Tapering off quetiapine

Like a dad, stop with the what if, worrying. Life is two short anyway. Try to make some one smile or flirt a little, maybe help them with a issue they are trying to solve. Ill be 69 this year and shooting for many more years to come. Just can't drive for another year no worry, I got this and so do you. Enjoy being yourself and alive to help.

Hi. I'm hoping to get some help or reassurance that what I'm experiencing is fairly common and that it will improve with time. I was prescribed Seroquel/Quetiapine for insomnia (IR, regular, not XR) to take nightly or as needed, 25 or 50mgs, by a nurse practitioner. I took it most nights anywhere between 12.5 and 50 mg doses from October 2024 until June 2025, about a total of 220 x25mg pills over about 9 months.

It helped insomnia tremendously with no other side effects (that I could notice). Around June 29, 2025 I stopped cold turkey as I was becoming worried about potential side effects of long term use. About 11 days after stopping I suddenly started feeling dizzy. Not a regular dizzy, more like a persistent and consistent "stoned in a bad way" dizzy, feeling really drugged, that isn't going away, it is now day 13 of feeling this way. Secondary (not as persistent, consistent, or bothersome) sensations are a weird internal body buzz and a strange bitter taste in my mouth. No other symptoms, blood pressure and temperature are fine, as are nutrition and hydration, no other meds (other than Reactine for allergies, and supplements - nothing new in the last few months however), nothing new ingested. I have been under a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety for years, plus perimenopause, but I have never experienced anything like this persistent "stoned" feeling. It feels too coincidental to stopping Seroquel, though I never thought that quitting it after only on it 9ish months at low dose would cause something this horrendous. The NP who prescribed it said that it is very safe, non addictive, can just use it as needed for sleep or discontinue.

Is there anyone out there who has experienced something similar? Please put my mind at ease and tell me for how long, and what helped you, this is terrifying, and I can't help but spiral into worrying about things like MS or brain tumours or some other scary causes, even though the onset of this awful "stoned" feeling came shortly after discontinuing Seroquel. Thank you.

Like a dad, stop with the what if, worrying. Life is two short anyway. Try to make some one smile or flirt a little, maybe help them with a issue they are trying to solve. Ill be 69 this year and shooting for many more years to come. Just can't drive for another year no worry, I got this and so do you. Enjoy being yourself and alive to help.

@randallshields56 ummm…overall good advice but not helpful to the context of the thread

Most anti depressants and will have bad withdrawal side effects. You should never stop them cold turkey without medical assistance. You need to work with your doctor and set up a withdrawal plan. It can take a long time to do it safely and with as few side effects as possible. Effexor is very hard to get off of, and I took a good 9 months to slowly wean off of it. By the end, I was taking just a crumb of a pill. This has to be done very slowly, or you will be in bad shape for a long time.

@randallshields56 Huh? This is not helpful at all. Smile or flirt? I dont think so - most of us are just trying to live another day. This is a medical issue, and all the smiling and flirting in the world is not going to help.

@lylii - if you look that post was almost a year ago, as to remembering putting that response out i would not try to be funny about withdrawals as i have had to come off many to make others work or hope i don't stroke out before the new med takes root , or worse case scenario like my doctor recently told me, was have a seizure that i would not come back from. Sorry if i hurt your feelings, i don't remember that posting- Sounds like i was responding to a wrong post. Regardless your response was- i wont say anything now as still adapting to the new med for seizures and fighting to stay alive long enough for the other one to not go bad and have to start infusions. Gritting my teeth, have a blessed day today.

@lylii I don't believe i said anything about flirting.

@randallshields56 Don't even worry about it - it's all water under the bidge now. I hope you get your medications worked out, and can start feeling better and can enjoy your life. Sounds like you were having a very hard time, and I hope things are better now. I apologize if I said anything that hurt you - to tell you the truth, I don't remember it either. I wish only the best for you!

Hi. I'm hoping to get some help or reassurance that what I'm experiencing is fairly common and that it will improve with time. I was prescribed Seroquel/Quetiapine for insomnia (IR, regular, not XR) to take nightly or as needed, 25 or 50mgs, by a nurse practitioner. I took it most nights anywhere between 12.5 and 50 mg doses from October 2024 until June 2025, about a total of 220 x25mg pills over about 9 months.

It helped insomnia tremendously with no other side effects (that I could notice). Around June 29, 2025 I stopped cold turkey as I was becoming worried about potential side effects of long term use. About 11 days after stopping I suddenly started feeling dizzy. Not a regular dizzy, more like a persistent and consistent "stoned in a bad way" dizzy, feeling really drugged, that isn't going away, it is now day 13 of feeling this way. Secondary (not as persistent, consistent, or bothersome) sensations are a weird internal body buzz and a strange bitter taste in my mouth. No other symptoms, blood pressure and temperature are fine, as are nutrition and hydration, no other meds (other than Reactine for allergies, and supplements - nothing new in the last few months however), nothing new ingested. I have been under a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety for years, plus perimenopause, but I have never experienced anything like this persistent "stoned" feeling. It feels too coincidental to stopping Seroquel, though I never thought that quitting it after only on it 9ish months at low dose would cause something this horrendous. The NP who prescribed it said that it is very safe, non addictive, can just use it as needed for sleep or discontinue.

Is there anyone out there who has experienced something similar? Please put my mind at ease and tell me for how long, and what helped you, this is terrifying, and I can't help but spiral into worrying about things like MS or brain tumours or some other scary causes, even though the onset of this awful "stoned" feeling came shortly after discontinuing Seroquel. Thank you.