Now it is a week ago since I had my last dose of olanzapine. This night I had trouble sleeping. So for now my dose of seroquel is increased to 75 mg. I would prefer only 25 mg. But as I understand 75 mg of seroquel is still a small dose.
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serquel is sedative more and more than olanzepine
so you will be fine
take care
Sleep has been a problem for me as well when I have tried to quit olanzapine. I was forced to reinstate olanzapine because of insomnia even when taking low dose seroquel 50-100mg.
Hopefully you will have better luck, but maybe doing a cross taper is a good idea if sleep becomes a issue. 75mg seroquel is equivalent to 5mg olanzapine. But since seroquel has a much shorter half life this comparison might not be realistic.
Olanzapine half life is aprox 30-52hrs, while seroquel is aprox 6-10hrs. Anyways, what this means is it might take a higher dose of seroquel than 75mg to get a 24hour protection against sz. But it’s not unheard of that some people can get by on small doses of seroquel, even with sz.
Correct me if you think im wrong - but the shrinks have told me Seraqoul only has anti-psychotic properties at the dose of 300mg and higher. Lower doses are used for anxiety.
Olanzapine turned me into a slob lol. And have you seen the size of the tablets you have to swallow? lol.
So can I ask what happened? Are you still on olanzapine? I can’t keep taking it because it makes me depressed.
Yes, I’m aware that higher doses of seroquel is regarded as a minimum for sz symptoms amongst many doctors, but I think it differs. My doc said 150-200mg. But there is a lot of anectdotal stuff of forums where people who have been diagnosed with sz get by on doses 100mg or less.
I used 5mg olanzapine for long bouts which also is considered a sub optimal dose for sz.
But I think you are right that for most people it will take higher doses to get the job done.
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Yes, I’m taking it at 7.5mg now for sleeps sake alone. I could get by on less if I could sleep.
I will try to do a crosstaper again from olanzapine to seroquel in a few weeks in agreement with my doctor.
The times I tried to switch before just quitting the olanzapine abruptly didn’t go well, so hopefully will have better luck with cross taper.
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I’m sorry to hear that. And also a little scared. Has your psychiatrist never suggested anything else to help you sleep? I was on 2,5 mg Olanzapine.
Ahh…well, I wouldn’t be too scared. 2.5mg is a low dose. Getting some whitdrawal symptoms is to be expected and sleep might be a bit rocky. But I wouldn’t panic unless you are in a scenario where you have severe sleeping problems over several days time. If you do I would recommend getting a pill cutter and taper off the zyprexa. It’s possible to cut a pill in 4 pieces so you could go 1,875mg to 1,25mg to 0,675mg and then to zero. Maybe holding 1 month at each dose drop. Anyways, that’s something to discuss with your pdoc as a plan B. Hopefully you will be allright.
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I don’t have a pdoc. I applied 4 times and got rejected, so it’s just me and my GP. But I’m really happy with GP though.
There are options for sleep, but most of them are not good. Like I don’t want to get addicted to benzos. But we are looking at milder options, like gabapentin in conjunction with quetiapine. Hopefully we will find a way.
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I take 200mg seroquel for >15 years, no others AP, and it works anti-psychotic, but it’s weak, I still have some delusions. I also took only 100mg seroquel for year monoterapy and didn’t get a relapse.
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Hello mate! Welcome to the community! 
Im sure the mods will introduce themselves lol. Enjoy your stay here
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Welcome:) I’m currently on 50 mg of seroquel. I feel much better. I Hope I will not be psychotic again.
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I’m on 900 mgs of Seroquel and thst really helps.
I wellcome you to this forum and as you surly know.
We are all friends here.
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