zyprexa withdrawel

My son is experiencing 7.5 mg zyprexa withdrawel I believe.  He has been in bed on and off for 4 days with headache and very sick to stomach.  How long with this go on?????  What can help the stomach????  He has only been on this med for 3 months.  I would hate to see what someone on this for years would go through!
Diane

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

It sounds like your son stopped suddently, and without medical supervision...that is usually a mistake....you can talk to his doctor about starting him again on low dose and then gradually weaning him...or have his doctor or a family doctor treat the stomach symptoms and just wait out the withdrawal, which make take as long as two weeks.

[Jaquta]

The symptoms may or not be related to withdrawal.
I would consult his doctor and I probably wouldn't advise discontinuing the medication without first discussing it with them.
From what I've read on the forums it seems that withdrawal can vary in duration depending on the individual, length of taper, etc.
Keeping hydrated is probably very important.  You should discuss this with a health provider.  If your son gets worse you should consider getting medical advice.
If it's due to withdrawal, doing an appropriate taper may help.

Good luck.  I hope your son feels better soon.

[crazybro]

I am having symptoms of Risperidone withdrawal.I had to discontinue risperidone suddenly at 1 mg due to abnormal involuntary syptoms (symptoms).Now I am experiencing nausea and anxiety.My psychiatrist is out of town till 27th and there is no one to help.Any suggestions

[Jaquta]

In the absence of medical advice I think stopping the medication was a reasonable thing to do.
I think the advice usually given to someone experiencing uncontrolled movements, etc is to contact their doctor immediately.
I think it would be appropriate to contact your local mental health service (most of which have 24 hour coverage) or your local hospital for advice.
Other options may include contacting another person in your treatment team or a family doctor.
I expect the anxiety from this may be overwhelming so I would try not to panic and would try to manage my anxiety as best as possible.  I would strongly encourage you to contact a health provider for advice.

I don't like making presumptions but it would be nice if Dr Gould could respond to your question as well.

Good luck for accessing support and advice.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Ask your family doctor for xanax or klonopin to deal with the symptoms...

[Jaquta]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to the second question as well.
I feel clueless about many things and should possibly refrain from offering opinions.  At least it's reassuring to know that people will get a sound medical opinion from yourself.

To diane467 and crazybro.  I hope the doctors feedback helps you both.  Withdrawal doesn't sound very pleasant for either patient or family member.  Take care!