Horrible, Horrible. Eli Lilly should be ashamed.
dankdiesel said:
I have a huge problem...I can't get off of my Olanzapine. First off, I don't need this med anymore (I no longer have any illness)...I only have a prescription for it now because it helps me sleep. When I discontinue it I get a gagging sensation with excess saliva that makes me vomit after one skipped dose and it won't go away, even for days, until I redose. What can I do? I just now thought of it, but could Dimenhydrinate help? Thank you anyone for any help.
this is SO annoying. all the time i see this, but psychiatrists pretend it doesnt exist and PDR says no withdrawal symptoms so 'just take 10mg for 2 days, then 5 for 2 days, then 2.5 for the remaining few days or so, or whatever or etc because i don't do Zyprexa, i'm stricly NOVARTIS....sorry. See you next month.
listen to me, i know this. ive been through it.
getting off zyprexa = i suppose youre taking it at a high dose now...knowing it's bad, but since it gives sort of a non-nasty sedating feeling compared to risperdal which makes you immobile or seroquel which makes your heart pop out of your chest....you are probably on around 20, although i'd think most likely sometimes you sneak 40. and it still doesnt help you sleep at this point i bet...
yea. SOME people have a giant problem. there's a big three of non narcotic things that cause huge dependency in some people and in some cases which are comparable to heroin withdrawal:
Zyprexa
Effexor
and Paxil
no one knows why. the last one, paxil, probably because its such an efficacious AD, that returning to life without it is a frightening thought. but anyway.
1. GET ZYDIS. its the orally disintegrating form. it comes in many many doses, which are not shown in the PDR for some reason, but the point is, these are little wafers that are easy to cut with a sharp blade.
2. you will literally have to find a regimen that suits you and allows you to take as small a dose as possible without experiencing bothersome effects - and for this you need a good psychiatrist who will agree to do a LONG taper, instead of a nice short one.
3. stopping zyprexa after your illness is in remission and no longer requires it, albeit may be bothersome as in your case, but it is NOT DANGEROUS physiologically. You're just living a life of hell.
4. WITH THE GOOD PSYCHIATRIST, TITRATE DOWN AS LITTLE OF A DOSE AS NECESSARY EVERY DAY OR 3 days. (i was on high dose...really high dose, but just for sleep, no manic or psychotic symptoms, and i had to go down .5mg every 2 days for about 3 weeks...)
5. AFTER A FEW WEEKS OF SLOW TITRATION, you'll reach a point where it becomes easier to go down. You will be able to titrate 2x q4d, say, instead of x q1wk or whatever.
6. FOR NAUSEA, DO NOT TAKE PHENOTHIAZINES! my psychiatrist was a brilliant man in this sense. Apparently, firstly, concomitant use of olanzapine and, for example, chlorpromazine, will lead to a quickly growing desire for more chlorpromazine because of its antiemetic effect and mainly because of its strong anxiolytic effect. Secondly, the incidence of EPs is exponentially on an increase with prolonged use of an atypical such as zyprexa which has a high incidence of EPs compared to other Atyp APs, and chlorpromazine which has an extremely high incidence of EPs, which will mask themselves by the anticholinergic property of the chlorpromazine until one day BAM, you wake up and youre bending and stretching and twitching, etc.
you can take doses of Reglan (metoclopramide) 2.5mg bid prn, but its best to not go over 2.5 a day,
7. HIGH DOSES OF VISTARIL help very much. They provide sedation. You can take capsules, up to 400mg qd [they come in 25, 50, and 100mg caps in pamoate and 10, 25, 50, 75, 100mg tabs in HCl - the pamoate is always prefered. don't ask me why.
8. USE BENZODIAZEPINE as mood stabilizer. Like Librium, at a moderate dose, but constant until you get rid of the zyprexa. It will be a snap to get out of Librium.
9. DO NOT LISTEN TO IDIOT PSYCHIATRISTS WHO WILL RECOMMEND TO REPLACE OLANZAPINE WITH WHICHEVER NEUROLEPTIC THE COMPANY THAT THEY FELLATE PRODUCES. Olanzapine, unfortunately, doesn't have any close relatives....like Risperdal has Geodon and Invega and some other crap coming soon....well Zyprexan doesnt.
10. WATCH OUT FOR ALCOHOLISM. Zyprexa carries a high risk of alcoholism with it - why this is not emblazoned across the pretty boxes they make, i don't know. But you get mighty thirsty on it, and I know quite a few people who have become a neuroleptic, alcoholic, morbidly obese, lifeless mess.....
any more questions, please don't hesitate to PM me, I am very willing to help, not with a pat on the back but with actual tactics which helped me, and consultations with my doctor/mentor.
good luck.
