Seroquel Withdrawal

[Rose]

I read all these comments about weight gain and yet my husband cannot gain one pound. He is 6ft tall and all of 154lbs. Eats well and takes seroquel

[maria]

Last time I posted I said I was supposed to see a new physciatrist, and they called and did an intake with me. After that she said someone would be calling me to set up an appt in 48 hours. Well nobody has called and it's been several days. Although we just had the 4th of July and maybe they were out of the office that week. I have a question. Can my new doctor call my old doctor and get info about me? I thought that because of Hippa rules they couldn't without my permission. Does anyone know? I'm worried that the new doc won't want to take me on due to whatever my old doc told her. You know, things like sometimes I don't feel like talking during my session and will just sit there after the intial, how our you doing? I'm a cutter, and have been most of my life. After he says something about my arm and I reply, he says something like, why do you hate yourself so much? When I tell him that I don't hate myself, I'm pretty much done talking to him. I know it's a waste of my money and possibly his time, but sometimes I really can't talk. Oh well, thanks for listening to my blabbering. Everyone take care.

[Seroquel free]

Hey All, 13 months later and I'm still Free of Seroquel and Nicotine. Feeling much better these days. I wish you all the best and hope you reach your goals.

[SUZY Q]

I've been on Seroquel since 2002 and I have no real complaints. On the few times that I've tried to withhold my dose (I'm on 350/night)...I experience (during the first 5-10 hours) a massive surge of energy, intensity, clarity, and increased libido. People generally say that I'm "on good form." The problem is that about 5-7 hours after I was supposed to dose I will start getting the shakes, chills, and a stomach ache. Also, it becomes impossible (literally) to fall asleep. Having been awake for, like 24 hours straight, my body will be exhausted but no matter how tired I get, my mind will be spinning like four records at once, talking over itself and telling itself stories and I cannot acheive unconsciousness...I have never had the courage to see what happens next...and proceed to then take my dose...wait about a half an hour and pass out. MY QUESTION IS: IF I ALLOWED THE WITHDRAWL TO PROLONG ITSELF INTO SAY 12-24-36 HOURS, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN? IS THERE A CERTAIN POINT WHERE, AFTER SAY 2 OR THREE DAYS, IT EVENTUALLY GETS BETTER? cheers...

[Eric]

Stopped taking seroquel for a week and experienced intense itching.
Restarted for a week and it went away. Completely ran out of meds after another week and itching started again.

[Beach1_gal]

Hi I was on Seroquel for 4 years 600mg a day, I never wanted to get up in the morning and always founding myself cancelling anything I did have planned even dr. appts. I didn't get the weight gain but the zaps in the brain drove me crazy.
Then last month I went to pick up my script and Medicare said I was over the money limit for non off lable products. Not my fault there is none. So if I didn't have 557.00 per month then it is off for me no withdrawls. So that is what happened but worse in the same week they found two aneruysms in my brain and I had to have brain surgery. So as for the side-effects I didn't have many but the not being able to sleep, so finally I would take my Klonopin and a Ativan and then put in a movie that calms me and I slept for some time sitting up but as time passed I noticed I can wake up and actually get dressed and go somewhere and not cancel on a constant basis. Plus it got to the point that I was just not being invited to anything.
Well now it's been 4 weeks since I had two brain surgery's in one week and now they have put me on Riboxalin <sp What a difference I don't know if it's the removal of the aneurysm's, the new med or the new look I have on life after such scary surgery's. I have found on this med I am supposed to gain weight but I am loosing instead. I am starting to get a little worried as I was down to 89# last year when I was sick with PSTD and it was awful I was a very sickly looking funny person.
As for going cold turkey off don't I think the only reason I didn't have more was because I was sedated for 2 months before my surgery and then my brain is different from the removal of the "annies".
Get off of Seroquel though it's killing so many people every day. As for ECT do NOT allow that. I did and it was a mistake that I still have terrible mixed emotions and pstd from. I hated them I was a zombie and my memory is partially gone even the birth of my son. I am so angry if I could sue the Doc I would.
I am bipolar 1 they say I don't beleive them and neither does anyone in my family. But if I say so then there goes my support SSI monthly and I will be living on the streets if that happened. So I will stick with what the docs say, but remember if you really want off of seroquel tell the dr you are getting hives or have trouble breathing anything that is scary enough for them to take you off right away...It may save your life.
Good luck everyone.
I hate Seroquel and will never ever go back on it again. I am suing the drug company right now and I hope they pay for the loss of life and memory I had for 4 years. And they need to pay me for the lost memory due to them wanting to do seroquel and ECT. ECT is only for people in coma's to see if they can zap them out not young people in their youth taking away all your memories and being a zombie.
I will be saying prayers for everyone one here. I hope you find your answer and just keep trying diff meds till you find one that works. It took in the beginning 12 diff meds to finally find seroquel and now I am sorry I ever was on it. As for the riboxin I haven't been on it very long but I will keep you posted on it. So far I love it and it is not a sleeper drug. I finally got my psych doc to give me ambien for sleep. I still don't sleep alot but a little is better than none.
beachgal

