Quetiapine (Seroquel) as a trip killer

[BackToTheSource]

Hi everyone,

I’d like to say this is my first post here, but that wouldn’t be true. My first contributions go back to the early ’00s under the .nu domain, so it’s good to be back. It's heartening to see this ancient community thriving.

Anyway, my question is this: Might quetiapine (Seroquel) be a good trip killer? The reason I ask is that a friend recently asked me if quetiapine might affect their experience of taking psychedelics. A few minutes of basic research suggests that it probably would, and significantly.

As many of you might know, quetiapine is a strong 5-HT2A antagonist, the very receptor on which many classical psychedelics rely. That got me thinking: might quetiapine be the ideal “bail-out” pill? That is, something to take, or to give someone, when they need or want to exit a journey.

For the past 20+ years, my understanding has been to keep benzodiazepines on hand, just in case. Thankfully I’ve never come remotely close to needing it.

Still, I thought this was an interesting question worth exploring. Might it be wise to recommend quetiapine, either instead of, or alongside, a benzodiazepine, if someone needs to kill a trip?

 

[Conky]

Yes, quetiapine can be useful as a trip killer due to it being a 5HT2a blocker among other things. But it might be a bit more unforgiving than something like diazepam.

 

[Gridlink]

Quetiapine works great to stop trips, at least if you're talking classical psychedelics like LSD or shrooms, I can say from experience. Unlike taking a benzo, quetiapine doesn't just calm you down or put you to sleep while the trip is still progressing, it seems to stop the trip entirely.

Also, quetiapine antagonizes a variety of 5-HT receptor subtypes, so it should be effective as a trip killer for other psychedelics like ibogaine, I would guess.

 

[Smyth2]

You are rationalizing it on the basis that a 5-HT2A antagonist should be capable of antagonizing a 5-HT2A agonist.

Pimavanserin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

As of November 2024, a phase 2 clinical trial is underway assessing the ability of pimavanserin to block the effects of the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin.

 

[BadBoy377]

You are rationalizing it on the basis that a 5-HT2A antagonist should be capable of antagonizing a 5-HT2A agonist.

Pimavanserin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

As of November 2024, a phase 2 clinical trial is underway assessing the ability of pimavanserin to block the effects of the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin.

Bet they're queuing round the block to be test subjects in that trial...

Aye, so you're going to give me the psilocybin now are you? Ok, cool. And now you're going to give me the antidote, right? Ok, just hang on a minute, Im bursting for a piss, I'll be right back. CLIMBS OUT TOILET WINDOW...

 

[Gridlink]

You are rationalizing it on the basis that a 5-HT2A antagonist should be capable of antagonizing a 5-HT2A agonist.

Pimavanserin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

As of November 2024, a phase 2 clinical trial is underway assessing the ability of pimavanserin to block the effects of the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin.

I don't have more than anecdotal evidence to support this, but quetiapine seems to outcompete LSD at the 5-HT2A receptor. Otherwise I don't think it would stop the psychedelic effects of LSD as well as it does.
But you bring up a good point. Just because quetiapine is an antagonist at 5-HT2A (and a lot of other receptors) doesn't mean it should necessarily stop the effects of drugs that are agonists at those sites.
I totally overlooked that issue when I made my other post.

 

[paranoid android]

Zopiclone works best to stop a trip imo. Works faster and better then even zyprexa

 

[Skorpio]

You are rationalizing it on the basis that a 5-HT2A antagonist should be capable of antagonizing a 5-HT2A agonist.

Pimavanserin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

As of November 2024, a phase 2 clinical trial is underway assessing the ability of pimavanserin to block the effects of the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin.

The study is looking to see if blocking 5HT2A blocks both the trip and the antidepressant effects of psilocybin, with the tripkilling being assumed to be true (based on the study design and how they word things).

Seroquel is a really powerful antihistamine, so it combines strong sedative effects with anti-serotoninergic effects, so it’s kind of a sledgehammer option. But probably a good choice when a trip has gone so far benzos won’t cut it.

 

[Rectify]

For LSD Trip Killing, I Prefer Risperidone. For Dissos Such As Special K Psychosis, Olanzapine. And For Knarly Cocaine Comedowns, Quetiapine.

 

[Skorpio]

What happened to people taking piracetam or noopept to kill disso trips?

I used to take a lot of noopept and bought into it “making trips stronger” or “preventing hangovers” but I think I was eating a placebo for like 2 years.

 

[pcplease]

Lorazepam works shockingly well to diminish psychedelics, despite not being popular at all and most report "feel nothing". More of a trip killer than diazepam IME


Quetiapine's antipychotic effects become a lot more prominent past a ~100mg threshold. Rispiridone is stronger and more effective. Heterocyclic antidepressants work pretty well. IME. things like BP medication, lorazepam/benzo in case of seizure or to help with freakout/abortion, and serotonin and dopamine antagonists should ideally be in everyone's medicine cabinet.

