Vega: tapering Lithium after getting off Seroquel

[Vega]

Hello everyone. I'm Vega. I started tapering my medication earlier this year after coming to the conclusion with my doctor that they weren't doing much for me and were negatively impacting my physical health.

I fully went off Seroquel over the course of a few months, which was difficult but not impossible. I'm now tapering my Lithium. I started two months ago by going from 600mg to 300mg and the withdrawal was 10 tens worse than for the Seroquel. I've had nausea, intense migraines, flu-like symptoms, memory problems, the whole thing. This is seriously one of the most difficult things I've ever had to go through.

 

My doctor agreed to taper me by 50mg next time, which I feel is encouraging. However, the symptoms from my first taper aren't fully gone yet and I don't know how long I should wait before tapering again.

 

I have been searching for a forum like this for literal weeks and I'm overjoyed to have finally found an active forum dedicated to this topic. I'm sure all the info available on this forum will very useful to me on this awful yet necessary journey.

[Frogie]

@Vega

 

Welcome to SA. We are a volunteer ran site helping people taper off psychiatric medications or have tapered off and are now healing.

 

This is your introduction page where you will receive information, ask questions and meet other members. We ask that you only have one introduction page so we can keep all your information in one place.

 

Can you please create a signature.

 

How to List Drug History in Signature

 

The reason you are having these symptoms is you are tapering way too quickly. We don't suggest tapering more that 10% a month and some go much slower than that.

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

The slowness of slow tapers

 

 

Brass Monkey Slide

Tips for tapering off lithium

 

 

Here is some important information about how these drugs actually work.  This explains why we get symptoms from going off of these medications:

 

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain

 

 

This helps you understand what withdrawal syndrome is: 

 

Video on Recovery from Psych Drugs

 

 

Stability is really important when we are tapering off psych meds.  Please read the link about stability:

 

Keep It Simple, Slow, and Stable

 

 

Here are some links you might find useful.

 

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen's withdrawal symptom checklist

 

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

What to Do for Nausea, Queasiness

 

Digestive Problems

 

 

We don't suggest supplements on here because they can be stimulating to the nervous system. Many on here have found that magnesium and omega to be calming however. If you want to try these, try one in a small amount and wait a few days before introducing the other.

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants

 

After reading these links please reach out with any questions you may have.

 

How do you talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?

 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by Frogie

[Vega]

Thank you so much for all the links. I'll be sure to check them all out.

 

I just modified my signature. I'm kind of nervous about giving out too much info for online safety reasons, I hope what I gave is enough.

 

I kind of don't have a choice but to go off lithium semi-rapidly. It's suspected that it's doing something drastic to my brain chemistry. I sometimes get sick with something that looks a lot like serotonin syndrome. Now that I'm 300 and probably out of the danger zone, I'll be tapering much slower.

[Vega]

My first real prolonged window lasted for a week and a half. It was wonderful, I suddenly had the energy and awareness necessary to cook and exercise.

 

I'm back in a wave and even though my symptoms are better than they used to be a month ago, I'm somehow more stressed out about it. I have brain fog, but it's nowhere near as bad but my insomnia is definitely back and it drives me crazy. I started shaking again too. Nothing noticeable to outside observers, but just enough for me to feel it. Again, it's better than it used to be so I try to take some comfort in that.

 

I think the worse thing is when I try and get some sleep. I feel exhausted so I try to go to bed, but as soon as I close my eyes, the weirdest stuff happens. It's like my head is a broken TV and I see glitches. It's very hard to explain and kind of scary. It's not like I'm seeing things because my eyes aren't open when it happens. I hope this passes soon. I can handle everything else, but this just too strange for me.

Anyone else has difficulty typing while they are in a wave? As a student, I type a lot but I noticed that I make a significant amount of mistakes since I started withdrawal. To the point where it's starting to look like dyslexia.

[Vega]

The night was really difficult. I had such a hard time falling asleep. Every time I tried to fall asleep, I would start having these weird distorted nightmares. This is the second night it does that and I hate it.

 

To find some solace in all of this, I will list the things that have been betting better since I started this process two months ago.

Headaches - My headaches, which used to be incredibly debilitating, are pretty much gone. They were my main symptom for about 6 weeks. I used to have to sit down every 15 minutes because of them when I was trying to things, I can now do stuff for much longer than I used to.

Focus - I can focus on things for much much longer than I used to. Even video games with no stakes used to be too hard for me to play. Even in the worst of times now, I can do things. I started cross stitching to deal with this and it's working pretty well.

Dissociation - I used to dissociate A LOT. I would raise my hand and feel like it wasn't mine. It was this kind of split second moment, but it would happen several times a day and it was highly distressing. I still dissociate, but it's very different, happens less often, and is easier managed than it used to be.

Tremors - I used to get these tremors that would make it difficult to be precise using a computer mouse. I still kind of get them, but they are much more easily managed and they do not prevent me from doing anything.

Anxiety - I used to get this awful anxiety gnawing at me at night. It didn't come from anywhere and it felt all-consuming. I had some of worst panic attacks of my life in June. I don't get them anymore now. I do still get anxiety, but it's mostly about my withdrawal symptoms. I try to practice mindfulness. This is a massive development in my life. I'm very anxious and prone to panic attacks and it's starting to look like the lithium was making things worse.
 

Things have been hard, really hard, but they are getting better. This is something to hold onto.

[Vega]

It feels like this wave is slowly getting better, although not entirely over either. I still get dizzy in the evenings, which is very unpleasant but not unbearable.

 

I was supposed to lower my dose again this week to 250mg of lithium, but I told my pharmacist that would not be possible. Halving the lithium was so brutal, I want to take a break from doing anything to my meds for a while. I want to wait until all the negative side effects are gone for at least a month, which could take a while, and then taper very very slowly. I'm thinking of decreasing by 25mg at a time when I feel better. I know it could take a while, but I'm in school and I've already lost a semester to withdrawal and I don't want to lose another one.

My pharmacist is very supportive and even offered to help instead of going though my psychiatrist every time I want to change dosage. I feel like having a good pharmacy is such a blessing when you are going through this hell.