Seroquel (Quetiapine) is a short-acting atypical anitpsychotic drug that is primarily used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In some cases it is also used as an antidepressant augmentation strategy to treat major depression. It is sometimes used to help manage Alzheimer’s disease and is used at low doses for the treatment of insomnia. Despite the fact that this medication has a variety of uses, it should really only be used for its intended purpose – to treat schizophrenia and possibly bipolar disorder.
Many people take it and it works great to help people manage the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. It also helps prevent major mood swings among individuals with bipolar disorder. With that said, not everyone responds well to this drug – in some cases the side effects become unbearable. Additionally, for some individuals this drug doesn’t work well enough to justify continued usage.
Although this is a drug that can be beneficial for some people, the long term effects are not very promising. In many cases, this drug actually worsens intellectual functioning – especially in elderly with dementia. It also tends to elicit a variety of unpleasant side effects for the person taking it including: weight gain, sexual dysfunction, drowsiness, and worsened motor functioning.
Factors that influence Seroquel withdrawal include…
When you withdraw from any medication, there are important factors that will influence your withdrawal. These factors include: time span, dosage, your physiology, and whether you tapered off of the drug or quit cold turkey.
1. Time Span
How long were you taking Seroquel? If you were taking it for an extended period of time (e.g. over a year), you are likely going to have a tougher time coming off of the drug than someone who only took it for a few months. If you were on this drug for many years, it may be extremely difficult to quit.
2. Dosage (150 mg to 800 mg)
What dosage were you taking? In general, it is hypothesized that the higher the dosage you take, the more it alters your brain functioning. If you take a high dose for a long term, it is going to take your brain a much longer time to normalize in regards to neurotransmitter functioning. The drug comes in doses ranging from 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg, 300 mg, and 400 mg.
For treatment of schizophrenia, most people take between 150 mg and 800 mg per day. If you are on the 800 mg dose, it may take longer for you to withdraw. Fortunately the dosing is nice if you need to conduct a gradual taper – you can keep cutting your dose in half.
3. Individual Physiology
A lot of withdrawal symptoms will be influence by your individual physiology. Despite the fact that many people experience the same symptoms when they quit taking this drug, some people don’t experience as many symptoms, while others experience more symptoms. Another thing to consider is whether you have a mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar. Withdrawal can trigger symptoms or a relapse of symptoms related to the illness for which you were taking it.
4. Cold Turkey vs. Tapering
How should you quit taking Seroquel? For most people, it is highly recommended to conduct a gradual taper. If you are on a higher dose and you quit cold turkey, you will likely be unable to function. By conducting a gradual taper (e.g. slowly reducing the dosage over time), you are allowing your body and brain to slowly adjust to changes.
If you have been on the drug for a long period of time, even tapering may be difficult. If you are someone that quit cold turkey and aren’t looking back, prepare yourself for a long recovery period and symptoms that feel as if they are never going to go away. If you haven’t yet quit this medication and want to taper, slowly reduce your dosage every few weeks. It may take months to taper off of your medication, but it will minimize the withdrawal symptoms.
Seroquel Withdrawal Symptoms: List of Possibilities
Below are a list of common symptoms that have been reported during Seroquel withdrawal. Keep these symptoms in mind when you come off of the medication so that you know what to expect. Although you may not experience every symptom on the list, it is likely that you will experience something when you quit taking this drug.
- Agitation: If you feel especially agitated, it’s because you’re brain is no longer receiving the drug. This drug helps many people stay calm and reduces agitation. When a person quits taking it, they may become increasingly agitated and it may last for awhile.
- Anxiety: In many cases this drug helps people with anxiety. When you stop taking it, your anxiety may skyrocket. Everything you do may provoke nervousness and intense anxiety. Try to realize that it is just from withdrawal and that you will recover.
- Concentration problems: Although this drug can cause concentration problems while you take it, you may also experience poor concentration when you stop it. Some people call this “brain fog” or foggy thinking – it is due to the fact that your brain is trying to readjust itself.
- Depression: When withdrawing from this antipsychotic you may spiral into deep depression. Any medication that affects neurotransmitters can result in depression when you withdraw – especially if it had a subtle antidepressant effect when you took it.
- Dizziness: A common withdrawal symptom from any psychiatric medication is dizziness. This may be extreme when you quit taking Seroquel, but shouldn’t last longer than a few months. For most people, this sensation goes away after a few weeks, but for some, the dizziness persists for a long time. Don’t freak out if the dizziness lasts longer than you anticipated – realize that it is a result of post-acute withdrawal.
- Fatigue: Feeling excessively lethargic, tired, and fatigued is common when quitting an antipsychotic. Although this medication tends to be sedating while you take it, the withdrawal takes a toll on overall energy levels. When your brain is trying to readjust, you may become extremely tired and feel like sleeping all day.
- Headaches: It is common to experience headaches when you quit taking Seroquel. The headaches may be minor or may feel like full blown migraines. These will subside eventually, but may last weeks before they go away.
- Heart rate changes: You may notice that your heart rate becomes excessive when you quit this drug. Some people notice that their heart beats excessively fast when they withdraw. You may also notice heart palpitations – these are caused by both withdrawal and anxiety.
- Hypersensitivity: A person may become hypersensitive to sights and sounds when they come off of this medication. The person may not realize that it is from drug withdrawal and their neurotransmitters are not functioning properly. Therefore normal sounds may sound excessively loud and normal sights may appear excessively bright.
- Insomnia: It is common to experience insomnia when you quit this drug. Insomnia is usually caused by anxiety and/or sleep disruptions. Your entire sleep cycle may be thrown off when you quit this drug and you may experience increased anxiety.
- Irritability: Don’t be surprised if you become increasingly irritable and difficult when you stop this drug. In general the medication tends to calm people down almost to the point of a stupor. If you feel excessively irritable, know that it’s likely a result of withdrawal.
- Itching: Some people notice when they quit this drug that they become itchy all over. If you are experiencing excessive itchiness when you stop Seroquel, just know that it’s a result of withdrawal. If it becomes too unbearable, you may want to conduct a slower taper.
- Mood swings: It is common to experience mood swings when you quit this drug – even if you are not bipolar. The mood swings may be more pronounced and uncontrollable if you are bipolar, but even individuals that aren’t will notice that they may feel angry one minute and hopeful the next.
- Nausea: One of the most common symptoms associated with withdrawal from Seroquel is that of nausea. You may feel nauseated for an extended period of time until your body becomes used to functioning without the drug.
- Psychosis: It has been discovered that withdrawal from antipsychotics can cause psychosis. In other words, you may experience hallucinations, delusions, etc. when you are coming off of this medication. Most people don’t experience psychosis when they withdraw unless they have pre-existing schizophrenia – but it is still a possibility.
- Sleep problems: A person may notice major changes in their sleep patterns and length when they quit taking this medication. One minute the person may have bouts of extreme insomnia and the next minute they may feel extremely tired.
- Suicidal thoughts: Many people take this medication to help with suicidal thoughts and depression. When you quit taking it, you may feel more suicidal than you have ever felt. This is due to the fact that your neurotransmitter levels are out of balance and you are no longer receiving the drug to help.
- Sweating: A very common symptom is that of profuse sweating when you stop taking Seroquel. This may be prevalent throughout the day and/or may occur while you are sleeping. You may wake up from sleep in a pool of sweat. Just know that this is your body’s response to withdrawing from the drug.
- Vision changes: Some people experience pain in the eye and visual disturbances as a result of taking this medication. It has been hypothesized that this and other antipsychotics could lead a person to experience blurred vision even when withdrawing. Some even hypothesize potential “eye damage” as a result of taking this medication.
- Vomiting: Unfortunately you may vomit a lot when you stop taking Seroquel. This can be a result of intense nausea and/or your body’s way of detoxifying itself. If you feel like vomiting, just know that many people experience this during withdrawal.
Note: It is documented that Seroquel stays in your system for around 1.6 days after you stop taking it. Once the drug is out of your system, it can take a long time for your neurophysiology to recalibrate itself back to homeostatic functioning.
Seroquel Withdrawal Timeline: How long does it take?
The withdrawal process tends to affect everyone differently – therefore there is no predictable timeline for withdrawal. Some people may fully recover from symptoms within a month or two, while others may struggle with symptoms for months after they take their last dose. There is really no telling how long you will experience symptoms, but as a general rule of thumb, I recommend waiting 90 days before expecting any sort of recovery.
If you have been taking a powerful psychiatric antipsychotic drug for an extended period of time, it is going to take your brain and body quite some time before they fully recover back to homeostatic functioning. Your neurotransmitters and receptors have been altered by the long term drug usage, and your brain will need some time to reset its functioning.
In order to ensure the fastest possible recovery, you can make sure that you are eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep, staying productive, and getting some exercise throughout the day. Exercise helps stimulate functioning in the brain and rids toxins from the body. If you are getting some exercise (even if its light), it will go a long way towards helping you cope with recovery symptoms and recover quicker.
If you have been on Seroquel and would like to share your experience, feel free to do so in the comments section below. By sharing your experience, it helps other people realize that they are not alone and not going crazy.
I was on 100mg Seroquel and Solian 400mg for eight years. It has been hell for me. I started decreasing my Solian slowly from 400mg to 300mg without side effects, but in June when I went on tapering further I had nausea, vomiting, insomnia, but I still functioned pretty well regardless, I was taking 4 X500mg Gaba Capsules to alleviate the anxiety as well as eating Gaba rice, yoga, acupuncture three times a week. I was tapering my seroquel to 50mg then to 25mgs where I stayed for three months then I started getting what presents itself as atrial fibrillation which stopped when I stopped the seroquel but since I have had breathlessness even at resting, the insomnia persists, I now have fluid retention which is a bugger to deal with at the best of times.
Ten Days Clean – lol – Fancy saying it like that. My head has been spinning, but seems to be winning. Those other two days were like hell. So so tired and could not sleep despite trying. I’m still feeling a little run down, but nothing near as bad as before. I can feel my head working hard to keep a balance and now understand how it is that I can tire so quick when using my brain. I laugh to think on that.
Still under the two week mark though – I am waiting for day 14 or there about… hmmm… possibly more, because I like to start with the week. I am referring to an exercise routine to which I know I will hit hard. I know not of any other way… I now laugh again to think of myself run into the ground. I’m just going to use some light dumbbells and my elliptical. Goal has to be weight loss, but not straight away. So far so good – I fear the itching might come when I exercise, but I reamin hopeful… we shall see. Here’s to Day 10 :)
Day 8 – Night 9: I am struggling with fatigue – hard to sleep at night… Hopefully this will change over the next few days. I feel exhausted although doing not much at all.
Night Number SIX, since I have stopped taking any seroquel as all. Was on for 2 Years. 50mg to 100mg to 150XR. – Tapered Off for a few weeks down to 75mg then stopped Six nights Ago.
Day five and now night six:
Still have runny nose with tingles and warm sensations that come in waves over my body. Also very fatigued. I am hungry (as was the case on the meds) but now I feel sick when I eat. Today I had to lay down due to many hours of a sick stomach combined with the fatigue. Generally I fight feeling tired, but today I just knew I had to listen to my body or otherwise faint.
I am a little worried where this may lead, but still optimistic about my plight. I’ve come too far now to simply go back. The itching seems way more bearable than last time I tried to give up. I was exercising at that time. This time I am avoiding the exercise early on given my tapering off is as much a case leaning into cold turkey. I hope the 2 weeks weaning off with 75mg was enough to help – but somehow think not enough to avoid many of the cold turkey symptoms.
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I must avoid over eating or at least choose easily digestible foods. I’m getting around 5 hours continuous sleep with a lot of tossing and turning in the beginning and then when I wake up. My plan for good sleep is not a return to the meds – During this phase in coming off … it’s to be expected. How long this goes on will be the focus of my concern … not the symptoms unless I’m straining my heart and setting up for a stroke. Those things I am on alert for.
I am going to take three Valerian tonight. My tummy is quite ill and I think it will help to take the edge off with less tossing and turning. Valerian is just a herb which for me has helped me sleep in the past.
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Until next report :)
Hi Rachael, sorry to hear about the long haul there. I can relate very much to the side effects you have mentioned regarding being on the medication. I like both what you said about the emotionless state and also the longing for your mania. Made me smile. The drugs take away our passion. I have been making gains with mindfulness. I went for a walk yesterday. I wandered off track like I normally do into the woods away from the people using the track. I made a video both to share my experience and also to push myself in a way that’s positive without overdoing things whilst coming off the meds.
If the Admin of this blog does not mind, I’ll share the link:
David & Mindfulness:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw3ZI_plKYo&list=UUZ6jekpknyVwam1LUU540zw
Please forgive my stuttering and slurred speech. Whilst getting flustered with my thoughts in public situations is a common thing for me, I feel the meds have not made that any better and then coming off on day 3, I guess I’m a little stressed as well. But I choose to remain as positive as I can. Don’t get me wrong – I do not subscribe to the “Happiness Trap” but I also acknowledge my negative thoughts and very long state of depression over the decades have debilitated as much as the side effects of my medications. Mindfulness helps me to create much needed space in my otherwise chaotic head.
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Anyways – I don’t really know … I’m on Day four now – still sneezing and finding it hard to sleep. I am thankful that my skin is not burning this time around. I expect and accept the discomfort that is yet to come – I welcome it as part of my plan to reclaim my health. Like when I gave up smoking 8 years ago … I count each day from this point on as a day towards my well being.
This is also a link to my Flikr account – it somthing that shows what mindfulness does for me, despite my inability to fit well in society. But that’s OK – like it’s OK to be alone – I just have to learn to accept it and not worry about what others think. That’s my advice – for myself today.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/71988794@N08/
Best wishes – Keep strong.
I quit my dose of 400mg a day 6 months ago. Firstly trying cold turkey & then took 6 weeks to taper off. I hated being on the stuff for 2.5 years. Gained weight & became emotionless. The withdrawals were shocking & like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I had 3 months of physical withdrawals. Vomiting, shaking, insomnia, sweats etc. followed by anger, psychosis, unconquerable depression & crying.
Now, 6 months on, I am still in a bad way. My body & mind has completely broken down. I find it impossible to function & achieve basic tasks. I can’t even dress most days & I’m constantly exhausted. My sleep pattern is messed up. I wake between 1&4am daily. I am very sensitive to light & noise. It feels as though I will never recover. This is the worst breakdown I’ve had to date.
I will never touch another antipsychotic drug again as I’ve lost nearly 2 years of my life from seroquel. I have lost all interest in life & if not for my 2 sons, I would be suicidal. I am bipolar 1 & the only thing that keeps me going is the thought that this will pass eventually. I long for my mania to return & the huge lust for life that comes along with it. I believe this drug to be incredibly dangerous & unfit for man or beast!
2nd night without my meds, dropped off from 75mg – I could not sleep, but that was a blessing in disguise as the itch can get real bad. I am pleased to say that although I have been up for 20 hours, I am thus far able to handle the itch. I am drinking lots or fluids, mostly clear and or herbal tea.
I can feel my immune system on the edge with flu like systems about to kick in, therefore no exercise just yet. I will make sure to go for a walk tomorrow and get a little sun – maybe do some yard work if no hot flushes like I had come and go today. With regard to the no sleeping – I found it best to get up and do some writing. Staying in bed and fighting it seemed counter productive to me.
Here’s hoping to some more sleep – if it happens again, I guess I’d do the same thing, however this time I will sleep some the next day. I note the hints in this blog. I’m pretty much following them. Best of luck guys – It’s not easy … but there have to be other ways. :)
How are you going now David? I have just stopped taking seroquel too – four nights ago for me. The itching has been unbelievable – I had been thinking that I was having a severe allergic reaction to something but now realise that the itching is happening because I stopped taking seroquel. I have been finding it really hard to leave the couch too, and have felt like I have a cold. I haven’t slept properly for four nights. Trying hard not to turn back now though.
