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.
Hi, I was prescribed Sertraline and Seroquel for depression/psychosis just over a month ago. I was at 100mg Sertraline and 600mg Seroquel. I’m now being told that it’s not necessary for me to be on the Seroquel and i’ll be tapered off it. I went down to 300mg ok and have done 3 days at 150mg but have been getting ringing in my ears for about a week now. Does anyone know if the ringing might go?
My doctor thinks it might do and is caused by the Seroquel. Struggling to sleep much at 150mg as well so not looking forward to reducing next week to 100mg then the week after to 50mg. I’m half tempted to just quit now and put up with the consequences as I haven’t been on it very long and figure the longer I stay on it the harder it will get.
It has been over 6 months since I stopped taking seroquel. I had been taking 200 mg a day for 6 years! It was given to me at that dose because it was available in free samples. I have suffered from anxiety, excessive worrying for many years and despite the medications I’ve tried it’s never really changed. That’s why I started to believe that it’s therapy that I need instead of powerful drugs with unpleasant side effects.
I still take wellbutrin daily, because I think it would be a mistake to come off both, plus I’m not experiencing adverse side effects from it. As for the withdrawal symptoms from stopping seroquel… I’ve had them all, and some are still present. The itching and severe nausea took months to subside as well as stomach problems. I’ve had a few night sweats and I struggled with constipation, gas and diarrhea. I took restoralax for one week to produce a proper bowel movement which got rid of the gas and helped me get back to normal.
I also felt sick, tired, dizzy, and depressed… I cried a lot… And still do. More recently I started getting hives on my hands, legs and face, and seem to be experiencing many allergy symptoms. I don’t know if the two are related, but it caused me a considerable amount of stress. I started visiting my GP frequently insisting there is something wrong with me and that I must be dying, because I feel so awful all of the time.
She has sent me for x-rays, scans and bloodwork to rule out other causes, and I appear to be physically healthy. She did however prescribe tecta for 8 weeks to help with the burning in my stomach. I still don’t sleep more than 4-5 hours a night, and that’s with using a sleep aid called immovane. Without it I can’t fall asleep, and if I happen to pass out from pure exhaustion, I won’t stay sleeping. I hope this helps anyone who wants to stop seroquel, or is going through the withdrawals. Reading this article and the comments saved me from feeling convinced that I was dying.
I took a 14 day trial and had to quit cold turkey. $800 for a 30 day supply. I am feeling mild to severe nausea, headaches, appetite loss. No mood changes. My body did ache but thank God thats gone. I have thrown up. While I was on it. My depression was gone but I slept for 16 hours a day. So tired all the time. Now I have decreased sleep due to dizziness. It’s bearable. But I only tiered up to 300mg. And was only on it for 14 days. I hope these go away soon. However I am enjoying the manic. Haven’t had one in years.
Exercise and diet go along way in coping with any seroquel withdrawal symptoms…
LOL! Do you make this stuff? You can’t even function enough to get off the couch! It’s CONSTANT nausea! Who are you, and why would you say such a thing? Do you run a gym or something?
Exercise helps – know that it is tough to go to the gym. I do crossfit which is the only thing that get me started every morning. And yes I am on seroquel, and I do not own a gym…
Having no life and feeling old before my time. My energy is returning bit by bit and I do cry for no reason at times but its manageable as long as I come off it very slowly. No doubt my doctor would have me come off it quicker but I know best – she has not been taking it – I have. I was not psychotic, just anxious. It is used to keep us quiet and so we go away. My brain is now functioning better but I am still in a fog. I have 100mg to come off yet, but my goodness I am going to do it very slowly. These medical people do not know what they are prescribing – its a scandal.
I stopped taking seroquel 2 weeks ago and added klonopin and Latuda at the same time. I was good for the first week, but wasn’t really hungry, itchy, had some headaches, and not getting much sleep, but still a few hours a night. A week after I started throwing up everything I ate, only sleeping maybe an hour a night and constant nausea. The klonopin and Latuda I think are helping with the other side effects, agitation, mood swings, etc. so I’m lucky it’s just the “flu like” stuff. P-doc said I can stay on .25 mg klonopin daily because it controls the anxiety stuff without the Xanax hangover since it has a longer 1/2 life.
I quit Seroquel after high dosages for over a year when I switched to Abilify. I had no withdrawal symptoms at all.
Abilify is even worse than quetiapine, and it does the same thing. That is why you don’t have symptoms.
Been taking 450mg (3 x 150mg) since a manic episode in 2012. Over the last couple months I decided I want to wean off the stuff. It’s expensive ($100/month) and I was laid off (on the dole). I think it might me making me more tired and cranky than I want to be. I had asked my doc (about a year ago) when I could start going off. He wanted to wait another 6 months.
I waited 6 months but then decided to go it alone. He’s hard to get an appointment with anyway. For a month I went down to 2 pills (300mg). For another couple months I went to 1 pill (150mg). I didn’t experience any problems so when this latest refill ran out yesterday I figured I’d be fine. I didn’t sleep a wink. Called in sick to work. Spent the whole day feeling tingles all over and feeling swampy (like I have been sweating lightly all night and day).
I decided to call in a refill so I can make it to work tomorrow. I had NO IDEA people were taking as little as 25mg and having issues coming off. I was told that it takes 350mg for a “therapeutic dose” so I assumed that much less that that wouldn’t effect much of anything. I’m glad I found this page. I’m going to start breaking them in half for a month and then quarters. At that point I’ll be down to 25mg. Hopefully, after a month or so of that, I can stop.
But this time I’ll make sure it’s on a long weekend or something. I had no idea it would be like this. What a nightmare. I guess I can’t be too mad. It (probably) kept me from going manic a number of times when life stuff wasn’t going so well (not working; wife left). But things are looking up! Woohoo!
I am currently trying to taper down my high dose of Quetiapine. I’ve been on 600mg daily for at least 3 years. I now hate it, and I’m reducing very very slowly. I ran out once, over a long weekend and couldn’t get any so I had none for 3 nights and it was utter hell. I slept maybe 2 hours over the whole weekend and attempted to go to work on the Tuesday – ended up being driven home by my boss, crying, shaking, vomiting & delirious.
