Hi I’m Joe

Welcome, Joe 😊 Good luck tomorrow. After a year of horrible side effects, wanting your life back makes perfect sense. Olanzapine is a heavy drug, so slow and steady matters. Talking about tapering is a great first step. Hope this is the start of getting your dopamine—and your life—back. One bead at a time 😊

Hi Joe! Welcome to the community. Happy to have you here.

"The side effects have been horrible and I’ve essentially been bedridden for the past year." — @Joe

Lots of people start their taper journey because of exactly this reason. Side effects end up taking away any benefit there once was. Happy you have found a clinician to guide you. Well be here every step of the way with the success and difficulties.

"One bead at a time 😊" — @Jules

I love this so much, when i find time im making t shirts and sending you one

"Wish me luck, I have an appointment tomorrow to discuss tapering off my medication (olanzapine)." — @Joe

Hi Joe, I hope all goes well. I'm glad you're here so we can support you along the way to healing and getting your life back!

Hi Joe, welcome to the community. I am also tapering off Olanzapine - I have been tapering off the drug now for over 12 months. I was experiencing adverse effects on higher doses as well. I’m currently down to 0.5mg. I’m here if ever you would like to chat. I hope the appointment to discuss tapering went well. Jodi

Hi @Jodi. I have been tapering since September 2024 from 30mg. Now at 7.5mg. What is your strategy ? What high dose mg you started on ? I have been on it since 2018 almost like you. Next year I will do the final taper. Currently planning abilify taper as the dose is very high too. Yes its insane to be on both antipsychotics but what can you do ! 🙂 You are lucky to taper with clinician that knows what to do or so do I understand your clinician must know what he/she is doing. Im on my own in a sense that doctors in my country dont even know hyperbolic taper as psychiatry is not well funded here

Hi @Adam, that’s so funny that you started tapering in September 2024 as that’s when I started tapering off olanzapine too. And it’s another coincidence that we have both been on the drug for around the same time as well. Wow you are doing so well to have come down to 7.5mg from that high dose. The highest dose I have been on was 5mg, and I started tapering in September 2024 off 2.5mg. I’m currently down to 0.5mg. My tapering schedule has changed several times. I made the silly move to cut from 2.5mg down to 1.25mg and I became so unwell. I needed to hold at 1.25mg for 6 month until I started to recover. Then I started off with the intention to reduce the dose by 1mg -> 0.9 -> 0.8 -> and then I needed to change the schedule to 0.75 -> 0.7 -> 0.65 -> 0.6 -> 0.55 -> 0.5. I am now about to change again to 10% hyperbolic reductions from here on. So my strategy is very flexible and all the decisions to change the taper have been based on the symptoms I experience. I want to let you know too, that I think I have a kindled nervous system (from so many unsuccessful attempts to discontinue the drug in the past), so I am very sensitive. So you might find the process a lot easier than what I have found. I am sorry to hear that there are no doctors knowledgable about tapering in your area. The psychiatrist I am seeing is actually not near me, he is in a different state, but he does Telehealth appointments. It’s terrible that they can be so hard to find. Wishing you all the very best with the rest of the taper. Feel free to message / comment if ever you would like to chat about anything else.

Thanks a lot Jodi ! My taper will likely take until 2030/2031 if Im extra careful with everything. I will follow 10% hyperbolically from 5mg with 4,5,6 week holds depending how low on schedule I will be and how will I feel. I would love to share my PDF schedule but Im afraid its not allowed here. Hopefully the picture appears here ! Best of luck to you Jodi ! I believe life improved for you crucially already coming from 5mg. I cant believe I wasnt classified as zombie at 30mg 😀 !image

In picure it starts 1st of April but thats not accurate I will start in November,December as right now Im tapering Abilify

"In picure it starts 1st of April but thats not accurate I will start in November,December as right now Im tapering Abilify" — @AdamB

Hi Adam, that's quite an impressive document you created! 👍

Thanks Catina 🙂 I have been trying to perfect all the details from research etc for the past 8 months.

"I have been trying to perfect all the details from research etc for the past 8 months." — @AdamB

Well, you've done a very good job! 😍

Wow, your chart is impressive! I love that you’ve got it all mapped out until you’re off of it, holding yourself accountable for going through a long and thought out process that will ultimately end in success. Kudos to you!