Withdrawal From Stelazine (Page 3) (Top voted first)

I have been on stelaine for 25 years with short breaks but I am trying to stop it and getting nasty withdrawal effects. I have reduced from 7mg to 3mg daily but have headaches anxiety and sense of unreality. I fell perfectly rational and know it is not the ill ness returning. I am seeking advice from someone who has managed to get of this drug or for any tips. I am planning to cut down 1mg per month but am already apprehensive about this.

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Hi Ash,
I get Stelazine in an Oral Solution in the UK in 5mg/5ml dose, available through boots the chemist, not all chemists can get hold of it.
The supplier is Rosemont Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Leeds, LS11 9XE.
All the best,
Eddie.

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Thank you so much Eddie. I will try boots pharmacy and see if theyve got it.

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Hi Ash,
You will need a prescription and they will have to order it in.
Eddie.

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I used to take Stelzine 1 mg with other anti-depression Cipralex 10 mg and Xenax for 10 years.
This combination worked fine for me till time comes where the Stelzine wouldn't be available in my home country.
The doctor said to stop it and didn't explain any withdrawal symptoms for that.Now since the drug was out of stock (2 weeks), where I had to stop it, I experienced a lot of dizziness and continuous panic attacks with depression.
Some told me to find alternatives and others suggested that since this time the withdrawal symptoms will take place and you just need to be patience ( in other words suffer).
What shall I do?any suggestions?
Are those related to stopping the medicine?

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Hi Reza
Stelazine was a very good but addictive drug, not many people are able to come off it completely successfully, as stelazine tampers with your inner brain cells inorder to prevent you from becoming ill and over a long period of time your brain becomes use to functioning with stelazine.

Do you live in the uk?

My mum was on stelazine for over 30 years and has been very ill since february (we were unable to find it after that). My mum is showing the exact same symptoms that you have mentioned. 2 weeks after the stelazine left her system my mum lost her sense of reality and has been very paranoid, depressed and ill since then and keeps suffering from panic and anxiety attacks.

Doctors have tried many modern day equivalents since then such as risperidone and prochlorperazine but have been unsuccessful.

Stelazine has been around in the uk since 1958, but it was only now that doctors discovered how addictive and strong the drug is. Despite the fact that the manufacturers had announced back in 2007 that they were planning to discontinue stelazine, the doctors and british medical system failed to alert my mum.

Stelazine has only been discontinued in form of tablet in the uk only and is still available in most of the other countries (I think) such as usa, europe, thaildand etc.

After visiting this form a few weeks back, ive discovered that stelazine is still available in the uk in form of oral syrup and is being manufactured by Rosemont Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Leeds, LS11 9XE.

But it has to be ordered especially from the manufacturers, as pharmacies dont keep it in stock, as sealed bottles expires within 6 months whilst open bottles need to be consumed within a month. Once the pharmacy has placed the order it should take about a week to arrive.

Despite stelazine still being available in form of oral syrup, doctors didnt bother to inform my mum, as it costs the nhs alot of money (£20 per 150ml bottle).

Instead they tried to fob my mum off on risperidone and prochlorperazine (cheaper option), which only cost the nhs £7.50.

Seek advice from your doctor maybe they might be able to find you alternatives, if stelazine isnt available in your country.

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Hi, Your story is so similar to ours. My mum had also been on Stelezine for 30 years, until it was discontinued in autumn of 2011. Since then, she has been ill for nearly a whole year and is currently in the mental health unit . She was on Respiridone for 9 months but it didn't work for her and is currently refusing all medication. She is very ill but denies that she is. It has been a terrible year for her and for the family and I feel that she has lost a year of her life. She cannot lead a normal life without drugs and Stelezine was the only one that worked, but now she has been off it for a year she says she hated it. Nothing else works for her though. I'm very interested in the syrup form of the drug but wondered if you get it on presecription from the doctor or pay for it yourself?

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I get Stelazine in syrup form by prescription from my GP.

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Hi Samson

I get stelazine syrup for my mum through gp prescription. It takes about 2 days for it to arrive at the pharmacy, as it needs to be ordered especially from rosemont pharmaceuticals.

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My mother was on that dam crap (stelazine) for many years. She was put on it in her mid forties for 'change of life symptoms'. It caused her to have facial twitches, growth of facial hair, and a life time of not being able to sleep.She would be up at 5 am ,every day of her life. She tried to quit them countless times. The withdrawal was too much for her to handle. Iam 63 years old,and Iam sitting herew with tears in my eyes remembering all the misery she endured because of those pills. She developed facial ticks. Always had a distant stare in her eyes. She died,15 years ago,due to health problems ,that we believe were brought on because of the side affects of the stelazine,like not getting consistent sleep,moodiness,etc. I have researched this drug and find out that she should never have taken this crap for 34 years,for moodiness brought on by 'change of life '. I wish I could have known then what I know now about this poison Here I am many many years later,still broke up inside over this.Because I couldn't help her. Because the in those days ,you never question a doctor. QUACKS !! This drug has been around since over 50 years ! It is a big money maker. Never mind the misery it has caused to countless people. Stelazine is perscribed for schizophrenia and management of psychotic .

whatmeds.stanford.edu/medications/trifluoper.html
My mother was given stelazine because she was moody, after having a baby !

