MiniMilk: Quitting Seroquel

[MiniMilk]

Hello mates,

 

My GF is addicted to seroquel (the extended relesead version) since 2010.

In 2010 she had a severe insomnia problem.Seroquel was the only med that made her sleep after 4 days without any hour of sleep.

Since that time, insomnia as became a problem.

She was on 100-200 (100mg: if she was sleeping well; 200mg: if she was with sleeping problems)

 

Since a year ago, she he is mainly on 75mg.

 

We are thinking that, the insomnia problem is now because of seroquel. Can it be?

I think this med destroys the quality of sleep.

 

How to withdrawal the XR version?

 

People who have quit seroquel can now sleep well?

 

 

(Sorry for my English)

Thank you

[Altostrata]

Welcome, MiniMilk.

 

Does your girlfriend have sleep problems now? What is her sleep pattern?

 

When did this start? Is she taking any other drugs?

[MiniMilk]

Hi there, I'm the GF, 

First of all, thank you for your time, my BF has been very patient with me regarding my sleep problem an he is trying to save me from Seroquel. 

He believes from his research in online forums that seroquel is the main reason for my current Insonima and I've started to believe that it definitely changed my quality of sleep and sleep patterns over the years.

 

So here it goes my story:

Before 2010 I had never had a night without sleep! I was that kind of person that in University couldn't be studying all night long before a test. I slept like a baby, always, and nothing could take my sleep away!

In 2010, unfortunately, I had a burnout at work, not because I was overloaded with work but because I loved my work and my chief decided to make put me into a "task force" week, basically to make bullying at me. It was not just me, 40% of the total employees in that company (800 people) had burnouts. Psychological it was a very stressful situation and I just lost my sleep from one day to the next one.

After that, I worked for eight months in other companies with burnout and just decided to stop as my sleep problem could not be solved.

I tried everything at the time:

Triticum; Gabapentin, Mirtazapine; Estolozam, flurazepam; diazepan, tricyclic antidepressants and Ambien (zolpidem).

 

None of these worked out for me cause I'm to sensitive to meds, and on another hand, I couldn't felt asleep with none of these, I was just too drugged and felt really bad when I took them.

 

After this initial struggle, which was like a non stop nightmare for 1 year, my doctor prescribed me Seroquel 200. At the time it was a perfect med cause it put me into sleep and in the next day I could work (tough feeling bit tired in the morning). But with time, my sleep problem got worse cause Seroquel started to fail and did not put me in complete sleep, I just dreamed all night with a very light sleep.

So in a daily basis I took about 100mg (half the pill of 200 XR) and in crises situations my doctor said to me to increase it to 200. When it started not to work I had to add morfex 15mg or 30mg. 

What was strange for me is that when the crisis was over (like a stressful external event I had to deal with), I had no reasons to keep the Insomina and that was what I started to find very strange.

 

I think the drugs changed my sleep patterns. Currently I cannot felt asleep without taking Seroquel, I never was back to what I was before 2010. I never have natural sleep. I am depended on that drug. Since my BF is with me, we started to question the Seroquel and realized that if I took a lower dose like 50mg, my quality of sleep improved, which means that I can have more deep sleep and less hours of sleep.

 

So to conclude,

I only take Seroquel on a daily basis - now I'm on 75/ 50mg and have decided to give it a try to test the hypothesis that:

1) I can recover my natural sleep if I withdraw Seroquel

2) Sero makes Insomina get worse when is taken for such a long time like in this case, 7 years, by changing the sleep process in the brain.

3) If you increase the dose from one day to another drastically, like 100 to 200 you may have two days of good sleep but on the following days you go back to insomnia and it gets worse. - you cannot just work with up and downs drastically (altough I was advised so, by my doctor)

 

On crises situations I may add flurazepam 15/30mg or Estazolam (never use both at the same time)

I also take Clonazepam for panic situations.

 

My questions,

What do you think about my hypothesis,

Did you get your sleep back after quitting seroquel?

 

Note:

I know that I won't expect any miracle and I will always need to control stressful events. I've also tried meditation, Yoga and mindfulness which helps me in these moments. 

 

Thank you for your help

 

Leia. 

