Have been on it for 10 years at relatively low dose (50 mg a day) and just quit a week ago after being down to 25 mg. a day for a week.Since I quit the 25 mg. last week (7 days now) I fall asleep but wake up like clockwork after 2 hours and have to get up. Eventually I fall back to sleep but not with out tossing for a bit. Is this normal from coming off such a low dose?
Quit Seroquel and experiencing insomnia, Is this normal?
Question posted by maxed on 6 Feb 2011
Last updated on 15 November 2020 by Laner20
Added 7 Feb 2011:
Does anyone have any direct experience with this and a timelime to being able to sleep again?
8 Answers
Laner20
15 Nov 2020
I know it’s an old thread but came by it by googling the question! I had no idea seraquol would do this to me I’ve been on 1200-1500mg a day a HUGE amount. Weight gain was insane it’s the reason I am stopping it. I can handle 500mg a day to take when needed with no side effects just calmness but still weight gain. I have just weaned down to 100mg over a 2 week period as I started feeling more energetic but I can NOT sleep, I’m having really aggressive harmful thoughts sleep deprivation is making me agitated, foggy in the head I want to sleep but I can’t. I’m starting to worry about the mental health aspect as I’m feeling like a science experiment. Anyone got any advice to ease the lack of sleep? I have not told my dr I’m stopping either. I don’t want that lecture. What were your methods to help?
Landreoli1
5 July 2019
Hi,
I’ve been on seroquel for 10 years due to Bipolar and it was a miracle drug for me minus the insane weight gain.
My condition has been incredibly steady and have been working with my Dr. on getting off all my meds
Gari1126
20 June 2019
Was put on it for sleep deficiency because of another drug from my psychiatrist. I stopped the new med immediately but was not taken off 300mg of seroquel ,worst doctor. I cut down to 150 and decided to stop. It has been 8 days so far and I have slept a total of about 5 hours. I have been on depression medication for about 8 years and my biggest fear of stopping was severe depression, I have felt much much worse than this,I just want to sleep. Truthfully I’ve been fine (knock on wood),I haven’t been overly tired, nauseous,super depressed or feel strange physical sensations,just a little weird. Before I stopped I read a lot about expected symptoms and knew what I could experience,I don’t really know if I’m passed the worst or if it really hasn’t even begun yet but just not being able to sleep is a nightmare in it’s self.
I also get very stuck on stupid thoughts or songs I hear over and over and over in my mind, “She’s Not There”is my current torture,just endless. I’m sticking to this because I have never had a sleeping problem before and the side affects are just not worth it. Just knowing I’m not alone keeps me going.
Enderclock
5 Aug 2017
I have gone down from 600 mg after being on it for roughly 7 years or more. The max dose I was on was 800 mg and I am now on 100 and will soon stop it completely. But I am having the same problem, going to bed at 9-10, waking up at 12, 1, 3, 4, 5, deciding to get up, falling asleep mid day.. Its horrible. I used to sleep twelve hours solid, and now I'm lucky if I get six.
I started seroquel at about 12-13 and am getting off of it just a few months before my 21st birthday. It's caused me memory problems, severe weight gain, emotion loss, detatchment from humans, and anxiety. Learning how to deal with emotions like a pre-teen at 21 is horrid.
I wouldn't recommended seroquel to anybody
Carebear1995
27 Sep 2017
Wow, I am in a very similar situation and had to make an account to comment on this because I have been trying all summer to long and now to perhaps wean off seroquel and stay on a higher and higher amounts of depakote to stay stable, another bipolar med I find really helps keep my depression/mania stable while not making me too out of it like seroquel is or I am starting to notice has. However, on higher doses especially, it had very therapeutic side effects for me.
I started seroquel about 2.5 years ago and I thought it was finally the one after about 10 meds or more of trying in a long while while transitioning right before College. I was 18 going onto 19 when I started my treatment with medication and it wasn't until that winter when I was finally recommended seroquel and that class. I never had horrible sleep issues but seroquel was a miracle for me as it oddly enough never made me gain weight or want to eat more.
The muscle relaxing properties it helped me with allowed me to feel the best I ever have but taking depakote with seroquel I feel that combination works really well, so long as you don't deal heavily with memory loss or other dissociative properties.
