Getting off of Seroquel

Hi I was put on 800 mg of quetiapine 7 years ago. Over the years I slowly got it down to 150mg. I thought things were going great so I lowered it to 100 then 50mg . I had no side affects.....then bam it's like I've hit a brick wall, feel horrendous, dizzy, depressed, very anxious and agitated 😥. I feel I need to put them back up sadly. But so want off this meds! Anyone else having a nightmare reducing ? Tia

I've been on 100 mg for 4 years. Although it has worked well as a mood-stabilizer and kept me off drugs and alcohol, I hated the morning brain fog. I tried to taper off too quickly and had horrible side effects - deep depression, head-aches, total loss of energy and of course insomnia. I am now back up to 50 mg after going from 100 to 50 to 25 to zero in a week. I feel I have to go much slower this time. I'll prob do 50 / 25 every other night for a month, then 25 every night for a month, then 25 / zero every night for another month so we are talking very very slow. It was no problem going from 100 to 50 at all. That's why I guess I kept going so rapidly. There's something that happens when you get to those lower doses like it's almost more intense of an effect. I hope that helps! A

Hello everyone.
@lisalucier
I have been on 25mg quentiapine for about a month or so. I took around 40 pills in that time. I realized it's just pure shi*t so I stopped taking it. It was hard the first week, but than all withdrawall symptoms went away. My question is can I have some long term side effects because taking it for 1 month.

@freddymercury The only adverse effects I am aware of were deep cataracts in less than a year. I cannot prove this is what caused them, but my eye doctor of many years had seen it before in patients with eyes that were healthy. Scary.

I was on Seroquel for 3 years and then went on to Olanzapine. I titrated for many months, but the withdrawal symptoms seemed to be endless. I have been off of them both for 3 months now and I am still wondering if some of my symptoms are related to the withdrawal. I researched theses drugs and not only are they dangerous, they can impact your chemistry for life. Very bad drugs.

Hi @anniegk

I reduced from 400mg Seroquel (Slow release one) not so long ago. I was on 300mg in the morning and 100mg at night. My actual plan was to be off all medication by Christmas, but unfortunately there have been a few bends on the road. My GP and Psychiatrist weren't that happy with the idea, but I convinced them that I was able to do it. To make a long story short, I went from the 300mg in the morning right down to 100mg and 100mg at night. Yes, there are withdrawal symptoms as I was apprehensive, had a little agitation and some sweating during the day. I'm also on Mirtazapine (30mg at night) and wanted that reduced too but to no avail. They simply wouldn't allow me to stop it because of my suicidal ideation in the past and my long history of severe depression.

I'm so glad you mentioned Propranolol because I am on 40mg morning and night. The only thing I can say is that it can cause a very dry mouth, but I'm willing to put up with that because my palpatations, sweating and shaking in stressful situations ease off after I take it.

As for your Doctor, he can tell you this and that, but it's you going through the tapering so you and your body will know best. I really hope you manage to taper off without all the unpleasant symptoms that some people experience. As a person who's been on Seroquel for seven years I do know a little about it and everyone reacts differently to reducing medication doses,

Ed

This is a low dose. I've been on it for a few months. Is it safe to quit taking it cold turkey? It's for insomnia and depression. I take it alongside 30 mg Lexapro and 100 mg trazodone.

Hello @highserotonin30,

Welcome to Connect. I moved your message and combined it with this existing discussion as I thought it would be beneficial for you to meet others and read about their experiences while weaning off Seroquel.
If you click on VIEW & REPLY in your email notification, you will see the whole discussion and can join in, meet, and participate with other members talking about their or their loved ones' experiences.

When you withdraw from any medication, there are important factors that will influence your withdrawal. it is highly recommended to do a gradual taper with the help of a physician to allow your body and brain to slowly adjust to changes. https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/quetiapine-oral-route/description/drg-20066912

I’m tagging @derryman @whereveryougothereyouare @majic @ronlin1948 @jancer2017 @ginak523 who’ve also shared their experiences about Seroquel in these discussion:
– Seroquel for anxiety, social anxiety & PTSD https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/seroquel-for-anxiety-ptsd/
– anything about being on SEROQUEL? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/seraquel/

May I ask if you could share your reasons for wanting to quit, @highserotonin30?

Thanks for the help. I want to stop taking it because I've gained almost 90 lbs since I've started my treatment. It seems to me that at this point, the negative health consequences far outweigh any antidepressive qualities the Seroquel has had on me. I'm still depressed and very anxious. The only exception is that now I also have about 80 extra pounds to show for it. I'll make sure to check out those other discussions.

Hi, @highserotonin30 - I wanted to add my welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I experienced weight gain from taking citalopram (Celexa) about 8+ years ago, and that was very frustrating. I would say that for me, the weight came off semi-easily after I was tapered off of it.

I'd also like to invite @pharis022 @parus @freddymercury @maclodge to offer any insights they may have related to tapering off of quetiapine (Seroquel) and also weight gain with this medication vs. its antidepressive qualities. @jakedduck1 @johnbishop may also have some thoughts to share.

Since you mentioned you are still depressed and very anxious, what does your doctor plan for your treatment after this taper is done, @highserotonin30?