I don't think I'm ill anymore

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I have not had any symptoms to speak of for years, except some small OCD tendencies.

Currently on 7.5mg zyprexa.

My doctor is willing to let me try quitting meds. Actually we did try last year by attempting switching to small dose seroquel for sleep. Because that’s the problem. I can’t sleep without the zyprexa. Even reducing from 7.5 to 5mg gives me serious sleep issues.

Doc is willing to let me try gabapentin at my request to see if it does anything for sleep. She is reluctant to try me on benzos…

I don’t know if I can get off zyprexa :face_with_diagonal_mouth: there probably is a solution, I just don’t know what it is.

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zyprexa made me eat…and sexual side effects…I love generic prolixin…fluphenazine. no side effects and I lost all my extra weight on this med. good luck.

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I don’t think I’m ill anymore

That’s the oldest reason in the book for people relapsing. So be careful.

The meds work, people think they’re cured, so they come off meds, relapse, and then end up on a higher dose of meds than before.

Anyway, I wish you best of luck with it.

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Thanks for sharing! I am on Zyprexa too. Hopeful that I may be able to get off the meds one day too.

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Good luck, as @everhopeful pointed out, it’s may be just be that the medication is controlling your symptoms well and without the medication your symptoms will return. It’s very common. Good luck though.

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Yeah, it’s a risk, but the meds make me sick too, so I’m willing to take the chance.

I would settle for taking another psych med at this point, but it proves difficult. I tried lurasidone, abilify and seroquel. I couldn’t make it on lurasidone or abilify. Seroquel didn’t work well enough on sleep.

Not many options left for sedating second generation AP’s. Going first generation seems too risky.

Maybe a sleep med is my best way out. Just getting off the dependence of zyprexa would be a major victory, then I could take some other AP if I were to relapse later on.

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About two years ago started on perphenazine after talking to jukebox. It eliminated most my symptoms with basically no side effects. I literally don’t hear voices anymore. I always did in the past no matter what I was on. I’ve tried most the newer antipsychotics and they either didn’t eliminate symptoms or had a deleterious effect. Not to mention the side effects. I’m not saying they’ll work for you, but they can be an valid option.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I actually did inquire about this drug, but apparently it’s not in use anymore where I live. I think maybe they still had the depot, but that’s not a good option for me.

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Good luck quitting Olanzapine. I had insomnia for a while when I quit taking it.

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i found first gen to be wayyyyy less side effects then the sedating gen 2. i took perphenazine, chlorpromazine, and haloperidol.

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Been there done that and it sucks.

Quitting meds is the worst decision people like us can make.

We have to take it for life. And it’s better that way than relapsing and wrecking havoc.

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I commonly have a “delusion” that i think psychosis is a consequence of lack of sleep instead of a brain error. Maybe you and the doctor are under that impression ?

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Sorry about my previous comment in another thread… It was a typo…

I meant I was doing god’s work… not “U”.

Sorry for the confusion.

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I quit zyprexa real quick because of how physically sick it made me in just a few weeks. I switched to haldol. In the hopes of later going off that.

I can imagine you may want to try withdraw. Be careful.

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No, it’s just reasonable to try without meds if one has been symptomfree a long time.

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I switched from zyprexa to clozapine and Invega. I had little issues in quitting 30 mg of zyprexa. It’s been a while and now I’m tapering the clozapine to only stay on Invega as an AP.

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I wish you the best … and it works out well for you :slight_smile:

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It doesn’t mean you’re not sick, just that you’re recovered to a point. You never get cured but I definitely am an example of how it can get MUCH easier over time. I haven’t been in a mental hospital for 6 years now.

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Good luck. I would love to come off meds, I have forgotten how the world feels like without them, but I know the world becomes prettier.

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If you don’t position yourself with something, you are going to relapse. Relapse is worse than meds and it would be best to consider just taking less meds than zero meds. Just be really careful and really really slow. The withdrawals from meds is serious, a lot more than I knew the first time I did it.

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