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Has anyone successfully “gotten off” seroquel?
I’ve been taking it for 5 years (100mgXR). I tried my own slow taper, cutting down by 25mg every 3 weeks. Once off, I ended up in psychiatric care for 2 weeks, and put right back on it. I also got a new diagnosis of “Schizophrenic” as a result of the stay.
I’m going to see my Psychiatrist in November and I’m going to ask about a supervised-taper of sorts.
The effects I don’t want to deal with anymore:
-Dead libido
-Yawning/Tremors from waking until around 6 hours later
-General feeling of malaise
Is it possible to be completely free of mood stabilizers? Or, are there any proven medications that don’t come with typical side-effects?
Some background:
My first manic episode was at 31 years of age. I was diagnosed as manic bipolar after being mostly awake for 6 days straight. (I would nod off and not realize I had gone to sleep.) I also quit drinking heavily, cold-turkey, 2 weeks prior.
Thanks for any input!
Replies to "Has anyone successfully “gotten off” seroquel? I’ve been taking it for 5 years (100mgXR). I tried..."
Hi I was on a small 2.5mg lexapro a day antidepressant for depression and Lamotrigine 200mg for mood swings and bipolar.That was perfect for years even with some alcohol.I told them I was a bit flat at night and looked to alcohol for an upper so they put me on Seroquel and I don’t like it ,I wake at 1am ? Or 4 am then if I ever have a few beers with this stuff I choke at night and keep waking.Then I tried to chuck it away but then gets worse I can’t sleep at all for days ,anyway I’m taping off gradually with my doctor now and it’s going good.
Hello I am new to Mayo Clinic and new to medicine. I was put on Seroquel and remeron for sleep and depression. I wouldn't sleep for days on end and have to eventually crash out. I ended up in a psychiatrist setting and they put me on medicine about 2 weeks ago. The strong side effects are worse than not sleeping. Constantly brain fog and feeling weird.
So how did you get diagnosed with Schizophrenia ???? Was it from no sleep or was it from getting off the medicine??? I am asking because I was put on 50mg and 2 weeks later my doctor put me at 25mg.
I’m currently tapering off seroquel and experiencing rebound mania, but I feel like a new woman! I wanted to reply to this post because, YES, it absolutely can be possible to be free from mood stabilizers. In 2015 I went through a 5 day medically supervised alcohol withdrawal program. Tried AA for a while but what really changed my life was a local WRAP class. Mary Ellen Copeland was taking lithium in the 80s for her bipolar, developed toxicity to it and had to figure out to manage her life without medication. She ended up developing the Wellness Recovery Action Plan program. I took the class 5 times then trained to be a facilitator for it. Anyway more recently I have found that Keto diet really helped stabilize my moods. Best wishes!
I stopped binge eating and being bulimic prior to my symptoms. Do you have any updates for yourself
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Hello, @tiffanyvillier - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.
As you mentioned a diagnosis of manic bipolar and also schizophrenia, I'd also like to introduce you to @liz223 @amberpep @gailb @gummal @parus @hoffman who have either mentioned schizophrenia or bipolar and may have some thoughts for you about successfully getting off quetiapine (Seroquel), your experience tapering where you ended up in psychiatric care, the side effects you don't want to deal with anymore, and your proposed supervised taper.
@tiffanyvillier - have you tried other medications previously for your diagnoses? If so, what were they, and how did they work for you?