I’ll be going to my psychiatrist on Monday. Hopefully, I can stop the Zyprexa completely now, but I suspect I’ll need to taper it in half one more time to 1.25 mg before cutting it out completely. I feel like I’ve been able to be more creative and alive since reducing the dose down to 2.5mg. It’s pretty incredible how potent these medications are, and how tiny changes can make such a big difference.
The original reason why I decided to stop Zyprexa was because of the hunger for food it causes. I gained a lot of weight as a result, and desire to drop the pounds and the med now. Supposedly, the hunger issue doesn’t stop until I get off the med completely. In the process of tapering it down, I have discovered I don’t need the medication. I wonder what else I can reduce or eliminate… 🙂
Lithium 2100mg/day
Zyprexa 2.5mg/day (tapering off)
Wellbutrin 300mg XL/day
Abilify 20mg/day
Ativan prn (sleep, manic symptoms)
theothersid3 
Oh my God Zyprexa is my least favorite drug. When I started zyprexa I was a lean 180 lbs bodybuilder and now I’m a prediabetic 280 lbs or so fat-ass git. I’m so glad you’re stopping it; Zyprexa is NOT for anyone capable of easy weight gain, especially that there are alternatives not half as bad regarding that. Glad you’re cutting the crap soon.
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Your story sounds similar to mine… 190 pounds to about 280 in just a few years! In my case I was given multiple drugs notorious for weight gain. I suspect Zyprexa has been the worst one, though. Granted, it was essential for managing sleep and mania problems for a long time. Time to give it the boot and lose all that weight :-p
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Best of luck. I found that regular dieting with regular exercise worked for me than extreme dieting and no exercise. Maybe it will be similar with you.
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Thanks! I haven’t been off it all the way yet, and lost over 15 pounds in about a month. Things are looking up 🙂 I need to start exercising though, probably will just do a little walking.
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