Olanzapine

[Chip (OP)]

I am a long term user of this compound and wish to warn you that withdrawal is very unpleasant.

i have had no other negative effects from the drug and i take 10 mg. nightly.

by all means try this if you suffer from Bi-Polar / Mania  / Psychosis but just be aware of the ramifications of being on this.

if you have any questions then be my guest.

[Oxyphile]

My dad has been prescribed this for many years. I received it myself before, on my journey through the care of many different psychiatric providers. As far as I remember it was definitely sedating, but I don't remember much trouble or discomfort when my medication regimen switched. How long had you taken it before stopping and experiencing unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, chipper?

I'm curious because my dad recently got assigned a new provider. his care is through the VA, so the switch was not initiated by him. his new provider seems to be kind of a jerkoff, to put it lightly. He has mentioned his distaste for olanzapine, especially given that it is not the only sedative that pops gets, so he may be looking at a medication change in the near future. In the meantime, dad's doing his best to squirrel some away and make alternate arrangements. Any insight into your experiences here would be welcome. Thanks!

[Chip (OP)]

I tried to skip 2 days and it was like the misery of an Opiate Withdrawal.

I have been on it for well over 10 - 15 years and now I see it as a bigger issue than Methadone.

It may be the reason my sense of smell and taste have been compromised.

I wish I never started on it but it's far too late now.

[Chip (OP)]

I've just halved my dose to see what happens. I'm genuinely getting worried about this medicine that was given to me for psychosis and mild bipolar mania.

I will keep you posted and let you know if I can handle it.

EDIT/later: I dropped from 10 to 7.5 mg and no sleep on the second night. Oh dear.

[MoeMentim]

I missed 2 or 3 (i think 3) days recently because i was waiting on a paycheck.  Holy shit.  Had to leave work the 3rd day.  I got some really wierd w/d symptoms that felt a bit like dxm.  Like i was operating my body remotely.  My own voice sounded removed and odd like it wasn't really my own.  I  also had a bad bout of audible voices (I'm prone to this - part of the reason i take it).  Filled the script, took a double dose & next day i was back to normal.

[Oxyphile]

Thanks for the replies, chipper and Moe. Kind of disheartening to say the least. I used to take olanzapine, albeit somewhat sporadically, mainly as a sedative for stimulant comedowns or to try to pass out and get some sleep through WD's. Never experienced much in the way of withdrawals, but again I never took it for years on end like my dad has been doing.

Fortunately, dad had an appointment with his PCP yesterday and brought up the issue. The PCP told him that in the event the psychiatrist tries to remove his olanzapine, the PCP will script for it and give the psychiatrist the business. My dad has had a solid relationship with his PCP a for a number of years, so he believes the man will honor his word and not let the psych fuck with him. So he should be in the clear. I did share your responses with him though, and he decided to see if he can get by with less than scripted. We'll see what happens!