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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by xbunny on October 11, 2006, at 8:08:08
This isnt a request for help or advice I just would like to record my experience for those who may be considering the same thing or are just interested :)
I have been taking antipsychotic drugs for about 10 years, over that period I have switched been several atypical drugs including risperdal, zyprexa and amisulpride and several typical drugs including thioridazine, stelazine, thorazine. My last regiem was a combination of pericyazine and flupenthixol. Most drugs I took for periods lasting 3 months to a few years in various combinations and doses. The prime reasons for discontinuations and other changes were inadequate symptom control and anxiety.
On the instruction of my psychiatrist I have been off all antipsychotics (and all other psychiatric drugs such as antidepressants and benzodiazapines) for 4 weeks now. I stopped cold turkey going from a dose of 75mg of pericyazine and 6mg of flupenthixol to nothing in one evening. The initial effects were severe; the first few nights I went both manic and psychotic, I was unable to sleep, sit still, think in a rational fashion, my anxiety reached extreme levels, as if by remote control I talked constantly about things which made no sense. I was physically sick with extreme nausea and unable to eat, I constantly felt cold and had goosebumps or cold turkey, my muscles throughout my body muscles were alternating between rigid cramps and vibrating movement. All that kept me going was continual self reassurance I felt that these were drug effects and not a normal state nor a return of my symptoms. After 3 days the mania gradually subsided and I resumed eating and was able to sleep. The next day I became severly depressed, I experienced dispair like I rarely felt before, I became extremely scared of just about everything around me and beleived that all hope was lost, Most of mind was telling me this is it you will never recover this will be your natural state, in short your f**ked mate. Again all that kept me going (at this point from suicide) was the beleif that these were drug induced effects and would not be permanent. Over the next week or so the attacks of fear and depression began to fragment and I would alternate between periods of relative lucidity and these torturous experiences. Physically my naseua was subsiding, my cold turkey was still evident and as strong as ever, my muscles stopped cramping but began feeling increasing leaden and difficult to move. A few more days later the severity of depression began to lighten and I felt alot more lucid. My mood began to improve in short periods and I felt mental clarity and a wicked sense of humour returning. Mentally I felt quite weird, detached and disconnected, like remotely viewing my body and my thoughts, my perceptual distortions had worsened considerably, but I did not feel psychotic (if its possible to feel psychotic) in fact almost everything seemed a like a very big and weird joke which I cant really explain. The follow week things improved further. So here I am, the cold turkey has subsided to merely annoying levels though for some reason I still seem to feel the cold alot more than I did before. My muscles still do not feel right I find it difficult to move them after periods of stillness and frankly everything feels too heavy. My thought process feels detached and impersonal. My mood is reasonably stable. I am not experiencing hallucinations however my perceptual disturbances are worse. Overall I would say the experience has been quite unpleasant however I would say that it has been no worse than I might have expected and I hope that given more time things may improve further.Bunny
Posted by SLS on October 11, 2006, at 19:02:28
In reply to withdrawl after ten years of antipsychotics, posted by xbunny on October 11, 2006, at 8:08:08
Gosh.
I've been through some pretty heavy-duty stuff with medication, but nothing so hideous.
- Scott
Posted by ronaldo on October 14, 2006, at 7:09:07
In reply to withdrawl after ten years of antipsychotics, posted by xbunny on October 11, 2006, at 8:08:08
Posted by xbunny on October 15, 2006, at 16:42:45
In reply to Bunny you have a lot of sand....RESPECT! (nm) » xbunny, posted by ronaldo on October 14, 2006, at 7:09:07
thanks, I think... I dont understand sand
Posted by ronaldo on October 30, 2006, at 11:31:04
In reply to Re: Bunny you have a lot of sand....RESPECT! » ronaldo, posted by xbunny on October 15, 2006, at 16:42:45
Posted by ramsea on November 23, 2006, at 11:42:03
In reply to withdrawl after ten years of antipsychotics, posted by xbunny on October 11, 2006, at 8:08:08
I am not surprised at the awfulness you have been through, having experienced something similar recently. but why did your psychiatrist make you go cold turkey? was there a reason? and how high/long were you on benzos for? i hope you can say, it might help me. thank you ramsea
Posted by xbunny on December 13, 2006, at 9:15:36
In reply to Re: withdrawl after ten years of antipsychotics » xbunny, posted by ramsea on November 23, 2006, at 11:42:03
Hi, I dont even know if you would still be checking this thread after this time, I appologize for the lateness of this reply, I rarely read pbabble these days and even less the withdrawl board.
