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Hello all. I've researched this extensively now, after a google search in late Nov 2022 lead me to this message board and other Psychiatric Medication Withdrawal Supports. I'm finally ready to try again. Trauma from previous attempts has kept me dealing with the extreme tranquilizing + myoclonus (ie: adverse effects) instead of trying again. This will be the 13th attempt. If it takes 5 years, that's out of my control. It's up to my particular nervous system. When I recently suggested to my Doctor about a 10% reduction per month using a liquid, they said it'd be perfectly fine. (& I guess reduce that amount by 10% per month until I'm off?) After going home and calculating how I did it in the past (-12.5%), NO. In the past, taking off 1/4 (6.25mg) of 1 of the 2 tiny pills hasn't worked 11x. (Either by myself making a crumbly mess with my pill-splitter or at an in-patient facility with an industrial one.) I almost went into Psychosis 3 of the 11 times & had to go back up to 50mg right-away. I had to admit myself to the hospital a few of those 1/4 pill reduction attempts, too. I recently calculated that was a -12.5% drop in dosage. No wonder it didn't work. Also, I was told by a Psychiatrist & once by a Doctor to stay with the 1/4 pill reduction and to take "just a little bit of Seroquel" when the limbic system withdrawal symptoms re-appeared. ...You mean like a Benzo? This is literally playing ping-pong with your neurotransmitters, and I wasn't even given "little bit" amounts so had to make do with a crumbly mess. This didn't work and fairly quickly sent me right back to the hospital where they sent me to an in-patient stay again. I held on for as long as I could at home using little pieces of Seroquel like a Benzo, because I did not want to go back to an in-patient facility again. All of this since July 2021 shattered my reputation with my Employer and caused unnecessary stress to my long-term partner, parent, and sibling; let alone myself. Earlier this year, I learned on my own about a liquid taper. It's truly shocking how nobody since July 2021 ever mentioned getting it made into a liquid in order to do an extremely slow taper; not even my Psychiatrist, who I chose finally to stop seeing in late 2022. But from extensive reading online, it's the standard to stop with a Medical Professional when things get unnecessarily out of control, doing harm and no good, and too much frustration. I also recently learned on my own more about Seroquel. I looked it up on go.drugbank.com in early 2022 when things were really getting really out of hand, I was unwell on medications, and things were snowballing out of control. I was scared shitless at how complex Seroquel was and how it differed so severely from Pristiq. Late last year, I learned even more about Seroquel: H1 (histamine - severe tranquilizing for my particular physiology) & D2 (inconsistent myoclonus for my particular physiology). It explained everything & confirmed that it's not "Psychosomatic" symptoms. & earlier this year, I learned more about Histamines, histamine receptors all over your brain and body, allergies, anti-histamines, stomach acid (H2), Monoamine oxidase (MAO) & Diamine oxidase (DAO), etc. Further, last week, I learned about a Low-Histamine Diet for people who have Spring-time allergies. While I don't have any comorbidities of any kind, this Seroquel is a beast on my particular physiology and am now semi-unenthusiastically doing a Low-Histamine Diet for the next handful of years as to not complicate this extremely slow taper & to hopefully reduce the extreme yet inconsistent tranquilizing. I'm now pretty sure how much water I drink + what I eat at dinner and before-bed most-definitely affects the severity of the tranquilizing the next day. Most days, it doesn't fully wear off until mid-afternoon! Rarely, it wears off once I'm awake in the morning. & Rarely, it lasts all day until I take it again at 8pm. From reading online, the menstrual cycle (different levels of the hormones during each phase) also affects Psychiatrric Medications's potency, clearance, etc. + hormone levels and histamines interract with each other + hormone levels and dopamine (D2 inconsistent myoclonus) interract with each other. So that's fun. I never wanted to take this 50mg I.R. Seroquel in the first place, but an E.R. had to give me something to take, because I had a severe reaction to LoLoestrin, which I went the day before to see a Doctor about growing symptoms and was told that the literature says mental health symptoms are very common for hormonal birth control. That's nice, & I've heard that from hundreds of women online, too. Bt I've tried ~7 different b/c pills before with no issues. I've never gone against my better judgement before. This link was very informative for Histamine: https://rxisk.org/guide-stopping-antidepressants/#Prominent_withdrawal_symptoms , as was FerralCat's Essay. When an in-patient facility had to add 50mg X.R. in Nov 2022 because I was withdrawing so severely from a few things at the same time, the tranquilizing greatly reduced, but it's still enough to halt my life. I think the inconsistent myoclonus also increased. So, now to the taper: I have a few questions. In the 'Seroquel Withdrawal' thread, they mention doing 1/2 pill + 1/2 liquid taper, as your Physiology is so used to pill-form. (I've ben stuck on this Anti-Psychotic since July 2021. That's 2.75 years.) So, maybe I should start my taper with one 25mg pill, two 6.25 mg (1/4's), & the rest liquid. (& as I slowly go down, get rid of a 6.25mg and replace that with a liquid, & so forth.) My question: does this seem fine to you guys? Note to self: I'd need to go back to the walk-in clinic to get an Rx for 6.25mg pieces, an Rx for 25mg pills (I only have like 16 left), & a revised Rx for the liquid. Currently, my liquid Rx is 40mg/day (-10% reduction) for 4 weeks & then go back to the walk-in clinic to get more liquid for the next "month-long 10% drop". I don't have the liquid on me, so I'm not sure the total mL in the bottle and whatnot. I'm aware that syringes can be very price with micromL's. This link overwhelmed me: https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/special-tips-calculations-and-liquids This link is similar to the info on this forum: https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/doing-calculations-taper This link confused me: https://antdep.alwaysdata.net/liquid/liquidForm.php I generally understand this link: https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/sites/default/files/2017-05/TheWithdrawalProject_TaperJournal_LiquidMixture_SampleChart.pdf After all of my reading around on here and all of the online calculators/etc, here's what I've come up with (holding for 2-6 weeks as needed not included): See 2 attached images. ****I'm a bit unclear about making smaller and smaller % (or mL?) reductions each 4-6 wks (however slow you want to go). That's been discussed on this forum regularly & want to make sure this taper doesn't go badly whatsoever. I can't afford to stress my partner out anymore, losing money anymore, or traumatizing myself even more than already am from all of this by being it withdrawal. & Finally, I will keep tapering off until the myoclonus & tranqulilizing of my physiology. If that's one 25mg, fine. If that's one 25mg and a 1/4 (6.25mg), fine. I'm still stuck on the 50mg X.R., but that can wait for the future, if at all. I'm on a lot of Serotonin-medication and was extremely hot for the last 1/2 of 2023, as well as scatter-brained and confused. Somehow, the extreme temperature went away back in Nov. I also had a lot of very unusual unlike extreme emotional lability due to all of the meds, especially in the summer. My partner likes me BECAUSE I'm emotionally uneventful and stable and can regulate my emotions/stress. I'm overmedicated, so I should've been experiencing the opposite. I'm well-aware from my Pristiq how dangerous the heat can be with Psychiatric Medications: they clear faster from your body or something? Especially if you're drinking more water in the summer? I expect to have issues with the heat for the next handful of summers, unfortunately.

