Withdrawal from Quetiapine

[Livingbysea]

I have been on quetiapine, 25mg at night, for over 2 years now after a severe episode of postpartum anxiety with my little boy. Its like a miracle drug for me and makes my daily anxiety go away and i sleep like a baby. However, we really want to have another baby and so i need to come off the medication as it isnt safe in pregnancy.

I am on the lowest dose and so i am now taking 25 mg every other night and will then drop to every 3 nights, every 4 nights and so on. However, the night i dont take it, im lying away until 2am and then awake again by 6am which isnt ideal as a full time working mum!

Has anyone come off of quetipaine and can give me some idea of when the insomnia will stop???

Thanks

Is your reduction being managed by a mental health team?

I took it at 100mg a day throughout my pregnancy (at the advice of my mental health team) with no adverse side effects. I tried to come off it completely when I found out I was pregnant, but was unable to sleep as I suffer from severe insomnia. I was told at that time that it was safe so took the lowest effective dose which for me was 100mg once per day.

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/quetiapine/pregnancy-breastfeeding-and-fertility-while-taking-quetiapine/

Agree with how well it works.

Definitely check with your GP in it's safety for conceiving and pregnancy.

Many people are given 1st generation antihistamines for sleep. Something to check with your GP.

Hi, I've recently come off Quetiapine. For me, the insomnia lasted about ten days, though each night within that time frame got progressively better. I think my brain had begun to rely on the sedative effect so once I came off it (I was on 25mg and just stopped cold turkey under advice of consultant) it took a while for me to adjust to going over to sleep on my own. I found that really ensuring I was practising good sleep hygiene went a long way. So no phones or screens for two hours before bed, maybe taking a bath and ensuring I was as relaxed as I could be helped.

Thanks so much for all your replies so quickly. Its really nice to know there are other people out there who also take quetiapine as no one ever seems to have heard of it!

I am not under any Mental Health Services. I was discharged from perinatal when my little boy was 1 and then ive been under GP but they havent monitored me very much. A few blood tests here and there. I spoke to my GP in January and said i wanted to come off and he said the best way to start would be alternate the nights for a few weeks, see how i go and then drop to every 3 nights etc. I feel fine in terms of anxiety and my insomnia isnt like it was before with panic attacks, high temp, racing heart etc. Its just tossing and turning and not getting to sleep.

I feel like its a good time to come off, just really hoping i can start sleeping naturally soon.

Thanks so much again for your replies and great to hear it only took 10 days or so for some of you

@BodyKeepingScore @NotMyFinestMoment @Zola1 @someoneisalwaysintheloo
Sorry not sure if I need to tag you or you get the reply... I’m new around here. 😂

My daughter tried what you are doing and got quite severe withdrawal symptoms. Under the advice of her psychiatrist she gradually reduced the dose but took some every day (involved lots of pill cutting and asking the pharmacist for pills from the brands that were big enough to cut). Only when she was down to 1/4 of the lowest dosage pill available did she move to every other day, then every 3 days etc.