Getting off of Seroquel

Hi, @wickedbillie - I'm not sure if I've had a panic attack before - just had symptoms of pretty intense anxiety, like chest tightening and wondering if I was having a heart problem, and not wanting to eat much.

What symptoms did you experience in your massive panic attack? How did you manage it?

I'm struggling with weaning off and my doctor isn't available until March, do I continue weaning off and wait for him to return? Not sure what to do, any advice would be appreciated.
I was on 300mg Dopaquel (Seroquel) and went to 225mg then 150mg in about 3 weeks, I am supposed to go down to 75mg then 37.5mg, but at the moment my anxiety is acting up, I'm irritable, and as far as withdrawal symptoms go this should be good news but of course the anxiety doesn't help. I have anxiety and depression but dopaquel was mostly to help me sleep at night. I am on other things for the anxiety and depression, but I wonder if I should be reducing one of those as well, maybe the balance is off because I reduced the one and not the other?
I don't know, hence my needing to ask for help.
I've been on it for about two years but I wanted to see if I could sleep without it, because I am terribly useless during the day, and I'm pretty sure it's the dopaquel. Didn't matter if I took at 11pm or 8pm, I would still end up struggling to function the next day. I feel more energetic during on the lower dose, but the anxiety and irritability...
My sleep seems to be fine on the lower dosage of 150mg at the moment, but should I be worried about the anxiety? Or do I wait and see if I get through with the next tapering down (to 75mg)? Or do I stay at 150mg, see if it levels out, until my doctor returns? I just don't want to end up having a massive panic attack while my doctor is away. Any advice would be enormously appreciated...

I think the irritability is normal. I had manic psychosis after discontinuing Seroquel but not irritability. My advice (I'm not a doctor) would be to cease titration until you can consult with your doctor. If you can "handle" the irritability, then perhaps continue the titration. It's possible the sleep loss and daytime fatigue of the Quetiapine is causing the mood instability.

The irritability is affecting those around me, which I am sure is frustrating, but the anxiety is more worrying to me. It's mostly before I sleep, sometimes during the day, but mostly after pills while I'm waiting to fall asleep. So I'm wondering if the balance is off, as I'm down to half on one, not the other. I'm not a doctor either so I have no idea. I just don't want to have a massive panic attack to find out.
I have an appointment for the 10th (a while away).
I know it could be worse, I tried cold turkey in the past, which was a mistake. But, I don't have those physical symptoms at least, just mental symptoms this time, it seems.
Maybe you're right, wait for my doctor before I go further. Maybe 300mg to 150mg in 3 weeks is still too fast.. How long did it take you to wean off (if you don't mind me asking)? Or maybe I should be asking how long it should take so I know if the anxiety is from doing it too fast...

Hi, I think conventional wisdom is to titrate off one med at a time and allow your brain and body to stabilize before moving onto other titrations. Usually withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, etc. become unmanageable if the titration is too fast, and too high. If you've found a titration dose that is manageable, then stay "there" awhile. It's even o.k. to back up a little to a smaller, higher dose, stabilize, and then proceed on with very small, incremental titrations. When I started titrating various meds - I just wanted off all of them as fast as possible and that was a mistake. Here is a link with a lot of information about titration. The "brassmonkey" method is a little involved for me right now. (I'm still a little muddled from lack of sleep.) but the general rules are excellent. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/17671-the-brassmonkey-slide-method-of-micro-tapering/?tab=comments#comment-347786 - best of luck hang in there - it does get better. I slept last night - yay - I took 25 mg of organic, high-absorbancy magnesium, drank 2 cups of Sleepytime herbal tea, and took my .25 mg (1/2 of .5) of lorazepam. (I've already titrated off lamotrigine, lexapro, seroquel and am now down to .25 lorazepam and less than 5 mg trintellix.) I'm currently looking into using tart cherry concentrate as a natural "melatonin." Will post with the results if they prove encouraging.

Thank you! I was worried going back on a higher dose was some sort of failure, but you're right, rather safe than sorry... It is encouraging to hear that you have come as far as you have. It doesn't help that anxiety makes it difficult to think straight, panic mode can easily send me back to my original dose. I'm supposed to go from 150mg to 75mg tonight but I think by your logic, wait until the 150mg levels out before going further, would be the best thing to do while my doctor is unavailable.
I also started weaning off wanting to come off all as fast as possible, so holding back on going down further, or going back on the previous increment, is also a frustrating thought. But I want to get it right, so I'll hold off on reducing further (for now) and try and remind myself that this is temporary. And hopefully it will level out, and only after that, l think about reducing further...

With my doctor, I went from 750 to 0 over the course of about 8 weeks. We went down by 200 each week then used a week per 25 grams the last 100 grams. I had horrible depression about a half hour after taking Seroquel towards the end which was why I went off it in the first place. I'm not sure if you are experiencing that, but it definitely hit me negatively after taking it.

Thanks so much for sharing! I had physical withdrawal symptoms last night, instead of intense anxiety. It's so unpredictable, and a lot more stressful than I anticipated.
Yes, depression was a factor. I did develop severe depression like symptoms. All were also listed side effects and it was mostly in the morning. The Dopaquel was for sleep, it was the only thing that seemed to work (my doctor preferred a sedative effect rather than continuing heavy sleeping pills).
But, I've made many positive changes in my life since burning out. A lot of situational reasons for suffering are gone, I have tools to help cope and a level of support that I didn't have before. So, I'm hoping I don't need this for sleep anymore (only change there: went from 10 to 7 hours sleep since reducing).
My anxiety isn't terrible today, so it's easier to remind myself that will be worth it in the end. But, hearing others share helps a great deal too. So again, thank you!

Glad to hear the anxiety is tapering off. I had physical symptoms too, but they passed pretty quickly and my doctor told me they would be out quickly. My evening depressions were actually pointing to a real problem I was having, but the affected thought process was depressive in nature and I was able to cure that by leaving the Seroquel. I wish doctors didn't use Seroquel as a sleep aid as it gives increased appetite which, together with its sedating and emotional blunting qualities, can lead to depression in my opinion. There are lots of other anti-psychotics out there, each with its own flavor. Seroquel is no longer the only option. The problem is that most people don't want to go through a taste buffet of anti-psychotics. I tried 5 different ones in the space of a year, in addition to two different anti-depressants but had time off from work and was able to really analyze how each one made me feel, as well as able to begin to identify when I was being affected by the meds in a negative way. I was also blessed by a good doctor who took everything seriously. My conclusion, after all this, is that the delicate system of the brain is impossible to play with without adverse reactions, but each person has to find one that works best. I can tell you that my current medicine, Latuda, has no side effects at all anymore. I feel so normal that half the time I think I can go off medicine completely, which is a lie. It's from 2010 and is pretty expensive but luckily I live in a place with universal healthcare.

@luculucier with my panic attacked they come on all of a sudden. My heart rates go above 150 BPM, I start sweating can’t sit still and I feel like I am going to have a heart attack, I also feel like I can’t breath properly and my concentration is shot. I also get panic attacks worrying about the possibility of having a panic attack. People who know me well also tell me that my face changes and they know I am having an attack. Even after 4 years of them, I am still scared out of my life. But I know they are in my mind and try CBT, Xanax and beta blockers and they all seem to help. And I pace, I walk around my yard fora ages. The doctor said it is a panic disorder. Which sounds right and now I get them (for the last few nights) prior to going to bed, as I know I will not sleep. I think I’m down to 3 hours a night. But I know I have to do this in order to get off this stuff which I was given to help me sleep and bipolar affective disorder. @lucylucier - what do you do to help yours?