Hi there, OP. You and another user wanted some solidarity with other people stuck on Seroquel, right? Let me introduce myself: Almost 38/F. Vancouver, Canada. I'm starting a taper from 50mg I.R. Seroquel next week. I've been stuck on it since July 2021, when I had a horrific reaction to LoLoestrin on the 6th day of taking it. I started having symptoms on day #3 (2x/day panic attacks!) Went to walk-in clinic on day #5 & was dismissed/told it was normal. Not for me. I've been on ~7 different b/c pills (all made me spot, and as I got older, really putrid stuff started comming out of me or I bled constantly and never stopped for 2 weeks until I gave up. So, I'm stuck with a menstrual cycle. lol.) I listened to him & kept taking the LoLoestrin. The next night, I went into Psychosis (rapid switching b/n manic laughing & weeping rapid-fire within seconds - I've always been in control of my emotions. I have the emotional regulation of a titan, humble brag.) Next morning, I went to the small local E.R. (even though my mom said nothing's wrong) & they gave me an Rx for something called Seroquel 50mg I.R. (was either that or Ativan - NO! I don't drink, so I never thought of getting drunk until my endocrine system re-balanced) & told me to get my Psychiatrist to get me off of it later. He was always on vacation (80 yrs old?), & I don't trust him whatsoever. I was finally able to get rid of him in Dec 2022. Wanted to get rid of him in Feb 2022 when things really started spiralling out of control, but nobody else avaliable. The 50mg I.R. snowballed out of control with mis Dx's, mood stabilizers, etc. I've tried to taper off of 50mg I.R. Seroquel 11x with either my own pill splitter (crumbly mess) or an in-patient industrial pill-splitter to reduce 1 of the 2 mini pills by 1/4 (12.5%). This never worked. I almost went into Psychosis 3x. I thought the birth control incident was scary enough. At no point since July 2021 in the Hospital's Mental Health & Substance Use Unit (had to get my mom to drive me many times due to withdrawal symptoms from Seroquel or other meds or the meds themselves!) or In-Patient facilities (3x w/in 6 months) did anybody mention a liquid taper. Shocking and pathetic incompetence. I learned about a liquid taper earlier this year by myself. I also learned more about Seroquel last November (h1 & d2 receptors & how the serotonin is different than the serotonin in Pristiq - ******* hell). & even more about its action on Histamine recently. & nobody since July 2021 ever plainly outright straight-up admitted that withdrawal symptoms are real. I've experienced w/d symptoms in the past. The only way I was able to get off Effexor (side-effects because I was Rx'ed way too much in 2015) was to go to Pristiq. I do well on Pristiq. My physiology can't tolerate any of the other SSRI's & SNRI's, although my Psychi always Rx'ed me too much - dangerous! The only reason I want to get off of the 50mg I.R. is because my muscles constantly jerk/twitch all over my body. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Sometimes more frequent. Sometimes less. This is a red flag and dangerous. But I've put up with it because until recently, I had no idea how I was going to try to taper again with a pill-splitter. Since learning about Histamine, I'm doing a low-histamine diet & started a couple of days ago. I do not Diet. It's not necessary for me, nor do I want to restrict. But this is a VERY special circumstance. This may help with the taper from Seroquel, since I learned from someone else on this message board about histamine from their withdrawal from Seroquel essay. (Heartbreaking.) From what I've read in your thread, you're doing quite a fast taper. I plan to do -0.25% off of the last dosage every 4 weeks minimum. Or 6 weeks? & Holding for ever how long. & then going again. Hold however many times my physiology requires. It's not up to me. It's up to my individual nervous system. I'm a non-smoker, non-drinker, and never done weed before. I drink plenty of water & plenty of fibre. I'm sure the other meds I'm on will help at least a little bit with the taper. & I've read that you need to do smaller decreases as time goes by. So, it'll eventually have to be a 0.075% decrease. & then 0.05%. & then 0.025%. I'm not even sure if my syringe for the liquid solution will work. Since I've been on the two 25mg pills for so long, I'm pretty sure I'll have to use 1 of the 25mg pills plus two 1/4 pills (12.5mg total) and then the rest liquid. I've been stuck on this ******* Anti-Psychotic for 2.75 years. If I knew it was an anti-psychotic and how complex it is, I would've taken the ******* Ativan. If it takes 5 years to fully get off of this bullsh*t, I have no choice. I already have partial insomnia for a long time now because of the Pristiq - even with the Seroquel (I'm usually up in the middle of the night tranquilized. I cannot work anymore due to this. It's too exhausting to fight it.) So, I don't want to make it worse by doing a fast taper. I'm going down until the mg where my muscles are no longer tranquilized & the twitching stops. I do not consent to my body moving without my permission, nor do I consent to being tranquilized and unable to move until mid-day next day or rarely the whole day until I take it again at 8pm. Sometimes the tranquilzing wears off a few hrs after I wake up. The tranquilizing decreased when 50mg X.R. Seroquel was added in Nov 2022 because I was withdrawing so severely from a few things at once - dangerous! People really have no idea what they're doing out there. My boyfriend has been right the whole time. I do not have BiPolar #2. I do not have Borderline Personality Disorder. I do not have 'Cluster B'. The reason he likes me is BECAUSE I'm bland, boring, average, emotionally stable, and can regulate my emotions. ie: I'm an incredibly easy partner. I come from a relatively good family. No drinking, no drugs, no domestic violence, no history of "mental illness", etc. So I'm starting to experiment with the low-histamine diet (especially with my dinner & before-bed snack) to see if it helps with the tranquilizing the next day. In July 2021, I went from my trusty 100mg Pristiq ($2/day) -> 5 medications + now 150mg Pristiq ($3/day); I think 9 pills per day. I've been emotionally violated, gas-lit, and dismissed repeatedly in these past ~2.75 years. This is by far the worst thing that's ever happened to me and will ever happen to me. Psychiatric Medication Withdrawal is worse than anything on this whole entire god-forsaken planet. I'm extremely over-medicated, but this myoclonus is downright dangerous. I was extremely hot as well until fairly recently. My long-term boyfriend had to have multiple blankets on during the summer with the A/C full-blast on me. I've been emotionally labile as well. Especially during the summer when the heat was messing with the 2 Seroquels and the SNRI. The Lamictal, Gabapentin, & Seroquel X.R. weren't enough to combat that. Sorry for hi-jacking your thread. I should make my own and make a signature for myself. Anyway. OP, take a looksee: https://reversepsychiatry.org/ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pw4tjImAJ92OIVyRvZoZYjqxiKMk7wvp-ljiIi1olRo/edit#gid=246292188 https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/special-tips-calculations-and-liquids https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/doing-calculations-taper#taper-schedule-2-daily-microtaper https://www.willhall.net/files/ComingOffPsychDrugsHarmReductGuide2Edonline.pdf Specific for Histamine/Seroquel: https://rxisk.org/guide-stopping-antidepressants/#Prominent_withdrawal_symptoms https://beyondmeds.com/2012/12/04/psychiatric-drug-withdrawal/ Thanks

