Seamus: Hello

[Seamus]

Hello

🙂

Nice to meet you all!

 

Sooo...my story in a nutshell..

 

I was diagnosed with OCD after trauma at 12.  I was not well before but came from a very dysfunctional home. Im sure now that was the cause, however by 13 or 14 I was on cocktails of xanax, SSRIs, Antipsychotics etc.  I become extemely over weight on the antipsychotics and developed involuntary movements.  Awesome when you're a teen! I was taken off the antipsychotics and left on antidepressants and became a behavioral nightmare and became addicted to alcohol.  10 (horrible) years later I was told I was rapid cycling from the antidepressants because I was bipolar.  I unfortunately took their word for it, I was so sick, never slept just in a horrible place.  I won't mention it all because I don't want to upset people but it was bad.

 

Then entered seroquel.  The squirrel brain from the antidepressants stopped.  I was quit livid I had lived like that for 10 years complaining while drs threw personality disorders and other dx at me because I just wouldn't get better.  I now realize it was coming off the antidepressants that helped, not the seroquel. I took that seroquel and various other drugs and benzos for 10 years.

 

I'd love to eventually become a social worker and fight to stop the disgusting overmedicating of vulnerable people, but I can't even work right now I'm so sick.

 

At the moment I'm withdrawaling from seroquel.  It sucks.  It's very similar to benzo wd which I completed my benzo taper in August.  I liquid titrated and I thought I would die at times and came out ok so I'm looking forward to helping others there.  

 

I hope my windy post has caused you to feel tired and you get some rest 🙂 I look forward to getting to know all of you and thanks for the add.

 

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by ChessieCat
spacing

[ChessieCat]

Hi Seamus and welcome to SA, I am so sorry for the terrible experiences you've been through.

 

We have had several members who were drugged as children and went on to recover.  The brain has a remarkable capacity to heal itself.

 

To get you started, we ask all members to create a drug signature.  Please include the following information.  Please be as accurate as possible about the dates and doses.  Please make it nice simple by following these instructions (NO diagnoses or symptoms please - thank you).  Please update it whenever you make a change:

• details for last 2 years - dates, ALL drugs, doses
• summary for older than 2 years - just years and drug/s

This link takes you straight to your own drug signature:  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

Once we have more information about your drug history we will be better able to offer suggestions.

 

This is your own Introductions topic where you can ask questions and journal your progress.

 

 

[Seamus]

Thank you so much ChessieCat! Your words truly mean so much.  When I read about antipsychotic withdrawal it's very scary, not a lot of hope on the internet.

I have tried to update my signature, hopefully it's done correctly.  Please let me know if there is anything I should modify and thank you so much for the little glimmer of hope, I really needed it this evening.

[unclesteve85]

I was a rare case, but they put me on SSRI's at the same age. I was a mess, I couldn't even leave the house. It got me through many years but I wish they had tried CBT and other stuff before tossing me on these pills! But welcome Seamus, there are lots of people on here who can and will help you out, good luck! 

-and as for researching and  finding a lot of people struggling as opposed to success stories, most people won't be bothered to post anything if they are feeling good

 

everyone heals - you wont be any different!

 

[Seamus]

Thank you unclesteve!

 

Im really glad the meds worked for you.  They seem to for some people

 

I really appreciate your post.  When I'm in a bad way it helps so much to hear I'll heal from someone whi understands what's happening!!!

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Seamus.

 

Very sorry you've had to deal with this.

 

Congratulations on reducing your Seroquel dosage so much. What is your taper method? Are you getting withdrawal symptoms? What are they?

 

Do you take 75mg Lamictal twice a day or are your doses 37.5mg each? How long have you been taking Lamictal?

[Seamus]

Thank you for the welcome Altostrata 🙂

 

I'm currently dry cutting seroquel.  

My most distressing wd symptom is my heart pounding through my chest for hours, sometimes all night.  Sometimes I give in and take propranolol.  I have pretty bad insomnia, anxiety and depersonalization.  I do not have the nausea or headaches they mention when I read about seroquel wd.

 

I take 75 mgs of lamictal twice a day.  I've been taking that for 3 years I believe.  Im a pharmaceutical mess 😞

[Seamus]

Hello, if anyone has gone through this Id be forever gratedul for some encouragement.  

Since the end of my benzo taper in August, my muscles from head to toe flutter 24 hours a day.  It drives me insane but I try to ignore it.  Now, tapering seroquel (down to 187 mg) I'm having muscle stiffness and pain in my upper back and arms and the muscle spasms are more frequent.  I googled and scared the crap out of myself reading all kind of permanent scary things it could be from being on an antipsychotic as long as I have (almost 10 years).  Big price when Ive never actually been psychotic!

If anyone can relate at all, or had a hard time getting off seroquel but managed please let me know.  Im finding this wau harder than benzos...and so scared.

 

Thank you in advance.

[ChessieCat]

These are searches I found in this forum:  Success stories: Recovery from withdrawal

 

Links to members topics which mention seroquel

 

Links to members' topics which mention quetiapine

[Seamus]

Thank you so much!

I'm pretty sure I'm experiencing a movement disorder and am horrified as I believe these are permanent 😭 Im so scared.  I hate this.

[ChessieCat]

This is the link to carmie-accidently-doubling-up-on-seroquel-one-day-while-tapering

 

[Carmie]

Hi Seamus, 

 

Thanks for your message to me on QuetiapineAddict’s post. If you want someone to see you have left them a message just tag them. Put an @ in front of their name n some boxes will come down. Just press on the box with their name on it  n they will get a notification. 

 

You have done amazing getting down to 187.5mg from 400mg. Well done!! I was on 300mg n I’m down to 7.5mg now. I started dry cutting tablets but when the doses got smaller I water titrated them. 

 

Like you, I can’t tolerate ten percent drops either now, I try n do around five percent. Lately I changed to compounded capsules, but it was a mistake as they’re not always accurate. I’m just waiting to stabilise from the change and then I will go back to the original tablets and continue to water titrate them. 

 

When i stabilise n change back to the original tablet it will put me into waves again so I will have to hold again for a few months or so before I start tapering the tablet. One is never sure how long the waves last in withdrawals as nothing is linear about the process. 

 

Once I start tapering I’m going to do the Brassmonkey slide, but I’ll probably tweak it a little here n there. I will be going down by 1.25% a week for four weeks and then I will hold for two weeks and then repeat the process for a while. Just  check it out under the tapering section. It’s right at the top of the page. So that’s 5% for the month split over four weeks and then a break for two weeks. It might take about ten years or so n in the end the amounts will be teeny tiny. 

 

Take care and all the best with your continued tapering, sending hugs🤗

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ChessieCat]

I've merged your new topic with the existing topic on tardive dyskinesia.

 

This is from Post #1 in that topic:

 

On 2/7/2013 at 5:35 AM, Altostrata said:

 

Tardive dyskinesia may occur as a psychiatric drug withdrawal symptom.

 

It means drug-related involuntary movements, such as facial tics, tongue movements, twitching, or other movements.

 

All antipsychotics have a possible adverse effect of tardive dyskinesia. Tardive dyskinesia may occur while you're taking the drug or after you go off it ("tardive" means "delayed").

 

TD also occurs more rarely as an adverse effect from antidepressants and antidepressant withdrawal.

 

There is no defined treatment for TD, although doctors will experiment with various drugs though to correct the "chemical imbalance" responsible for this condition. (It is thought to be related to dopamine dysregulation.)

 

For many people, TD symptoms go away on their own. We have people here who developed TD in withdrawal whose TD symptoms eventually went away.