Mobc1990: Should I move out and disappear from family when tapering?

[Mobc1990]

Hi,I have been on antipsychotic for 8 years and I am really sick of the medication that I want to stop.I hate being seen as sick,hate this type of medication.My family always affect me by saying I need to take this medication forever.Really hate it,now if i want to wean off this medication I will need to leave them or they will convince me to stay and take the meds which I totally hated.I am on 20mg of olanzapine for 3 months now,used to be on abilify for 8 years

[AliG]

Hi Mobc. Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants ( SA). I'm glad you found your way here. I'm sorry your family are not encouraging of your desire to taper off the drugs but perhaps if you can supply them with some extra information they may come around to your point of view. We have a wealth of information on this site that you could possibly share with them.

 

We ask all our members to fill in their signature with their drug and tapering history. Please follow the directions at the link below:

 

Please put your withdrawal history in your signature

 

When we have a little more information on your medication history, we can help you taper, if that's what you choose to do. This is your thread to journal and ask questions. Please feel free to write whenever you want, you will find a lot of friendly help and support.

Ali

[Mobc1990]

I am going to visit another doctor and let go of the doctor I am seeing past eight years because he doesn’t want to help me get off medication.I am visiting a doctor here in Malaysia to see if he can help me taper off antipsychotic and maybe put me in lighter meds.My problem is I cannot get to sleep that’s all.I will not want to take psych medication forever.Its a no no for me

 

i was prescribed and told to take 20mg olanzapine but I take only 10mg which is still a high dose to me

 

i was previously on antipsychotic for 8 years and my most recent withdrawal is on February 2017 and went back on meds because I can’t sleep on August 2017.Now I am on Olanzapine 10mg,I can sleep better but no other improvement.Still have sexual issue

[AliG]

Mobc. Thanks for filling in your signature. Would you mind giving us even more background information on your past history?  Why were you originally put on Abilify ? Why did you cut off meds - February 2017 and how did you taper over that month?  When you say meds - which do you mean? Abilify? Or were there others as well?

 

You say you took Abilify 5 mg but failed to withdraw. Does that mean you are still on it?

 

Did you go back on meds only for sleep issues? Is that the reason that you started back on them? Did you have any other withdrawal symptoms? 

 

Is Olanzapine -10 mg what you went back on in July/ August 2017? Did you originally start at that dose?

 

How are you feeling now? What symptoms do you have? How is your new doctor?

 

I'm sorry to be asking so many questions at once but as I hope you can see, we just need a little more information before we can really start to address the problem and possibly give advice on how to proceed from here. If you can fill in a few blanks, it would be really helpful.

 

Thanks,

Ali

Edited October 22, 2017 by AliG

[Mobc1990]

I took abilify 5mg from 2010-2017 February,had one time withdrawal during this period but failed.On January 2017 I tried to taper off abilify in a month and lasted until end of July 2017.I went back to see psychiatrist because I couldn’t sleep,and he prescirbed me the highest dose of Olanzapine which is 20mg.Now for the past 4 days I been taking only 10mg and not 20mg and can still sleep okish.I am planning to buy natural supplement for sleep and not depend on strong psychiatric medication.Do you have suggestion of supplement for sleep please?

 

i was on antipsychotic for 8 years and now for 2 months I still take antipsychotic Olanzapine and it doesn’t help much beside sleep which is what I lacked

 

Edited October 22, 2017 by ChessieCat
reworded

[AliG]

3 hours ago, Mobc1990 said:

On January 2017 I tried to taper off abilify in a month and lasted until end of July 2017

What does this mean? Can you be more exacting? 

 

I went back to see psychiatrist because I couldn’t sleep,and he prescirbed me the highest dose of Olanzapine which is 20mg.Now for the past 4 days I been taking only 10mg and not 20mg and can still sleep okish

How are you feeling now? How much sleep are you getting? What other W/D symptoms ?

[Mobc1990]

its the third time i actually got off medication.i taper from 1st january 2017 to 31st january 2017 and totally off psyche medication since febuary 2017...and during the month i was off meds it was towards the end that i felt moody and couldnt get to sleep.

