Nataliecat Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Hi, I have been off Seroquel, an antipsychotic (given to me as an antidepressant at 300mg) for a month now, I am very well, but I still have the withdrawal headaches. Does anyone know if it is true that the withdrawal headaches go on for 3 months? I can tell it is a withdrawal headache, not just a random headache as it only gets bad when the head whooshes in my ears/head are going fast. The whooshes don't bother me at all, I am just wanting to know if anyone else has had these withdrawal headaches and got past them. ( I am aware that my depression could suddenly come back and if it does I will have to go back on the Seroquel, but, currently,I feel so much better off it but for these headaches.) I wondered if anyone else who has withdrawn from a med has had these head whooshes and headaches and also, just out of interest, if anyone knows why we get them? I read somewhere that it may be more oxygen getting to the brain cells, but there isn't much information about. I seem to have got off rather lightly on the withdrawals, except for these headaches I was back to health after only 13 days of nasty withdrawals. I think I might have suffered less badly with Seroquel withdrawals due to being on the antidepressant, citalopram. Thanks for reading -) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiaB Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) Firstly, welcome to CrazyBoards! I'm currently on Seroquel, but have been taken off it in the past. To be honest, in the 9 or 10 years of experience I have of this med, I have never heard of or specifically experienced headaches as part of the withdrawal symptoms. For me it was always horrendous nausea and vomiting (which put me in the ER on fluids), and insomnia. The "head wooshes" you talk about sound more like something I experienced when coming off Effexor. This of course is not to say that your headaches aren't related to the Seroquel withdrawal, just that they are not part of my experience. Where did you hear that you might experience this for 3 months, and have you discussed your situation with your psychiatrist or current care provider? I'm moving this to the antipsychotics board, because you'll probably get more traffic on your post that way. Edited June 10, 2014 by miab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nataliecat Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Hi, thanks! I love your cat-) I hated that nausea part of the withdrawals-ugh! I just drank hundreds of glasses of water as I had read horror stories about people having to go to ER. My doctor does not believe Seroquel withdrawal exists...I do believe it exists lol. I read the 'it could last 3 months' thing on a forum somewhere, but that poor person was still having no sleep at all in his withdrawal, whereas I am ok with sleep already. I am sorry you had the Effexor withdrawals, I hear they are really really bad! The head whooshes are weird! -) x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nataliecat Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 Hi, I know no one might be interested in this, but I just thought I would update that my withdrawal headache has gone now. I used a nasal congestion spray with steroids in it which I purchased from the chemist, so the cause of the headaches must have been sinuses. I think that might be because Seroquel has a lot of antihistamine in and so, stopping it can trigger a histamine type reaction. I would not encourage anyone to go off meds like I did, and I may well go back on the Seroquel if my depression returns later on. I am not anti-Seroquel as it did get me through a bad patch, I just found I could not work on it as I was too tired on it and I have to work. It was a good calming med. I am just leaving this information about the withdrawals in case anyone desperate comes searching in future, as I couldn't find much info online; The first day of the withdrawal I felt deceptively well, then on day 2 the horrible withdrawal symptoms kick in. They were bad, hot sweats, couldn't sit still, diarreahoa, nausea when in a vehicle, and a headache and complete insomnia. I was over the worst by day 4 but still felt very weak and fuzzy headed and headachey until day 14, getting better everyday. I used painkillers for the headache and to keep the hot feverish sweats down. I took anti histimines to help me sleep until day 10. By day 14 the hot sweats were gone but the headache kept returning a few hours after waking. I became able to sleep for 6 hours in a row by day 14. I am now on day 30 of withdrawal and feel back to my pre-Seroquel self and the headaches have gone. I seem to be ok, but if anyone else is thinking of getting off this med, be wary, as I read today, that a number of people have died due to withdrawing too quickly! I am not sure why they died, I suppose it was a shock to the system. I know of a few who ended up in ER due to withdrawals, so it looks like I am an example of a lucky person and withdrawal is not for everyone. I did taper down for a year before hand, and used a pill cutter to do this very slowly, so that may be why my withdrawal has turned out ok. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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