Seroquel withdrawals

[Generica]

Seroquel has been both my friend and my enemy. Friend for the brief period where it worked, enemy the rest of the time, and I've now had to come off it due to tardive dyskinesia, which I posted about on the side effects board.

I've come down from 300mg about 10 days ago, via 200 & 100mg (spaced several days apart) to 60mg night before last then 40mg last night (split the pill unequally). Tonight, I stop entirely.

I wasn't too bad through 300 to 100mg and it was a gradual step down, but it seems the sudden move down to 60 & 40mg has instituted some withdrawal symptoms. Yesterday & today have been harder than I thought, and I'm worried about the next few days completely off it, especially when I go back to work.

I am extremely agitated. I went to the shops and had to come straight home because I was so aggro at everyone & everything, even a little old lady who pushed in front of me. I can't settle or do much constructive other than internet. I have been seeing things/movements out of the corners of my eyes, and bugs crawling on the floor, bench, lounge & my bed, ugh. Sounds & light are bothering me so I can't try to chill & watch a movie.

I don't have any valium or similar, just temazapem in case I can't sleep, which is likely. Avoiding caffeine, but I'm currently drinking a big glass of red wine.

How long do these withdrawal symptoms last? Anyone been through similar?

[AirMarshall]

Repeat after me: "There is never a race to decrease or increase medication dosages"

1. Pour the wine down the sink and step away from the bottle.

2. Seroquel has a half life of 6 hours, which means it takes about 30 hours to reach a steady blood level after any dosage change. For convenience sake, plan on 48 hours/2 days minimum between changes.

3. A reasonable plan for withdrawal problems, is to go back to the last dosage that before you had uncomfortable side effects. I presume that was 100mg. Wait at least 2 days and see if the symptoms are decreasing and or gone away. If not, then wait for at least a couple days after they have subsided before decreasing. Make your next decrease conservative by halving it, this may require splitting pills. After two days assess how you feel.

If the side effects are still intolerable, go back up and stabilize, then start tapering again, but use 1/2 the previous decrease (or 1/4 the original step). Allow more time for stabilizing at the next step. The same works for titrating up on any med.

Hope you feel better soon.

a.m.

[Generica]

Thanks AM. I am going to take your advice, after last night.

No Seroquel, just had a temazepam (only had the one wine btw). I slept for 3 hours then kept waking up but stayed in bed.

Got up early this morning, feeling awful, physically & mentally. Nausea led to vomiting. Shaking, headache, head twitching a bit. I am unable to explain the mental state I was in but it was not good. I was pacing around the backyard in my pajamas, lost.

Got onto CB and read your response, then I took 25mg of Seroquel which was enough to knock me out & went back to bed. After a few hours of sleep I'm feeling a bit better now. I'll get back on the effective dose tonight & call the p-doc tomorrow about taking a slower approach - he was very keen for me to get off it ASAP due to the TD, and had actually suggested a quicker approach then what I took.

I really appreciate your advice. I probably would have tried to 'tough it out' without it.

[gizmo]

After a few hours of sleep I'm feeling a bit better now. I'll get back on the effective dose tonight & call the p-doc tomorrow about taking a slower approach - he was very keen for me to get off it ASAP due to the TD, and had actually suggested a quicker approach then what I took.

Glad AM was there for you. Hope you have a better go at it this time.

Doctors. You get one nasty symptom, and all they can think about it yanking you off the med asap. It's like they the part of medical school called "withdrawal symptoms."

I had the same thing happen twice with Lamictal with two different doctors. I got a rash (no, not THE rash) and each doctor wanted me to pull the drug cold turkey. I was dumb enough to do it the first time. That was *not* fun. I learned my lesson and stepped down the second time. The rash didn't kill me, lol. Of course, your question to me might be why was I dumb enough to let the second dr convince me to try Lamictal a 2nd time? LOL, I don't know!

I hope tomorrow is a better day for you.

[december_brigette]

HI,

i started tapering off 1000mg seroquel in january. im at 750mg now. this is the worst experience of my life. im lucky to have people help me with my baby. there is no way i could work.

its hell. ive never had this kind of hell with coming off a MI med.

now i know why the scientologists exist. I could use tom cruise's help over here.

and if anyone has "help" make it physical and show up at my apt to help me. because im goddamed barely floating.

db

[Generica]

Oh God, DB, that sounds awful, I feel your pain. I am so glad you have help with the baby. I can't imagine.

