First off thank you for this wonderful forum. I looked long and hard for success stories of people who came off Zyprexa cold Turkey successfully and was unable to. I took zyprexa for 2 months (started at high dose foolishly by psych doctors @ 30 mg) and then self lowered to 10 mg once I got out of there 1.5 weeks later. Abruptly switched to abilify (10 mg).
The withdrawal was ■■■■ on earth. I thought it would not get better. After about 3 - 4 months off zyprexa and 1.5 months off abilify, I am much better and feel much like normal self again. My sleep still needs some work, sleeping 5 hours now, from zero sleep once I stopped taking zyprexa.
So I wanted to start this thread to let anyone stopped zyprexa cold turkey or plans to stop cold turkey, that it can be done. Most people on the forums warn against it however due to difficulty of withdrawal I think.
I will post more details on how I did it soon.
Hi Kate good to hear from you and yes just shows you do not have to be a prisoner to this dangerous drug. I was on 20 mg for over 21 years so it really hit me came of august 17 but due to complecations with diebeties 2 witch olanzapine gave me. I am still unable to walk have been in since boxing day but my mind is pin sharp never been better. I have my emotions back and actually get tears in my eyes with everyday matters like sad films or people with amazing uplifting story's. I am so glad that I came of olanzapine and would do it all again I am never listening to a cyciatrist that doesn't listen to me first. I had a berievment in the family all those years ago and went of the rails a bit so they misdiagnosed me and I paid the price I was never phitsofrenic or harmful to anyone and fell gutted I lost my life on that s**t. The worst thing is no one wants to know about this stuff so keep this knowledge going and if you can help one person who doesn't want to be on this you have done something worthwhile and you can know that.
Well done Kate. You're the proof that it can be done. Thanks on behalf of everyone trying to get clean of this wretched misery drug. 👏
It's remarkably easy to get labelled as nuts. Once you're taking this stuff there's no doubt: you ARE nuts!!
This is simply a chemical cosh that keeps a human "down".
I am still on it and still looking for the exit door. Help me.
A life on drugs is just an existence.
i want more than that.
My choice was Olanzapine or lock up ( no doubt with Olanzapine).
Freedom is all I cherish.
One day I will be free.
our bodies look after themselves - given nourishment and nurture.
Are you missing one of these?
If no, you don't need anything.
Good luck to all
Thank you for sharing your experience. I was on it for 3 months for about 15mg a day and have decided to try going cold turkey. I am on Day 5. I have had difficulty sleeping coming off which is slowly getting better.
Your experience is motivating thank you for sharing.
Cashew what is the problem to do slow gradual taper with monthly intervals?You don't have any idea going cold turkey from15 mg . It may cause serious and permanent alterations in your brain, which happened to me .
The sooner you are off this drug the greater chance you have of a full recovery. Believe me. Any change in brain activity caused by olanzapine is much more control able once off this shocking drug. They just don't tell everyone this. My brain has reset itself in 6 months be patient. Noted improvement after 3 months unbelievable you just feel so alive again. Get anything you can for sleep though even cbd oil which I used saved my life. Take protein drinks water. Avoid caffeine. Alcohol. And sugar. Until appetite returns. Don't give up I nearly did. Stay somewhere where you are not hassled. Avoid stress as much as possible. You will experience haloisinations. Night mares. Sweating. Weight loss and frustration this is normal I found for me. Please note that I am not a doctor or pharmacist or have any conection with medical awareness. I am telling you how I dealt with coming off 20mg of olanzapine. Witch I took for a staggering 21 years. If I made it so can you.
omg ,you used 20 mg ! how did you live 20 years in zombie state!congratulations you came out. you are very brave marty.
hi again guys,
So I wanted to write this update to let you all know how I'm doing. The withdrawals from zyprexa and abilify are basically gone, except for the sleep which is slowly getting better.
Just some notes on what I did to successfully come off Zyprexa cold turkey. Exercise, I did a juice cleanse for a full day, which was very hard for me when I stopped due to low blood sugar, ate very healthy foods, cut out processed foods as much as possible, drink lots of water, exercise daily and sweat as much as possible, support and love from my spouse and children, support from very close friends who I confided in, and I read the book and took some supplements recommended in a book called "How To Come Off Psychoactive Drugs Safely".
Other supplements I took: Magnesium, Vitamin C, B12 and B6, Fish Oil.
There were many days I had suicide ideation and thought I would never get better. I want to let you know, that the process is slow and you really have to just take it day by day. The improvement doesn't come in leaps and bounds but rather gradual very slowly. I think it's safe to say 3 months is where you see significant improvement.
My best to all of you and I will check back time to time to answer any specific questions.
Zyprexa is a horrible drug in my opinion and frankly I think most if not all psychiatric drugs are dangerous and difficult to withdraw from.
Love, peace, patience..
my very best to all of you looking for hope in coming off zyprexa or abilify.
Thank you for sharing your story Marty.
Another update for those trying to get off zyprexa and or abilify.
My sleep has improved a lot and my mood and getting back to normal life has been progressively getting better as well. I can almost say I'm confident that my life is back to normal, but I know this is still a journey.