Hi David, two weeks ago I was rushed to ER with drug induced hepatitis. The problem raised levels of Seroquel, thus was taken of ALL Seroquel. Cold turkey (1/06/2016). I have found great success for insomnia is Melatonin. I take two at about 8/9 pm and find that I sleep about 7/8 hours a night.
After reading this site I now have an understanding of why I am so itchy and am sneezing so often. I have yet to experience the worst of the side effects listed above, but I have enlisted the help of friends and family to help monitor me for relapses. I am trying to keep a diary of my experience. I really believe that faith in God and prayer help. Please be well.
NIGHT ONE – off Seroquel/Quetiapine.
I hope its OK, if I can join on in here – recording my own efforts coming of this drug? I’ve been on it off and on over the last two years – mostly on because the first time I tried to come off it, I suffered extreme itching like many others. I can only see this drug as a trap the longer I stay in it. I am now obese and more depressed with no energy at all. I started on a 50mg dose and went to 150 – the XR was no good for me – too tired for too long.
I’m now down to 75mgs over the last week – tonight being my first night complete off. I wont take the 50mg – because low doeses also set up the itch for me. High doses are actually taken by many simply for it’s anit-histamine properties, but again – in low doses it triggers the itching. The Sad fact is – I know I’m also going to go through hell with itching coming off – Burning skin and all. Not to mention most of the other things already mentioned. If no objection – I’ll continue my records in here?
I’m thinking about taking phenergan (another antihistamine) BUT – I will have to wait and see. I’m going to go walking and have an elliptical that I can use (with no resistance) – see how I go sweating … but will watch the flu like symptoms – I may very well not do much at all. I’ll have to wait and see. For me – the itching is like hell – it’s on par with having Scabies – a human form of dog mange. To make things worse, I live on the coast with mosquitoes and midges!
LOL – I’m just going to have to meditate all this through and try to laugh at the insanity of it all. I’d prepared to suffer for a few months if it means I can reset my body’s antihistamine levels as too my metabolism and much much more. Instead of forcing people to take these damn meds, they should enforce compulsory group therapy and or mindfulness. :)
Best of luck to you all.
Dave.
I have been on 200mg of Seroquel for 4 months and last month started to taper off. It has been about 4 weeks and am down to 25mg. Every day seems to get worse instead of better. It is horrible. I can’t believe they would give you a drug this bad. I am also taking Zoloft hoping that it isn’t causing some issues also. They say it’s going to get better but when it’s awful that’s all I can say. It’s a bad drug. Any helpful and encouraging comments would be appreciated.
Hello Virginia, sorry to hear about your struggles. I was on Zoloft before the seroquel and at some stage was taking both. I gave up the Zoloft at about 12 months. It helped at first, but like the quitpine/seroquel, it reached a stage that where I had begun. Weight gain and lost of will. I don’t believe these meds should be used full time – they have their uses to be fair and it would seem some people can handle them longer than others.
I still suffer extreme anxiety, social phobia and depression. Suicide attempt only weeks ago. Having said that though, I checked myself in at the local hospital and now getting help/phyco therapy and all that. Have a support person. I’m looking to first regain my health with this plan to come off the meds. Again, I don’t believe even the doctors expect some people to rely solely on meds. I will use the PRN/if things go bad – but not with the same reliance that can unbalance things as time goes on.
Hard to explain and sorry I can’t be concise. I do lots of things – or used to before I hooked into all the prescriptions given to me. You get some doctors that listen and others who seem hard of hearing. I have had to change a few – but now think I have one I can work with. Mind you though – this action I now take is my own plan and not one I am wasting with the doctor I see. I’m only on welfare… so is best not to drain him with stuff I know I can do myself. (He is more pro-meds – but I am done for now changing docs like my jocks).
They have seen me up and down, but I always say sorry and try and be friends. They actually like that because like professionals that grow wearing – so do many patients. I just want to get along as best I can. Generally speaking though – I don’t do people very well. I actually can’t hold down a job and on a pension for my instability – which requires me to have some kind of plan based on stability. It’s just a damn shame that they gauge such a thing based on meds! That really makes me sad, because like I said – they can be good for a while, but things like Psychotherapy, or just plain socializing can do so much more.
Being part of some kind of group that accepts people for who they are. I might be getting into some kind of writing course yet on top of other things – but I pull up here and not bore you all with such things. Take heart – there is a huge amount of self doubt and negativity on the internet – I find it’s not so bad to commiserate, however there also comes a time where one has to find hope. There;s just too much pain in the world as it is – as you may or may not know, there comes a time where if one is still breathing, then it’s best to make the most of what little is left. Turning to nature is good for such things.
Righto – best of luck – we all have the power within … some just need a gentle touch and a little reassurance that not everyone in the human race is all trying to be someone they are not. It’s OK to be right where you are. Peace to you and yours – if no others, then all the more for crossing paths.
Its been two weeks now since I am off the seroquel. The main problem is overall exhaustion during the day and severe insomnia that even a high dose sleeping med cant beat. My body is to tense, especially my legs and mind. I try clomazepam once in a while, it seems to work a bit but it comes with…surprise surprise…nasty side effects.
I am hoping someone can share me their experience, especially considering the insomnia. How do you cope with that..? Meds? Herbal/ natural stuff, mindfulness, yoga? And how long did it take to beat those withdrawal symptoms? I need someone to say it’s temporary because I am getting more and more frustrated and desperate. Reading all those posts above tells me its a challenge for a lot of people. I think you can really be proud of yourself if you finally are able to get clean because it takes a lot of awful setbacks to overcome.
I took seroquel for one year and my doctor decided it was time to come off because if ling term effects. He tapered me off and it took two months. No problems. He retired and the doctor that took over insisted I was given bad advice and must be put back on seroquel xr 200 mg. I trusted her and two years later I have decided I am tired if feeling like a zombie.
I told her I wanted to taper off. She said that was not possible. If I wanted to quit I just needed to stop taking the drug. Well I did and the withdrawals were so horrible I was back in her office begging to be put back on it. Since that day I have been trying to get off. Every time the withdrawals are too much. Attempting it again and on day two and feeling nauseous. Sure I will fold again, wish I had never started.
Hi, I have been on 300mg of Quetiapine for 2yrs after being diagnosed with bpd, my Doctor has suddenly taken me off it cold turkey. I feel so awful: nausea, bad stomach, insomnia, vivid dreams if I do get sleep, headaches but the worst is the constant nausea, I can’t eat or even think about food. How long will this last? It’s been 2 weeks and I’ve never felt so sick in my life although the doctor says I shouldn’t be feeling too bad. I’ve tried explaining that I do so thank you to everyone that has posted on here. At least I know it’s not all in my head, I just hope this nightmare will soon end, good luck to you all.
I am a 63 year old male. I have been taking Seroquel 200mg + for over 10 years. A couple of weeks ago I decided I was done with this med. I was very ill for 6 days and went back on it. Severe withdrawal. I have been through a narcotic withdrawal and got off that but I am troubled wondering about getting off Seroquel. I can’t believe information on the severity of symptoms quitting this drug were never presented.
I am angry. And the extended time needed to feel “normal” again. I’m reading at least a few months to a year or more. This is outrageous. I have looked into inpatient medical withdrawal programs using a protocol particular to Seroquel but the thing is the time needed. Narcotic withdrawal can be accomplished fairly quick but this drugs negative effect is long lasting. I’m not sure what to do.
I guess the gradual reduction is all that realistically can be done. I will probably start some other drug as a comfort drug during the taper period. I’m thinking of a benzo. I have quit long term benzo also so a year or so controlled use looks better to me than living with the prolonged effects of getting off Seroquel.
I have been on Solian 400mg per day and Seroquel 100mg daily for eight years. I decided to do a detox as I felt terrible, first I detoxed by stopping coffee, dairy, meats then the medications. I was tapering down to 25mg Seroquel for a couple of months with support of acupuncturists three times weekly to help with symptoms. My body responded positively my sinuses disappeared but now the other symptoms now I deal with are insomnia and tiredness upon exertion from the dreaded seroquel!!!!
I’ve been on this drug for 5 years at 400 mg daily because of my mental illness. The tramatic experience of losing my mother at age 7 has always been the root of this. Trying to call home through the 911 operator turned out to be a catastrophic decision as I was essentially arrested and forced into rehab where they would commit me to this medicine. I will NEVER get off this drug!!! I just don’t see it as a realistic possibility.
My shrink writes up these ridiculous suggestions such as eating healthy as well as exercise when I express my concern of the ugly stretch marks that have covered my stomach. The weight I have put on is excessive. Long, long ago I used to be slim like about 175 lbs. These days I’m at least 230 and its all belly. I look like Peter Griffin. When I tell this doctor I don’t like it she recommends adding more medicine! I don’t know what it was nor do I care.
At first this actually seemed to make my life better but by now it has really taken its toll on me. This drug is equal to a never ending stint as a prisoner in a insane asylum. It stops me from being me. Without it I definitely would’ve found a way home a good while ago. Instead my brain is altered and balance the way the pharmaceutical companies feel it should be. I’m treated poorly at work and don’t get the respect I know I deserve anywhere else.
I’m supposed to see this doctor next week and don’t know how I should conduct myself in the interview because I just want out. I can only hope one day I am roaming the streets and get met by a gigantic storm of bullets. That’s absolutely the only way this can end. For those of you who say you quit cold turkey I don’t believe you. For those who want to forget it!
I was on 200mg at night and 100mg in the morning. Quit taking it about 4 days ago. feel like absolute hell. Sleep is almost non existent (until I’m so tired I pass out). Luckily I took vacation from work so I have some time to work this all out. Day 3 was the worst so far I was sick to my stomach and I was hurting soo bad I actually had to call off work. This is not going to be a fun trip.
I’ve been taking the horrible drug called quetiapine. I’ve been taking this for many years; my diagnosis is emotionally unstable personality disorder. I started of taking 400mg and thanks to a recent hospitalization they put me on 600mg as well as Venlafaxine I have recently decided to come off this drug and it makes me feel really bad burning chest and back.
Tiredness all the time I was literally sleeping twenty 4/7 agitation in my legs can’t concentrate so I came of it cold turkey now I suffer from insomnia migraines 24/7 vomiting nausea hot and cold sweats. I feel like I’m dying and the psychiatrist said I should go back on it, but I’ve had enough of this awful drug so I’m putting up with the withdrawal symptoms. -Krystyna
Every single post on the website says do NOT QUIT COLD TURKEY! You MUST go slow and wean yourself off by slowing cutting dose. No doctor would ever recommend a complete stopping of a psych med all at once.
I’ve been taking 300 mg of Seroquel for the last 18 months, I just quit taking my Seroquel cold turkey a week ago. I’ve had nausea, eye pain, vomitting, headaches, insomnia, heart rate changes, Concentration problems, fatigue. It’s been a very bad week. And I know it’s going to be hell for quite a while but I WANT to be drug-free really bad enough to go through hell to get there. Will power.
I just tapered by 200mg and the day I stopped taking the med, I can’t sleep and today is day 2. Is anybody having severe (can’t sleep at all) insomnia from Seroquel withdrawal? Thanks.
Yes!!! Last night was my first night of no seroquel… I didn’t sleep a lick not to mention the shakes and dizziness this morning!! I hope I can get some rest tonight!!
YES! I can’t sleep, eat and have nausea with side effects that come with that. I want to feel normal again!
I just want to write a few lines of hope to the people who are trying to become med free.
It has taken me over 3 years to completely withdraw from this drug. Reducing 50-100 mg every 3 months.
I was on the highest dosage with a cocktail of sleepers , anti depressants and diazepam.
The sleep is truly a killer, the aches, pains, inability to watch television with the lights. Sickly feeling and the sweating ( hung over ) there was times when the withdrawal was worse than the condition.
However after having a strict diet of protein and veg. No alcohol , coffee, pop fizzy drinks, caffeine , no take outs, fried food, chocolate ( rarely) I have not only got off the drugs but lost 5 stone (70lbs)
Advice – setup a exercise plan. No matter how rubbish you feel get up and out. Fresh air is the key ( helps with the dizziness and sickly feeling )set goals especially food cook fresh gives you something to occupy your mind.
Remember why you want to withdraw and keep a diary. I didn’t realize how numb I was emotionally. I now feel human.
Good luck
First of all I want to sincerely thank all of the above posters. Your comments literally saved my life and gave me the kick to hang on. I had no idea about the dangers of Seroquel until I had already quit them cold-turkey. That was the beginning of what was literally the most horrific month of my life. It was a 24/7 panic attack of the highest degree, along with constant nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, days upon end with no sleep, severe suicidal thoughts, waking nightmares, and every single minute was like an hour.
I pray that anybody even considering taking this hell-bringing drug does some research and finds this page first. The irony is that at my Pmed’s office there were Seroquel magnets ALL over the place so it’s clear that they are getting rewarded for pushing this garbage. It has been 4 weeks now and I am still feeling minor emotional effects but I have survived the worst time of my life. Out of curiosity, I am the most non-litigious person around, but does anybody happen to know if there is a class-action suit against AstraZeneca, and/or if there is a certain type of attorney I need to seek out to initiate something?
After disrupting our whole family with such terror I would love to see these diabolical pushers have to face up to what they have done to me, and so many others. Again, thank you all for your uplifting words, and convincing me that I would survive. Thank you!!! Jumbled Jeff
23 years old … Been on 600mg for about a year and a half for Bipolar/borderline personality disorder/ ocd and ADHD. Started meds when I was in a crazy place… I was breaking down crying every day, I was starting rows with my best mates telling myself they weren’t there for me and picking out the smallest things just being horrible, I was smashing my house down in fits of anger …. Smashed a 52 inch brand new plasma with a deodorant tin and was out of control…. 4 overdose attempts layer I was diagnosed and started on the meds.
Always took it at night or I wud be monged during the day. It completely helped me mentally …. But I was pretty much confined to my flat through being dizzy and worried and anxious about leaving. Going shopping would worry me …. And then I brought a horse and started going out every day… We’ll that was 3 months ago and I now manage the whole yard and I have never in my life felt more stable and happy. I actually really get myself now and have the best fella I’ve ever met supporting me so I stopped my meds completely cold turkey. He said when we got together as a joke he wud get me of my meds and I laughed my head of and said no way! Never ….. I need them to b normal*ish.
When I got the hump with letting people down at the yard … Being a grump to wake up I thought that’s it. I’ve never been happier in my life so now would b the best time to try. Well I’m 4 days in …. Finally managed half a sandwich today. Haven’t had any side effects apart from not being able to sleep a wink…. I lay awake like all night with my eyes closed but get up in the morning like a bouncing bean and manage to do a lot of hard graft and I’m still here wide awake Lol. I haven’t had any other symptoms really …. Maybe a little bit sick at times but I put that down to no food. I’m crossing my fingers that I don’t start getting worse with symptoms like some of you guys. Good luck to all of ya, your posts helped me get an idea of what I could b expecting. I had done no research whatsoever so a bit scared but glad I’ve got the knowledge now :)
I’ve been on seroquel since I was 18 I turn 23 next month… I’ve not been able to hold a job longer than a few months and I believe that it is this drug that is causing this. I usually take up to 3oomg fast release a night solely for insomnia issues, but time has flashed before my eyes and it has already been 5 years since I’ve started taking this drug to sleep every night, and honestly do not know if I legitimately have a sleeping disorder anymore or If I ever really did to begin with.
