Zyprexa19: starting olanzapine / Zyprexa taper

[hayduke]

Hey @Zyprexa19, how are you getting on?

[Zyprexa19]

Hey I’ve been totally off the last 3.5 weeks

 

jumped off at 0.025 of a liquid compound taper

 

no withdrawal so far and sleeping 7 hours a night

 

I feel like a medical miracle

 

when I hit the 3 month mark I’ll write my success story 

 

a lot of fear mongering on this site.

there is hope and I am living proof.

 

hope you are well.

[hayduke]

Good to hear from you, and especially that you're sleeping well.  Hope it continues to go well for you - let us know how you go..

[Zyprexa19]

(mod note:  originally titled "The best Zyprexa recovery story discoverable online"  in all caps.  Moved back to introduction topic.  No other changes made.  mmt)

 

I was originally going to wait 3 months of being totally off to write this thing, but it's already been two and I am feeling healthier than ever.

 

I was prescribed 5 MG of Zyprexa last November (2018) for the most stressful and anxiety-ridden period of my life by far, which was causing me to have chronic and persistent insomnia. I was finally able to get off in early September with NO WITHDRAWAL OR INSOMNIA at all. 

 

Initially, this drug was just intended to help get through a very stressful move from California back home. But then I started reading all of these horror stories about people trying to get off the drug - insomnia that was described as a "marathon without an end." Terrifying.  Plus, Alostrata told me that since I had been on the drug for roughly a month or so, that I was at risk of major withdrawal symptoms. I don't know if she was right or not - in fact, I think that a lot of her guidance may be fear-mongering at times. But at the same time, I would estimate that between SA, headmeds, crazyboards, Mad in America, Health Unlocked, patient.info and various anti-psychotic support groups on Facebook, there are roughly 1000 self-reported entries of people trying to get off of Zyprexa. 90 to 95 percent of these posts are negative, if not horrendous in nature. Also, my compound pharmacist said that 90 percent of the people he sees who are prescribed Zyprexa - even at a "low" 5 MG dose - are unable to discontinue the drug or have to be switched to another antipsychotic. **** THAT.

 

Anyway, I researched this stuff exhaustively and I determined that the best way to get off the drug was to get a liquid compound solution specially made by a compound pharmacy. The liquid compound is the best way because the active ingredient in the tablet is not evenly distributed throughout the pill. This is why pill-splitting is unreliable and stupid. I initially followed the taper advice of this forum - 10 percent of previous dose - but accelerated the rate  of my cuts to every 7 to 10 days. Honestly, I think it's absurd that this site advocates a taper strategy of 2 freaking years to get off of 5 MG.

 

Anyways, my first cut of the solution was .5 mg of 5 in late February or early March. But the drug was still making me very depressed - olanzapine blocks dopamine and seratonin - so your whole pleasure-reward mechanisms get thrown out of whack. I also started consulting a holistic psychiatrist in Maryland. She actually prescribed me the compound solution. Overall though, I ended up firing her. I think she means well, I do. But I just felt like she kept pushing expensive holistic supplements on me. And she scolded me a lot if I didn't follow her exact instructions or if I texted her to confirm an appointment. Like I'm ******* paying you for medical advice, not to scold me like a child. I don't know it just felt manipulative, so I cut ties and resolved to do this on my own.

 

Anyways  I kept cutting 0.2 MG every 7-10 days and managed to shave off 2 MG and get down to 3 MG by June. But around this time I was very depressed and actively trying to kill myself with pentobarbital. A. The drug was making me depressed and B. I was scared that I was going to have permanent brain damage from exposure to olanzapine. Fortunately, my parents intervened. I won't go into detail exactly. But let's just say I was thrust into a situation where I was forced to immediately cut from 3 to 2.5 MG. I barely slept the first night, but after that I slept fine with no problems. Three weeks after my cut down to 2.5, I started cutting again.

 

In any event, my suicidality faded. From late June through early September, I kept cutting at a rate of 0.2 MG every 5-to-7 days until I got down to 0.2 MG. From there I cut to 0.1 MG, then to 0.05 MG and finally jumped off around 0.02 MG. Apart from the mania of feeling alive again, I suffered no withdrawl.

 

BUT HERE ARE THE SUPPLEMENTS AND STRATEGIES THAT HELPED ME.

 

#1 Training myself to fall asleep naturally before taking my Olanz dose

 

Through out the process I tried to initiate sleep without the drug. This way I would close my eyes for a couple of hours and then take my dose after midnight, so my body didn't forget how to sleep on its own. Insomnia is the most commonly reported discontinuation effect of Zyprexa, so this is key.

 

#2 Magnesium L-Threonate and Caprylic Acid

 

These two supplements are literally the only two supplements scientifically proven to have neuroprotective qualities. MIT research show that Mag L-Threonate helps repair damaged neurons and improves cognition and memory. In rodent students, caprylic acid - the brain octane oil in bulletproof coffee (available at Whole Foods and elsewhere) -

is shown to improve memory and cognition. My hypothesis is that if a supplement is enhancing cognitive and memory functions, it is probably improving other less measurable areas of brain health.