> I am not surprised at the awfulness you have been through, having experienced something similar recently. but why did your psychiatrist make you go cold turkey?
It was a joint descision both mine and his, I wasnt pressured into it.
> was there a reason?
The reason was get off the medication as quickly as possible.
> and how high/long were you on benzos for?
The significant constituants of my regiem was antipsychotics, I took benzos sporadically at medium/normal doses.
> i hope you can say, it might help me. thank you ramsea
Hope this was of some help, Best regards Bunny
Posted by ramsea on December 13, 2006, at 9:39:45
In reply to Re: withdrawl after ten years of antipsychotics » ramsea, posted by xbunny on December 13, 2006, at 9:15:36
thanx Bunny for replying. if you have the time to respond, i am interested in how you are currently doing? back when you first wrote in October you still had some lingering withdrawal symptoms.
do you feel pretty free of that now? are you feeling okay without meds?
best. ramsea
Posted by xbunny on December 14, 2006, at 4:05:29
In reply to Re: withdrawl after ten years of antipsychotics, posted by ramsea on December 13, 2006, at 9:39:45
> thanx Bunny for replying. if you have the time to respond, i am interested in how you are currently doing? back when you first wrote in October you still had some lingering withdrawal symptoms.
>
> do you feel pretty free of that now?Well I would expect that by now I am not experiencing withdrawal symptoms however the effects I described in the last paragraph of my original message still persist with the exception of the cold turkey which has completely gone now.
> are you feeling okay without meds?
No, though I am managing. I am planning on seeing my psychiatrist soon (probably will be in the new year now) to discuss if there any options. It was suggested that I have a 'brain scan' (his words - so what actual technique that would be used I dont know), I am going to follow this up also. Its difficult from my point to view to think of any medication which may be of benefit but I shall see what the psychiatrist says. At this point in time I am hoping that some kind of treatment can still be found for me, stopping my meds was not intended to be some final thing, one of the reasons was so I could be assessed whilst free of the effects of any medication.
Bunny
Posted by ramsea on December 14, 2006, at 4:11:39
In reply to Re: withdrawl after ten years of antipsychotics » ramsea, posted by xbunny on December 14, 2006, at 4:05:29
Posted by Sebastian on December 14, 2006, at 15:30:58
In reply to withdrawl after ten years of antipsychotics, posted by xbunny on October 11, 2006, at 8:08:08
Sounds awfull. I can relate to some of the things that hapened, but I never fully got off my meds in a long time. I'm getting ready for a zyprexa withdraw. And I'm already withdrawing from geodon. I don't miss the geodon at all. The zyprexa I'm sure will be much harder, as it has been in the past.
Posted by Sebastian on January 13, 2007, at 12:24:42
In reply to Re: withdrawl after ten years of antipsychotics, posted by Sebastian on December 14, 2006, at 15:30:58
I was at 10mg, 5 for the past week. So far worrying a lot, can't focus on work, very paranoid, depressed, crying(sad) almost crying, lower blood sugar, less apatite, less sleep, lost 7 pounds, nervous, clenching teeth a lot, sick stomack, can't concentrate.
Yesterday I broke down and took a 10mg. Feel like a hundred bucks.
Posted by ramsea on January 13, 2007, at 14:35:20
In reply to Re: 3 weeks withdraw from zyprexa, posted by Sebastian on January 13, 2007, at 12:24:42
Sorry you have had such a hard time trying to get off Zyprexa. Does your pdoc have any ideas? Could you just shave a little off and stay at that awhile, and then in like a month shave a little more, see how you feel, stay at that level awhile and so on?
