Getting off of Seroquel

I do not know where I would be today without Pete, I got him off Facebook as a recue dog several years ago. Pete is my family along with a few racoons, birds and other wild life that show up sometimes in the back yard. Time to start Landry and dinner for Pete and I. Maybe in the morning it will be a good day . I have along list of things I can do here at home with simple things like house keeping. Lets get ready for day 11 and keep taking one day at a time. Take care

I forgot to say confusion has been up and down. I can walk across the house and forget what I was doing from time to time right now.

Day 11: Last night was a good night. It felt really natural going to bed. I was tired but not exhausted. When I got in bed I focused on how good it felt. Comfy, warm. Basically positive thoughts. I was out in minutes. I woke up to my alarm at 6:00am. Hit snooze twice and out of bed at 6:20am. This is about as normal of a morning as I can ask for. My headache has not come back as strong as yesterday. I think its mainly gone except for a small tingle maybe. This could be anything though I suppose. I'd rate last night a solid 8.5/10.

@rew4946 I can't believe the snow in Texas. Looks like we have the same amount of snow. Glad you and Pete are making the best of a cold situation. Looks like Pete is enjoying himself. I also have a dog. Sadie. Shes a chocolate lab. We got her when she was 6 weeks old and she will be turning 14 years old in May. For the most part she is in good health (for her age). We haven't been out walking during our cold snap. Mainly because she has developed a type of Lupus that affects her nose. Its commonly called Collie nose. When we go out during cold, cold weather it cracks and bleeds. Anyway we have gone out the last 2 days as its been warming up. We've walked together every night since she was just a couple months old. We have a 4 mile route we take. Can't tell you how many thousands of miles we've walked together.

Confusion: For me the worst was when I was taking Seroquel. Literally forgetting blocks of time not just details. I'm scatter brained at the best of times so walking from one end of the house to the other forgetting what I there for isn't anything new but at least its not a chunk of time. Silly question but do you feel that your confusion has gotten worse since coming off Seroquel or do you think your now more aware of the fact that you forgot what you were supposed to do?

@ireneb Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place to give and get support.

Weaning off a drug like Seroquel has to be extremely difficult. May I ask how long you have been weaning off the medication?

U T Health i was paying cash for my visits cut me off around November 2019? I did not have enough money to pay for blood work and some other test he wanted. I had been on Seroquel 300mg and functioned so good for a long time. I even went back to work being hired almost everywhere I applied. Never enough money to cover insurance and copays and stuff they did not cover. My Prescriptions included four blood pressure meds for really high blood pressure over 195 sometimes. Still way high for years. Anyway they stopped renewing my prescriptions and never returned my calls asking I need the Seroquel. This is the healthcare that told me I can never stop taking Seroquel... Ever., I was able to get #60 300mg pills from Walmart on was left in November 2019. They never even wanted to see the paper work from the a Texas Mental state hospital I spent 4 weeks at or the doctors I had seen over 30 years and all kinds of prescriptions I took until I found Seroquel one pill. Bipolar. Anyway back to what is going on. The 60 300mg Seroquel pills I started cutting in half for a few weeks, Then cutting them in 4 for a month, cutting into 8 for a few months down to almost 16 small pieces using one to fall a sleep each night. I chewed the little piece up and slept one or 2 hours per night for a long time. Two weeks ago I decided to stop Seroquel 100% knowing i would be awake for a few days. Anger issues are still here but getting better some days and some days not so good. I am on day 12 I think as memory is no so good either right now. The best thing is my blood pressure is around 120/69 average. go figure... no blood pressure meds for the past year. I did walk quite a bit and love working in the hot sun so much in the yard or cars. I love to sweat all day and feel great at night. I can go on and on but quick answer is 12 months or so but only 12 days 100% off it. Two days ago I had a really bad day and I stayed inside and talked to no one. Mania is bad coming off this stuff for sure. I get up each day at 5 am and plan what needs to be done here today, mop, yard, car, dog simple things to keep my mind working rather sit and watch TV and self destruct in my mind. I am going to keep trying one day at a time. Beautiful day and I got to get out of this house and enjoy life once again...

