Anxietysucksbad: Seroquel / quetiapine extended release 150mg

[Anxietysucksbad]

Hi, new to this forum. I discovered it when i was trying to figure out what i was going through when stopping lithium. They diagnosed me bipolar 1, still coming to terms with it. Kind of think i was misdiagnosed bc i do not see signs of mania in myself. I was originally prescribed 600 mg lithium and 200 mg seroquel (not extended release from october to may.) after an involuntary inpatient stay at the hospital from paranoia mostly. Extreme panic attacks. The kind where you think youre about to die and lose all kind of focus in your mind and can only focus on complete panic (scariest thing ever.) The medication took away my panic attacks mostly with the help of .5mg kolonpin but i felt like an emotionless zomie. Without doctors approval i stopped the seroquel cold turkey from april to a week ago. I felt fine without it. Was still taking 600 mg of lithium daily. Had no withdraw symptoms. Then i had 2 scary incidences after taking my doses of lithium. Heart racing, shaking. Felt like i couldnt breathe. So i stopped taking it. Felt fine for a week then withdraw symptoms started. Although they say there is no withdraw symptoms from lithium i experienced almost every single one of the ones listed for antidepressant withdraw. I felt terrible. I took half my dose in hopes it would help my withdraw symptoms especially vertigo. And i could feel my anxiety creeping up horribly. Went to the psychiatrist who told me to stop taking the lithium. Pretty sure i was allergic to it bc i has big rashes all over my arms and hands and it immediately went away after stopping it. She started me on seroquel again. 50mg at first now 100 mg and now she thinks 150mg extended release would be best for me. I'm scared. Idk why im so scared. I know i need something. My panic attacks are debilitating. Feel like i cant even leave the house of fear of having one. Im definitely depressed after losing my baby sister to suicide one year ago and ending a 7 year relationship with the father of my two kids shortly after. I just want to feel better. Really just writing this to see who can relate to me bc i feel very alone and afraid about my mental health. Maybe NOT tell me horror stories about seroquel but maybe success stories with it. Especially the extended release. The medication guides are scary listing all the side effects.

[Sassenach]

Welcome to SA, Anxietysucksbad .  I'm sorry you're having such a terrible time.

 

To start, please add a drug signature, including drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements in the last 12-24 months.  Also include supplements. This will help us give you the most accurate advice we can.

I appreciate you may have given this info. in your first post, but your drug signature will appear under every post and means the moderators can see your history at a glance.

• Any drugs and supplements prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years. 

• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. 

• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. 

• This is a direct link to your signature:  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 Withdrawal symptoms arise because your body got used to the drug being present and now has to work very hard to accommodate its absence.  

 

What is withdrawal syndrome.

 

Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptom list.

 

When we take medications, the CNS (central nervous system) responds by making changes over the months and years we take the drug(s). When the medication is discontinued, the CNS has to undo all the changes it made. Rebuilding the neurotransmitter production and reactivating the receptor and transporter cells takes time -- during that rebuilding process symptoms occur.  

 

These explain it really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

  On 8/30/2011 at 8:28 PM, Rhiannon said:

   On 8/30/2011 at 2:28 PM,  Rhiannon said: 

When we stop taking the drug, we have a brain that has designed itself so that it works in the presence of the drug; now it can't work properly without the drug because it's designed itself so that the drug is part of its chemistry and structure. It's like a plant that has grown on a trellis; you can't just yank out the trellis and expect the plant to be okay. When the drug is removed, the remodeling process has to take place in reverse. SO--it's not a matter of just getting the drug out of your system and moving on. If it were that simple, none of us would be here. It's a matter of, as I describe it, having to grow a new brain. I believe this growing-a-new-brain happens throughout the taper process if the taper is slow enough. (If it's too fast, then there's not a lot of time for actually rebalancing things, and basically the brain is just pedaling fast trying to keep us alive.) It also continues to happen, probably for longer than the symptoms actually last, throughout the time of recovery after we are completely off the drug, which is why recovery takes so long.

We can't tell you whether to see a psychiatrist.  That has to be your decision.  The vast majority of psychiatrists do not believe in protracted withdrawal from antidepressants.  Here is a link to psychiatrists who have shown a willingness to work with tapering and withdrawal syndrome.  Scroll down to U.K. and read about them.  Some members have seen or corresponded with Dr. David Healy. 

Recommended doctors, therapists, and clinics - Tapering - Surviving ...

At this time, reinstatement of a very small dose of the original drug is the only known way to help alleviate withdrawal syndrome.  The only other alternative is to try and wait out the symptoms and manage as best you can until your central nervous system returns to homeostasis.  Unfortunately no one can give you an exact timeline as to when you will start feeling better and while some do recover relatively easily, for others it can take many months or longer.  

 

At eight months out, you're beyond the period when reinstatement predictably works, which is within 3 months of your last dose.  It might work or it might not and can be risky.  We usually suggest a much smaller reinstatement dose than your last dose.  These drugs are strong, and when reinstating it is better to start with a very small amount. Your system has become sensitized and somewhat accustomed to not having the drug.  If you take too much it may be too much for your brain and can cause you become further destabilized.  For that reason, we would not recommend reinstating your full previous dose.  Please read:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms. -- at least the first page of the topic

 

If you decide reinstatement is something you want to consider, we can suggest a reinstatement dose after you've completed your drug signature.  Please do not reinstate without first hearing our recommendation.  If you do decide to reinstate, you would wait to stabilize on the drug, which can take several months, and then begin a slow 10% every four weeks taper of the dose you reinstated.  

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

We strongly recommend the use of  non-drug methods to cope with withdrawal syndrome.  Some of these can be found in the Symptoms and Self-Care forum of this site.

 

Symptoms and self-care

 

Please also read through this link to see what it contains that might be of help to you.

 

 Non-drug techniques to cope

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system.  Magnesium glycinate is a good form of magnesium.

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Please research all supplements first and only add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.

 

This is your Introductiontopic, where you can ask questions, monitor your progress and connect with other members.  We're glad you found your way here.

 

Sassenach

 

 

 

 

[Altostrata]

Hello, Anxiety.

 

When did you go off lithium? Did you still have withdrawal symptoms when you started Seroquel?

 

What times of day do you take your drugs, and their dosages? Are your symptoms better or worse at certain times of day?

 

Please keep daily notes of times of day you take your drugs, their dosages, and your symptoms. You can post 24 hours of notes at a time in this topic, with a simple list format with time of day on the left and notation (symptom or drug and dosage) on the right.