senseless: tapering off 25mg Seroquel/quetiapine after being on it for a month

[senseless]

On 4/8/2020 at 3:47 AM, Altostrata said:

 

I think it's more likely you had a wave, probably from watching Netflx too late at night.

 

What is your usual sleep schedule?

 

I hope so but i have my doubts it was just a wave, as my sleep is the worst than is has ever been before. 

 

I usually go to sleep at 12-12:30, then wake around 5-6 and stay in bed until 11.

[senseless]

Update for anyone following along at home.

 

My sleep continues to deteriorate, i have a feeling i'm kindled due to improper medication storage from the 13-30/03/20 cannot confirm or deny.

 

Though one things that gives me a little bit of hope that things are not as bleak as they appear.

 

Most mornings after i wake up i stay in bed for 4 hours or so. I think partially during this time i am sleeping as i have dreams and time passes by very fast, but it also feels like i am awake the whole time... weird.

 

How much of this time i am sleeping and how deep the sleep is i don't know. I'm going to buy a fit bit to find out. 

 

[Shep]

What kind of non-drug coping skills are you using these days, senseless? 

 

I think you're right that you may be getting more sleep than you think. Fatigue is common during withdrawal, so it may not all be about lack of sleep, but the fatigue makes you feel as if you haven't slept at all. 

 

Please do as much self care as possible. The non-drug coping skills will get you through this. 

[Altostrata]

6 hours ago, Shep said:

I think you're right that you may be getting more sleep than you think.

 

I agree with Shep.

 

Your graph does not show deterioration but a recent shallow and probably inconsequential dip.

 

As discussed before, 5 hours sleep a night is okay for withdrawal syndrome. It could be a lot worse. Do you currently have any other withdrawal symptoms?

 

Have you tried any of these tips to improve your sleep?

 

Tips to help sleep -- so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

Path to Better Sleep FREE online for everyone from the US Veterans Administration

 

Music for self-care: Calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

 

TV or computer use in evening can disrupt sleep: Bright light signals the brain that it's daytime

 

It sounds like you're awakened by the early morning light. Darkening your bedroom and using a sleep mask can help.

 

Fixating on the amount of sleep you get may be making you unnecessarily anxious about sleep and delaying your recovery.

 

I am concerned that you continually describe your situation as deteriorating when it clearly is not. Please consider whether this is your existential position: Always fearfully on the brink of deterioration.

 

Strongly advise you learn meditation and practice it between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. rather than worrying about how much sleep you're getting. See

 

Easing your way into meditation for a stressed-out nervous system

 

Music for self-care: calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

 

Ways to cope with daily anxiety

 

Health anxiety, hypochondria, and obsession with symptoms

 

How much exercise do you get?

 

You should get at least a half-hour of gentle exercise, such as walking, each day. I find if I get an hour of slightly more strenuous cardio walking up hills, I sleep a lot better.

[senseless]

On 4/11/2020 at 5:33 PM, Shep said:

What kind of non-drug coping skills are you using these days, senseless? 

 

I think you're right that you may be getting more sleep than you think. Fatigue is common during withdrawal, so it may not all be about lack of sleep, but the fatigue makes you feel as if you haven't slept at all. 

 

Please do as much self care as possible. The non-drug coping skills will get you through this. 

 

Hi Shep,

 

I'm not sure if these are typical non-drug coping skills, but im trying to practise acceptance, gratitude and being in the present.

 

Although i do not feel particularly hopeful about my future, i'm trying not to focus to much on it anymore.

 

I'm also attempting to accept my life for what it is at the moment and focus on the things which i still enjoy. Movies, food, videos games.

 

With this approached i feel far less suicidal which is good i suppose..

[Erell]

13 minutes ago, senseless said:

 

Hi Shep,

 

I'm not sure if these are typical non-drug coping skills, but im trying to practise acceptance, gratitude and being in the present.

 

Although i do not feel particularly hopeful about my future, i'm trying not to focus to much on it anymore.

 

I'm also attempting to accept my life for what it is at the moment and focus on the things which i still enjoy. Movies, food, videos games.

 

With this approached i feel far less suicidal which is good i suppose..

 

Hi Senseless, 

 

these are great non-drug coping skills !