 

now i am on 10mg olanzapine,i feel like i am sick and dont want to see anybody.i have always wanted a GF and some friends but with medication i keep thinking i am sick and are not like usual young adult.Now i sleep normally but am apathetic at work,barely getting through.Don't have any other withdrawal symptoms,i also have sexual issue with 10mg olanzapine,how do i get into dating scene this way?

[Mobc1990]

I have been taking antipsychotic,many types for the past 8 years and have failed thrice coming off them.I am now taking 2.5mg Olazanpine reduced from 5mg...

 

-I was suppose to take 10mg for “schizophrenia”

-I was on 10mg on August 2017,dropped to 5mg on November 2017.Lowered mood is the only symptoms

-I wanted to come off antipsychotic because I hate being on meds and I have erectile dysfunction and PE

-On 5mg there was a three week period I feel pretty good in life,not much mental illness symptoms.Pretty normal

-On 12th February 2018 I dropped my Zyprexa from 5mg to 2.5mg,it’s difficult to cut

 

I know according to this website my tapering is a very lousy one.But I already did and will try to taper more slowly from now on.Now I have a lot of trouble since dropping from 5mg-2.5mg.My mood had been bad,I am getting a bit confuse socially,unstable and it’s been three weeks I feel like this.

 

I really don’t wished to up my dose,as I will stay on 2.5mg and stay on this until I get better then start taper.I have thoughts of asking my current doctor to prescribe me antidepressant,but I think if I take it then I need to go through withdrawal again next time,why go through the trouble?

 

Anyway from your own experience or theory will my bad mood and confusion around people get better with time if I stick on 2.5mg and don’t touch it?I will only reduce and by 10% if I ever feel good for a month again.

I hope I don’t ask my doctor for antidepressant to maybe complicate the matter again

[Mobc1990]

I am feeling afraid now because I don’t feel good and confident and I have so much to gamble in my hand.I just met my now GF for three months,I don’t want to lose her because of a bad withdrawal.

 

will my mood get better after I stabled on 2.5mg Zyprexa and will there be a chance that I will never get over these mental symptoms if I stay on 2.5mg?

[Mobc1990]

hi guys,i am a 28M and i am living in asia.I was diagnosed with "schizophrenia" 8 years ago and have been continously taking antipsychotic for the past eight years.I have tried to go off meds three time but somehow ended by taking them,I really don't want the diagnosis of schizo,because i felt it causes more harm then good having this diagnosis.I am on Olanzapine 2.5mg which was dropped from 5mg a month ago.

I cannot accept having schizo,the most i can accept are depression or social anxiety,this diagnosis has harmed my life.Anyway,its been a month i have been taking 2.5mg Olanzapine,I felt racing thoughts(anxiety),constant low mood(depression) and have tried to avoid people,familiar or not.

 

I just want to share this to you guys,to let my thoughts out,i will be visiting a psychiatrist on 30th march.I hope he can help

[brassmonkey]

Hi Mobc--  I'm sorry to hear that you're having problems with your zyprexa.  It appears that you've been taking it for about six months now, which is enough time to require a slow taper to safely remove it from your system.  We have a good thread that outlines the process:

Tips for tapering off olanzapine (Zyprexa)

 

Getting off of AP can be a tricky business and needs to be done in a very controlled manner. Please read through the thread and then ask any questions that come up.

 

Please update your signature to give details and dates of the changes you have made in your medication  You mentioned starting at 20mgai and are now at 2.5mgai. How did you get there.  This will have a great bearing on the symptoms that you are feeling and what will need to be done to stabilize them and formulation of a plan to safely get you off of these drugs.

 

Brassmonkey

[ChessieCat]

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A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature - ALL drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly?

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[Mobc1990]

It’s been almost two month that I have been steadily taking Olanzapine 2.5mg.My GF had left me.Now my residual symptoms I am facing is socially anxious at work and low mood.

The difference now from the previous withdrawal of my medication is that I have lower stress(I don’t do strength training anymore) and even at low dose Zyprexa I can sleep better.I don’t want to take more medication or go back at any higher dose.

