reduced med olanzipine again last night

[gregcool]

Well last night iv reduced my olanzipine again..meening im on 2.5mg...i stayed in the last drop for two months so feel ready for this drop..the last drop was ok with no extra anxiety but less sleep...had several good days to but still the dark days...had trouble falling to sleep last night on that drop might have just been all in my mind i dont know,i did have a lot on my mind from a stressful day...also since droping this med and not craving food all the time,which is what this med did and left you feeling hungry all the time.iv lost two stone now,from 15st down to 13st this morning and fitting into medium tops and 33" waist..no more XX large shirts or 38" waist jeans..so nice to feel trim again...just hope this meds drop is kind to me and will stay on it for two months

[Lan69]

Well done you !
I'm on quetiapine and the weight gain is unbelievable. I had lost a 10 kg when I was really ill but I've since put that back on plus another 10kg. I can't blame it all on the med as I'm not as active as I used to be and I'm eating crap

[Shazamataz]

My doc told me to just stop the olanzapine (was given it for sleep but it didn't help), though I was only taking it for less than 3 weeks. Hope the transition works for you :)

[gregcool]

Thanks guys..Lan sorry to hear you have gained all that weight,its not good for your confedance i know..hope you find a way to loose it again...iv been on olanzipine for three years now so have to come down very slow.i found it was great for my sleep.i was sleeping 11 hrs a night but still felt tired the next day.since iv cut down im not so hungry and sleep less but dont feel tired the next day.im hoping to come right off it in the next 4 months and return to my old self

[MyNameIsTerry]

So, is it Daniel Craig speedos on the beach this year mate :yesyes:

It can't have been doing much for your mood, self confidence, self esteem, etc putting all the weight on and raiding the fridge because you had no choice. I bet it made you feel a bit helpless?

You will be able to drop down to the 2.5mg tabs to make the cutting easier in the future too so it's all possible.

Look back over 12 months ago and see the change, Greg!

[gregcool]

Not the shorts terry..lol...although iv lost the weight,i dont quite have the body.lol..im just happy to see the scales on 13st and not 15st...cant belive thats nearly the same as 14 bags of sugar..still want to loose half stone more to get to my ideal weight...its nice to fit into medium tops again and throw out the XX large shirts... as for the meds,yep it will be easer to cut back terry and am looking forward to that...i will stick on this drop for two months now then drop again..on the first drop i didnt have to many bad days so hoping this drop will be the same...last night was the second night on lattest drop and went to bed at 11.30 and woke at 6am today..iv been making a mood diary over the last month to look back on everything...hows you mate hope you had a great christmas and new year

[MyNameIsTerry]

Good idea on the diary. I think you know how much better you sound than 12 months ago. You are doing a great job of escaping those awful cycles that keep us trapped and it's one hell of a fight! Motivation is so tough and you are grabbing it with both hands and making the changes.

Cheers mate, it was much better than last year. Xmas Eve and a good 3 days after were really good and proved some things to me. After that I had a load of fatigue and after NYD I started to have some of the rising anxiety I see in blips but now I've got back to my walking this has subsided. Too much time sitting about can do that to me and with this med it's probably worse. When I felt it one morning I just got up and had a play with the dog and that helped. It's a bit like when a hamster just needs to have a mad dash in his wheel for a few minutes!

I just wish I could move the fatigue and weird heads it brings as they have taken over a lot. There are things I need to look into about it as it's more recent.

I find I put weight on and eating little can seem like I lose a bit but eat more and a day later I seem like before. I do wonder about how some of the meds mess around with our metabolisms. I will have to get back into exercise soon, it's not easy on my night time schedule because of waking others but I'm working on the sleep again add I moved it forward for Xmas so I just need to fight the fatigue off and keep that going. There are other possibilities I am thinking about too as I'm finding I can wake half way and become more energised that later on in the day with my usual schedule so I might even exploit that and try to force it forward.

[nicola1980]

I've lost 2 and half stone since dropping my olanzapine down from 5mg to 2.5mg. Whilst on 5mg I was raiding my cupboards for food but since being on 2.5mg that has stopped and I've easily lost the weight through following slimming world infact I've lost too much so now need to put some on!! Good luck with your decrease Greg X

[MyNameIsTerry]

I've lost 2 and half stone since dropping my olanzapine down from 5mg to 2.5mg. Whilst on 5mg I was raiding my cupboards for food but since being on 2.5mg that has stopped and I've easily lost the weight through following slimming world infact I've lost too much so now need to put some on!! Good luck with your decrease Greg X

Nicola,

Dieting is often said to be hard on anyone and it can cause mood disturbance. Anything like that for us on here could be a problem and we may react to it. But when I saw you talking about it I got the impression it was easy enough and given reducing any med can be tricky, and on top of the big problems you had increasing the Ven shortly before, I was quite surprised.

Then I've seen Greg do the same and battle through very well when many months before I reckon it would have meant more support but Greg had gotten so much stronger in himself.

It makes me wonder whether you guys are not so much dieting as returning back to who you should really be? It's great to see it. MrAndy seems to be seeing some of this too with appetite. The effort to diet is clearly still there, you guys have been really committed & motivated, but this med feels like at that higher dose it was making things worse than they should be, like it was only needed for long but the doctors never adjusted it back down again? Like that med, at that strength, was really suppressing the real you rather than the previous more anxious you.