I feel like my life is passing me by due to this horrific drug. I tapered all the way down to 50mg a night and now this is night 2 of absolutely no Seroquel. Wish me luck, btw it is 5:30 a.m. and I still cant sleep but I’m sure this is a sign of withdrawl… Hopefully. Thank you everyone It really does help knowing you’re not the only person wanting off this drug =)
I’m very glad to have found a site like this and to read all your experiences…i have quit seroquel yesterday and i’m really worried what is coming to me. Also I found that there was little information about how to cope with withdrawal. You need also a SOCIAL and medical plan to combat the withdrawal. I try to be one of the first.
After 5 years on 100 mg as a sleeping aid it has lost its magic and turnt on me. Well, its not really magic because its hijacks your emotions but for sleeping it worked brilliantly…for a while and then it kept me awake. If I was lucky i got 4 hrs a night. It was wearing me down and the pressure to perform and function my ordinary life was killing at that time. My goal is to sleep on my own and finally be energetic and to ‘feel’the life as anyone should be.
The first time I tried to quit at once. From 100 to nil. People dont ever do that at once. Or at least read about so that you can expect what may be coming your way as well. I was chronically awake, in panic because I convinced my self I would never sleep again, anxious, had to ate 5 times a night, and thought this feeling would never stop as well.but it seemed i was getting emotions back…i was really horny again.☺️ I cant believe how this drug messed up my libido. What else can I experience again without the drug?
Now I am down to 25 and give it my best try again to quit totally. This s supposed to be the hardest part. I gave myself some space in order concentrate totally on my withdrawal. I took a break from work and other appointments to eliminate the stress of feeling obliged to function while feeling like trash.
Tonight didnt take my 25 mg dose again . I have tension in my legs, fatigued, i have to eat 5 times a night without feeling satisfied etc. during the day i can be extremely aggressive and irritated about stuff i see or read. I have clonazepam to battle the insomnia… I’ll use that to tomorrow…my plan is to watch TV all night just till I eventually fall asleep. I’m not going to wait for something that may even not come, so frustrating.
I hope this can be helpful to some one. I’ll report tomorrow again
How do others COMBAT. Withdrawal?
greets jerry
I have been on seroquel since 1997 when it first came out. I have diabetes because of it. I am trying to taper off and it is awful. I don’t know anyone who has been on it as long as me. I need help as my doctor is a bit of a quack.
I was on 400mg to help me sleep and I tapered off of seroquel until I got to 100mg. Then I just quit cold turkey. I had BAD insomnia for about 3 weeks. I didn’t feel like doing anything. I CAN’T BELIEVE A DOCTOR WOULD GIVE SOMEONE SOMETHING THAT COULD MAKE YOU FEEL SO BAD!!! I can’t walk because I was in a car wreck.
Now that I don’t take any medicine, I seem to be doing better. If I would have known what this drug could do to you, I would have never taken it! OMG!! The itching was terrible!! When I was taking all the medicine I had headaches all day. Now that I don’t have headaches, I can deal with walking. I think you should get off of seroquel!!
I have been on Seroquel for 8 years. 100mg also 150 XR. I dropped the XR after a couple of months. Lately I have weaned myself off sertraline 200 mg, then weaned off Lamotrogine 200 mg and finally have weaned off seroquel – I went down half a tablet every month till I got to 12.5 mg.
Stayed on that for 1 week and stopped. All was fine-ish, lack of sleep. but the itching has started to get worse- 3 weeks after stopping. Instead of just a mild irritation it is getting worse. Anyone managed to get through this stage?
After 6 years of 400mg per day and to much weight gain I came off seroquel and have had terrible itching all over my body it’s terrible has any one else experienced this symptom please let me know?
Yes I am itching all over, that’s why I found this site because I was trying to figure out why I couldn’t sleep and was sooooo itchy. I have run out of zopiclone and quitiapine as I couldn’t make it to the pharmacy in time to pick up my prescriptions…. I am not intentionally trying to stop but am thinking now that I should. I have been taking only a small dosage of around 100mg most days but am on other meds for Fibromyalgia symptoms which are almost identical to the side effects of quitiapine use that others have described here.
The weird thing is that I was experiencing these symptoms before I started taking quitiapine. The drug helps me in the short term but what is it doing to me in the long term? right now I am unable to sleep and am itchy all over. Have had really terrible feelings of depression in the past week which I just put down to hormonal changes during menstruation. It Sucks. I hate that some days I can’t face even talking to anyone. Does anyone have any answers to how to deal with this sh#t? Tired and wired. :-(
Yes and the bad thing is that the itching takes a long time to go away. Benadryl is the only solution. I was put in prison for a year and 3 months in they stopped giving Seroquel to inmates and switched me off of it. The itching never went away for me. It is severe itching too. The day I got out of prison I started my Seroquel again cause I had some at home and the itching stopped 30 min after taking the pill. A lot of people stop and have the itching problem. The only solution for me was to take Benadryl.
Hello. I just wanted to share my story with you all. In my case, I have two family members who take Seroquel. One is 17 and has been taking it for almost 5 years. Over the past year, the doctor has agreed to lower his dose, aka taper it off. In the past month, my little brother has been diagnosed with low blood pressure, and now he is being tested for thyroid disease. His family doctor had to look up the side FX of seroquel and confirmed that low blood pressure and thyroid issues are indeed potential risks. The sad thing is he was only 12 yrs old when he was 1st given Seroquel during his first major depression. It’s worrisome that such a young person has had this drug in his body during such important years. I am saddened, but hopeful that we are as a family moving in the right direction – to eventually see him be seroquel free. After reading all your stories, I can honestly say tapering off sounds much better than cold turkey.
I wish you all health & happiness,
JJ
Hi, i am Portuguese and i am in the seroquel trap too, for almost six months. It was prescribed by my shrink for depression and anxiety. I feel cheated, in a no return train because of this medication… i wish i never put this poison in my body and brain. I’m so scared when i think in starting a Seroquel withdrawal. Weeks ago, i forgot of taking just one pill and i felt like i was in a tiny boat in a storm to hell. I need your help. I want to start but i am to scared…
I am coming off quitiepine, I can’t believe all the awful stories I have read about this awful tablet. I can’t believe that any Dr can prescribe this for anything other than serious disorders. I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder about a year ago, and have been on quitiepine ever since, I have put on an absolutely massive amount of weight, and it’s the weight gain that has pushed me to want to stop, but the side effects I have had since cutting down are horrendous.
And I’m still cutting down, I’ve been doing it slowly but after reading all the awful side effects it can cause, I feel like I want to stop immediately but then there are horror stories from people that did it cold turkey, so now I’m confused as to what to do for the best, I really want to be off them now, but am worried that I could potentially make myself a lot worse if I do. It’s a nightmare to know what to do for the best. I was on 300mg and have come down to 75mg in about 5 weeks, now I’m on a low dose, is it really going to cause my withdrawal symptoms to worsen if I just stop taking them??
If anyone can reply to that question I would really appreciate your advice. I want to be off this awful drug as quickly, but as safely as possible. Any comments regarding what I’ve written would be so gratefully received. Also, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one, it can make you feel so alone in the world, so it is a comfort to know I’m not alone.
Sarah.
Hi Sarah, keep tapering slowly and do your best to put up with what you experience while coming off. I am very surprised you were put on this med for Borderline PD… Antidepressants and anxiolytics are regarded as being much safer long-term options.
Additionally I’d recommend seeking the help of a therapist who knows DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) as this is an effective non-drug option for Borderline PD. Withdrawal will be different for everyone, so it’s not easy to say whether you will have extreme symptoms or not until you make the full transition. Whatever you decide to do, wish you nothing but the best of luck.
During the withdrawal of long term over prescribed benzos (lorazopam and clonazapam) I was unable to cope and did a self admit for ten days. During that time I was given seroquel because I was not sleeping. The 300 mg seroquel was a short term solution to a larger problem. Though I am still detoxing from the benzos I was guided to now dose down the seroquel. After reduction in doses by 50 mg every two weeks for about two months the withdrawal symptoms started only after I stopped taking seroquel completely.
I was put on restoril to aid in sleep one month prior to stopping the seroquel. So it has been about 4 months of all benzos, one month off of seroquel and one week off of the restoril. The withdrawal is pretty awful with all the above described symptoms. However, for me, the episodes on all these drugs were horrible in comparison. I am managing the itching with benadryl every 4 hours and it also helps me sleep when I am tired enough. Yes, I am bed ridden. I am giving myself in total another 4 months to completely stabilize.
I am offended by the mismanagement of my mental health by a doctor who said my PTSD would always worsen. With the aid of EMDR, CBT and now DBT I now know I can, and am, getting more cognitive clarity. My mood is stable with low doses of lexapro and lamictal for the night terrors. Just giving myself permission to rest, eat right, take a 5 minute walk every few hours, nap. Still have nausea, high level muscle/joint pain, depression, etc. but it will pass.
hi first of all i would like to comment on how i appreciate the other comments on this site. i have been taking seroquel 10 years. the dosage ranges from 100 milligrams to 300 milligrams. i have had a range of psychiatric problems for most of my life. i am now 53 years old. i have decided to stop taking this medication as my quality of life has been appalling for the last 10 years.
The worst part has been my total lack of motivation. it is as if my life stopped, it feels like i have done nothing for 10 years. i have been isolated and housebound. I cannot bear being like this any longer, that’s why i have decided to stop taking this drug. one of the scariest things is is that it seems to take away your willpower. i am hoping that the withdrawal process won’t be too severe. if i can find the site again i will keep you posted to how i get on.
I’m trying to taper off Seroquel XR and Invega. Both of these drugs have much the same withdrawal effects. I was taking 900MG of seroquel XR for the last four years. For the last six months I have cut the seroquel down to 300MG. I was able to stop the Seroquel for two weeks. Had a hard time with fear, agitation, anger, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. So I went back to the 300mg. Of course I had problems with sleep.
Now I’m taking 150mg, breaking the 300 in half. Having again the same cognitive side effects. Fear and anxiety are over-powering. Agitation, poor thought process. These mental problems are huge. It’s hard not to go back. Someone else said that it takes your willpower away. It does. I’m having problems dealing with things. I am 55 and usually power-lift at the gym.
Age has made me weak but I know that Seroquel XR decreases testosterone production and makes me fat. I can deal with the age induced weakness, not well. But to take drugs that increase that is crazy. I’m on a lot of other meds. But low seroquel is difficult to live with. I just hope I can drop the 150mg and be seroquel free. I hope these withdrawal symptoms get easier to deal with.
I quit cold turkey about 2 months ago. I feel like I’ve been shot in the head.
My muscles ache. I have these manic anger episodes. I feel agitated.
I feel sexually frustrated. My testicles hurt so bad. I feel like someone is trying to rip them off. I can’t sleep. I am forced to take either NyQuil or Benadryl as a sleeping aid. I look like a fool right now. I wish I tapered off.
To make it worse I quit Prozac cold turkey at the same time. I can’t concentrate to save my life. I just can’t take this anymore. I had an anxiety attack and had to be hospitalized.
ohmygosh.. I just thought I had a bad bout of food poisoning. I feel so sorry for all of you who have been on this drug for what must seem an eternity! My last visit to a psychiatric institution landed me under a section 30 here in New Zealand – which is a community outpatient treatment order that can last for up to six months and requires me to legally take my medication.
But shhhhhhhhhhhhh don’t tell anyone, last night I decided I don’t like the way this drug makes my head foggy, I don’t like the weight gain, and I don’t like the nightmares; so I didn’t take my relatively small dose of 200mg. I have had constant diarrhea (in the middle of a bush walk – yeah I had to use a sock.. use your imagination), my shaking is uncontrollable, and I am sweating like I never have before.
Mentally I feel like magic so I think I am going to put up with the nausea and sweats for now; I’m just praying its not going to get worse but from what you guys are saying (and this is only day 1 for me) I get the feeling its not going to get any better. I definitely would have gone with the tapering method had I done a bit of reading about coming off this awful drug. Good luck to everyone else who is planning to come of q! peace :)
I am in New Zealand as well. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia about 3 years ago and have been on a mixed cocktail of drugs and medication for over 4 yrs. I used to take codeine and tramadol everyday just to be able to deal with pain so I could get out of bed in the mornings. I have been using zopiclone and or quitiapine most nights to sleep. I have run out of both of my scripts and this is the first night I have been without help to sleep. I was wondering why I felt so itchy all over my body and am having intense insomnia.
So I googled withdrawal symptoms and found this page. I was not intentionally trying to stop taking these meds as I love the feeling of being able to sleep that hey give me. reading other peoples experiences with this drug has made me think I should stop. A lot of the symptoms that people are describing sound exactly like Fibromyalgia symptoms: pain, fatigue, brain fog etc. But I was experiencing these symptoms before I started taking quitiapine.
I am wondering if the intitial fibro symptoms were actually caused by codeine and tramadol addiction. I had reconstructive surgery to repair a torn ligament in my knee about 4 yrs ago and was prescribed tramadol for post surgery pain relief. My health and quality of life has pretty much gone down hill since then. I asked my doctor at the time of my fibro diagnosis if it could possibly be caused by the dependence on pain killers and was assured that it wasnt related. I am seriously doubting that advice now.
I am totally dependent on medication now just to function but sometimes I am barely functioning at all, spending days in bed, lack of desire for anything, depression etc. Then I will have a few days where I am highly functioning when I have remembered to take all my meds. It’s making me crazy right now.. I wish I could sleep without drugs.
Day 12 and I am coming out of my Seroquel withdrawal with the help of Vistaril for the itching and anxiety and Ambien for sleep. I also take Ropinerole for Restless Leg Syndrome. These three drugs have counter acted the miserable withdrawal side affects of this bear of a drug, Seroquel. My problems now are mental again. I have come out of Bipolar Depression and and facing a quickly rising onset of mania.
It is time to clear my body of the other drugs that I have found to make me feel comfortable in my skin and try another round of drugs to treat my insanity. I fear that I will lose it this time and not come out of it. If only I could feel good in my skin and feel balanced in my brain and be able to function in the world around me and be a valuable employee. Can I do this myself without this powerful mind drugs that ruin our neuro and digestive tract systems?
I am 25 years old, and have suffered from severe mental illness since the age of 16. Over long and numerous stays at psychiatric institutions, I have wasted 2 years of my life behind locked doors restricted to a ward. I have been prescribed 600Mg of Seroquel XR by my psychiatrist for 5 years now.
I have never wanted to decrease my dosage or come of this drug before, as it has been very beneficial to the slow learning curve of adjusting to living and surviving with my mental Illness. It has been somewhat of a lifesaver. The side effects of taking this medication for me were massive weight gain, tiredness/lethargy, and decreased mental functioning.
I have come to a point now though, where these negative effects are far outweighing the good. Medication is merely a stepping stone, not something to live on forever. I believe, though it will be extremely difficult, that I can go on managing without taking this medication.
As of Monday I have stopped taking my daily 600Mg of Seroquel XR. It has been 4 days so far and feels like an eternity. Initial withdrawal symptoms for Day 1 and Day 2 were very much flu like, with a running nose, constant sweating, headaches, mental foggyness and little to no sleep.
Day 3 and the nausea and vomiting began. I threw up for 9 hours every half hour to hour, until I gave in and visited the doctor for a Maxalon injection. It relaxes the stomach muscles and the body so you stop vomiting. Alas I would be safe from further vomiting for the night.
As well as nausea and vomiting I have a constant migraine and my head gets so hot it feels like it is on fire, accompanied by hot and cold sweats and dizziness quite similar to a fever. I still can’t sleep. Only managing a few mere hours if that amidst constant waking up, tossing and turning, being either too hot or too cold and tumultuous dreams.