[MiniMilk]

Help

[Ali4]

Welcome to SA MiniMilk

 

Sounds like you have been through a lot, I'm sorry for that as soon many on here know what your going through. So your down to 75mg from 200? Did you drop all at once? Please fill in your drug signature with all current meds and doses, we will be able to help more once we have that. The site only recommends dropping very slowly by 10%, holding for 4 to six weeks see how you do and drop again, you have been on the drugs a long time and your body will have to adjust slowly. Once again welcome so SA. Ali

[rapunzel2]

I find that as I have gotten on lower doses of seroquel, my sleep seems more natural to me. I'm even able to fall asleep in the afternoon if I'm really tired. With seroquel, sleep is like very unnatural. for me, your theory makes sense. but withdrawal of seroquel may also cause insomnia, so slow careful taper is the only way to go. 

[MiniMilk]

She never had a unique dose. If she was sleeping well, 75-100. If bad 200.

 

Right now she has made to 35mg. After 30 days of good and deep sleep, She is starting to have some dificulties to enter on sleep mode. Sometimes she feels depressed.

 

Anyway. We will try to go to the end and get free of this stupid drug. I think it's truly the root of her insomnia problems

[mammaP]

Hi Minimilk,  is your dose of seroquel consistent now?  It is good that you have had a month of good sleep, but you are tapering very fast. Withdrawal can cause insomnia which could be what is happening now. It might be best to hold at the current dose for a while to stabilise, or updose slightly then hold the dose for a couple of months. We recommend tapering no more than 10% of the current dose.  See the topic on tapering seroquel here ...

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1707-tips-for-tapering-off-seroquel-quetiapine/?p=33069

 

Hopw often do you take the others?  

 

We have a topic for sleep problems, with things that others have tried and what did or didn't help. 

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/53-tips-to-help-sleep-so-many-of-us-have-that-awful-withdrawal-insomnia/?view=findpost&p=153733&hl=amber

 

Could you fill out your signature for us?  It will help us when it appears at the bottom of every post and we don't have to scroll back to find details.  The doses you started with and when you dropped, and the doses you dropped too will be very helpful.You can find instructions here ... 

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/12364-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

[ang]

Hi there, I'm the GF, 

First of all, thank you for your time, my BF has been very patient with me regarding my sleep problem an he is trying to save me from Seroquel. 

He believes from his research in online forums that seroquel is the main reason for my current Insonima and I've started to believe that it definitely changed my quality of sleep and sleep patterns over the years.

 

So here it goes my story:

Before 2010 I had never had a night without sleep! I was that kind of person that in University couldn't be studying all night long before a test. I slept like a baby, always, and nothing could take my sleep away!

In 2010, unfortunately, I had a burnout at work, not because I was overloaded with work but because I loved my work and my chief decided to make put me into a "task force" week, basically to make bullying at me. It was not just me, 40% of the total employees in that company (800 people) had burnouts. Psychological it was a very stressful situation and I just lost my sleep from one day to the next one.

After that, I worked for eight months in other companies with burnout and just decided to stop as my sleep problem could not be solved.

I tried everything at the time:

Triticum; Gabapentin, Mirtazapine; Estolozam, flurazepam; diazepan, tricyclic antidepressants and Ambien (zolpidem).

 

None of these worked out for me cause I'm to sensitive to meds, and on another hand, I couldn't felt asleep with none of these, I was just too drugged and felt really bad when I took them.

 

After this initial struggle, which was like a non stop nightmare for 1 year, my doctor prescribed me Seroquel 200. At the time it was a perfect med cause it put me into sleep and in the next day I could work (tough feeling bit tired in the morning). But with time, my sleep problem got worse cause Seroquel started to fail and did not put me in complete sleep, I just dreamed all night with a very light sleep.

So in a daily basis I took about 100mg (half the pill of 200 XR) and in crises situations my doctor said to me to increase it to 200. When it started not to work I had to add morfex 15mg or 30mg. 

What was strange for me is that when the crisis was over (like a stressful external event I had to deal with), I had no reasons to keep the Insomina and that was what I started to find very strange.

 

I think the drugs changed my sleep patterns. Currently I cannot felt asleep without taking Seroquel, I never was back to what I was before 2010. I never have natural sleep. I am depended on that drug. Since my BF is with me, we started to question the Seroquel and realized that if I took a lower dose like 50mg, my quality of sleep improved, which means that I can have more deep sleep and less hours of sleep.

 

So to conclude,

I only take Seroquel on a daily basis - now I'm on 75/ 50mg and have decided to give it a try to test the hypothesis that:

1) I can recover my natural sleep if I withdraw Seroquel

2) Sero makes Insomina get worse when is taken for such a long time like in this case, 7 years, by changing the sleep process in the brain.