 

 

#3 Full Spectrum CBD Oil -sublingual drops

 

CBD oil was essential to my recovery. Scientific studies shows that it  boosts seratonin, which has an anti-depressant and anxiolytic effect. There is the anti-Zyprexa support group on facebook led by Ann Blake-Tracy, which insists that you should avoid seratogenic  supplements, along with coffee and alcohol while you are tapering, but I found this to be complete nonsense, especially the seratonin stuff. I challenged their sertaonin fear-mongering with my CBD oil argument and was banned from the group. LOL. They are really not very smart.

 

#4 Linzess

 

Olanzapine will constipate the **** out of you, no pun intended. Traditional laxatives, when used in excess, will cause addiction. You need to get a specialized constipation drug like Linzess which is much more powerful, while at the same time being non-habit forming. Honestly, had I been chronically constipated, I know for a fact I would have killed myself.

 

IN CONCLUSION 

 

During the last 2 months or so of my taper, I would fall asleep for like 4 hours or so and wouldn't take my dose until after 2 AM. I came out of the darkest period of my life, with the odds stacked against me. Psychiatrists are idiots that just want to push pills and have no training in discontinuation/withdrawal - don't trust them. Don't waste your money on holistic practitioners who may want to exploit your vulnerability and bully you.  If you are trying to get off of zyprexa, absolutely try to initiate sleep naturally before taking your evening dose. Add Magensium L-threonate, caprylic acid and a full-spectrum (all 3 cannabinoids CBD, CBN and less than 0.3 percent THC) sublingual CBD oil. I say sublingual, because this formage of dosage is much more potent than the capsules.

 

Lastly, before this post, everybody was idiotically citing "Andy's Success Story" as the paradigm for successful recovery. Sorry, but 3 months of relentless insomnia to get to "the other side" is horrible. My success story is far more inspiring and hopeful. I don't know if these tips will work for everybody, e.g. people who have been on the drug for longer than a year, or those who have been on olanzapine at very high doses. But this should be helpful to some people who are not preeminently psychotic, but who found their way to this poison after experiencing unimaginable life stress.

 

I do think that Alostrata's guidance is overly conservative, but maybe there are a lot of people who are better off making micro-cuts every month and taking years to get off of a drug. All I know, is that I was able to taper much faster and today, I am completely off of this neurodegenerative poison. I experienced no withdrawl. I got my body and physical conditioning back. And I'm sleeping 6.5 hours every night with no sleep aides.

 

This is the best Zyprexa recovery story you will ever read. I hope it inspires you to keep fighting and gives you hope that you can recover your health, mental and otherwise. 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2019 by manymoretodays
moved from success stories, only 3 months off

[Altostrata]

You're very welcome for all the good advice you've gotten here about gradual tapering.

 

Really glad you're doing so well. We look forward to your success story when you're 6 months off -- well out of the woods. It's early yet.

 

Please continue to let us know how you're doing.

[Zyprexa19]

Over 90 days totally off. No withdrawal except for a little mania right after cessation 

 

#miracle

 

hoping to inspire others with my story 

[Zyprexa19]

Still doing amazing.

 

there is hope people

 

full recovery

just need to check my cholesterol levels 

 

but you can make a full recovery from this garbage 

 

it’s possible

[hayduke]

Hi Zyprexa19, how are you getting on?

 

Cheers

[Jt003]

Hey zyprexa19.   I myself am getting close to jumping.  Im currently at around 0.004 g.  At what grams did you jump?

[Zyprexa19]

Jesus, man. Just jump off at this point. I think I jumped off at like 0.025 or something

[brassmonkey]

Careful guys. We have to watch our units of measure here. Jt is indicating that he is still at 4mgai which is way too high a dose to jump. He needs to continue to taper until he gets down to some where around 0.04mgai.  That's going to take a while longer.

 

.004g (grams) is the same as 4mg (milligrams)

[Jt003]

7 minutes ago, brassmonkey said:

Careful guys. We have to watch our units of measure here. Jt is indicating that he is still at 4mgai which is way too high a dose to jump. He needs to continue to taper until he gets down to some where around 0.04mgai.  That's going to take a while longer.

 

.004g (grams) is the same as 4mg (milligrams)

hey brassmonkey.  Im at less than 0.625 mg.  So Im at a tiny crumb and my scale doesnt seem to be reading it well anymore as the crumb gets smaller.  

[Zyprexa19]

Good eye brassmonkey

 

good news is I’m 6 months totally off and never felt better

 

you will not find a better recovery story

 

i made Zyprexa my b****

[hayduke]

@Zyprexa19 glad to hear things are going well for you.

 

You mention magnesium L-threonate.  How much were you taking a day?

[Jt003]

Awesome zyprexa19

[Zyprexa19]

@hayduke 144 mg

[senseless]

How you doing Zyprexa19?

[Zyprexa19]

I’m excellent. Thriving. Sleeping great. Cholesterol levels have been declining. Mind is sharper than ever.

 

you?

[Trevor19]

Hi @Zyprexa19

Went through your success story, quite inspiring... I was on olanzapine 20mg for a month caused me depression so I went cold turkey for two weeks! Insomnia hit me real bad, I reinstated yesterday at 1mg with altos advice.

I’d love you to go through my introduction and updates to see if there’s any suggestions? Thanks