Day 4 and the Maxalon Injection has worn off. I feel constantly nauseous and have resumed vomiting. Headache is still going strong and feels like it is only getting worse. Hot and cold sweats and dizziness still accompanying everything else. I have never felt so bad in my life. It is unbearable constant suffering.
I wanted a faster result than weaning myself off though so I guess this is my punishment.
I will NOT lose my resolve
Day six, diarrhea for 24 hours. I am sleeping, thanks to Hydroxyzine (Vistaril) an antihistamine and anti-anxiety drug. It has been a life-saver. Controls the nausea, itchiness, and general anxiety of Seroquel withdrawal. Seroquel has been the worst withdrawal in the way of flu like symptoms that keep you in bed but unable to sleep through the pain of it.
Again, hydroxyzine has been the saving grace here. I could not have done it on my own. I am convinced that Seroquel prevents the brain’s cognitive function and disturbs normal sleep and digestive tract functions. A BAD DRUG.
Still trying to get well 3 weeks last dose very sick can not believe how sick I am and getting sicker not better
Thank God that I have found this website. Five days ago, I took my last dose of Seroquel. I started at 400 mg four years ago and have been on 300 for at least three years. I am one that cannot take less than 300 or my body goes into an extreme restlessness that is unbearable. I quit cold turkey.
My reasons to quit were that: 1) I could not keep a job. My brain does things that I cannot control or understand. 2) I cannot urinate in the morning. Takes at least 15 or 20 minutes to eliminate. 3) I cannot swallow or breathe when I wake up. My mouth is dry all the way to my esophagus and I am unable to talk for about three hours after waking. 4) Weight gain 20 pounds. That said, the withdrawal has been something completely unexpected, so I am thankful for this website. My doctor insists that I go back onto the meds (Lithium and Seroquel for bi-polar I.)
I quit the Lithium with no physical problems. The Seroquel, however, is causing insomnia, rapid weight lose (ten pounds in five days), head ache, nausea, body aches, waking every two hours, and a mental “flushing” of bad memories. Hot and cold flashes. Irritability. A pained expression on my face. I am unable to urinate or eliminate normally. At first, I thought that I would die and that I needed to go to emergency. That has subsided. I am waiting for the vomiting to start.
This is day six. I cannot eat or sleep. The mental fogginess and blurry vision even with glasses is what made me stop this drug. I am 61 and cannot afford to die on this drug. Now that I have read the side effects in depth, I cannot believe that any physician would prescribe this drug to another human being. When I read that the VA has spent billions on prescriptions for this drug, I am enraged. Why subject our soldiers to this hell? This drug could sent anyone over the edge to suicide.
You are 100% exactly right!!!! I have literally just gone through the worst time of my life the past 3 weeks. All while trying to raise my 3 year old… on my own. I thought I was going to die. I was a vegetable on my sofa and couldn’t move. The scariest thing of my life coming off this HORRIFIC drug. Thank God for Homeopathic and Naturopaths. Just within two days I feel like a completely different person. One day at a time… the natural way. I will never trust this health care system again.
Sarah, Can you please contact me about using homeopathic and Naturopaths helped you get off of Seroquel? I have tried multiple times to get off of this medication and ended up in the hospital and on more meds. I do go to a naturopath and a homeopath but obviously they don’t know what your doctors know. Please contact me… donnaciaccio[AT]msn[dot]com.
I’d also love to know the homeopathic remedies you were given by your Naturopath to enable you to discontinue Seroquel… and quell the horrible withdrawal effects. Can you please share? Thanks so much.
I really don’t like these homeopathic sales pitches on here. If they really worked the world would know about them. I am willing to bet anything you have a monetary gain in promoting them here.
I’ve come off 1500Mg in the span of about 5 weeks and have realized only a few real symptoms. I have a lot of trouble sleeping. I had intense nausea and vomiting for about 48 hours. And the biggest thing is I’ve lost about 22 pounds and don’t have that great of an appetite. Which really doesn’t help that I’m a 3 sport athlete. I have a lot less energy at football practices and games.
However I find it easier to wake up and get going places. I feel better on the inside knowing I am now off all my meds. Seroquel, Trazodone, Zoloft, and Depakote. I was on over 3000Mg of medicine just about two months ago and now am completely off. Just want to let anyone know who is suffering that it does end and it gets so much better.
I take 200 mg time released. I have been taking it for a couple of years, and before that risperdal for many years. I have gained a tremendous amount of weight from these medicines (although my bp and all that are ok). I have diagnoses of schizoaffective disorder and borderline personality disorder. I do not want stop seroquel because it has saved my life.
I cannot function without it, because of hallucinations, agitation, panic attacks and wanting to cut. Because of seroquel I finished my graduate degree. Yes, the wait gain will shorten my life. The seroquel may also damage my live. I do have some signs of tardive dyskensia. But, There is such a thing as quality over quantity of life. I have been mentally ill since young adulthood, and I am just passed middle age now.
I have been in psych wards 8 times. Since seroquel (along with all the other medications I take) allows me to have some sort of life, then I will go with it. Also, the antipsychotics in decades past were much much worse than seroquel for side effects.
Hi, I have been on serequel 300mg for 4yrs and quit cold turkey. I have had vomiting, diarriha, trouble sleeping, can’t eat or drink, the smell of food makes me vomit, my bones ache, headache I lost 10lbs in 10 days so I had to start the medication again and taper off slowly. I couldn’t handle the withdrawals.
How are you today, Cherie? It is two days later. How many days have you been detoxing? The pharmacist tried to tell me about half-lives of drugs which I did not understand. Hope you are feeling better. You give me hope.
Half life of a drug is how long it takes for your body to reduce a drug to half. So if you took 10mg of a drug and 10 hours later you had 5mg left in your blood then that means the Half Life is 10 hours. The longer the half life the longer it takes to leave the body. I would read up before taking any drug whether it’s legal or not.
Me myself would never take anything without knowing everything about it. Even then I still took most substances regardless. Never trust a Doctor trust me. When you educate yourself about drugs you will come to find out that you know more about the drug you are taking than your own doctor does.
I have caught doctors not knowing the answer to questions about a drug they were prescribing me. I found that crazy but in reality all the doctors know about the drug is what the drug manufacturer tells them in a lot of cases.
Hi Sandy. March 2016. To try and simplify 1/2 lives: A dose of 100mg may have a 1/2 life of 8 hours so in 8 hours plasma (blood) levels have dropped to 50mg (1/2 of 100mg) in a further 8 hours it drops to 25mgs and so on 12.5mg, 6.25mg, 3.125mg. This would be said to have 5 half lives. Hope this helps.
I’m going through withdrawal and it is not nothing nice vomiting, nausea, headache, dizziness, blurred vision, unable to do day to day functions it’s a real mess
I have been on Seroquel for three or four years, Things got bad around the first of the year and I could no longer get a perscription or meds from Astrazeneca anymore. I keep reducing the pills I had left and then ended up with a half ass medical insurance. You know what on I am talking about. Saw a doctor and he doubled the 300mg to twice a day. I was tired, Hungry and getting fat. Well I can see that I will be without again so its time to dump all meds and let life do what it has to do. Seroquel is a dangerous drug and the doctor says dont stop taking it. Well I am down to 50 mg piece a day before sleep. I already tried to just stop but no sleep. Why do american doctors perscribe so much crap to us. They get paid to and your health is not the number one concern. Healthy people are not a profitable thing and money is. If I die I dont care at 59 years old as I am not going to keep taking more and more meds to stay alive so they say. All I can do is let God decide what to do with me. DOnt let your family or friends let the medical community make them sick for profit. Go to another country for medical advice thats is not like americas sorry deadly healthcare providers. People with no insurance live longer as they dont have access to deadly perscriptions to make them sicker as life goes on.
Hey Guys, I’m on 900mg for bipolar and I kinda love the stuff – only because I’m so better on in than I am without it. Just recently though, I’ve missed a few doses – like I’ve ran out or whatever… The withdrawal effects are so bad that I’m literally unable to function in any way at all. That’s from just missing 1 dose. It is unbearable. Massive sweating, excessive muscle pain, paranoia, constant vomiting, insomnia and worst of all suicidal tendencies. The worst of it is that the drug really works and helps me live a somewhat normal life – but missing one dose really really messes it all up… any help on alternatives would be greatly received.
Like you, I have had seroquel for 4 years now. Last 4 months reduced to 50mg / 4 nights = over 10mg only a night. Still sleep well. But this week non sleep when full quit. Trying to deal for more coming days.
I was given a misdiagnosis of borderline personality disorder a year and a half ago and I found out about a month ago that I actually have PTSD. I was given 500mg of Seroquel to start of with and I have been struggling constantly with the effects of this evil drug. I have dropped out of college twice due to how much this drug makes me sleep and lack of concentration and there was a phase of about 2 months where I was embarrassed to leave the house due to the harsh muscle spasms seroquel caused. I also have tried 4 times to quit this drug and the withdrawal symptoms have been atrocious. I have now gone two days cold turkey and I am feeling positive that this time I will succeed and get this poison out of my body.
Kayleigh, Sorry to hear you have PTSD. I have been seeing an EMDR Therapist for my PTSD, and getting remarkable results quite quickly. I have gone from 4-5 nightmares every night to 1 every 3weeks, a remarkable change given years of other therapies have not worked. The concept sounds like new age tree hugging mumbojumbo but it is well research. I am starting the decrease in my Seroquel, and 2 days in things have been unsettled, overly emotional and fragile. Thank you to everyone.
And YES your body dont need that “thing” in your brain I suggest you for maintaining this thing in your brain be careful what you eat ( less dead food -like the junk food more more fruits and vegetables) Please check about ‘the role of adrenal glands =which main role is to produce hormones for balancing the anxiety and about thyroid=which if doesn’t produce the necessary amount calcium appears depression feelings ‘) Try to use more vitamins for your brain s function BUT what you put in your body is ESSENTIALLY! Peace!
Bodies are different What I have learnt from my own experiences and the other s one is that no doctor has no idea which quantity of serotonin or other neurotransmitters is lack in your brain so they do estimate as the entire pharmacy dose when they do create pills So if for you example you have been taking 400 mg of Seroquel but your brain needs only 310 mg and you don’t know- the rest of the pill quantity is going to be itself side 0 effect -thus you feel more agitated or mania etc it s depend on each other person brain Plus if you have been functioned with a drug perfectly and when you took off cold turkey and had no side effects-means your doctor prescribed exactly what your brain needs in perfect quantity plus you didnt suffered from terrible side effects which eventually became toxins in your body and once you stopped it your body is of toxicity and it doesn’t have the proper power in a short time to get them off immediately Another thing if you withdrew Seroquel and you feel great mean your brain chemistry balance is so perfect that the body doesn’t feel abruptly the lack with the Seroquel Another possibility is that you have been taken small quantity of Seroquel for shorter time so the body didn t intoxicate itself with the toxin of it and when you withdrew because probably you have a strong body constitution But remeber there are people who suffer from withdrew s and other not and you are one of the lucky one !!! Wish all the best and Love !
Before I go into this, I want to say one thing, I am in no way gloating or trivializing what seems to be an awful experience I am trying to find some information for my experience. I was diagnosed about 4 years ago with bipolar 2 (not sure about that in the first place) and was put on Lamictal and Quetiapine. I had no problem with the Lamictal but the Quetiapine has been just evil. I had all the normal side effects of really bad lethargy, weight gain etc and just got sick of it so decided last week that I needed to come off it. I did all the research about coming off and all the horror stories about withdrawal but decided that I would just do it cold turkey I mean if it go to bad then I would just revisit it. Well I am a week down now and the only side effect that I have had was a bit of insomnia, other than that, absolutely nothing. I kept waiting for things to hit me, but nothing at all. I really don’t know why but the only thing that I can put it down to is that about 5 years ago I had serious addiction to codeine and eventually got sick of the toll it was taking and went cold turkey off that and had terrible withdrawal which lasted 3 days. I know this might sound strange but because I went through that, is it possible that my body no longer has the ‘thing’ in me to go through withdrawal. Anyone with ideas?
That’s how I feel my titration is going. I am taking it very slooowww and gradually going down to zero the next two months. I have every bad side effect. My psychiatrist said I’m bipolar too (don’t be so complacent or believe everything the “experts” tell you about what to do. It’s your body. Your life. Your brain. They can go f*ck off). When I spoke slowly and calmly to the psychiatrist that I have an abusive, very dysfunctional living situation. No friends as I haven’t lived in this part for 12 years.
I don’t fit in. It can feel isolating at time when no one around you listens to you and tries to get you or god forbid, just be nice. He told the seizure neurologist I needed a double dose of the lamictal because I’m “hypomanic.” Bull f*cking sh*t. I said that’s not going to happen, no thank you. I haven’t found a doctor to take me off seroquel, so I’m doing it myself, very slowly. Don’t let people run all over you because your “mental health is compromised.”
I have been tapering myself off Seroquel for the past 6 weeks after 2.5 years on 25mg a night. It was prescribed for insomnia induced mania. I felt like it was my saving grace. Six weeks ago I decided I couldn’t take the weight gain any longer and didn’t want the possible side effects of diabetes so started to take half a night then going two nights without one night on! I started to exercise of a morning but the side effects kicked in, depression, lethargy, nausea, anxiety, sleeplessness, weight loss, (which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing) and then one day I got prickly heat and couldn’t sleep so took some Seroquel two nights in a row! OH MY GOD THE ITCHING since then has been unbearable! I have had all over body itching for the last two weeks! My doctor has told me to go back onto the Seroquel but I refuse to because I do not want to go through withdrawal again! Nobody told me this would happen. In the end because of such distress and not sleeping and getting manic again, the doctor has given me an itch cream and some over the counter sleeping tablets. The itching is still happening but it is bearable now am sleeping! I am hoping and praying this feeling like my skin is on fire with hot pins and needles will eventually stop! My last half a Quetiapine tablet was 8 days ago. I have found out form forums since 2008 that this is a withdrawal effect! And that I have also essentially been taking a anti-histamine for neary 2.5 years! I am now looking into alternative therapies to help rebalance my brain chemistry and find a more holistic way of balancing my moods! Never again will I take Quetiapine.
Nadia thank you SO MUCH for your post. I thought I was LOSING MY MIND WITH THE ITCHING. I was beginning to think I had bed bugs or scabies it has been so UNBEARABLE. I have been on only 25 mg for sleep for about 5 years now. My last dose was 7 days ago. I did not expect to have severe withdrawal on such a low dose. Was I wrong! I have barely slept since I stopped taking it. I burst into tears. I am hypersensitive and having mild hallucinations. OMG! I pray this doesn’t last much longer!
I was on 50mg, then back down to 25 after researched that it was killing me… I got the “OK” to stop, and this ITCHING is so awful I’m not even sure what other side effects I have right now. I feel so obsessed with the itching I can’t even think. Irony…
25MG is an extremely low dose. I would suggest switching to diphenhydramine aka (Benadryl) at bedtime. A dose of 50mg should suffice and you may just want to try 25MG at first to see how it affects you. By the way if you have completely gotten off Seroquel let me know how long it took for the itching to stop. This is by far the worst symptom I had and one of the reasons I mentioned Benadryl. Hope all is well…
This is very useful information.
I began Seroquel in 2007. My highest dose was 1500mg during psychosis in 2009.
From 2009-2014 I tapered my dose down from 1500mg to 50mg a day. With the supervision of my psychiatrist.
5 days ago I had my last dose. Wednesday was fine, then Thursday the withdrawal hit. I had no idea what I was in for.
The nausea is the worst medical thing have experienced in my life. It’s relentless. This is awful, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Seroquel is a serious drug. I would not have taken it if I had known this would happen.
