Igor1287: poly drugged

[Igor1287]

Alright, the reason I started this topic is a need a good advice. My problems started September last year, after turbulent relationship and quite possibly due to overtraining I suffered a mental fallout,  father panicked called my brother who in turn called the police to take me to the mental hospital, which I refused to go on my own volition. The cherry on top is my mother was a paranoid and committed suicide two decades ago by refusing to take her prescribed meds, so I knew if go through the system I would end up a  Poll-drugged zombie.

here was my therapy:

 

Valproate 500mg, Haldol 8mg Prozac 20 mg
Olanzapine 5 mg Biperiden 2 mg Ativan 5 mg

 

I managed to wean my self to

lorazepam 2.5 mg Haldol 0.5 mg Olanzapine 1.25mg

 

three months ago I jumped from Haldol 0.5 mg and a week after from Zyprexa 1.25 mg thinking that antipsychotics are easy to get off (i was stable at the time on these doses)

for first two months i suffered anxiety, depression and suicidal thinking, but I managed to shrug them off as withdrawal symptoms, the problem is after approximately 9 weeks I started to suffer 24/7 insomnia, I could fall asleep but would wake up in 30 minutes, that lasted for a couple a days, not wanting to end up hospitalized again i reinstated 1 mg Haldol and 3.75 Zyprexa, at higher doses of both these drugs I get extremely restless, on lower doses I can barely sleep, right now i sleep between 6-8 hours but during the day I am extremely agitated for having to drink these poisons, i went to a couple of reputable shrinks who wanted to up my doses, particularly Zyprexa to 10mg, which I refused. My question is should i listen to these shrinks, or try to though it up and remain at these dosages and try to stabilize?

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

Edited July 4, 2018 by Songbird
fix font size

[Songbird]

Hi Igor1287, welcome to SA.  I'm sorry to hear you've been having a rough time, what with having to go to hospital, which must have been frightening, and then with bad withdrawal symptoms.

 

We will need some more information before we can offer any suggestions.  Is your current med regimen just the 1 mg Haldol and 3.75mg Zyprexa, or are you taking any other meds?  When did you reinstate the Haldol and Zyprexa?  How did you taper the valproate and Prozac and when did you stop these?

 

Please create a signature containing a summary of your med history, including all drugs, doses and dates (starting and stopping).  Your signature appears below every post you make, and helps us see your situation easily without having to read from the top every time.   You could look at my signature for an example.  Instructions for creating your signature are here: Please put your withdrawal history in your signature.  You can edit your signature here: edit your signature in Account Settings.

 

Please post all your updates and questions about your situation here in your introduction topic, and we will try to help as best we can.

 

[Igor1287]

I am still using Ativan 2.5 - 3 mg, reinstated Haldol and Zyprexa in June 12, thought my current regiment of 1 mg Haldol and 3.75 mg Zyprexa is from 27-28 june, it was a lot of trial and error really, I messed things up by dropping two meds, probably suffering two withdrawals. Right now I am having one good day and then one bad day. I tapered valproate quite rapidly after leaving hospital cause of allergic reaction (my facial skin was bloated and peeling off), I also went cold turkey on Prozac in January, think I suffer no ill effects from it. Personally, I had no idea what I was doing, just wanted to be off these meds, only when things started to get hairy did I start searching the internet, learning about 10% taper rule, holding etc. Nobody told me the little devils where addictive.

 

 

 

[Songbird]

12 hours ago, Igor1287 said:

I am still using Ativan 2.5 - 3 mg, reinstated Haldol and Zyprexa in June 12, thought my current regiment of 1 mg Haldol and 3.75 mg Zyprexa is from 27-28 june, it was a lot of trial and error really, I messed things up by dropping two meds, probably suffering two withdrawals. Right now I am having one good day and then one bad day. I tapered valproate quite rapidly after leaving hospital cause of allergic reaction (my facial skin was bloated and peeling off), I also went cold turkey on Prozac in January, think I suffer no ill effects from it.

 

Hi Igor, please can you put all dates and doses in your signature.  We need to see when and how you started, tapered, stopped and restarted each drug.  If you look at the last two lines of my signature you can see specific dates and doses.  If you don't know the exact day at least put the month, or put "early Jan", "mid Jan" or "late Jan", for example.

