Cut down olanzipine to 1.25mg

[gregcool]

Hi guys..those that know me will remember i have been droping my olanzipine over the last 4 months...for the last three months iv been on 2.5mg and as from last night i droped it to 1.25mg and will stay on this for a month or so....anyone been on this and come off it and felt better for it,because since cutting down i dont seem to be getting any better feelings in myself ,apart from the odd good day hear and there and i dont know if the reduction is responsable for this or not....over the last few weeks all day and all night,my inside of my mouth toung ,lips are all burning and it will not go away so dont know what this is...havnt had any good days for several weeks now and wonder if coming off olanzipine is worth it or i should go back upto 5mg...any advice...i just thought by now i would start to feel a bit more normal

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Greg,

Sorry to hear things are still tough.

The thing that springs to mind is whether the 5mg dose was right either? You used to have plenty of bad times with the DP/DR back then but you did pull yourself forward by taking more on and your thinking was changing. But prior to you doing that, you were struggling on that dose too.

So, whilst it's often impossible to judge with these damn meds, is it worth keeping going to see what is underneath? You can always get back up to 5mg but even then without the work you did on your own, it wasn't helping that much was it?

[gregcool]

Hi terry.thNks for your reply..our right mate and i forget what was helping and if it was helping...i dont think at 5 mg it was helping although i do believe it supressed a lot of anxiety because 2 years ago i had some very hard times on my plate but seem to just handle it.now ,weather that was olanzipine helping or i just coped i dont know..but dont feel my self since iv been on it...i want to see whats underneth it and see if its been covering up a good bit of my personality.as for the dp/dr ,i seem to have had that more and more in my life over the last few months..i did used to get it before this drug,infact i was told it would help to stop all that,which i dont feel it did....iv had so many different stages terry that i forget what is the truth and what is my imagination about how iv felt over the last three years..so just want to come off this med and see..and maybe then come off the trazadone after....my only feer is that my insomnia will return..the other reason i was put on olanzipine was to aid my sleep which it dod greatly..but as the dose has got lower my sleep is getting less so pray it dsnt suffer again and being forsed back onto olanzipine....

[MyNameIsTerry]

The thing about the sleep seemed more to me like it wax knocking you out rather than helping you to sleep naturally. You slept a lot and were still tired. So, when you reduced it sleep reduced too but perhaps this was your body reverting more to what it really needed?

I remember a while back when they gave you a reduction plan and how it affected your sleep. You struggled with that, it was a shock. You took control of your own researched reduction plan and also felt knocks to your sleep BUT you dealt with it. And insomnia is a big worry for you but you didn't let it stop you and even now you are pushing forward when you could have retreated. I think it's important to recognise that mate.

I don't blame wondering how much of this is you or the drug. It's very very hard to understand and I think you're right that without having a look see how will you ever know. I think a lot of us have this problem and it's always taking a chance because none of us want to go through the hell again but it's either give it a go or put up with things sometimes. I think what you are doing is admirable mate.

[gregcool]

Thsnks terry always good advice mate..cant believe you are the only one who replied.over 50 people read but no replies..i guess all the old regulars have moved on...your right mate about the sleep and indomnia..this drug used to shut me down and not a natural induced sleep..i did have bad insomnia before this drug and was the main reason they put me on it to treet that insomnia.im just worried it will return without this drug but want so much to see what i feel like underneth it.will i be a bit like my old self..last couple of days on this reduction im not feeling as hungry for a start and althogh for the last three weeks iv been getting the old face numbness feeling,the last couple of days my mood has been better.i dont know if this is the reduction or just a phaze..ill see in a few more days..i remember when i first took yhis drug and it knocked me out at night,i felt like i was loosing my personality and inner self..iv just got used to being on it now for three years and have forgot what i was like before it.so determin to come off it..i will stay on this dose for two months then drom to half of 1.25mg.for a month then give it a month then stop taking it..i did find it hard to fall to sleep last night but that could have been all in my mind and excpecting myself to feel like that.but feel to sleep by 12am then woke at 7.30am.so cant complain..as it goes im feeling tired right now...once off this med im going to start coming down of trazadone.im still on 200 mg..but its liquid form so can drop it 10% every month..i want to be off it all and see if my old self is hiding under all these meds..thanks for your suport mate as alway greatful to all your advice and time to reply.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I don't know where people are, Greg. It can be a bit quiet at times. I hope it means they are enjoying their lives as opposed to being too bad to come on here.

You can always go back on this stuff if you have too. Your insomnia may not rebound and if it does, you know what to do but you could try and reinstitute a lower dose and build up to find the point where you can cope rather than go back in at full force.

[gregcool]

I think your right mate.must meen people are getting on better,which is a good thing...yea i could go back on it as you say...2.5 mg was a good dose for sleeping,but realy hope i dont have to do this as i realy want to be drug free and see how i feel without it..esp as iv read that people can stay on meds for years and start coming off them,then discover they feel much better for it..i think its easy to get stuck on meds and they slowly make you feel worse over time and we dont realize what they are doing..its only when you come off them you realize you have recovered..i know for others meds can work and change there lives,but there are these sucsess storys of coming off meds and feeling better for it...ill keep going mate see what happens...so hows your life going mate ? Your always giving advice to others and dont realy talk about your own life

[MyNameIsTerry]

Things are often the same for me mate.

Struggling with the fatigue still and finding myself feeling stoned a fair bit. I'm not sure what's causing it other than the usual issues with this med maybe and feeling out of it is a pain in the backside. I'm looking at trying more things to see if it helps, natural things.

I've done the talking stuff before I came here. I found I just ended up saying much the same so don't bother much with it. It's all long term stuff for me.

[gregcool]

Oh mate.sorry to hear that..i remember you had this fatigue..that must be a real weight mate having that all the time...do you keep fit etc ..or do you just feel constantly tired all day..and hows your sleep..

[MyNameIsTerry]

It is a pain. I still do my walking and on the bad days I want to sleep on the pavement. I keep going though, it's just a real drag on the motivation and getting things done around the house can be hard.

Sleep is fine. I could sleep 24 hours a day. I do get a little bit of insomnia at times but can sleep again later or it's gone the next day. The trouble is trying to change the pattern to bring it forward when I could sleep so long everyday. Sometimes I give up it because I can't get anything done.

I find as well that these symptoms fade and I have more energy once I've passed so many hours being awake. Another reason why I wonder about the med as I know it's half life has passed by then too.

It's tricky because I can wake myself up with exercise but the brain fog just kicks in instead. Both of these are better post 12 hours of being awake.

[gregcool]

Shame mate.as you have had this for ages if i remember...i can believe there isnt something out there for you to help pick you up a bit,esp in this day and age..i guess if you exorsize it will prob make you more tired in the end,and if you havnt even got the energy to do your house work,that must realy get you down mate....are you married mate or live with a partner and i cant remember if you work..if not ,what do you do with your days and nights to pass the day..i know what you meen about the brain fog mate,i get that alot..not nice

[MyNameIsTerry]

I still live with my parents. My anxiety all started when I was looking to move out after having stayed at home longer to build up a deposit. After that I didn't want to take the chance with how work was going. Good job I didn't considering the relapse that came. So, I can keep costs down as long as I pay enough to cover myself at least, probably a bit more too as I like to help out while I can.

Yeah, it is like a brain fog. It's daily though, some days worse than others, but I've had it in the past and it never lasted long. It's like my physical health had deteriorated over the past two years. My asthma seems but I started with sciatica, which is now gone (took a year) and it had steadily progressed onto joint aches. First the hips, then the knees started and now one of my wrists. I'm wondering if it's osteoarthritis? Magnesium oil helps greatly. I'm trying a few other bone/joint health things too with small success and have more yet.

I've not been getting proper exerciser as with my sleep pattern it means doing it when others are asleep or very close to bedtime. I've also wondered about the joint pain with this although I've found wrist exercises (grippers) seems to help and reading about osteoarthritis it says resistance exercise can be good so it might be worth trying to get some short sessions in.

