Hello everybody! Hope things are well for you all. Thank you for being here and sharing your stories! It is really a precious place to be after surviving PPP.
I had my PPP in October last year and since then have been treated with Zyprexa (Olanzapine). I was on 5 mg for 1,5 months, then it was reduced down to 2,5 mg during 3 months: each reduction went smoothly and I remained stable. Before to reduce down to 0, I will do the last step of 1,25 mg. during 4 weeks.
Has anyone any experience to share as for withdrawal of Zyprexa? How long have you stayed on each reduction step etc?
Thank you so much in advance for your replies)
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Lion88
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It's lovely to 'meet' you here and I'm so glad you're finding the forum a helpful space My name's Jenny, I'm one of the peer support coordinators at APP.
I had PP in 2012 after the birth of my first son, out of the blue with no previous history of any mental illness. I took Quetiapine so a different antipsychotic to Olanzapine/Zyprexa but just wanted to share my experience with you in case it's at all helpful. (There are other posts about Olanzapine if you try the 'search' facility, but I'm sure others will reply here too.)
So I took Quetiapine for 12 months before then reducing off over 3 months. I took each reduced dose for a month, where the psychiatrist would check in with me that everything was ok and stable before reducing again. I remember noticing a few side effects each time the dose was dropped (the first drop in particular), headaches mostly, but they didn't last long. For me, it was a smooth process and everything stayed stable. Everyone's different of course, but it sounds really positive that things have gone well so far. I think I've read other experiences of finding that last step of coming off completely more tricky, so would make sure you have good contact with your doctor - coming off meds under supervision is really important and if it takes a little longer and tweaks are needed, that's ok! I hope it goes well for you
I think you're doing incredibly well only 6/7 months on, and I'm so glad you've found us here 💜
Dear Jenny! I appreciate very much your kind response. Thank you for sharing your experience of getting off meds. It seems to be very tricky to do that...Thank you for mentioning that the last step of coming off might be particularly tricky. I will pay extra attention when the time comes. Have a lovely day and again big thank you for being there for me!
Your olanzapine journey sounds very similar to mine. I was on 5mg for about 6 months, then 2.5 then 2.5 every second day and finally came off it about 12 months after my psychosis.
I went onto Quetiapine a year or two later, and have been off and on it ever since. I find Quetiapine slightly easier to tolerate, and I’m happy to take it longer term (unlike Olanzapine, with all its weight gain!)
Hope this is useful - sounds like you’re very much on track for weaning off it.
Dear Kat! thank you for sharing your journey of getting off meds. It is really helpful for me. For the weight gain, this is a huge problem with Olanzapine. I cannot wait to be off of it to see if I can come back to my usual form. All the best for you too, and again thank you for your kind reply!
I'm Naomi, one of the peer support staff for APP. It's really good to hear that you are in recovery from PP last October, and that you have been able to find support in the community here.
After my first episode of PP in 2005, the psychiatry and community mental health team staff recommended that I stay on Olanzapine for 12 months. I probably had about 8 months in total on 5mg, 2 months on 2.5mg and 2 months on 1.25mg (taken as a liquid medicine form)
I did feel very tired and sedated on 5mg and stayed stable with the gradual reduction over 12 months. In 2011 I had a brief episode of PP after my second child, which faded away very quickly with Olanzapine. I didn't have good support from a mental health team at the time, and looking back I'd say I made a hasty decision to come off Olanzapine after about 4-5 months. I tapered down from 5mg to 1.25 as before, but unfortunately experienced a 'rebound' psychosis with depression which tool a long time to get a handle on.
As with all of these decisions, it's good if you can work closely with your mental healthcare team. As you drop the dose further it's good to be open with them and yourself about any difficulties with sleep, high energy or changeable mood on a reduction, as you can always move up and down the scale a bit.
We're always here to chat and support you as you make the decisions about how long to stay on your next taper.
Hi Naomi! It is really nice to meet you. Thank you for being there for so much needed support. I really appreciate your advice on how to drop the dose. I cannot wait to be free of meds, but as you said it is better to be careful and closely monitor my condition. I saw my psychiatrist a few days ago and she agreed to cancel Zyprexa completely in 3 weeks so I am really looking forward to it. Best wishes and we stay in touch! thank you
I hope you are well .... congratulations on the birth of your baby last year.
In your last update you were looking forward to Zyprexa being cancelled in agreement with your psychiatrist. Just wondering if you are now meds free or whether you might need to take for a little while longer?
Hello Lilybeth! Thank you for your kind message. I am finally off meds Still cannot believe that! I don't feel a big difference in how I feel yet, but I guess for this I will need to be patient and wait for sometime.
Best wishes to you and thank you for your kindness!
Lovely to hear from you. It must be a relief to be off meds ... another step in the right direction 😊
Just take things a day at a time and don’t put pressure on yourself to be back to ‘usual form’. I don’t think we realise what a traumatic experience we have been through and expect to pick up where we left off. So for now, as you say, be patient, and be very proud of yourself. We are all here for each other 🌻
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My name's Jenny, I'm one of the peer support coordinators at APP.
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