 

Were you on any meds prior to September 2017, or were all the meds started together at the same time?

[Igor1287]

They were all started at the same time.

[Altostrata]

Hello, Igor. Please put ALL your drugs in the Drug Interactions Checker https://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.php
and copy and paste the results in this topic.

 

What times of day do you take your drugs? Do your symptoms have any daily pattern? Please keep daily notes on paper about your symptoms, when you take your drugs, and their dosages.

 

 

[Igor1287]

Interactions between your drugs

Major

lorazepam  olanzapine

Applies to: Ativan (lorazepam), Zyprexa (olanzapine)

Ask your doctor before using LORazepam together with OLANZapine. This can cause low blood pressure, shallow breathing, weak pulse, muscle weakness, drowsiness, dizziness and slurred speech. This may be more likely to occur in older adults or those with a debilitating condition. You should be counseled to avoid activities requiring mental alertness until you know how these medications will affect you. If your doctor prescribes these medications together, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely use these medications together. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

Moderate

haloperidol  lorazepam

Applies to: Haldol (haloperidol), Ativan (lorazepam)

Using haloperidol together with LORazepam may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Some people, especially the elderly, may also experience impairment in thinking, judgment, and motor coordination. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications. Also avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medications affect you. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

Moderate

haloperidol  olanzapine

Applies to: Haldol (haloperidol), Zyprexa (olanzapine)

Using haloperidol together with OLANZapine may increase the blood levels or add to the side effects of either medication. Contact your doctor if you experience drowsiness, slurred speech, agitation, restlessness, convulsions, fever, an irregular heartbeat, or uncontrollable movements of the mouth, tongue, cheeks, jaw, arms or legs, or coma. If your doctor does prescribe these medications together, you may need a dose adjustment or special test to safely use both medications. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

No other interactions were found between your selected drugs.
Note: this does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. Always consult with your doctor or pharmacist.

Other drug and disease interactions

• Haldol (haloperidol) interacts with more than 600 other drugs and more than 20 diseases.
• Ativan (lorazepam) interacts with more than 300 other drugs and more than 10 diseases.
• Zyprexa (olanzapine) interacts with more than 400 other drugs and more than 10 diseases.

Drug and food interactions

Moderate

haloperidol  food

Applies to: Haldol (haloperidol)

Alcohol can increase the nervous system side effects of haloperidol such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience impairment in thinking and judgment. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with haloperidol. Do not use more than the recommended dose of haloperidol, and avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medication affects you. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns.

Switch to professional interaction data

Moderate

lorazepam  food

Applies to: Ativan (lorazepam)

Alcohol can increase the nervous system side effects of LORazepam such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience impairment in thinking and judgment. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with LORazepam. Do not use more than the recommended dose of LORazepam, and avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medication affects you. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns.

Switch to professional interaction data

Moderate

olanzapine  food

Applies to: Zyprexa (olanzapine)

Alcohol can increase the nervous system side effects of OLANZapine such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience impairment in thinking and judgment. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with OLANZapine. Do not use more than the recommended dose of OLANZapine, and avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medication affects you. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns.

Switch to professional interaction data

Therapeutic duplication warnings

Therapeutic duplication is the use of more than one medicine from the same drug category or therapeutic class to treat the same condition. This can be intentional in cases where drugs with similar actions are used together for demonstrated therapeutic benefit. It can also be unintentional in cases where a patient has been treated by more than one doctor, or had prescriptions filled at more than one pharmacy, and can have potentially adverse consequences.

Duplication

Antipsychotics

Therapeutic duplication

The recommended maximum number of medicines in the 'antipsychotics' category to be taken concurrently is usually one. Your list includes two medicines belonging to the 'antipsychotics' category:

• haloperidol (active ingredient in Haldol (haloperidol))
• olanzapine (active ingredient in Zyprexa (olanzapine))

Note: The benefits of taking this combination of medicines may outweigh any risks associated with therapeutic duplication. This information does not take the place of talking to your doctor. Always check with your healthcare provider to determine if any adjustments to your medications are needed.

