WildandFree123: 6 weeks on Seroquel 150mg XR - How to taper off?

[WildandFree123]

My husband experienced a breakdown almost 2 months ago. He spent about 6 weeks in a psychiatric hospital. For the first two weeks he was given Tavor/Lorazepam. And then I believe he was switched to Quetiapine/Seroquel. When they insisted on anti-depressants we decided to discontinue treatment at the hospital and he discharged himself just over one week ago. He was pushed into taking two doses of Sertraline/Zoloft over two days. Upon leaving the hospital he was given a prescription for 150mg Seroquel XR tablets to take at night before bed to help him sleep. Although they do not help him sleep every night anyway.

 

I’ve since done ALOT of research (thank you to this wonderful site) and we want him off this drug asap. He was taking additional doses of Seroquel + sometimes Lorazepam in the hospital and last week was experiencing anxiety during the day and fluctuating insomnia at night which we now understand was withdrawal effects as after a few days he stabilised and felt quite good/normal. We then started to reduce the 150mg XR nightly tablet by cutting 1/3rd off. He experienced insomnia, racing heart and anxiety so we are now clear that his symptoms are most likely withdrawal effects. We realise now it was probably not a great idea to cut the XR tablet, particularly because it is not a consistent dose each night. We ordered 50mg tablets - but they gave us instant release. So two nights ago he took 2 x 50mg instant release tablets and didn’t get any sleep, heart racing and felt awful yesterday. Last night he took 1 x 50mg tablet at 10pm & then 1 x 50mg at 3am (when he woke up & couldn’t sleep) and was able to sleep 6 hours at least.

 

But now I am seeking a clearer path for how to proceed forward. Due to him only being on the Seroquel for 6ish weeks we are eager to get him off them as soon as possible to prevent further damage. Surely the risk of staying on Seroquel longer to taper slowly, could be greater than the risk of coming off a little faster in this instance.

 

I understand this site recommends a 10% taper over many months, but would it be considered safe enough to reduce by larger increments/over less time? We would very much appreciate advice from this knowledgeable community about how best to proceed forward.

 

Note: To make matters more pressing we are due to fly from Europe to Australia on Monday and we are relying on him feeling stable enough to do this. He will receive further help in Australia such as therapy to get to the root cause of the breakdown + alternative healing modalities. He is also taking a range of supplements - trace minerals, magnesium, l-theanine, reishi mushroom, whole food vit c + whole food b vitamins etc.

Edited December 6, 2024 by FireflyFyte
Updated title

[FireflyFyte]

Hi WildandFree123,

 

Welcome to SA. If possible, we would encourage your husband to create an account and post his story. Regardless, we do ask that you update your signature to include his drug history by following the instructions at How to Summarize Your Drug History in Your Signature. You may need to be on a computer to complete this.

 

5 hours ago, WildandFree123 said:

But now I am seeking a clearer path for how to proceed forward. Due to him only being on the Seroquel for 6ish weeks we are eager to get him off them as soon as possible to prevent further damage. Surely the risk of staying on Seroquel longer to taper slowly, could be greater than the risk of coming off a little faster in this instance.

 

Every person is different so we cannot predict if your husband will be able to taper faster than we recommend. We recommend the 10% per month of the previous dose as a harm reduction technique. Some people need to do smaller cuts while others can make larger ones without issues but time on the medication is not a consistent factor in how one will react.

 

5 hours ago, WildandFree123 said:

Note: To make matters more pressing we are due to fly from Europe to Australia on Monday and we are relying on him feeling stable enough to do this.

 

Given that this is a very short timeline, would recommend not making any changes or cuts until you are settled in Australia. 

 

5 hours ago, WildandFree123 said:

He is also taking a range of supplements - trace minerals, magnesium, l-theanine, reishi mushroom, whole food vit c + whole food b vitamins etc.

 

How long has he been taking these supplements?

 

Thanks,

 

Firefly

[Sebas]

👋 Here are some general tips.

 

Stop taking l-theanine and (multi)vitamin B as long as your husband is in withdrawal. They are likely to activating and/or interacting with withdrawal. 

 

Before/during vacation hold any taper activities and resume taper when your back unless you plan to stay for more than a few weeks.

 

10 hours ago, WildandFree123 said:

would it be considered safe enough to reduce by larger increments/over less time? We would very much appreciate advice from this knowledgeable community about how best to proceed forward.

 

For the near future keep taking the 50 IR tablets twice daily. Monitor how long it takes for CNS stability te recover. Keep calm, acknowledge and have faith in future stabilisation.

 

From there on - depending on length of trip? - plan further taper strategy. First goal is to become stabile at current dose to not upset CNS even more. 

 

Given the short drugperiod next future taper step could range from 90 (conservative by pill cutting or homemade liquid) to 75 mg (less conservative) depending on (CNS/peronal) sensitivity level. In both cases it will take at least 4-6 weeks for CNS to fully stabilise. 

 

Please read below link for specific tapering guidelines.