[pulisa]

The dangers of being on meds for too long at too high a dose? The lazy repeat prescriptions handed out without appropriately timed reviews?

Great to hear that mentally and physically you are making good progress, Greg.

[gregcool]

Good to hear Terry you had a nice xmas etc..sorry your still suffering fatigue..thats not nice and realy restricts you through the day..i must say terry,since iv been taking barocca i have more energy,seems to have been helping me,also the reduction of my meds is playing a part in this to..because when i was on 5mg of olanzipine i slept 11 hrs and woke feeling tired all day long even tho i had all that sleep..maybe you should try something to pick you up as i have..might help with your fatigue and give you more energy to exorcize more and burn those calories off.. to be honest the only exorcize iv done is the odd 3 mile walk when the weather is good but not daily just a couple of times a week..prob need more..so my 2 stone weight loss is down to my eating habbits and the fact that olanzipine makes your boddy burn off calories very slow....And well don NICOLA for your weight loss it feels good dsnt it,to fit into smaller clothes and see the numbers on the scales drop..my target is another half a stone,i want to get to 12.5 stone.so prob three weeks to go then ill slowly increse my intake in the afternoon but will still be well under the recomended 2,500 cal a day for men.so will prob still loose a pound hear and there so if i get to 12 stone ill have to think of a way to eat around 2,000 cal a day..well done to you.

Thanks Pulsa...i feel like i am making progress as Terry said,a few months ago i was posting every day and not feeling good.but since iv had my weight to focus on daily it has destracted me and gave me something a goal to aim for.it hasnt been hard to do for me and the drop in my meds is all ok.still having broken days tho of feeling crap on and off through the day.then i get random good days,and then crap whole days but much better than in the past when every day all day and night i felt crap..im looking forward to coming right off olanzipine to see how i feel in myself.see if the old me returns but im sure ill still have my depression but if iv got less anxiety and more confedance,ill be happy

Havnt heard from Mr Andy for a while.it would be nice to hear how hes doing and with his weight loss.

[nicola1980]

Nicola,

Dieting is often said to be hard on anyone and it can cause mood disturbance. Anything like that for us on here could be a problem and we may react to it. But when I saw you talking about it I got the impression it was easy enough and given reducing any med can be tricky, and on top of the big problems you had increasing the Ven shortly before, I was quite surprised.

Then I've seen Greg do the same and battle through very well when many months before I reckon it would have meant more support but Greg had gotten so much stronger in himself.

It makes me wonder whether you guys are not so much dieting as returning back to who you should really be? It's great to see it. MrAndy seems to be seeing some of this too with appetite. The effort to diet is clearly still there, you guys have been really committed & motivated, but this med feels like at that higher dose it was making things worse than they should be, like it was only needed for long but the doctors never adjusted it back down again? Like that med, at that strength, was really suppressing the real you rather than the previous more anxious you.

Hi Terry,
I surprised myself coping with dieting as it was a complete change in my routine and out the normal for me plus I had to go to the slimming world group every week and face the scales and stay for the session but once I got into the swing of it I was fine and even looked forward to going to the group every week, I think your right in respects of us actually getting back to normal as this really is the best I've felt in myself in 4 years, people are noticing the difference too and I've just booked a holiday abroad for august now that's something I wouldn't have done the past few years as it would throw me into a blind panic just thinking about it but I didn't even question it to myself I got a good deal and just booked it! I saw my physc last Tuesday who also said she could see a huge improvement in me despite me having to cope with my sons diagnosis the past few months and that I've coped with it so well considering I've had to attend meetings after meetings with paediatrician, school, camhs etc. I have no intention of reducing my medication any further tho, I'm not prepared to rock the boat at the min, I'm just enjoying my life again! XX

[MyNameIsTerry]

I've not seen Andy about for a while. I did send him a PM to wish him a good Xmas and he responded saying the same. Not heard since. I know when he's on his hols he tends not to come on here now and concentrate on his family, a good thing to do. Last time he disappeared for a while, all was well so I'll take it as the same but I hope he does ask if he needs support because he's always been willing to give it to others. Hopefully restoring his dose has got him back on an even keel.

I've got some inositol and ashwagandha to try in my vits yet. The latter is a but like Siberian ginseng for adrenaline support so it might help with this issue.

Yes, Nicola, you could have been posting endlessly about your son but you haven't so you must be coping with it. It's good to hear that has been noticed, that one is a very big worry for a parent like anything your kids have issues with. Fighting your way through all the red tape sounds like a draining thing to so this is a good indicator as that would surely tax you immensely if was going to be a problem. Perhaps you got your adjustments in at the right time?

Like pulisa said, I think they dose people up, push them out the door and GP's just keep signing things without understanding them. It's obvious you & Greg are doing very well on half that dose.

[gregcool]

Yea i hope andy is all ok and if he is on his holidays he is having a lovely time.i know he went back up on his meds so hope hes feeling well again..

[pulisa]

I hope it means that Mr Andy is stable and well and doesn't want to be triggered by stuff on NMP?