I've decided that while medication is making my low years easier,
it may also be blocking me from coming out of the low years.
So beginning tonight I reduced my divalproex sodium from 1250 mg
to 1000 mg and am not taking my 10 mg olanzapine. I will repeat
that tomorrow (Friday) night and hope for positive effects at
Saturday's super full moon. I may or may not continue the
reduction into waning moon. If I have negative effects I will
wait a while before resuming the olanzapine since it could be
withdrawal effects, but I probably would resume the olanzapine
before my Ph.D. resumes on Sept. 9 if I don't have positive
effects by then. (Based on my past experiences the most likely
time for me to have psychosis is during waxing moon,
particularly waxing gibbous moon, and full moon is a time of
release for me; also I don't drink 1--9 days before full moon,
but change water to wine at full moon.)
So far today I have been feeling slightly looser but was also
slightly more anxious for a while but that anxiety has faded.
But my ability to concentrate is slightly reduced. I should
note that one other thing I need to do to stay stable, in
addition to not drinking 1--9 days before full moon or
smoking marijuana, is to avoid doing perineum click divination
or if I do do it, to not believe it. I am bipolar and don't
have voices but perineum click divination has led me into
delusion several times in the past.
In article <dalton-5B0B19.03245028082015@news.eternal-september.org>,
David Dalton <dalton@nfld.com> wrote:
I've decided that while medication is making my low years easier,
it may also be blocking me from coming out of the low years.
So beginning tonight I reduced my divalproex sodium from 1250 mg
to 1000 mg and am not taking my 10 mg olanzapine. I will repeat
that tomorrow (Friday) night and hope for positive effects at
Saturday's super full moon. I may or may not continue the
reduction into waning moon. If I have negative effects I will
wait a while before resuming the olanzapine since it could be
withdrawal effects, but I probably would resume the olanzapine
before my Ph.D. resumes on Sept. 9 if I don't have positive
effects by then. (Based on my past experiences the most likely
time for me to have psychosis is during waxing moon,
particularly waxing gibbous moon, and full moon is a time of
release for me; also I don't drink 1--9 days before full moon,
but change water to wine at full moon.)
In the past I have been on just lithium and no olanzapine and
had only minor problems as long as I avoid drinking 1--9 days
before full moon. As a bipolar my main drug is the mood
stabilizer divalproex sodium and olanzapine is just a topup
drug, and I have stopped it in the past without experiencing
significant withdrawal effects. I think SSRIs are worse for
withdrawal effects and I am not on one of those. But if I do
experience significant negative effects I will go back on the
olanzapine right away. So far I had a little insomnia on
trying to get to sleep last night but once I did I got eight
hours of sleep. Also I will meet with my psychiatrist on
Sept. 8. I will report back here on how the next few days go.
But I know from my experience from spring 2003 to early
2005, when I was on just lithium and no olanzapine,
that when I am in the low years my academic performance
is better while I am on olanzapine, so if I don't
come out of the low years in the next little while
I will resume the olanzapine just before the term starts.
(Or even sooner, since I need to study some group
theory and statistics before the term starts.)
From Sunday afternoon to Tuesday evening I will probably be
away from the Internet so don't worry if you don't see any
posts from me then.
Right now I feel quite steady.
So far I'm still pretty steady except my reading concentration
is slightly impaired, so that I have more of a tendency to skip
over material than I would on the olanzapine. So while I will
stay off olanzapine for a few more days, if I don't come out of
the low years into a period of sustained productive creativity
by the time the university term starts on Sept. 9, I will resume
the olanzapine then, or else my academic performance may suffer.
There is no sign of insomnia or anxiety yet, and I've not
been thinking about the four components. But as I have
noted before, I have never had a significant episode begin
during the first half of waning moon.
I'll be away from the Internet from lunchtime Monday to
Wednesday evening, and may or may not check in again
tomorrow (Monday) late morning before I leave.
David Dalton wrote:
So far I'm still pretty steady except my reading concentration
is slightly impaired, so that I have more of a tendency to skip
over material than I would on the olanzapine. So while I will
stay off olanzapine for a few more days, if I don't come out of
the low years into a period of sustained productive creativity
by the time the university term starts on Sept. 9, I will resume
the olanzapine then, or else my academic performance may suffer.
There is no sign of insomnia or anxiety yet, and I've not
been thinking about the four components. But as I have
noted before, I have never had a significant episode begin
during the first half of waning moon.
I'll be away from the Internet from lunchtime Monday to
Wednesday evening, and may or may not check in again
tomorrow (Monday) late morning before I leave.
but are you still looney
So far I'm still pretty steady except my reading concentration
is slightly impaired, so that I have more of a tendency to skip
over material than I would on the olanzapine. So while I will
stay off olanzapine for a few more days, if I don't come out of
the low years into a period of sustained productive creativity
by the time the university term starts on Sept. 9, I will resume
the olanzapine then, or else my academic performance may suffer.
There is no sign of insomnia or anxiety yet, and I've not
been thinking about the four components. But as I have
noted before, I have never had a significant episode begin
during the first half of waning moon.
