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Suggest Ways To Wean Off Zyprexa

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Posted on Mon, 26 Dec 2016
Question: Hi again brother.



i want to tell you that it is very important that i reduce as fast as it is safe the Zyprexa drug that we are working on reducing in me.

one of the reasons why it is very important is because i use alot of tobacco, and as you know tobacco kills super many people every year. and i very much need it while i am on this drug. i've tried many times to quit while on this drug but i need tobacco now. i easily quitted all tobacco when i was not on this drug few years ago.

and i think its like 99,9% chance that i can easily quit all tobacco when my naturalness comes forward when i reach under full (100%) dose of Zyprexa.

today (29. november) i have been on 3,75 mg for 21 days. 3 weeks. and i've noticed no change at all. and i expect very much change when i finally get under full (100%) dose of Zyprexa.

about 1 year and 4 months ago i went under full dose of Zyprexa for like 10 days and there was very very much change in my life. it ended with me not being able to fall asleep so i raised my dose much so i could definitely fall asleep.

so with that being said. i'm looking if it is safe to reduce my dose from 3,75 mg down to 2,5 mg in the evening of today. is that safe ? do i have your psychiatrist-persmission to do that ?

is that safe ?

i was thinking that maybe you said 1 month because you thought i might have reached under full (100%) dose and then i would understand that i need to wait alot longer since alot of changes are adjusting. but since i feel and see and notice no changes i think it might be safe to reduce this evening since 3 weeks have already passed.

please answer my questions clearly :)

you help is support is super much appreciated :)

thank you so much.

doctor
Answered by Dr. Chintan Solanki (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
yes you can reduce

Detailed Answer:
Dear friend,

Thanks for asking about your concern. After 21 days if you are absolutely fine you can sure go to 2.5 mg safely today onward.Almost more than 10 days you should be on 100% dose. I recommended one month in last communication to be just completely sure. You can go ahead today without any hesitation.

Tobacco use is not likely associated with zyprexa but it was started due to your basic psychological problem. If you feel you can stop tobacco easily after stopping zyprexa there is nothing wrong. All the best.

Hope you got clear answer.

Regards,
Dr Chintan Solanki.


Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Chintan Solanki (2 days later)
Hi friend.


I reduced my dose from 3,75 mg to 2,5 mg, 2 days ago.


I got a plan from one psychiatrist about if i cant fall asleep. But i thought of a better one.

I might have gotten a plan from you also. i dont remember and we've talked alot. And i dont think its the same as the plan i am going to talk to you about now.



So the plan is to be under full (100%) dose of Zyprexa and still be able to sleep enough.

I expect to get under this full (100%) dose with this dose reduction (when i've been on 2,5 mg per day a few days longer). But since it is such a small dose. And i expect Big changes when i get under full dose (how fast these changes come depends alot on how much i get under this full dose i think).


So it would not XXXXXXX me if i go too much under full dose with this reduction that i did two days ago. By this "too much" i mean that i cant fall asleep because too much is happening in my body at once. Too many changes going on inside me because im not on full dose of the drug (i think that is the reason why i couldnt fall asleep last time i was reducing)

I dont think i reduced too much two days ago just that my body needs alot less maybe than average person's body of this drug to have full dose (effect). So i might need extra small dose increase to adjust so i can sleep enough.


so if i cant sleep enough then the plan is to raise the dose just a tiny bit.


This is the plan that i am thinking of:


if i cant fall asleep 5 hours after my normal sleep time then i would raise my dose by 1/8 (one eighth) of 2,5 mg Zyprexa pill (take one eighth of 2,5 mg Zyprexa pill).

then i would try to fall asleep for 2 hours, and if i still cant fall asleep after those 2 hours then i would again take one eighth of a 2,5 mg pill. Then i would be on 3,125 mg dose.

Then if i cant sleep after 1 hour on 3,125 mg dose then i take for the third time one eighth of 2,5 mg pill and try to sleep for 1 hour and then if i still cant fall asleep then i take for the fourth time one eighth of 2,5 mg pill and then i am on 3,75 mg which i can almost 100% sleep on because after 11 days on that dose i felt, saw and noticed no change.


with this plan i would be awake for 26 hours and 30 minutes (30 minutes to fall asleep) and i think its no danger to stay awake that long.


Do i get your psychiatrist-approval to use this plan if i cant fall asleep ?

Do you know of a better plan ?


(people wake up at 07:00 on friday, go to work and then party at evening and go downtown to the clubs in the night and get home at 07:00 in the morning and then watch movies for 4 hours and then sleep = 28 hours awake (i was just saying this to show you that awake for 26 hours and 30 minutes is not dangerous) this kind of long awake on friday is very normal in my country which is Iceland)


(the reason why i want to wait 5 hours before my first increase if i cant fall asleep is because often i accidentally drink coffee or coca cola (caffeine) or eat something hot (chili) or something like that right before bedtime and then i cant sleep for the next 3 hours.)


i hope you know that it is very important to achieve my plan here. my plan is to get under full (100%) dose of Zyprexa while still be able to sleep and keep my life in good state.

there are probably some other reasons why i want the "if-i-cant-fall-asleep-plan" to be like this. so if it is safe and good plan then i want your approval of it.


Sorry how long it was, hope that was ok.

Again you are helping me super much. i appreciate it super much. :)


doctor
Answered by Dr. Chintan Solanki (5 hours later)
Brief Answer:
safe plan, there will be no sleep problem I guess

Detailed Answer:
Hi dear,

You have mentioned appropriate and safe plan.You ca use it if needed.

But I guess there will be no problem in sleep with the way we have reduced the dose. It is very tiny reduction in terms of its effect on sleep.

In any case you can go with some measures called 'sleep hygiene' which would help in sleep. You can find the same in below link.

sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/sleep-hygiene

All the best.

Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Chintan Solanki

Psychiatrist

Practicing since :2007

Answered : 2406 Questions

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Suggest Ways To Wean Off Zyprexa

Brief Answer: yes you can reduce Detailed Answer: Dear friend, Thanks for asking about your concern. After 21 days if you are absolutely fine you can sure go to 2.5 mg safely today onward.Almost more than 10 days you should be on 100% dose. I recommended one month in last communication to be just completely sure. You can go ahead today without any hesitation. Tobacco use is not likely associated with zyprexa but it was started due to your basic psychological problem. If you feel you can stop tobacco easily after stopping zyprexa there is nothing wrong. All the best. Hope you got clear answer. Regards, Dr Chintan Solanki.