I'm not saying it would be easy to stop altogether but maybe you would be pleased to just be at a lower level anyway for awhile and eventually keep working towards being off it???
i am just tossing around ideas. i know how terribly hard it can be.
ramsea
Posted by Sebastian on January 14, 2007, at 14:10:48
In reply to Re: 3 weeks withdraw from zyprexa, posted by Sebastian on January 13, 2007, at 12:24:42
It was only one slip up. I'm back at 5mg, and feel great again. My new plan is to take 5mg, and once a week or so take a 10mg.
Posted by ronaldo on January 15, 2007, at 16:32:30
In reply to Re: 3 weeks withdraw from zyprexa, posted by Sebastian on January 14, 2007, at 14:10:48
> It was only one slip up. I'm back at 5mg, and feel great again. My new plan is to take 5mg, and once a week or so take a 10mg.
Hi Sebastian
I would only take a 10 mg if I felt I really needed it, otherwise I would just continue with the 5 mg. If your taper is slow and gradual you should not need to revert to a higher dose. I'm glad you are feeling great again. I am down to 2.5 mg aided with 5 mg Valium taken at night to make me sleep. This taper which has been slow and gradual has been much more successful than my last w/d which took all of 4 weeks from 5 mg Zyprexa to zero. That resulted in fierce rebound insomnia. This time so far I have taken 2 months to get from 10 mg Zyprexa to 2.5 mg. I plan to spend another month getting from 2.5 mg to zero.
Rebound insomnia may well still attack me when I am down to zero.I wish you all the luck you need with your w/d.
ronaldo
Posted by ronaldo on January 16, 2007, at 12:23:39
In reply to Re: 3 weeks withdraw from zyprexa, posted by Sebastian on January 13, 2007, at 12:24:42
Hello Sebastian
If it was me I wouldn't have gone straight from 10 mg to 5 mg. Zyprexa make a 7.5 mg and I would have gone 10 mg - 7.5 mg - 5 mg. I think you would have hurt less if you had done it that way. I would have stopped on 7.5 mg for at least 2 weeks and another 2 weeks on 5 mg before reducing to 2.5 mg. I've tried the fast track method myself and I came unstuck - terrible rebound insomnia which persisted even though I was down to 0 mg Zyprexa for 3 weeks. Slow and gradual baby steps is the only painless way to do it.
Rolando
> I was at 10mg, 5 for the past week. So far worrying a lot, can't focus on work, very paranoid, depressed, crying(sad) almost crying, lower blood sugar, less apatite, less sleep, lost 7 pounds, nervous, clenching teeth a lot, sick stomack, can't concentrate.
>
> Yesterday I broke down and took a 10mg. Feel like a hundred bucks.
>
>
Posted by Sebastian on January 31, 2007, at 19:06:20
In reply to Re: 3 weeks withdraw from zyprexa » Sebastian, posted by ronaldo on January 16, 2007, at 12:23:39
I was very insecure, full of so much pain at times I thought I was not going to make it, I would sit in the kitchen unable to move, not eating and very depressed about someone in a coma, who I had gotten to see burned alive. and almost died myself. they were playing with fire and on top of an oil tank, filled with jet fuel. I almost went up there but my intuition told me not to follow them up the stairs...
No one spoke to me after that. Why?
Ivan
Posted by ramsea on February 1, 2007, at 6:24:44
In reply to Re: Is it withdraw or simptoms returning or both?, posted by Sebastian on January 31, 2007, at 19:06:20
sometimes people find it hard to think of what to say when someone has been through a difficult time. sorry you have experienced this.
are you withdrawaling from zyprexa?
ramsea
Posted by Sebastian on February 2, 2007, at 12:47:28
In reply to Re: Is it withdraw or simptoms returning or both?, posted by ramsea on February 1, 2007, at 6:24:44
Not anymore.
This is the end of the thread.
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