[Secretum]

So I'm sedated and fat and restless...and still hallucinating, crash into suicidality every few weeks, and mildly depressed at my baseline. My thoughts are disorganized, making it hard to write or get anything done.

I'm thinking-if I have so many symptoms on meds, why am I still taking them? They may be making things harder rather than easier.

I think my new therapist won't like this idea, though. She's convinced that I need more zyprexa. I do wonder if a higher dose would clear up the remaining symptoms, and if it does if it would be worth the sedation and weight gain.

Should I try the higher dose or go off entirely? I'm leaning towards going off the meds. If I can't handle it, then I can always go back on them.

Maybe I could have some zyprexa to take PRN if I get really agitated or psychotic, but take nothing daily.

I've had past therapists tell me that they didn't think I needed to be medicated. I took it as an insult at the time-couldn't they see how much I was struggling? Wasn't my life impacted by this illness? But maybe they had a point. Maybe I could survive unmedicated, and maybe cutting out the meds would simplify my life.

[Marshellette]

If you are on Prozac alone and are bipolar you might get too high. Zyprexa is a mood stabilizer that balances out the effects of Prozac. Don't take Prozac by itself. You may not have to take it specifically with Zyprexa but you should take Prozac with another mood stabilizer such as Tegretol.

[venusss]

Has your Z dose been stable? Has it been increased and reduced in past, based on symptoms or has it just been increased gradually over time?

Whitetaker claims APs taken long term make things worse. I read that the brain just compensates for what the drug blocks, hence your symptoms will appear again after time, even if the drug worked for some time.

From what I read in your posts, lots of your problems stem from your past experiences, self-esteem/self-worth issues... as for hallucinations and stuff, it depends if you can find other ways to deal with them or find ways to increase your distress tolerance.

However sedation is tricky. From my experiments with various substances, I know the bothersome thoughts are usually the last to go... only after losing some ability to think straight. Maybe it's different for you, but it's something to think about. Does the Z dull you overall, including ability to use your brain to reason and rationalize? Or does it just take the edge off?

[hamster-bamster]

Make sure you get a stash of low dose Zyprexa if you plan to take it PRN. Say, 2.5 or 5 mg, but not more. then you can gradually find the dose you need, and won't be using a pill cutter. As Marshellette explained, no Prozac taken alone for bipolar people - not only can you get too high, but you can also lose your sleep altogether.

I went off Prozac cold turkey without issues, but i was taking 10 mg (lowest dose) and you are taking 5 times that. You probably need to taper off, and not stop Zyprexa until you are completely off Prozac.

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

Make sure you get a stash of low dose Zyprexa if you plan to take it PRN. Say, 2.5 or 5 mg, but not more. then you can gradually find the dose you need, and won't be using a pill cutter. As Marshellette explained, no Prozac taken alone for bipolar people - not only can you get too high, but you can also lose your sleep altogether.

I went off Prozac cold turkey without issues, but i was taking 10 mg (lowest dose) and you are taking 5 times that. You probably need to taper off, and not stop Zyprexa until you are completely off Prozac.

Really good advice hamster.

[wildflowerchild25]

I am a chronic med ditcher. I stopped taking mine about a month ago. Right now it's great because I am hypo but when I crash it will be gnarly. Yet I still don't want to take it. This time I stopped taking it because I thought I had maybe been misdiagnosed. Now I think that no perhaps they are right but who cares.

Anyway point is I do to think you can know until you try. If you go off of them, you'll be able to see your true sel again and know if you need them or not.

But at the same time you can also demand a new med, something not so sedAting. A mood stabilizer instead of AP, or a different AP. It's really up to you. Just do keep the zyprexa around in case things go south. I have my Seroquel on hand if things get crazy.

And DON'T take the Prozac alone! I did that over the summer - terrible mixed episode with psychosis. No good!