a new seroquel withdrawal thread

As I know there are many.

Realised recently that I stopped taking Seroquel about a month ago. That explains the week of party bingeing, stimulants and skipping class around then But I think the withdrawal symptoms are fading and I've begun to notice changes I like. I've stopped craving greasy food and though I'm still pretty low-energy during the day, I don't usually sleep more than 8 hours a night. I've always taken an anti-psychotic so I'd become accustomed to asking for deadlines, working only part-time, so its been really nice to wake up more or less ready to use my brain. Also, when I started taking them - risperdal at first - I gained about 10kg that all the yoga, mixed cardio and diet changes in the world haven't helped me shave off. Appetite and a proclivity towards the more....decadent foods have had a hand in that I think.

But seroquel helped with some stress anxiety and of course insomnia, and I will need to address that. I probably already need to address that.

For those of you who managed to cut out anti-psychotics, what has worked for you? What have your pdocs recommended for sleep? (I take lamictal during the day). I'm seeing my first pdoc in over a year - I've been receiving my scripts from a GP - and I want to come prepared with some suggestions.

Also, how long did your withdrawal symptoms last? Can't tell whether I'm over the hump or still in the thick of it.

-- Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:17 pm --

that being said, I've been massively depressed too. But its been a huge improvement than the depression + exhaustion of the last couple years.

tangentially related: any of you feel like depression is the New Normal?

Seroquel seems to give me withdrawal quite literally the day after I take it... I'm supposing that that means that I'm simply not used to it.

...but I really just wanted to reply more on "depression being the new normal." In my experience, bipolar disorder gets worse over time. I was depressed for months, recently... I can't count how many, because the days really just slipped into a mysterious time vortex and I wasn't so organized that I could write them down (nor did I wish to). I was honestly happy when I became hypomanic. Finally. I have two children who are under two years old and 9 months old, both of whom do not have a father in their lives. I would just let them run rampant and lie on the couch... sometimes just falling asleep on the couch.

In fact, my last true manic episode was roughly four years ago. I went inpatient, since I couldn't focus on PHP while the walls were shifting around me. My pulse was completely off of the charts (high). I had actually start doubting that I had Bipolar 1, and that I had Bipolar 11 instead, since I was depressed for so bloody long and no pill in the world could cure it. Ergo, I'm not on any antipsychotics right now. Adderall seemed to help, since my brain was more organized and I've been able to function much better. It didn't spark my hypomania, so this is after the fact.

Cheers to depression... my worst fear.

I started tapering Seroquel 25mg 3 days ago. I also take Ambien so sleep hasn't been too much of an issue. I've tried to get off Seroquel several times and I've failed because of sleep challenges and withdrawal symptoms which get much worse when I get below 12.5mg. I've gained a lot of weight and my blood sugar is high, so it's really important that I get off of it. This morning my thumb was twitching and I think that's a withdrawal symptom. I'm so eager to get off of this one, but I know I shouldn't rush it.

What was your tapering schedule?

I took Seroquel several years ago....I took it for several months and my doctor titration me off within two weeks. After “week one,” he started me on Abilify. I didn’t have withdrawals. Sorry I can’t be more specific as to a tapering schedule. Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks eterea. Last night was day 4 on a reduced dose. I woke up a few times but managed to get back to sleep. I had insane dreams.

I look forward to being off of it for good and being less sedated and possibly losing some of the weight I've gained. I know the weight will take some time and discipline.

littlewing wrote:I started tapering Seroquel 25mg 3 days ago. I also take Ambien so sleep hasn't been too much of an issue. I've tried to get off Seroquel several times and I've failed because of sleep challenges and withdrawal symptoms which get much worse when I get below 12.5mg. I've gained a lot of weight and my blood sugar is high, so it's really important that I get off of it. This morning my thumb was twitching and I think that's a withdrawal symptom. I'm so eager to get off of this one, but I know I shouldn't rush it.

What was your tapering schedule?

I had a very difficult time getting off of Seroquel. Even though I started at 600 the hardest part was to get off of the last 25 mg. I tried several times cutting pills down in an effort to get off and several times had to go back to 25 mg and try again. Eventually I cut down very gradually, eventually even using 1/4 or less of a 25 mg to finally get to zero. The final successful attempt took about 1 month to get from 25 mg to 0.

That sounds about right. I started on 12.5 mg on 12/21 and plan to go to 6.25 mg on 1/4.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I waited until I stabilized at the new dose before reducing it further. If I didn't stabilize I went back to 25 mg and waited until I felt better... then started again. I really had to pay attention to my body to finally get off seroquel completely.

I had these weird upper abdominal pains after I started seroquel. They were agonizing and no one could figure out the cause, but fortunately went away completely after I finally got off it.

The withdrawals were awful... loss of sleep and sweating episodes I remember as the worst. A really weird kind of anxiety too. I felt distinctly out of sorts. It was awhile ago and I don't remember the details, just the fact that getting off seroquel was the hardest drug withdrawal I ever had. Well, I quit smoking cigarettes too. They were about the same in difficulty.