michelle tapering seroquel

[michelle]

hi there

i am here as i need as much help and advice anyone can give me. i have a feeling getting off this last amount is going to be very difficult. if anyone could share me their own experience especially what kind of withdrawal symptoms i am likely to get i would be very grateful. thank you.

[tezza]

Hi Michelle,

 

Welcome! You are wise to research. Have you had any withdrawal symptoms up to this point in your taper? Have you felt different in any way?

[michelle]

yes i have had quite a lot up until now. the worst being the constant pressure pain i get while in bed every night. it makes getting a good nights sleep near impossible. then i get the nausea and stomach pains, muscle weakness and hypersensitivity.

[tezza]

In that case, Michelle, it would be a good idea to avoid tapering again for a while. If I were you, I would do a long hold and see if these symptoms go away before tapering further.

 

If you can add your drug history in signature, it will be very helpful. Here are instructions:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 

This link explains why you should reduce by small decrements:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

 

This one explains tapering Seroquel:

 

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

 

Also, please browse through the Symptoms and Self-care sub-forum. There's a lot of helpful info in that section.

 

I'm sorry about your suffering.

 

Tezza

[michelle]

i should have added my signature dont know why you cant see it. if you look on my profile you should see it there. i dont really want to hold for a long time if i can help it. the pain i am in now is horrible but not unbearable and doest even come close to the horrific time i had coming off benzos. however if i does get worst i know that it will leave me no choice but to hold for longer.

[tezza]

Your signature is there now. Thank you, michelle.

 

I realize you want to be off the meds as soon as possible, I just don't want you to suffer worse than you are already.

 

Please, listen to your body and take the time it needs to adjust.

 

Wishing you the best!

[michelle]

i am trying really hard to come off seroquel. i recently crossed over from xr to regular seroquel but have found that t has made me feel terrible. i am wondering if this is due to to the cross over or because i am now taking the full dose all at once. i am now at 37.5mg and have been for a week. i was thinking of dropping down to 25mg tonight. thoughts and advice please anyone.

[strawberry17]

Hi Michelle

I have merged your post today with your original thread so people can see where you're at and your history when they reply to you. I don't know anything about Seroquel specifically, but some people are very sensitive to switching from one type to another type.

Also, what did you mean by taking the dose "all at once" do you mean you're taking the whole lot in the morning rather than splitting it morning and evening or something?

If you're feeling terrible at the moment please don't make another reduction as it will just compound the situation and make you feel worse, it's best to never make a reduction until you are feeling well and stable.

Strawberry

[michelle]

sorry by all at once i mean that when you take xr tablet the dose is slowly released through 24 were as regular seroquel is absorbed by the body all at once. just makes me think as by evening time i seem to bee feeling a lot better than in the morning when i just feel really terrible.

[tezza]

Hi Michelle,

 

You've tapered from 200 mg (July 2012) down to 50mg fairly quickly, then recently down to 37.5mg, You state that you were having WD symptoms along the way. It's difficult to say whether symptoms are coming from switching from the XR to regular or if you've tapered too fast for your nervous system to adjust.

 

I would be inclined to believe you've tapered too quickly and sensitized your system and now your CNS notices ANY change, including the change from XR to regular Seroquel.

 

If it were me, I would hold for a good long while and allow my nervous system some time to settle down; otherwise, you may set yourself up to suffer even more. There is no prize for coming off quickly. I definitely would not taper again tonight, if I were you.

 

I'm sorry you are in so much agony!

[Altostrata]

Hi, michelle. When do you take your Seroquel dose?

 

I updated the Tips for Tapering Seroquel topic http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1707-tips-for-tapering-off-seroquel-quetiapine/

 

It looks like since you've switch from XR to immediate-release Seroquel, you might want to take half a dose twice a day.

[michelle]

i take my dose at night time. i would be a bit scared to take a dose in the morning just in case it made me drowsy as i have a baby and a little boy to look after. i think this is something that im just going to have to push on through with it. the worst thing i am getting at the moment it nausea and headaches. i just hope it gets a bit better in the next few days.

[Altostrata]

What are the symptoms you have and when do you have them?

 

Yes, the immediate-release dose might be too high all at once.

[michelle]

the worst symptoms i get are nausea, headaches, muscles pain and weakness (very bad), a lot of sinus problems, light headed and racing heartbeat. do you think i should try reducing to 25mg at night and see how i am on that or do you think i should continue on 37.5mg and stabilise on that?

[primrose]

I'm really sorry to hear you are having trouble tapering serouqel.

I was on 200mg, but it was giving me bad side effects so I tapered down to 100mg, but I did this in bits with stops in between as I am also tapering valium.

Will taper seroquel after val.

I don't know much about tapering seroquel, I only know about benzos.

Since getting down to 100mg, though, my thoughts are a little clearer.

A few months aso, I also went from taking it three times a day, to taking it four times a day and 4 times a day suits me better.

I would wait myself if I were you.

It may be that sx will decrease if you go back up in dose to where you last felt better?, I don't know this for sure though, so I would like the input of more experienced members please?

 

I hope you get some relief soon.

 

PS, how did you find coming off seroquel, compared to coming off diazepam?

[michelle]

hi primrose

 

thanks for your reply. i have decided that i am not going to up dose and go back to 50mg as i really need to be pushing forward with getting off this seroquel. i need to do it for my children especially my baby. see i feel like it has suppressed my feeling of love and i have struggled to bond with her like i did with my son. you asked me about my comparison of this taper compared to my diazepam one. well i have to say as horrible and horrific as this feels at the moment it has been a walk in the park compared to coming off diazepam. that was just the worst hell i have ever experienced in my life and nobody could ever pay me enough money to go back there again ever.

[primrose]

hi primrose

 

thanks for your reply. i have decided that i am not going to up dose and go back to 50mg as i really need to be pushing forward with getting off this seroquel. i need to do it for my children especially my baby. see i feel like it has suppressed my feeling of love and i have struggled to bond with her like i did with my son. you asked me about my comparison of this taper compared to my diazepam one. well i have to say as horrible and horrific as this feels at the moment it has been a walk in the park compared to coming off diazepam. that was just the worst hell i have ever experienced in my life and nobody could ever pay me enough money to go back there again ever.

 

Hi Michelle

 

It's so sad that these pills have blocked you from feeling love for your kids. I can tell you love them, it shines through in your post.

I am just concerned that if you cut too quick, you will be even more blocked from feeling love for your kids.

Thank you for giving me feedback on your valium taper. I am a real coward. It has taken me since 2009 to come off. Now that I am cutting it daily, it's one positive thing in my life, but I spent lots of time holding, because the anxiety and depression have always felt too unbearable for the last four years. I also went on trazodone and seroquel in a desperate bid to mask with drawals. It was a panic response and one that I bitterly regret.

I am reassured that the seroquel withdrawal is a walk in the park compared to diazepam, but glad that you beat it. I feel like I am on it forever, cos my daily cuts are really small, but I am too scared to raise them, because i did raise them last year and got very symptomatic.

 

PS Thanks for adding me as a friend. x

[Altostrata]

michelle, it sounds like possibly 37.5mg all at once might be too much for you. I might try 25mg for a few days and see if the symptoms reduce. Keep us posted.