[maria]

Could we talk about ECT's for a minute? I had a suicide attempt about 4 and 1/2 years ago and ended up in a coma for 5 days. After I was well enough, they transfered me to a psych hospital where I stayed for almost 1 month. During my stay I allowed them to do 4 ECT treatments and after I was released I had 2 more done. I did have severe memory loss initially, but that has improved over time. There are still some things I can't remember when my family talks about them, but I haven't had another attempt since then. People around me, including my husband, said I was a different person immediately following the first ECT. What have others experienced?

[barry]

wow this is a world wide problem im way down in new zealand and we to are being feed this medication. my living situation wont allow me to start coming off medication just yet but in 3 months time im moving out on my own and intend to hide away from the world and cut down my meds over a week or 2 then more or less go cold turkey ...
I just want to feel again and to live im sick of being a zombie

[Ecw]

I've been on Seroquel for bipolar depression and I take Wellbutrin and Xanax, too. I am stopping everything except the Xanax because I an experiencing a lot of anxiety. The seroquel makes me sleep weird and I'm a zombie all the time. I can't wait til the weekend just so I can sleep. I go to bed at 7pm sometimes and sleep til 5am. I just don't want to take it anymore.

[maria]

I too am on Seroquel for bipolar depression. I guess they call it Bipolar II. I was able to reduce Seroquel from 450mg to 225mg at night. I originally was on 600mg. I also take Wellbutrin, but take Neurontin at night too. I've never tried Xanax. What is it supposed to do? I'm still experiencing anxiety especially when I'm trying to go to sleep, although it's much better than it was 2 weeks ago.
Isn't there something else out there besides Seroquel that can help us??

[tjswan]

I have been on seroquel 8 months and I take 600mg every night. I went to the VA because I lost my job and health benefits and was down to my last 17 pills. I told the doctors that I was addicted to the drug and they said it is not addictive. They gave me 180 pills, 300mg each. I cant sleep with out it. I would take it with ambien and they gave me 7 pills(ambien). I told them that I have had 4 overdosing on several medication. I was surprise they gave me so many pills. I wanted them because I'm addicted. I feel like taking 50 pills. I have been suicidal for 18 months and I really would like to die. I've been on so many different drugs for my depression/insomnia since Nov. of 2007. My wife divorced me this year after 25 years and my two kids who are in their twenties wont talk to me. I really want to die and nothing has help me to get rid of the suicidal ideations. I am in a very low state. I really feel everyone I know would be better off if I was dead. I think I am going to do it and will end up in hell. The life I'm living now is hell. Seroquel is killing me just like all the other antidepression medication I've been on.

