Advice for Zyprexa withdrawal

[Guest guest]

Dear group,

I have been reading the posts and files to try to understand how to

safely withdraw my elderly mother from Zyprexa. She will be 80 in a

week and is in the advanced stages of Alzheimers. She was put on a

number of medications 1 1/2 years ago, due to the progression of the

Alzheimers and belligerent outbursts. Over the course of the last

year I have seen her deteriorate dramatically and believed this to be

largely due to the Zyprexa, which I had been told was a sedative.

I learned of the dangers of the drug by searching the internet and

learned that it can cause diabetes. I was fortunate to find this

site as I have not found any of the extensive information listed here

anywhere else. I am determined to get her off it safely, but am

still unsure if the 10% reduction every three weeks is advisable

given her frail constitution.

I have been giving her TCM herbs prescribed for the Alzheimers from a

very good TCM practitioner for just under a month. Her sleep

patterns have improved greatly; instead of waking 5-6 times per night

she is waking 1-2. I have also, in the past week, added a goat whey

mineral supplement and kefir capsules. It is very difficult to adapt

her diet substantially as she lives in a care facility. I am hoping

to introduce cod liver oil soon as well but am trying to progress

slowly so that I do not make too many demands on the staff at the

facility as I need them to be helping the effort.

The psychiatric nurse who prescribes my mother's medications had

agreed to the Zyprexa reduction (and eventual elimination) and I had

informed her that I would be doing it very slowly, 10% every three

weeks. At a recent checkup (when I was absent) she authorized a

reduction of 25% for immediate effect which I refused and insisted

that the care facility maintain steady dosing. She now insists that

splitting the pills so that my mother would experience a 12.5%

reduction would not be accurate enough to give a steady dose (the

pills are fairly small and come in 2.5 mg or 5 mg doses only). She

wants to do the 25% reduction and give my mother additional

medications. I will be presenting her with the alternative of doing

a liquid titration as listed in the files. If anyone has knowledge

of what liquid to best dissolve a Zyprexa tablet in, it would be

appreciated.

My mother is on 2.5 mgs Zyprexa twice a day; the dosage has been

increased and decreased several times over the past year and I do not

know those amounts. She has had many drugs tried on her in the past

year and a half. I asked for a record and was given only partial

information: Ativan, Haldol (bad physically agressive reaction),

Risperdal (discontinued due to symptoms of tardive dyskinesia),

Aricept (discontinued due to increased hallucinations), Celexa - 10

mgs for four months (discontinued due to increased agitation),

Seroquel - 12.5 mgs and 25 mgs for four months(not helpful for

agitation), Trazodone - 25 mgs for 1 month (not helpful for sleep).

Her current medications in addition to Zyprexa are Exelon (3 mg twice

daily, Alzheimers medication), Namenda (10 mg AM and 5 mg PM,

Alzheimers medication), Hydrochlorothiazide (high blood pressure

medication). I am hoping to withdraw her safely off of the Zyprexa

and Hydrochlorothizide and hopefully remove her eventually from the

Namenda and Exelon and treat the Alzheimers exclusively with TCM.

My mother had been a vegetarian/vegan for many years (@ 45 years).

She was found to be very deficient in Vit B12, for which she received

injections...her B12 level is now considered to be within normal

range. I will learn soon if her blood sugar levels are also within

normal range. She gained a considerable amount of weight after

starting Exelon and Namenda, at least 40 pounds.

I am convinced that a 25% reduction in Zyprexa is too much to avoid

withdrawal symptoms. Is 10% too much given her age, frailty, and the

aftereffects of so many different drugs having been tried? Would it

be wiser to reduce by 5% initially?

I am exceedingly grateful to be able to learn from the wisdom and

experience of this group. I am also humbled by the unsurpassed true

care and dedication given by the members of this list. Thank you for

any information offered.

Sincerely, Randi