Venkat: tapering olanzapine / Zyprexa

[Venkat]

It all started after a 10 day meditation course 4 years back.At the end of the course i had euphoria and a bit of delusion.But in a few days i was settling down but i was forcefully taken by my brother who never was polite with me from childhood, to a psychiatric hospital where they started me on oral antipsychotics. As i was not tolerating them i wasn't taking them regularly which i disclosed to my doctor who gave me option of an injectible which i think was inj paliperidone. Stupidly ,i agreed to it.All hell broke loose that night,i was in the dumps,nobody attended to my situation.I never wanted to take that any more but after a day my doctor said i had to repeat that injection ,which when i refused ,they threatened to give it forcefully,so i accepted that injection.Life was a down hill from that time onwards.I was discharged from that hospital after a month with no proper instruction.i was living in hell for the next 6months. Was it the effect of the injection or its withdrawal i dont know.After 6 months of hell i was reffered to another psychiatrist who started me on sodium valproate 1500mg,olanzipine 5mg,clonazepam 5mg and escitolopram 10mg.In the mean time i had to hold on to my job which required constant alertness.I have gradually tapered sodium valproate to 300mg ,tapered and stopped clonazepam following the Ashton manual,tapered and stopped escitolopram on my own.I am now left with 5mgs of olanzepine.Around that time i came across the works of Dr Peter Breggin and i was convinced to stop olanzepine to over come the battery of side effects of olanzepine which was pure hell.About the same time i came across SurvivingAntidepressants web forum.I convinced my psychiatrist to taper olanzepine,who asked me to reduce by 50%.

 

However i will be tapering by 10% of the previous dose method from 1st nov 2019.You guys at SA are doing a marvellous job,hats off to all of you.My sincere prayers to all those trying to taper of psychiatric medications,wishing everyone a safe and successful journey.I too need a lot of support and wishes from all of you.My wife has been very supportive and understanding .She has agreed to stand by me during my olanzepine taper which may take a couple of years.

 

Will i be myself after the taper?Will my personality ever come back which is in ruins right now? will i be able to thinking clearly?Will the anhedonia go away?Will i be able to feel again?During the process of tapering olanzepine i need to hold on to my job which requires constant alertness,and take care of my family at the same time.Will i be able to?

 

 

 

 

[Venkat]

In order to start tapering olanzapine 5mg , I switched over to oral dispersible olanzapine two 2.5mg tablets in September. I wish to take one 2.5mg tablet whole and dissolve the other 2.5mg tablet in water and start tapering with 10% reduction of the current dose every month. In one of the study it is said that oral dispersible tablet of olanzapine will be stable in water for about 6hrs.I have no access to compounding agents.My doubt is , will the tablet dissolved in water be effective?

Any advice and help from those who have tapered oral dispersible olanzapine using water as dispersible media,will be of great help to me.Thanks in advance.

[Venkat]

Desperate for some advice, please. 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Venkat.

 

Please see 

 

 

There is discussion about using the wafers to taper there.

 

As you lower the dosage, side effects should decrease. Your real personality will come back very gradually, perhaps over many months.

[herewego]

You should suspend the olanzapine in Ora-plus combined with water as well, as the olanzapine particles sink in water. I first dissolve tablet in 4ml water then add 6ml ora-plus then stir and then withdraw the needed amount. The rest I store in fridge for up to 48 hours & next doses are fine. You can order ora-plus online or special order from a drug store.

[Venkat]

Thank you Altostrata and herewego for the response.It means a lot to me ,thanks a lot again. I have given up the idea of liquid taper as I had insomnia after a few days of using oral dispersible olanzapine. I have reverted back to the solid olanzapine 5mg tablet.I have ordered a pill cutter and a digital weighing scale so that I can taper after measuring it on the scale. Thank you very much for your concern. 

 

Regards, venkat

[Venkat]

Will the windows be noticed during the taper, which  will be encouraging ,or only after completing the taper?

 

Thank you altostrata for your encouraging words and the links.

Thank you herewego for your suggestions. Let me see how the tapering goes with the solid tablets.Do I have to stay off work during any period of tapering?