I’ve genuinely never felt so unwell in my entire life as I did that day. I’m currently reducing by 25mg every couple of weeks which I think is probably quite slow(?) but I’m still suffering a number of withdrawal symptoms: sleep disruption, night sweats (changing my PJs twice a night as I wake up drenched), no appetite, dizziness, headaches, hypersensitivity to light/sound and more recently dissociation and detachment.
(I’m worried about the possibility of psychosis as I’m having trouble grounding and differentiating between my vivid chaotic dreams (nightmares) and reality). I can’t believe how much it is affecting me, coming off this drug is a nightmare! I feel a bit scared that I will have to be on it forever if I can’t come off it. I’m reducing with support of a fantastic gp and having regular check ups so I’m pretty safe, but it’s very unpleasant. :(
I have just tapered off quetiapine, I was on 450mg daily for 8 months, I have put on roughly 28lb and feel so unhealthy, my appetite was uncontrollable and I am so glad I am off this drug, it did its job in stopping symptoms of psychosis, but the side effects of the drug are horrible. I have only recently (a day ago) completely stopped taking it and am experiencing the nausea, but nothing else, let’s just see how I get on over the next month or so. Anyone on this drug who feel like the cons outweigh the pros, get advice and talk to your CPN or GP. Good luck to everybody coming off this drug! Stay strong and remember you are in control.
I’m doing cold turkey off 800 milligrams a night and ambien…after 8 years. It’s been 4 days. It’s not fun. I’m alternating between anger and extreme depression. Totally exhausted, sweating, and not sleeping. Hoping it gets better.
I went cold turkey about three weeks ago. I felt great when I got off the meds for the first week or so. I would just wake up at 6 everyday and not feel sleepy to go back to sleep. Today I started feeling a little more anxiety and nausea. I’m hoping this will subside as I’ve been exercising and just telling myself that this will pass. I gained about 50 pounds on Seroquel, had a high BP, and was borderline diabetic.
I was more miserable with the weight gain on the Seroquel. I do feel better without it mostly because of the weight gain. I switched back to the drug I was on before Seroquel which was Wellbutrin. I’m not sure why I was put on Seroquel because it’s an antipsychotic and for bi-polar and I just suffer from depression and anxiety.
I hope today was just not a good day and I won’t have these symptoms again tomorrow. I pray for everyone else who is going through this struggle. It is difficult and I hope everyone does better. Just take it one day at a time. Good luck and God bless.
Closing in on two and a half months off and my sleep is getting worse. I am terrified this poison has permanently destroyed my ability to sleep…I was up virtually all night again…feel horrendous. Beginning to lose all hope. :(
I went cold turkey off seroquel two weeks ago, I have been nauseous for 12 of the 14 days. I would recommend tapering off it slowly, feels like I have the flu, but just nauseous. Oh and never take zopiclone either.
I feel so validated reading all these experiences. I have been on between 50-300mg of seroquel for the last 15 years; originally was prescribed for bipolar disorder but I have mainly been using it for insomnia lately. The past 2 years it has been 50mg, so going off perhaps hasn’t been as bad as if I’d been on a higher dose. My withdrawal symptoms have been similar to others: insomnia, itching, tremor, mild psychosis (especially when I’m trying to sleep).
One thing that has really helped me is taking Benadryl at night. This helps the itching and makes me a bit drowsy so maybe I’ll sleep a little better. Makes sense because seroquel at lower doses is mostly histamine blockade. Docs really shouldn’t be prescribing this stuff for sleep. I wish you all the best of luck getting off this drug.
I’ve quit seroquel recently cold turkey because of a mix up with refills. Needless to say the withdrawal is, like most of everyone else, an awful task. Mood swings, tired, nausea, body pains… Etc.. I hate it! Up… Down… Up… Down… I have bipolar disorder so I’m experiencing mixed mood. So I feel energized and tired. I want to do stuff but decide not to. Nooo motivation, racing thoughts… Anyway I’m glad I’m not the only one going through this.
I was diagnosed with bipolar type 2 and severe anxiety 2 and a half years ago. I was on seroquel for 2 and a half years and was on 800mgs a night (600mg normal and 200mg xr.) I’m also on 250 mg of lamotrogine (lamictal) and 1000 mgs of sodium valproate (epilum.) I gained around 15kgs from taking seroquel so the weight gain was getting me really depressed and had constant thoughts of losing weight in a very unhealthy way as I couldn’t lose the weight.
I tapered off very quickly (my psychiatrist recommended to do it over weeks but I did it in less then a week) and the withdrawal symptoms have been so intense. I was on 100mg a week ago and went down to 50mgs over 4 days. I had to goto the city and my anxiety was as severe as it used to be. Constant nausea to the point where I was sick (the constant waves of sickness) and really bad body tremors (seroquel also was used for my anxiety.)
I’ve been off seroquel for 3 days now and I’ve had 6 hours of broken sleep in 48 hours (I sleep for 7 or more hours per night and I LOVE my sleep.) The first night I didn’t sleep at all and ended up crashing at 11am and woke up at 1pm. Last night I didn’t get to sleep until 5.30-6 am and had broken sleep until 10am (surprisingly I haven’t felt foggy in the head I’ve just felt really alert.) The nausea coming off seroquel is so intense and crippling (not like anxiety sickness.)
I feel sick from the moment I get up until I fall asleep. I’ve had intense kidney pains, my glands have been swollen, a sore throat and chest pains occasionally. I haven’t been eating much and I’ve lost 1.5-2 kgs in 2 days. The headaches are also quite intense also. I’m hoping these withdrawals will get better as the days go by. I definitely would NOT recommend quitting cold turkey as I read a blog about a girl who ended up in ICU and she was on 300mgs.
Has anyone else been on a high dose for a long period of time and how long did the symptoms take to subside? Sorry this is a long comment but I hope that it helps you with understanding the feeling of quitting.