[Diana]

Do not listen to any doctor about seroquel it is addictive its used as a off label drug for sleeping and axiety. Maybe you should try wellbutrin for depression, but i hate to tell you a lot of drugs can cause a chemical inbalance when there nothing wrong happen to me. I have nothing wrong with at all i spent several years be tortured to be told nothings wrong now. Benn off all meds now for 5 months and i feel much better than i hav in years.

[maria]

Tjswan- Please reconsider your plan to overdose. I am so sorry that you are at this place in life. I too have overdosed 3 times. The last one put me in a coma for 5 days. They told my husband when they were working on me that if I lived until the next morning, I'd be ok. My husband has told me over and over how hard that was for him. I have 4 grown kids and know they would be have been devasted if I had died. At the time, I really felt just like you, that there was no hope. Now I still have my moments when I feel suicidal, but fight like hell to see the good in life.
That's what you need to do right now. Look at the good in your life. I know it's there, and you might have to search for it, but keep looking until you find it.
My marriage in rocky to say the least and we're going to marraige counseling. She said that my bipolar is a central theme in our relationship and it needs to be understood and addressed. We're trying. I'm sorry about your divorce. I know it must be overwhelming after that many years. I know I'd feel that way if I was to get a divorce after 30 yrs. of marriage! Please talk to someone about how you feel and keep looking and searching for the good in your life. Keep in touch on this forum.
Take care.

[Aingeal Ni Logain]

Can anyone tell me how long it will take before I can sleep again? I have been taking Zimovane for about a year, which has now stopped working for me (some nights I would take four of them just to try to get to sleep). They simply don't help me to sleep any more. I have been taking Seroquel, 200 mg at night and found them helpful for sleep. However I am out of them now and do not wish to continue to take them because of all of the negative side effects. Please help! Will it take long before I will be able to sleep again. This is just my second night without any meds and I can't sleep at all. Many thanks, Aingeal

[maria]

Aingeal Ni Logain wrote:

Can anyone tell me how long it will take before I can sleep again? I have been taking Zimovane for about a year, which has now stopped working for me (some nights I would take four of them just to try to get to sleep). They simply don't help me to sleep any more. I have been taking Seroquel, 200 mg at night and found them helpful for sleep. However I am out of them now and do not wish to continue to take them because of all of the negative side effects. Please help! Will it take long before I will be able to sleep again. This is just my second night without any meds and I can't sleep at all. Many thanks, Aingeal

I wish I knew about that particular drug, but I've never heard of it before. The only thing that helps me sleep is, unfortunately, seroquel. Have you tried Ambien? Some people have had success with it. Maybe somebody out there knows
more. It sucks to not be able to get any sleep, and I know it's not good for our moods.

[seronomo]

yepper, been taking Seroquel for Narcolepsy for years (along with worry/anxiety at night). getting off is rather difficult..it has taken me about 1 1/2 years of doing it (and I was on up to 200mgs)...currently taking 100 mgs as PRN and up to 50mg nitely....

I learned not to be too hard on myself...I can gradually decrease dosage if using amino acids and other alternatives....have had the sweats, nite time paralysis, bad dreams, brain drain in day, and generally (not wellness)...but I have slept consistently on it for years...

Recovery isn't for whimps...nor is seroquel withdrawals...in fact any psychotropic withdrawals can be FUN, right?

[Jennifer]

Hi. Up until two weeks ago, I had been taking 300mg per day of Effexor and 100 mg per day of Seroquel. I had been taking these medications for 6 years for OCD (intrusive thoughts) and anxiety.

While both these drugs worked wonders for me at the time, I had reached a point where I felt strong enough to want to try and see if I could handle life without them. The weight gain of 40 lbs over the past 6 years has also been a good motivator!

So under my drs care, I recently took three months to wean off the Effexor. Yahoo! While the withdrawal has not been perfect by any means, it has gone WAY better then I thought it would. My dr did a good job of exposing me to the worst that could happen, and thankfully I've done much better then that!

