’s the rough equivalent of “paranoia” for someone who’s never been psychotic. Just a guess.
What’s really interesting: in spite of all this misery, one thing you DON’T seem to have is “rebound depression”, which might make sense in someone getting off a drug that had SOME virtues as an antidepressant. Pushing these drugs as long-term solutions to psychosis is bad enough. Pushing them as “antidepressants” is a crime. I’ve been offered them over and over in recent years – either as alternative antidepressants, or as the magic glue that will somehow make the antidepressants “work.” I plan to keep on saying no thanks!
wiley says
I had similar sensory distortions from baclofen. Music was painful to listen to and I cannot even describe how it was distorted. While I was under the effects of the drug, it was hard to tell if the distortions were due to MS or not, and now that I’m completely free of the drug’s effects, I know that the distortions were drug induced. Now that I’m free, everything doesn’t take like dust or salt either.
annie says
Dearest Sally
It’s squalid, isn’t it?
Remember Watership Down. It gave me an idea.
I was just wondering how you are going to pitch your story. Will it be a medical book, a patient’s book or a very emotional and true story of a woman’s journey…
I am asking this because as I was disillusioned about Paroxetine, and, as I cuddled my doctor’s gorgeous dogs, I came out with “I think I might write a book about Seroxat”.
She looked at me and thought about it.
Her lined face, from years of personal hardship, alcoholic abusive relationships, and, so, on, she said “it would be better if you wrote about something more cheerful.”
I never forgot that moment. As I never forgot the moment when I was in her bedroom as a guest, and, as I sipped my Paroxetine liquid, after a disastrous event from cold turkey the year before, I looked in the bedroom mirror and saw her face staring at me.
Her kitchen was adjacent to her guest bedroom.
A chilling moment.
So, to my point.
My story will be filled with, not so much drug abuse, as the psychological mind set of the persons surrounding me.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, my life was filled with people who I did not want in my life, and, somehow, my world of friends and laughter, dissipated into a cavern of persons who intruded and pushed them all away.
I want to write a thriller with lies, treachery, hubris, incompetence, inadequacy and why doctors, with passionate hobbies, can take their mind off the ball.
I was in my village for sixteen years which was before either of two doctors arrived on the scene.
The Indian doctor was passionate about photography. He won prizes. His doctor’s house, was tacked on to the surgery. It was filled with photographic equipment. It smelled of Bhuna.
The new lady doctor was passionate about dogs which was why we spent more time talking about dogs, then we did about Paroxetine and those horrors.
The final owner, was passionate about money, which is why he had a three year sabbatical in Novia Scotia to fleece Canadians.
He came back and called an extra ordinary general meeting in the village hall to say his practice was almost bankrupt.
My lady doctor died in 2011 from lung cancer. She worked right up until the end.
Her obituary said she had a wicked sense of humour. Written by a patient. She had no friends.
Anyway, that is the brief history of those people surrounding me.
I would like a review for my book to say “a rollicking fast-paced read. She had imagination to create this story out of her village surgery and it is very funny. It is not only local, it brings in international espionage. If it wasn’t so funny, you could almost believe it was true.”
Sally, what would you like your reviewer to say about your book?
I am still thinking of titles.
Island hopping..the curse of the bunnies..still thinking.
Have you thought of a title for your book?
Love Annie
Sally Macgregor says
Hello to everyone who has posted such thoughtful, warm comments. I empathise very strongly with those like Ruth who still struggle with ongoing legacy symptoms – there are lots of us. I am hopeful (sometimes) that 50 years hence our story will be told in the textbooks – possibly 100 years is more realistic? And yes – it is interesting that I have never had “rebound depression”! But, looking back, I hadn’t been truly depressed for many years – just that I couldn’t get off the damn stuff. I have never understood the notion of “adjunctive” medication in any case….why would a medicine need another medicine to make it work?
The book: half way through a second draft. Working title – Olanzapine Nights – but it’s very unlikely a publisher will like that, as olanzapine is not well known enough to grab sales. And I am wrestling with achieving a style that is wry and funny as well as gut wrenching. Also with avoiding the pigeon hole of “misery memoir”. Entirely possible that I won’t..! Very best wishes to you all – Sally
Trevor Gravel says
Call it “The Opposite of Crazy” since zyprexa has caused so much mayhem. graveltrevor@gmail.com
Tony says
Hi, I wanted to comment. I like the way you write. We have a few things in common.
I have horrible balance problems as well as many other strange sensations/perceptions I deal with off and on daily.
At age 34 (2006) I was prescribed Lexapro and experienced a severe adverse reaction to it. I believe I experienced serotonin syndrome. I made a Youtube video about it because it was so terrible.
It is long, you don’t have to watch it. But it is here as reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_4gLZrqlik
At age 38 (2010), after 3.5 years of recovery from the adverse reaction, I awoke to find I was paralyzed on my entire left side. I had suffered an ischemic stroke. MRI later showed that stroke as well as a small remote infarct in my cerebellum. Again, knocked back down to HELL.
No cause for strokes was found. I had no risk factors. I can only suspect the SSRI damage or chronic insomnia I have suffered from for half of my life contributed somehow.
