Concerned mum

My 37 year old son has been a recovering Heroin addict for 10 years or more, being prescribed Methedone, Serequel and Avanza. A few years back he stopped taking Serequel and became Psychotic, was taken to the mental hospital against his will by police. He was not psychotic before ever taking any of his medications, which was confusing for me. This was more distressing for us than his heroin addiction ever was.
Friday afternoon the Methedone clinic called him in and told him to stop taking Serequel immediately. They told him that the combination of Methedone and Serequel can cause sudden heart failure and to have an ECG. He had to leave to pick up his kids from school so didn't have the ECG and hasn't had Serequel during this weekend.
Question 1: Surely he should be WEANED off Serequel?
2: Could taking Serequel CREATE psychotic illness that wasn't evident
previously?
3. Is there another medication to replace Serequel?
4. Is this a NEW discovery that Methedone and Serequil can't be taken
together?

Hello Kthree, welcome to Psych Central.

Seroquel is one of the newer antipsychotics, link here Psych Central Reviews - Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate)

As far as I am aware yes antipsychotics are usually stepped down gradually but it sounds like with the urgency of the matter that he has to come off it right away. I would have thought that another antipsychotic would be prescribed instead of taking it away completely though.

An antipsychotic medication would not cause psychosis. Psychosis happens when a person becomes seriously distressed and an antipsychotic is used to keep it at bay.

I wasn't aware that methadone/seroquel interact. I would urge you to contact the clinic yourself for more information and check whether your son needs another antipsychotic in the meantime. Also contact his psychiatrist and ask these questions, they are pretty important! Good luck.