Seroquel withdrawal or rebound anxiety?

Posted by EK326 @emkaf, Apr 26, 2023

I am 28 year old female with generalized anxiety and moderate depression. After some mixed issues with SSRI treatment, my doctor put me on Seroquel as an off-label usage for anxiety. We had gotten up to 150mg, but I still wasn't feeling that great and have never been very comfortable with the idea of being on seroquel for my specific issues. Over the past few months, I've tapered down from 150 to 0 (I've also been going up on Viibryd which is a newer SSRI).

Since I fully dropped off the seroquel 4 weeks ago, I've been struggling a lot with very physical symptoms. My body feels like it is buzzing, vibrating, electric. My heart is pounding very strong throughout my body (though my heart rate is normal). This week, I started having really really bad physical anxiety and sheer panic attacks in a way that I have never had before.

I feel like these symptoms are withdrawal from the seroquel, though I am surprised they have lasted this long and that there isn't a specific pattern of improvement (some days are okay, some days are worse, etc). My psych things I'm having rebound anxiety, but what's weird is this is NOT how anxiety used to feel to me before I started seroquel. This is a new set of symptoms and issues, so it's hard for me to believe that.

Has anyone had experience coming off seroquel for anxiety? How long did your withdrawal last?

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Your poor thing! I feel for you. I had almost the exact same symptoms after coming off a three month treatment on Klonopin. My guess is it is withdrawal. For me it took nearly a while two months and I still don’t feel completely normal. All of those drugs are quite horrible to get off of. If at all possible try to go the natural route with meditation and exercise. There are some great meditation on You tube and a free app called Insight Timer. Good luck to you. You have your whole life ahead of you so stay strong.

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I’m on 150 mg of. Seroquel at bedtime and 50mg in the morning and I don’t know what thir doing because I still feel awful.
They put me on klonopin as well. Klonopin has severe withdrawal symptoms that could take up to a year to gradually taper off. It should be taken off the market. It’s awful to get off of. Benzodiazepines are something to stay off of unless you feel they will save your life.

I speak from experience. I recently was admitted to a hospital for 10 days on an unrelated issue but my med list I gave to the triage nurse got lost so they used a 3 year old list from their computer. I wasn’t on klonopin then so they wouldn’t give it to me. It was hellish. I resumed klonopin once I got home and within an hour my symptoms stopped.

Same with Seroquel. I would go nuts without it. Too many dangerous medications out there.

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@cinrose

Your poor thing! I feel for you. I had almost the exact same symptoms after coming off a three month treatment on Klonopin. My guess is it is withdrawal. For me it took nearly a while two months and I still don’t feel completely normal. All of those drugs are quite horrible to get off of. If at all possible try to go the natural route with meditation and exercise. There are some great meditation on You tube and a free app called Insight Timer. Good luck to you. You have your whole life ahead of you so stay strong.

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Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I've been so tempted to just go back on because I feel so horrible, and am not sleeping but I really want to be free of this medicine and try to live a more natural life. I was so proud to get all the way down and I don't want to lose that progress.

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Oh my gosh, I went through the same thing but I am 69 years old and had the support of my husband. I didn’t sleep well for nearly 9 months and that is why I started the drugs. Life is so much better without them and eventually you will get much happier and less depressed I think. It takes quite a bit of time though so you just have to “power through”. Every day will get just a tiny bit better and it will be so worth it in the long run. The things that helped me get through were fresh air and sunshine, exercise, meditation, and several sessions with a psychologist that did not push drugs. And I also quit caffeine for a few months when I was recovering. I wish you all the luck in the world. It is harder than I think most people know, even after a few months on drugs. If you google seraquil you will see that as well.❤️

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New subject that I don’t know what category it should fall under.

6 months ago my drs suspected that my lower abdomen was bleeding due to my Lavenox injections for my blood thinner as my Coumadin didn’t lower my blood levels. As a result I had to inject myself in the abdomen with a chemical that is supposed to thicken my blood. All because I had open heart surgery to replace an aortic heart valve.