What rate have you been tapering down at, and at what interval? You are dealing with a much higher starting point than me.

I was on 400 to start with & reducing to 300 a while back (pdoc's direction) was mentally tough but not physically. The last 10 or so days down via 200 to 300 also not too bad, I felt minorly crappy/grumpy, had a headache & some aches which I didn't connect to the SQ (thought they could be lamotrigine related, although I've not really had those side-effects from L.)

It seems the last bit is what is hard for me, but you have such a long way to go so I really feel for you in this.

LOL re: Tom Cruise. I'm sure if you got him round he would give you a mega injection of vitamins & put you on some Scientology fast maybe allowed some sort of special Scientology drink! Hmmm.

Getting some Seroquel back in me today was like being a junkie getting a fix, I hate to say. Have still been in bed feeling woeful much of the day as it wasn't a huge amount. I'm going to play very carefully & slowly with this now. Now I just wish there was something I could say (do) to help you too.

If there's anyone here who can help, get round to DB's apartment, quick!

Gizmo, thanks for your words of support. I think your story highlights that sometimes docs don't know how best to practically implement a withdrawal. Supplementing their advice with the experience of others on this board is certainly not a bad idea.

Edited March 9, 2009 by Generica

[grousemouse]

my rx was 150 mg and when i came down i went in 25 mg steps each week. the only time i felt shitty was in the last step down to zero (no surprise). that took about a week or two to pass and then things were fine. and about 2-3 weeks after that i started losing some of the weight i'd put on.

good luck,

grouse.

[december_brigette]

Hi all,

generica i did not intend to 'steal your thunder' so to speak. Im sorry.

My pdoc is very open when it comes to this tapering. I have not done a 'set' time frame for the tapering.

I was at 1000 at the beginning of january

i dropped it to 900. was there for a few weeks.

then i got creative with the pill splitter and dropped to 875 then 850 for a week.

then to 800 which was 2-3 weeks.

this weekend i went down to 750.

idk if its because my pdoc trusts me or what - but he has been very helpful and letting me do it on my own. at my last appt his instructions were that when i get to a certain dosage wait until i feel a bit better and then drop it again.

he also has me on 15mg of abilify so i dont go completely crazy.

The reason for getting off seroquel is my cholesterol. otherwise I'd still be rockin it at 1000.

I apologize for my brashness in my last post. I just cant believe how difficult it is to get off seroquel.

and it seems like there are a lot of people on CB tapering off seroquel. may we all make it!!!

peace out,

db

[Generica]

Hi DB, don't worry, there is no thunder to steal, and it's good to have you contribute to the discussion, and also to feel that I'm not the only one going through this. Nothing to apologize about in your last post either, hey, we post how we feel, and I could FEEL what you were feeling with that one!

What happens each time you go down a dose? Is it mental or physical or both? I guess the mental impact is a given.. oww. I went back up last night & have woken up OK. I have written down a new tapering plan & will see how that goes. Glad your doc is flexible about yours.

Grousemouse, it was good to hear your experience too, thanks - bit scary about the shitty effects at zero lasting a couple of weeks - by that do you mean seriously bad effects or just residual grumpiness?

[yellowbutterflies]

Hi Generica,

I hope you're holding up and as you can see you have a lot of people online concerned about your well-being.

I haven't experienced Seroquel withdrawal. I have experienced Zyprexa withdrawal and side effects going on to Seroquel. How relevant these are to your situation I don't know. Zyprexa withdrawal resulted in a few nights of insane insomnia, the kind where you're up until the birds start singing and you're not sure if it's a dream or reality. General sleep disturbances continued although mood improved for the first two weeks; this was followed by acute depression, rapid cycling and a "relapse" of mild severity necessitating trying another AP, namely our friend Seroquel (haha). My story of going on to Seroquel and the effects it had on me even at the minimal dose of 25mg/day is a saga and I've written about it in my blog (latest post) if you're interested. I've just taken an extract which gives you an idea of my first impressions of Seroquel:

"Within a day or two of starting the Seroquel I had already moved from feeling like I was losing control of my facilities and being at high risk of hospitalisation to feeling as hungover as an Irishman but still able to catch the train and go to work every day

[december_brigette]

The topic is SEROQUEL WITHDRAWLS

and do you know how going off topic feels to someone tapering off seroquel - stupidly ridiculous!!!

i dont care if i make anyone mad.