[herewego]

If you taper very slowly as per recommended here and only do a cut after stabilizing for a bit each time you should be able to keep working. If your withdrawal symptoms become too uncomfortable you are probably tapering too fast and need to slow down.

[Venkat]

Thank you herewego. 

[Venkat]

Hi herewego,

when you said olanzapine sinks to the bottom when dissolved in water, did you mean the oral dispersible tablet or the solid tablets?

 

Is it possible to measure the solid tablet on a weighing scale when you are on a very low dose?I am a bit apprehensive about it.

Thank you. 

Regards venkat.

 

[herewego]

Whether you grind up a solid tablet or use the ones that dissolve in water the particles always sink to the bottom and do not completely dissolve in or stay dispersed evenly in water that is why you need to use more than 50% oraplus in your solution to suspend it all evenly but after first dissolving in water. Then add oraplus and stir it a little and it will then be evenly dispersed. I decided on doing it the liquid way as once you figure it out it seems a lot easier to keep cutting once you get lower compared with cutting and weighing.

[Venkat]

Hi herewego 

Thank a lot for the advice. I really cannot get ora plus liquid here.I will be doing the taper by cutting and weighing as long as I can.lets see how it goes. Thanks again.Wish you all the best in your tapering process. 

Are you finding windows during your taper?How is your sleep?

Regards, venkat

 

[Venkat]

Some urgent help please. My milligram digital scale shows a reading of 0.001gram as the minimum. Is it possible to measure 4.5milligrams on it? Somebody, please reply urgently. Thanks

Regards, venkat

[herewego]

I go slow enough that I don't notice waves and mostly have windows. My sleep is generally adequate too as a result of tapering slowly. If I start to have symptoms I wait it out and slow my tapering schedule and go by how I am feeling.

[Venkat]

Thank you herewego 

That was very reassuring.

Regards, venkat 

[Venkat]

How do I go about tapering 5mg olanzapine tablet by 10% decrease using the digital scale?Any advice from those using this method will be extremely helpful to me and to others also who have the same question. Thanks in advance.

Regards, venkat 

[Venkat]

Hi herewego, if you had any previous experience with the digital scale method,please advice as how to weigh the tablet and make the measurements. Thank you.

Regards venkat 

 

[Venkat]

Hi herewego, 

I figured out how to use the digital scale for measuring with the help of my wife and source from SA.

As many have suggested to stay away from internet during taper and I find it a very good advice, I will be away from internet for some time. I want to thank you for all your support so far and for the time you have taken for me.

Wishing you all the best in your life. 

If I go through some difficulties during the taper I shall be back.

Thanks once again herewego and altostrata. 

Please pray for me as I pray for everyone going through tapering process. 

Regards,venkat 

[Venkat]

I don't wish to stay away from SA , it is such a wonderful site ,with a wealth of information and so much support during tapering psychiatric medications. 

It was wonderful to go through some success stories though it was a bit scary, but many have made it through while being on the site during the tapering process. 

I have no words to praise Altostrata for all that she is doing along with the moderators. 

 

Right now I am apprehensive about starting my tapering of olanzapine 5mg which I am planning to start from 1st Nov 2019.

 

I don't know what would have happened to me if I had followed my doctor's advice to taper by 50%.I am so glad I found SA at the  right time. 

 

IT IS A GOD SEND , HONESTLY TO EVERY ONE SUFFERING FROM PSYCHIATRIC MEDICATIONS. 

[Venkat]

My symptoms at present due to olanzapine 5mg which I have been taking since about 3 years,which was prescribed to me for insomnia.

 

No emotions or feelings 

Cannot think straight 

Unable to maintain a conversation 

Unable to process information 

Loss of memory

Cognitive functions impaired 

Dizziness 

Loss of balance while walking 

Gross change in personality 

Social phobia

Loss of co ordination 

 

I either want to become normal and live a symptom free life at least for a few years , or I wish God takes away my life.

 

It is a bit of relief to be expressing my symptoms in this site where people can understand as to what is going on.

 

 

[Venkat]

Cannot appreciate beauty /nature

High blood sugar 

High cholesterol 

Weight gain 

Anxiety and fear

All because of olanzapine I believe 

[Venkat]

Could not wait till 1st Nov to start olanzapine 5mg taper. Was very anxious. So I started the 1st cut last night by 10% ,that is on 28th Oct. Slept well, though I got up twice because of thirst.