Without Seroquel I cannot sleep at all. I have been taking 1200 mg every night for 15 years. I do have bipolar as well. Several moths ago I reached in to the cabinet for my meds. I took out a bottle out that look identical to Seroquel the size and color were almost identical. For about 10 days and nights It became miserable I did not sleep at all just staring at the clock watching each minute go by.
I kept taking more pills each night took about 6200mg tablets or so. I finalize after 10 days realized that I was taking 300mg of prescription strength Tylenol I would up having yellow eye so wen to doctor to check for liver damage. The bottom line is not sleeping at all w/o Seroquel. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks.
This is more a question: Do any of you, who have been completely off the Seroquel for 3 months still struggle? Two main things; insomnia and bouts of depression, crying, but feel better after I cry…
I’ve been off Seroquel for almost two entire months and am still struggling with insomnia and depression. Sometimes the sleep improves for a week or so – only to worsen the next week. The depression is almost constant. I think it just takes some people longer to recover from this stuff. I am also unable to lose the ten pounds I gained on it, but I am trying to be patient :(
Hi, I am 54 and have been on Seroquel for 15 years. Due to having a heart attack 12 months ago I was advised to stop Seroquel. I have been tapering for over 12 months from 400 to now 50. It has been slow and sometimes I have tried to reduce and had to increase again for a while. I had to sit on 100 for a long time, probably 5 months but one month ago reduced to 75 and now to 50. At 50 I am experiencing symptoms similar to when I first started Seroquel.
After taking it at night I develop retro amnesia and forget the hour prior to taking it. This happened when I first started. I don’t like it but I am still continuing. The only withdrawals I have experienced have really been nausea, sweating and after every reduction at least 2 incredibly bad nights with no sleep and agitation. But on the third night it seems to settle. I am not sure what will happen when I get to actually stopping it but so far I am succeeding.
It’s true about coming off quetiapine. I was on 100mg for three years at bedtime for insomia, but quetiapine has Thiazepin compound in the molecular structure. Thiazepin is a strong antihistamine to prevent inflammation. I regret ever taking quetiapine, I had to stop due to many serious health complications. I stopped by reducing my doses over months down to maybe 10mg of quetiapine at bedtime which does nothing, but I’ve completely quit now and my head always feels like its on fire it’s called encephalitis or vasculitis which means chronic inflammation of the brain.
My eyes stay bloodshot red. I have been rubbing castor oil topically on my stomach and liver and on my back for kidneys and doing cleansing homeopathic detox. Three cups of warm water as an enema flush helps too. Seroquil is a bad drug. Damages brain and harms eyes, I think about suicide more than ever. If I make it through this… I may write a book someday and even do foster care. Depression is real and oversleeping with seroquel will make it worse it will drain you. I am only 24 years old, female from Seattle. This drug has landed me in king county jail three separate times due to the aggression it pents up.
So glad I’m not alone! I was on 200mg for 7 years and have been tapering off. 3 months later, I am down to 100mg and STILL feel awful! The nausea is unbearable! Posting this to see how long it takes for the nausea to go away? Any input is appreciated. Hoping I don’t have to deal with this forever :(
I am almost one year off Seroquel completely. I was originally prescribed this med almost ten years ago as a sleep aid only. It took me over a year to taper myself off the drug. I attempted cold turkey from 300mg nightly to nothing and it was a disaster. I thought I was going to explode. I lasted three days then got back on, but I started taking just 150mg nightly. I would very slowly decrease my dosage, sometimes by as little as 10mg.
I would reduce, then wait for side effects to subside, then reduce again. Sometimes it would take a few days, sometimes weeks and in a few cases a month or so for them to subside enough for me to feel ready to reduce again. Each time I reduced I had side effects, the worst was feeling like my heart was going to explode so I started taking 1mg of lorazepam if I was desperate.
When I had successfully tapered to about 10mg nightly I started adding in melatonin nightly. Again, I continued to taper very very slowly. In addition to the melatonin I also added in an over the counter med similar to Tylenol Simply Sleep. I also worked on decreasing my dosage of lorazepam and now almost one year later I am free of both Sero and Lora. The side effects I still feel regularly are sluggishness, migraines, vision issues every once in a while and rapid heart beat in some situations.
For the most part I’m happy with the outcome, better than being addicted to the Sero. My one piece of advice if I could only offer one is this: TAPER!!!! Good luck to all of you attempting to get off. It is worth it, just hang in there and go as slowly as you need to. It’s scary as hell realizing you are dependent on a drug, but completely possible to be free of it.
This is a great site for comments, and I first discovered it when I was in the final weeks of coming off Quetinpine, and began to wonder if feeling ill had anything to do with side effect so stopping the medication. Having stopped taking Quetiapine completely (as of 4 weeks ago) I agree wholeheartedly with K. Andrews, above. Don’t try to reduce your dose too quickly.
My final 3 weeks of completely finishing with Quetiapine was half a 25 mg tablet every 3 days. I cut the dose by 1/2 a 25mg tablet (12.5 mg) over many months. Allowing your brain and body to adjust by reducing the dose slowly, and maintaining the new dose for at least 4 weeks, will reduce the side effects of coming off it completely. I still had side effects of nausea, itchiness, bad taste in my mouth & headaches.
Insomnia is slowly improving, and I do take the occasional sleeping tablet (maybe once a week) to have a sleep deficit ‘catch up’. Have lost 6 kgs without any extra effort. You will get there, but treat your brain and body with kindness and do it slowly and gradually. Good luck to you all.
I’ve been on Seroquel XR for a little over a year now. I started off at 50 mg, and my doctor gradually increased the dose to 300. At one point during that time, the dose went as high as 400, but the side effects were so unbearable that the dose was reduced back to 300. In the amount of time span that I’ve been on this medication, there have been some positive things out of it, like reduced anxiety.
However, overall, I feel like there have been a lot more problems while on the drug, the biggest of which has been weight gain. I decided to cold turkey the Seroquel, and I’m now on day 3. Since stopping, there haven’t been any psychological changes (i.e. no worsening depression or anxiety). Instead, there have been grueling physical sensations. I have literally not slept at all the past 3 days, despite my best efforts.
