![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by ronaldo on December 23, 2006, at 11:47:37
So far
Previous w/d from 5mg Zyp
0mg 23.09.06 to 14.10.06 then rebound insomnia forced me back onto 10mg Zyp...
16.10.06 > 13.11.06 - 10mg
14.11.06 > 28.11.06 - 7.5mg
29.11.06 > 16.12.06 - 5mg
17.12.06 > - 3.75mg- 2.5mg
- 1.25mgThis is the theory, practice will depend on how I feel and how badly the insomnia hits me.
I have some 100mg Trazodone in my medicine cupboard. Would anyone suggest that I use this for sleep and if so when should I start it?
.....ronaldo
Posted by blueberry1 on December 23, 2006, at 11:47:38
In reply to Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments and advice....., posted by ronaldo on December 17, 2006, at 5:50:33
I'm having a much harder time weaning off zyprexa than I ever could have imagined. Insomnia isn't my problem. It's just that with each step down I go through about a 2 week period of increased depression until I stabilize. Anxiety increases. I withdraw from the world. I walk around dizzy, in a fog. I feel like I have a mild case of the flu. I have a vague sense of free-floating fear. I get aches and pains and leg cramps. It takes me about a month at a new dose for these things to tame down, but they never completely go away.
Anyway, I was on 5mg for about 10 years. Then 2.5mg for several months. Now I've been at 1.25mg for about 3 weeks. Going from 5mg to 2.5mg was a little rough. But going from 2.5mg to 1.25 has been real rough. I actually can't even imagine getting off zyprexa. Seems impossible. I'm glad other people don't have this much trouble. More than going from 1.25mg to 0 I've actually been pondering going back to 2.5mg. But I'm going to force myself to wait until I get my amisulpride and then feel it out.
Posted by ronaldo on December 23, 2006, at 11:47:38
In reply to Re: Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments and advice....., posted by blueberry1 on December 17, 2006, at 11:09:41
Hello blueberry
Sorry to hear the Zyp is giving you such a hard time. Take each day as it comes, each day is a day closer to Zyp freedom. Zyp w/d gives me bad insomnia which tends to make me manic. I have never used 1.25mg before. Last time I went from 2.5mg straight to zero. I will try 1.25mg this time. How do you measure your 1.25? Do you simply cut a 2.5 pill in half with a pill cutter or do you cut it freehand with a razor blade? My pill cutter works best on the larger pills, it does not seem to cut the smaller ones accurately. I think I will have to get some more 2.5mg tablets. I hope the amisulpride is good to you. Only another 10 days and the Zyp should start to let up. Good Luck!
BTW what do you think of 50mg or 100mg of Trazodone for sleep? I have some spare which I might use up. If it works I might get some more.
.......ronaldo
> I'm having a much harder time weaning off zyprexa than I ever could have imagined. Insomnia isn't my problem. It's just that with each step down I go through about a 2 week period of increased depression until I stabilize. Anxiety increases. I withdraw from the world. I walk around dizzy, in a fog. I feel like I have a mild case of the flu. I have a vague sense of free-floating fear. I get aches and pains and leg cramps. It takes me about a month at a new dose for these things to tame down, but they never completely go away.
>
> Anyway, I was on 5mg for about 10 years. Then 2.5mg for several months. Now I've been at 1.25mg for about 3 weeks. Going from 5mg to 2.5mg was a little rough. But going from 2.5mg to 1.25 has been real rough. I actually can't even imagine getting off zyprexa. Seems impossible. I'm glad other people don't have this much trouble. More than going from 1.25mg to 0 I've actually been pondering going back to 2.5mg. But I'm going to force myself to wait until I get my amisulpride and then feel it out.
Posted by blueberry1 on December 23, 2006, at 11:47:38
In reply to Re: Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments and advice..... » blueberry1, posted by ronaldo on December 17, 2006, at 11:40:08
Ronaldo, you asked about trazodone for sleep during zyprexa withdrawal? I think that is a good idea. It has a short half life which means it should help sleep but not linger much in the next day. The serotonin blocking and the antihistimine effects of it would be sort of similar to zyprexa. I've never tried traz though.
You asked how I cut my pills? Well, I don't have insurance and cannot afford to buy new pills right now. The supply I have is 5mg. So with a pill cutter I cut them in half. Then I cut the half in half. I look at them real close to be sure the quarters look the same. If one looks slightly larger than the other, I will shave a little off the larger one, then take the smaller dose along with the shavings. I wish I had 2.5mg pills to be more accurate. Or a good weight scale or something.