[Igor1287]

9am 0.5mg Haldol 1mg Ativan 

4pm 0.5mg Haldol 1mg Ativan

9pm 3.75mg Zyprexa 1mg Ativan

 

My symptoms are aggression, irritability, loss of appetite and mild anxiety, not too bad considering. The pattern of symptoms is one day I am symptom-free, then the other I have symptoms.

[Igor1287]

Went to another shrink yesterday, he started talking about how my brain is not wired correctly, started talking about chemical imbalances. He wanted to cold turkey me off 3mg of Lorazepam and put me on 15mg Zyprexa....just lol

[DMV64]

On 7/3/2018 at 9:08 AM, Igor1287 said:

thinking that antipsychotics are easy to get off

Hello. Just passing by and saw your thread. I have found antipsychotics a real challenge but I am very slowly getting there. It really takes a lot of patience. The anxiety is deep. On my thread a lot of support has been posted for me so far in this journey, just in case you want to scroll through. Videos, books, tools..etc.

I hope you have a peaceful day!

-D

[Igor1287]

Thank you DMV64, will get through this.

[Igor1287]

I was hospitalized for 5 days, because of dangerous low white cell blood count. Basically, they did Zyprexa cold turkey since it was the main culprit, I had a very poor sleep so they gave me Midazolam, I used it only once. I slept maybe on average 3.5 hours, on day 4 they gave me a typical antipsychotic Prolixin 0.5 mg, slept good 6-7 hours, but maybe it was fatigue. Should I stay on low dose Prolixin until I am stable or should I try just to though it out, any input is appreciated.I'll edit my signature, right now I am using 2mg Ativan I haven't use Prolixin again as of yet, they gave me a box of Midazolam but its like a sugar pill. My symptoms are poor sleep, state of mania, occasional low mood with dark thoughts, sending love to all you people.

[Igor1287]

I wanted to say that I was hospitalized by my own free will, they wanted to do tests, hematologist ruled out leukemia, by law I could check myself out anytime I wish so I stayed for 5 days to rule out any blood disease. They offered me Lithium to raise my white blood cell count I refused then they offered me either Abilify or Prolixin, knowing that my mother was on Prolixin and that she tolerated it well I opted to at least try small dose and it worked, but this is only one dose. I am unsure what to do.

[Igor1287]

September 2017 Haldol 8mg Zyprexa 5mg Valproic Acid 1500mg Biperiden 2mg Prozac 20mg Ativan 5mg

December 2017 - January 2018 fast taper Valporate 1500 mg

January 2018 cold turkey Prozac 20mg

December 2017 - April 2018 taper Ativan to 3mg taper Haldol to 0 taper Zyprexa to 0

February 2018 - cold turkey Biperiden 2mg

Reinstated 28 June 2018 Haldol 1 mg  Zyprexa 3.75 Ativan 3mg

July 2018  Haldol 0.5mg Zyprexa 2.5mg Ativan 3mg

September 2018 stoped Haldol(myoclonic jerks) Zyprexa 2mg Ativan 2mg, 20 January stopped Zyprexa(Leukopenia Thrombocytopenia Neutropenia) Ativan 2 mg

24 January Prolixin 0.5 mg Ativan 2mg

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by ChessieCat
reduced font

[Altostrata]

Those are serious side effects, Igor. That mix of drugs was hurting you.

 

You probably have withdrawal insomnia and other withdrawal symptoms from quitting those drugs. Has the Prolixin helped? See https://www.drugs.com/pro/prolixin.html

 

Since it seems you have been taking a benzodiazepine (Ativan) since at least December 2017, you may be physiologically dependent on it even if you don't feel anything from it. What times of day do you take it, and at what dosages?

[Igor1287]

Alto, I take Ativan 0.5 mg at 8am, 0.5mg 3-4pm, 1 mg 8-9pm. Prolixin helped but I used it only once, yesterday at 5 pm given by a doctor, I was sedated and fell asleep at 6 pm, slept till 1:30 am, I was less manic but after it wore off I feel depressed. 

[Carmie]

Hi Igor, 

 

How are you doing?💚

[Igor1287]

These posts, hahahahahah, pure cowardice, not any more.

[ChessieCat]

Hi Igor and welcome back.

 

We would love to hear about how you are doing.

 

Are you off all drugs now?  If yes, when you update your signature please add the date and the last dose you took.  Thank you.

 

Please update your drug signature with details since you were last here.  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature