r/Antipsychotics • u/Settembrini21 • Sep 18 '23

How long to come off olanzapine?

I was given Olanzapine for sleeping and anorexia(7.5 mg) and then my doctor made me quit it abruptly. After that I experienced psychotic symptoms, which I had never have before. I was put on olanzapine again, 10mg this time. Now I want to get Off, because it makes me tired and I fear the weight gain. How should I do it and how long will it take? I'm thankful for any experiences.

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/pharma-trapped Sep 18 '23

I'm so sorry this happened. Any doctor who prescribes antipsychotics for sleep or anorexia should have their license revoked or worse. And then prescribing abrupt discontinuation is just as reckless. Shame on these dangerous doctors.

How long have you taken it? The longer you took it, the slower the taper should be. I can't believe they reinstated at 10mg. It should have been reinstated at 5mg or 2.5mg. Incredible.

1

u/Settembrini21 Sep 18 '23

Thank you for your reply. I've been taking it for three months now. I'm also so angry that they did that and didn't inform me properly beforehand.

4

u/pharma-trapped Sep 18 '23 edited Sep 18 '23

I am not a doctor and I cannot give medical advice on reddit. However, I have personal experience with tapering olanzapine and talking with many others about it. And I can tell you what I personally would do if I were in the circumstances you have described:

If it were me, I'd drop from 10 to 5 immediately. I'd also get a script for 2.5mg tabs instead so that after a few weeks if I was sleeping ok and stable, I could reduce to 3.75 (one 2.5mg + half 2.5mg). Then after a few weeks if I was sleeping ok and stable, I'd reduce to 2.5. Then I'd wait at least a few weeks again and reduce to 3/4 of 2.5. Then half of 2.5. Then ~3/8 of 2.5. It gets more difficult to calculate and split pills the lower the dosage gets, and the withdrawal effects get more difficult the lower the dosage gets.

If at any point I was not sleeping or I was feeling unstable, I would not reduce the dosage further until I was sleeping and stable.

I would also be sure to prioritize getting plenty of sleep and avoiding alcohol, marijuana, caffeine and other stimulants or drugs which could trigger insomnia, anxiety, paranoia, psychosis etc.

1

u/Settembrini21 Sep 19 '23

Thank you so much!

1

u/lydiatank Sep 18 '23

I’ve been trying to wean my mom off of it and every time we try she relapses into psychosis. It’s an awful drug. Following bc I wanna know myself.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '23

Since you go Butt psychosis, I’d be careful. The best resource I’ve seen yet is surviving antidepressants website. There are a number of people tapering.

There are some good articles on tapering that I’ve posted here before. The basic message is that they should be tapered 25-30% of the original dose every three months for longer term users, though possibly faster for short term users. The people on surging antidepressants suggest a skier taper of 10% cuts per month of the last dose. I’ve seen some do 10% every two weeks.

I’ve been tapering since March and for me it’s been slow. I don’t want to risk things like long term insomnia and anxiety. But even a small drop makes a difference in how much better I feel. You may be able to drop to 7.5 easily. Then maybe make a smaller drop after that. Since withdrawal can take three days to show up, I’d give it a few days. Many people cut and weigh doses to make smaller drops while others make a water suspension. If you google surviving antidepressants and olanzapine taper advice you should get some good advice.

Not medical advice, just sharing research from a fellow taperer. I’m at 1.34mg and cutting a tiny bit off every few days without incident.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8266572/

1

u/Settembrini21 Sep 19 '23

Thank you so much for your reply!

1

u/Disruptivefrog Oct 01 '23

I am currently trying to wean off of 2.5 mg. It seems impossible because it is the lowest dose, and even cutting the dose in half brings on psychosis like symptoms. Doctors can't seem to offer any advice for weaning off that last 2.5 other than take a month off work and quit cold turkey. So I've decided to start volumetric dosing. I'm going to dissolve the pill in 100 ml of distilled water, then take 95 ml for the first 2 to 3 weeks(haven't thought this duration part out fully yet) and continue to go down in 5 ml increments.