I’ve also never experienced this level of nausea before. If I stand up, it feels like the room is spinning, and I’ll have to take a moment to orient myself. I’ve also been sweating and just generally feeling like my body is warmer. I’m glad I found this site. It’s at least a little bit relieving knowing that there are others in the same shoes, and that these side effects are known to be caused by stopping. Even though its bad right now, I’m going to try to just tough it out.
My experience with going down on Seroquel doseage is DO NOT GO TOO FAST. I tried dropping my dosage by one quarter for three weeks and it was agony all around, severe insomnia, severe itching, weird crawly feelings, bad headaches and migraines, brain fog, feeling unwell generally, severe anxiety, increasing depression. Finally I called my pharmacist and he advised me to increase my dosage up to what I had been taking, and then 2 weeks later to drop it by just 25 mg at a time for 2-4 weeks depending on how I was reacting to it.
It has been MUCH easier since I followed my pharmacist’s advice. I am sleeping which helps me to feel better all around. Itchiness has subsided, brain fog is improved, anxiety has improved, less headaches, milder migraines. I have been told that this is not an easy medication to get off of…and going SLOW is KEY. My P-doc. as well as pharmacist are in agreement on this advice. Hope this helps someone else.
AGE: 35. DOSE: 150mg. DURATION: 5 years. I’ve had to taper my withdrawal with only good ol’ Doc Internet for advice as I was having heart problems and couldn’t wait the 3 days to see my real life doctor. The nausea is the worst thing for me as I’m used to being in pain most of time (disability related), that said it’s certainly kicked it up a few notches!
I’ve found ginger capsules help the nausea and strangely enough cayenne pepper helps my muscle spasms (?!). My sleep is patchy, but I’ve found catnip tea helps me drop off even if I’m still waking up every hour. I literally raided my larder for anything Doc’ Net came up with. This is day/night 3 at 75mg. Due to see the saw bones later today and hoping she doesn’t have a melt down. She’s rather fierce. Has anyone else noticed a decrease in fluid retention after cutting down?
I am so grateful for this site, as I don’t know anyone else who is/was on this medication and it is so reassuring to know that I am not alone and to read everyone’s comments. My psychiatrist is not very helpful at all, in fact in her own words: “I only prescribe/control the medication part of your treatment and do not do therapy”, so I have to find someone to do CBT and pay extra money, also my GP doesn’t know (he treats colds and such), and that is why he had referred me to her.
GP and even psychiatrist have not much training on medications and it effects at all, they just know what the pharmaceuticals companies are telling them. More education is necessary. I have had a lot of the withdrawal symptoms that you all mentioned and my psychiatrist (we almost had a fight about this) is adamant that there is NO side effects to stopping Seroquel, and if I feel bad/sick it is because my old symptoms (before medications) are coming back; which I highly doubt as I did not have this terrible itchiness before. Any comment/advice would help. Thank you.
Your psychiatrist is wrong. Nothing startling about that. I guess they just aren’t up to the job.
My husband was on seroquel for 3 weeks at 100 mg to try and help him with insomnia. The seroquel caused such severe agitation and restlessness that the not sleeping grew much worse. The psychiatrist said to cold turkey it. We said yeah right we don’t think so. So he went from 100 mg to two nights of 50 mgs to two nights of 25 mgs.
His withdrawal is severe even with: 1) only being on this med for three weeks 2) taking a relatively, I guess, low dose, and 3) tapering off of it possibly too quickly though’. I am so disappointed with the docs we’ve seen who throw pills at symptoms without looking at what is going on underneath that is causing the insomnia or anxiety or whatever it is. I hope my husband can hang in there through withdrawal. We do not want to go backwards.
Hello – I am on my 3rd day do withdrawal from Seroquel. My prescription ran out and I cannot get refilled until Monday. Insomnia and throwing up are the main symptoms (3 hours of sleep in the last three days). No appetite. I did drink a couple beers hoping that it would help me sleep. No go. Did not make a dent in that wall of insomnia. No itching. Runny nose and sneezing, though.
I’ve been on 25mg for about 8 months and as of 3 days am off. First day I had nausea second day I couldn’t sleep well as this is why I was taking the med. The third day I have extreme itchiness… anyone else? Funny my doctor said it’s not from the med… What I read I’ve had. Frustrating!
Hey Julie. I’m 5 days off 25mgs for the last 6 years and I’m so freaking itchy and I have the worst hay fever. So glad I found this thread because I thought I was having some kind of physical breakdown. I have been crying too but that’s not unusual for me so I didn’t really take much notice. Not sure when you posted this so I may be way late with my reply but I’m wondering how you are going?
I am trying to come off quetiapine after being on it for 9 years. I discussed this with my psychiatrist a number of months ago and after agreeing with her that it was the right time I reduced the dose over a few weeks. I found it hard to cope with the insomnia and decided to go back on just to cope with life. This is now the second time I’ve tried to come off and its been about 3 weeks now.
The worst thing for me has been the insomnia (I’m writing this at 3:13am!) A few nights ago it was driving me so mad that I almost took a tablet to get me over. I don’t want to use it as a sleeping tablet. I thought it would be simple to come off but after reading this site it seems its going to be a lot harder than I thought.
I am finding it difficult trying to keep working full time and with a young family sleep is always needed!! My concentration in work has not been great. I feel sluggish with very little energy and drive. I need to try and get some exercise but again its hard finding time. I have also been finding my stress levels have been high at times. Its hard to know whether it’s coming off the drug or just ‘normal’ working and family stress.
To be honest I feel like I have been so unaware of how this and other drugs have been affecting me (I am on lithium for bi-polar disorder too). I have just accepted that I have to be on medication and not asked many questions. But now I’m starting to wonder what are the long term effects? Is the anxiety and depression I struggle with a result of the medication or is it ‘just me’? What are these drugs actually doing to my body?
I studied counselling part time for 3 years and was also referred to a clinical psychologist for a year. Both seemed to help me take more responsibility for my thought life. I realised I could actually have some control over depression, anxiety and anger. I also went for regular Christian prayer ministry which really helped and I draw a lot of strength from my relationship with God.