SEROQUEL WITHDRAWLS.

im now at 700. angsty? yes. pissed off? yes.

doing it because my pdoc says so because of my cholesterol.

db

[Generica]

Thanks YB for your words of support, it is nice to be reminded people care. I think your comments reflect that it is a hell of journey both up & down on some of these meds. I'll check out your blog!

DB - what a prolonged agony you are going through. The frustration on top of all of the side-effects. Is the Abilify helping much (obviously not completely, but does it ease it at all)?

I've tapered down to 25mg for the last 2 days. Feeling nauseous, things still appearing out the corner of my eyes, headache, angtsy too & anxious. Not much interest in food or even my usual coffee/tea. My GP has given me ativan and it is helping a bit with the mental anguish/anxiety I'm getting (cept these damned visuals), I think it has stopped my head twitching too. Anti-nausea & headache tablets too. Doing short days at work (7 hours vs usual 10 or 11) trying to stay out of people's way. As I JUST DON'T LIKE THEM RIGHT NOW!

Friday night is cold turkey attempt again, will see how I cope over the weekend. Am warning boss I might need a mental health day on Monday in case the physical symptoms remain. I hoping the physical withdrawal or at least the vomiting can be over in that time. From what grousemouse & DB have conveyed, the mental side of things takes a bit (or a lot) longer.

Well DB, I am continuing to think of you, take care and try to ease the ride in whatever way you can.

[december_brigette]

hi generica:

im missed this part - vomiting?!?! are the withdrawl effects causing you to vomit? if so, im sorry.

to me vomiting is worse than being angsty.

here is a glass of ginger ale and some crackers,

db

[Generica]

Thanks DB, I need as much ginger ale as I can. 4 days sick now. First 2 were vomiting, now just awful nausea & headache that won't go away. I tried to go to work but had to go nap in my car for most of the day (too sick to drive it home).

Anxious, teary & agitated too, Ativan helps a bit.

Blah. This sucks.

[Generica]

I'm cross-posting here but I thought if anyone is searching for help with physical withdrawals from Seroquel on these boards in the future, then Prochlorperazine is the way to go. Thank god I found this article and took it into my GP, after a week of being sick I'm feeling physically normal again. It doesn't help the mental side though:

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/162/5/1020

[Guest Guest_Bella_*]

I've just stoppd seroquel cold turkey 6 days ago. I am updating my online journal daily of my experience while coming down from Seroquel. I want everyone and anyone either taking seroquel or considering it to follow-up on my journal:

http://comingdownfromseroquel.blogspot.com

[december_brigette]

i think only a scientologist would behave this way.

1. register and be a member - its free

2. dont cold turkey any med

3. dont pass off your "experience" without a little bit more authenticity.

whatever

db

eta - this is to guest_bella.

Edited March 21, 2009 by december_brigette

[Generica]

Agree absolutely DB. And I'm normally a gentle kind of poster but I'm going to let rip here.

Guest_bella - this is no place to warn people off 'considering' a psychiatric medication.

NO MATTER what I have been through with Seroquel, NO MATTER that I had to get off it & that's been a bitch, the one thing that I remember is that it SAVED MY LIFE when I started it. No two ways around it. I would, with no doubt whatsoever, have been dead if it weren't for being put on something that worked so quickly to snap me out of a mixed suicidal episode.

One thing on these boards is that while we discuss (OK complain about) some often frustrating & unpleasant experiences with our meds, NO-ONE should DARE scare anyone off starting a medication. That is utterly negligent and irresponsible. You are dealing with people's LIVES. I will defend a med that has made me sick to the end if it will potentially save someone else's life.

The withdrawals ARE horrible and unlike me you did it cold turkey for no urgent or valid medical reason which I must say is foolhardy - I was directed by my pdoc to get off it immediately due to Tardive Dyskinesia and with an attempt at both quick & moderate tapers I was still very ill. None of these problems are Seroquel 'addiction' by the way. Do I see you standing on street corners indulging in Seroquel seeking behavior like a crack addict? I doubt it. Look up the meaning of addiction.

Guest_bella, while I don't agree with your approach I hope the Emitrol is helping. If not do seek out Prochlorperazine as it works at redressing the dopamine issues which make you sick (yes, dopamine, not addiction). Get well soon, and get some other meds for your bipolar. You'll be needing them. And if you need support, register and come back with a more open attitude and I'm sure you'll get plenty of help here.