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What about stelazine and tardive dyskinesia?

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What an insensitive person you are. My mum has been on Stellazine now for over 43years and every time she tried to reduce her dose she became ill again. As a kid of 16 to see my mum fall apart is a terrible memory. she is only on 2 mg a day but reducing it immediately brought back the problems. It took several years for her to accept that her brain requires this chemical to function normally. She has terrible nightmares, several times a night, but on medication she is as normal as ever. To those of you thinking of coming off this medication, please be careful and reduce the drug by very small amounts over a long period of time.
Can anyone please tell me if you are still getting your Stellazine in pill form? Mums pharmacy have recently told her they can no longer give her pills so she now has a liquid form. She has to draw the amount using a tiny syringe but her eyesight is poor and I am concerned that she is not getting the correct dose.

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Hi Sampson - Are you in the UK? If so then the syrup is still available on prescription from the GP. Stelazine is the only thing that works for my mum - she is amazing when on it.

She has had teething problems with the syrup as the pharmacy didn't give her the correct syringe to draw up the liquid from the bottle and she wasn't getting enough - she was having the most dreadful nightmares and anxiety attacks. Now everything is back to normal as the doc has got her the correct syringe.

My sister has sourced tablets from Japan so someone is still making them but will cost £1 a day which she cannot afford.

One thing that we have also noted with the insomnia is that Magnesium deficiency will cause both Insomnia and Anxiety - mum is getting the doc to blood test.

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Im 29 years old schizophrenic and I have been on 5mg stelazine. Recently I asked the doctor to cut it and he reduced it to 2mg and i have been suffering the abovementioned effects because of it. (Anxiety, morning jitters, sense of unreality). Please help!

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Hi Justin - please stay on your prescribed dose so that you can have a good life. My mum has been on just a very small dose for over 40 years and each time she tried to reduce it, returned to her original behaviour. Which was horrendous not just for her but for her family to deal with.
It took many years before she accepted that to live an active happy life she would have to take Stelazine for the rest of her life.
It is not a sign of failure to be on this medication - the brain as with any part of the body can misbehave - for example if you were diabetic you wouldn't stop your medication just because you didn't like taking it. Stelazine replaces a chemical your brain is not making enough of.
A few months ago I stayed with my mum for four weeks (I live overseas) she was desperately anxious and having terrible nightmares. The reason - she was not getting her prescribed dose - the syringe she was given was the wrong size and she had been underdosing. It was a frightening time to wakened by her screaming.
Please - for those desperate to give up, the symptoms you describe are not the drug withdrawal symptoms but the schitzophrenia symptoms returning.

It may not be what you want to do but the Stelazine gives you a chance to have a normal life.

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Well done Fiona - good luck with your University course. My mum went on to be able to work as a nursery nurse, returning to the profession after she had raised us 3 kids.

I shall let my sister in the UK know that the pills are being made. I would feel so much happier about mums welfare if I knew she was taking a dose that could be reliably be the amount prescribed.

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The anxiety is due to your illness which the lower rate of Stelazine can no longer control - not all that you are experiencing is withdrawal symptoms.

Why do you so desperately want to come off Stelazine - has it not worked to control your brain chemical imbalance - would you be wanting to come off your insulin if you were diabetic or you anti rejection drugs if you had had a transplant - why not accept that your brain is not producing the right sort of chemicals it needs to function normally without the help of Stelazine. My mother caused us so much heartache and fear everytime she decided that she didn't want to be on medication. It took us some time to get her to understand what it was doing for her brain and that coming off the drug made her ill again. She is 85 now and she is a she is a wonderful person who is happy and able to live life to the full.

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Alright. I'll make an appointment to see the doc again ASAP and get my dose raised back to its original levels. Thanks Evelyn.

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Best wishes to you.

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Hi my mum was on stelazine and we had real problems getting the tablets.it was causing her stress as she had schizophrenia.i was also getting worried that she would become unwell.i spoke to a pharmacist who suggested flupentixol.this had worked really well instead of the stelazine.

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Hi, my mum has been on Stelazine now for 45years and has tried over the years to come off it. She has now decided that taking it gives her a better life than not on it.

Recently she began having acute anxiety attacks and we eventually discovered that she had been under dosing herself. Once the medication was increased the anxiety attacks stopped.

I don't believe that anxiety attacks are withdrawal symptoms but the symptoms of the illness returning when there is insufficient Stelazine in the system.

Why do you so desperately want to come off a drug that is helping your brain by supplying missing chemicals? If you had diabetes you would take your medication without question.

It took me decades to make the decision to go on anti depressants but once I did I was so cross with myself for holding out for so long, they changed my life. For the majority of the time I'm now depression free, it took 12 years of medication.

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