Oh, yeah, it's a bit of a conundrum. When my withdrawal symptoms hit, I had complete insomnia, couldn't sleep a wink. I tried natural remedies first, melatonin, and other supplements & herbs, didn't work, then I tried Ambien & Sonata that my mom had, didn't work, then I had to seek out a psychiatrist & was prescribed Xanax & Klonipin, didn't work, then finally after exhausting all these options, the doctor prescribed Seroquel, starting at 25mgs & ending with 300, which only gave me 2 or 3 hours of sleep for months, then desperately, I was wiped out, she added Caplyta,
first 21 & then 42 mgs, which gave me 6 or 7 hours... On my own, I went back down to 100mgs of Seroquel because the higher doses didn't give me any more sleep, and that's where I'm at now.
The fear is that going off this combo, will send me back to no sleep. I'd rather be on just the Caplyta, it's a little more benign, I think, but it isn't generally prescribed for sleep. I may still try tapering off the Seroquel, but I'm surely hesitant; I can't bear going back to little or no sleep. I don't know what to do. I definitely want to be off both of these poisons. Maybe they're preventing my brain from being able to heal from the Invega withdrawal. Maybe not. Either way, I was so opposed to all psych meds for so long, after having been on Prozac & Klonipin for depression & anxiety for almost 16 years during my 20's & 30's. I had finally gotten to a place of only consuming organic healthy stuff. I guess I needed something more powerful, because I ended up with
a full-blown mania with some kind of separation from reality in 2019 & 2025. Both episodes were fairly short but caused me enough problems to land in the hospital...
The first stay I was still manic but back to reality, I put in a 72-hour notice & was released in three days. The second stay was the same, full compliance with the program, absolutely no danger to myself or others, on the contrary, I actually utilized my degrees & good people skills to help other patients, befriended staff too, but my 72-hour notice wasn't honored. I was taken to court on day 11, which by that time I was totally fine, articulated my case quite well, yet for some reason, probably liability purposes, the judge chose to mandate meds, and consequently, my soon-to-be nightmare was born ~ Invega Sustenna was prescribed. They gave me 3 days of pills, on day 4 injection 1, and day 7 (my 18th & last day on the unit) injection 2.
I'm not sure, but I don't think two injections 3 days apart is typical, maybe too much. Either way, I was free, went to pick up my cat at my mom's house, and then happily headed home. I was okay for a month or maybe a little bit more, and then I started getting crushed by all these horrible symptoms... My mom & dad were taking shifts for 4 months, spending the entire day with me, preparing meals, cleaning up, yada-yada; we just sat there day after day. I spent the nights alone. I was highly suicidal, and my family had an intervention, and sent me to Alternative to Meds Center in Arizona, where I spent a nightmarish two months. Nothing helped there. I flew back & stayed at my mom's house. Eventually tried TMS. Didn't help. Then, I crazily agreed to ECT, did it for 3 months or so. All it did was negatively affect my memory. Nothing else. And here we are, a couple of months later, with no sense of help or hope in sight... Good night, Lara. (??????????)