[HoneyBack]

I posted here a short while ago about high blood calcium being caused by my lithium. Well... the pdoc has decided to wean me off lithium fairly quickly (8 weeks). I'll be on epilim and zyprexa then as the only mood stabilisers.
The thing is... I'm scared. I was on lithium and epilim for five years and stable. But at the beginning of this year, I had a manic episode following a hysterectomy and other stresses. So then the zyprexa was added too.
So I'm still feeling shaky and nervous about losing lithium, one of my "crutches".
Has anyone else experienced "coming off" a med? Especially before they feel ready?

[Flummixed]

I'd feel that way if my doctor told me that he's taking me off seroquel. Although that might one day come up as seroquel and family history of diabetes make poor bedfellows. I can understand how you'd feel. If for health reasons you need to stop the lithium then it's worth a shot. Good luck I hope everything works out for you.

[TheatreKid]

I had to stop lamictal because of the rash, and I was worried but I kept in close touch with my pdoc during the switch and we increased my seroquel to take its place. It's scary, but you can get through. Try not to worry too much and bring bad reactions onto you - I know I do that.

[Sometimes psychotic]

https://forums.psychcentral.com/schi...ent-candy.html
This is me one year ago at the beginning of my taper...I was only on one med an antipsychotic and went off it entirely in Oct/Nov last year and while I've had some minor mood symptoms I've been off it ever since. 8 weeks to get off sounds terrible though we had the luxury of a nice slow taper which we did because the first time I tried to taper we cut the dose in half and it was terrible the irritation and anxiety I experienced were worse than my initial condition. The thing about tapering is if it gets really bad you can just go back up to the previous dose for a little longer then try again. The key is to stay in close contact with your doc and if things get bad tell them and they can adjust your meds or even add something. Since you're still on other meds it probably won't be as bad as getting off entirely but I know I was terrified and yet a year later I think it was absolutely for the best.

[HoneyBack]

Thanks everyone for your support... it's been so encouraging. Just what I needed!

[BipolaRNurse]

I don't blame you for being nervous. My pdoc wants me to try decreasing Zyprexa by 1.25 mg in about 4-6 weeks, with an eventual taper to 2.5 mg and possibly off entirely over a few months. His reasoning is that he wants room to adjust upwards if I need it, because the course of my illness has been very rough. I'm a little anxious about it because I've been rock-solid for months with the exception of a brief hypomanic episode this past week, and I HATE to fix what isn't broken. But neither do I want to be on more meds than are absolutely necessary to control this beast, so if I'm still feeling stable by the end of this month, I'm going to try weaning down and off the Vitamin Z.

[HoneyBack]

Thanks BipolaRNurse, all the best with your taper off Zyprexa!