I came off 50 mg Sertraline almost from one day to the next. Then threw away Vyvanse from one day to the next. Now, I am trying to come off Seroquel, but I am struggling. Went to the hospital twice in the last couple of weeks because I have a severe lung infection, but the doctors cannot understand why my body won't take in enough oxygen for my oxygen saturation in the blood to be normal. I suggested that it might have to do with the fact that I JUST came off several kinds of meds that had a severe impact on my breathing (I was hyperventilating all day every day), but they just looked at me funny. But it does make sense to me that I am now "hypo ventilating" because my body is out of balance? Am I totally off here? Right now, I wish I could just find a doctor who could let me know whether it is dangerous to "hypo ventilate". I have to sons, and I don't want to die...

Despite being quite nervous, I think it's time to make my introduction. I spent from early 2000's trying a variety of antidepressants. Prozac, setraline, amitryptiline, duloxetine, mirtazipine. Possibly something else, as well. Then, a crisis led to hospitalisation, and addition of quetiapine to fluoxetine. This was early 2019. Around four months ago, I stopped taking prozac, and about three months ago, I quit quetiapine. Both CT as I hadn't discovered this site. I was only taking 25mgs quetiapine and 20mgs prozac, so couldn't really taper without the help of the GP practice, in whom I have no confidence. A few months along, I am experiencing what I realise are waves and windows. Insomnia has been a recurring problem, but advice gained here has been very helpful. In my waves, I feel very depressed, but I now see this as withdrawal, rather than relapse. I don't think that antidepressants ever helped. As a cptsd sufferer, married to a troubled man, with two autistic sons, I was just overwhelmed. I am now a widow, and l live a very quiet life, with one if my sons. Medication does not feature in my future. History

Dear SA team, Can you please help me/advise me regarding my issues with Mirtazapine? I was told by my psychiatrist that I simply stop taking 15mg Mirtazapine per night (I have been taking it for 18 months). He said that there shouldn't be a withdrawal period due to me also being put on Quetiapine (25mg per night) around 6 months ago. 17 days ago, I started to reduce my Mirtazapine intake from 1x 15mg tablet per night, to 1x15mg tablet every 3 nights. In the first 14 days I had horrible withdrawal symptoms including significant cognitive impairments like brain fog, dizziness, inability to think straight, forgetfulness, loss of coordination, feeling very spaced out mentally. I also found it very difficult to fall asleep, being awake until 9am on some nights. I then experienced palpitations a few nights ago around 2am which persisted all night long. Out of desperation, I took half a tablet (7.5mg Mirtazapine) at about 4am. However it seemed to do little- the palpitations persisted and I didn't fall asleep until 8am and only slept a couple of hours here and there. These palpitations stayed with me for several days. I rang my psychiatrist and he advised me to either stop taking the Mirtazapine entirely or to go back to taking it 1x15mg per night (my original dose). I came across your section on Kindling and became afraid that if I take the original dosage again, it might have a bad effect. I tired to call my psychiatrist back to ask this question, however his secretary told me that he couldn't see me until April and that he'd already advised me on this. 3 nights ago, I started taking half a tablet each night. It seemed to do nothing for the first day. However yesterday I felt calmer during the day insofar as the palpitations stopped. They did re-appear last night though. Today also the palpitations seem absent. However I have been worried by how energised and overstimulated I feel despite existing on just a couple of hours of sleep. Whilst I'm very thankful that the palpitations have relented (at least during the daytime yesterday and today) it worries me that I still feel overstimulated. Could this lead to akathisia/ mania due to taking too much (half the original dose 7.5mg)? Or is it because I'm taking too little and this is simply anxiety? Can you please recommend me a reinstatement dosing amount? I don't know what else to do right now. I am terrified of this getting worse (and potentially becoming permanent?) and am not receiving any proper help from my psychiatrist. I really don't know what to do here. I just want to know how much I should take that is a safe reinstatement amount. Is half a tablet too much? Will it lead to kindling? Or is it too little and I need to go back to the full amount to get better? Is this overstimulation a sign of kindling or is it an anxious nervous system? Mirtazapine is also a unique drug in that it functions more strongly as a sedative at lower doses and as an anti depressant in higher doses. So shouldn't the half tablet be a stronger sedative for my nervous system than the full tablet? Sorry if the information is a bit all over the place, my mind isn't coherent right now. I would greatly appreciate any advice given. Thank you very much, Brendan.

