How much has seroquel helped you for opiate withdrawal?

[Wolfmans_BrothEr]

Basically I want to know which wd symptoms, if any, seroquel has eliminated for you. I'm asking because I've been detoxing from a small habit, for a little over week. I take around 65mg of seroquel at night, and another 50mg in the morning, and I feel zero wd symptoms. I'm wondering if I've gotten through the worst of it, or is it due to the seroquel.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

Od -> bdd

 

[paranoid android]

Well in terms of helping insomnia and anxiety less then 200mg's should be enough as Quetiapine is just as sedating (perhaps more so) in lower doses like 50-100mg's as it is in higher doses. I take it for Bipolar disorder in higher doses of course (300-400mg's a night) when i am on the Manic side of things and my Lamictal is not controlling it so i usually have to take abit more to help. Although i find Typical anti-Psychotics such as Prochlorperazine (Stemetil,Compazine) and Chlorpromazine (Thorazine,Largactil) to work better for withdrawals as they serve the dual purpose of helping chill me out and they are also damn strong Anti-Emetics. Of course these meds carry significantly more risks then Quetiapine such as Akathisia, Tardive Dyskinesia and other movement disorders that Quetiapine is not known for causing very much at all. Granted low potency Typicals such as Chlorpromazine in low doses like 25-50mg's may carry as low a risk of TD and EPS as some of the Atypicals such as Risperidone and Paliperidone do depending on which studies you go by.

But yeah id say for withdrawal 150mg's or less should be plenty.

 

[ShieldMailden]

^ This, less is more taking Seroquel.

 

[paranoid android]

^ This, less is more taking Seroquel.

Well unless your taking it for one of it's approved purposes such as Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder or Major Depression. In which case the Anti-Psychotic dose does not even start until you hit atleast 200mg's. The reason Quetiapine is so sedating is due to it's really potent Anti-Histaminic effects and to a lesser extent it's Adrenergic Antagonist effects the latter of which is also responsible for the hypotension associated with Seroquel and similar Anti-Psychotics. It's not until you hit about 200mg's a day that the Serotonin Antagonism starts to kick in and i think you need higher doses still until any significant Dopamine antagonism starts to happen. Basically at below 200mg's Quetiapine more or less just acts as a really strong Anti-Histamine. Personally in terms of Anti-Histamines i find Promethazine to be better for insomnia and sedation but that's just me.

As Quetiapine's main metabolite Norquetiapine is a potent Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor this could be the reason why many people report that higher doses are less sedating. The more NRI effects there are the more it will balance off the sedation from the Anti-Histamine effects. So yeah basically less is more. 25-50mg's is usually plenty if your using Seroquel for insomnia and to kind of chill you out during Opiate withdrawal.

 

[Wolfmans_BrothEr]

Thanks for the replies. What I'm asking is whether people have found seroquel to relieve any opiate wd symptoms, and if so which ones. I'm trying to judge whether I'm feeling better only because I'm taking it, or am I actually recovering from the detox.

I'm not rx'd seroquel and have no reason to take it other than its all the comfort meds I have left.

 

[paranoid android]

Thanks for the replies. What I'm asking is whether people have found seroquel to relieve any opiate wd symptoms, and if so which ones. I'm trying to judge whether I'm feeling better only because I'm taking it, or am I actually recovering from the detox.

I'm not rx'd seroquel and have no reason to take it other than its all the comfort meds I have left.

I do find that it helps the anxiety and overall crawling out of your skin feeling. That and the hot/cold flashes seemed to be helped by it. I usually need to add a extra 100 or 200mg's atleast during severe wd since i am used to taking Seroquel. One time when i was withdrawing badly from Morphine I took some Seroquel (can't remember the dose) one morning as besides Benzos it was the only drug i had any good for withdrawal. Once it started to kick in the sensation of being able to immediately relax and the fact that my head cleared up abit and the negative thought loops stopped gave me a feeling of euphoria almost. I guess the relief from the wd symptoms just made me feel euphoric.

 

[Wolfmans_BrothEr]

I guess the relief from the wd symptoms just made me feel euphoric.

Amen to that