 

[Biomed Tech Guy]

My .02
Seroquel (quetiapine) was prescribed for me around 2004 when I was in recovery from a few years of crack binges. It was guaranteed to prevent or adjourn "committee meetings" that are notorious for really shitty nights with little sleep. 20 minutes or so after taking my prescribed dose it was lights out and a good restful sleep.
Valium was always the parachute for stopping or sliding out of a bad LSD or Shroom trip, at least in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
If Seroquel does the job as it seems to be reported here, I'd say that's great.
My 1st trip was when Raiders of the Lost Ark was still in movie theaters (Blockbuster rented VHS tapes and Netflix sent DVDs in the mail) As intense and fun as the movie was, the white clamshells mixed into the asphalt black parking lot were fun too, as they appeared to be standing up out of the asphalt an inch or 2.

 

[foodcrisis]

i hate the feeling of quetiapine and can't imagine that i'd enjoy getting out of a trip with it... supposedly it's effective. i really hate that stuff though. makes me sick. i would recommend trying it before using a psychedelic if you plan to use it as a trip killer to see how you tolerate it first if anybody is planning to and is unfamiliar with it... i'm not saying it won't curb a trip, but it's super unenjoyable imo.

 

[pcplease]

^Good advice. Just remember an active antipsych dose *100mg+ in general) will block psychedelic/most psychoactive effects for up to a week or more.

-It just makes me sleepy personally, even high doses. However. If i had to be stuck permanently on on drug for the rest of my life, it would be hard to pick between that or cannabis.

 

[Tryhard_In_Bed]

I'm on clozapine and it makes it impossible for me to trip. It really sucks, cause I wanna fucking TRIP! Is there any way I can block or shunt the clozapine in my system so I can trip? Or do I have to wait until I'm off clozapine to trip? It's gonna take me a year to get off it. I think...

Or, another solution, can I just take huge amounts of psychedelics to precipitate a regular trip instead? Will this displace the clozapine floating in my skull? Or am I boned?

 

[pcplease]

It won't be the same, and trust me. If it even is possible, you don't want to. Fell in love quick at undegrad- move in day quick-, a girl who like you had been several months off everything, assured me she'd handled strong trips before. She assured me she'd stopped and handled L before, and much more mushrooms than I've ever eaten. My birthday is early in the year, I knew it was proper 100ug+ from a lifelong friend, and I wanted a staggered puddle over the first two hours starting immediately after waking up.

She could not let go and it was very difficult for her, occasionally freaking out as much as anyone can at that high of a dose, damaged our relationship for a long time after that. Aside from that it would've been the best trip I've ever had, and one that left me "hanging up for phone" for a long time. I have only indulged a handful of times since, and had gone far further before; but for whatever reason did not get the message til that ineffable birthday. No more MDxx, mushrooms exactly once as I'm terrified of them, almost solely little bits of 2C-B when I'd go to the rare festival or rave.

*I have no PhD, MS, not a pharmacologist, nor a psychiatrist. If you're doing things right, you're honest with them, and they would know better about contraindications. At minimum, I assume would block some of the euphoria/speediness felt from 2C's, however might still be very pleasantly visual and wavy. It's a really clear headed experience as it is, for me. I'm not very sensitive to dopamine release.

 

[pcplease]

It looks like Clozapine does NOT block the 5ht2c receptor on which (IIRC) 2C's primarily act on. It is mild, but I imagine might curve someone's urge to trip, under the same circumstances.

 

[Psynaught]

I have been on Seroquel for many years now and it absolutely is a trip killer. It is no fun in any way and should only be taken if you are going to bed in 30 minutes.

 

[pst_佳俊]

我认为佐匹克隆是阻止迷幻药作用的最佳药物。它比奥氮平起效更快、效果更好。

I've used zopiclone and quetiapine more than five times after psychedelic music parties involving LSD, when I needed to rest or fall asleep. Two or three times were particularly memorable; the visual hallucinations would worsen, and I felt like I was on a "bad trip," like I was in or connected to hell, seeing all sorts of ghostly figures and claws in a dark place. One time was quite severe; I saw a ghost walking towards me, but I didn't pay much attention and didn't experience much fear. I still managed to fall asleep quickly and close my eyes.

 

[4DQSAR]

I don't think I've ever had a 'bad trip'. I've had a shaky few minutes here and there but set and setting has always been my starting-point. But then I much prefer being alone and as one friend noted, 'a bad trip just means you didn't take enough so you are stuck in the middle.'

DMT, LSD, Psilocin - fine. Not those silly things that go on for days.

But either it's LOTS or none.

A few (30 or so) liberty cap mushrooms was fine in a club setting but I had ensured I had no sleep deficit as it is awful to NEED to sleep and not be able to.

Puddle me...