I also have had the strangest migraines since then which in some cases, have left my right hand, tongue and lip completely devoid of feeling temporarily. The doctors at the hospital will not order an MRI for those episodes (which have left me in worse shape than the stroke) so I don’t know if I had another stroke or not. I am going to go out on a limb and say it’s probable.
So I am 42 now, disabled and in bad shape physically/emotionally. I relate to a lot of what you have written online. I used to be a runner but now I can barely go out and walk. I have strange debilitating arrhythmia’s (which just cropped up this past year). Compound that with a vertigo-like condition and I think I am turning agoraphobic.
Let me know if there is any way I might contribute. I want to help raise awareness.
annie says
Hello Tony
Thank you for sharing your video, for making it and describing so honestly most of what most of us have had to contend with.
As you say. Don’t give up. Things do get better. It takes a long, long time as you adjust to an alien toxin messing about with the delicate balance that we all have.
We don’t give up as it is not in our nature but wouldn’t it be nice if our descriptions of such a long list of reactions were taken seriously. Although, I take your point, you have to experience it to understand it. This seems to be the biggest hurdle
Paroxetine was almost identical to Lexapro the way you tell it and it is a very lonely place when you have to deal with all this on your own.
Thank you.
The world is a less lonely place with people like you in it.
Wishing you well and further steps to recovery and I am sorry that you had to go through all this but have the strength of character and dignity to put it over so well.
I am sure you have helped a lot of people wade through all the confusion of this debilitating syndrome which was so unexpected and so frightening when it affects literally everything that we trust to work as clockwork.
We are extremely aware of what goes on in our own bodies and fighting this humungous assault on us has certainly been something, at one time, I was not sure how I was going to get through. As you say, walking ten miles got a lot of it out. But, then it comes back.
Your waves and windows was the most perfect description.
If anyone, can get her book published, I am sure it is Sally.
So much luck with that and I hope you keep us posted as to how it goes.
and, I like your title…it is subtle but might lead to people picking it up just to see what the word Olanzapine means, even know it alls, don’t know it alls, and, it might make you laugh that over on 1BOM, someone googled it and it came up with Ioa zapping.. I thought it was funny anyway.
Joseph Arpaia, MD
August 13, 2014 | 10:55 PM
Oops did not notice my spell checker turned olanzapine into loa zapping. And who said AI systems lacked a sense of humor
Mickey
August 13, 2014 | 11:43 PM
I kind of like “loa zapping”…
Sally Macgregor says
loa zapping is great – maybe a better title for the book? Thanks for the posts – what a terrible story, Tony. As to how to raise awareness, I’m not at all sure. Maybe people have ideas? I have debated a website/blog etc but not sure I have the necessary energy or skills. I know that when I was trying to find out about olanzapine withdrawal/discontinuation/aftermath in 2012 I tried every which way to find something online: every conceivable combination of words (olanzapine/Zyprexa/antipsychotic/atypical.. etc etc) and there was nothing. I even got conspiracy-minded and thought Eli Lilly must be burying information…! Or I was the only person with those experiences. There is much more now, but it would be very good to think of a way of really making an impact. Best wishes again – Sally
Mathis Green says
Hi there Sally Matt here from the states, Texas. I am so glad I found you and feel at least that I have found where are or most of my problems came from. The start of which were all started with a tooth ache and of coarse loratab. Sorry for the spelling, never was worth a shit, but cont. to get worse. I so feel you on so many levels. Anyway just wanted to say thanks and I am so greatful I found ya. I took the damn olanzapine for only 1 month and health issues started 2 weeks into it so I stopped and the issues only continue to this point now I have swollen fingers that of course the dr. wants to treat with antibiotics and stariods. Well hope the book comes, I will try to get my shit together if possible to cont. following ya. Matt and best wishs
Aura says
Hi Sally,
I am Laura from Romania.I am 32 ,I`ve been on Zyprexa for 6 years and I am off it for almost 4 months now.
I have many symptoms like yours,pain all over my body ((peripheral neuropathy/fibromyalgia)) ,especially in my lower feet (after short distance walks), severe insomnia,vulvodynia and the list goes on and on.
My main question is how can you get some sleep at night? I`ve tried a lot of natural sleep aids but with very little results .Also please let me know if if the generally spread pain will eventually go away in time by it self … Or should I take painkillers or go with the natural approach…yoga,short walks,meditation,healthy food.
Anyone with the same problems like mine please please e-mail me at lodmini@yahoo.it.Thank you in advance,any help or feedback would be very helpful!
Sally Macgregor says
Hi Aura – I’m so sorry, I’ve only just picked up this, as I’m not all that great at keeping regular checks on new posts.
I feel very much for you – it sounds as though your experience is close to mine in many ways. As for your main question: sleep. That is a major problem. I was lucky in that I was given a benzodiazapine, clonazepam, because the neurological symptoms suggested I might have epilepsy at one point. It seems absurd for me to take yet another psychotropic medication, having got off olanzapine, but I took the clonazepam at night and it helped a bit. You may well not want to go down that route however.