Now I just want to get off all my medication and leave the last 12 years behind- it seems that my whole life has been ruled by depression and anxiety and I’ve had enough! I want to start living rather than just ‘existing’ for the sake of my family as well as myself.
In the meantime, if I could just get over this insomnia that would be half the battle! Even now I can feel my heart racing. Please pray for me. Please pray for sleep and rest. Thank you.
Hello. I was put on quetiapine/Seroquel 150mg in 2002. My diagnosis was incorrect for starters. I am not schizophrenic. I do not have any symptoms for schizophrenia, and I never did. I believe that I was suffering from PTSD of sorts, but the “Stress” was ongoing and not something I could remove myself from. I am a victim of stalking. I took the medication at full dose (150mg) back then, because I was so unhappy at being stalked, I actually wanted to believe that a medication could convince me that it was in my imagination and it got me to sleep which meant I could escape the reality for a while.
It was just a tranquilizer that shut me down and made the stalking easier for the stalker but not me. In hindsight, I truly know that had the psychiatrist recommended a short stay in hospital, with emphasis on rest, eating well and talking through my problem, I would not be here today, writing this. I just needed a jolly good cry and people to believe me and help me to come to terms with it and a miracle to help me rid myself of the pest. That help was not available.
In fact, if I so much as mention “stalking” to a health care professional, they immediately think I need to increase my medications. I can not emphasize strongly enough, that health care professionals are blinded by the pharmaceutical companies to push medications on us. The trouble with this is that a short term fix becomes a life long dependency on a drug that has so many debilitating side effects.
I have dealt with the stalking in my own way. I am an artist and I have done work to communicate it. It doesn’t take it away, because stalkers are sociopaths and very hard to rid ourselves of. Gradually over the years I have gotten my dose of the Quetiapine down to 50 mg. I will slowly but surely keep reducing it, unbeknownst to the psychiatrist, because in all honesty, asking them to help is ridiculous. I can not speak to them about it, because they simply can not get their heads around it, or even give me benefit of the doubt.
I asked my psychiatrist today that “If every day of your life, someone hit you on the head and that resulted in a headache, would you just take an aspirin every day to get rid of the headache, or would you look for people to help you to stop that person from hitting you over the head?” She didn’t have much to say to that. I wish everyone who has found themselves on this page, because they too have been prescribed Quetiapine, every hope for a brighter future with great health and prosperity <3
Joanna I am so sorry to hear about your stalking experience. I had an experience with psychopaths too which led to severe PTSD, medications for years (including seroquel) and now possibly permanent issues from them. It’s terrible how we are given drugs but not therapy! I hope you’re doing ok. Hugs.
Stephen, I will pray for us all. I read your comment and I know exactly how you feel. It has brought me to tears, knowing that we have been given drugs that shut down all our joy to live, but make us just about able to function. I have been reading about what quetiapine does to our brain. It drastically reduces “dopamine” which is the hormone that our brain naturally produces and that hormone is associated with “reward motivated activity”.
People with high levels of dopamine are usually creative types. However very high levels can cause mania. That is where Quetiapine comes in and why it is prescribed. The dopamine is what we are missing! We feel down and like we are just existing, because we are deprived of a feel good hormone. In place of dopamine, quetiapine makes our brain produce more pro lactin. That hormone fights off the dopamine. Pro lactin is high in pregnant women. We are all struggling with our weight because of high pro lactin levels, a direct result of quetiapine.
I have written my own comment on this page too, which explains how I got in this position. I do agree that exercise helps us to feel better and with the weight and so does a healthy diet. However, I explained to my doctor that it feels like swimming against the tide. Like all the effort we put into staying fit seems unrewarded with the little amount of weight we lose. I will go back to the gym though, because that is at least something positive.
Again I will pray for us all. God bless you and I hope you find a solution for your health and you get the wellness and happiness you deserve for yourself and your family. (That was the bit that made me cry – I too have a family and I sometimes feel like we are just existing). -Joanna
Thanks for this Joanna and your prayers. I will be praying for you and your family, that you find peace and joy in your life and the strength to overcome all the struggles of coming off quetiapine. Stephen.
Stephen, a lot of what you wrote resonates with me. I often too wonder if it’s just me or the medications (I was on Seroquel for 11 years, psychiatrist started me at 365 mg to help with my depression and insomnia, and I have lowered the doses over all these years). The last two months I took none (I was at 25 mg) and insomnia, fatigue, feeling sick and itching, but like you the worst was the insomnia so I gave in and took 1/2 of 25 mg (cutting it); and I did this for the last 3 nights in a row but now I’m worried that I’ve gone backwards, I don’t want all my “hard” work of the last 2 months to be for nothing, so I am planning to either cut the pill in quarters or stop completely. Any thoughts? Thanks. You can also communicate through my e-mail if you wish: lmcgh7565[AT]yahoo.com. Good luck.
Hi Stephen, the insomnia is the worst for me too, just 3 months off Seroquel and still issues with sleep. Keep having faith and being positive; I tell myself that it will get better.
I have been on Seroquel for 10 years. Started at 100 mg/day but psyc increased it to 200-350 at the beginning of May 2015 when I went of Ambien. A month later I developed a severe ear pressure/pain in my right ear 24/7. I have seen 2 ENTs and had a slew of tests and meds but nothing has helped. It is bad enough trying to get off of Seroquel without having pain.
It has been 10 weeks now with no let up. I also have chronic pelvic pain. Consider yourself fortunate if you “only ” have to live with Seroquel withdrawal. I am about to go mad. I often wish I could die. Anyway, I read that other Seroquel users are experiencing the same ear problem from Seroquel. Does anyone here have a feeling of a plugged ear which won’t unplug since being on Seroquel.? If so, I’d love to hear from you. At least I can share my experiences. If you prefer my email address is [email protected]. -Wayne Gifford
I started on only 25 mg for sleep. After a while it didn’t work as well. My insurance company changed policy and said they will only cover 50mg, saying that 25mg is not therapeutic. So I started taking the 50mg. After several years, I am now dealing we with heart arrhythmia. Not sure if it related, but I decided to ween down and stop taking. Took half for about 2 weeks. I am actually sleeping a bit better than I thought, but not great. Also I am experiencing nasty allergy symptoms.