Hey everybody, I’m a new member, so please let me know if this is not okay or goes against anything. I will keep it as short and sweet as I can. Many years ago, I was put on Sertraline. I was quite young and I can’t remember anything negative about it. In December last year, I was put on 50mg of Sertraline (28th), and I tapered off 25mg of Notripyline and stopped completely the day prior (27th). I was on the Sertraline for 2 weeks, and 4 days when the itchiness started. It feels like a light tickle, or as if something has brushed against my skin, like a hair. It can be anywhere on my body. Once I scratch it, it stops, and then will move elsewhere. I’m not frantically scratching, it’s not keeping me awake and I’m not damaging skin, but it makes me anxious, agitated and restless. I will often bounce my leg or do something. The itching stopped for a few days (27th Jan until 31st) and then returned. I did develop a rash on my stomach on the 27th, which was itchy and red. I’m unsure what caused this, but it was near my injection site where I inject Ajovy (a headache/migraine medication). I injected that on the 21st of Jan, rash appeared 27th. I don’t think it’s related to my itchiness, it happened to settle when I first had the rash. The rash is no longer itchy and is fading with hydrocortisone cream. I am also on 25mg of Quetiapine, which was increased to 50mg on the 27th of December last year to assist with any insomnia that weaning of the Notripyline may cause. I guess what I want to know, is this a side effect of Sertraline/SSRIs? I’m very worried I’m developed some sort of compulsion or health condition. I’ve read in a lot of places that itchiness can be a side effect due to the serotonin increase. I also smoke marijuana. I’ve never had any other drug reactions. Thank you in advance

Short introduction, I'm pyr23 currently living in the netherlands. I've been taking medications since I was 19 and have quite a host of diagnoses. Most accurate is schizo-affective, I've been struggling this like most others here for quite a while, unfortunately after 25 years I now know it's a lifelong thing. My last try for getting in a better place involved a rediagnosis for Autism, in which it it might be possible to live with another medication structure. This didn't really work out since I'm actually way to old for that. I see that now as a midlife crisis from an old psychiatric patient. We can't all have a fast car and a young girlfriend, but we can go though another diagnosis, just for old times sake. If you're young please try and keep up and keep your meds as low as possible. For some people full recovery will be possible, and the younger you start the better your chances are. Try to make space for yourself financially with family and all other support you can find, if you're in a good place try to see what is possible.

Hello Lovely Humans, I am a 36 year old woman. Prior to the experience laid out below I was (and fight to still be) a very happy, high performing human with a successful engineering career. Well now I am much gentler on myself to not be so high performing. 🥰 In early August I had friends visiting while we were renovating our house. I was also dealing with a highly stressful job. That’s when I had 4 days of bad insomnia which was very unlike myself (typically 1-2 days per month). While they were visiting I asked my primary doctor for a subscription for 5 Ambien tablets. I had taken one of my mom’s before a couple years ago and it knocked me out. I figured that they could just help me through my friend’s visit and that would be it. The weird thing is this time I was waking up 1-4 hrs after taking the 5 mg tablet. Desperate for more sleep I would take another 5 mg. Early on I attempted to go a night without it and landed in the ER with a panic attack. This started a (luckily short) stint with Ativan. Over the course of the next month I used the Ambien nightly and the Ativan as needed and things got worse. I started to experience suicidal ideation which got more intense over time. Needless to say this was beyond terrifying. I’ve never even experienced depression let alone SI before in my life. Desperate for some answers I scheduled a psychiatry appointment since I had only been seeing a primary doctor. I told him my symptoms as well as that my mom is diagnosed bipolar. Within 5 minutes of hearing that my mom is bipolar he diagnosed me with that as well. He prescribed me 100 mg of Seroquel. This was September 7th. Those first few weeks I was elated to feel like myself again and get 10-11 Hours of sleep. However after reading the side effects profile of the drug I became worried. (Doctor only told me possible weight gain was the only side effect-which luckily I haven’t experienced). Additionally I just didn’t quite identify with being bipolar and I had this nagging feeling that the Ambien was the cause of the suicidal ideation. That coupled with the high stress I had been carrying for a while. I decided on November 1st to start tapering. So far so good. I’m at 75 mg. Sleep is still great (average 8.5 hours-keeping a daily spreadsheet that I hope to turn into some fun graphs by the end). My biggest issue is a stiff neck. I am doing lots of stretching, chiropractor, and massage. It seems to be slowly alleviating but I am hoping this doesn’t worsen after the next cut. Any guidance on this would be appreciated. All things considered I’m doing ok. I’ve been able to get short term disability for the past 4 months and really focus on how I want to rebuild my life. I even started skiing again after blowing out my knee (acl, mcl and meniscus) 2 years ago. So I am no stranger to a long term healing process. The year before that I broke my wrist! Hopefully after this taper I can get a little break for a few years haha! 🙂 Thanks for reading my story. This site has been so valuable as I start this scary journey. Appreciate all the moderators' time and energy!

