Hi

I am starting a thread here and here is the link to my old thread on Surviving Anti depressants. Afraid story was not a success as I had to reinstated Mirtazapine to 7.5mg in my last post but have now reduced again to 4mg but am regularly taking 25mg Seroxat to sleep at night.

SA Thread

Edited July 14Jul 14 by Lighty

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. You didn't put your current drugs in your signature, please include your current drugs list and your latest tapering with mirtazapine. When did you start taking Seroxat again ?

23 minutes ago, Oaktree1 said:

Afraid story was not a success as I had to reinstated Mirtazapine to 7.5mg in my last post but have now reduced again to 4mg

That's okay, our first priority should be feeling well, after that we slowly taper the drug, I'm glad you have been making a bit of progress with tapering the drug, I'm sure you will eventually get rid of it.

25 minutes ago, Oaktree1 said:

am regularly taking 25mg Seroxat to sleep at night.

that's okay, first focus on tapering the mirtazapine, once you are done with that, you can choose to taper the Seroxat if you wish to.

 

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

It's great to see you here Oaktree.

14 hours ago, Oaktree1 said:

Hi

I am starting a thread here and here is the link to my old thread on Surviving Anti depressants. Afraid story was not a success as I had to reinstated Mirtazapine to 7.5mg in my last post but have now reduced again to 4mg but am regularly taking 25mg Seroxat to sleep at night.

SA Thread

Hi @Oaktree1 welcome to the forum.

Are you taking 25mg Seroxat regularly? You should not take these drugs 'as needed'.

How were things once you RI 7.5mg? Are you keeping an eye on your symptoms, really you should have mild 1-3/10 symptoms before considering a cut and only reduce a max of 10% per month. Often this is too much and we need to go slower.

Tapering Information

Sleep in WD

22 hours ago, Lighty said:

That's okay, our first priority should be feeling well, after that we slowly taper the drug, I'm glad you have been making a bit of progress with tapering the drug, I'm sure you will eventually get rid of it.

Hi Lighty

Thanks very for replying to me and for the info. I have no plans currently to reduce the drug any further. I decided to start a thread on the site here just to show what happened when I tapered which was that when I got under 2mg my sleep and mood issues worsened to the point of severe suicidality and severe mood dysregulation so I felt that had no option but to reinstate. To be honest I think I'll be on this and the Seroquel for the rest of my time - I just wanted to put my info here just to show the difficulty in trying to get off this drug. Hope that is ok - the more that gets out into the public domain about these drugs the better I think. There were loads of threads on Surviving Anti depressants that just went silent after the person posted or went below a certain amount. I always said I would post if I failed and yeh I did fail to taper.

9 hours ago, Chippy said:

Hi @Oaktree1 welcome to the forum.

Are you taking 25mg Seroxat regularly? You should not take these drugs 'as needed'.

How were things once you RI 7.5mg? Are you keeping an eye on your symptoms, really you should have mild 1-3/10 symptoms before considering a cut and only reduce a max of 10% per month. Often this is too much and we need to go slower.

Tapering Information

Sleep in WD

Hi Chippy

thanks for posting. My GP said I could take the Seroquel as needed and to be honest the way things are now for me I have to do that. I did a very careful reduction liquid of Mirtazapine starting in August 2021 and only reduced by liquid about 3 or 2% per month and had several long holds over over three and six months. I followed all the protocols on Suriviving Antidepressants. I still had severe symptons below 2mg- even though I went back up to 2mg and waited there for several months being stable being lowering again. I don't think I will be reducing this drug below 4mg again as my symptoms became too severe. I posted here because I want to add to the document of iatrogenic damage about this drug. I wouldn't be a regular poster. I hope this is ok.

Welcome to the forum.

1 minute ago, Oaktree1 said:

I posted here because I want to add to the document of iatrogenic damage about this drug. I wouldn't be a regular poster. I hope this is ok.

Whatever you want or need from this place. That's ok.

Hello Oaktree. I am glad you made in over here to this new site. If you need to hold your doses to feel okay that's fine since it stabilizes you. I wish you peace and wellness. Marie.

14 hours ago, Oaktree1 said:

thanks for posting.

Pleasure

14 hours ago, Oaktree1 said:

My GP said I could take the Seroquel as needed and to be honest the way things are now for me I have to do that.

Gps think a lot of things are not correct. Obviously it is your choice and I respect that,

14 hours ago, Oaktree1 said:

I wouldn't be a regular poster. I hope this is ok.

Welcome here as little or as much as you want.

On 7/15/2026 at 6:53 PM, Marie said:

Hello Oaktree. I am glad you made in over here to this new site. If you need to hold your doses to feel okay that's fine since it stabilizes you. I wish you peace and wellness. Marie.

Hi Marie

Thanks very much for posting - you are doing a fantastic job with your own Mirt taper - I wish you the best too for the finish.

Oaktree1

13 hours ago, Chippy said:

Pleasure

Gps think a lot of things are not correct. Obviously it is your choice and I respect that,

Welcome here as little or as much as you want.

