Question in title. The reasons I’m switching is because I’m pretty desperate to just try something new. I’m hoping I can find a medication that works better for me.
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YES! I completely quit Zyprexa about 11 months ago, I was on it for 17 years. And it was the best thing I ever did. I’ve lost 80lbs, my cholesterol and triglycerides levels are back to normal. My blood sugar is MUCH better (Zyprexa gave me diabetes, but my blood sugar levels are now at pre-diabetic levels), and I don’t feel as lethargic.
I was on 40mg of Zyprexa and slowly reduced that and switched over to 60mg of Latuda.
When I quit Zyprexa I experienced withdrawal insomnia that I still have to this day. For the first 6 months I couldn’t sleep AT ALL, so I had to go on 1.5mg clonazepam each night before bed to sleep which I am still taking. I can now fall and stay asleep for 2-4 hours without sleeping pills, but that’s it. The withdrawal insomnia has been brutal. Clonazepam really helps though, I get about 6-7 hours with it.
After being on Latuda for about 2 years I developed akathisia. I take 75mg of Trazodone to combat that and it works perfectly.
I tried to make the switch from zyprexa to latuda. In a way I liked Latuda, it gave me much more emotions than zyprexa. But the problem for me was that I developed insomnia. Latuda isn’t very good for sleep compared to zyprexa. I got som “false” sleep. I thought I was sleeping 5-6 hours a night. But after 10 days it felt like I hadn’t slept at all in those 10 days. My body was at the brink of collapse.
Increasing dose of Latuda did nothing to help sleep. Latuda seemed to work for me at minimum dose of 20mg daily. When I increased to 40mg I felt worse.
My doctor refused to put be on a sleeping medication because of fear of interactions with Latuda. If I had a sleeping medication it might have worked.
If you are going to try the switch I recommend getting a sleep aid to have ready in case you develop insomnia.
I’m glad to hear it works for you. I’m crossing my fingers that I will not experience insomnia withdrawal, as I understand it’s different with everyone. I’m glad to hear that you are able to get some natural sleep for 2-4 hours now, that means your body is recovering and that’s nice.
I’m kind of concerned about akathisia, but as a understand there’s meds to counter it. I looked up Trazodone and I don’t think it’s available in my country. But I think other stuff like propranolol (beta blocker) can help in case I get it?
If you are going to try the switch I recommend getting a sleep aid to have ready in case you develop insomnia.
Thanks! I will keep that in mind. Are there effective sleep aids out there that can help? I have no knowledge on that area of meds.
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Do a google search for “Olanzapine withdrawal insomnia”.
There are thousands of people on numerous websites that can’t sleep anymore after they quit Zyprexa. The frustrating part is the medical establishment doesn’t acknowledge this is a problem, there is zero literature on the subject that I could find, but thousands of people on the Internet suffering from it.
Most people either end up back on Zyprexa so they can sleep or do what I do and take sleeping pills.
My pdoc mentioned proponolol for akathisia but I refused it. My blood pressure and heart rate are perfect and I don’t want to risk screwing up my cardiac health. I told my doctor I wanted to use Trazodone, I haven’t had any problems with it and it works perfectly.
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Zyprexa works like a benzodiazepine in the brain, so you will most likely need to replace it with another benzo sleeping medication. I don’t know which benzos are for sleep except clonazepam that @Headspark is using. I’m sure there are other benzos for sleep too. Your doctor will know I guess.
I find natural supplements may not have enough impact on sleep on a zyprexa brain. Although things like magnesium, melatonin and L-serine seems to give me better sleep while on zyprexa, I doubt they would be enough if I went off zyprexa.
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Yeah I have looked it up and I remember you have talked about it in other threads. If I get any sleeping problems I think my strategy will be to not taper further down til my sleep is ok (even if it may take a long time), then taper down to the next step and repeat etc.
I spent 4 years tapering from 40mg down to nothing on Zyprexa and still suffer from brutal insomnia.
I wish you all the best but I don’t think tapering will help. Some people can quit Zyprexa without insomnia problems so maybe you’ll be lucky.
I’m kind of hesitant to go on benzos. My experience with the one benzo I have tried is that it makes my anxiety worse as I build up tolerance. I have only tried one type of benzo though, and don’t know how they may differ.
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I wish you all the best but I don’t think tapering will help. Some people can quit Zyprexa without insomnia problems so maybe you’ll be lucky.
Lol this kind of scares me. Well, let’s hope for the best, I’m optimistic.
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Well…since zyprexa is classified as a thienobenzodiazepine the receptors in your brain will crave something similar when you try to quit it. But like @Headspark said you might be lucky and be able to get off zyprexa without insomnia. I only developed sleep problems after using zyprexa for about 7 years. So if you have not been on it very long I guess you have better chance of getting off it without developing serious insomnia.
But don’t kill yourself trying to get sleep without a medication. I went 11 days without a second of sleep trying to go off once, and ended up in the hospital.
I think it would probably be easier to quit a benzo than zyprexa though. I think a benzo sleep medication is probably a step up from zyprexa.
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I agree with that 100%. That is the strategy I have been going with for the last 11 months.
I’m hoping my brain will recover from the Zyprexa over the next year and I will be able to sleep 7 hours without clonazepam. Then I will begin the benzo withdrawal process.
I know the benzo withdrawal process will be easier because I was dependent on clonazepam once before and have already went through the withdrawal process. Zyprexa was/is worse.
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Zyprexa made me put on weight. I gained 60lbs in 120 days on it. It made me crave sugar. It also made me mildly depressed.
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Latuda didn’t agree with me. Had akathisia, insomnia and nausea. I also ate more and weighted more on it vs Abilify. 80mg wasn’t enough for my positive symptoms and on 120mg the akathisia was intolerable, felt like dying.
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when I used zyprexa for seven month I gained so much weight that my end weight was 200 pounds. I quit 30 mgs in 3 days.
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Latuda worked for me for awhile at 80 mgs as a second medication.
However, I had sedation, tiredness, and weight gain. So, I kept on reducing the dose to 40 mgs, and the symptoms would resurface. After that, it stopped working.
As a result I am on Haldol now.
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Im on latuda and I love it. Best antipsychotic Ive been on. Feel like I have all my thoughts and am not heavily sedated in the day time.
Only real negative is that you have to take it with food which can make socialising in the evening difficult. I’ll be going on holiday with friends in a month and Im not sure when I will take it etc.
That said not everyone gets sent to sleep by it and its a small price to pay imo.
That’s nice to hear. When you say you have all your thoughts on it, do you mean it’s easier to think on it? Could you explain a bit further?
Yes exactly that.
This is just my experience remember, but on quetiapine (Seroquel) I felt like my mind was blank a lot, I found it harder to process stuff in real time like I would always be behind other people in group conversations, and I found it harder to think about my responses to other people. It got to a point where I felt unhappy about it and I looked for a drug with less sedation, and I saw people saying Latuda is better for mental clarity and having been on it for a couple of years - it is far far better.
Its not like you will become a master chess player or super smart lol. But it definitely made my thoughts clearer and made me feel more like myself. I’m able to respond to things better.
I described it to medical professionals as having mental latency. Like everything used to take me a second or two to process compared to other people.
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