My problem now is that I started at 800mg and was always on such a high dose. XR was always best but then I slowly moved to IR over time.. turns out less is more with seroquel imho. But that's just me. More for stability but past 300mg it won't help much with sleep (but it will calm some so maybe sorta for some). Now I am down to taking none because my doctor said since I did 100mg's after 200 slowly and then 50mg, that I could take no seroquel whenever ready.
Today is officially my second day without seroquel and I feel so restless. No sleep again and fidgety when I lay down. Tense but my jaw pain feels gone. I think I'm nervous as I'm waiting for everything to clear out of my system but I will agree that seroquel is not for everyone (as is any med) and I'm not sure I would recommend it after reading on how many bad side effects it has to those getting off of it. I myself had horrible hot and cold flashes a lot, and without it I notice my anxiety is back, my emotions are much stronger again and it's hard to control unless I think about it, and I still have some jaw pains but I think that's from TMJ. I struggle a lot with anxiety and paranoia with my type of mood disorder so I really enjoyed seroquel for that but seeing Joe as to how I am without it, and thinking and acting more like me (not out of it) it has been really upsetting. Overall I don't get tired now until very late and it's hard to stay on task right now but I'm hoping as I treansition more and more, I won't need seroquel at all and that my depakote (similar ish med) can help me sleep more again like it used to when I started.
Overall, I called my doctor yesterday and said I feel a lot better. I'm just watching sleep and anxetiy levels.
Wishing all the best of luck with seroquel. I hope other meds out there can help me better sleep if needed but that seroquel seems to help me at low doses so long as it doesn't disturb jaw pain and other pains I have such as tense back muscles from the anxiety my mood causes. Sadly, I am noticing that low doses of seroquel seem to ironically cause me more anxiety and pain so I'm glad to be off of it now and hoping this improves, overall.
lgdmom
18 April 2015
I know this is an old thread but I wanted to comment on my experience with Seroquel. I've been on it since August 2013, 600 mg. I'm weaning now and just started 100 mg and I slept terrible last night! I was on 200 and sleeping fine. I'm thinking of hanging out at 150 mg for a few weeks then back to 100 mg. my doc wants me to go to 50 mg after a month of taking 100. He wants me to be on 50 mg for 2 weeks then stop! I am very worried about the withdrawal and insomnia. I've been tapering down from 600 since November 2014. I've been having an easy time up until now. Is it harder to taper off lower doses or is my mind playing tricks on me?
Inactive
25 Feb 2012
Hello maxed. Yes it normal. The dose may be low but your body has certainly become accustomed to your taking it. !0 years is a very long time. Your brain will learn to reboot itself but that could take some sleep broken nights. Best of wishes and health to you,pledge
lindamine
13 Feb 2011
I was on 200 mg seroquel for about a year, and have worked down to about 100 mg now. It is a very strong drug. It is really designed as an anti-pschotic, with some anti depressant qualities... that is why Dr.'s prescribe it, as an adjuntive med... meaning, just an "in addition to" another anti depressant. This is my understanding of it.
Now that i am on the dose of half the amount; 100mg, I have started having sleep issues myself. Very often, throughtout this past year, I have had some tough times and could not sleep... pdoc would tell me to take just one more quarter of my pill... and it would do the trick.
He uses it quite often as a sleep aide for many of his patients... and they have depressive issues also.
This past week, i have been experiencing sleep issues, once again,and he wanted to up me on it again.
I put my foot down and said that I was not happy using an antipsychotic as a sleep aide and my goal was to actually get off the med. It makes me very tiered the next day... it is a very powerful med, in my opinion.
Short story long... He has given me some other med options to work with (samples) of meds to try and see what I like. Of course, there is Ambien, but that should only be used for a couple of weeks and the side efects of that med are quite bizarre... I can tell you this... it made me very confused and disorientated after a couple of days on it... I have heard stories, first hand from friends that have taken it and would actually go out, in there sleep, and drive somewhere... or binge eat and have no recollection...
So far, the best is Zofran, which is an anti-nausea med... which i do suffer from.(currentently on 7 psych meds and get upset stomach). This has been sweet... zonk out and get up fine, the next day.
