1. < Depression & Anxiety

Getting off of Seroquel

Posted by anniegk @anniegk, Jun 8, 2018

I have been on 300 mgs. Seroquel ER for over a year for augmenting my antidepressant which is 45 mgs. Of Mirtazapine. I decided to try and get off of the Seroquel. I was on 300mgs ER (extended release). I titrated down to 250 mg ER for 2 months without too many problems.than i titrated down to 200mgs ER just 5 days ago. My plan is to try to titrate off using ER tablets. My thinking is that perhaps the drug will remove its self from my system more gradually. I have had some nausea and a couple of episodes of diarrhea. I also have a very irregular heart beat and was started on 60 mgs of Propranolol ER (extended release) 4 weeks ago. It seems to be helping my heartbeat. I have wondered if the nausea and light headness is from the Propranolol, a Beta Blocker, or the dose reduction of the Seroquel. I also wonder if the way iam titrating the Seroquel is safe. My doctor says it will only take a couple of weeks...I think that is too fast of a taper after being on a drug for over a year. What do you think?

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richengle | @richengle | Jun 2, 2023
In reply to @tib85 "Seroquel was a great drug for reg depression, however I’ve tapered down from 150mg to 25..." + (show)
@tib85

Seroquel was a great drug for reg depression, however I’ve tapered down from 150mg to 25 mg now, maybe in about a month I will be off. I tried old turkey, but I got brain zaps and hypnic jerks at night. My doc has me on trazadone now. I haven’t noticed any change in my heart issue though. I was hoping that it would get better. Idiopathic heart failure is my diagnosis. Apparently it may have been caused by a virus or some other factors. It is fairly common in the cardiomyopathy community

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I got brain zaps too. Have you had any luck stopping them..

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richengle | @richengle | Jun 2, 2023
In reply to @tiffanyvillier "Has anyone successfully “gotten off” seroquel? I’ve been taking it for 5 years (100mgXR). I tried..." + (show)
@tiffanyvillier

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!

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I stopped binge eating and being bulimic prior to my symptoms. Do you have any updates for yourself

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richengle | @richengle | Jun 4, 2023
In reply to @mariiland "I have been on quetiapine for 9 years, starting from 200mg and reaching 400 mg. Meanwhile,..." + (show)
@mariiland

I have been on quetiapine for 9 years, starting from 200mg and reaching 400 mg. Meanwhile, I had 3 psychotic breaks, which I had never had before starting the medication. I am trying to reduce the dosage and no doctor where I live in Europe would help me with that. Would someone advise me how to reduce it and if there are some supplements I can take to make the withdrawal symptoms easier? I am tired of taking it, it has change my body, my relationship with my friends and so on. Thank you for any advice!

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what is a psychotic break

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richengle | @richengle | Jun 4, 2023
In reply to @misspenelope "I'm in the same situation as you. I was on 600mg at night (prescribed by a..." + (show)
@misspenelope

I'm in the same situation as you. I was on 600mg at night (prescribed by a psychiatrist who mistook peri menopause, an unhappy marriage and fatigue caused by undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis for bipolar 2). 10 yea rs later, I'm out of the marriage, out the other side of menopause and my inflammation is under control. Problem is the drugs she prescribed have been so hard to shake. I'm now weeks clear of 60mg duloxetine (Cymbalta) after months of weaning down the dose to virtually nothing. Still getting weird spiciness, nausea, emotional sensitivity (which is probably just my personality coming back). Now down to 75mg of seroquel, thanks to a handy pill cutter and will go down to 50mg later this week. I'm learning how to sleep again. without being bombed out of my mind When I dropped from 200 to 100mg sleep was a big issue, so did it on holidays when I was relaxed. I'm trying to do calming things before bed, like reading, and writing down anything that is on my mind well before bed.

I used to get a racing heart, with it beating out of my chest an hour after my night dose of seroquel, which was too high a dose for me. Because it wasn't working (i.e. I was still unhappy in the marriage and still exhausted - the dr kept upping the dose). I sometimes fainted if I had to go to the toilet. I'd also eat the entire fridge and developed a binge eating disorder. I am hoping that being moderate and exercising non obsessively will help shift the weight sustainably.

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i binge alot too. when i stopped, i got brain zaps; but seroquel helps stop them

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mike0121 | @mike0121 | Aug 2, 2023

I’m currently beginning to taper off 600mg XR I’ve been on this dosage for 10+ years. I am very nervous for this whole thing. My doctor has dropped my dose by 150 mg it is only my first day on it and so far my sleeping is very disturbed and I’m experiencing migraines. Nothing major so far, but still extremely nervous. The reason I’m stopping is I’m experiencing some nasty side effects and have been for years that are now possibly killing me. Or at least that’s what all my doctors tell me.