Day 13. Sorry for missing day 12. I got side tracked replacing my dishwasher.

So day 12 was fine. Went to bed and fell asleep quite fast. I was a little wound up as my dishwasher died...Actually no, it started popping and smoking from the door. It would have been better if it just died. Yesterday was different again. I spent pretty much all day buying a new dishwasher, installing it and hauling the old one away. I was very busy all day but didn't sleep great. Tossed and turned all night. Not entirely sure why this normally happens on Saturday nights.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Early morning and ready for another 75 degree day outside now here in East Texas now that the snow and ice is gone. I have had to take a aspirin here and there due to head aches but still pretty minor. Good sleep is happening now after so long of needing Seroquel to sleep. Anxiety has becoming easier to deal with during the day. I have all but forgot my days fully off Seroquel now but over two weeks. Confusion is horrible but better. Staying busy doing anything and sticking with it even if is takes me all day. Seem to be finishing so many things I never finished in the week. Being focused on anything has always been my weak point. One day at a time, or one minute at a time......

Day 14/15. Things are going well. I'm sleeping well and feel good. For the most part I don't have a headache anymore. Not that I was totally sure this was a withdrawl thing or just a headache.

A couple of things to note. Many of you have mentioned hunger. I didn't actually think I experienced this up until a handful of days ago. I haven't thought much about it but around the same time that I started taking Seroquel I also changed my lunch diet to mainly fruits, veggies and granola. Anyway I have routinely been very hungry in the evenings and especially the mornings which isn't the norm as I wasn't typically a breakfast eater. I had chalked up the cravings and hunger to not eating heavy foods as lunch. At the end of last week (and I didn't notice until this week) I started forgetting to eat in the morning. Normally I have a banana or 2 once I get to work because I'm so hungry. This morning I realized I haven't been eating much in the mornings because I'm not hungry. Food for though (pun intended! 🙂

I think the ringing in my ears is subsiding finally. Or I'm just getting used to it, but I think its going away.

All and all, I'm getting very comfortable/confident going to bed now. When I'm tired I go to bed without really thinking or worrying that I'm not going to sleep. Focus on how good it feels, do a couple breathing count downs and its usually lights out. I do find more times than not, I'm waking up quicker than "normal". I think its because I'm usually unsure if my alarm has already gone off and I'm already late so by the time I wake up enough to look at the clock I'm mostly ready to get up.

@rew4946 I hope your doing well. Also hope the weather has warmed up some for you guys.

Looks like we were posting at the same time. We appear to be having the same amount of sleep success. Sorry to hear your still feeling confused at times. Maybe now is a good time to work on one thing at a time. Have you tried any guided meditations? I'm very novice at this but I did find it helpful when I needed it most. I used to end my day in the basement, away from my wife, kids and dog. Sit in a comfortable spot, usually on the floor against a wall. I'd set a timer for 10 minutes. I did this because if I didn't I'd find myself wondering how long I have been sitting there and it would become distracting. This way I know my timer will let me know when the 10 minutes is up. Anyway I've found some good short meditation videos on youtube. I've also sat in silence also. I feel like it was helpful to get my stress levels down and just focus on relaxing. Some people do this for extended periods of time. I just liked doing it for 10 minutes.

l was hoping someone could help me please. l am on 250mg of Seroquel a night and my GP has started saying AGAIN what a high dose l am on yet he was the one who sent me to a Psychiatrist to get diagnosed bipolar and anxiety and PTSD and l do have a heart issue. l am feeling really well mentally for the first time in a very long time and was wondering lowering down by 25mg to start with is that a lot to lower down straight away. l know l will be on meds for life but l think l can lower them slowly down and back to 125mg l was on before l had my nervous breakdown which was really shocking and sadly most of my family have disowned me as l was manic and do not remember much and yes l have tried to say sorry to my family but they will not listen so l have moved on from that part. So is lowering it down to 225mg tonight a bad way of lowering my tablets.