In article <dalton-C4F64E.00442003092015@news.eternal-september.org>,
David Dalton <dalton@nfld.com> wrote:
In article <dalton-F72524.01235031082015@news.eternal-september.org>,
I'm still reasonably steady and not slipping into delusional
tendencies. But my concentration is still slightly impaired
and I am procrastinating a bit and pacing a bit, and am
slightly anxious/stressed about the upcoming return to
university after almost eleven years away. Also last night
I had some insomnia on trying to get to sleep. So as of
tonight I went back to 1250 mg/night of divalproex sodium.
However I plan to stay off the olanzapine for another few
days but will probably resume it on Monday night and will
meet with my psychiatrist late Tuesday morning and will
report to him on my experiences off olanzapine for a week
and a half. So far I seem to be doing better on just
divalproex sodium (brand names Epival and Depakote) than
I was on just lithium from spring 2003 to early 2005.
But I think my academic performance may still be
improved by the addition of some olanzapine. Also
I haven't (and don't plan to yet, now is not a good
time) gone through any of waxing moon off olanzapine.
I'm still pretty steady but have minor negative effects of
slightly decreased concentration, slight anxiety, and
procrastination. But two close friends whose opinion I respect
said to me last night that these minor negative effects might
be withdrawal effects and might go away if I stay off
olanzapine for another couple of weeks. But if not they might
significantly impair my ability to do the Ph.D. (if I wasn't
doing the Ph.D. I would stay off the olanzapine). So tomorrow
I will test my concentration with some mathematical reading
and if my concentration is indeed significantly impaired I
will resume taking the olanzapine tomorrow night. I will
report back here again tomorrow night and will report to my
psychiatrist late Tuesday morning, and will discuss possible
withdrawal effects with him then.
I'm still pretty steady but have minor negative effects of
slightly decreased concentration, slight anxiety, and
procrastination. But two close friends whose opinion I respect
said to me last night that these minor negative effects might
be withdrawal effects and might go away if I stay off
olanzapine for another couple of weeks. But if not they might
significantly impair my ability to do the Ph.D. (if I wasn't
doing the Ph.D. I would stay off the olanzapine). So tomorrow
I will test my concentration with some mathematical reading
and if my concentration is indeed significantly impaired I
will resume taking the olanzapine tomorrow night. I will
report back here again tomorrow night and will report to my
psychiatrist late Tuesday morning, and will discuss possible
withdrawal effects with him then.
In article <dalton-F72524.01235031082015@news.eternal-september.org>,
I'm still reasonably steady and not slipping into delusional
tendencies. But my concentration is still slightly impaired
and I am procrastinating a bit and pacing a bit, and am
slightly anxious/stressed about the upcoming return to
university after almost eleven years away. Also last night
I had some insomnia on trying to get to sleep. So as of
tonight I went back to 1250 mg/night of divalproex sodium.
However I plan to stay off the olanzapine for another few
days but will probably resume it on Monday night and will
meet with my psychiatrist late Tuesday morning and will
report to him on my experiences off olanzapine for a week
and a half. So far I seem to be doing better on just
divalproex sodium (brand names Epival and Depakote) than
I was on just lithium from spring 2003 to early 2005.
But I think my academic performance may still be
improved by the addition of some olanzapine. Also
I haven't (and don't plan to yet, now is not a good
time) gone through any of waxing moon off olanzapine.
I resumed taking the olanzapine last night and within an hour
it caused drowsiness, plus it made it more difficult to get up
this morning. But my slight anxiety has not gone away
completely yet. I met with my psychiatrist early this
afternoon and he thought it was a good thing that I have gone
back on it since with my history he thinks I need it, and
also negative effects of coming off it might not show up for
a few weeks. Also he basically said he doesn't believe in
withdrawal symptoms, and he said if we do reduce the
olanzapine in the future he would reduce it only by 2.5 mg
at a time. Also we agreed that even minor negative cognitive
effects might adversely affect my Ph.D. studies. But he got
me to make the next appointment for six weeks from today, so
he obviously thinks I am doing OK, or he would have made it sooner.
I think the olanzapine is numbing me a bit though.
Also if the olanzapine is blocking me from coming out of
the low years into a period of sustained productive
creativity (including scientific creativity), I might now
have to wait a few more years before coming out of the low years.
I probably should have suggested that I stay off the
olanzapine on a regular basis but keep a supply on
hand to take if needed, as I used to do with haloperidol.
I guess I will mention that option to my psychiatrist
on October 20.
I resumed taking the olanzapine last night and within an hour
it caused drowsiness, plus it made it more difficult to get up
this morning. But my slight anxiety has not gone away
completely yet. I met with my psychiatrist early this
afternoon and he thought it was a good thing that I have gone
back on it since with my history he thinks I need it, and
also negative effects of coming off it might not show up for
a few weeks. Also he basically said he doesn't believe in
withdrawal symptoms, and he said if we do reduce the
olanzapine in the future he would reduce it only by 2.5 mg
at a time. Also we agreed that even minor negative cognitive
effects might adversely affect my Ph.D. studies. But he got
me to make the next appointment for six weeks from today, so
he obviously thinks I am doing OK, or he would have made it sooner.
I think the olanzapine is numbing me a bit though.
Also if the olanzapine is blocking me from coming out of
the low years into a period of sustained productive
creativity (including scientific creativity), I might now
have to wait a few more years before coming out of the low years.
I probably should have suggested that I stay off the
olanzapine on a regular basis but keep a supply on
hand to take if needed, as I used to do with haloperidol.
I guess I will mention that option to my psychiatrist
on October 20.
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