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zesta | @zesta | Sep 2, 2023

My doctor advised me to stop Seroquel. I’ve only been taking 25 mg for the past 10 days. He said it was OK just to go ahead and stop it. I told him that they mean rather nervous. Should I stop taking it totally like you suggested or should I do it every other day for a while? any help would be appreciated!

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1 reply
tinkeringtech | @tinkeringtech | Sep 2, 2023

I'm in dire nead of some type of documentation / instructions on how to successfully taper / titrate / reduce Seroquel / Quetapine in order to completely discontinue this medication all together with minimal side effects and withdrawal symptoms. I'm looking for this as I need to stop this medication for health reasons. I have been on this medication since 2005 and since 2008 at a high dosage of 1200mg up until 2019 where I made it to 400mg after an 8 month failed tapering attempt from 1200mg but had to stop as the side effects and withdrawal symptoms became much worse at lower dosages bellow 500mg and intolerable for me. Since that failed attempt in late 2019 I have been at 800mg daily ever since. This is the single solo psych medication I'm taking since 2019. Although I have tried in the past on many occasions to either reduce my dosage,discontinue or cross-taper to another medication for various reasons I have never been successful. With the last failed taper which was at a 2% reduction although I was initially started at 12% than 6%! Eventually got to 2% tape from a daily 1200mg dosage. Over the last couple of years I have been experience some of the more dangerous potential and possible side effects of this medication. This causing cardiac, nervous system and metabolic related side effects which has put me in the hospital in the past and has been happening more frequently lately which has become scary as hell. The only thing good is that this is the only medication that I take regularly on a daily basis so it's very obvious what is causing me such negative health issues along with make some existing health conditions much worse. I really need off of this medication ASAP. I'm so scared and anxious with just the thought of trying to do this once again because of what it's done to me and put me through pure brutality in the past. I would almost rather be put in a medically induced coma in order to be detoxed off of this medication or at least an IV drip of versed while trying to accomplish what to me has become nearly impossible to do. I do not plan to attempt any changes of this medication on my own but only under the guidance and assistance of hopefully some medical professional that is familar with the process of tapering off of this medication that will minimal negative impact as well as address my concerns and expectations..

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1 reply
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Sep 3, 2023
In reply to @zesta "My doctor advised me to stop Seroquel. I’ve only been taking 25 mg for the past..." + (show)
@zesta

My doctor advised me to stop Seroquel. I’ve only been taking 25 mg for the past 10 days. He said it was OK just to go ahead and stop it. I told him that they mean rather nervous. Should I stop taking it totally like you suggested or should I do it every other day for a while? any help would be appreciated!

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Hi @zesta, I moved your question about stopping Seroquel to this existing discussion:
- Getting off of Seroquel: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/getting-off-of-seroquel/

Tapering slowly is the standard advice - "the medication should be tapered with a planned, incremental lowering of the dosage taken over the course of months." https://www.verywellmind.com/seroquel-withdrawal-5114540

However, in your case, you have taken a low dose (25mg) for only 10 days, if I'm reading your post correctly. Tapering for months will not be applicable in your case :-). Did your doctor say you could start with every other day as you suggested?

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2 replies
zesta | @zesta | Sep 3, 2023
In reply to @colleenyoung "Hi @zesta, I moved your question about stopping Seroquel to this existing discussion: - Getting off..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Hi @zesta, I moved your question about stopping Seroquel to this existing discussion:
- Getting off of Seroquel: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/getting-off-of-seroquel/

Tapering slowly is the standard advice - "the medication should be tapered with a planned, incremental lowering of the dosage taken over the course of months." https://www.verywellmind.com/seroquel-withdrawal-5114540

However, in your case, you have taken a low dose (25mg) for only 10 days, if I'm reading your post correctly. Tapering for months will not be applicable in your case :-). Did your doctor say you could start with every other day as you suggested?

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My Doctor said since I just took it for 10 days at 25 mg. I should just stop it.
Thank you for your response!

REPLY
zesta | @zesta | Sep 3, 2023
In reply to @colleenyoung "Hi @zesta, I moved your question about stopping Seroquel to this existing discussion: - Getting off..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Hi @zesta, I moved your question about stopping Seroquel to this existing discussion:
- Getting off of Seroquel: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/getting-off-of-seroquel/

Tapering slowly is the standard advice - "the medication should be tapered with a planned, incremental lowering of the dosage taken over the course of months." https://www.verywellmind.com/seroquel-withdrawal-5114540

However, in your case, you have taken a low dose (25mg) for only 10 days, if I'm reading your post correctly. Tapering for months will not be applicable in your case :-). Did your doctor say you could start with every other day as you suggested?

Jump to this post

I’ve stopped it for three days and the only side effect I’ve had is not to my surprise is insomnia.

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