Alright, I have Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, and my psychiatrist decided that Seroquel was the best thing for me... Needless to say after more than a year of taking it I can not describe how much I hate my psychiatrist. Not only am I at risk of getting diabetes/hypoglycemia because of this medication, I also developed insomnia from it. I can't sleep without it. I've gone two days without and nothing else I took could make me sleep.
This medication did nothing for my OCPD... nothing at all. All it did was give me insomnia. Nothing else. And now I've tried so hard to get off of it but I can't. Can someone please, please, please give me some guidance. I need off of this medication as soon as I possibly can so I can sleep like a normal person again. I can't describe to you the toll it has taken on my life.
2007-10-05 14:49:57 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Mental Health
Oh, I totally forgot that I should mention this:
I was originally prescribed to take 2 200mg pills each night. I weened myself down to one 200mg and gradually I have been able to cut the one pill into 4 pieces and take 1 piece per night... so I'm down to roughly 25mg. I can't sleep off of anything lower than that and I definately can't sleep on my own.
2007-10-05 14:56:51 · update #1
I brought this up with my psych and he told me that he didn't think insomnia was a problem as long as I took it. I mentioned that I didn't want to take it anymore and he offered to terminate my prescription. I asked him what I should do if I wanted to get off of it and he told me that I should either try exercise in the morning or afternoon (doesn't work) or try taking herbal medication for sleep. Doesn't really solve my problem. The problem is that I didn't have insomnia before I took seroquel and now I do. I'm currently in college so I can't just go cold turkey or I wont be able to function for classes.
2007-10-05 15:02:49 · update #2
INFO on quetiapine and withdrawal
- http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/Making+sense/Making+sense+of+coming+off+psychiatric+drugs.htm
- http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/Making+sense/antip.htm
info on OCD other types of drugs
http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/Understanding/Understanding+obsessive-compulsive+disorder.htm
2007-10-05 15:04:22 · answer #1 · answered by g fh 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hi. I take 62.5mg Seroquel w/other meds for bipolar. My issues with lowering it are a little different than yours, but sleep is a factor. What I found is that a pill cutter is your best friend. A 25mg decrease is too much for me. Half a pill is better. A quarter pill is almost transparent. Give it at least 2-3 weeks in between decreases or until you are sleeping normally. Also, make a real point of getting up and exercising aerobically in the morning and staying up w/o caffeine all day. I don't know about you, but I've slowly crept back onto caffeine because of med sedation. As you cut out the drugs, that has to go, too, or it will keep you up. Of course, work this with your pdoc. Btw, the trazadone suggestion isn't a bad one. It is a very mild antidepressant that works well as a sleep med for some. It would also be easier to quit than Seroquel. PS - Seroquel munchies aren't uncommon. Don't know about bone sensitivity. Were you on Cymbalta before Seroquel? It's an antidepressant that can be activating for some meaning it might be causing a little sleep trouble. ??? It's a thought, but you'd have to be off Seroquel and caffeine long-enough to know if it makes you jittery. I don't know that this is common. Maybe ask your doc about it.
2016-03-19 06:17:02 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hasn't your doctor tried different medications with you? It unfortunately usually takes a long time to find the right medication to help people with mental health issues, including OCD. Have you discussed tapering off of the Seroquel? I have tapered off of some anti-depressants and I found it very difficult.
I too have OCD and a few other things. I do take Seroquel for sleeping at night and keeping the nightmares away. I do agree that I also cannot sleep without it. Diabetes runs in my family, so I have my blood sugar tested every 3 months because of the Seroquel.
Aside from Seroquel, I also take Celexa and Wellbutrin.
I do understand the turmoil that you are feeling. I hope that you can live without taking medication, but I know for me, that I cannot, at least not at this point in my life.
2007-10-05 15:01:16 · answer #3 · answered by Vera C 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I take several medications. Seroquel is not one of them. I have workred in a psych facility where people have come in and the Seroquel is all they will take and all that works for them. Your problem is called addiction. Seek a drug and alcohol treatment center and only go off it as recommended by a doctor who wants to help you rather than just blindly follow his treatment plan even though the medication is clearly not helping. Get a psychiatrist who will listen to you rather than keep you on something that you feel is not helping. Talk to a malpractice Lawyer if you have the money. It is too bad the system only works for you if you have money. Addiction is nothing mess with and going off medications like this without a doctor's supervision is dangerous.
2007-10-05 15:00:37 · answer #4 · answered by Michael W 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
50-100 mg as needed is enough to make me sleep like a baby although I wake up feeling drowsey for a few hours afterwards. I have bipolar disorder and both this drug and Risperdal have stopped manic episodes cold.
Your pdoc is using Seroquel as an "off label" treatment for OCPD which was not the intended purpose of the drug. I would suggest finding another pdoc who will slowly take you off 400 mg of Seroquel because stopping suddenly can have severe side effects.
2007-10-06 12:14:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I totally understanding. Seroquel has taken over my life. It's more addictive than heroin i believe.
2015-02-28 08:21:32 · answer #6 · answered by Rebecca Beltrami 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well hon, YOU chose the psychiatrist, so if he got you on to seroquel, he is the one to get you off seroquel SAFELY. So bite the bullet and tell him what you wrote here. There other mediciations, but I'm surprised that you developed insomnia. My wife takes it at night to go to sleep.
2007-10-05 14:55:31 · answer #7 · answered by cattbarf 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
why does the doctor not subscribe you serepax, to help you come off seriquel, I ve been taking half of serepax at night before I retire, serepax will kick in like 10-15 mins and last about 5 hours in the body, it does not build up like seriquel so it want hurt you :D give this ago, I bet it will work, but only take serepax when you need to, not ever night (only when needed, you are a uni student and you need your sleep!!!!!
2014-12-25 08:54:07 · answer #8 · answered by Joshua Bonner 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2017-02-23 05:27:07 · answer #9 · answered by Hannah 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you cant stop cold turkey from it... usually to wean someone off of a medication, they cut the dosage in half for a week or so, and then keep cutting it in half until they cant cut it in half anymore, then they have the pt take it every other day... until they can finally quit...
i can see why stopping this is causing insomnia.. your body has become dependant on the seroquil to help you sleep.. without the seroquil, it no longer knows how to go to sleep by itself.. you have a long hard road ahead of you....
2007-10-05 15:03:19 · answer #10 · answered by firechick1721 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