The stomach pain is indeed relentless =( It’s been a month for me now and it hasn’t stopped. Stopping seroquel has just completely thrown my digestive system out of whack.
Hi Kristopher :) Just wondering when you wrote this & whether you’ve gotten over these stomach pains. I am getting off this terrible Seroquel & have been getting the worst abdominal pains & pains in the guts. Hope you’re succeeding in getting off this horrendous drug!
I am coming off 200 mg of seroquel and 3 months later, I am down to 100 mg and the nausea is AWFUL! Has your nausea gone away? Wondering how long I have to suffer like this. It’s affecting my daily life which pisses me off to no end. I feel like I’ll never feel better.
I too have quit cold turkey after 6 months of 100 mg. I have had several stomach scans, tests the works thinking I was having something other than withdrawal symptoms. I have been nauseated have been having sharp pain in the abdomen upper and lower with diarrhea and vomiting.
I wish it would end. I have lost weight though since everyone says they have gained which is the only good thing about this for me. It has been an eye opening experience for me and now I ride it out. I pray we all get relief soon.
I have been on Seroquel 25mg for insomnia for the last 3 nights. I intend to stop it for good due to side effects.
I was on half of the 25 mg dose for insomnia as well and quit cold turkey earlier this month. I’ve been dealing with the worst rebound insomnia and muscle aches. Since your post was from 18 or so months ago, may I ask: How long did it take you to get back to sleeping normally? I’m on my fourth week without Seroquel (though I caved a couple of times and took half of my regular dose because I just needed to get some sleep), now using natural supplements (under the supervision of a very good naturopathic doctor) and I’m getting maybe 3.5 hours of sleep per night.
I have been on antidepressants for 30 years. Most recently for the last 7 years, it’s been Zoloft, Wellbutrin and Seroquel. I started tapering the Seroquel a month ago, and the withdrawal symptoms have been terrible.
I’ve had flu like symptoms for 3 weeks, severe headaches, muscular pain and joint pain, sleepless nights, vivid dreams, severe fatigue and no concentration, my brain is foggy and I burst into tears.
I’m trying to keep my job down and I’m finding it almost impossible. I’m am besides myself. I so badly want to be drug free one day, but the withdrawal symptoms are getting the best of me.
I am in constant pain. Please, if anyone can tell me what I can take to help me through this withdrawal. I’m already taking vitamins, omega 3 etc. I’m desperate, and fear that if I can’t even quit Seroquel, I may never get off the zoloft and Wellbutrin. I’m in agony. Thank you. Lu
I know what you are going through. I quit 300 MG cold turkey a week a go and could not figure out why I felt like such hell. Constant fatigue, body pains, nausea, uncontrollable crying. I’m still going through it and it majorly sucks. IDK what to tell you, wish somebody could tell me something.
I just figured this out as well. For weeks I have been feeling like I have the flu and find it very hard to eat anything. I’ve lost 10 pounds so far. I Stopped taking my Seroquel cold turkey and it is VERY hard to deal with. The Nausea is unrelenting to me and I find it very hard to complete tasks throughout the day.
Try pure ginger candy or slices to alleviate the nausea…hope you feel better soon!
I too have been trying to taper off Seroquel or at least lower my dose. First I tried to cut the dose in half and I didn’t get any physical symptoms but I felt so depressed and had trouble sleeping. I talked to my doctor and he said to taper off more slowly.
So I have been reducing my dose of Seroquel by 50 mg every too weeks and that has worked better. I am still a bit depressed but not like it was when I was cutting the dose in half. Hope this helps you or someone else.
I’m scared to death to quit cold turkey but I desperately want off this drug. I take 200mg nightly and am bi polar with major depression. This drug is ruining my heart. I feel like I’m going yo have a heart attack when I take it. Did your heart do OK when you quit cold turkey? Thank you, Amanda
Amanda, I had a rapid heartbeat when I was taking a high dose, 400 milligrams. It only lasted about an hour after I took it but it was disturbing. The way that I dealt with it was to take half of the dose and then an hour later take the rest of the dose. I was taking this only at night. But I really think you should talk to your doctor about either changing medications or if you want to get off of it altogether.
I am down to 100 milligrams because of other side-effects and I hope I will be able to get off of it soon. You should also get your heart checked out but it is probably likely that you are just on too high of a dose. Short term rapid heartbeat like I had is probably not enough to damage your heart but I would mention it to the doctor anyway. If you have that rapid heartbeat all of the time instead of what I described, you need to talk to your doctor about your concerns. Good luck! ;-) Check out my blog Bipolar Lessons!
Amanda don’t be scared your heart will be fine. Quetiapine was causing my heart to race and elevated my blood pressure. I ended up on propranalol to slow my heart down. I cold turkey’d off 400mg. Stayed on the propranalol for another four weeks then come off them. My heart was fine.
Blood pressure and heart rate normalized. I grew to hate Quetiapine felt as though my body was shutting down. I was dead behind the eyes. Good luck. You will get better, and no matter how bad you feel in life, never forget that you always have options. Never let go of hope. Stay strong and you’ll be fine.
Hi Micheal, I agree, with you, never lose hope. I have been off 300mg for 8 weeks now, I still have headaches, nausea, don’t really feel hungry, severe itching, feel agitated at times, but I have been exercising four days per week. It took me 40 years to realize that exercise is great for anyone on antidepressants.
I was on seroquel for 18 years so I expect it will take a while to flush out of my system. I have also been excessively tired as well. I feel OK at the moment, better than what I thought I would. I will not lose hope, I really want to succeed at this. Good luck to everyone coming off the tablet.
This drug is really screwing with my body. I used Seroquel for over 3 years and it made me neurotic. I pharmacist friend explained the long-term effects of the drug and I decided to quit. Did quit cold turkey and the withdrawal symptoms is immensely horrible. Was shocked with the effects about a drug that was suppose to “assist” dealing with life. In my second week now and have slept about 10 hours in the last 7 days. Headaches, cramps, dementia, nausea, vomiting, spasms, fatigue, pain in legs arms and body. Just have to ride it out. Good luck to all who want to quit.
Hi Michael, I’ve gone cold turkey was on 1100mg daily prescribed to help me come off a really strong Benzo. I am 5 months down the line. Withdrawal symptoms still on going the anger and headaches are getting worse. When did you start feeling better and how did you help yourself? Thanks.
Thank you so much for this message. Very encouraging. I really want to come off this medicine.
Michael, did you experience any tough withdrawal symptoms going cold turkey from 400 mg?
I have been taking quetiapine for 5 years and on 350mg. I have come off cold turkey. And have constant nausea, and am sick. Headaches. Cannot sleep. Emotional. Pains in my eyes, dizziness. I haven’t had any problems with my heart. In fact my chest pains have decreased.
To all that have pain in eyes, please see eye doctor and beware of glaucoma and have this checked out.
I got my daughter on this horrible drug the first time I took her off right away at 100mg. she was fine some head aches n vomiting not as much. After 2 weeks she was fine but started getting manic again. Put the girl back in the hospital and they put her on 350 mg. She can hardly function my poor child. Took her to the AMEN clinic in NY and they gave me a different diagnosis.
Got her down to 100mg and in 2 more weeks I will take her completely off. This medication causes permanent brain damage. She’s on all natural supplements like GABA, Omega3 EPA, DHA, St. johns worth, Magnesium, 5htp, vitamin D, multi vitamin and Klonopin .5 for anxiety. Long term antipsychotic meds do nothing but damage your brain even more as well as your internal organ like your kidneys, heart, and liver. Good luck to you!
Amanda, I wasn’t on a high dose of seroquel, 50mgs for sleep but I quit cold turkey almost two weeks ago because I tried Benadryl and another sleep aid because I’d been wanting to get off of seroquel for awhile because I thought it was giving me heart palpitations. I also take Prozac for depression. The doctor even gave me atenolol for the heart palpitations but didn’t work.
So, I quit almost two weeks ago and am finding out, now, that my palpitations are almost gone. I wouldn’t advise cold turkey because I still notice other withdrawal symptoms but aren’t as bothering as the palpitations were and I have been taking seroquel for three years. I’ve heard and read that it can cause palpitations but I wanted to make sure, and so far, seroquel seems to be the culprit!
The posts here are reassuring – I know I’m not the only one trying to go cold turkey. But in other ways the posts are disheartening – possibly months of symptoms. I’ve been on 300mg for about 18 months, gradually built up over another 18 months. It was bothering me (and my wife) that my libido had evaporated, my dreams were recurring, muddled thinking, lack of energy, and weight gain.
So last week I began snapping the pills in two to halve the dose, but then decided to go cold turkey… No problem falling asleep, but waking in the early hours and not being able to get back to sleep, extreme tiredness as a consequence, headaches, extreme nausea and loss of appetite, tingling limbs, dizziness, total lack of energy, even more clouded thinking… Really nasty collection of symptoms.
The only good so far is that my dreams are no longer recurring, but supremely varied, creative, wickedly funny (I wake up laughing), and amazingly vivid. But I can’t tolerate the nausea and early morning waking. I think the symptoms are worsened by going cold turkey on my antidepressants, too – sertraline, 150mg.
I’ve been on Seroquel for 8 years! 100mg at night and my Doctor said I could just stop it. That was two weeks ago and my mind is mush, lol. I am nauseous and I’m hungry but I don’t know what to eat. I’m glad I’m not alone with side effects from stopping this drug. I’m retired and glad I don’t have to work feeling this way! Hard enough just doing simple things, ICK
What helped with the insomnia?
I’m exactly like you… 3 years of 50mg. I’ve been snapping them in half for a month and completely stopped them about 3 days ago. Ok for 2 days but then an awful headache kicked in. And then today I began feeling sick and even vomited, which really surprised me. Feel a bit better this evening. Going to really look after myself till I feel better. Thanks.
My heart is one of the worst symptoms I am experiencing. Don’t quit cold turkey, please. This is my third day cold turkey and my blood pressure was 145/125 and my pulse was 138. I thought I was going to have a stroke. At the same time I was crying uncontrollably and having a major anxiety attack. HELP!!!!
Please NEVER quit these drugs cold turkey. Use the lowest possible dosage for at least 8 weeks combined with plenty of water and exercise.
Amanda, Hi I read your post on seroquel. My heart is having major palps and SVT. I already have a pacemaker for a heart block. I need off this drug I take 150 MG a night… and withdrawing from Xanax a benzo which is also an issue. I’m so desperate and afraid…
I just hate being a victim of this. I want to cold turkey but I know it would not be kind to CNS and brain. Thank you I’d like to stay in touch.
I have been on Quetiapine for about 5 years at 400mg. Each time I tried cold turkey I lasted a few days and then went back on it and gained a stone. I am now tapering and have been given Diazepam and Aripiprazole to help and replace the Quetiapine. I am having side effects such as shaking, dizziness and feeling faint, and sleeping problems plus no appetite.
Although these are unpleasant for me as have mobility problems such as arthritis of my hip, knees and hands (balance an issue) I would recommend tapering to cold turkey. 3 weeks tapering and one week left to go then off completely. I guess thats when the fun really starts. Good luck to all tapering or cold turkey.
I know EXACTLY whet you are going through. I have been on a large dose of Quetiapine for a long time now. During this time I cannot lose weight no matter how hard I exercise or how little I eat. I even had to see a heart specialist as I was convinced I had serious heart problems as I showed all the symptoms. I went for an angiogram only to be told there was NOTHING wrong with my heart.
A friend of mine who is a Doctor of Eastern Medicine told me it was definitely this terrible drug. I am now tapering down my dosage and sure enough I feel weak, lethargic, flu like symptoms and Nausea. I rue the day I ever started to take this evil drug.
Hi. I also have bipolar – type 2. Major depression and anxiety. I have been taking quetiapine for almost 2 and a half years now. I started on 400mg and reduced down slowly to 25-50mg depending on my day. Two days ago I stopped taking it and I have a headache and nausea. No crying though. I also take Lithium. So maybe that’s why I haven’t been crying uncontrollably. My GP said I will need about 2-3 months to readjust, however the withdrawal are different for everyone… I’ve taken maxalt and camomile tea for the nausea and paracetamol for the headaches… Hope this helps.
Hello fellow Gabbie & fellow type 2 BP! I’m on 25-50mg depending on the night also, but I’ve been on it for 7 years! Did you taper down from the 25mg or just stop it all together? Cuz I find even if I haven’t taken my 25mg by like 4 AM I’m already nauseous…
I’m meant to start tapering off this week, first 3/4 of a 225mg tablet for a week, then 1/2 for a week then 1/4 for a week. I’m freaking the f out!
Hi Lu, This is the 2nd day I have been off of Serequel XR. I was on 200 mg and my psychiatrist just told me I could just do it cold turkey. The 1st day was just terrible, and last night was really bad with sleep. I do not know how many mg. you were on originally. My doctor said I could take the maximum 20 mg of Sonata for sleep. He said if that doesn’t work, I could take night time Dramamine, you know… used for motion sickness, if you are having trouble sleeping. Have you asked your doctor if you could take a benzodiazepine like Ativan for a little less than two weeks?
After two weeks, Ativan can become addicting. Like you, I wish I were drug-free! Wellbutrin has been a life saver for me. There are newer and better anti-depressants on the market. I take Viibryd and Nefazodone (Serzone). You probably have already heard of Cymbalta, an anti-depressant that is, for some, is very good for pain reliever that comes with depression. But, yes, I know you are going through withdrawal symptoms and that is not pleasant at all. It may take a little time with the Seroquel, however, things will get better, I can assure you.
I have had 8 Major Depressive episodes in my adult life. I starting getting depressed when I was 9. I am still alive! For me, things do get better. I am so glad you are getting off of an anti-psychotic, unless you have schizophrenia or bi-polar. I have never been psychotic a day in my life, yet for years I was put on anti-psychotics because some of them can help strengthen the anti-depressants, but that is off the label. I hope you found my reply somewhat helpful. Feel free to email me back; I have much information on mental illness.
My son is 16 and has been taking Seroquel for 3 months at 200mg. He has OCD, depression, and is a very high functioning autistic teen. Ever since he starting taking this drug he has been even more depressed, has angry outburst, nausea, sweating, irrational thoughts, sleeping 12-14 hours a night, and three suicide attempts. He describes feeling like hes floating in clouds and complains hes unable to think. I took him off this drug cold turkey, we are on day three. He is much happier, not sweating, eating more, but has excessive itching and on one occasion chest pain. I have complained for months about the stomach issues, mood swings, etc. What should I look out for over the next few weeks and what signs should I look out for (when should I take him to the ER)?
I didn’t do any research before I was offered 300mg dose of quetiapine to deal with the psychotic episode I was having. And I don’t think it would have mattered because at the time I was taking any street drugs I could get my hands on. It quite literally saved me. I think it was the perfect drug to reset my brain. It allowed me to have the same sleep pattern as the rest of the world (suffering from insomnia was the main reason I was smoking a lot of weed in the first place, which lead on the stronger drugs and generally not good lifestyle habits).
And i think i had lost my ability to relate to all of the the people in my life because of this, and a few other things. When I started on quetiapine I didn’t want to take it, but after about 3 months I felt like I was turning into my old self again. The tiredness would come on so quickly in the evening would feel sick with sleepiness, I could feel my heart pumping so loudly in my ears, I could barely get up off the couch and go to bed. For me quetiapine was a hard reset on my brain, 300 mg for a year.
When I started back at work again, I had to ask the doctor to change my dose because I couldn’t function in the morning, (I had to operate machinery, try that after popping 150mg). He offered to switch me to the quetiapine XL; this reduced the insanely early-onset super powerful drowsiness I was experiencing, to the point that I was feeling really well again. I started to reduce my dose (gradually over the course of 18 months) to the point where they didn’t make the XL that low (I think 50mg).
