18 yEArs i served my time
20 years. Some side affects have gone or gotten better like weight gain and hair thinning. Some things, like not wanting to do anything, have pretty much stayed the same. All in all, Iâm doing pretty good at the moment.
I (and my doctor) just are sure that i had withdrawals from quitting antipsychotics (not only psychosis, also other issues). Might be that i also would have developped psychosis without meds, might be i wouldntâŚnobody can really know. My diagnosis is not schizophrenia.
I know im much more sensitive to psychosis, anger, insomnia and mood swings the first few weeks after lowering the dose. I dont know if i can ever fully withdraw from meds, but i know i have to be more careful right after lowering the dose.
Withdrawal from ap is not as serious as benzos and street drugs. I have stopped meds for over a year. I had psychosis after a year which wasnât caused by aps bcz their effects disappear in 1-2 weeks. Blaming psychosis on meds is false.
Szics refuse meds, its part of the illness.
If you need to stop aps just ask your psychiatrist, he will lower the dose and then stop the ap. If you get psychosis afterward, this means your psychosis is genetic and you need meds for life.
I need meds for life, I got psychosis whenever I stopped meds but I was never as worse as before being put on meds for the 1st time.
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I dont know if i can and should ever still be 100% off medsâŚmy doc does still hope so, even after multiple episodes, but i doubt it.
I also dont want to bash medicationâŚi just think it is important to know some people can be more sensitive to all sorts of symptoms, even psychosis, after lowering medication. The first week(s) or so i was always much more of a mess, until things settle down somewhat. So this should be done carefully, under the watchful eye of others, and never cold turkey.
Even people with no psychiatric history can get issues after withdrawal of an AP. I have seen this in someone prescribed an AP for nausea. It isnt really scientifically known afaik how long it takes for the brain to reverse this.
AP for nausea? AP cause nausea, not the opposite. Are you sure of that and that its a psychiatrist who prescribed it?
If you had multiple psychosis you need meds for life.
Yes, 100% sure, AP are also used against severe nausea. It was prescribed by another medical specialist, this person wasnt treated by a psychiatrist because they had no psychiatric illness.
I still hope to get off them. My psychiatrist says it might be possible.
u want to get off the Aps thatâs why you put your psychosis symptoms into blames of the meds withdrawal, let me tell u , it is not the Aps / withdrawl of Aps make u sick, it is your illness itself make u sick and if u think the illness psychosis symptoms are from your Ap withdrawal, why dun u quit them for
life. then u will know that it is really ur sickness but bear the responsibility urself when u decided to do so so that u can stop putting ur blames into the meds.
You dont understand what i write.
I dont want to blame thingsâŚi just want people to know AP might cause withdrawal symptoms, as i know from my own experiences, what fellow patients and psychiatrists told me and scientific literature (see article) this is something to be a bit careful about.
Im not telling anyone to get off meds. I also am not saying i had no issues before meds (i had very bad anxiety), or i would surely not have gotten psychotic, or all psych problems are withdrawal related, or i definitely can get off meds (i said my team says i might, but i doubt that).
I just say AP sometimes cause withdrawal issues in some people, so cold turkeying off meds thinking they arent addictive is a pretty bad idea, which is a scientific fact.
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No psychiatrist will ever suddenly stop your meds without reducing the dose. If you get psychosis after lowering dosage this means you have genetic psychosis assuming youâre not taking drugs that cause psychosis like weed, cocaine, etc Lowering meds dosage doesnât cause psychosis, otherwise 100% of ppl with 1 psychosis will have lifetime sz which is not true, many ppl with 1 psychosis recover and donât need meds.
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My pdoc just handed me a prescription for Abilify. He didnât say anything about tapering off Zyprexa. I just stopped taking the Zyprexa and started taking Abilify.
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30% of szics donât need meds:
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Never happened to me here, only drug I stopped without reducing dosage is an antidepressant, Wellbutrin.
What Zyprexa dosage were you on?
If thatâs true then ap withdrawal is only sometimes true at high doses.
10mg Zyprexa.15
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It surely doesnt ALWAYS cause psychosisâŚIt might, but sometimes causes other withdrawal symptoms (e.g. nausea, insomnia, mood swings, anger) and sometimes doesnt cause these issues at all. Everyone is different. Even slower withdrawal can cause this, but less likely so.
I have just been given meds, without information, other than âtake this as needed against your anxietyâ. I wasnt instructed about withdrawal. I have also been withdrawn or switched quickly (or stupidly did so myself). So it happens.
That last article is hopeful btw! Great!
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Lowering dose/ withdrawing from antipsychotics CAN cause psychosis
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Practically, 8-9 years.
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11 years to the month for me. Iâve always had more trouble with withdrawls from ADs than APs.
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11 years. 2 yrs on Olanzapine (rapid weight gain). 8.5 years on Abilify (gambling / trading addiction). .5 years on Risperdal (negatives worsened).
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