If it’s too thin I could bleed out or if it’s too thick I can have a heart attack or stroke or blood clot anywhere. I spent almost 20 days inpatient at a trauma hospital because my entire belly was bleeding inside.
It took 20 days to finally clear me for discharge as my issue has stabilized.
While I lay in bed for 20 days I lost the ability to walk so I spent 10 days in rehab. Now I can walk again.

My main anger factor right now is that while I was in the hospital my weight went from 212 lbs to 186 lbs. I was ecstatic but then I noticed I was inching back up after I got home. I was determined to stay under 200 as I was now 196. I hit the 200 mark yesterday and I’m ready to commit suicide.

I’m a diabetic type II. Have heart disease and controlled high blood pressure and a new aortic valve in my heart. I am devastated. What do I do now? I’ve gotten into the habit of drinking a couple of cokes a day with 2 bags of m&m’s.

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Hey there,
Although I have never been on Seroquel, I am currently withdrawing from Effexor. I have all the same symptoms you described. The sheer panic attacks out of nowhere, very fast and sudden heartbeat, diarrhea (tmi), and horrible fatigue. My psychiatrist told me that I am returning to my original condition as well, but my anxiety was never this bad before! I have read similar stories to ours, and I genuinely believe that these are all withdrawal symptoms. The “returning anxiety” excuse is not good enough for me because how are we all having the same exact symptoms? I have never had such intense panic attacks and my emotions are all over the place as well.

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@andytheman

New subject that I don’t know what category it should fall under.

6 months ago my drs suspected that my lower abdomen was bleeding due to my Lavenox injections for my blood thinner as my Coumadin didn’t lower my blood levels. As a result I had to inject myself in the abdomen with a chemical that is supposed to thicken my blood. All because I had open heart surgery to replace an aortic heart valve.

If it’s too thin I could bleed out or if it’s too thick I can have a heart attack or stroke or blood clot anywhere. I spent almost 20 days inpatient at a trauma hospital because my entire belly was bleeding inside.
It took 20 days to finally clear me for discharge as my issue has stabilized.
While I lay in bed for 20 days I lost the ability to walk so I spent 10 days in rehab. Now I can walk again.

My main anger factor right now is that while I was in the hospital my weight went from 212 lbs to 186 lbs. I was ecstatic but then I noticed I was inching back up after I got home. I was determined to stay under 200 as I was now 196. I hit the 200 mark yesterday and I’m ready to commit suicide.

I’m a diabetic type II. Have heart disease and controlled high blood pressure and a new aortic valve in my heart. I am devastated. What do I do now? I’ve gotten into the habit of drinking a couple of cokes a day with 2 bags of m&m’s.

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Hi there,
I suggest starting a new discussion under the Gastrointestinal support group!

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My gastroenterologist has no experience in artery aneurysm or celiac artery dissection.
But he can give me a colonoscopy.

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@cinrose

Your poor thing! I feel for you. I had almost the exact same symptoms after coming off a three month treatment on Klonopin. My guess is it is withdrawal. For me it took nearly a while two months and I still don’t feel completely normal. All of those drugs are quite horrible to get off of. If at all possible try to go the natural route with meditation and exercise. There are some great meditation on You tube and a free app called Insight Timer. Good luck to you. You have your whole life ahead of you so stay strong.

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cinrose - Thank you for replying to her about your klonopin withdrawal. She is not alone and I stopped klonopin cold turkey after 7 months because I noticed tremors, body buzzing while on it so assumed it was thje drug. I am now off for not quite 2 months and I am still experiencing some buzzing from time to time, although not as bad as it was. I read these protracted withdrawal symptoms can last for up to 12 months? Can you tell me how long you've been off your klonopin now, what dosage you took, and what minor symptoms your still having. I am now set to see a neurologist (my request as my doc doesn't understand) but maybe I'm just wasting my and his time? Thanks for any insight.

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@emkaf

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I've been so tempted to just go back on because I feel so horrible, and am not sleeping but I really want to be free of this medicine and try to live a more natural life. I was so proud to get all the way down and I don't want to lose that progress.

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EK326 - I am having very similar withdrawal symptoms from Klonopin but have no desire to ever go back onto the drug. You will get throuigh this over time!!

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