Posted 1/19/2013 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
I have been on Seroquel and Xanax for the past 7 years and just recently thought I could stop taking it. I had weened myself down from 600mg to 150mg of the Seroquel and down from the Xanax from 1 mg three times a day to .5mg at night as I changed so many things in my life. I stopped eating processed foods, alcohol, sugar, caffeine, started raising my own food to have organic food. (I was having a reaction when I took 600mg) So last week I decided I wanted off my medication completely as the obsessive behavior started to return since weaning off and I thought it to be the medications I was on. Still in denial! Also my psychiatrist was moving and he said the one replacing him would try to change my medications. This will be the third one in 7 years. One time before I went to a psychiatrist, a OB-GYN had me stop taking Effexor cold turkey and placed me on two different anti-depressive medications at double the dose. I checked myself into the psych unit within 2 weeks. This is when they placed me in the care of a psychiatrist. So when my current psychiatrist told me he was leaving and the one replacing me was going to try to change my medicine, I decided I did not want to go through the medicine change. Called my family doctor and he advised going from 150mg to 100mg for a week and then 50mg a week and then stop for the Seroquel. He told me to start taking .5mg of the Xanax once in the day and once in the night for one week, then .5mg during the night then stop. DO NOT DO THIS. I ended up in the ER with a major panic attack. My pulse was at 146 and my blood pressure was through the roof. I had been up for 3 days. The ER doctor could not believe the Dr. was doing this. He said it takes months of weening off of. He told me to go back on my 150mg with the addition of magnesium and take the Xanax as needed. Last night I took only the Seroquel and 30 minutes later I was starting the panic attack. Ended up taking .5mg of the Xanex. Then I did get a good nights sleep. The first in a week. He got me in to see a new psychiatrist on Monday. I have tried to do everything to heal myself including herbs and lifestyle change. The thought - if only I didn't do this I wouldn't be Bi-Polar etc. has not been helping. The internet is a wonderful thing. It can also lead to finding pages that supported my thoughts that I did not need medications and validated my denial. I now realize that in order to lead a healthy, productive life I will need help with medication. The lifestyle changes have helped me a lot but that hasn't been a cure. I am 51 and looking back through my life, I have had Bi-Polar since I was a child. I had a very stressful home life as a child. After 3 days of no sleep, I slip into depression and paranoia sets in. Physical illness usually follows that. What a viscous cycle. Exercise, eating right, avoiding stress, avoiding nerve system stimulates and medication is going to be how I have to lead my life. My decision to have a quality life and not a long life has been made. The trip to the ER was what helped my denial. I wanted so badly to be like everyone else and cure myself. The saying "no man is an island" is so true. I am blessed with a support system from my husband and children. How they have stood by me this long is amazing. I will follow the advice of my new psychiatrist. Just typing this I have to keep changing and rewriting so it sounds somewhat composed. My thoughts are all over the place. The Seroquel may need to be changed but I am now willing to go through that process. Denial is a very dangerous place to be. I hope reading this helps someone else. This is the first time I have responded on a board like this. Please seek a good psychiatrist. I always thought they where just pill pushers. Godspeed