Hey guys, So i was on Sertaline a few years ago it worked perfectly. Then i came off it. Anytime i tried to go back on it, i had an intense reaction where i couldnt sleep and felt extremely agitated and wired. Then this happened again with prozac (Fluoxetine), and then i panicked and went to the hospital and got put on seroquel for 6 weeks. Following this I decided to stop as it was a horrible drug. When i stopped I could no longer sleep. Now, 6 months later I was slowly getting my sleep back little by little. Until 4 days ago. I was feeling ill and decided to try Prozac again to see if my symptoms were a result of withdrawal from these meds. I literally opened the pill and licked a tiny bit (few mgs probably) then i had an extreme reaction to this and the last 3 nights I have slept 1 hour each night. I feel terrible again and I am so angry that I've done this and worried I've gone back to square 1 with my sleep. Prozac has a long half life, will this go when it is out of my body or have i put myself back to the beginning again with this reaction? Today is day 4 since taking and my pupils are still huge, i still feel incredibly wired and awful. Thanks Dylan

Sorry about the name as "Redman" was a childhood nickname and I have already started with it. I was placed on Seroquel 25mg twice a day, mirtazapine 7.5mg at bedtime, and gabapentin 200mg three times a day a little over two months ago after a psychiatric hospitalization. At first I thought the meds were great as I finally had something that gave me sleep at night. But this effect didn't last and I didn't realize the reason I was feeling so bad was the medicine and not just my condition, I'm of the opinion, as I look back and at what I was able to do before and since I began them. I didn't realize what these meds were and how that dependency had already set in until doing some research online. After a month of my doctor trying to adjust these meds I realized with fear how difficult getting off Seroquel was going to be given my weakened state and my dread of losing any night's sleep. I would appreciate any advice, tips, pointers, etc. Thanks.

Hi everyone, you can call me ryuusei86 or R86. I'm more than a little concerned about being on a cocktail of no fewer than five psych drugs. I started about 10 months ago on Latuda 40 mg and Luvox 100 mg, with Lunesta 3 mg for sleep, when I was in the mental hospital for anxiety and depression. When I got home I went off the Lunesta because I was afraid of getting addicted, and replaced it with Seroquel ER 150 mg. Soon that wasn't working, and I went up to 200 mg, then 225, and so on up to 350 mg Seroquel. When that stopped working after a few months, I added the Lunesta 3 mg back. I stayed on that cocktail of four drugs until the beginning of the summer, when I tapered rather quickly from 350 mg Seroquel ER to about 75 mg, or the closest I could get given how hard those pills are to cut. I see now that the mess I'm in is at least partly my fault with these decisions I made. About five weeks ago, when I told my psychiatrist that I was having trouble leaving the house or keeping up with my daily life, he added Wellbutrin XL 150 mg to the mix. He also recommended I taper within five days to zero Luvox and Seroquel, which of course didn't work as I couldn't sleep. The original prescription told me to increase to 300 mg Wellbutrin, but I didn't want to do it because it seemed to increase my anxiety. So the grand total now is Luvox 100 mg (at night) Latuda 40 mg (20 mg each morning and night) Seroquel ER 75 mg (at night) Wellbutrin XL 150 mg (in the morning) Lunesta 3 mg (at night) I saw my psychiatrist again last week and he told me to start tapering both the Luvox and the Latuda, again very quickly. I decided to try tapering the Luvox only because I didn't want two variables going. After three days of cutting the dose in half as my doctor recommended, I was having a panic attack, or something close to it. I restored the dose to 100 mg last night, and am now beginning to understand that this could take me years to rectify. I really don't want to be on five meds, especially since I think the meds aren't right to begin with. At the hospital they diagnosed me as OCD, which is why they prescribed Luvox, but I don't think I have OCD. I have, however, been on an SSRI for almost 20 years -- first Zoloft, then Paxil, and now Luvox, so I don't think it will be easy to give up. So I'm rather horrified at the position I find myself in, and don't really know where to start. I've ordered syringes, measuring cups, and graduated cylinders, and am planning to start tapering *something* as soon as they come in. I read that I should taper only one drug at a time, and start with an "accelerator" rather than a "brake." Part of me thinks I should start with tapering the Wellbutrin, since I've been on that the shortest length of time. But I don't know how well those Wellbutrin XL pills will crush. I should add that I'm especially worried about sleep, as I feel like I need everything except the Wellbutrin to sleep, and I have almost a phobia of not sleeping enough. But this post is already long enough, so I think I'll leave it at that. Thank you all in advance for your help and advice!

I am having a lot of trouble understanding how to navigate this site. I really need advice and I don’t know how to post my info. I was put on seroquel for 15 days a few weeks ago stopped CT having tardive dyskinesia and I need to know if I should reinstate and taper and how much I should take. I was trying to taper mirtazapine 7.5mg at 1/8of a pill over a month. I am in a lot of pain. I am also on 1mg xanax 3x a day. i don’t have a computer to post all the info u want. I did put it in my bio

I was looking for something else and ran across these articles. Apparently there has been an association for nearly 20 years now that anti psychotics, especially risperidone, used long term can be a potential cause of pituitary tumors. Recent studies are firming this up and finding an association. Great 🫢 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30531551/ https://journals.lww.com/psychopharmacology/Fulltext/2012/12000/Atypical_Antipsychotics_and_Pituitary_Tumors.1.aspx https://corporate.dukehealth.org/news/antipsychotic-drug-may-be-linked-pituitary

Hey everyone! I’ve been taking Seroquel 200mg for 8 years and have finally decided I’d like to discontinue my use of the drug. Initially, I was taking seroquel as an antipsychotic to silence voices and delusional mania I was experiencing during my early adulthood. Now I’m disinterested in the drug and have tapered down to 50mg. It’s almost been a month and no withdrawals. From here I plan to microtaper my dose from 50mg to 0 over the course of 2 years. I’ve never used a liquid solution and have no experience measuring my doses myself. If anyone could please assist me in my hyperbolic taper I’d be quite thankful and relieved because my psychiatrist was very aggressive, refusing to request a compounding pharmacy to assist me. He had firmly stated that he cannot lower my dose using the hyperbolic method and the next available dose was 25mg. Over 2-3 years I plan to slowly taper this last bit of seroquel and live my life drug free. Understandably I’ve read research regarding seroquel’s dose dependent uses and have come to the realization that 50mg is only effective as a sleep aid, not a mood stabilizer or antipsychotic. If I’m not experiencing any symptoms here I feel comfortable taking myself off the drug completely. Much love to everyone and greatly anticipating this new chapter of my life!

