I feel a ton better- and I almost wish I didn't

Feeling so much better on my 5mg of Zyprexa. If I didn't, the choice would be obvious, get off of the stuff. Now I don't know what I am going to do. Perhaps put my "quitting" efforts on hold until after November, when I take my exam. Which is really what makes the most sense.

Is it possible to get off of Zyprexa after 12 years? Or does it change your brain so much during that time that you need it to function normally? Or, am I one of those few people for whom maintenance use of Zyprexa might actually be a good thing? For whom the benefits might outweigh the harm?

I don't see my psychiatrist until May. And I won't even have the time to discuss these matters with him, as I have something else I need to discuss, and a form I need to get filled out. The idea that we can see a psychiatrist for 15-30 minutes every couple of months- where did that come from? Medication is much too complicated for that. These types of visits encourage the use of maintenance medication- just keep taking what you are taking for the next 3 months until your next appointment, and then, there really isn't time to make major changes. If you stop taking a medication before your next appointment, many doctors will consider you non-compliant. But maybe you didn't have to take it that long.

My psychiatrist would see me as often as I want. But I pay privately out of pocket, and for what I pay him, I'm not going to see him too often. He is a very good psychiatrist- plus, very respectful of patient autonomy. But, he is very much a psychopharmacologist, very pro-drug. He doesn't like using Zyprexa because of the weight gain, but otherwise he is pretty quick to prescribe the antipsychotics.