3) If you increase the dose from one day to another drastically, like 100 to 200 you may have two days of good sleep but on the following days you go back to insomnia and it gets worse. - you cannot just work with up and downs drastically (altough I was advised so, by my doctor)

 

On crises situations I may add flurazepam 15/30mg or Estazolam (never use both at the same time)

I also take Clonazepam for panic situations.

 

My questions,

What do you think about my hypothesis,

Did you get your sleep back after quitting seroquel?

 

Note:

I know that I won't expect any miracle and I will always need to control stressful events. I've also tried meditation, Yoga and mindfulness which helps me in these moments. 

 

Thank you for your help

 

Leia. 

You spot on, hope you are feeling better,  lovely to see a smart person, and a caring special other.

[ang]

Dont taper too fast, go slow, keep dose consistent......................

[MiniMilk]

Hi,

 

My GF after 3 weeks of insomnia really bad / light sleep (always on 25mg), had a full week of good sleep. 25mg is the smallest ever for her.

I think that her body could not accept such a lower dose, so thats the reason she suffered so much for 3 weeks. But she finally managed to adapt.

 

From what we read, from the 25mg to lower, it is necessary to be very careful and to taper very slowly. It's the most difficult phase. We'll start that process in a month from now.

 

 

@ang

We can keep the dose consistent because it's the extended release version. So the pill it's not consistent by it self. sucks

 

Thanks for the answers

[MiniMilk]

UPDATE:

 

It's been since 29th May that my GF is without Seroquel.

She managed to sleep ok since then.
For the first 10 days she was really like a new person.

But she is now on a major depression (and some episodes of anxiety). We think she has some kind of brain disorder, like something related to Bipolar disorder. Not a huge disorder because her maniac state is not that obvious. But the depression is deep (and her grandmother had a bipolar disorder).
Sometimes she cries for all day, sometimes for no reason.

 

Anyway, maybe seroquel was doing something good to her, related to that brain disorder. However since its removal, she can now get some deep sleep. She does not wake up tired. She was having panic attacks: They are gone !. She is more "herself".

 

I'm happy that she is now off this drug. However she needs something. She just can't cry day after day. That's terrible.
Hope you find some medicine for her, that does not disturb her sleep. We will try paroxetine, tianeptine or anti-epileptic medication (used for BP)

 

Wish us luck.
Thank you for reading

 

 

 

 

[scallywag]

MiniMilk, thank you for writing about what is happening for your girlfriend.

 

The medications you are considering to "treat" her crying, paroxetine, tianeptine or anti-epileptic medication (used for BP), may help her and they may not.  They may cause further destabilization of her brain and CNS (central nervous system) which would make her symptoms worse and create new symptoms. If she eventually adjusts to a drug and then stays on it, she will need to taper off them gradually to prevent difficult and painful symptoms.

 

When your girlfriend started taking Seroquel and during the 7 years that she continued to take it, her brain and CNS (central nervous system) made changes to itself because the drug was present. When the dose is decreased, the brain+CNS have to undo a few previous changes.  When the drug is stopped, the brain+CNS have to deal with ALL the previous changes.  Here are a few discussions that people have found helpful to understand this:

How your brain responds to psychiatric drugs - aka "Brain remodeling"

Youtube video, 4 minutes: Healing from antidepressants

 

You've written that she discontinued from 75 mg Seroquel to 0 in 4 months (February 2017 to May 29, 2017).  This is much, much faster than we would have suggested.  We suggest that people taper by decreasing no more than 10% per month to minimize the risk of withdrawal symptoms. That taper would have looked like this:

Jan: 75 mg

Feb: 67.5 mg

Mar: 60.8

Apr: 54.8

May: 49.4

 

You see what I mean by much faster: she went from 75 to 0 in the time that a slow taper would have had her decrease from 75 to 50.

 

For most people much more than 4 months (February - May) are needed to undo all the changes made over 7 years of taking Seroquel. Her crying and emotional states are cause because her brain is still making changes because seroquel is no longer present.

 

Many people experience a brief period of feeling great right after discontinuing a psych medication. Almost all people have withdrawal symptoms start after a few weeks and often the symptoms get stronger for weeks or months after that.  Doctors will tell your girlfriend that symptoms are the original condition and that she needs to take the medication for the rest of her life.  Please read:

Withdrawal or relapse?

 

Many people have found relief from awful and painful symptoms by reinstating a very small dose of Seroquel, the medication that was recently discontinued.  Two questions:

1. Is your girlfriend willing to consider reinstating a very small dose of Seroquel?
2. Is she willing to post here about her symptoms and to ask questions?