HI Chippy,

Yes - I am in agreement as regards the medical profession's acceptance of withdrawal although my GP is beginning to come around as regards withdrawal (and I didn't even say anything). I have decided to drop the Seroquel as I read an article last night that said that 20 to 50% of the people on it develop tardive dyskinesia - I hadnt realised that - plus the weight gain. I have added a few kilos.

https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ajp.156.5.796a

It's good to link in with a community here - was very sad when Surviving Anti depressants closed.

Oaktree1

On 7/15/2026 at 5:36 PM, Luke said:

Welcome to the forum.

Whatever you want or need from this place. That's ok.

Thanks Luke - really grateful you had the drive to set this forum up.

Oaktree1

38 minutes ago, Oaktree1 said:

I have decided to drop the Seroquel as I read an article last night that said that 20 to 50% of the people on it develop tardive dyskinesia - I hadnt realised that - plus the weight gain. I have added a few kilos.

Hey @Oaktree1 what's your plan is for tapering the seroquel? Like you, I was taking up to 50 mg as needed for sleep (probably a few times a week) until I found this forum. I was already destabilized from other med changes, but when I tried to stop the seroquel I got bad WD symptoms, including severe insomnia. I'm now taking 12.5 mg/day to stabilize, as I understand that taking it "as needed," especially in an already unstable state, can cause even more destabilization. Once I'm stable I plan to taper.

I think you're the only other person I've seen on here who has taken seroquel on an as needed basis for sleep, which is why I'm curious.

9 hours ago, Oaktree1 said:

Thanks Luke - really grateful you had the drive to set this forum up.

Oaktree1

No problem. I did it with @Chippy

10 hours ago, Oaktree1 said:

It's good to link in with a community here - was very sad when Surviving Anti depressants closed.

Its good to have you here. We were shocked and saddened too. That is why we started this site.

7 hours ago, Chippy said:

Its good to have you here. We were shocked and saddened too. That is why we started this site.

Thanks Chippy - you're a really strong contributor here - thanks in setting up and running the site - with SA - there is nothing comparable anywhere else.

17 hours ago, SarahMc said:

Hey @Oaktree1 what's your plan is for tapering the seroquel? Like you, I was taking up to 50 mg as needed for sleep (probably a few times a week) until I found this forum. I was already destabilized from other med changes, but when I tried to stop the seroquel I got bad WD symptoms, including severe insomnia. I'm now taking 12.5 mg/day to stabilize, as I understand that taking it "as needed," especially in an already unstable state, can cause even more destabilization. Once I'm stable I plan to taper.

I think you're the only other person I've seen on here who has taken seroquel on an as needed basis for sleep, which is why I'm curious.

Hi SarahMc

I am not going to taper it - I have just cut it starting yesterday

I have only been taking Seroquel on and on/off basis since November 2025 - maybe 2 to 3 times a week. Once I got under 2mg in Mirtazapine, my sleep more or less disappeared and I had a few weeks of that before reaching for the Seroquel eventually at 5am in the morning. I also took it like a smartie pill from July 2020 until October of that year when I had a bowel impaction and as a result tapered off it very quick more or less cold turkey - the adverse effects were not too bad - mainly muscle aches.

I had a quick look at your med history and it seems from all the med changes you have had over the last few years with Lyrica, Clonazapam, Pristiq and Cymbalta (which is a yucky drug to come down on ) that I would just remain holding at 12.5mg if I was you particularly as you've been on it since 2009 and do a very slow taper.

Sorry I can't be of more help - stabilisation and handling symptoms such that you can manage them I think is key - that's why I went back up the Mirtazapine.

Oaktree1

7 minutes ago, Oaktree1 said:

I am not going to taper it - I have just cut it starting yesterday

I have only been taking Seroquel on and on/off basis since November 2025 - maybe 2 to 3 times a week. Once I got under 2mg in Mirtazapine, my sleep more or less disappeared and I had a few weeks of that before reaching for the Seroquel eventually at 5am in the morning. I also took it like a smartie pill from July 2020 until October of that year when I had a bowel impaction and as a result tapered off it very quick more or less cold turkey - the adverse effects were not too bad - mainly muscle aches.

Ok, best of luck -- hope it goes ok.

9 minutes ago, Oaktree1 said:

I had a quick look at your med history and it seems from all the med changes you have had over the last few years with Lyrica, Clonazapam, Pristiq and Cymbalta (which is a yucky drug to come down on ) that I would just remain holding at 12.5mg if I was you particularly as you've been on it since 2009 and do a very slow taper.

Sorry I can't be of more help - stabilisation and handling symptoms such that you can manage them I think is key - that's why I went back up the Mirtazapine.

Yes I have no plans to do anything but hold and stabilize for now, since I'm still quite destabilized. I was just curious about what others who were taking drugs "as needed" and found themselves needing to taper were doing. Appreciate the response!

15 hours ago, Oaktree1 said:

I am not going to taper it - I have just cut it starting yesterday

Keep an eye out for symptoms after this, you took it long enough and regularly enough to gain some dependance so you may not be able to just stop it. You may be lucky and it will be fine.