 

- Practice acceptance : this is a key to allow symptoms and not add more fear. By practicing acceptance, you give space and time to your CNS to focus on is healing work 

- Gratitude is also a very important skill : instead of focusing on negative aspect of your life, your remind that beautiful things still happen to

- Being in the present, also a great way to live ! Regretting the past, or fearing the future will only add fear and sadness to our lives : by living in the present, we allow ourselevs to just...live

 

Do you practice mindfullness, or meditation?

 

Can you walk a bit everyday ? 

 

And sometimes, when symptoms are intense, the only thing we can do is distracting, and it is ok. Puzzles, sweet movies, cleaning...many options !

 

Take care dear ❤️

 

[Shep]

3 hours ago, Erell said:

these are great non-drug coping skills !

 

@senseless I'm going to ditto what Erell just wrote. Yes, those are excellent. 

 

I can't remember if someone left this on your thread or not, but if you haven't read it, please check it out. 

 

Acceptance

 

You may want to make a list of things to do. Erell has already started you off with this. Try to have a bit of a routine every day and check off a few items from that list. It gives a feeling of accomplishment. Even if it's just working a puzzle, cleaning a room, practicing a guided meditation, etc. 

 

When you're feeling overwhelmed, go to you list and pick something to do to occupy your mind for awhile. 

[senseless]

On 4/13/2020 at 4:32 PM, Erell said:

 

Hi Senseless, 

 

these are great non-drug coping skills !

 

- Practice acceptance : this is a key to allow symptoms and not add more fear. By practicing acceptance, you give space and time to your CNS to focus on is healing work 

- Gratitude is also a very important skill : instead of focusing on negative aspect of your life, your remind that beautiful things still happen to

- Being in the present, also a great way to live ! Regretting the past, or fearing the future will only add fear and sadness to our lives : by living in the present, we allow ourselevs to just...live

 

Do you practice mindfullness, or meditation?

 

Can you walk a bit everyday ? 

 

And sometimes, when symptoms are intense, the only thing we can do is distracting, and it is ok. Puzzles, sweet movies, cleaning...many options !

 

Take care dear ❤️

 

 

Thankyou for the kind message and advice.

 

I really struggle with regretting the past it is something i need to work on. I often find myself thinking "if only i had done research of seroquel i would of never taken it in the first place" or similar trains of thought.

 

I have started following Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

 

I try to run everyday.

 

Take care too ❤️

[senseless]

Hello,

 

As mentioned previously i purchased a fit bit watch to better keep track of my sleep.

 

It seems i am sleeping more than i initially thought, but i am sceptical of the accuracy. (often when it states i'm asleep, i know i am awake).

 

I have attached my sleep reports for the past 4 days. 

[Shep]

10 minutes ago, senseless said:

I have started following Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

 

 

Excellent. Please feel free to post what you find helpful about learning MBSR. 

 

I think if you can focus more on this and less on your sleep count (which as you wisely note is very hard to get an accurate count on), you'll start to feel more relaxed. 

 

And that will help your sleep more than anything. 

[senseless]

On 4/12/2020 at 12:34 AM, Altostrata said:

 

I agree with Shep.

 

Your graph does not show deterioration but a recent shallow and probably inconsequential dip.

 

As discussed before, 5 hours sleep a night is okay for withdrawal syndrome. It could be a lot worse. Do you currently have any other withdrawal symptoms?

 

Have you tried any of these tips to improve your sleep?

 

Tips to help sleep -- so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

Path to Better Sleep FREE online for everyone from the US Veterans Administration

 

Music for self-care: Calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

 

TV or computer use in evening can disrupt sleep: Bright light signals the brain that it's daytime

 

It sounds like you're awakened by the early morning light. Darkening your bedroom and using a sleep mask can help.

 

Fixating on the amount of sleep you get may be making you unnecessarily anxious about sleep and delaying your recovery.

 

I am concerned that you continually describe your situation as deteriorating when it clearly is not. Please consider whether this is your existential position: Always fearfully on the brink of deterioration.

 

Strongly advise you learn meditation and practice it between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. rather than worrying about how much sleep you're getting. See

 

Easing your way into meditation for a stressed-out nervous system

 

Music for self-care: calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

 

Ways to cope with daily anxiety

 

Health anxiety, hypochondria, and obsession with symptoms

 

How much exercise do you get?