This dizziness issue is a pain though. It makes concentration difficult. I need to experiment a bit with this to find out what it is. It could be due to my neck, which aches, or maybe my eyes as I don't wear my glasses when doing close up work and maybe I need to?

Living at home means I don't have to do as much but some less important jobs do build up with this. You know how hard it can be on those days where you are literally dragging yourself through.

[gregcool]

Oh mate sorry to hear all that.sounds like you are realy going through it..sounds awfull mate..at least you have the suport of your parents tho.that must be nice for you and company..lonelness is a killer mate.i wish sometimes i lived in a busy household other times im glad to be on my own if im having a good day..how old are you mate,i have the impression you must be in your 40s because you have so much knoledge about everything..i could be wrong about your age,lol,just a guess...as for the brain fog i get this most days on and off and hate it.but last few month constantly i get this strange face pain and mouth pain it just wont go away and realy gets me down and makes me more depressed because its so uncomftable.so each day i have it,my depression raises..its a constant trigger because i feel its caused by my anxiety and the doctors say that to...i ****ing hate mental health mate and everything that comes with it..been 15 years now and just cant ever see my brain reverting back to the good old me..i feel its now ingrained into my brain and re wired me this way now for good....how long you been suffering with it all mate

[MyNameIsTerry]

I know what you mean, but even with people it's lonely. I've been through stages of that and got past it. I just don't think about it these days, even if the mood drops. Natural process going through all this I guess. I have a good laugh with my folks and rarely discuss my mental health. I've felt enough of a burden over the years as I should be out of home now, it doesn't do your self esteem much good...so in some ways it's better all my mates are gone as it would be so embarrassing.

I'm 40 mate. I've had anxiety for I think 10 years next Xmas, mine hit a few days before Xmas. There were signs before from the work stress but I never realised it and my social life was good back then anyway. I used to live for the work stress back then so thought little of the signs.

Yeah, it's hard to describe this head thing. I've had brain fog before, especially when I came of Cit. This is like a feeling of being stoned. It does annoy me and it gets in the way, and adds to the fatigue. All the aching joints and muscles too. It's not hitting my mood much, but it can affect the anxiety. When my adrenaline blips come along it's a pain in the backside because those blips increase the pain I feel. I know it's those as I have a real awareness of the pain and where it is compared to normal. Just another little gift of this med, I guess.

It's annoying because it makes me wonder about when I'm 65! I'm going to have all the aches & pain then as it's just life and you have to accept it and get on with things. But getting all this going down hill in the last couple of years makes me wonder how bad I may be in 10 years!

I would take physical issues over mental ones any day. The NHS want to help you with those. But adding physical on top of mental is even worse, I reckon. The anxious mind just starts to worry about all that and focus on it so you have another battle on your hands where acceptance really is needed.

I always think there is a chance of full recovery, mate. People older than us beat this stuff so there's always a chance.

[gregcool]

That all sounds tough mate...but at least you have your parents to fall back on and company and as you say,have a laugh with them..i know what you meen mate about still feeling lonley even tho you are living with them...who knows what you will be like in 10 years,it sounds like yiu are in a lot of discomfort..i agree mate about having physical over mental.iv often said that to myself..id rather not have mental isues over physical..at least physical you can see it and pos treetment that works..and have a norm mind...i hope we can recover mate in the future cos i wouldnt want to be like this in my latter years or when im in a nursing home where they have no idea and give you any old meds to try and treet you.frightning mate...i thought you must be in your 40s..got that right.lol...that feeling of being stoned all day must be shit on top of everything eles going on in your life.no wonder each day is a struggle...hope something good happens for you soon terry.your a good man

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yeah, I've had those worries about old age and being at other peoples mercy with it all. I don't want to be in that position.

I can't quite place this feeling. Sometimes I think it's my neck, some meals make it worse and sometimes it's just there on it's own. Anxiety will make it worse but I less sure of it being a symptom, although new owns do have a habit of appearing over the years. I'm not sure about it.

Sometimes I can seem to get away from it but once I'm sitting down, it's back again. Sometimes on my knees it goes. A weird one.

We keep pushing on though eh mate?

I hope the same for you. Your a good 'un!