Then I had to switch back to the non slow release, but I haven’t gone any further yet. I’m on this low dose now, but I am still a bit worried about dropping off entirely in case I spin out again. I like the way I can take one tablet at 8pm and by 9pm I’ll be asleep and have nice mild dreams. I suffer from twitching and itchiness, I would say at approximately 25% difference to pre quetiapine levels.
I plan to come off entirely by this summer. I can’t find much evidence that the twitching/itching ever really leaves, but even if it doesn’t based on previous experience, if I get into a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise, I should sleep fine, and everything else should fall into place. I’m almost there now from 300 to 50 mg, makes me about 80% there. It’s not easy but I know everyone is capable.
I will be proud when I come off and wish everyone else who wants to, the best of luck. Please share any tips and experiences if it helps.
I had a very similar experience with the Seroquel. Just want to say that I do not recommend going off this medication without tapering & am shocked that any Dr would recommend that. I was on 300 mg of Seroquel for the last 9 years. It did a lot for me as far as severe depression & anxiety. It also helped to reset my brain & rebalance the chemicals.
I talked to my Dr about stopping & he agreed that I had been on the meds long enough where he thinks the issue resolved itself. I took it at night & took 20mg of methylin in the morning to counteract the lethargic, groggy feeling. That helped immensely. If you have to gradually build up with the meds (I went from 25mg & slowly increased to 300mg) then why would it be ok to quit cold turkey?
I’ve been tapering down 50mg a month & just stopped a week ago. I have insomnia & nausea & some crying (which is completely abnormal for me) so I’m glad to see this is why. Luckily since I tapered, these symptoms are not severe and are manageable. Unfortunately my Psychiatrist never warned me about withdrawal symptoms.
We tapered down to make sure that I was mentally ok with the changes. He said it will take approximately 3-4 months for my body & brain to go back into balance since this drug is an antipsychotic. I have also been having a lot of hair loss & was curious if this was why? Could be just stress & totally unrelated.
Hi there, I was also told by my Community Health Nurse that I see weekly to come off it cold turkey even though I have hypersensitive to everything. I cannot believe docs etc are telling people to do this. I weaned myself off this drug so slowly even taking dust at the end!!!
I was on 25mg every evening for over 2 years along with Ativan and Pristiq. I have tried to stop Ativan too but crashed after 14 days. I get weird symptoms: amazing energy when I am tapering off drugs, amazingly high sex drive, just love life then BOOM!!
Same thing happened with this one. On day 6 off no quetiapine! Off work 2 and a half days. Trying to be kind to myself but having felt amazing for 5 months I find it hard to feel down and fatigued.
Watch the chest pain. If possible keep track of his BP. I’m on day 3 of cold turkey and nearly had a stroke.
My 14 year old son is also autistic, but he has been on seroquel since he was 6 years old for insomnia. Recently, I decided to take him off of it to see if he could sleep on his own. Bad choice! He does sleep, but his brain wasn’t, so during the day he would be so difficult and he would ask serious questions about things that he already knows the answer to. When I ask him why, he responded that he couldn’t remember. It was very frustrating. So, needless to say, he is taking it again. But this time, we are going to wean him down until he isn’t on it, but also, isn’t experiencing these episodes of absolute forgetfulness!!
Thanks Glen, like you I was put on Seroquel to help with an anti-depressant (I have been taking Paxil 20mg for over 20 years – it was prescribe to help with my chronic insomnia). It seems that I got into the trap of medication being “added” for whatever reason, instead of really exploring why I was feeling the way I was feeling. Robert Whitaker’s book “Anatomy of An Epidemic” was my ‘ha-ha” moment, life changing book. I recommend it. Also go to Mad in America for Laura Delano’s blog.
I have been taking both Seroquel 100-200 MG and Clonazepam for five years. Have had some really scary experiences waking up in the ER with no memory of how I got there. I am going cold turkey off both of these evil medicines. I’m 62 and knew that both of these meds were going to be a problem but had no idea this would be so incredibly difficult.
All the afore mentioned withdrawal symptoms and the worst is I just don’t know how long I’ll be able to feel this way. I really appreciate being able to read all the other posts. Good luck, this is spyware hard but must be done. Don’t give up!
I have read most of the posts on this page. They have been heartening: written by intelligent, capable people. I think that it is absolutely appalling that this drug is given out by psychiatrists and doctors (prescribing to the models of mental illness as pathological/disease based) like lollies. In 2011, Seroquel was the sixth best-selling RX drug in the U.S. with sales of $18.2 billion (R. A., Friedman, 2012, NY Times). Horrifyingly, it is now being given to children. I have been on this insidious, over-marketed, over-promoted drug for 10 years on 25mg to augment anti-depressant venlafaxine. I wish that I was never, ever put on it.
I have gained weight, have barely any energy, sex-drive non-existent, not to mention the slower cognition and stunted emotional reactions. However, even on such a small dose (so the Doctors love to re-iterate!!!), the withdrawal is absolutely Horrific. It’s not so much the physical aspect that I have trouble with, it’s the psychological/emotional. The non-stop crying. The anxiety. The agitation. And the dark depression that comes and envelops me with a feeling of utter, utter helplessness. I lasted a few days last Summer when I attempted to take 12.5 mg but I just felt so awful, I went back on.
Prior to this attempt, I stopped in 2011. I felt wonderful for a week or more; I went home to family for Christmas, work was closed and study was also on break. I lost a lot of weight which felt great (has anyone noticed how one’s face changes on quetiapine?), had more energy and was feeling more positive due to this (and possible lack of stress from being on break from work and school). Then slowly, slowly the feeling that something wasn’t quite right started creeping back in. I started a relationship but things started to go off track, namely my emotions. Withdrawal was kicking in. To cut things short, I lost the relationship, my house and my job (I couldn’t stop crying at work).
I was in a chaotic whirlpool of emotion. I was drowning! Eventually, after a few months, I crawled back to the doctor and asked for more quetiapine. It didn’t take long for me to become a compliant, placating, sedated and bloated sack of cement again. The world was turned upright again. According to whom? Well, I think that we live in a world which is truly UPSIDE DOWN. When we are completely disconnected from ourselves and each other and all doped up on drugs (being them prescribed or not e.g. food, alcohol): something is seriously WRONG. And no-one wants to admit it.
For anyone having difficulties with the withdrawal I’m so, so sorry for you. I’m so, so sorry that you were put on this drug in the first place. It’s a sobering thought that we cannot trust anyone but ourselves and it’s becoming increasingly clear how every one of us has to take responsibility for what we swallow, wear, buy and comply with. I did DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) a few years ago and it changed my life. Everyone who is battling with similar issues, feel empowered that you are taking control and I highly advocate for therapy which doesn’t involve band-aid solutions like drugs (i.e. quetiapine).
DBT has enabled me to do so many things, one of which is completing degree. I now look to coming off Quetiapine first and then Venlafaxine after (not looking forward to that). It’s harder to withdraw from these than from narcotics! I’m looking into Homeopathic/Naturopathic alternatives for managing what I think is a fundamental rejection to the way this world is. Good Luck Everyone. Be Kind to Yourselves.
I am sorry you have had such a difficult time getting off of it. I am weaning myself off because I am concerned that it may be worsening my fibromyalgia and I have developed severe fatigue. It may be due to the fact that it lowers dopamine levels in the brain and I have read recently low dopamine, which is a natural pain reliever, may play a role in fibro. Severe fatigue is another symptom.
I would definitely not recommend that schizophrenics not go off their meds but I was put on it mainly for sleep issues. I do have bipolar but I have gradually reduced it from 400 to 100 mg and last night I did not take it at all. For those with sleep issues I recommend taking a supplement called GABA Calm by Source Naturals. My sleep was not great last night but this did help. It basically is the same chemical in the brain that tranquilizers boost.
There is a free book online called The Way Up from Down and it talks about supplements that naturally boost neurotransmitters in the brain. It is a bit old, but the website has articles on more recent research. If anyone can afford to see an orthomolecular doctor who prescribes these things that would be best, but there are not too many and are expensive to see. The up side is that they are actual M.D.s that use natural remedies so they know how to make the transition from meds to natural stuff. You can buy the supplements at a health food store. Good luck everybody! ;-)
I’ve been trying to taper off of Seroquel for months now. I started out at 900mg daily, got down to 600mg and am now down to 300mg. The depression and anxiety have been horrible, but it’s good to know that it will eventually go away. I wish I’d known this would happen, I’d never have started it.
Luke I really agree with everything you are saying. I’ve had a similar experience… no psychosis in the first place just had insomnia… low dose of 50-75mg… trying to half the dose meant major anxiety… I’m thinking the only way to deal with this is to get back to basics and find a simple life somewhere… digging in soil or something. The reality we are being sold is not real and people know it which is why they are ill at ease… but instead of getting away from it they are getting drugged up because it’s the only way they can stay living in this structure! Fight the power… or just ignore it and do your own thing!
I wish this weren’t true, but for the fact of the matter, it is.
The unfortunate part is actually that, in part you are right, but in part you’re not. The structure is there and its not going away. The only way to survive these days is to find a way to coexist with the way things are. There is no point in trying to fight a system that is larger than every being alive today. The system has been created, slowly over thousands of years and is now ingrained in every part of who you are. Every person is defined by the memories and experiences they have collected over their lives, and so, to change what is, would be to break yourself down to your most primal needs and wants.
In essence, to become and animal, savage and driven by only what you want, by the need to fulfill your ‘need’ for instant gratification. You see something you want, you take it. Which is what causes problems like drug taking, theft, rape, etc. The system and its rules are far from faultless, but as humans, the best thing we can do is to just live with it, trying to find simple joys in life, and not breaking down every time we feel that the world is treating us unfairly, because it’s treating everyone unfairly, but unfortunately, that’s just life.
All that crap being said though, you have a point about the ‘digging soil’ part though; it has been proven that simple repetitive tasks have great impact on ones mental well being and can be considered a form of meditation. ‘Meditation’ as it is most commonly thought of, is the act of sitting peacefully and clearing your mind of all unnecessary ‘background noise’. Which is incredibly fucking hard to do.
But, in my few years of being a carpenter, I’ve noticed how much more calm I can make myself when I am performing a task that doesn’t require a huge amount of mental strain, but requires enough for me to stop thinking about everything else that is going on in my life, and instead think about things like, “Has this been sanded enough? Oh, look, there’s a spot I missed”. Because let’s be honest we’ve all got way too much sh*t to deal with in this fast paced world we’re presented with, so every now and again, you’ve just got to do something small, that doesn’t have to do with anything else.
You’ve got to give yourself a break. It’s difficult at times when you don’t think you can even do something like, wash the dishes (also good for ‘meditating’ I’ve found), but it really does help so much. I’m still partly in withdrawal, but in moments where I’m occupied and not so ‘in my head’, for at least a little bit, I forget I’ve got all these problems. (I have schizophrenia, bipolar, OCD and ADHD, let’s not even get into the insomnia part…). Other than that, you’ve got to get off this drug, it made me feel and act more crazy than I already was.
This seems like good advice. Very eloquent and thoughtfully written.
This is downright ridiculous… this drug should be banned. I’d like to know what its like to sleep again. And not feel sick to my stomach and shakey, to say the least. I don’t like this. I’m sorry for anyone who experienced this awful drug.
I can only agree with you, Tiffany! This drug should be banned. I am so angry with the psychiatrist who originally put me onto it. This is my third attempt to get off it, hope I can pull through this time. I feel sorry for eveyone going through the horror of withdrawal from this drug!
Thanks for the support, I completely agree.
I so want to sue the company that makes this drug with its side effects. (I am not going to) but I am miserable. My GI doctor has run every stomach test known to man thinking the stomach pain is something he can fix. I am vomiting, headache, nausea, not sleeping at all and have no appetite. I try to eat little things but it comes right back up.
I have suicidal thoughts, increased anxiety and over all horrible health. Unlike most though I have lost 20 lbs because of how ill it has made me. Please if anyone has any suggestions on how to relieve the pain please help. My psychiatrist’s assistant took me off cold turkey.
I had only been taking it for about 6 months, but when I told her I was having stomach cramps, SHE INCREASED DOSAGE! I tell you I am so sorry we are all going through this.
I was on 10mg for 18 months, Told the doctor I wanted to wean off since it wasn’t actually helping for anything but sleep. So for 3 months they had me in 50mgs. Now just this month I’m on 25mgs. I’ve noticed night sweets with a very achy body. And my head feels like I have pop rocks in my head.
The headaches are not bad yet. But if this is what’s it’s like to tapper off. I hate to know the cold turkey way. But I don’t know if I want to do the 25mg for 3 months. Maybe this month do the 25 and next month cut it in half and then no more. The post here has helped me.
Oh YES, I agree with you 100%. I’m hanging on by my fingernails these days withdrawing from this drug. It’s good to hear I am not alone!
I went back to the psychiatrist today and when I asked him why he never told us about the withdraw, he flat out told me that there is no withdrawal with this medication and that I’m imagining it. When I tried to explain that there are a lot of people who are having withdrawal, he told me I was crazy. I’m 17 and have bipolar.
When I was in middle school, I was on a dose of 700mg and was at 800 in my sophomore year. With each dose rising I had heart and breathing problems, numbness and pain, I would stand up and try to stand but when I would try and hold my legs straight they would hyperextend… I have heart damage because of this drug…
I was prescribed this drug when I was 5 or 6 for bipolar and insomnia… My psychiatrist wouldn’t listen to me when I told him about the pain and problems I was having. Neither would my parents even when they watched this happen to me and almost have to take me to the hospital. When I complained to him, he told me to go find a second opinion and that no one would listen to me because I’m not an adult.
How are the people who are supposed to be helping us doing any good to be giving us these meds… When I would get so sick and tired of the symptoms that came with seroquel, I would go off them and experience withdrawal. I always thought that it was because of the lack of sleep. I’m terrified to stay on it and terrified to stop it…
I hate this drug. Impossible to sleep without it so I’m going cold turkey off 100mg and taking my life and brain back. I can’t hold a logical conversation anymore. Words refuse to cooperate with my brain. I’m done with all these drugs.
Wow… Mary, thanks for sharing. I don’t see a date of when you posted this. Really wondering how long it took for you to get back to normal. The only reason I have this drug is for sleep. I forgot what it’s like to sleep when I want to. Doc has me tapered off of Clonazapam… Now on Trazodone and Seroquel.
Reading the negatives of Seroquel, I don’t want this either. And, when you said, “can’t hold a logical conversation” I connected. I am a zombie. Can’t think straight or put my thoughts into words. I feel stupid. HOPING some one might be able to have some direction for me.
This drug has made me distrust my doctors, myself and of course big PHARMA! I was on 100-200 nightly as well as Klonopin 3mg daily for major depression, anxiety and sleep problems. I decided to stop the Klonopin after some research and only then realized I needed to deal with the Seroquel as well.
Well I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me but I learned I’d have to deal with both… I’m two weeks without the other drug but now face the Seroquel withdrawals as well. I find that the night sweats can be helped by keeping a cool wet washcloth on my eyes or neck helps. One of the symptoms I’ve experienced is an inability to regulate my body temp.
My feet are always cold! This is one of the worst things I’ve ever allowed to happen to me in the name of medicine or “healing”. I won’t give up and to all those who are trying to quit!, don’t give in or go back. There simply has to be something better and more healing out there and I’m going to find it.
