How to Taper Off Seroquel

Seroquel is a drug used for insomnia. It is mainly prescribed by psychiatrists for patients who struggle with insomnia and depression. Seroquel is a mild sedative, and tolerance is quickly obtained. As Seroquel tolerance increases, patients increase their dose until tolerance to that dose is obtained. As with other drugs, tolerance becomes so high that physical and mental dependency occurs, and most decide to cease use of the drug. Abrupt disuse of Seroquel can result in withdrawals and severed insomnia side effects, so tapering is a preferred method to limit the amount of withdrawal symptoms.

Things You'll Need

• Razor blade
• Seroquel

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Instructions

• 1

  Evaluate your tolerance and create a taper schedule. Some patients have extremely high daily dosages of 300 mg or more of Seroquel to sleep. If you decide to taper within a month, then the milligram cut every week will be much higher as will withdrawal symptoms.

• 2

  Decide how often you will cut your dose. If you have a 300 mg tolerance, then you may want to cut 50 mg of usage from day one to day seven. As you work through the week, you should cut your dosage within the week until you only need 250 mg to sleep by the end of the week.

• 3

  Use a razor to cut pills into limited doses. Before taking Seroquel to sleep, cut pills in half or in quarters instead of taking a full dose. For instance, if you decide to taper using 10 mg less every night, cut the pills into sections that are approximately 10 mg less before ingesting them.

• 4

  Use herbal teas or stress relief remedies to cope with the side effects. Herbal remedies help reduce the level of insomnia and side effects of Seroquel. Kava root and valerian root tea are two herbal remedies used to help sleep.

• 5

  Use support resources for relapse help. Many people relapse when trying to taper off of a physically addictive drug. Drug abuse resources help keep you on track. Exercise also helps with moods and depression. Additionally, activities like biking, running and walking help to tire the body and increase health.