Anyone come off antipsychotics suddenly?

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Has anyone come off antipsychotics suddenly here? If so could you tell me what it was like going off suddenly and how long you were on them in the first place. I would like to go off quickly rather than slowly. I’m having constipation issues now and the weight gain is terrible. My psychiatrist is trying to get me on something else that doesn’t cause weight gain but I’m so nervous that it might have side effects that are worse than I’m having now. I don’t want to live a life on antipsychotics. I want to go off them right away and never look back.

I have taken quetiapine (brand name Seroquel) for almost 13 years. I take what most people would consider to be a very low dose, 50 mg, though I have taken as much as 100 mg in the past. I take it for anxiety and racing, obsessive thoughts.

I have never tried to stop taking it completely. I would be absolutely terrified to even think of such a thing! Among other reasons, who knows if I could ever sleep again without it?

The one time that I tried to cut back from 50 mg to 25 mg, I experienced major panic attacks. I only lasted a few days before going back to 50 mg. Cutting from 100 mg 50 mg didn't seem to cause that.

I would give almost anything to be able to function again without taking this stuff. I am very concerned about what kind of long-term effects it may have already had or will have on my neurological functioning. I desperately want to stop taking it, but with as long as I've been on it, I am way too scared. Stopping completely is definitely nothing to mess around with, especially if you've been on them for a long period of time. I would definitely only do it with the help of a professional, and preferably only by tapering slowly rather than just stopping all at once. But it really depends on how much you are taking and how long you have been on it.

Thank you for the reply. I’m on 50mg of my medication and get it in injection every 3 weeks. (can’t remember the name right now.) I’ve been taking the same antipsychotic medication for 3 and a half years.

You are likely on Invega Sustenna, there are a number of antipsychotics that cause barely any weight gain like Ziprasidone or Asenapine. I would certainly threaten to just stop taking them period with your psychiatrist if he/she doesn't give into your demands for medication that doesn't cause weight gain, I doubt your psychiatrist has any good excuse to have not listened to you by now. Constipation is so easy to deal with, just take Restoralax, as little or as much as you need, it is a tasteless powder you mix into a drink, and it is OTC.

The only antipsychotic I ever had difficulty coming off of was Zyprexa, I had been taking it for several years at the time, all the way up to 20mg, the last 2.5mg was awful flu like withdrawal symptoms. I had to cut the pills into 1/4's and taper off very slowly. Seroquel never had a problem coming off that. I wasn't using them for psychosis though.

Wouldn't it be bad to take a laxative every day though?

It isn't a stimulant laxative, I took Restoralax for extended period of time, never had any problems. Doctors nor pharmacists saw any issue with it either. Restoralax is a lot easier to tolerate than stimulant laxatives and you can take as little or as much as you need since its in powder form.

After correcting my misdiagnosis, I came off antipsychotics rapidly but still gradually.
Turned out I couldn't sleep without at least a quarter of a 25mg pill of quetiapine so this one was left as an off-label insomnia medication.

I once was on the antipsychotic Clozapine. One day I started stuttering so bad I couldn't talk... It turned out it was caused by that med. They took me off it suddenly and didn't replace it with something else. I went into an extreme manic episode...

Right now the psych meds I take for bipolar are Latuda, Lamictal, Zoloft, Buspar and Trazadone...

I can understand.


May I ask why you take them? I suggest you to not go cold off turkey

Please don't go off suddenly. Withdrawal symptoms are horrible ... I had to go cold turkey off one that was literally killing me and I had excruciating full-body muscle spasms for three days while in withdrawals.

I've been on Abilify (aripiprazole) for years and it hasn't caused weight gain for me, but others did. You might try a mild option like that or Lamictal. Whatever you choose, don't go cold turkey.