Constant sneezing and the itchies all over. Taking half a benadryl to take the edge off the itching. I have read many people complaining about that. The arrhythmia seems to be getting a little better and less often. Not convinced seroquel caused this. Although I have read that it can cause heart arrhythmias. I was put on a heart medication about 6 months ago, then the arrhythmias started. Just want to get off everything. Good luck to you all.
I have been taking quetiapine for 7 years after a serious nervous breakdown, and chronic severe insomnia. My highest dose was 75mg, which was like being kicked in the head by a camel. Over seven years I have reduced the dose to 12.5 mg every three days. I’m still gradually tapering the dose, until I will off it completely. Even with this gradual reduction I am experiencing side effects, and I would never suggest for someone to go ‘cold turkey’.
The symptoms of nausea, headaches and itchiness will be milder if one reduces slowly, and allow the brain to adjust gradually. Many of the milder side effects are similar to detoxification by fasting. I find that drinking lots of water mixed with fresh lemon juice, avoiding tea, coffee and alcohol, eating fresh fruit and veggies and not eating if I don’t feel like it, do help. Detoxing is a process.
I realize that I’m fortunate in that I was on relatively small dose, but I still feel that abrupt and total quitting is most likely dangerous in that you could refry the brain. I still have chronic insomnia, which I’m not sure how I’ll manage. I’m thinking hypnotherapy – has anyone tried this with success?
Hi everyone, wishing you luck with your withdrawals! My story is a little different but also very similar. I went to the hospital two weeks ago for depression and suicidal thoughts. My psychiatrist diagnosed me with borderline and put me on 12.5 mg of seroquel twice a day. I began to have increased anxiety that resulted in some very scary panic attacks.
I told my psychiatrist it didn’t work and he told me I just needed a higher dose. He put me on 25mg in the morning, 12.5 at noon, and 25 at night. My anxiety increased to the point that I was having panic attacks all day, as well as a heartbeat from 120-140 bpm. I was scared to leave my room and had uncontrollable crying. No nurse or psychiatrist would listen, because my doctor was the head psychiatrist of the hospital and “knew what he was doing”.
Finally it got to the point where I was too nauseous to eat and was having diarrhea all day. I took myself off the seroquel 4 days ago after calling my pharmacist and being told that all of my experiences were potential side effects. Thankfully, my anxiety has subsided to the point where it is very manageable. However, I am experiencing insomnia, nausea, muscle twitching, and the worst is the irregular, fast beating in my heart.
I am hoping that since I was only on the drug for two weeks, my withdrawal will be quick. I am so angry with the hospital for putting me on this drug in the first place (borderline is not an approved use for the drug) and for not listening to me when I complained! I almost wish I hadn’t gone to the hospital in the first place! I am so glad I was able to talk to my pharmacist.
I have had temporary TD from a medication before and have no trouble believing that if I had stayed on the drug it would have happened again. My main message is always check the side effects of a medication before you start it!!!! Don’t take your doctor’s word that it will work for you!
I’m day 7 after stopping my 25mgs dose. The horrendous itching seems to have subsided – I ended up getting some Piriton (antihistamine) from the pharmacy to get me through and it worked. Also Piriton made me drowsy which was good to combat the insomnia. It’s a tough ride quitting this drug – I’ve been on 50-75mgs for 9 years but i was sleeping recently because of the jumpy leg movement symptoms.
I figured that if I couldn’t sleep because of this side effect, then I could put up with a bit of insomnia whilst I quit it completely. I’m not claiming to be out of the woods yet as I’m also experiencing some racing heart beats and general agitation… and so I’ll probably post again next week to report back on the withdrawal process. Just want to say thanks to everyone posting on this site as its been a lifeline regarding symptom awareness.
Hi guys. I posted above, a few months ago. I tried to get off in January. I did it too quick. Ended back on 200 mg. Been on this drug more than 2 years, highest dosage 600 mg. Since May, I’ve been tapering from 200 mg. Did it real slow. Cut the 25 mg tablet into halves then quarters so I could do (approximately) 3/4, 1/2 then 1/4.
I had my first night off without it last night, as the night before I couldn’t remember if I took 1/4 or not then thought, f*ck, may as well go off now then. Bit early as I’d only been on 1/4 for a week and not what I had planned, but there you go. Will go back on 1/4 if I can’t deal with it. Last night, had sleeping issues but that’s to be expected. Want to let people know, go slow. Go real slow and it will be OK.
First few days of dosage drops are hard work. Went from 200 to 150 mg first time and it was quite hard. Some of the dosage drops have been hard to process. But I keep going to bed same time every night, started drinking hot milk and got an eye mask (am sensitive to light disturbance), etc, etc, all to try to up my chances of sleeping. Some of the dosages I stayed on longer cause they took my body/brain much longer to adapt to, especially at the lowest dosages.
As I say, last night was not great for sleep. Am also a bit itchy. But will see how it is tonight. If it’s not great, will go back up to 1/4 and stay on that for longer, as had planned to stay on it much longer than I did. Had some good things from tapering. Glad to hear my own thoughts again and feel more alive. Best wishes for everyone here.
Yes, there is some positive things in all of this; I too felt more alive, could focus longer on reading and creative thinking. I have tapered slowly over years and months. The last two months I was not taking any and it was hard but manageable, but on the beginning of my third month; the insomnia, fatigue, crying (mostly because I had not slept enough), and itchiness all over my body got quite troublesome so I took half of 25 mg for three nights in a row now, and the symptoms went away. But I don’t want to go back or stay on this medication.
I have been on quetiapine for 7 years. I Am on my second night drug free. I feel nauseated heart burn extremely anxious unable to sleep worried how I will function come morning. I experienced the severe weight gain the dullness the fatigue everything you all have described. I have come down from 16 different scripts to 6. My fibromyalgia is killing me and my ulcers and depression and borderline personality disorder seem to be under control.