 

You should get at least a half-hour of gentle exercise, such as walking, each day. I find if I get an hour of slightly more strenuous cardio walking up hills, I sleep a lot better.

 

It does not feel like an inconsequential dip, the quality of my sleep has taken a noticeable hit it is very fragmented where as last month it wasn't. 

 

I know it could be worse, but the fact it seems to be deteriorating is worrying and makes me feel like i need to take some action. I feel it was a mistake to reinstate so low. 

 

 Other withdrawal symptoms are: sexual dysfunction, memory problems, sensitive stomach.

 

I try to run 15 minutes a day and go for long walks with my girlfriend. My room is basically pitch black and i find myself waking up when it is still dark. 

 

I know its bad to fixate on sleep, but i really worry about lack of sleep as it is shown that sleep deprivation causes permanent brain damage. 

 

Fearfully on the brink of deterioration is my existential position honesty,  every day i feel i am deteriorating and getting closer to developing early age dementia. My memory and cognition is already so bad after 2 months of this. 

 

 

[Altostrata]

7 hours ago, senseless said:

Fearfully on the brink of deterioration is my existential position honesty,  every day i feel i am deteriorating and getting closer to developing early age dementia. My memory and cognition is already so bad after 2 months of this. 

 

This fear has no basis in reality. Were you prone to health anxiety before trying psychiatric drugs?

 

I cannot see any point in arguing about the quality of your sleep. You are micro-managing it. You might do well to back off and stop worrying about it -- that might improve your sleep. As we've told you many, many times, stabilization can be very gradual. Your cold turkey was only 2 months ago.

 

13.5mg is not a small reinstatement for 25mg quetiapine. You are free to increase it, of course, if you think that's best for you. All the more to taper later.

[senseless]

On 4/16/2020 at 1:31 AM, Altostrata said:

 

This fear has no basis in reality. Were you prone to health anxiety before trying psychiatric drugs?

 

I cannot see any point in arguing about the quality of your sleep. You are micro-managing it. You might do well to back off and stop worrying about it -- that might improve your sleep. As we've told you many, many times, stabilization can be very gradual. Your cold turkey was only 2 months ago.

 

13.5mg is not a small reinstatement for 25mg quetiapine. You are free to increase it, of course, if you think that's best for you. All the more to taper later.

 

Hi Alto,

 

I feel frustrated about how dismissive you are about my concerns. Sleep is good indicator of my CNS's well being, with it deteriorating shows something is wrong.

 

Is it not possible that because the mechanisms of APs differ from ADs, holding indefinitely on APs waiting for stabilisation is detrimental for me? Especially considering the additional adverse effects and increased dependence?

 

2 months is a long time, it seems most who reinstate on APs stabilise within a month or so. I am an unfortunate outlier in this regard. 

I feel like i need to something , i'm considering either updosing or tapering.

 

I would really appreciate your input into either one of these options. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shep]

8 hours ago, senseless said:

Hi Alto,

 

I feel frustrated about how dismissive you are about my concerns.

 

Senseless, no one here is being dismissive of your suffering. We are, however, growing frustrated with what you're attributing it to and the misinformation you're telling yourself (more on that later in this post).

 

8 hours ago, senseless said:

 Sleep is good indicator of my CNS's well being, with it deteriorating shows something is wrong.

 

Of course something is wrong - your nervous system is destabilized. No one is arguing against this. Any withdrawal symptom is a sign that something is wrong, that your nervous system is injured. 

 

But you ARE sleeping. It's not restorative, but the levels you are sleeping are seen a lot on this forum. 

 

On 4/15/2020 at 5:23 AM, senseless said:

I try to run everyday.

 

If you weren't sleeping, you would not have the energy for this. I know you feel exhausted from not sleeping enough, but to be able to run everyday is a good sign. 

 

If you feel that running is too taxing to your nervous system, you could go for walks for a few days and see if that improves your sleep. Some people find that intense exercise ramps up symptoms. 

 

8 hours ago, senseless said:

Is it not possible that because the mechanisms of APs differ from ADs, holding indefinitely on APs waiting for stabilisation is detrimental for me? Especially considering the additional adverse effects and increased dependence?

