Withdrawal From Stelazine (Page 4)
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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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I've managed to get Stelazine from Canada, available from canadadrugs.com.

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My mother has been on Stelazine for 30 yrs and now its now discontinued, she has been having the side effects. Fatigue, difficulty breathing, insomnia which is the worst for her, dry mouth and dizziness to name a few. The Dr has now prescribed OLANZAPINE 5mg - she is thinking of trying 2.5mg a day but I have said to her she needs to discuss this with her Dr. Has anyone been successful on anything else if Stelazine is not available to them anymore?

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Hi Kiran,

Thanks so much for replying. It's always reassuring to hear other people have had the same experience. I've just reduced the dose again by a tiny amount a couple of days ago, and I'm feeling a little bit better. I'm planning to come off it completely, but I've been on it for about 4 years, so I need to take it really slowly. I'm trying to be patient, but I can't wait to be Stelazine-free!

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Hello Sandra,
The jitteriness usually goes away as you stop the stelazine. Mine took about 3 weeks. But the fatigue is still lingering. In my fourth week after stopping the drug. You may want to consult your doc about reducing the doses ASAP and coming off it altogether. Good luck. I can feel for you, I was equally anxious 3 weeks ago.

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Hi,

I'm new to this site. I'm also trying to come off stelazine, which my doctor prescribed 4 years ago to help with my overactive bladder symptoms. If I'd realised how addictive it is, I would have said 'no thanks, doc'. Too late now, anyway.

I've found that if I try to cut down too quickly I go into a total crash where I'm too exhausted to do anything, and can hardly walk/eat. My GP has switched me from tablets onto the syrup form, which was a great idea as I have a tiny syringe and can measure out really accurately rather than trying to cut tablets. I'm reducing by 0.5 ml at a time (equivalent to 0.1 of a tablet).

My main problem at the moment is that when I wake up in the morning I'm feeling all 'jittery' is the only way I can describe it. My mind feels relaxed, but my body feels anxious. I don't know whether this is part of the withdrawal effects, or something else. Has anyone else had this? I've been on my current dose for about 6 weeks now, and the jittery feeling still seems to be getting worse rather than better, so getting a bit worried about it.

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Does anybody know how long it takes for the fatigue from stelazine to go away? I have been on the drug for 4 months and then discontinued due to extreme fatigue. A second opinion suggested that it was not the right prescription for my stomach ailments anyway. Thanks

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I need your help about my mental illness since i've read u've been takin stelazine just like me, can u contact me please?

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i have been on 1mg stelzine for twenty years.i had lots of headaches i thought this due my neck problems.have been of them for week now and headaches have gone so beware

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During pregnancy I used CHLORPROMAZINE instead of Stelazine. After pregnancy I returned to Stelazine.

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thanks buster i am hoping for the best as well. the doc did say to me that i should try the breathing exercises and it does help so thanks for that infor. All the best. i will keep you posted soon. take care.

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Cindy, I'm doing fine but was wondering about you. If the mind starts going off in the wrong direction just switch the mind to something else like what to buy at the grocery store or something. Sometimes I do some breathing exercises as part of my yoga. I inhale deep and hold it for a few seconds and also I do those where I exhale and hold the breath out for about 8 seconds. This gives the mind the complete awareness of the full-in and full-out breath. Sometimes my breath seems to stop too but it does not bother me at all when it does. Scuba divers need to be able to hold their breath for a really long time to get certified I think. Sometimes when I go for a fast run and then slow down I get completely breathless and can't breathe so I keep walking ahead slowing and turn around clockwise slowly while I'm walking (not sure why that part helps) and let my mind vegetate without thinking about anything except maintaining and within a few seconds I'm back to normal again.
Cindy, wishing you the best with all that's going on.

Eddie, who is another poster in this thread, I'm realising that I did not completely answer one of your questions. It was every 2 months that I went to the next level in the particular increments I described.

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hi buster how are u doing. have not been online in a long time. well i am expecting and i am off the stelazine it has been 1 month now. i don't really have any bad withdrawal symptoms, except sometimes i get really breathless, that has always been a problem whenever i try to get off it. i am hoping that this will go away and i don't have to go back on it. so i am hoping that my baby will be healthy and well as the last time i saw my psychiatrist he told me he does not think that i need the stelazine anymore so i am confident i will do well and also my baby.

