seroquel Extended Release

does anyone have info on extended release seroquel, and how to taper from it..  ?

 

i am currently at 100mg ER.

 

I cannot cut the pill, or dissolve it.

 

Where i live the lowest dosage is 50mg, and there is NO immediate release form.

 

My pdoc told me to go directly to 50mg. I know that this is a huge jump. Im stuck.

Any advice.. thanks

M

How did you taper from 300.

I made cuts..on doctors advice. I did'nt know the danger of this until recently..

What kind of cuts. You mean danger of cutting xr.

yes, i mean cutting the XR.

 

I was cutting 25mg at first, then 12.5.      But i learnt that you cannot cut XR,  apparently it screws the dosage up.. If i were to cut a 50mg pill in two, i might be getting 25mg, or 30mg,or 10mg.. etc..

 

i guess this partially explains all the crazy symptoms i've been experiencing. 

 

I called my doctor and he said to alternate, one night 100mg, the next night 50mg, and so forth. don't trust him anymore.. 

but Im gonna beat this seroquel thing, and so are you.

I've tried cutting 25 mg of the regular  Seroquel and it was so terrible that I had to reinstate. My doctor offered to script me the XR version but I say no, because both drugs have the same half life. Now why would a pharma put out an extended release version when it has the same half life????????? And why won't any pharmacy offer you the regular version? That make no sense to me at all. ~~ Bets

What happened when you cut 25

I've tried cutting 25 mg of the regular  Seroquel and it was so terrible that I had to reinstate. My doctor offered to script me the XR version but I say no, because both drugs have the same half life. Now why would a pharma put out an extended release version when it has the same half life????????? And why won't any pharmacy offer you the regular version? That make no sense to me at all. ~~ Bets

 

I don't think they have the same half life..not sure..trying to find the info.

In certain countries there is only the XR version.. i would have to travel to another country to get the regular version, it's quite complicated.. 

How's your taper going.

When I came off of 100 mg XR, because the smallest is 50 mg XR, I swapped it out for 2x25 immediate release, took 25 mg in the am. and 25 mg in the pm along with the other 50 mg XR.  Then I cut the immediate release until I was down to 50 mg XR and then swapped out the 50 mg XR for 50 mg immediate release (25 mg x 2) and tapered off of that.

How's your taper going.

 

not very well unfortunately.. i've been alternating between 50mg and 100mg for the past 10 days...sick.

 

I'm stuck here with only the XR version so i can't taper properly !  i don't know what to do, i'm far too sick to leave the country for a box of IR pills and i can't imagine what it's gonna be like to cut to 50mg..and then what ?  so depressed, i don't know what to do, and no doctor has any safe advice to give me.  so yeah, not good.

I'm sorry to hear. Sending you healing vibes. What symptoms are you having.

thanks. 

really bad dizziness, nausea, head ache, blurred vision, unable to stand up for more than a few minutes, depressed, angry, anxious etc etc 

the list is long.

 

i've been on it for a few years, and i lowered the benzos, so it's probably a mix of both.

how about you?

Any luck tapering and feeling better.

Any luck tapering and feeling better.

 

yeah, I'm now down to 50mg.

So far not as horrible as I thought it would be. Gonna hold at 50mg for a while and then alternate between 50 and 0, and hope to end this relatively soon..

Good to hear. Hope you are done and ok soon. Please keep us posted.

What happened when you cut 25

 

Satch:

 

Sorry I haven't replied sooner. I simply forgot about this thread. Mea Culpa. When I dropped 25 mg of the regular version, I got 0 sleep compared to the 7-8 hours I was getting. Also severe anxiety happened, and I had no anxiety before I made the cut. I gave up after 7 days and reinstated. I can't imagine how I will get off this drug. Heaven help me! Bets

I swapped it out for clonidine and unisom. 

I swapped it out for clonidine and unisom.

 

Good thought...

I know this is old but I decided to write some info to help others.

I'm not a specialist but I did some research because I'm on my way to change from XR/XL to IR

SEROQUEL XL/XR:

• Longer half life: 12h
  
• Kick in: 2h
  
• Maximum plasma concentration: 5h
  
• Same dose: lower Dopamine occupancy (and I believe happens to other neurotransmitter as well 
  
• Taken once a day, preferably at night 
  
• Should be switched to XI with the same dosage (Individual dosage adjustments may be necessary)
  
• DO NOT CUT or MIX with wather: the tablet are composed by layers so it can dissolve slower. If you cut, your are not cutting in half and God know what you are taking
  

 

SEROQUEL IR:

• Shorter half life: 6h
  
• Kick in: 45 - 60 minutes
  
• Maximum plasma concentration in: 2h
  
• Same dose: at pick has a higher Dopamine occupancy (and I believe happens to other neurotransmitter as well 
  
• Usually the dose is spread trough out the day (that's why they invented the XR) 
  
• Should be switched to XR with the same dosage (Individual dosage adjustments may be necessary)
  

 

It seems that when Seroquel IR hit the blood stream the effect if faster, stronger but with shorter duration.

Seroquel XR (at same dosage) will hit with less power but it is more steady and balanced.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198174/#!po=18.4211

 

http://openi.nlm.nih.gov/imgs/512/199/3198174/3198174_S1461145711000514_fig1.pnghttp://openi.nlm.nih.gov/imgs/512/199/3198174/3198174_S1461145711000514_fig5.png

 

If you are even more curious, this guy wrote a funny and interesting report about the action of Quetiapine (the only thing that I don't understand is, if at lower dose it is not a dopamine blocker, why some people suffer from EPS symptoms. Could it be because the other neurotransmitters it acts on?)

http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2007/07/the_most_important_article_on.html

 

Last but not least.... The "kiss and run" theory and why Seroquel is "one" of the ant psychotics to cause less EPS symptoms (not in my case, I have tons of EPS: Tremor, muscle stiffness, twitches, jaw/face pain, muscle cramps, the list goes on and scares the shit out of me... but again, each person is different).

http://psychopharmacologyinstitute.com/antipsychotics/quetiapine/mechanism-of-action/

 

I've never been on IR but I will when I progress with my taper (at the moment I'm on 50mg XR).

Seroquel is a weird drug. This is my first time on an anti psychotic (probably the last).

I can even feel the medication wearing off.

Different from Antidepressants it leaves the body faster, but it doesn't mean the damage will be less.... 

 

Hope it helps =D