 

At the dose you're on, Seroquel is closer to an older generation AD, such as a tricyclic antidepressant,  than it is to an antipsychotic, due to low-dose Seroquel's effect on histamine. 

 

I don't think you're getting an "adverse effect" of the drug, but rather, trauma to the nervous system due to your earlier cold turkey. This can happen with any psychiatric drug. 

 

Your earlier comments such as "I'm screwed, There is no hope for me" and "losing hope of things every getting better" and now, "detrimental for me" are catastrophic thinking. 

 

For more, please see:

 

Dealing With Emotional Spirals

 

You're sending powerful and dangerous messages to your nervous system and spiraling into dark spaces. Instead, try either distraction (such as changing the channel) or self-talk that builds up your self-confidence. 

 

Otherwise, you risk falling into learned helplessness where this habit of negative self-talk shapes your reality. This is known as the "dark side" of neuroplasticity, explained here:

 

Norman Doidge - The Dark Side of Neuroplasticity video (2 minutes)

 

A short video on ways to develop positive neuroplasticity. It's on antidepressant withdrawal, but low-dose Seroquel withdrawal has the same pattern of recovery: 

 

Healing from antidepressants: The power of neuroplasticity video (7 minutes)

 

Try looking into CBT or other ways of learning how to handle your thoughts. You can find all sorts of things online for free. Perfect to get into during the pandemic and use your time wisely until it's safe to go out into the world. 

 

Dr. Claire Weekes has some great videos and podcasts you may want to check out. 

 

How To Recover From Anxiety - Dr. Claire Weekes

 

She also has some good videos over on YouTube. 

 

Learning to manage your self-talk and anxiety is important because you went on Seroquel for insomnia. Coming off it won't cure that pre-existing issue. If there are dietary or lifestyle issues in play, you'll need to find out what they are and fix them in order to re-gain your ability to sleep. Avoiding alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and processed foods go a long way to helping your heal. 

 

Tapering off Seroquel is only part of the equation when it comes to solving your sleep problem. 

 

8 hours ago, senseless said:

2 months is a long time, it seems most who reinstate on APs stabilise within a month or so. I am an unfortunate outlier in this regard. 

I feel like i need to something , i'm considering either updosing or tapering.

 

I don't know where you're getting this information, senseless. It can take weeks to months for people to stabilize after a reinstatement, especially after a cold turkey. The reason you feel the need to classify yourself as an "unfortunate outlier" is part of your need for negative thinking. You feel comfortable with negative self talk. It's time to break this bad habit and give yourself some positive self-talk because that's the truth. There's no reason to think you won't recover from this. 

 

Holding IS doing something. So please tell yourself that when you feel you "need to do something." 

 

This is from the  About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms thread:

 

 

On 10/8/2012 at 7:17 PM, Altostrata said:

After reinstatement, stabilizing on the drug varies according to the individual. Relief can be felt immediately, after some weeks, or after some months.

 

On 10/8/2012 at 7:17 PM, Altostrata said:

More is not better! Your system has gotten a shock and may react badly to "normal" amounts of drug. Reinstatement may not immediately eliminate all withdrawal symptoms. It takes time to stabilize, you may still experience waves of symptoms, which usually lessen as time goes on. Give your nervous system time to settle down, be patient after you reinstate, do not leap to increase the dosage.

 

On 10/8/2012 at 7:17 PM, Altostrata said:

Think in terms of months before you attempt to taper again. Once you feel withdrawal symptoms are reduced after reinstatement, give your nervous system time to stabilize before attempting dosage reduction. Do not attempt to taper again until you feel symptom-free, or at least until your withdrawal symptoms are mild, predicatable, and tolerable.

 

 

[senseless]

Hi Shep and Alto if you still montitoring my thread, I just wanted show my grattitude once again for putting so much time and effort into helping me a complete stranger.

 

Anyways im sorry for my last confritential post. I'm just constantly questioning if sheltering myself from current pain via holding, is not just sentencing me to a longer recovery.

 

On 4/20/2020 at 8:37 PM, Shep said:

Of course something is wrong - your nervous system is destabilized. No one is arguing against this. Any withdrawal symptom is a sign that something is wrong, that your nervous system is injured. 

