Getting off of Seroquel

Hi, @debbie73 and @sobryan520. Glad you've connected about your experiences tapering off quetiapine (Seroquel).

debbie73 - having almost like hallucinations, confusion and disorientation along with severe weight gain sound very bothersome. When you taper off of this medication, what does your doctor want to use next to treat the insomnia?

sobryan520 - have you already started your taper? If so, how is it going?

Yes I'm down to 1/4 tablet at bedtime ( down from,100 mg)
I have a week of that but before my week is up I'm to call
My Dr and see what we think we need to do next she uped my Mirtazapine from
22.5 mg to 30 if I need to go higher she will let me

Hi, my first time here. I went from Seroquel 400 XR to Seroquel 350 XR and 25 immediate. Just small amt of anxiety on 1st day. Today I have very severe symptoms. After waking up after 8.5 hours I immediately went back to sleep for 2 hours. I have had really, really strong brain fog for most of the day. Even talking on the phone seems impossible. This does not seem at all normal. I went down 25mg out of 400 of a sedating med and am totally sedated.

Over the last 2 years my memory has been getting incredibly bad. Lately I made a financial decision and I have absolutely no memory of it. Luckily it wasn't harmful. I have had an MRI & EEG. I am wondering if my strong reaction provides a clue as to my increasingly bad memory.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Hello, @ellensf - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. That is very difficult to have severe symptoms with tapering down on your quetiapine (Seroquel) with some anxiety, difficulty talking on the phone and brain fog.

Here is some Mayo Clinic information on the medication you mentioned https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/quetiapine-oral-route/description/drg-20066912. The Precautions section might be particularly helpful https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/quetiapine-oral-route/side-effects/drg-20066912?p=1

Are you feeling that your use of the quetiapine (Seroquel) is related to the memory problems you describe, or is this a separate issue?

Although I have been on Seroquel 400 XR for many years, my memory started to get really bad over the last 2 years. I don't think Seroquel caused this level of memory loss, but there is a good chance it is contributing to it. Normally I need 8 - 9 hours of sleep. After going down on Seroquel by 25mg for 4 days I needed 12+ hours of sleep. When I wake up I take 400 mg of Provigil and am ok for several hours. 2 days ago I only got 9 hours of sleep and 400 mg of Provigil did nothing. Last night I got less sleep and am not tired, but I have Bipolar Disorder and i get a very mild type of hypomania where I don't get enough sleep and am not tired for several days in a row. Over the next week I'll see if reducing by 25 is still causing such severe sedation.

Hi, @ellensf - that must be really hard seeing your memory get bad. I'd like to invite other members who've talked about tapering off quetiapine (Seroquel) here to share about their experiences and provide some support for you. Please meet @sobryan520 @cameo009 @jakedduck1 @lla2019 @brucerwilson. They may have some input regarding the severe sedation, brain fog and memory loss with use of this medication and now coming off of it.

Since you mentioned a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, I also thought you might be interested in this Connect discussion on that topic https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/bi-polar-issues.

Has your doctor weighed in on these symptoms you are experiencing, @ellensf?

Hi, I have some questions for you. Could you give me more details. "I've been on 200 mg Seroquel at HS, tapered down to 75, sometimes only 50. Then 25 then 12.5. It took me almost a year"

How long were you on each dose ? You did mention being on 12.5 for 3 weeks. When you went from 200 to 75 did you make that jump all at once ? Or did you have interim doses ? Sounds like after that you only went down by a little ? 75 to 50, 50 to 25, 25 to 12.5. How long were you on each dose ? I take Seroquel for anxiety. I have found that when I take extended release at night it controls my anxiety the next day without feeling tired. I often have to take Ativan in addition to fall asleep.

When I went from Seroquel 400 XR to Seroquel 350 XR and 25 regular I needed a lot more sleep. That is the weird thing that I am trying to figure out.

However I did develop a similar repeated thought problem that you did. However I have had this problem in the past. Doctors have said it was repetitive thinking -- some say that it is a type of OCD and some don't. I only do it when I'm alone. I don't say it out loud. I just pace around my apartment -- usually for an hour or more.

Since OCD is an anxiety disorder, for me I guess reducing seroquel has increased my anxiety.

Again even stranger -- reducing dose increases my sleep, but ups my anxiety.

There is another wrinkle however. To lessen how tired I am (even after 12 hours of sleep) I often take Provigil. It sometimes makes me hyper -- perhaps it is also making me more anxious.

I've been on seroquel now for over 5 years. At the time I was hospitalized for depression. Over the last few years I've been coming down off it gradually. I am now on 25 milligrams which is the lowest dose available in my country. Over the last few days I've been trying to com off it completely by skipping my dose every second night. Unfortunately when I stop taking the medication I find it nearly impossible to sleep. I'm not really sure what to do, I don't want to stay on medication forever . The tablet is too small to cut in half.

Hi, @seanf - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I realize from what others have said here that tapering off of quetiapine (Seroquel) is quite a project.

Members like @ellensf @sobryan520 @cameo009 @lla2019 may have some input on how the end of their tapers were handled. @jakedduck1 also may have some thoughts. I'd also suggest asking your doctor or a pharmacist for suggestions of how to get from 25 mg to zero.

How has the taper gone for you thus far? Any side effects?

My Doctors' nurse just told me that because Im on a low dose of Seroquel I could taper off of it within a week. ( I have been taking 100mg.for 2 years for anxiety and insomnia due to anxiety.... ) From what I'm reading, it seems that this is too fast. I started 75 mg. 2 nights ago...I have a slight headache today, and she told me I could go down to 50mg. And then in a couple days down to 25mg. And then a couple days later to zero. Does this sound correct? Can anyone help me with this? I want to be off of it so bad that I am ready to move off fast. I don't take any other meds at all. Now after reading comments and replies I am not sure what to do.