One thing I will say is this, life is not necessarily easy on or off the drugs, but I definitely think off the drugs is the way to go as there are better solutions to live a normal and fulfilled life.
My very best to you all.
You got that right Melvin!
Thank you for your kind words and encouragement Melvin. As more time passes I want to assure you it does get better. My recommendation is to try to eat healthy, exercise if possible, and do things that will help you positively. For me, my faith and family have been very key parts to helping me beat this drug.
I also have to say that neuro night supplement helped me a lot for the sleep portion.. it may be a bit early for me tell you how good it's been for me, but being able to sleep again has been a true God send. I have been taking the supplements for almost 2 months now and my sleep has gradually improved.
I agree with you Marty. The sooner you are off this drug the better chance you have to a full recovery. You are so right.
There need to be more success stories shared to help the many desperate people trying to get off this terrible drug! I have read and believe that zyprexa is harder to come off of then heroin! It was the hardest thing I have ever done but it is possible.
You're welcome Cashew. How are you holding up these days? For me up until 3 months the withdrawal was very hard. After the 1st month to about the 2nd month it got really hard for me and there were many times I wanted to give up. I did not want to back on the drug though so I powered through it.
If you can make it to 3 months of being off all the psychiatric drugs (esp. zyprexa) you should start feeling a lot better. I have written a few posts on how I did it, but the key was exercise, eating healthy, detox as much as possible, good supplements and vitamins, try to find reasons to feel emotions (good music, sleep, pray, read, love, know you are loved, and take it day by day).
For sleep here are a few tips: try getting chamomile tea, or a detox tea that you can drink at night before bed, magnesium, vitamin b complex, fish oil, calcium, multi vitamin, among others. i tried trazadone, and melatonin and my pdoc kept trying to prescribe more psych meds to assist me to sleep but I felt like that would just create more problems, so I declined. The trazadone and melatonin didn't help me much I think, so I tried sleep vitamins from amazon (5 stars) which didn't help me much either. Finally I found a company the road back and the supplement called neuro night and neuro day and jnk capsules seemed to do the trick. They have mixed reviews though, but they seem to have worked very well for me so far. I have taken them for about 2 months now and they sell them in 2 months supply. A bit pricy but cheaper than a visit to a psychiatrist.
Best wishes, hope and love to you
Hi marty..your story is very encouraging..i was about to give up today..i wonder if u tappered gradualy or cold turckey..i m at 2.5 mg for 2 month (i was on 10 mg for 7 years)nd what is frightining are the psyhotic thoughts and mania..how did u get through this..you said that you had halucinations,are they going away by itself ?
Hello
just looking for some advice. I’ve been on olanzapine 2.5mg for 10 weeks. I am also on 225mg venlafaxine. Under the advice of my psychiatrist I have stopped taking the olanzapine 5 days ago. Anxiety (for which it was originally prescribed) is a little heightened but manageable, I am using cbd oil which I think is helping. The worst bit is the nights sweats and nightmares, which leads to lots of broken sleep. I hope that as I have been on a low dose for a short time my body will soon settle down again. I’m just looking for someone to reassure me, or offer advise as to how to manage withdrawal.
many thanks x
There is a way to come out of olanzapine safely.You stopped olanzapine at 2.5 m.g! what a mistake.Stopping an antipsychotic cold turkey will cause drastic changes in the brain.I am suffering with hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations from two years after stopping an antipsychotic cold turkey after using it 4 weeks.I stopped 1 m.g risperidone.So 2.5 m.g olanzapine is big dose to cause severe problems.What you need to do is start taking 2.5 mg olanzapine ASAP.Because if you par 8 days, reinstatement of the drug does not work and it may cause severe problems.Buy pill cutter online,which is low cost.Stabilize on 2.5 m.g four weeks ,then start tapering.cut 2.5 mg tablet as four equal pieces with pill cutter.After using 2.5 mg four weeks,use 3 pieces four weeks,use 2 pieces four weeks,use 1 piece four weeks.Then stop trying.If you can stop,you stop.I tried stoping after 1 piece,but could not.So I started micro tapering.which is 10% of 0.625 mg every four weeks.Read surviving antidepressants forum to find our kind of people.good luck.
hypnagogic and hypnapompic hallucinations are not only a bizarre experiences every day,they will interrupt your sleep when ever you attempt to sleep.For this problem,sleep medications will not work.One need to be on olanzapine kind of antipsychotic as sleep aid,life long.
Hi Kate , just wondering how your going ?? Im still having aches an pains in my legs, headaches are improving an i stopped taking Melatonin after 5wks on it as i was getting incredibly spaced out. Ive been off it for bout a wk an im getting as much sleep as i was when i was taking it. Im in no way back to a normal sleep pattern but im getting between 4-6hrs a night. Im nearing 12wks off Zyprexa. My leg pain might be partially to do with my back problems and im just unfortuneately waiting on my Pain Specialist to get back from holidays in another month. If i can get a break from the leg aches an pains I'd be able to cope alot better. Im still on 30mg of Mirtazapine down from 60mg an once ive got sum relief from the Zyprexa Withdrawals I'll tackle coming off Mirtazapine . Take care an best wishes for the future Lloyd from Oz