This article is from January of 2023 https://theconversation.com/antipsychotic-withdrawal-an-unrecognised-and-misdiagnosed-problem-196989#

Here are a few resources for those who are on antipsychotics and are in the process of tapering or have already come off of them. I am noticing more resources for this class of drugs popping up over the last couple of years 😉✌️😺😺 https://psychscenehub.com/psychinsights/antipsychotic-withdrawal-syndrome-tapering/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32259826/ https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/antipsychotics/coming-off-antipsychotics/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853222000165 https://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/06/12/post-acute-withdrawal-syndrome-causes-symptoms-treatment/ https://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychiatry/research/epidemiology-and-applied-clinical-research-department/research-antipsychotic https://www.madinamerica.com/withdrawal-protocols-antipsychotics/

Hi folks, please find an introduction to my psychiatric history. I desperately need of any support or advice. I started anti-depressant in 1994. This was changed to Prozac 1996, followed by Venaflaxine in 1999. My prayers were seemingly answered in 2000, when I was changed to Sertraline in 2000. Doze was quickly increased to 150mg two months in. I stayed on same drug and doze for 23 years! In 2022, I suffered mental health crisis due to overwork. I was quickly informed that Sertraline was no longer working but couldn't go off it due to duration of treatment. My then psych added Quitiapine as adjunct and Pregabalin. In Feb, my new psych decided to change Sertraline to Duloxatine. She tapered over 5 days! On 6th day I broke down and was put back on Sertraline. Three months ago I was taken off Sertraline again, cross-tapered with Duloxetine over three weeks. One week in started with unbelievable intense symptoms - anxiety attacks, problems with motor-skills and walking gait, freezing cold and diarrhoea. Psych then stopped Duloxetine after 6 weeks as psych doesn't think it was working. One week taper and then put on Escotalipram. By now I was bed bound and on Diazepam 7mg daily. Couldn't tolerate Escotalipram so taken off after two weeks. No taper, started Agnomelatine. Three days in. Couldn't stop being sick and quit. Constantly now have terrible side affects anxiety attacks, stomach pains, sweats, constantly feeling cold. Psych states nothing to do with withdrawal and wants me to go back on sertraline. Lost all hope now. Know this is the withdrawal effects but no professional. If anyone has any advice or similar stories I would massively appreciate it.

BavarianPH Started tapering over 6 months ago at 20 mg/ml of escitalopram oral solution. At first at 5% taper, actually 1 ml taper per week with very little withdrawals. At 3 ml it became more difficult, got to 2 ml back to 3 ml, got to 1.75 ml and experience the most intense withdrawals, extreme anxiety, fear, paranoia, close to a mental break. I went back up to 3 ml, then 5 ml, added Benadryl which counteracted withdrawal, but not for long. Was forced to go on .5 mg clonazepam 2x daily which worked but caused irritability, anger, mania, compulsion to talk a lot. So now I try .125 mg clonazepam. Tried to get a hold of my NP psychiatrist, not available until next Monday. I completely tapered off clonazepam 1 year ago and went from 200 mg lamotrigine to 100 mg. I am also on 137 mcg Synthroid, 500 mg Metformin, 300 mg gabapentin. Now I am afraid to taper escitalopram. I don't know at what dose to start, how to taper and for how long a period. This really shocked me. I have to take care of my wife who ended up in hospital 4 times, mostly because of accidental sudden stop of Celexa causing psychosis, then hospital not telling me all the meds they gave her on recovery, then she was put on wrong meds, and then got cold turkeyed on nortriptyline which caused a total breakdown and horrible rage, she was put on antipsychotics and depakote, did not tell me about the depakote and ended in hospital again. Finally, she was put back on escitalopram, rexulti and depakote, she had intense spasms, until I got her on seroquel and off of escitalopram. All this could have been avoided if the hospitals would have told me all the meds given. And if she had gone back on celexa. At that time over 2 years ago I had no knowledge of psychotropics. I studied up to 4 hours or more a day to figure out what happened, and found a totally mismanaged mental health system, unbelievable lack of accurate information and diagnosis. I need a lot of help not just for me but my wife who is so drugged up she can't even think. Please help!

Hi everyone I'm a 55 yo female, I've been off work for 16 years due to massive anxiety and depression. Also been on antidepressants for 16 years, but took my last pill a few months ago now. Was on 187,5 mg effexor and .5 mg Seroquel daily. Seroquel helped me sleep. Effexor did help when nothing else worked but i was never really 100 %. Now my anxiety is back with a vengeance with the addition of hot flashes now seemingly triggered by anxiety, feeling down and unmotivated, and a slew of other unpleasant symptoms I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about. Sometimes i get so close to starting back on effexor but i keep pushing through but I'm getting exhausted. My hubby thinks it's withdrawal i don't know anymore. I don't know where to turn, i don't trust doctors and big pharma anymore. I'm writing this with hope in my heart that i might find the answers i so desperately need. Please and thank you in advance.

Hello. I was on Seroquel 25 mg from 2020 to end 2022. Now since beginning of the year I am on Seroquel XR 50 mg. I wonder how to taper the XR version since there is no lower tablet than 50 mg.