 

But you ARE sleeping. It's not restorative, but the levels you are sleeping are seen a lot on this forum. 

 

 

Look im grateful for sleep, i feel west rested most days which is a good sign. It concerns me though how increasingly fractured my sleep is becoming, considering my sleep will deteriorate further when i do taper. Can i ask your experience of tapering seroquel, how was your sleep as you went down?

 

On 4/20/2020 at 8:37 PM, Shep said:

 

At the dose you're on, Seroquel is closer to an older generation AD, such as a tricyclic antidepressant,  than it is to an antipsychotic, due to low-dose Seroquel's effect on histamine. 

 

I don't think you're getting an "adverse effect" of the drug, but rather, trauma to the nervous system due to your earlier cold turkey. This can happen with any psychiatric drug. 

 

Do you have a source for this?  Not trying imply you don't, i would just feel alot more comforted knowing i'm no longer receiving any anti psychotic effects. 

 

On 4/20/2020 at 8:37 PM, Shep said:

 

I don't know where you're getting this information, senseless. It can take weeks to months for people to stabilize after a reinstatement, especially after a cold turkey. The reason you feel the need to classify yourself as an "unfortunate outlier" is part of your need for negative thinking. You feel comfortable with negative self talk. It's time to break this bad habit and give yourself some positive self-talk because that's the truth. There's no reason to think you won't recover from this. 

 

Holding IS doing something. So please tell yourself that when you feel you "need to do something." 

 

This is from the  About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms thread:

 

My negative thinking is based on my own ongoing experience which continues to become worse. True some people take a while to stabilise, while also some never stabilise and i feel based on how my own situation is progressing i am in the later camp.

Do you not think that this warrants considering taking some sort of action?

Thankyou for all the resources you have provided, im not ignoring them i do put them into practise and they are helping me with my daily well being.

I just do not want to become complacent with my current plan if seems to be not working. 

[senseless]

Update cant believe i have almost been on this poison for 4 months now. **** that is depressing.

 

My sleep is becoming increasingly fractured. Finding myself generally waking up after every Rem cycle(1.5 hours).

 

This is concerning as it makes me feel the only reason i am sleeping is because of seroquel, as 6 hours is the max steady state for this drug and that's generally how long i sleep. 

 

Though i do feel well rested most days, i suppose this is a positive. 


 

 

[Shep]

3 hours ago, senseless said:

Do you have a source for this? 

 

Please see:

 

Wikipedia - Seroquel - Pharmacodynamics

 

Quote

At very low doses, quetiapine acts primarily as a histamine receptor blocker (antihistamine) and α1-adrenergic blocker. When the dose is increased, quetiapine activates the adrenergic system and binds strongly to serotonin receptors and autoreceptors. At high doses, quetiapine starts blocking significant amounts of dopamine receptors.

 

3 hours ago, senseless said:

My negative thinking is based on my own ongoing experience which continues to become worse. 

 

No, your negative thinking is based on your perception of your ongoing experiences. Not knowing the outcome, you are filling in the missing information with catastrophic thinking instead of accepting what is happening and believing in your own capacity for healing. 

 

3 hours ago, senseless said:

Do you not think that this warrants considering taking some sort of action?

 

Like I've written before, senselss, holding IS taking some sort of action. It's a lot of work, as you're finding out. 

 

3 hours ago, senseless said:

Look im grateful for sleep, i feel west rested most days which is a good sign.

 

2 hours ago, senseless said:

Though i do feel well rested most days, i suppose this is a positive. 

 

You've posted many times about being suicidal. Are you feeling better now? 

 

We don't ever recommend someone taper while feeling suicidal unless that symptom is coming from an adverse reaction to the drug. There's no indication that's happening in your case. 

 

It's unclear if you should begin your taper or not because of the contradiction between "I feel rested most days" against the constant stream of suicidal ideation you've reported in your thread. 

 

You'll need to make this decision and then handle any uptick in symptoms should you decide to taper. 

 

[RusTW]

On 4/24/2020 at 11:46 PM, senseless said:

Update cant believe i have almost been on this poison for 4 months now. **** that is depressing.

 

My sleep is becoming increasingly fractured. Finding myself generally waking up after every Rem cycle(1.5 hours).