 

I think I can only accept for how I am now...and during my off work try to go play football and find people to socialize around

[Mobc1990]

To be honest,it is Zyprexa that kickstart me to meeting people.Now I have two friends(both are still using psych meds for mental problem) and I try to play football regularly because I like it and can have some social life from it.

I think what I lack now is more social and girls to date.If I can talk to most people,talk about my needs and social more and maybe go dating regularly I will not be so affected by my mental health issue.

[Mobc1990]

I have the habit of using psychiatrict services whenever I have problem.Now my main issue is I have a hard time concentrating at work,I avoid people(not all) and I don’t talk.I am only now on 2.5mg of Olanzapine,But I think I will just take these small dose and don’t keep visiting the psychiatrist because when I see them I keep asking for meds to help.8 years on antipsychotic has caused me to have sexual dysfunction and only have one relationship so far which only last three month.

 

My question is would TCM or homeopath help my stresses?I was thinking I just order Olanzapine from pharmacy or just use the service as little as often.

 

My diagnosis is “schizophrenia”,but my main issue is listed above.Can I live a normal and good life without meds?

Admin please don’t move my post,just this...Thank you and Thanks all for reading

[ChessieCat]

I have merged your new topic with your Intro because it is about your own situation and keeps your history in one place.

 

You do not have to go to a psychiatrist to get a prescription.  You can get it from a general doctor.

 

There are many existing topics on this site.  I use google and include survivingantidepressants.org in my search term.

 

So to find out information for the things you have mentioned:

 

 

survivingantidepressants.org TCM

 

survivingantidepressants.org homeopath

 

[Mobc1990]

I am feeling tramautic about my previous mental health diagnosis(schizo) but I am never going to take the meds as I lesson from the past thought me that it won’t help me.Now I am at the stage of tapering off antipsychotic and will still be taking antidepressant as I felt I am more depressed then psychotic.Recently,my mind is telling me to take back antipsychotic but I won’t be going back and will try to get pass days without antipsychotic as I don’t want to be deem “crazy”....hated this label very much.What are your thought guys?

 

Took antipsychotic from 2009-2017,now on breitellix(antidepressant moderate dose and just visiting GP instead of psychiatrists).

[Webhead21]

Their is a documentary called crazywise that takes a different perspective when discussing mental illnesses like schizophrenia.  I think it’s a great place to start.

[TreeElf]

I agree with @Webhead21, Crazywise is a fantastic documentary you might find helpful. You can watch it on the Gaia channel online.

[Mobc1990]

I took psych meds from 2009-2017,antipsychotic.I won’t take back antipsychotic because it causes sexual issue but now I am willing to take antidepressant that doesn’t caused it.The reason I don’t want to let go is because I have a feeling that I might die of cancer sooner if I don’t go for antidepressant or even more,is it a irrational fear or will it actually happen?

[Ather]

You are not going to die of a Cancer, its just a fear that you have, 

From my childhood to this day those things never happened to me that I was afraid of, so no you are not going to have any cancer,

Take the drugs according to your doctor's prescription, just let him know that you need very few of them.

You'll be fine, sex is not everything, sex is there to make babies that is the prime reason of sex, by the way how long can we engage in sex ? we are not porn actors man

[Lloyd]

Hi Mobc1990,

 

Olanzapine is an anti psychotic. You are not going to die of cancer for either taking or not taking medication. Is your doctor recommending you take an anti depressant?

[Mobc1990]

Once again,withdrawing from AP

 

Hey guys,I am diagnosed with schizophrenia 10 years ago,I believe I am ill in someways,and I believe it’s because I have an unlucky life.I took antipsychotic on and off for 10 years,total year in antipsychotic should be around 8.My problem is feeling that people don’t like me and probably depress.I don’t believe taking AP can solve my problem or make me feel better,but I think with or without ap I still have this feeling that people don’t like me,and me acting socially very awkward and isolate myself.Now I just hope that life changes with time,and my behaviour and social can improve a little bit,so that I don’t look bad.I believe if I were to take meds for many more years,I don’t have the chance to improve and I would still look bad to others because of how I feel inside

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by ChessieCat
added topic title