Thanks Luke. I too have been on the lowest dosage of 25mg for around 8 years. I have really stepped up the exercise, gotten my t-levels elevated and steadily dieted. Nothing seems to help with the weight and sexual side effects. I have gone down to 12.5 mg for three weeks now. I did have vivid dreams for a couple of days not knowing if I was really asleep. I have been working on some other issues and been very emotional and upset. I can see this may have been the taper of the seroquel. Have you completely gotten off of it? I was about to ask to completely stop this week; however, maybe I should wait a couple more weeks.
The weight issues with this med are horrible. I gained 25 pounds on this med and I workout 6 days a week and watch my diet.
I started in 300 mg in 2010. At the beginning of 2015, I was down to 50 mg. I’m now in the process of going from 50 to 37.5 to 25. It’s been much harder as the dose lowers but I can’t wait to get this vile poison out of my body & mind. Had I known the long term side effects and difficulty getting off this medication I would’ve chosen to suffer without it. Good luck to everyone trying to reduce this toxic pill out of their lives.
I am so glad to hear that you have succeeded in getting off this drug. I tried a year and a half ago to quit Abilify cold turkey (my psychiatrist’s advice) and had a really, really bad time. In an effort to help me, my daughter and son-in-law who both have masters in psychology, took me to a friend of theirs.
I was pretty much non-functioning at that time from the depression. I had never experienced depression to that degree. Their friend put me on Seroquel. I’ve been on 200 mg of Seroquel for exactly a year now and have returned to my original psychiatrist. He advised me to start weaning off very slowly.
I’m starting my third week at 175 mg with no side effects at this point. I am so thankful to God for this. I, too, want off this drug. In an effort to not repeat my Abilify experience, I’m thinking I’ll cut 25 mg every 4-5 months. I am also on 300 mg Wellbutrin and 20 mg Viibryd.
I don’t even mind adding another anti-depressant, if needed to do this, as long as it’s not a black box or psychotic drug. If you have any additional advice, please let me know. You are definitely an inspiration!
Was suffering GAD and used Seroquel for 4 years now. Dosage has been reduced to minimum: 50mg divided by 4 times for 3-4 months now. But this even helps for good sleep at night and long nap. Am now experiencing some difficulties as troublesome sleep when stop using it for a few days. Would appreciate any advice.
I completely agree with you. Three years ago my doctor put me on 300mg of quetiapine a day. I was having family problems at the time. He never explained what this drug does to your brain or how hard it is to stop taking it. He would GIVE me free samples, bags full of them. They did help in the beginning, but I was insulated from the world and my problems.
Within a year my personal life was much more stable. I began decreasing my dose gradually, from 300 to 150 to 50 then 25mg over the last year. As of October the 8th 2014 I stopped cold. I tried talking with my doctor about no longer needing this drug. These were his words “I’m not having this conversation with you again.” So, I fired him, after all, your doctor works for YOU. It hasn’t been easy, life never is.
I’ve experienced all the withdrawal symptoms this forum has described. After doing some research I understand it will take about a year for my brain to heal itself. I WILL make it back to what we humans call “normal.” Good luck to all of you that are trying to come off this drug. If I’d known how this drug affects the brain and the psychological effects of coming off of it, I NEVER would have started taking it.
Hi, my name is Pam. I was put on Seroquel approximately 8 1/2 yrs ago for insomnia. I started out on 25 mg. and sleep like a baby. Now I am up to 200 mg. and the insomnia has returned. I went to sleep this morning about 7 a.m. Thank God I am not working at this time in my life. I am actually on disability because of Major depression and severe anxiety.
Though that is not why I was prescribed Seroquel. I have been hospitalized and Dr. have cut me cold turkey I went for 4 to 5 days without it and I did not sleep the entire time. Tho I was given different meds for sleep. Nothing worked so they would end up putting me back on the Seroquel. I have gained 70 lbs in the last 5 yrs. So I have got to come off the Seroquel. I try to lose weight. and it just will not come off.
I don’t eat but around 800 calories a day. But any way I am going to do the slow taper. I am going to cut my dose 50 mg. a month. I did this before and I almost got totally off. I went back on the drug because I got so tired of not sleeping. I was just totally worn out. You guys pray for me. I know I’ve got a hard road ahead, but I feel I have got to do this for my health.
Have you been able to lose your weight? I too gained around 70 PDFs and am now a diabetic. My doc is taking me off it for that reason along with metabolic syndrome. High BP, high cholesterol, and sugar. Just wondering how easy it is to drop the seroquel weight.
Wow. I need a lot of prayer as well. I started taking Seroquel 2 years ago I have been taking 300mg every night. I have been sleeping a lot these past two years anywhere from 10 to 14 hours if I sleep less than that I feel I haven’t slept much and the next morning I feel drowsy. I am trying to decrease the medication to at least 250mg and eventually God willing taper off of it completely.
I know it’s not easy because I took Seroquel 300mg about 6 years ago but it was only for a year. I know it might be tough tapering off at first but all I can do is try. I am not giving up.
How are you doing since Oct 2014? I was put on Seroquel XR 600 in 2008 and have went through hell on it, even overdosed on it 2012 and ended up in coma for two weeks. I was hospitalized and put on abilify worse, awful side effects, so they insisted I go back on Seroquel 400 and put me on Epilim 1600. My family just listened to the medics.
Anyway, I secretly began to wean off seroquel last Sept and off it since early Dec, but have most of above withdrawal… insomnia, headache, agitated, crying non stop last 3 weeks and no motivation, concentration gone, get so frustrated cause can’t complete tasks. Does it get better? I was always bubbly, outgoing, multi-tasker, never actually got depressed, am raising teenagers on my own so any words of hope and that this nightmare will end appreciated. I hide away cause I hate myself in body and mind. Struggling to survive, Angela
I relate to absolutely everything you say Luke. I’m also on quetiapine and venlafaxine – why oh why did I go along with taking it. I kept saying all I wanted to do was talk to somebody, but they won’t allocate you anyone to talk to in this stupid half arsed healthcare country. I’ve almost tapered off the queitiapine but now am getting brain zaps before I even start tapering off the venlafaxine. I don’t sleep and have nightmares. As soon as I get off these drugs I’m going to find a herbalist and take what she recommends. The venlafaxine I’ve been on has got boiled animals bones (gelatine) as part of its ingredients. I don’t eat anything with gelatine so why am I taking a pill containing it. A herbalist told me there are over 500 herbs that have anti-depressant properties so I will find an alternative.
Luke, I read most of the comments on here and felt a fraud because everyone is on higher doses of Seroquel than I am. Then I read your post. I also am on 25mgs nightly. I am on day 7 of cold turkey. You description of symptoms is mine to a ‘T’. I was put on this drug 4 years ago because I was depressed. I was and still am taking Pristiq daily. Seroquel was to help me sleep and stop me from hearing and seeing people.
I thought I was going mad. It helped but left me feeling stupid and in a permanent daze. Since going cold turkey a week ago, I am itching like crazy. My visions of people have returned to haunt me. I have lost my appetite and have hardly sleep, yet I feel exhausted. My sympathy to all who are suffering on and off this drug. May God ease your pain.
I take seroquel at 50mg too and am trying to stop. I originally started using it to treat my bipolar about a year and a half ago. Now I’m still on it even though I take 1200mg lithium daily and that works better. I began to take it because in the past my anxiety triggers insomnia and with extreme circumstance I’ve become psychotic. So the main reason I stay on it is that I’m almost guaranteed to fall asleep on it.
The problem is that even at 50mg I have brain fog, oversleep, had a 70 pound weight gain and appear to be completely dependent on it to fall asleep. My pdoc keeps telling me to “just fiddle around with the dose ” if I want to get off it, it seems she thinks that because my dose is so small I should be able to do it no problem. But I can’t sleep at all.
Ambien doesn’t even touch my insomnia, and if I can’t sleep I become manic, the cycle continues. But I want to be done with it so badly. I’m glad to hear other people are experiencing withdrawal issues even at such low doses even though I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
I have just fully quit seroquel but not cold turkey. That is really the worst thing you can do. Throws your central nervous system into shock causing all of these symptoms. Getting on seroquel was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Helped me to leave to control my mind and not let it control me. However I obviously am having withdrawal symptoms. And they are extremely bad. Body aches, have literally slept 6 hours in 4 days.
Shortness of breath, anxiety like I’ve never felt, foggy mind, anxious, irritable as hell and having a hard time controlling my emotions. But I know this will pass. I have done enough illegal drugs to know that every come down passes. And if it wasn’t for the time spent on the seroquel I wouldn’t be handling my life and this comedown with such calmness. I am kind of freaking out in my head with extreme paranoia and the shortness of breath is the worst.
But just know that everything you are experiencing WILL pass. Just takes time. I was taking 350mg for about 7 months of the year and a half being on it. So I tapered down every two weeks or so until I got to 37mg then I just stopped taking it about 4 days ago. I am really going through the motions and it sucked so bad but I know and hope in a week or two these symptoms will subside.
Hi Luke, I have no idea how old these posts are but I am so happy I found them and read yours. I’m 26, at university and decided to take the plunge of getting off of this drug after 4 years. I too am on 25mg of quetiapine and 150mg of venlafaxine and it was comforting to know someone was on the same mix as me and read your experience. I decided to go cold turkey with the quetiapine and for the first 2 weeks I felt no different, now I feel awful.
For the last 2 weeks I have barely left my room, haven’t gone to work, no lectures, no interest of going out and having fun, life again has become a blur. I struggle to stay awake in the day yet as soon as its dark I sit awake over thinking my life, the world and all my anxieties have returned. I know I’m in slight denial of how bad I am, I’m pretending psychologically it’s not that bad. The physical affects for me are the worst.
The sweats, shaking, heart racing, dizziness. One minute I’m cold then boiling hot, one minute I want food then I feel sick at the thought of it. I feel guilt ridden that I’m hiding from my daily responsibilities and letting people down, the stigma of mental health still haunts me and therefore admitting what is really going on puts me off reaching out and telling people what’s really going on in my mind for the fear of their ignorance and thinking ‘she’s just lazy’.
I’m so determined to no longer rely on chemicals. As soon as I was put on to anti meds I knew at one point I didn’t want rely on them, since then I’ve put off doing it, ‘I’ve got to much going on, I’m really busy right now, I’m studying, what if I do trip really bad’. I’m now signed off of work and have extensions on all my assignments. It’s funny to think I’m back in situations I was 4 years ago when the drugs are meant to help? It’s like the last 4 years of recovery haven’t happened and I’m back to not leaving my room in a daze.
I will get there, I will beat this, this addiction and get back to how I was before. To anyone going through similar or wanting to do it I completely agree with Luke, be kind to yourself. Our health and wellbeing is more important! I do recommend talking. It helps. I see a psychotherapist and she has saved my life numerous times. Don’t be on your own, although it’s easier to shut yourself away please try and reach out and have someone that knows where your head is. You’re not a burden, you’re important. Take care everyone.
I just quit taking Seroquel 800 mgs a day 2 days ago. I have schizophrenia and want to feel again. I know its going to be a difficult wild ride. I’ve read all the literature telling me what to expect and I am doing it cold turkey so who knows. But to me it is worth it to find out whats going on with those voices inside my head.
I have been in therapy of some kind or another since I was 10 when the 5th grade teacher Mr. Pheasant walked me holding my hand to the child psychologist. That was the beginning of a awful long road my symptoms were controlled for awhile and I was even able to complete a PhD in Microbiology and get my MD in pediatric oncology, which I had to leave at the top of my game due to my MI. I am hoping for an easy withdrawal although I don’t expect it. My whole body hurts and I feel confused. Is this how it starts? Take care and peace, Tams.
I really feel for you Luke. I have managed to wean myself off, however it took me 8 months to do so and even then I had 3 weeks of withdrawal symptoms, but these were not severe and I now feel human again. I knew that tapering off was essential as I had a very bad experience some years ago. I had depression after my first child and a doctor put me on antidepressants. I knew nothing about them but took them on his advice.
However I started to feel better and told him I wanted to come off them, he just stopped them, I knew nothing about antidepressants and did not realize that they needed to be tapered off. I had insomnia for about 7 months, and having a small baby to look after at the time it was absolute hell. I do not know how I got through it. My advice to anyone is do NOT under any circumstances just stop them, it may take awhile.
I dropped 1 tablet per week every month for 6 months, then when I was down to 1 per week I took this for 2 months then stopped. The longer you taper them the shorter the length of time that you have withdrawal symptoms will be and also the symptoms themselves will not be so severe. I did not have any mind zaps or anything like that, just headaches and limb aches but these disappeared after about 3 weeks. I had to stop because I had started to develop muscle twitches in my limbs at night and it was driving my husband mad.
Apparently this can be as a result of long term use, I was desperate to come off them but I stuck the weaning process out because I knew what would happen if I didn’t. The twitches now also have stopped. It just goes to show how strong these drugs are. I thought because of the length of time I took coming off them, I would not have any withdrawal symptoms… but I did. But they were not severe and did not last long.
Drugs treat a lot of people differently. I have been taking seroquel since for six years. It has helped me tremendously for my insomnia. Your experience is unfortunate, but it’s not like that for everyone. The only problem I’ve had with it is that it works too well – I sleep like a completely rock, for no less than 12 hours.
Since I’m going to school again, I do not want to oversleep and miss my classes, so I’m trying to get off of it. [The itching from the withdrawal is driving me insane though.] Honestly, this is a drug I would certainly recommend to anyone else dealing with insomnia. If it had such problems for you, you should have told your doctor and got a different type of medication. Drugs can’t be perfect for everyone – but they are really good for some people.
No not every drug works for everyone and I was started on this drug at such a young age that those symptoms and feelings became normal… No one will listen to me. Even told me that there are absolutely no withdrawal symptoms with this medication. I have bipolar and insomnia and ADHD.
This medication has helped me sleep but has frozen my life. I’m stuck and not able to keep up with the world around me. I’m 17 and have heart damage among other problems that this drug has caused. This drug should be banned.
Thank you so much for your post. This drug has left me feeling dumbed down and unable to plan. I hate being in it and am trying to wean myself off.
Thanks…!
Wow, thanks for sharing Luke, it helps me a lot to read your story.
Hi Luke. I’m on quetiapine and venlafaxine funny enough. Can I ask out of curiosity why your doctor put you on the same pills as I am on. I have last night started to come off quetiapine as I can’t stand the amount of weight I’ve gained and am struggling to lose it. It’s not like one can just diet as depression takes care of that!! Unfortunately pills just mask the problems.
I am on 750mgs of seroquel daily, prescribed for bipolar. I have been on this for 3 years. Was on lithium but couldn’t stand the weight gain. I have decided to go cold turkey and now into my third day off it. I feel exhausted and lethargic. I also have painful limbs and a headache. I am determined to ride it out though.
The side effects of this drug just turned me into a walking talking zombie!! I still got manic episodes and periods of depression so I reckon I could feel no worse without it. I also gained 2 stone despite swimming a mile per day and starving myself… I pray I survive the withdrawal symptoms.
I’ve been on 200 mg seroquel, higher dosages in the past, for at least 14 years. I’ve been trying to taper off for 2 months. I am taking 100 mg now, but I’ve been very sick this whole time. I have flu symptoms, daily headaches, muscle rigidity, anxiety, mood swings, insomnia, sweating, eye pain, sensitivity to light and to sound. I need help badly.
I don’t have a psychiatrist and now I have a new doctor. I am going to see him, but not being a specialist, I fear he won’t know how to help me. To get some sleep yesterday I took 50 Mg seroquel, which I hated doing, but I’m so tired I’m in bed most of the time. Yet I can’t sleep. My night sleep is a couple of hours here and waking, then an hour there etc.