Then of course, there are benzo's that could be used temporarily.
I can totally see how coming off just 25 mg of the seroquel could change your sleep habbit... it is a very strong drug.
meirocco
13 Feb 2011
i feel your pain... i have not slept in 2 weeks AT ALL... very bad effects coming off of this stuff. history: seroquel for 10 years, (weight gain of 60 lbs.) hard time getting on it, hard time weaning. took a year to wean frm 300 down to 150... finnally got down to 50 this past year... weined again to 25 then nothing... (doctors permission). now im off completely and its horrible... you are not alone, so far nothing is helping, and im also on xanax and lexapro... so it should not be as bad a it is, but... pharmasist said im not over the hump yet... i start a job thursday, first one in 6 years..gonna be hell.
maxed
13 Feb 2011
Good news
After going down to 0 from 25mg I used 10 mg melatonin and 2 Tylenol PM.
No longer needed them after 10 days.Now able to sleep normal again.
lindamine
14 Feb 2011
wOW! THAT IS SO ENCOURAGING! Never thought about a "hump" to get over... maybe there will just be a few tough days, and iron itself out.
I am not yet there, to go to zero. Pdoc, and I agree, slower taper is easier on the body and mind... so we will keep persuing...
Here's to seroqueless days! Cheers!
Glad to hear your success.
meirocco
14 Feb 2011
Lindamine,
Im just telling my experience..insomnia is a withdrawl effect... this is what the pharmasist told me: youve only been off it for two weeks, you are not over the hump yet, the medicine is still in your body, your body has to adjust to being off of it. it was something to do with metabolism. at least there is a hump to get over and its not something permanent:) think of it that way, thats how im thinking of it. it shall all pass.
maxed
15 Feb 2011
Thank you Meirocco, I am one of the lucky ones. Have been sleeping like a baby after only 10 days off. Seroquel fior me did wonders for my anxiety. Had very little side effects and I actually went on a diet while on it and lost 90 lbs.I am now taking 10 mg melatonin and 2 Tylenol pm 1 hour before bedtime if I do have any trouble since it had gotten me thru the insomnia.
meirocco
16 Feb 2011
Maxed,
You are a lucky one! seroquel has been a challenge for me. im back on 25,,tapering for longer, however im sane now..we all do it differently. did you gain alot of weight on it? i gained 65-70 lbs, used to be on 300, however a year and a half of tapering down to only 50, i lost about 35 lbs of the weight. my theory is if you have a hard time getting on a med, it will be hard coming off. i tried the pm and xanax, but to no avail... the pharmasist and p.doc said dont take pm unless you have pain to, just take benadryl because that is whats in the pm that makes you sleep, good to know:) cheaper too. chamomile tea helps digestion and sleep too, not bad tasting either.
maxed
16 Feb 2011
Everyone is different and no I did not gain weight.
Best of luck to you.
butterflypr
17 Jan 2018
Heres my nightmare. I had been on Seroquel 400mg for about years. Gained 30 pounds. Totally numb emotionally for years. The anxiety went away yes, my insomnia too. I think thats the strongest drug for insomnia. But in 2016 I got married and decided to change my life. Started tapering the Seroquel off from 400 to 25. Its been bad. Nightmares all night and tossing and turning. So, stopped taking it completly. All day I am with my eyes open like a deer in red light. The same at night. I cry of desperation. I dont know what to do.
sweetie pie
7 Feb 2011
Hi Maxed! I have never been on Seroquel. I do know that since being on Zoloft, I have had Insomnia. When I tried to go off of Zoloft, I was a wreck! My insomnia symptoms increased. I saw my doctor and immediately went back on the Zoloft. I know that some SSRI'S cause drowsoness initially and some cause sleep disturbances. I am not surprized that you are experiencing sleep disturbances coming off an Antidepressant .I hope that you are talking to your doctor about another medication. There are so many new Antidepressants now that seem to control the symptoms much better. I hope that you will find the right treatment for you. I wish you the best! Sweetie Pie
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- Seroquel uses and safety info
- Seroquel prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Seroquel (detailed)
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