[AirMarshall]

Generica,

Glad you were able to work through the tapering. The letter is an eye opener. That really highlights how unusual your case is. Since it looks like you might be only case #3, I highily encourage you to make a consumer report of adverse reaction to the FDA. You can do it online, fax or print and mail it.

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/report/consumer/consumer.htm

********

Guest Bella,

I hope you are feeling better. Going cold turkey AMA, is really not a smart thing to do. BTW, the half life of Seroquel is 6 hours, so it was out of your system in about 30 hours/1.5 days after your last dose.

What is your game plan for staying stable now?

a.m.

[Mindful Momma]

How long do these withdrawal symptoms last? Anyone been through similar?

when i took seroquel before becomming pregnant i was at 200mg and i stopped taking it due to weight gain. i didn't come off slowly and stopped suddenly. my withdrawal was not sleeping for 2 straight days. after that i seemed to be fine. i hadn't noticed anyother mood changes since i had become pregnant very soon after stopping. i'm back on it now (starting tonight) since i am out of the first trimester. this post reminded me of how awful coming off of this drug was.

although i will say that geodon withdrawal is by far the WORST of all medicine withdrawals. that was not a pleasant experience although it is great to take if you want to loose weight rapidly...lol

[jarn]

Generica, how are you doing? How is the nauseau?

I posted above as a guest about how long the withdrawal lasts as I didn't want to take over someone else's thread, but I read through as saw the comments about vomiting etc.

My psychopharmacologist took me off Seroquel cold turkey (from 600mg) b/c I was going straight onto Ziprasidone. (I think he might be an idiot). I feel so bad, and I'm at 6 days now, and I'll I can think is if I just took a little it would help, but I've come this far.

Threw up Day 2, 5 and 6 (well, just bile this morning). Was starting to debate if this was still the Seroquel, if it could last this long, but I realized this morning I forgot to take the Ziprasidone at dinner last night (only real meal I ate) so....boo Seroquel. Well, it worked well for me, except for the sedation, which is why I'm switching.

Hope you're doing better! I hope this ends soon. My sleep is weird, which I can deal with, but. I'm taking Gravol every 4 hours except at night and it helps. Yesterday's puking was I think as a result of seeing if I could take Gravol not that often.

[Generica]

Hi Jarn, welcome to CB & thanks for asking... The worst of the physical stuff (nausea & headache) went away in a week but I think that was because of the Prochlorperazine working such a treat. Mentally, really not good for about 2 weeks, and I am having a bit of an episode of psychotic depression still, not suicidal like I was at first though so I can cope with that. Now, after 3 weeks (I think?) I am still having horrendous insomnia. Have not slept for more than 4 hours a night since coming off the Seroquel. Going nuts but options are limited, pdoc said to ride it out. However I'm thinking of asking regular doc for Stilnox (Ambien) even though I've always been scared of it.

Coming off Seroquel cold turkey must not be fun... It was bad enough at both my attempts at quick & slow taper. I hope that you are feeling better soon & that the geodon does its stuff for you soon too. Post back & let us know.

[jarn]

I got prochorlazine for the nausea and it didn't work

Well, glad you're not suicidal but I hope the depression clears, and you start sleeping.

I caved last night - my brother made me dinner, and I was throwing up before dinner, and all I could think was - I wanted off Seroquel to improve my quality of life in terms of being able to wake up and train (I'm a runner) and I can't do anything but puke and be dizzy right now. I have NO quality of life. It's horrible.

SO....

I said f it to the Ziprasidone. Not taking it anymore.

I did go to my gp on Tuesday, and he said a lot of the withdrawal off Seroquel should be mitigated b/c I was on another AAP (dunno about that, since they're different, but whatever). He thought all the nausea, or most of it, was from the Ziprasidone. He suggested I half my Ziprasidone dose for a week to let my stomach clear and have the prochorlazine for nausea. But last night, I just couldn't take it anymore.

I thought if it was just withdrawal I could ride it out. But for it to be the Ziprasidone? I can't take it. I have a race on Saturday, and my gp, who is a runner, thinks it might be dangerous to do b/c of dehydration from the puking even though I've been taking electrolytes. And I HATE that. Plus I know that it's supposed to be safe to exercise on Ziprasidone, but I do long distances running (ultra) and dehydration can effect the long QT interval. By itself, I could handle that (I did on lithium before, only once dehydrated - short race too, 12k, so I'd taken lithium before - went blind for a bit after the race), but not that WITH all the puking.

