Coming off Seroquel

I have terrible insomnia. Takes a long time to get to sleep staring at the ceiling) and then wake up too early so never feel rested. My psych wanted to try Seroquel 400 mg. I slept 12 hrs and was getting up every night eating all kinds of junk food, which I very much dislike. Plus, I wouldn't remember it. Started worrying about fires in the kitchen. So what I decided to do was to eat my dinner late (which I do anyway, somewhere b/w 10-11-12. I like staying up 'til about 2 am. It's quiet and it's what my body clock, which is fine by me). Anyway, what I was doing before was taking them around 6 or 7 pm cuz they seem to take a couple hours to work. And then I go nuts for desserts. My new solution is to have my dinner & Seroquel around the same time (10-11). Then I'm already full and so fall asleep w/o raiding the refrigerator.

The first few days I craved some sweets during the day. Not too many, but it wore off. That first week I gained 14#. It slowly started slipping off after I starting the new plan.

This may not work for anyone else, but just sharing what worked for me. Oh, and the other thing, I dropped my dosage from 400 to 300 and now at 200. The sleeping time works the same as it did with the higher doses, but I no longer sleep 12 hrs, and am down to a comfortable 7-9.

Hey 😬
I just wanted to say I've been off quetiapine for bout 6/7 months now....as I wrote previously it started out really hard at first for couple of months and now I'm doing soooo much better! My main concern was not being able to sleep as I use to suffer from insomnia but now as long as I'm active throughout the day it's not a prob to get off! Such a relief 😅 I still get ups and downs but they are more manageable I think I was on the quetiapine so long it taught me to deal with my moods better! Quetiapine saved me years ago when I was in such a bad place, I was so il and over the years help me get though things but in the end when I was finally in a good place the side effects started to get in the way and now coming off of them was the best thing at that time and I'm thankful to this site for giving me the confidence to do that 💋

Hi there. I was put on seroquel 5 years ago for depression as a result of anorexia. I was on 500mg per day. I recently told the doctor I wanted to come off them but they advised against it saying my not eating May reoccur. So I have been slowly reducing my dose week to week and I feel great for it! Much more energy and more importantly not wanting to sleep my way through life! I think maybe just now just isn't the right time for you to come off them but don't be frightened to try again soon. My anxiety has always been one of my biggest issues and I can honestly say without the pills I'm still feeling good so stay positive!

Hi all, I'm new here!

Was reading all your posts and I just wanted to give my experience so far.

I was prescribed seroquel two and a half years ago to treat severe depression and slight personality disorder that was described to me as a "bipolar type disorder" by my psychiatrist.

I had been treated by family doctor up until then with Prozac which basically did nothing for me.

Seroquel saved my life. I had been planning my suicide until my husband intervened and got me the help I needed.

I was taking 450mg and I've been able to completely rebuild my life so I will always be grateful to this drug for helping me do that.

I'm slightly over-weight but thankfully, I didn't get the raging hunger or weight gain that a lot of people describe. However, it completely slowed my metabolism down and found it impossible to lose weight despite really stepping up the exercise and cutting my calories drastically.

I would get some really awful side effects when I forgot a dose though - insomnia, flu symptoms, shaking, hot and cold flushes, splitting headaches, nausea, cramps etc so i was a little anxious about coming off this drug.

December just gone, I felt ready to come off and psychiatrist recommended I drop by 150mg to 300mg for a month, then halve the month and then off the next.

BIG mistake! The side effects were horrendous so I gave up.

I've now cut down by 50mg over the last three weeks to 300mg and I feel absolutely fine. No sleeping issues and no flu symptoms. I've also lost 5lbs which is great having been unable to shift even a pound before!

I hope the next six weeks go well and no doubt I'll update then.

Sorry if I've bored you but I just wanted to give people hope that I you can make that first step. Just take your time and listen to your mind and body.

I had my first experience with Prozac in 1992. Nothing stronger than that until around 2005. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder/borderline personality disorder/PTSD/Seasonal Affective disorder. Things simply got too hard and when I lost my father in 2004, I went into a downward spiral. Though Lamictal has always been the "staple" drug for me (since 2005), there has always bee an add-on drug to take along with it. Geodon, Restoril, Cogentin, Abilfy. None of those were suitable for me. I suffered bad side effects with every single add-on drug. Okay. It's 2014 and my add-on drug now is Seroquel XR. I want off. I've managed to rid myself of a lot of drugs, but I have read much about the negative side effects of Seroquel if one attempts to stop taking the drug. Two weeks ago, I began taking 200mg instead of 400mg. I have been halving the tablets. When I went to my psychiatrist last week, I was rather elated, told him what I was doing, and he became rather hostile. He's never been that way before; alas... In any case, a couple of mornings after I stopped taking the Seroquel XR 200mg instead of 400mg, I developed on of the worst migraines I've ever had since I had a cerebral hemorrhage last April. I blamed the vomiting on the migraine as that usually comes along with a migraine. I burst blood vessels in both eyes due to such violent vomiting. Still can't believe that. I went to the ER and was prescribed Fioricet (with codeine) and literally slept the entire week. I am about to cut down to 100mg. I'll begin next week. I haven't read all the posts in this thread, but just skimmed to see if anyone else was wanting off Seroquel XR and had succeeded without side effects.

The reaction I received from my psychiatrist was out of the blue. I even asked to go back into his office whereupon I told him that I meant no offense and that all I was asking was his help in weaning off the drug. I had not at all been out of line, but to maintain the good relationship we've always had, I put out my hand and he simply looked at me. I said, "Please..." and he reluctantly took my hand. In any case, that is not the issue I now have. My neurologist told me yesterday that Seroquel is an anti-psychotic drug, something I already knew and one of the reasons I wanted off the medication. I am not psychotic and felt I no longer needed Seroquel. As the migraines have attacked more frequently, my neurologist suggested Lithium. He told me that it was an older drug and often used for bi-polar, but that he used it for migraines at times even though it was not FDA approved for migraine sufferers. He told me to drop down to 150mg of Seroquel as I was taking the Lithium and then said he wanted me off of Seroquel in four weeks. Problem? I do not want to trade off one drug for another. Lithium, from what I've read, controls the mania bi-polar people sometimes experience. I need something to control the depression. Prozac is working okay for that and we are already moving into spring here in SC so my mood will improve a great deal. I'm simply sick of medications. I will stay with the Lamictal and the Prozac, but of the other drugs? I want off as much as I can withstand.

Hi Rosie,

Welcome to the forum !

I'm glad you got off Seroquel and you're doing well now. It's also good to wean off a med with your doc keeping close observation over you.

Please know that this is an old thread you posted on. We always encourage new members to take the time to introduce themselves in a new thread. This is easily done. Simply click on the "New Topic" button and the program will open a box for you to post your intro. This will help members see your first post and extend a welcome to you.

I hope to learn more about you. Please feel free to post anytime you like. We are always here for you.

UA