My next task will be to wean off the 100 mg per day of Seroquel. When we were discussing my weaning off the meds, my dr said to get off the Effexor first as that would be the hardest.(This is not the same dr that prescribed the meds and she is not a fan of Effexor nor the high dosage I was on.) She said the Seroquel would be a snap compared to the Effexor, with the worst part being able unable to sleep. I so hope she's right!

I think I need to be off the Effexor for a little longer before I start the withdrawal of this one. The Effexor withdrawal forum here as helped tremendously! I'm hoping this forum can do the same.

So, my first questions are is my dosage normal; how long has it taken others to wean off Seroquel; what was your worst withdrawal side effect; and will the weight come off?

Thanks to all.

[katiekatie]

I have been off Seroquel for at least 2 months and I am getting these awful facial sensations(vibrations) when I move my eyes too quickly to the left or the right or sometimes unexpectedly.
Has anyone had this withdrawal effect?

[gmcadams]

I'm at 3 weeks off seroquel after taking it since 1998. Over a few years I came down from 900mg to 200 mg. I'm still nauseous, weak, lightheaded, itchy, have diarrhea, just plain miserable. My doctor had me go off cold turkey from 200 mg. Sounds bad. Is bad. But guess what happened while I was on it!

I went from 124 lbs to 182 lbs. I hate to tell the person who thinks she has it whipped with exercise, but I'd watch my diet and be a good girl all day. But then I'd go to sleep. That's when I'd start to cook a big meal and eat it. Or pull out a half gallon of ice cream and eat it. Or a whole bag of cookies... And occasionally I shopped for food in my sleep. And then cooked it and ate it. I never had a history of any of this before taking seroquel.

I actually thought it was my non-cooking husband who had become the midnight cooking bandit until I divorced him and the bandit was still there. With no one but me in the house...I'm the bandit.

Don't know how long I'll be sick, but at least I won't run over anybody in my sleep or burn the house down while cooking in my sleep. When the withdrawals are over I'll post a time frame, cause I've looked all over the internet and can't find out how long this lasts.

[maria]

gmcadams wrote:

I'm at 3 weeks off seroquel after taking it since 1998. Over a few years I came down from 900mg to 200 mg. I'm still nauseous, weak, lightheaded, itchy, have diarrhea, just plain miserable. My doctor had me go off cold turkey from 200 mg. Sounds bad. Is bad. But guess what happened while I was on it!
I went from 124 lbs to 182 lbs. I hate to tell the person who thinks she has it whipped with exercise, but I'd watch my diet and be a good girl all day. But then I'd go to sleep. That's when I'd start to cook a big meal and eat it. Or pull out a half gallon of ice cream and eat it. Or a whole bag of cookies... And occasionally I shopped for food in my sleep. And then cooked it and ate it. I never had a history of any of this before taking seroquel.
I actually thought it was my non-cooking husband who had become the midnight cooking bandit until I divorced him and the bandit was still there. With no one but me in the house...I'm the bandit.
Don't know how long I'll be sick, but at least I won't run over anybody in my sleep or burn the house down while cooking in my sleep. When the withdrawals are over I'll post a time frame, cause I've looked all over the internet and can't find out how long this lasts.

That's crazy and scary stuff! I just can't believe all the different things this drug can do to people. I'm still of 250mg of Seroquel after going off of it, cold turkey, and other drugs at the same time. Not a good thing to do! I'm back on Seroquel but have gone from 600mg to 250mg. I'm also back on Wellbutrin 400mg and Neurontin 400mg at night with my Seroquel.
I get so sick of taking drugs,yet scared to try to go off of them. I'm seeing a new shrink next week and maybe she and I can look at weaning me off and trying something else that can keep me sane without all of the terrible side effects. Because of my Bipolar and suicide attempts, I'm scared to not take anything at all.
Anybody tried anything else without the bad side effects?