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There are absolutely no withdrawal effects from such a low dose of a crappy medication like stelezine. Get over it.

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Ah, that is the tricky part....the fraction of the mg. My doctor and I discussed this. He told me that Stelazine stays in the body a fairly long time so that if I took
5 mg one day then took
4 mg the next day then
5 mg the next day then
4 mg the next day and so forth that in effect I was taking 4.5mg's per day.
So, that is how. As you can imagine it gets trickier as the fractions get smaller so I had my calendar on the wall and I was marking it daily as I went along to ensure I did not goof up on my calculations. I know it is awkward and people who made the meds probably didn't think they'd ever need to make fraction-of-a-mg doses but then again they really don't since Stelazine stays in the body a long time.
Now, if you were down to 3 and one-third mg's that would mean you'd take
3 mg one day then
3 mg the next day then
4 mg the next day
so that over the course of that 3-day period you will have taken a total of 3+3+4=10 mg's and
10/3=3 1/3

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Hi Buster,
How do you take a fraction of a mg of Stelazine, do you cut up the tablet?
Do you recommend making the reduction every 2 months or 3 months?
Thanks for your help.
Eddie B.

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Does anybody know what the name of the generic alternative to Stelazine is?

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There are generic tablets that are the same thing as Stelazine but they're not name brand and they're cheaper. Ask your doctor to prescribe them. He also knows what the alternative things are.

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Stelazine has been discontinued by the manufacturers and
will very soon be unavailable. What would be an alternate
drug for a person taking 13mg Stelazine for over 20 years?

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thanks for sharing this relevant information with me Buster and i will definately discuss it with my Doctor. I will print a copy and show it to him to hear what he says. I do hope i can be like u someday free and clear of Stelazine living a normal life and don't have to worry about taking those medications. And it is true when i was ill its like i felt i was going crazy and i really do not want to have a relapse so i am going to take every precaution. Thank u once again and we will catch up soon. Take care.

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Cindy, quite a few times I had tried to go off Stelazine and was unsuccessful. I'd get down to 5 mg then go to 4 mg and then try 3 and somwhere in there it would get messed up again. The weird anxiety. From my experience a person can never get off Stelazine by slowly reducing in 1 mg increments simply because it's too fast for the mind to adjust to. That is why I came up with the solution that worked, it was approved by my Dr. too. I told him I wanted to reduce in fraction-of-a-mg increments but they don't make Stelazine in fraction-of-a-mg increments and he told me that since Stelazine stays in the body for a long time so for example if I did 5 mg one day and then did 4 mg the next day it would average out and in effect I was taking 4.5 mg per day. I came up with the theory that the closer I got to zero mg the smaller I had to make the fractions of my decreases. It worked. I came up with the correct fractions decrease schedule. Every 2 months I did a decrease. The decrease schedule was like this: 5mg per day for 2 months, then 4.5 mg per day for 2 months, then 4 for 2 months, then 3 and two thirds mg for 2 months, then 3 and one third mg for 2 months, then 3 mg for 2 months, then 2 and three-fourths mg for 2 months, then 2 and a half mg for 2 months, then 2 and one-fourth mg for 2 months, then 2 mg for 2 months, then 1 and four-fifths mg for 2 months, then 1 and three-fifths for 2 months, then 1 and two-fifths for 2 months, then 1 and one-fifth for 2 months, then 1 for 2 months, then five-sixth's mg for 2 months, then four-sixth's for 2 months, then three-sixth's for 2 months, then two-sixths for 2 months, then one-sixths for 2 months, and then I was off of it.

I know it was long to type this out. But, bottom line is....the closer you get to zero mg's per day the smaller the cut-down amount must be because Stelazine operates on the subtle layers of mind and too rapid a change in the subtle layers of mind is what causes "craziness" so more caution is needed so things don't get worse. That is it actually. It was due to the fact that you had some change in the subtle layers of mind that happened to fast that got you into the situation to begin with. Same thing happened with me so I know.

I wish you well in whatever you choose but I've told you what works. Show this post to your Dr. and discuss it if you want and see what he says. My Dr. knew my plan and approved it.

Many other people have tried to decrease Stelazine the way you're trying and to my knowledge none of them have ever been successful. Ask your Dr. if he knows of anyone who was successful in decreasing like what you described.

Wishes of wellness to you,

Buster

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