Erik: Seroquel Withdawal

[Erik]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but i recently weaned off of Seroquel and im just looking for a little guidance. My VA psych doctor, much like any other military or government psych doctor, probably has no clue what he is doing, but i'll give you my short story anyways.

 

Current Medications:

Celexa (Citalopram) - 60mg / 1x per day

Klonipin(Clonazepam) - .25mg / 2x per day

Trazodone - 100mg / 1x per day before bedtime

Bentyl (Dicyclomine HCl) - 20mg / 1x per day for IBS

 

I was recently medically discharged from the military for severe anxiety and depression and had to switch my health care to the VA (Veteran's Affairs). Upon meeting my new doctor he told me that i had gained a lot of weight and he wanted to take me off of Seroquel that i had been using for about 1 1/2 years. He weaned me off of the Seroquel in only 2 weeks, from 200mg to 0mg. After reading this post i can totally see that this was the wrong way to go about this. During the 2 weeks of weaning i felt extremely tired every day, more so than i did when i was taking the medication daily. Two days after completely dropping the medication (yesterday) i started to feel nervous, was crying for no reason, had stomach pains, diarrhea, etc. I was able to take a nap for about 4 hours and that made me feel a lot better. Also, i was able to sleep through the night due to the Clonazepam that i have been on and my newly prescribed Trazodone 100mg that is a replacement for the Seroquel.

 

I was originally worried that i was going to have a relapse and fall back into my anxious and depressive state. When i first experienced all of these feelings 2 years ago, the combination of the Celexa and Seroquel were the only meds that were able to stabilize me. Naturally, when i started feeling this way again yesterday, it scared me to say the least. I am supposed to be starting a new job soon and i dont want to lose it like i lost my last one due to these conditions. I am trying hard to believe that what i am feeling is due to the fact of my abrupt discontinuation of the Seroquel and that there is hope ahead. The fact that i can still sleep without the Seroquel is very reassuring, but i still have reservations in the back of my mind. If it is withdrawl symptoms and not a relapse, how long do you think i will feel this way? Now that i am off of the Seroquel i dont want to go back and just work my way through the withdrawls, but i am so unsure about everything at this point.

[Jemima]

Moved from the Tapering discussion.

[Altostrata]

Hello, Erik.

 

Yes, you have withdrawal symptoms.

 

As you've probably gleaned from reading the Seroquel topic, it's unknown how long withdrawal syndrome might last. Very gradual tapering is preferable to that experiment.

 

How much Seroquel were you taking when you quit? You may wish to reinstate a very small dose, even 5mg, to lessen the withdrawal symptoms, stabilize, then taper off that.

 

(Since your post introduces your special situation, we will move it soon to the Introductions section to avoid taking the Seroquel topic on a tangent. Ooops! I see Jemima did this while I was typing this post.)

[Erik]

When I quit I was taking 50mg/night. The doc had me drop to 100mg for the first week and then 50mg for the second week and then just stop altogether.

[Altostrata]

You may wish to reinstate at least 25mg, stabilize, and taper off slower -- see http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1707-tips-for-tapering-off-seroquel-quetiapine/

[Erik]

The withdrawls have lessened a bit over the past few days. I'm assuming that the combo of the trazodone and klonipin is helping quite a bit. I am sleeping throughout the night, which was my biggest downfall when all of my problems first started 2 years ago. Thank you for the suggestions but the thought of putting this stuff back into my body now that I haven't for a while kinda makes me cringe. I think I am going to let this thing run its course and hope for the best. I don't feel like I am on the brink of a relapse, so this may be just another hurdle in the battle of mental stability that I need to overcome.

[mammaP]

Hi Erik, I'm glad you are feeling better after having such a tough time. I hope it continues for you.