So 2 weeks off of Seroquel. I hear you on the sleeping. I took 200mg Seroquel last night since I had Ziprasidone that morning, but I still slept like a baby. I slept in, on a dose that as small as 200mg! My body must have lost a lot of its Seroquel tolerance.

I'm sort of disappointed, and incredibly relieved as well. I did take today off as well just in case, so I haven't been to work this week, but I should be good to go tomorrow.

Hope you keep doing better!!!!

Edited April 16, 2009 by jarn

[jarn]

I emailed my gp this morning to tell him what I did and he just called me and said that was fine. We went over what I'm supposed to do until I see him at the start of next week.

PHEW!

[Generica]

Hi Jarn, I'm sorry to hear you have been having a rough time of it still. I was worried when I read you had taken yourself off the ziprasidone, but am glad you have spoken to your doc now & he's agreed & given you a bit of a plan.

I bet you slept well with the Seroquel! I am still going mad not sleeping & sometimes look at the medicine cabinet with the leftover Seroquel longingly. saw my t-doc & told her I hadn't been sleeping more than 2-4 hours a night for the last month, she flipped out & wondered why I was not in a manic episode yet. She got straight on the phone to my GP and sent me there for a script for Stilnox (Ambien). So I will give that a go.

Still down but it is getting better, I am sure the no sleep thing has not helped in that regard.

I hope you are OK and can run the race... it must be tough to be told it is not a good idea when it means so much to you. Good luck & stay well hydrated!

[jarn]

Thanks.

I hope your sleeping improves soon, is the Ambien helping?

I am mostly better. I did have to DNF the race - trail race, I only did one lap (well, out and back on the trail to the start/finish) - 26k. I was hoping to do the 52k, and I felt great in every other way but I was having flashes of white light and a metallic taste in my mouth (signs of dehydration, not good). So I decided to 'did not finish' it b/c I was worried about safety on the second lap. I had lots of energy, muscles felt great, but it was obvious that I hadn't recovered from all the vomiting. I didn't want to finish on my back, so I decided it was safest to do that. Boo

[Guest Chels]

After a few hours of sleep I'm feeling a bit better now. I'll get back on the effective dose tonight & call the p-doc tomorrow about taking a slower approach - he was very keen for me to get off it ASAP due to the TD, and had actually suggested a quicker approach then what I took.

Glad AM was there for you. Hope you have a better go at it this time.

Doctors. You get one nasty symptom, and all they can think about it yanking you off the med asap. It's like they the part of medical school called "withdrawal symptoms."

I had the same thing happen twice with Lamictal with two different doctors. I got a rash (no, not THE rash) and each doctor wanted me to pull the drug cold turkey. I was dumb enough to do it the first time. That was *not* fun. I learned my lesson and stepped down the second time. The rash didn't kill me, lol. Of course, your question to me might be why was I dumb enough to let the second dr convince me to try Lamictal a 2nd time? LOL, I don't know!

I hope tomorrow is a better day for you.

[Guest Chels]

Hey,

Went off of 450mg of Seroquel cold turkey due and have experienced nausea, diarrhea, body aches and anxiety...how long will this last? I'm an extreme athlete and not used to the physical ailments...any thoughts or shared experiences? Thanks, Chels

[Guest Tom]

I've been taking seroquel 50mg with 30mg of Nardil for two weeks. Meanwhile, my anxiety is off the charts and I am abusing my klonopin which is not good. I can't imagine the Nardil is giving me anxiety. I am considering tapering from 50 to 25 for the seroquel and dealing with the Nardil insomnia. Any thoughts?

[Anna]

Seroquel is particularly soothing in the stomach, something to do with the histamine receptors in there i do believe, or something to that effect. so you can expect the shits/naseau for awhile which is quite normal. good luck.

you could not pay me enough to cold turkey seroquel but I am down to 25 m.g. finally. One more taper to go, yay!

Anna

[jarn]

Cold turkey will lead to rebound illness though if you were taking it for sleep only and don't have anything else going on, I don't know.

From 100mg I've had the nausea (in the morning) last for up to 6 weeks (I've gone off Seroquel 3X now). But I was coming down from 800mg, I don't know if that makes it worse or not. I'm also pretty med sensitive.

