[BeyondtheRainbow]

I've been posting this in different places so I'm sorry if you've seen it before. I'm really hoping to find someone who has done this.

I am switching APs from Seroquel to Clozaril. They interact so I have to get off Seroquel first. A normal taper is not possible. Given a moderately slow taper/slow increase of Clozaril at home while trying to stay out of the hospital versus going IP and getting it over with rapidly, feeling horrible for a few days and then getting on Clozaril more rapidly I chose the faster way (and the way where they can monitor and so might increase clozaril faster while still on some Seroquel). I'll be doing this in about a week.

Anyone ever done such a thing? I'm reading that I'll be pretty sick and my pdoc told me my moods will be everywhere. I just want to get it over with but it's kind of scaring me that I can't find anyone on the whole internet who has done a rapid taper from a very high dose.

[Simone70]

Sounds like hospital is the best way when you have to do it fast. They can give you high dose PRN medication hopefully to help with the discontinuation symptoms. I have come off 600mg of Seroquel, but not quickly. I can't actually remember how long it took. I don't remember any major discontinuation symptoms other than insomnia. I was also titrating up on paliperidone, which might have something to do with the mild discontinuation symptoms. I've probably not been much help to you, but I just thought I would offer some support. I'll be thinking of you and I really hope that you get through this with as little disruption as possible. *hugs*

[BeyondtheRainbow]

No, thank you, you were a great help. The internet in all its' amazing ways to scare people talks about how going off 300 too fast can cause all kinds of problems. I know not to trust that kind of thing but I haven't found many people talking about going off (I haven't looked that hard). I'm glad you got off without too many side effects. The insomnia terrifies me but then I fell asleep at 3:30 and woke up at 6:30. I'll get back to sleep eventually but it's not like I'm sleeping well on Seroquel. Hopefully the hospital drs are willing to give stronger meds to get me through this. I can't be on typicals without monitoring because I've had some severe side effects too many times so doing it this way lets them give haldol or something.

Thank you again. I'm just glad that anyone can get off any way, although I'd love to find someone who did it the way I am doing it. I did find one person who came off 1200 mg but didn't get many details and he came off slowly.He said i was not pleasant though. I'm so excited.....

[SingDanceRunLife]

I stopped 800mg of Seroquel cold turkey to switch to Latuda (? -- I think that was my last switch). Took the Seroquel one day, and the Latuda the next. No ill side effects whatsoever. So it can be done!

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Thank you so much! I am glad to hear that and will hang onto this for hope. I know that my body got pretty upset when my dose was dropped this summer but we were trying to lower my dopamine levels b/c a 2nd AP I was taking was causing EPS and we were trying to find a way I could keep taking it since it was helping. Lowering Seroquel just made me incredibly depressed and I had a day or two of not feeling very well when I came down 300 mg at a time fast. But I was also adjusting the dose of the other med and it wasn't working fully so there were a lot of things going on. Going 1500 to 1200 also made me a bit sick but again we had to do it pretty quickly and that is an enormous dose to mess with.

I guess I'll see soon enough.

[Nammu]

Seroquel stopped working for me so I stopped taking it, but it was a long time ago and don't remember my dose or my reaction...my guess is that I couldn't have gotten too sick or I would have remembered it. But we are all different and it sounds like you might be more sensitive to coming off. The hospital sounds like a good place to stay monitored. We'll be thinking of you.

Who put you on 1,200mgs of Seroquel? That medication has a tested, approved maximum dosage of 800mgs.

Please, question your psychiatrist about this.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

My psychiatrist is a leading dr at one of the top hospitals in the world. She specializes in hard to treat cases and is both a pharmacist and a pdoc so she really knows meds well. She (and many other pdocs) are quite comfortable using up to 1500 mg of Seroquel in treatment resistant patients and while it's not done particularly often it is not incredibly unusual either, especially for someone in my position which is that I had run out of all meds that could work safely except for Clozaril and we were trying to hold out until a new med came out that would work. We didn't make it that long, so I'm starting Clozaril and there is no good med to have as a fallback if it doesn't work. I've been on 69 med combinations (not including dose changes) because I'm hypersensitive to some meds and hyposensitive to others. Clozaril will be 70. It is accepted enough that I get Seroquel through patient assistance and they have provided up to 1500 mg per day without any questions or issues.

My pdoc is completely capable of making decisions for my care and honestly so am I; I would not take something I did not feel was safe and I'm a healthcare professional so capable of reading drug profiles and research articles.

Thanks for your concern though.

Now I understand that very high dosage.

You are aware that Clozaril has a small chance of damaging your immune system, so you will be required to have your blood drawn on a weekly basis for the first several months? After that, it's safe to have your blood drawn less frequently.

I've met people that have told me that Clozaril saved their life, so I sincerely hope it works for you.

[msxyz]

I quit Seroquel from only 300 mg and felt very nauseous for several days. I also couldn't sleep, the first night I slept about 2 hours.