MuffinHopes: trying to taper off of Zyprexa

[MuffinHopes]

Hi I'm a female in her early 20s.

 

In 2016, after realizing that I was experiencing pretty severe depression (since my early teens) and anxiety, I decided to go to the psychiatrist. He diagnosed me as Bipolar 2 and I was given Abilify 2mg. I took that for about a year, and although it did not help me at all, at the beginning the placebo was pretty strong enough that I thought if I kept taking it I would feel better. I was wrong. I did not feel better and I just ended up gaining 20lbs. He also had me on other medication such as Trileptal and Buspar. Over the next year, I tried various antidepressants and mood stabilizers but I had too many side effects, the main one being insomnia.

 

So in 2018, I decided to do no medication and figure things out on my own. My depression was getting worse and stress from school got so bad that near the end of May 2018, I was hospitalized. They put me on some medication but of course it did not work because of the adverse side effects and I quickly ended it. All of Summer I did not take any medication but I was developing some sort of really bad generalized anxiety disorder. I had always had anxiety but never to the point that I do now. I couldn't breathe correctly, and some mornings I felt like I was suffocating. Like I didn't have enough oxygen. So I was planning on going back to school in the Fall of 2018; I stupidly went back to my old psychiatrist who was not able to help me at all because I was so desperate.

 

He put me on Latuda and Zyprexa. Latuda ended up not working but I continued to take the Zyprexa because I thought I needed to be on something. I ended up having to drop out of school but continued taking Zyprexa. I gained 20 pounds in 4 months and I was having ringing in my ears, memory issues, and cognitive issues. So, remembering that my psychiatrist said I would have no problem getting off of it if I wanted to, I decided to go off of it. That obviously did not work. I tried to go off of it cold turkey and I lasted about a month by replacing the zyprexa with antihistamines but eventually that stopped working. So I had to go back on it. I had terrible withdrawals from it, including GI issues. I am so depressed about being on this drug, and I am determined to taper off of it with the 10 percent reduction method.

 

If anyone has any positive stories, please message me. I need the encouragement and I need a little hope because I have become very depressed from this. Insomnia is my main withdrawal symptom and it's really upsetting because I slept fine before I started it. The only reason I went on it was because Latuda was giving me insomnia. I would like my sleep back. And I know, my sleep will come back eventually if I just fight through it but I do so badly without sleep. My anxiety heightens to intolerable levels. When I had anxiety in the Summer, I at least knew that at the end of the day I will sleep. But without that, it feels absolutely hopeless. And also my psychiatrist admitted that he probably misdiagnosed me with Bipolar disorder.  

 

Edited February 7, 2019 by ChessieCat
added spacing

[Shep]

Hi, MuffinHhopes.

 

Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants.

 

Here is some information to get you started on coming off Zyprexa:

 

Tips for tapering off olanzapine (Zyprexa)

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

What is withdrawal syndrome? 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

You may find some helpful information to handle your symptoms here: 

 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements, as many members report their nervous systems are simply too fragile to handle them. However, magnesium and fish oil tend to be calming to the nervous system and many people report they do help. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a small dose. For more, please see:

 

 King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

Is Zyprexa the only drug you're on now? 

 

Please add a signature.  Include drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements in the last 12-24 months. Also include supplements. This will help us give you the most accurate advice we can. 

• Any drugs and supplements prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years. 
• Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago) 
• Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016. 
• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. 
• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. 
• This is a direct link to your signature:  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

Please continue to use this thread to document your taper and to ask questions. As you provide more information, we can help you set up a safe and careful taper.

 

[WiggleIt]

On 2/6/2019 at 2:11 PM, MuffinHopes said:

If anyone has any positive stories, please message me.

Have you read the Success Stories on this website?  Here, I'll link you to them...  they really helped me when I first found this site.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forum/28-success-stories-recovery-from-withdrawal/

[WiggleIt]

I suffered insomnia from withdrawal and am pleased to say it improved!