Hello everyone I found this website earlier today whilst feeling particularly despondent about withdrawal symptoms. I've read a few posts and feel like I could have written them. I can't believe so many people are going through the same thing! Bit of history - I'm female, in my 40s, from the UK. Had mental health issues my entire life and began being medicated in my early 20s. I have to say that the drugs did help although nobody could ever really find a reason why I was so depressed and so therapy never really worked. Later in life with A LOT of therapy, I have been able to unlock the Pandora's box of my past and recognised that I experienced some pretty horrible abuse as a child and young adult which is almost certainly at the root of all of this as I never developed a solid sense of self or grounding in the world. I'm currently having therapy to address this which is going slowly but in the right direction. As you can see from my signature I've been on multiple psychotropic medications over the years . Six months ago I finished a taper of opiates I had been prescribed for pain and have been through the most horrific dark night of the soul which I am amazed I made it out the other end of. I am currently tapering my lisdexamfetamine (which I am prescribed for ADHD)as it rapid-cycles my mood and makes me alternate between manic & suicidal all in the same day. Ultimately I'd love to be off all the meds altogether. Right now I am feeling despondent as the lisdex withdrawal is causing hideous hideous brain zaps. I have discovered that lisdex & venlafaxine potentiate eachother so essentially I'm not just withdrawing from one, I'm withdrawing from both and this is what is causing the zaps. Anyone who has experienced them will know just how utterly debilitating they are and make you want to rip your own brain out. I'm actually dubious whether I should have been prescribed both medications together in the first place. I'm not working at the moment due to the withdrawals which is making me feel extreme guilt in addition the the shame at getting myself into this situation. I'm taking various supplements, not sure really if any of them are helping. I do quite a lot of exercise but am also prone to inertia and anhedonia which can make it difficult to find the motivation. Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences and looking forward to being here.

Hi, everyone, I'm new to this site. 15 years ago my mother died and I was placed onto Seroquel, Lithium Carbonate, and Zoloft. At one point I was also on Buspar. I started to taper my medication in August of 2021. I was able to quit Buspar in six weeks, and quit Lithium in four weeks by switching to Lithium Orotate. I was also able to decrease my Zoloft from 175mg to just 37.5mg over the course of about a year, which was very easy until I got down to the last 50mg. By far the hardest medication to cut is Seroquel. It will probably be another two years before I am off that drug. I'll talk about that more in a later post.

My first experience with these drugs was back in 2021 with my first psychiatrist. I was put on topiramate and Brintellix. No problem getting off of them when i felt like i needed to. He let me speak for a good hour or more. Spoke to a neurologist in late 2022 because i developed brain heating in response to frustration. He didn't even let me speak at times. Haldol + Neuleptil seemed to work at first but then noticed they were just putting me to sleep. Not the cure i needed. Had 4 days of akathesia after being suggested to drink heavy alcohol while the drug was still circulating ( I thought it didn't because the last cycle before the occurrence i have took the day before ). Went to another psychiatrist, and after a " Careful check " of 5 minutes i was told i'm depressed and i should take Cipralex 20 mg ( 10 drops at first upping the dose by 2 till i reach 20 ), Depakin 250 mg ( 2 envelopes ) and 1 Quetiapine 100 mg for the night. The reasoning was that supposedly Cipralex would make me feel euphoric and Depakin and Quetiapine would have me stabilized. He told me that this stuff doesn't have side effects and it's " Light ". After the first week i felt my depression worsened to a point i never had reached before. Plus i had eye pain, blurred vision, diarrhea, cognitive malfunctions, couldn't think and speak properly, heavy depersonalisation and derealization, feeling like i had a flu, gained weight, ate more, and problems with erections/orgasms. Psychiatrist told me it was my depression coming back. I asked him if those things are supposed to make me feel better why would that be the case and why have i never felt this way prior to the " Medication ". I was left on read. Looked up on internet and started reading about the millions of horror stories related to antidepressants and such. My friend had my same exact symptoms, including the eye pain that was confirmed by my eye doctor to be brought in by the antidepressant ( He asked me if I'm taking them even before i could say anything ). In a week i knew more than he does ( Implying he doesn't know what he's doing, which i heavily doubt ). Since i intuitively knew i was poisoning my body, even before i searched on Google, i let go of his " Trust me "s and tapered off everything in 1 week: Cipralex from 20 drops to 10 for 2 days, then 5 for 2 other days, As for Depakin took 1 envelope in the last 3 days of that week and cut quetiapine completely in the other half of the week. I was told to take Cipralex at 2pm, Depakin at 8pm and Quetiapine at 10pm. In total, i took 3 weeks and a half of everything, including taper, more or less. The first week was more or less fine. However, the withdrawal symptoms started to kick in after then. Astonishingly high levels of depression, nightmares in which i would feel extremely depressed ( Didn't even know something like that could happen, aswell as such levels of depression ), stopped sleeping, would have 5 minutes of half a sleep and wake up panicky, and quickly developed into high anxiety/arousal. Can't feel emotions like i did, hardly can laugh and everything, i'm more uninhibited because i'm searching for those chemicals i lost and can't find them, and when i try and remember something or something really emotional hits me i can barely cry and the rest of the feeling mutates into yet another panicky feeling. I just know this is farmacological as much as i knew akathesia was. I'm starting to develop some tremors, too. Several important occasions were ruined for me because i was either too ill to go or i would get almost a panic attack because i wanted to go home, where i had no rest anyway. I'm smoking 10 to 15 cigs a day just to try and feel something/calm the anxiety with not so good results, and i was never a heavy smoker. I went there for my akathesia and he told me if i didn't take my new cure i would still have akathesia, which i strongly doubt. I feel like akathesia is next door again now, really, because i stared pacing again, not at that level, for now. I spoke with the psychiatrist again and i told him all about this. He said it's all about me and what i had prior to the medication, didn't really make sense through the whole thing and could hardly hear what he was hastily saying, didn't seem to know what ssri means and he told me that " SSRIs boost serotonin ", which is not true, even implying depression has anything to do with serotonin and it's about a chemical imbalance which actually seems like these things gave me. I basically told him he should work on his ego and that he doesn't know anything about what he prescribes and he's comparable to an angel of death. He told me there is no such thing as withdrawal, you can't get hooked on antidepressants, avoided the " Why am i getting worse if that's my depression " question. He admitted to have given me a horse dosage/cure. He says this stuff doesn't change anything in the brain even tho the meaning of ssri literally points to the opposite direction of that claim. I also asked him if they don't change anything what's the point of taking them in the long run. Again, no answer. He said i'm going against " Science " ( More like a cult ). I also have him recorded. Max i could do was review him 1 star and possibly sue him. Anyway, i didn't tell him i already tapered off, and he gave me a 2 week taper, obviously. All of this got so bad i got suicidal thoughts and i had to take quetiapine again, and that's all i take, after trying xan for 2 days and it was doing nothing except giving me itches, had no trouble stopping it fortunately. Still feeling bad and nothing like before the cycle. Still can hardly concentrate and everything. Everything still overwhelms me sensory wise but i have little to no emotions. Got a little bit of cognition back again. I developed hard tinnitus. I had a dream in which i felt the dissociation it gives me. I'm taking it one before bed and one or two throughout the day, split. Its sleeping effects are fading and i'm having windows and waves. I'm feeling new bad sensations everyday but quetiapine keeps me from getting too low, for now. It seems like my body is asking for more except when in windows, in which i feel empty but a bit more chill. What do i do ? What's happening ? Is it the deadly cocktail that was given to me and i tapered off too quickly ? What am i withdrawing from ? Is it the haldol + neuleptil even ? Should i go back to antidepressants ? I have no intention to take any other neurotoxin whatsoever. Only taking quetiapine makes everything seem flat but i don't wanna take antidepressants that make me more depressed again.