 

This is concerning as it makes me feel the only reason i am sleeping is because of seroquel, as 6 hours is the max steady state for this drug and that's generally how long i sleep. 

 

Though i do feel well rested most days, i suppose this is a positive. 


 

 

Seroquel wd fluctuates so does the sleep your sleep will improve and may actually be better than when you started just continue to be patient. If you're feeling rested. It's the most important. I never really got that feeling of rest.25 mg should b easy to handle.b strong it gets better

I'm at 25 now.o don't need it to sleep I still take it later so I can get a few more hours.

[Mimi79]

@senseless Hi. If I can reassure you a little bit, I’ve been using Seroquel on and off during the last 11 years, at doses between 12,5mg to 25mg, because of chronic insomnia. I didn’t have any problems related to this med. No cognitive issues or memory problems at all, and I have a job that requires a lot of memory and concentration. When used at tiny doses, Seroquel has affinity with histamine receptors more than Dopamine receptors, so there isn’t the bad side effects of antipsychotic.

[senseless]

On 4/25/2020 at 5:49 PM, Shep said:

No, your negative thinking is based on your perception of your ongoing experiences. Not knowing the outcome, you are filling in the missing information with catastrophic thinking instead of accepting what is happening and believing in your own capacity for healing. 

 

 

Like I've written before, senselss, holding IS taking some sort of action. It's a lot of work, as you're finding out. 

 

 

 

You've posted many times about being suicidal. Are you feeling better now? 

 

We don't ever recommend someone taper while feeling suicidal unless that symptom is coming from an adverse reaction to the drug. There's no indication that's happening in your case. 

 

It's unclear if you should begin your taper or not because of the contradiction between "I feel rested most days" against the constant stream of suicidal ideation you've reported in your thread. 

 

You'll need to make this decision and then handle any uptick in symptoms should you decide to taper. 

 

 

Hi Shep,

Thankyou for your thoughtful and caring reply as always.

 

Apologies for the late reply, i needed to take a break from the forum for a while.

 

I feel my perception of the situation is quite accurate and not influenced by my own pessimism. As unfortunately things are still not improving a month down the track, holding isn't seeming to work.

Yes i feel well rested most days, but i unable to concentrate and my short term memory has gone down the toilet. This is probably because i'm getting more deep sleep than REM. 

In terms of being suicidal. I can barely function anymore, i dont really see a future for myself anymore so yeah...

[senseless]

On 4/30/2020 at 11:01 AM, Mimi79 said:

@senseless Hi. If I can reassure you a little bit, I’ve been using Seroquel on and off during the last 11 years, at doses between 12,5mg to 25mg, because of chronic insomnia. I didn’t have any problems related to this med. No cognitive issues or memory problems at all, and I have a job that requires a lot of memory and concentration. When used at tiny doses, Seroquel has affinity with histamine receptors more than Dopamine receptors, so there isn’t the bad side effects of antipsychotic.

 

Thankyou for your reply mimi that is reassuring. I think you are right and hence why people who are prescribe this for the original purpose are given doses from 200-800mg.

 

Though i still worry that i am getting a tiny bit of anti psychotic effect, as i do feel my emotions are far more flat in the morning. 

But i guess there is no way to know for sure because these drugs were never intended to be used 12,5mg to 25mg, so there are no studies. 

 

 

 

[senseless]

Just thought id give a quick update, as it always frustrated me seeing people just go inactive.

 

April to the start June was pretty bleak for me. My sleep continued to be dysfunctional and as result took a toll on both my mental health and cognition.

 

I had made up my mind i was going to kill myself in the next few months as life was just painful and humiliating. I had written a will and had a plan. 

 

But at the start of June i started feeling better, able to enjoy things and was engaging myself in hobbies again. I think my sleep may have improved but its impossible to tell.

 

So i started my taper down, so far its going ok. My sleep is still a dysfunctional mess, but manage to get at least 6 hours a night. Which is enough.

 

I still deal with constant suicidal thoughts, but i press on. I don't really know why but i do. 

[ChessieCat]

17 hours ago, senseless said:

I still deal with constant suicidal thoughts, but i press on. I don't really know why but i do.

