zyprexa slowdown

hi, im a 23yr old woman who experienced her first episode in october last year, i was at first on 20mg of zyprexa and 1000 mg of epilim when i was in the hospital, and have slowly come down to 1.25 mg of zyprexa and 200mg epilim, been on the 1.25 mg of zyprexa for around a week now and want  to reduce further, any advice on how to get down to nothing without going mental! went cold turkey off the meds in nov last year and it didnt go too well. also does anyone have any advice on the weight gain aspects, ive gained about ten kilos since i came out of hospital and even going to the gym and eating well cant seem to shift the weight.
thanks

[ILADVOCATE]

I would not make changes without following your psychiatrist's instructions. If you stop the Zyprexa the symptoms will likely return and since its long lasting it might take a while to notice them. Out of all the antipsychotics, Zyprexa has the most potential for weight gain. Ask your psychiatrist about other available options. We have some good websites linked up where people can learn more about their treatment and then discuss it with their provider.

[DCROY9633]

I know it has been some time since your post, but I do have a lot of experience of the subject.  I started taking Zyprexa in 1997 and am still taking it in 2009.  I started at 40mg for a few years, then down to 20mg where my pdoc wants me to stay.  However, I doubled my weight in the first few months and still have a whale of an appetite every single day.  So I experiment from time to time in reducing the dose.  Fortunately, I have now been able to take 10mg instead of 20 and find some improvement in appetite and have lost about 15 lbs.  But it is slow going.  I think what is also helping me is I decided last Christmas to start walking for 30 minutes (or some type of exercise like treadmill or stationary bike or elliptical) 6 days a week.  I think that has improved my metabolism and is help me me at least stay in a lower weight range most of the time.  I have even tried taking 5mg, but that is not enough for me.  After a few weeks, the symptoms begin to return.  If I go off of Zyprexa completely, I may relapse in as little as 2 days.

Try: www.schizophreniaconnection.com for more discussion on this and other sz subjects.

Carolyn