The good news is that after about 18 months, sleep improved. The nightmares and tachycardia very gradually subsided. I don’t sleep very well, but I do get a reasonable number of hours.
The painful neuropathy is also gradually improving. I get much less severe tingling in my hands and wrists – and feet too. It does feel as though my body is very slowly repairing – and as you are younger than me (I’m nearly 60) then you may recover more quickly…
Practical steps I took: I didn’t take extra vitamins because I had so many blood tests at one stage I was happy that my levels were OK. I did knock sugar and caffeine right down – mainly because too much made my heart pound. I also tried to get as much walking in as possible: sometimes when I felt (and sometimes feel) really awful, a short walk, as far and as slowly as you can manage, seems to help.
I developed my own list of remedies, starting with the fresh air, then a couple of paracetamol, a warm bath, writing an email (distracting my brain is quite effective). Or a phone call to a friend. If none of those worked I had a fairly stiff brandy (!) – that is very effective, although I try to only do that once a day. I had a suggestion that marijuana might be helpful, but it made me too woozy and didn’t really lessen the pain. Similarly with tramadol and co-codamol – I got the unpleasant side effects and no real pain relief – hence sticking with a couple of paracetamol every so often. (Their effect is probably placebo but if they help – so what!)
I really hope that these suggestions help, but I suspect everything is very individual (like brains..). You may have to wait a horribly long time for all the acute symptoms to subside – but I would be hopeful that they will in the end. Very best wishes
Cengiz says
Hi
My name is Cengiz and I am writing to you from Denmark and I have read your story on rxisk.org. About withdrawal from zyprexa . I Am therefore writing to you because I need hope and wondering how far you have come with the tapering
I too am trying to get of the zyprexa I have been taking it for 11 months now Currently I am on a dosage of 5 mg. I started with 5 mg but upped my dose to 15 mg but that was only for 3 months. Now I’m down to 5 mg again. Right now I don’t know if I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I freeze a lot, fever like symptoms, insomnia, stomach cramps etc etc just spoke with my doctor today and we agreed to go down to 4,3 mg instead
I am so afraid of this medication because I know it is a dangerous drug. I am afraid that It has caused brain damage.
I know that you are a doctor and cant advise about the withdrawal symptoms and but it would be nice to speak with someone who has been themselves
I have tried to come of the drug 6 times but unsuccessful maybe because I did it to fast. This time I will do it on a slower pace. Maybe we are talking months or years. This drug has completely ruined my life. It was given to me because of anxiety. It is very hard coming of this drug
I hope you can answer back because I desperately need to someone who has been there and because I need hope
Best regards
Cengiz Savran
VB says
Take a look at :
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/
https://beyondmeds.com/2013/10/15/back-into-withdrawal-hell/
Buy a 3 digit scale and taper using the 10% taper method or similar (I planned a 10% reduction every 10 days, and dropped the dose each day. If your situation deteriorates, do not increase the dose, but stay on a dose for a while until things settle and then taper again. In my opinion, these drugs are poison and should be given only when nothing else works (I don’t believe they fix anything – they just hide the problem and add severe side effects which are worse than the problem itself). By nothing else, I mean – any medical tests for lack of something or other (maybe a naturopath doctor) , psychologist (a lot of depression is based on various problems with self esteem).
Maria says
I havet been on zyprexa for 8 years, 2.5 mg. Now when I gradually taket this dose off I have problems with tinnitus, problems with knowing where sounds come from. I hear low sounds that I normaly do not notice as extreamely disturbing. These side effects from reducing zyprexa has been on for two months but is now declining.
Wade Griffin says
I’m on Olanzapine, 5 mg. I.ve been on it since 1996. I.ve found that liberal doses of Potassium fight off my occasional vertigo. It sounds like your cholesterol is shockingly low. Feelings of death, or about to die revolves around this, i think your cholesterol should be at least 290, mine is 190, and. I still feel suicidal sometimes, however, I bike 5, 6 times a week averaging 30 miles a week, probably, my fault, I don.t eat enough protein. And fat, this is still very new territory for me, there i s no MD that wrote a book about this. I,’ve been learning this is in snippets from various sources. My dose was 10mg, then 7.5mg, now 5mg. I still feel a little hyperactive, yet that,s because my apt has a strong emphasis on white. Ref. —Feng shui. When the doae is lowered its like you are the owner of a rolls_royce, unfortunately you have to learn how to drive this v8 engine at the age of. 19, or whenever you were first diagnosed. I believe my. Abusive family causes my illiness, now their all dead, and I. Have newfound mentally freedom, yet the learning curve is very sharp. You have got to find your blood type and eat accordingly, if you have Onegative, like me your blood is naturally thin, no. Need for VE. or blood thinners. Also, you need. MAGNESIUM 750MG nightly, and 2000 mg calcium nightly, when you stop taking a drug, you.ve got to replace it with something. Or else their are problems. You didn.t get the right stuff to begin with. GABA IS A POSSIBILITY. COPIUOUS AMOUNTS OF VALERIAN WIRH BEER to help metabolism of the sleep agents, to process all that tramua. Maybe take up art. Drawing cartoons helps me. I believe my illness is from sexual repression, simple isn.t it? GOOD LUCK.