This is absolutely one of the worst drugs I have ever been prescribed. Coming off of the quetiapine is worse than the withdrawals I had as a young adult quitting illegal drugs and alcohol. I wish only the best to all who are battling this addiction and the withdrawals we are all suffering because of it.
I had been on 50 mg of Seroquel for approximately five years when I attempted to quit. My psychiatrist said cold turkey would be fine, but I went down to 25 mg for one week before quitting. Almost immediately I suffered insomnia. Weeks into quitting I had heart palpitations strong enough that I went to the ER. My whole body felt as if it were under pressure. My attention span was limited, my thoughts were becoming more rapid, and my sleep was limited. Three months into quitting I had a psychotic episode. It was the worst episode of my life, and I had been living with bipolar for 20 years.
The episode was bad enough that by the end of it I was charged with three felonies, spent five months off of work, and was in and out of hospitals. After the episode I went back on seroquel, but at 100 mg. It’s been over two years and I am currently attempting to go back to 50 mg. So far I am only experiencing insomnia, but it has only been three days. I don’t know if I will ever be able to quit this drug. Honestly, this drug and my body’s response to it terrifies me.
Currently night one after taking seroquel for two nights this would be night 3. I felt nauseated about 24 hours after my last dose of 100mg, and now laying in bed I have a headache. I also didn’t take my 80 mg of Prozac today, and I also took another 10 mg of dextroamphetimine for a total of 20 mg which is 10 more mg than I normally take which I thought would help me counteract the extreme lethargy I’ve encountered after day two of seroquel.
I was suicidal over the weekend prior to seroquel and went to the ER, and asked for seroquel after asking around on a self help website. Looks like this drug was a mistake, I should have known better. But my suicidal ideations are gone. I will be tapering off the seroquel ever so slowly, and resuming my Prozac thanks to all of your submissions.
I’m now 15 and was put on Seroquel just as I turned 14. I went through a phase of depression and self harm, and I didn’t realize what I was doing because I was in boarding school, and no one cared what I did. Until a student told the nurse and they sent me to a Psychologist and I got put on this drug. I already had problems sleeping, not too bad but I couldn’t fall a sleep easily. The drug knocked me out totally I didn’t go to school for 2 weeks.
I was on 50 mg for a while and for the last few months 25 mg this summer I wanted to get off it so my doctor said to cut them in half. And now I really can’t sleep without any sleep medication like melatonin. I hate it so much and I wish I could just fall a sleep like I use to when I was younger. I also am scared or worried a lot, sad and some of my friends have told me I seem different. All I want is to be back to normal and get a lot of sleep.
I’ve been on Seroquel for 6.5 years, the doses ranging between 200mg to 1800mg. Most of the time I was taking 600mg. It was originally prescribed for BPD and psychosis when I was 18. The drug helped me a lot, but the withdrawal is hell. I tapered from 600mg to 300mg over 3 months, but then my doctor said to ignore the psychiatrists idea and come off that 300mg in 2 weeks.
I’ve been off it three days and have had 15 minutes of sleep. I’m taking benzos to ‘help’, but they don’t do anything. I am going crazy. 72 hours awake is just not normal and I can’t stand it. I’m so scared of how long I’ll go without sleep.
I’ve been on 50mg of Seroquel nightly for about 95% of the past twelve months, and only in the past few weeks have I reduced it to 25mg per night after commencing sleep restriction treatment (Seroquel was prescribed for insomnia). The past two nights I’ve taken none at all. Naturally I expected symptoms in regards to sleep (I’ve had a collective six hours in the past 2 days) but with that came a host of other troubles.
Part of the reason I couldn’t sleep last night was because of flu-like, boiling hot to freezing cold sweats. I’m feeling depressed again for no particular reason. I have a headache that won’t go away. Today I went to the GP to determine the cause of my unbearably itchy mouth/throat, his opinion was surprisingly the Seroquel, hence I’ve come across this website. Even though it’s the middle of winter I’m doing a ridiculous amount of sneezing.
I didn’t think such a tiny dose could cause so much trouble! Clearly I’m not alone though. Tonight I might attempt to cut the tiny pill in half so I’m taking 12.5mg. It can sure be a difficult, painful process. Good luck to everyone tapering themselves off… hopefully it will be worth it.
My husband was tapering from depakote, then seroquel. Depakote was no big deal, however seroquel, was a HUGE problem, police were called in and the police psychiatrist. NO IDEA that he would have these kind of withdrawal symptoms he has suffered everything on this list including symptoms of tar- dative dyskensia symptoms. My husband is presently in a nursing home 40 miles away from our house, and moving to a boarding place after that required by the courts.
He is a mess, continues 5 years 28 drugs later messed up and unemployed being on disability. He is 60 years old and I do not hold out much hope for him. His public defender screams at me blames me for everything, the city attorney does not recommend that the protective order be modified, and by the time this is done, my husband may even forget who I am because one of the side effects of seroquel is early onset dementia which is what they have NOW diagnosed him with.
He has been diagnosed with: alcoholism, (he does not drink) anxiety/panic disorder, mania, bipolar, psychosis, and now early onset dementia? Sounds like no one knows what they are doing. My opinion is he is a weak man and could not handle his mom and dad becoming sick on top of the stress on his job. Anyhow he is disabled non functional and a emotional train wreck thanks to these medications.
Hello everyone. I have read most of your posts and I’m really scared. My doctor prescribed 400mgs of seroquel for horrible insomnia I was having a year and a half ago. I don’t know when, but I started only taking 200mgs at one point early on and didn’t notice any problems. I have been wanting to get off it for awhile and read about the horrible side effects it causes. I don’t know if I gained weight from it, but I hardly eat anything and my weight has seemed to stay the same judging by my clothing sizes.
The medicine also costs a ton and I don’t want to waste money on this poisonous stuff any longer. I began tapering really fast last week because I was almost out and was fine until my last dose of 50mgs two nights ago. I knew it was probably bad to taper so quickly, but when I called the pharmacy they told me there were no side effects to worry about. I lost my dog who I’ve had for 18 years a few days ago and the whole thing caused me to be depressed. I am still depressed, but I think a lot of it has to do with quitting seroquel so fast.