4 hours ago, Chippy said:

Keep an eye out for symptoms after this, you took it long enough and regularly enough to gain some dependance so you may not be able to just stop it. You may be lucky and it will be fine.

Hi Chippy,

Thanks for commenting - I will report back if I have bad symptoms and have to go back on it. I did come off it before after being on it 4 months at around 150mg and it wasn't too hard - hopefully I will have a similar result this time. I had forgotten to mention that Seroquel and Mirtazapine taken together also cause a risk of serotonin syndrome and irregular heart beat - really shouldn't be taking them together at all.

https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/mirtazapine-with-seroquel-1640-0-1979-1274.html

20 hours ago, Oaktree1 said:

I had forgotten to mention that Seroquel and Mirtazapine taken together also cause a risk of serotonin syndrome and irregular heart beat - really shouldn't be taking them together at all.

It awful doctors prescribe drugs that interact with each other, it is very common for this to happen, awful.

Hope all goes well going forwards, always here for you.

Thought i better update in case anyone wants to know about cold turkey Seroquel since I last posted three weeks ago. First three days did not notice anything. Then I had neuropathy (burning hands and feet for one week); this has gone now. Then I had the mother of all TMJ migraines - really really bad - can't describe how bad - had it for three days - I had had alcohol (wine) the night before. I don't drink much but my life is nearly over and occasionally I like wine with dinner.

In the last five days my anxiety has skyrocketed. I was diagnosed autistic so have constant anxiety anyway but this was at the point where I could not focus on anything. I have had three or four really bad meltdowns, crying, vicious suicidal ideation at times and yes I had to take 0.5mg Clonazapam four times since I last posted.

For the last two weeks I have had all over body stiffness. I had this the last time I came off Seroquel too. I've been off it now three weeks.

I I do wonder if I am doing the right thing sometimes with these meds and whether I should not just bite the bullet and try Lithium to mellow out because i was allergic to the other mood stabilisers and gabapentinoiids (should have listed them - willl update profile when I am up to it). However what puts me off the LIthium is the bloody toxicity which can happen alarmingly quickly and on a low dose and apparently autistic people or so I was told by a psychiatrist are more sensitive to these meds . Also I have eczema and Lithium dries out your skin further. A guy I knew who had psoriasis was put on it and ended up with all over body plaque. I research other users experiences on Reddit and also on Drugs.com.

It sounds paradoxical but my depressed mood is better since I am off Seroquel - apparently it blocks dopamine which is a feel good hormone. I came off it because I really don't want to get tardive dyskinesia and my bloods are not good.

I am staying on 4mg Mirtazapine (liquid dose made with maple syrup)

To calm myself down in the past few months I returned to church services. I don't know if I believe or not but it is nice to think that someone up there might care and stuff like that and that there is a purpose to suffering- even lighting a candle and making an intention for good of someone else can make me feel better. i have had a lot of rage and I am tired of doing that. I don't agree with anti gay stuff/trans stuff but I am choosing because I kind of feel I need something else to ignore that part. I have also had issues in mental health support groups in the past and really don't feel like going and opening up in there again - feels unsafe. My therapist fired me last April and that shook the life out of me - I was going to her for five years - I decided having left a few angry hurt messages over the past while to just leave it go. Getting fired by the therapist with no notice was one of the reasons I started going to church.

anyway - I am planning to try and stick out staying off the Seroquel. Will post new developments if something else happens symptom or drug wise.

Religion is like a violin, some play it beautifully, others make horrible noises with it. I think it's a very nice thing to light candles and make good intentions. Hoping things will get better for you.

Hi Vince

thanks for the good vibes

Oaktree1

19 hours ago, Vince said:

Religion is like a violin, some play it beautifully, others make horrible noises with it. I think it's a very nice thing to light candles and make good intentions. Hoping things will get better for you.

good analogy

Oaktree1, so very nice to see you here and welcome to the forum, you mentioned going to church, so I thought I'd just share a few fun facts with you that I learned when my Mother of 85 visited France. So my Mother named me Bernadette, I was always curious on how she came about the name Bernadette, well I was named after St.Bernadett. Location: Groth of Massabiello in Lourdes southwestern France. Date:1858, when a 14-year old girl named Bernadette Soubirous witnessed 18 visions of the blessed Virgin Mary. The Spring: During the vision, Mary told Bernadette to drink and bath in the spring, though no water was initially visible. Bernadette dug into the muddy ground with her hands, causing a spring to flow that has continued to run uninterrupted ever since. Like you , I have reached out to God, and have asked on numerous occasions, why?Why Lord must I and so many others have to endure such pain and agony. But then remind my self what my Mother told me. " The Lord our God would never put more on our shoulders than we can handle " Yes there were days that seemed heavy and I couldn't go any further, but he lifts us up when we feel we can go no more, gives us strength at our weakest, and a vision to see the beauty of a new day. My faith is what got me this far and the belief I and everyone here will see the glorious path ahead, to heal and strength, to know we will prevail even stronger than before. My Dad up above, looking down on me, saying " Socker Lou, get up, brush your self off, you can do this" We are all strong, and we will all get through this.