Posted by jimmygold70 on December 23, 2006, at 16:19:15
In reply to Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments and advice....., posted by ronaldo on December 17, 2006, at 5:50:33
Trazodone might do but at the same time cause manic symptoms. You never know. What about those good old benzos and esp. GABA-A agonists such as zolpidem, zopiclone, eszopiclon... ? These are safe, effective, you name it. I even take twice the maximum dose of zolpidem (20 MG) with no ill effects.
J
Posted by kotsunega on January 13, 2007, at 10:53:20
In reply to Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments and advice....., posted by ronaldo on December 17, 2006, at 5:50:33
Well folks, I *think* I have kicked the zyprexa habit. I took zyprexa on this approximate schedule:
3/2000 to 3/2005: 20 mg
3/2005 to 11/2006: 10 mg
11/2006 to 12/2006: 5 mg
12/2006 to last week: 2.5 mgI know I dropped the dosage fast at the end and it brought on miserable rebound insomnia, but here's how I counteracted it:
1) Pdoc subscribed Xanax .5 to 1 mg at bedtime
That helped me get to sleep but not stay asleep, so I added
2) 3mg Time Released melatonin nightly. Don't bother getting any other kind only the time released capsules will do what your body needs.Now I sleep all night, wake refreshed, and no more of that zyprexa hang over to deal with each morning. I think I'm free of the monster!!!
Wishing you all your own kind of success.
K.
Posted by Sebastian on January 13, 2007, at 12:49:12
In reply to Re: Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments, posted by kotsunega on January 13, 2007, at 10:53:20
I can't belive you made it that far on such a high dose? You don't miss it, haven't gone crazy? I try and try, different meds, less z, nothing removes the zyprexa, for good. I'll do less for a little while, then can't function anymore.
Posted by kotsunega on January 13, 2007, at 13:38:31
In reply to Re: Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments » kotsunega, posted by Sebastian on January 13, 2007, at 12:49:12
Well, Sebastian, all I can say is so far, so good. I feel really free if its effects - as long as I take both the Xanax and the 3 mg of time released melatonin at night.
Could you try that regimen? I know different things work for different people, but...you never know. I feel bad that you can't break free from the clutches of zyprexa. It is such a monster. I'll say a prayer - it's the least I can do for you.
K
Posted by Sebastian on January 14, 2007, at 14:33:53
In reply to Re: Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments, posted by kotsunega on January 13, 2007, at 13:38:31
My doctor does not like to give out addictive meds. At a time I thought klonopin would help, but he said it was not the right kind for my illness. Can't imagine that he would go for xanex.
Posted by kotsunega on February 11, 2007, at 18:44:59
In reply to Re: Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments, posted by Sebastian on January 14, 2007, at 14:33:53
How are you doing Sebastian? I'm afraid I had a rebound problem with the Zyprexa. After being clean of the drug totally for 2 weeks, I developed the most amazing trapezoid muscle spasms. Had to be treated for horrendous muscle knots with muscle relaxants and pain meds. That regimen reduced the knots, but they persisted, pushing me over the edge of much lighter sleep sans Zyprexa, back into no sleep at all. I caved and took a dose, a single dose, of Zyp. Wouldn't you know...by morning all of my muscle spasm problems, that had persisted for more than two weeks, resolved over night. But I've now got to start all over with the withdrawal attempts from Zyprexa. Unfortunately, that withdrawal is going to have to wait until I have saved up a few more sick days from my job, seeing as how I used several of them to cope with the muscle spasms. Bummer. How does a person break free of this stuff. My pdoc called Eli Lilly to report this problem, and of course got the response that they had never heard of this problem before...sigh.
Posted by Sebastian on February 20, 2007, at 18:28:39
In reply to Re: Zyprexa w/d - progress - comments, posted by kotsunega on February 11, 2007, at 18:44:59
Glad it helps. I'm doing better on 5mg zyprexa and 10mg abilify. I still need the 5mg, but it helps a lot, and I don't need diabetes medicine, so far. Yes I sliped a few times and took 10mg for a day or two, but it didn't help, it hindered, tired and high blood sugar. Abilify seems to help with psychotic features, AFTER the 1.5 month adjustment period. Sleep is normal now and not too much, and I'm controling blood sugar with diet and minimal exercise. A1C is 5!
I hear that generic zyprexa is coming soon, couple of months, hope its side-effects are better than the origional.
Ivan
Posted by kotsunega on February 25, 2007, at 9:08:46
In reply to Re: Zyprexa + Abilify - comments, posted by Sebastian on February 20, 2007, at 18:28:39
Really?!? I'll be glad when it comes out generic. Derned stuff is way over-priced. I'm glad your blood profile is staying within a good range for sugars and etc. Let me know when you find that Zyp is generic, if you don't mind.
Cheers,
Kotsunega.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Withdrawal | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.