Quiting Seroquel cold turkey.

It has been two days since I quit Seroquel cold turkey. My dose was 200mg a day. I have been taking this amount for 3 months. Have had only 2 hours of sleep so far.....Have felt wonerful like my better old self.... And not at all tired. Odd. After reading the horror stories of others am dubious. But I am going to stay the course. Was diagnosed with bi-polar and found the drug did level the playing field however I became more and more bland. What I do think is it gave me the ability to see the world without the anxiety. And with that knowledge know where I want to be and think I can handle my bi-polar with meditation, diet and a determination to do without the drug. I may be wrong but time will tell....I am also having muscle tightening. Will keep posting as this situation continues.

Im planning in the future to come off my antipsychotic medication too!! I would be very interested to see how things turn out for you. Good Luck.

After reading through several web sites I discovered only one person who seemed to have sucessufully quit Seroquel. His method was to cut the medication in half for one week. And to cut again by 50% every week until done. Since I had not slept for days and read of a person who had not slept in 9 days, I decided to get back on Seroquel at 50% reduction. Instantly I had a wonderful nights sleep. I will continue this amount for 5 more days. Will post again as situation developes.

I was on seroquel for about a year at a dosage of 300mg a day at its max. I managed to get off seroquel completely by walking the camino de santiage, a 800km hike in one month. The endorphins created by walking 25-30 km a day helped a lot in combatting the withdrawal symptoms caused by reducing the dosage. Also, I found that I couldn't stop cold turkey but had to reduce very slowly - usually reducing 25mg in one week. All in all, it took 2 months to wean myself off completely. Good luck with it - it's worth feeling yourself again!!

Hey Holysmoke. Thanks for your encouragement... Could you answer a few questions for me.... You say you cut Seroquel by 50% also. What was your last mgs before you totally quit? And did you have any sleeping problems? What, if any, withdrawal symptoms did you have during your hike. And what a brave thing to go on a 1 month hike without your meds. Kudo's

I WAS ON 300MG SEROQUAL TWICE DAILY INTO NEW YEAR 2007, WHERE I WENT COLD TURKEY, BECAUSE I FELT FAINT. SINCE THEN MY BODY SEEMS WEAK & I'VE SEEN THE DOCTOR A NUMBER OF TIME SINCE, THINKING THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS BEFORE. IS THIS THE SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWEL. PLEASE REPLY. THANK YOU.

To guest posted 5-13-07; I think we are all different with our withdrawal manifestations..... This is how it went for me.

I tapered off slowly. It took about 2 months... Studied the internet for any help. All was well until the last lick of the pill. Then no sleep for 48 hours. This is what I have learned; Magnesium or Melatonin are useful before going to bed to help with sleep. Felt weak, tired, upset stomach and irritable for about a week.... Developed a sever case of the itches everywhere. They lasted about a week. The vitamins I learned were important for bi-polar are Zink, Folic Acid and B12. Important for mood health is Cod Liver Oil. Now when I see my mind running wild, I sit quietly and meditate for 1/2 hour. This method has, so far, worked 100%. And of course the diet: No white foods. No sugar binges. And always balance reasonable sugar and carbohydrates with protein. Keeping the body's chemicals in balance is most important for me.

Also took a good look at what, in my life, creates the good feeling chemicals, endorphins and found, for me it is accomplishment. I then accomplished something everyday and then used my thoughts to dwell on the accomplishment if I started to think negatively. And I stopped doing activates which made me feel less.

It has all been worth it.... I am feeling better than I have in years. I think the Seroquil had some positive effects; it leveled the playing field so I could see myself in a new light. Was able to see unwarranted anger and erroneous thinking... But glad I was able to use it only as a stepping stone to discover and utilize my own powers of observation and application.... Good luck to all. Desertflower.

Hi I am down to 25mg of seroquel at nite, from 200mg a month ago.

This last stretch is very hard...I am highly irritable, headachey...I guess I still had seroquel stored in my body system and its run out...

I find a puff of marijuana b4 bed helps me sleep...

I finally decided I had had enough seroquel after taking it almost 3 years and gaining over 30 pounds with no end in sight. I read about the diabetic side effect and was getting very concerned as well as issues in my life that I needed to attend to just didn't seem to matter to me any more. I quit seroquel in one month by slowly cutting back BUT in order to do this I had to come up with my own endorphins and feel good stuff on my own. I started a work out plan focusing on cardiovascular, 6 times a week - 45 minutes a day. The days I missed or do miss, I feel like crap: anxious, depressed, headaches... I suggest any excercising that can get your heart rate up, it really does help with the come down. and if you're like me and gained weight on seroquel this will help with that as well. I am still on 7 medications but I feel like the seroquel was the one that was having a negative impact on my body. It provided that "ignorance is bliss" feeling and I liked it... but this is the real world so that doesn't work so well. Good luck and God Bless to anyone coping in our world

I have quit seroquel cold turkey over a week ago, was on it for two weeks, dosage was 75 mg. I quit because I was feeling "ill", weak,dizzy, barely eating, numbness. Doctor's didn't do much when i complained about it everyday. I now feel well physically but mentally I am not, I feel weird all the time, thoughts of unreality scare me and I feel really suicidal because I don't feel my old self again. I don't trust doctors anymore, I feel they created a new problem for me. Does anyone know if there are withdrawal symptoms mentally and how long does it take to feel back to normal?