[klg3797]

I too came down from 1000 mg which I dont know why any psych would rx that much (to me) other than to just dumb me up and I guess he figured if he kept me stupid and a zombie he wouldn't hear much out of me (I wouldn't complain, ....) I'd be an easy patient. I went from 1000 to 200 overnight because I didn't know any better. I wondered why I had chest pains, panic attacks, trouble breathing, duh. The last quack psych dr I went to I asked for something to help with panic attacks and chest pains etc, from coming down/off of sq. and he denied that there even were sq withdrawl issues. It was all I could do to not scream IDIOT at him. I got mad and yelled at him that he needed to educate himself, and I left. How are you doing? How is the tapering? I would like to know any info you have on how you're doing this. I read some from "The road back" and thought about it. Their method is take some herbal stuff and it's supposed to be a magic way out.

HI,

i started tapering off 1000mg seroquel in january. im at 750mg now. this is the worst experience of my life. im lucky to have people help me with my baby. there is no way i could work.

its hell. ive never had this kind of hell with coming off a MI med.

now i know why the scientologists exist. I could use tom cruise's help over here.

and if anyone has "help" make it physical and show up at my apt to help me. because im goddamed barely floating.

db

[klg3797]

I found this site when searching for sq withdrawls. Somebody please tell me, is the info on this website > ( http://www.psychdrugtruth.com/seroquel_withdrawal.htm) a bunch of lies or what? Now I'm starting to get scared because I just stopped my seroquel.

I don't mean to scare anyone, but, this website about sq withdrawls scared me !

[SashaSue]

Seroquel withdrawal is exceedingly unlikely to be causing chest pains or panic attacks. That website is basically hysterical hyperbole and outright lies. How long ago did you stop taking it? Why was it originally prescribed for you?

[klg3797]

Please tell me how long does the vomiting last? and how long do the migraines last. I went to the ER yesterday after throwing up dry heeves 3-4 times and blazing headache.

Was taking fiorcent for the headache, then lortab. Today I got a shot for the monster headache. How long does this last? I feel like crying.

te name='Generica' timestamp='1236563437' post='325678']

Thanks AM. I am going to take your advice, after last night.

No Seroquel, just had a temazepam (only had the one wine btw). I slept for 3 hours then kept waking up but stayed in bed.

Got up early this morning, feeling awful, physically & mentally. Nausea led to vomiting. Shaking, headache, head twitching a bit. I am unable to explain the mental state I was in but it was not good. I was pacing around the backyard in my pajamas, lost.

Got onto CB and read your response, then I took 25mg of Seroquel which was enough to knock me out & went back to bed. After a few hours of sleep I'm feeling a bit better now. I'll get back on the effective dose tonight & call the p-doc tomorrow about taking a slower approach - he was very keen for me to get off it ASAP due to the TD, and had actually suggested a quicker approach then what I took.

I really appreciate your advice. I probably would have tried to 'tough it out' without it.

[bwoodward]

I've been on 900 of Seroquel for over a year now and decided to stop cold turkey 2 days ago. Since then, I've experienced insomnia, nausea and migraines. I know that technically the drug should be out of your system within 2 days give or take, but I'm just not seeing much relief. I'm have been decreasingly unhappy with the sedation of the drug and the effectiveness. I am bipolar and a rapid cycler, and the last month has been hell. I'm also taking 1200 of Lithium as a mood stabilizer. I'm not sure where we'll go from here, I've been on a laundry list of meds including Geodon. I have 4 year old twins, and I don't have the time to feel tired and run down.

[lizenshuss]

All here have helped me. I take lithium, trileptal, xanax, and am withdrawing from seroquel. I did it cold turkey because I'm mental and sometimes make mistakes. I have been up for 4 days. Most symptoms have subsided, except total insomnia. The symptoms I went through included:

runny nose

headaches

extrreme mania for 2 days, almost delusional

seeing bugs crawl on floor our of corner or eye

thinking I was seeing something that wasn't there

I was out of Xanax, but I can get it today. I am hoping that it will usher on the sleep and end this crap!

[Anna]

OH MY GOD you d/c quel cold turkey?

I forgot to bring it on a camping trip once, was up and flu like for the entire night, and we had to go back home the next day, so I could get it. Shortest camping trip ever.

I am a believer in quel having a W/D effect for some, severely, but most docs won't go for that theory.

Wow. I hope the benzos help and you are through the worst of it.....

I taper shit, unless it's completely got awful or physically dangerous not to do so. Just easier.