It’s a weird kind of depression so I know it’s not just because of my dog. I am glad I am able to feel sad over it because I took antidepressants when I was younger and hated it because I couldn’t cry. I like having emotions and a lot of you said you felt emotionless on seroquel. Before the insomnia I suffered a year ago I was fine and happy and not on any medications. It was nice. Last night I could not sleep after only one night without any seroquel.
My doctor had originally prescribed three medications in the beginning, klonopin, trazadone, and seroquel for the insomnia and said I could keep taking them. I stopped the trazadone one cold turkey with no problems and still have a bunch of it. Last night I gave in and took some of it again because of the insomnia from stopping seroquel. I think it helped me sleep a bit but I still was only able to sleep for 3-4 hours. Today has been horrible. I am exhausted, nauseous, depressed, and have a headache.
I want to take a nap but can’t. I am going to get more seroquel as soon as possible but the pharmacy always takes a long time to fill my prescriptions. They are also closed on the weekends so I have to endure at least two or three more days of this. When I finally get my prescription I, going to taper a lot more slowly, but after reading all of the other posts here I’m sure I’ll still have to go through this hell again. I’m sorry all of you are going through horrible withdrawals.
I should have never taken this terrible stuff, but at the time I was desperate and my doctor gave it to me like it was harmless. I have to work tomorrow so I hope I will be able to function better than I am today. All I feel like doing is laying on the couch…
Hi, I can relate to what you are going through. When my dog died 5 years ago, it threw me into a massive depressive episode for months followed by extreme mania which eventually landed me in the hospital. I am off the seroquel finally for two weeks and it is miserable. But worth it in the long run I think.
I have tapered off Seroquel over the past few months. I was at 150 mg, and tapered down by 25 mg each month. I noticed some anxiety, but not too much. Then a few days ago I went from 25 mg to 0. My anxiety went through the roof, I could only sleep about 3-4 hours a night and my whole body itched horribly for almost two days! Now it’s day 4 and my itching is much less. Hopefully I’ll sleep well tonight. :) I’m sure this will pass too. Working out helps.
This isn’t OK. I took 25mg x 2 a day to enhance Zoloft and was extremely allergic to both. My PCP ignored my complaints, I got angry, which turned into rage and aggression, I lost my house, some friends. 6 weeks off of it and I am still having screaming nightmares. Every comment I read, not only here, but elsewhere, indicates that this drug is a nightmare. Are there any lawyers out there who want to take this on?
Re: the part of your comment about lawyers…there have been reams of lawsuits over Seroquel. AstraZeneca, the maker of Seroquel, was even forced to pay the government over $500 million for illegally marketing the drug for off label uses. Sadly, that amount is roughly equivalent to 4 months of Seroquel sales alone. The system is so broken at this point that lawsuits aren’t going to fix these problems. What we need is either serious legislation (good luck on that) or criminal charges for specific individuals.
I agree with Nancy. This drug is a nightmare!! I think it is over prescribed. The withdraw symptoms were SO TERRIBLE!! I have so much energy now that I’m off of seroquel. I think seroquel should be discontinued!
Hearing all of these comments makes me hopeful, but what I am going through right now makes me feel like I’d rather die than suffer through another day of withdrawal. I feel like my chest is going to explode, and the anxiety and heart problems are immobilizing and torturous. I am taking valium given to me by the hospital, but it isn’t helping….If I have to go through this for 90 days, I would rather die. I didn’t even take that much.
I was switched onto Latuda (20 mg) and they are gradually taking me off my 100 mg of seroquel (which I have taken for 2 years). I have been taking 50mg for the last few days. That, coupled with the raise to 60 mg of latuda landed me in the ER. Please someone help me. I’m suffering so much…. I am back on 20 mg, but I am ready to give up. The chest paint is too much. Please help.
Hey there, stick with it! When I came off Seroquel (I took 600 mg for 3 years) I began to have horrible panic attacks and anxiety like I had never had before. I couldn’t sleep, as every time I laid my head down I panicked and thought I was going to suffocate/have a heart attack. It lasted for a few months before I got it somewhat under control. Be wary of using any other substances (for instance I had to stop smoking marijuana as that was definitely making it worse).
Know that it is only the withdrawal, and it won’t last forever! You can get thru 90 days of hell, it is only a slice of your life. I repeat, IT WILL GET BETTER. It sucks. It sucks so so so bad, but you have to just hold out. Try to distract yourself. Watch your favorite movie, spend an hour in a hot shower, exercise, do anything other than just let the anxiety consume you in a quiet dark space. Talk to someone you trust, if you can, or to strangers in forums like this online.
Something else you can try: Write down your thoughts, then look at them and see if you can substitute or insert one or two words that completely change the whole idea/context. You can get creative or ridiculous if it works for you. For example, if I was thinking “I feel like I am going to die if I just lie here” you can change it to “I feel like I am going to melt into a pool of chocolate if I just lie here”. That kind of stuff helps ground me and distract me when my thoughts are in an anxious whirlpool.
Make yourself laugh if you can. Realize that the thoughts/feelings you are having aren’t necessary, they aren’t the only way you are capable of being. But seriously. You will get through it. Take care of yourself. You aren’t alone. Look at all these other survivors here who felt like shit and made it to the other side. Best wishes to you.
Thanks for your comments! They give me hope!
I’ve been on 200 mg of seroquel for about 9 months following my last hospital stay for a psychotic episode . While I can honestly say the medicine has helped (no psychotic episodes since starting it, better sleep), I am terrified of the withdrawal. About 24 hours after a missed dose, I begin with a migraine headache and vomiting.
I recently lost my insurance and am in the process of signing up for a new plan (I turned 26 and had to get off my parents insurance). I tried making the seroquel last as long as possible before running out by weaning down for a few weeks but I am now completely seroquel free for 3 days and I can barely function. The nausea is unbearable (I’ve vomited 8 times in the past two days), I feel like I’m constantly carsick, and I am barely sleeping.