Hello everyone and thank you for this amazing forum - it has given me a lot of information in these few days while preparing the life-changing events. I’ve been mentally ill basically my whole life. I have a trauma background and at very young age I started to dissociate. At the age of 13 I got diagnosed with severe psychotic depression and got hospitalized for the first time. My diagnoses have evolved and changed throughout the years and nowadays my main issues are unspecified dissociative disorder, PTSD, OCD and anxiety disorder. I have not been depressed or psychotic for years. I’m 27 now, almost 28. My medication has always been the same. We found a great combinaton right away. It was 2008 or 2009 when I started with fluexetine which was soon paired with extended release quetiapine. My dose is Seronil 40mg in the mornings and Seroquel XR 400mg in the evenings. I take Opamox 12.5mg ever now and then when I’m dealing with intense anxiety. Never longer than a week. Fluexetine (Seronil) has stabilizing effect on me, I have nothing bad to say about it. I don’t remember having problems with starting the meds and if I ever forgot to take them, I only felt slightly restless but always took the meds normally next morning. I’m planning to get rid of them eventually but since they are also good for OCD, I will keep them with me a bit longer. Quetiapine (Seroquel XR)… oh boy. Well, I have to admit it did my life A LOT easier back in teenage years when I was really depressed and suicidal. It practically saved my life. The relief didn’t come without horrible symptoms, tho. I remember being really tired for weeks after starting and only slept at home. The most noticeable effect of quetiapine is fatigue and really helps me sleep, but it also limits my life alot. I can’t stay up late because I need to make sure to take them at 10pm at latest or else the effect continues to the next day and makes me feel hangovery. I also absolutely hate the munchies it gives me after few hours and I eat too much, which has led to obesity. Overall quetiapine has way more downsides than benefits and I don’t need it anymore since I don’t suffer from conditions it was originally prescribed for. I have been thinking getting off meds for few years but now I’m finally in a situation to actually do so. My life is pretty stable, I have weekly therapy and I have learned to handle myself very well over these 15 years. I don’t use alcohol or drugs. I consume caffeine on daily basis as coffee, tea or energy drinks. Mostly coffee, I love it. I exercise regularly at the gym or going for long walks. I visited the doctor and he approved. The plan was to reduce Seroquel XR from 400mg to 200mg and it felt okay to me, but I thank myself for questioning everything and opened Google after. That way I found this forum and your experiences, decided to make an account and join the crew! I found information no one has ever told me before and honestly I’m scared now. I grew up with SSRI and antipsychotic drugs and I have no idea how much they have permanently altered my brain. I know it’s possible to fully recover, you guys have proven that to me, but it shocks me how lightly this topic is discussed by the healthcare professionals. So, next day I called back to my doctor and asked his permission to start tapering from 350mg (50mg is the smallest amount available here) and he agreed, tho he said there is no reason to drop it only 50mg at a time, I have Opamox for withdrawal. I disagree. The withdrawal could be anything and I don’t want to risk my health more than I already have. I want to see that day where I’m 100% clean from meds and living my best life. TLDR; I’m 27 years old and having mental disorders but they do not need medical help anymore (expect my OCD). I have been on quetiapine and fluexetine for 14 years and decided to get off quetiapine first. Starting tapering Seroquel XR 400mg with 50mg, so I’m taking 350mg for two weeks, possibly longer. I’m afraid of withdrawal but aware and motivated. I’m sober, I exercise regularly but I drink coffee daily. Tonight is the first lower dose, 350mg. It’s about 10am here now where I live and I’m taking the pills around 7-9pm. I hope I get some sleep at night.

Please help. I am on 100mg of Seroquel Immediate Release. In the past I have tried to taper it down, but I was unsuccessful. I did not know what I was doing so I had to go back to the 100mg again. Four days ago, I started tapering again. I am splitting the pill with a pill cutter. Taking 3/4qu of the splitted pill which is 75mg. I take 75mg one day and take the whole 100 mg the next day. So, one day I took 75mg and the next day I took 100mg. Apparently, I am doing something wrong because I am experiencing horrible withdrawals. So, I really don’t know how to do this. I ordered two mini scales to weight mg. I got them today. I really don't know if I should go back entirely to the 100mg everyday again until I found the right information to do this more effectively. I don’t care how long, months, or even years it takes to taper this medication down. All I wanted to do is to do it successfully. I am also concerned about the Pill being Film Coated tablets which they do not recommend breaking down because of the composition of the medication. I noticed that when I take 75mg it kicks faster and the effect last less than when I am taking the 100mg. I don’t know if the withdraw is because I am splitting a coated pill or I because am cutting back to much or both Please if anybody has any recommendations on how to do the tapering down, I will greatly appreciated. I just don’t have a clue how to do this. What are my options. How much and all that Please help.