 

Because improvement may be just around the corner, which is what happened beginning of June.

 

17 hours ago, senseless said:

But at the start of June i started feeling better, able to enjoy things and was engaging myself in hobbies again.

 

That's good to hear.

 

 

[senseless]

On 7/25/2020 at 8:44 AM, ChessieCat said:

 

Because improvement may be just around the corner, which is what happened beginning of June.

 

 

That's good to hear.

 

 

Thankyou for the support

[senseless]

Just thought id give a positive update for once.

 

I slept for a consolidated 6.5 hours for the first time since probably march. 

 

Seems like my sleep is actually getting better as i taper which i did not expect. 

[Hanna72]

7 hours ago, senseless said:

Just thought id give a positive update for once.

 

I slept for a consolidated 6.5 hours for the first time since probably march. 

 

Seems like my sleep is actually getting better as i taper which i did not expect. 

Great news😃  Thank you for sharing this positive progress  that has come your way.

Take care🙏

[astrilla]

On 8/5/2020 at 8:52 PM, senseless said:

Just thought id give a positive update for once.

 

I slept for a consolidated 6.5 hours for the first time since probably march. 

 

Seems like my sleep is actually getting better as i taper which i did not expect. 

This is really encouraging, I am on seroquel now for sleep issues and getting increasingly nervous about it. I read your whole thread, you have been on such a tough journey and I'm glad you're coming out of it. Please keep sharing and be kind to yourself. You are inspiring others. 

[senseless]

On 8/20/2020 at 5:34 AM, astrilla said:

This is really encouraging, I am on seroquel now for sleep issues and getting increasingly nervous about it. I read your whole thread, you have been on such a tough journey and I'm glad you're coming out of it. Please keep sharing and be kind to yourself. You are inspiring others. 

 

Hi Astrilla, 

Thank you so much for your kind message it actually made me tear up.
It has been a horrible journey, the worst period of my life by far. But i feel i have really turned a corner and have hope for the future again. 

Please don't take my experience to be reflective of your future experiences. 

I think my experience should just serve as a cautionary tale as to why proper tapering is so important. As i'm almost positive if were to have tapered sensibly i would of been fine. 
 

[senseless]

Update tapering is still going relatively well.

Still getting consolidated 5-6 hours sleep most night followed by 1-2 hours more. 

Yet to have any withdrawals yet hence the fast tapering.

 

Probably the only thing iv experienced that is close to withdrawal symptoms is constant sneezing.

Which makes me think the theories that lower dosages of Quetiapine being primarily anti histamine to be true. 

[senseless]

Hello,

Everything is still going well. Sleeping for consolidated 6 hours followed by 1-2 hours more most nights. I have had one or two nights of rough sleep but nothing too bad. 

 

No other withdrawals to report on, if anything things are just getting better as i reduce. Feeling far less brain fog now and more engaged in life

 

[Shep]

Very nice update, Senseless. Glad to read you're doing so well. 

[astrilla]

This is great to read Senseless. You're moving forward.

[senseless]

Hi All,

All is still well, sleep still feels good at the moment sleeping 5 hours then about 3 hours after that.
 

I do experience an initial resistance when I cut as my sleeps tends to become very fractured. But stabilisations happens few days after. No other withdrawals to speak of.

I honestly cannot wait to get of this drug and start my recovery, but it seems I still have at least a couple  of months left of tapering.

[Shep]

8 hours ago, senseless said:

I honestly cannot wait to get of this drug and start my recovery, but it seems I still have at least a couple  of months left of tapering.

 

It's good you're going slow and taking the time. It will be worth the time to go off this drug slowly and not let your sleep suffer.

 

Hopefully, the transition off will be seamless. Glad you're sleeping a total of 8 hours. Excellent news. 

[senseless]

On 10/5/2020 at 4:50 AM, Shep said:

 

It's good you're going slow and taking the time. It will be worth the time to go off this drug slowly and not let your sleep suffer.

 

Hopefully, the transition off will be seamless. Glad you're sleeping a total of 8 hours. Excellent news. 

 

Thanks shep, yeah im planning to go as low as possible.

I really hope that the transition is seamless. But im not holding my breath.

[senseless]

Last night is the first time since February that I slept a consolidated  7  hours. Woo!