I am desperate for any suggestions. I also take Wellbutrin in a smaller dose and Effexor X-R for as long as I have been on seroquel. I’ve had many many major depressions and low level depressions in between for 25 years. I’m 60 now. My memory is horrible, both short and long term. I forget important things, so I carry a paper with it written down.
I am sure I was put on this med as a help for depression. No help, but I sure have bodily, brain addiction. I am not one to mince words. Withdrawal from even small amounts for me is hell. What to do? Pam
Im bipolar and Ive been taking 20mg of escitalopram and 100-300mg of quetiapine for a year. I asked my doctor if I could just stop taking quetiapine suddenly and she said that was fine since its that type of med that takes effect immediately and disappears. For the past year, Ive been playing around the dose to try to regulate my irritability and my sleep. But whenever I would decide to stop taking it, I get really agitated and I find it painstakingly difficult to concentrate. The beliefs or as they call it “delusions” are magnified. And the worst part is muscle pains.
My doctor just recently decided to put me on 500mg Divalproex for my manic stage since Quetiapine has not had any significant effect. But I told her about the effects Ive experienced in the past about lowering dosage so now we’re tapering off Quetiapine. Im currently on 50 mg. I intend to keep a routine which will include exercise, hopefully that will help in coping with the withdrawal.
Do some research on quetiapine. At 300mg it IS NOT a sedative, it is an antipsychotic, and will not help you sleep. You need to lower the dose, a lower dose, it becomes a sedative. So sad how we end up on the add a drug, try another, take one away, merry go round, until we are completely stuffed. Good luck, hope you get off the poisons one day. I’ve been there too. I have gone off antidepressants, been fine for 12 months, THEN THE WITHDRAWALS HIT. It isn’t any mental illness, it is damn withdrawals, but they just give more drugs.
I have been on seroquel for about 16 years. I have accidentally lost my monthly supply. This is September 2016. I have taken 800 mg a day all these years and now I’am completely out. 800 mg puts me to sleep and helps my bipolar disorder greatly. I am having headaches without it. How can I stop the headaches?
I feel extremely lucky. I have had no serious side effects of withdrawing from Seroquel. I have been off of it for a little over a month. I may have had a sore stomach and flu-like symptoms when I was weaning off of it and didn’t know it, but not entirely sure if I was actually sick. I reduced my Seroquel every two weeks. It took about a month and a half. I took 150mg. When I was on it (the past 3 1/2 years) I was in a fog.
I don’t remember the past 3 and 1/2 years, I was so tired when I woke up, even if I had 12 hours sleep. And I was emotionless. No feelings of love or sympathy for my family. Sad. I feel great now. I am not quite there yet, as I usually only manage to get about 6 hours sleep. Although, the other night I got 8. It’ll take some time for the sleep to return to normal, so I am hopeful.
But my psychiatrist recommended me get off. Anyone who doesn’t have a psychiatrist, should get one immediately. Most mental problems go way deeper than medication. Don’t get me wrong, if you have major mental problems, you need medication. Just get your psychiatrist to find the right one. Cognitive behavioral therapy is so important, which is what I am doing.
And the Seroquel did save my life. Because without it, I would not be where I am today. Just glad to be off of it. Good luck everybody. I will be praying for all of you. Your stories make me feel so sad. But know there is hope. There is always a solution to EVERYTHING! And I mean everything. One absolute last comment. I just realized after reading everyone’s comments that I may have some mild symptoms of withdrawal after all. I did, and am still, experience crazy itching.
I never made the connection until now. And I do have sneezing and a runny nose that’s lasted about a month and a half. So I am not sure if that is just a cold that won’t go away, or the withdrawal symptoms. And I do sleep with 3 blankets at night. So, that may also be a symptom of withdrawal. All are totally bearable though.
N Brady…I decided to look up seroquel withdrawal symptoms because I am trying to ween off and have been experiencing intense itching with sneezing and runny nose for a week now. I am also nauseous. I thought I had a virus but decided to look up symptoms and I am now scared to death after reading the horror stories! I have been on seroquel for depression for over 10 years.
I am 48 years old and the past 5 years have been incredible for me. I saw my youngest daughter off to college and became an EMT. I am now enrolled in a nursing program and LOVING a it. I decided to wean off because I recently began taking care of an aunt who is on hospice and need to take care of her some over nights. I am not able to do it when taking seroquel and seeing as I’ve been stable the past 5 to 6 of the last 10 years decided to wean off.
I am afraid now about the seriousness of the withdrawal effects on my busy life but even more frightened to continue this dangerous medication. I wish there were more “positive” comments regarding the tolerance of withdrawal. I just wanted to let you know that your symptoms are spot on with mine and that your post helped me to realize that it is not a virus that I’m experiencing. I wish you the best with your health!
I have been on all the meds you mentioned. Zoloft and Wellbutrin were not that bad to come off of slowly. Seroquel I’m finding is a very nasty drug as far as withdrawal. I was recently laid off so I lost my insurance and can’t pay $800 for it. It’s been terrible! Sweating, aching, extremely nauseous and fatigued.
Like you said flu like symptoms. Very painful. I’m working on at least getting back on the seroquel. In Colorado marijuana is legal and has been the only thing helping me survive day to day. Nothing helps the nausea it seems. If you survive getting off of seroquel, the others are a piece of cake. Good luck to you. Don’t give up.
I’m quitting 200mg cold turkey right now am on day 3. Not feeling so great :-(
Day two of cold turkey for me, Spammy, from 150 mgs of seroquel xr . Now I understand anxiety and agitation, sleeping will suffer (2 hours last nite) – I’m thankful for all of you and am reading your accounts. The Lord bless you and thx 4 the help and encouragement.
Lu, the older you are the worse the withdrawal and the longer it will be before you feel better. You may want to talk to your doctor about a slower taper. Seroquel comes in 25mg tablets, and you can cut those in half or even quarters if you need to. You would probably have an easier time getting off the wellbutrin or zoloft first. Seroquel is a very “dirty” drug. It binds to much more than just dopamine.
I have quit it twice, and both times it resulted in spending three days huddled under a blanket vomiting into a bucket. After the third day, I usually start to sleep and feel much better. I am reducing the dose right now, and honestly it is only slightly better than a cold turkey – I’m sitting in a completely dark room with a loud fan on and no other stimulation because its unbearable.
Thanks to all of you. I am on day two of cold turkey. I feel horrible. You have given me hope. At one time I was on 800mg of Seroquel, it was later lowered to 400mg. I was in the hospital to help me get off 4 medications, Seroquel, Restoril, Klonipin, and Strattera. While there the dose of Seroquel was tapered to 50mg and prescribed Geodon. The rest I have successfully conquered.
I am on day two of being completely off the Seroquel. I feel horrible. Getting off the other drugs was a walk in the park compared to this. Cold sweats, extreme tinnitus, nausea. I feel like I have the flu. I am not deterred. I will conquer this as well. I respect all your comments. No one else understands this better than you, my peers in this battle. Thank you again.
I am currently withdrawing from duloxetine – literally taking out 10 granules every two weeks so reducing the number of granules slowly! It’s hell on earth as I am hyper sensitive to drugs. My next step will be to come off quetiapine. Followed by pregabalin. Thanks for all your invaluable comments and advice. Someone wrote that at the end of the day, we must take our own health and wellbeing into our own hands.
We know our body and its limits more than anyone else. I am determined to kick these drugs that are peddled by doctors who are heavily influenced by pharma companies. I live half a life at the moment and that’s not pleasant for myself, my husband and my three darling children! My piece of advice would be to taper slowly and get a great therapist. They can help make sense of your brain while you withdraw from the drugs. Take care everyone. It’s a hard road we walk! X
I was on 25mg for about a year and the medication withdrawal caused me to have ventricular tachycardia (very bad heart condition), constant itchiness, no attention span, insomnia, hypersensitivity, dizziness in the car, and sweating. These symptoms lasted three weeks for me, but the heart condition continues until this day. I was 14 when they put me on it. I would look for some sort of withdrawal medication to help ease the withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms of withdrawal from Seroquel are almost identical to withdrawal symptoms from crack or heroin.
Seroquel is the worst to quit. It’s why I wanted to start with that one too BC it was the hardest and I was at my strongest. Everything thing else will be cake compared to this med. Think positive, it helps.
Try going to the gym and utilize the hot tub, steam room and sauna. The heat and steam will relax your muscles and detox your body from the medicines. My withdrawals left me extremely agitated and angry with the world and all authority. For me, going back to church and surrounding myself with positive people really worked well.
I hope you have since found relief from what sounded like a pretty bad withdrawal. I was Seroquel for many years and the most bothersome symptoms I had was from the lack of sleep and the fact that I would itch like crazy. Itching has been added to the symptoms now since they have more data on Seroquel. I found it helpful to take Benadryl like 50MG at bedtime and 25mg during the day if I needed it.
If you just want to stop your meds just so you can say you are drug free is not a good reason at all. You may need to take meds the rest of your life because it sounds like some of your depression symptoms have returned. I hope I am wrong and you have since gotten off these Meds and are doing well. Good Luck to Ya.
Hi, I am feeling the same way, Louise. I have all the symptoms that you mentioned and I am tapering slowly. I did it once before a friend talked me into getting back on it. I can’t blame it (it works wonders for him), and I was having bad anxiety and crying. I knew deep down the solution was not to go back on it, but be more patient and let my body recover.
So I am doing this again, I am on 25 mg now and will not lower until I am a little more stable than will tapper some more, every two weeks. I think the doing it safely and without too much withdrawal symptoms is to do it slowly and cut gradually, even if you have to shave some off this tiny damn pill. Courage to us all my friend.
Hi Lu, I feel for you. Just know that you’re not alone. I stopped taking seroquel 16 days ago now. I have chronic fatigue syndrome and was put on it to help with anxiety & insomnia but found that it was just causing me all sorts of other health problems. I’m in absolute agony at the moment, I feel like all my muscles are solidifying on the top half of my body and having really bad joint pain.
The 1st 4 days I had severe stomach pains also but they have passed. I have just been to my doctor & he’s unwilling to help. I suggest that you take some holidays from work & rest. Also heat helps, try to get in the tub & soak or use heat pillows & hot water bottles to ease the pain.
I’m finding this along with the splitting headaches & dizziness pretty unbearable to be honest but I know all these things weren’t there before the seroquel so that’s what’s keeping me going. That and family support, that’s very important.
Louise, I have a blog describing what I have been doing to help myself get through the Seroquel withdrawals. I was on 600mg. and I have been drug free for three months now. My short response is take a full spectrum amino acids to help balance the neurotransmitters. Hang in there, it does get better. Do lots of deep breathing and relaxing activities to reduce as much stress as possible. Hope this helps.
Hang in there. I came off 200mg of sequel cold turkey. It was horrific. No sleep. Vomiting. Diarrhea. Shocking leg pain and shaking. And of course bad headaches. I couldn’t go to work and lost my job. You may need to take some leave from your job. It’s so worth doing this as your life will be so much better. Good luck.
I have just come off seroquel. I have taken 4 or 5 months to reduce from 100mg to none at all. I have reduced by as close to 10 percent as I can, every two weeks. I have had horrific experiences coming of drugs before so this is why I have done it so slowly. I am experiencing some withdrawal but it is mild and tolerable. It was hard to be patient as I am not a patient person, but it has worked.
I am on natural therapy with the view of being medication free. The therapy I am on is called Biobalance which has a very high success rate — higher than medication. Google it for details. It is very promising. I have suffered from major depression for 20 years and have come to the end of the road with medication. It helped me in the past but is not working well for me any more. I do hope this information helps someone.
Meryl, Thanks for the encouraging account. I have been on Seroquel for 3 years. Started at 100mg. Weaned to 75mg after 9 months. I felt dumbed down and as if I’d lost a goodly portion of my once strong IQ. In the past year I have begun to wean again. I have a very strong desire to be rid of this drug.
I have suffered from major depressive episodes since my teens and have been prescribed various anti-depressants since the mid 1990s. I’m highly allergic to SSRIs. For about 7 years Remeron worked well for me. That started in 2003. Then it began to fail in its effectiveness. In early 2014 I was put on Seroquel as a result of a nasty experience precipitated by taking Synthroid.
I’m now on natural dessicated thyroid (NDT) and will never again take any synthetic thyroid medication. That’s a whole other story. During that time I was hospitalized for a week. Hadn’t slept more than a few hours a night for months. Seroquel was the drug of choice and last resort at that time. I now know that it does very nasty things to your brain over time.
When I reduce the dose by 1/4 of a 25mg tablet, I experience withdraw symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, brain fog, confusion, slowing of cognitive function, flu like symptoms and a lot of pain in my muscles and soft tissues. I have found that small doses of L-tyrosine help with the muscle pain and promote sleep. I’m prepared to do this weaning very, very slowly as my brain needs to heal.
I have had testing done by a naturopath doctor which can determine the functioning of the entire endocrine system, as well as the presence of amino acids and brain chemicals. At present, I have almost no natural serotonin. I believe that the prolonged use of anti-depressants and particularly seroquel have caused this situation.
I am prepared to do a very slow weaning and very slow introduction of amimo acids. The brain imbalance needs to be re-balanced slowly over time so that your whole body can recover. I wish everyone who is on this journey the best in finding the solutions right for you.
All anti psychotic meds are just evil. Period. Chemist, not doctors came up with these killers. And that’s all medication of any sort is. What’s that saying, killing them softly. Do whatever you have to to get off of there poison.
Yes, I know it is a living hell. But at least you will be living…it will get better, I promise. I took seroquil for 10 years, 100-200mg at night. You aren’t damaged. Bend over, grab you bottom, and hang on. Love you enough to not let the AMA kill you slowly and Rob you from clarity of your being. They all should be so ashamed of what they call the medical profession. Pathetic Monsters.
Can you find a functional medicine practitioner to help you? My son is on Seroquel so that is what got me to this web page. I have been reading a lot on alternative approaches to mental health issues. Dr Kelly Brogan is a psychiatrist who practices alternatively and has great info. Her book is A Mind Of Your Own.
The pattern I see in what I have researched is the importance of building the body up first with proper diet including figuring out food sensitivities, exercise, meditation, perhaps some detox work and then very slowly tapering. A great film to watch on one person’s healing journey is Bipolarized. I wish you well on this journey. My son is taking very small steps towards healing and not ready to be off meds.
I was put on seroquel after going through mild anxiety and most of what happened when I was on it feels like a blur now. All I know is that it made me feel like I was in a dream and like I wasn’t in control of my actions. It gave me extreme depression that I vaguely remember taking an overdose of 30 25mg tablets (something that I never considered before I took seroquel) and was admitted into hospital.
That was over four months ago and I’m still struggling from the withdrawal symptoms. It seems silly now that I took an overdose of the med that was already making me ill but I wasn’t thinking straight. Because it was an overdose there was no way I could have tapered it, but does anyone have any suggestions for some sort of relief?
It’s mainly for my chest that constantly feels tight and hard to breathe (I have asthma too) and there’s this never-ending tension ache in my head that makes it hard to think – even about things that are usually easy to process.
Im 18 and I’ve been taking seroquel 300mg for my bipolar 2 . I went cold turkey and said screw this I don’t like how it makes me feel. I hated that it put me to sleep in a way it felt like I was dying. My heart rate would change and I just really hated it. I’ve only been taking it since around October. That’s right about 5 months now – not as long, but the withdrawals are just annoying and seem like they’re never going to go away.
I’m hungry, but I’m not because I’m nauseous. Then when I eat it’s tolerable but when I’m done I need to run to the bathroom to hurl. I noticed that drinking water helps majorly. I keep wanting to take the seroquel again just to stop these withdrawals but I’m already a week in and I don’t want to turn back.