zyprexa withdrawal

[SandraG]

I am currently suffering from zyprexa withdrawal. I have terrible insomnia. Does anyone have any advice? I am interested to hear from others who got off zyprexa successfully, to find out how they did it and how long it took to recover.

thanks!

[Liza7598]

I wanted to correct something from my above comment, i'm pretty sure i was taking 20 to 25 mg's not 30 to 35- it's confusing, everything was so hazy..

[drinktobasco]

hey guys,
i feel like i'm going thru the worst ... i was on 5 mg zyprexa and 75 mg avanza. i felt like it wasn't doing anything for my head space [still manically depressed then thru the roof high] and i was just gaining weight like crazy. i put on 15 kilos in 2 months. the weight gain is making me skip meals [i haven't eaten anything in 2 days]. i can't sleep at night - i always wake up after a couple of hours of sleep with crazy, crazy intense dreams. i have now a really fast heart beat and my gp has prescribed blood pressure medicine. i felt that nothing my doctor was prescribing me was helping so i stopped taking everything. i just feel like i'm going outside of my head and sanity. it's good to hear that others have had similiar probs with the medication ... but our drs don't seem to be listening.

[rusty520]

I was on Zyprexa for two months for mild anxiety.  It caused severe anxiety and I had to stop taking it.  For the past seven weeks since I stopped, I have experienced nausea, loss of appetite, and anxiety worse than before taking it.  When will these withdrawl symptoms stop?

[Mrs Z]

It was first prescribed to me four years ago while experiencing a manic episode.  I tried stopping it three times and every time I would experience severe nausea and almost daily vomiting.  The last time I stopped, I asked my doctor to put me on again because I couldn

[Ouida]

This is for Mrs Z, re. your problems with intense nausea and vomiting following withdrawal from zyprexa.

I am only on my eleventh day of withdrawal from zyprexa, and like you described, I am suffering severe nausea.  I'm very lucky that I haven't actually vomited, but I'm not eating much.

I had an anti-emetic called metaclopramide in my medicine cabinet, so I tried that, but it didn't work.

My family doctor has now told me that certain neurons in my brain that regulate appetite and nausea are absent as a result of 4 years of zyprexa.  He told me that they will rebuild, but that it will take time.  He suggested that two months sounds like a reasonable timeframe for this.  He insisted that this would definitely get better.  I hope he is right and I hope that this gives you hope too.

He also told me that typical anti-emetics will not work for this, because it is not a stomach problem, it is a problem with brain chemistry.  He told me that the only thing that would stop this nausea would be a traditional anti-psychotic drug like mellaril.  I have opted not to go for this, as I am already suffering from TD due to zyprexa and do not want to make it worse.

My doctor compared this type of intense nausea/vomiting to what people coming off drugs like cocaine go through (I think that's the drug he mentioned anyway).  Those people would take something like mellaril to calm it.  Apparently diazepam will also calm it slightly for some people, but I have tried this and it hasn't been of much help, I'm sad to say :(

I'm going to stick it out, but it is very hard.  I have to say that my family doctor (the one who has given me all this info) seems to understand this a lot better than my psychiatrist who prescribed me the medication.  I'll leave it at that!

~ Ouida

[rusty520]

Ouida,

Your doctor sounds like a knowledgeable person.  I have been to several doctors for Zyprexa withdrawal and they all say there is no such thing.  However, I know otherwise.  I am now into my 8th week and it is getting better, but it has been rough.  I will never take that stuff again.