It is way too early to say anything but the fear of tapering is gone for now and am feeling confident. 

My next cut will probably be on 1st dec 2019.

Shall keep updating.I sincerely hope this bit of update will give confidence to those who are still contemplating tapering, though I am not in any position to advice anybody. 

Regards venkat

[Venkat]

5th day into tapering 5mg olanzapine. 

 

Had a bout of anxiety upon my previously existing anxiety,lasted for a few hours and subsided.

 

Sleep has been fairly good. 

 

 

[Venkat]

Hi herewego, 

I am feeling guilty for not doing a liquid taper as you had suggested. I also agree it is easy.But I could not do that for two reasons. One,I had a bad experience with oral dispersible olanzapine and two ,ora plus is expensive. 

 

But when I come down to lower doses I will try liquid taper with solid olanzapine tablets dissolved in water and ora plus.

 

Regards, Venkat

[Venkat]

In my present state of mind I am not able to get the hang of brassmonkey 's sliding scale micro taper , and heyduke's liquid taper in spite of reading it multiple times. 

 

Can I just go ahead with 10% taper every month at least till I come down to 2.5mg of olanzapine, and when my mind too is hopefully good enough to understand micro taper and dilutions ?

[Venkat]

How do I put up my medicine history?

Inspite of searching on the computer I could not figure it out. 

Can someone help please. 

[Altostrata]

On 11/2/2019 at 1:29 AM, Venkat said:

Can I just go ahead with 10% taper every month at least till I come down to 2.5mg of olanzapine, and when my mind too is hopefully good enough to understand micro taper and dilutions ?

 

Yes, you can do that. See Tips for tapering off olanzapine (Zyprexa)

 

Follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

[herewego]

Yes it's probably easier to switch to liquid when you get to really smaller amounts but do what works for you. Grinding up solid pills and putting that in a water/oraplus solution works just as well - I have done that too.

[Venkat]

Thank you Altostrata and herewego. 

 

Last night and the night before did not sleep well. Got up at 2 am and could not sleep after getting up. I am on 4.5mg of olanzapine currently. 

 

Working today was difficult. 

Hope I sleep well tonight as I have a lot of work tomorrow. 

 

Regards venkat 

[Venkat]

Will update my drug history as soon as possible. 

[Venkat]

No adequate sleep last night too. Finding it difficult to work without sleep. As such I was working with a crippled mind due to side effects of olanzapine.What should I do ? Should I do a 5% taper, I am only into the 8th day of tapering olanzapine by 10%.

[Venkat]

I have been taking magnesium 100mg in the morning  and fish oil in the night, since  3 months. 

[Venkat]

Was desperate for some sleep so I took 2.5mg of diazepam yesterday afternoon and some cough syrup in the night. I am aware this is not recommended on this site.Sleapt slightly better last night.

[hayduke]

Hi Venkat,

 

Long baths with Epsom salts or Magnesium Chloride are much more effective than oral magnesium, I've found.  Relaxing, too.  Foot baths are also good if you don't have a full sized bath tab.

 

Omega 3 is usually found in fish oil, or if you're like me and don't eat fish, hemp seeds, chia seeds and linseed are good in yogurt.

 

I've been tapering olanzapine in water for a while now and it's quite effective.  In the link Alto gave you above, you'll see Rhi posts her method of doing that without needing Ora Plus or anything like that.  I've outlined how I do it here: 

 

 

You can get off this crap, just have to foster patience and take it really slow, and look after yourself.  There is a bunch of useful help on here.

 

Cheers

 

[Venkat]

Hi hayduke,

Thank you very much for all the information and encouraging words. 

I had gone through your thread earlier. 

I am very happy for you that you are tapering successfully. 

Can I dilute olanzapine tablet in 5ml or 10ml water and do the titration as I have calculated it for the same?

 

Regards, venkat 

 

 

[hayduke]

No worries Venkat.

 

You can try the smaller volumes of water, if 10 ml isn't effective maybe try 20ml.

 

If you botch the preparation as I do occasionally just chuck it and start again with a new measurement and a fresh tablet.