Anna

[Random Rabbit]

"There is never a race to decrease or increase medication dosages"

Ridiculous. Due to the effects of minimum effective concentrations and Sigmoid E_max model of neuroreceptor activity mixed with the minds ability to harness alternate neural networks to accomplish a task when one network fails you can get awful side effects from partial antagonism of a receptor pathway. i.e., partial D2 receptor pathway antagonism kills the music that plays in my head and replaces it with the thoughts from my subconscious mind rendered with full vocal prosody. I feel that I am hearing voices. They are not hallucinations as they are injectable (I can tell them what to say and they say it: "mindfulness, mindfullness, ...). The best way to go through this type of side effect is not to slowly withdraw and drag out feeling hearing voices for a week (a good way to go crazy as experience tells me). The best way is to stop taking the med until symptomology returns as fast as possible.

Rapid withdrawal is not the best way for all withdrawal side effects/returns of symptomology. Rapid withdrawal is a terrible way to withdraw from an anticonvulsant. But for non-life-threatening returns of symptomology it sure beats a slow gradual titration down and the irregular brain networks employed as compensatory mechanisms to bypass said effects.

Seroquel has a half life of 6 hours, which means it takes about 30 hours to reach a steady blood level after any dosage change. For convenience sake, plan on 48 hours/2 days minimum between changes.

Get your facts straight. A glance at the latest PI is a good start. Quetiapine (Seroquel) has a 6-7 hour half life, but the real magic is in norquetiapine (Seroquel's major active metabolite) which has a 12 hour half life.

Quetiapine does not load to a point where minimal effective concentrations are maintained at the lower dosages used.

Norquetiapine has a very tight affinity for the H1 and D2 receptor pathways and it antagonizes them both. Very low minimum effective concentrations are needed.

With its short half life and weak receptor affinities, quetiapine likely falls below the minimal effective concentration within 24 hours when doses like 25-50 mg per day are taken. Whereas norquetiapine remains psychoactive based on metabolism of quetiapine for a day or two followed by the clearance of norquetiapine for 2.5-3 days. So in reality one is looking at 4 or 5 days for norquetiapine to clear your system after dosing of quetiapine (Seroquel) has stopped.

What so many people fail to understand is the quantal but statistically parallel nature of receptor stimulation that occurs with various concentrations. Even very low concentrations of norquetiapine have signficant H1 and 5HT2A antagonism occurring. That return of symptomology of 5HT2A can be rough. Getting it over with quickly can be easier.

That said, talk to your PCP or pdoc about this before doing anything.

[crtclms]

Wow, RR, you really showed AM.

Did you happen to notice the date of the post you so pompously responded to?

I am sure you have wounded AM to the core. And the point of the thread was that people were having withdrawal symptoms not listed on the PI.

[december_brigette]

RR,

Im far removed from the last posts I made on this thread. And I don't have the technical knowledge you seem to express.

However I do know there is no way *I* could have gone from 1000mgs of seroquel (the old fashioned regular stuff) to 0 as quickly as you suggest. And I would never advise anyone else to do that, either. Big exception being someone's dr or pdoc is literally hand-holding the situation.

db

[somementill]

To the OP:

I experienced a similar nightmare when I weened off of Seroquel. It was harder for me since the doctor I was seeing did not help me at all and I had to get off it by myself.

I also started seeing things that weren't there and had a lot of anxiety and confusion. The good part is it lasted about 1-2 weeks and then things began to return to normal.

What you are seeing out of the corner of your eye, is not actual hallucination but it is a misfire with object recognition caused by dopamine reduction. Your brain is basically

telling you incorrectly the identification of objects. As I said it goes away eventually.

[Morgaine]

Spoiler

Wow, never realized that my dosage was higher than  most.  I was on 800 mg and when my thyroid, A1C, and Lipid Panel were elevated my P doc told me to lower the Seroquel by 50 mgs a week to 600 mg.  I also increased my Trileptal from 600 mg to to 900 mg over a two week increase.  First couple of days I was just irritable, a couple of days later the massive headaches, nausea and body aches started.  toughed it out for two weeks then called my doc who, of course, was on vacation for two weeks.  When I told her medical assistant who I was and why I was calling she told me that the doc did expect a call, it was withdrawal from the Seroquel and to bear with it.  I'm down to the 600 dosage and the headaches are lessening.  Scares me to think what would happen if I needed to stop taking it entirely, 600 mg to 0 mg might just kill me!