Question around tapering quetiapine and insomnia

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Support Tapering

February 26, 2026

What would you suggest to help with insomnia if tapering off Quetiapine. Ive got down to 50 mg I can probably manage to get down to 25 mg but not sure how to taper beyond that. I have histamine intolerance so suspect I’m going to end up taking a sedating antihistamine instead so is it worth the bother ?

Seroquel — 50mg — 3 years — researching taper | Prozac — 10mg — 30years — holding | with clinician

7 Replies

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BasedStaffFeb 26

Community AnchorEffexor

Hi Deborah, Youre on a good path! Your concern for tapering below 25mg is valid, below 25mg, the taper gets trickier because standard tablets don't go smaller. Ask your doctor about the liquid formulation. It lets you make tiny reductions at your own pace, which makes a real difference at that stage. As for the sleep, thats definitely, tricky, especially with quetiapine. Do you do any sleep hygiene fine-tuning? light, temperature, consistent wake times, happy to discuss this more if applicable. Something else you could try to CBT for insomnia, it has a good track record. Let me know if this is helpful, we can continue to troubleshoot some solution for you.

Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.

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CatinaFeb 26

Community AnchorEffexor

Hi Deborah! There are lots of non-drug ways to cope with sleeping issues. As BP mentioned, having good sleep hygiene is important. Also, CBT can help reframe any negative thoughts we have toward sleep. Have you ever tried EFT Tapping? I've had success with it. Here are some links that might help you: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/25270-tips-to-help-sleep-so-many-of-us-have-that-awful-withdrawal-insomnia/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_hIEwmG_G8 https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1707-tips-for-tapering-off-seroquel-quetiapine/ I hope things improve for you soon!

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 16.64 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Synthroid - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

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BasedStaffFeb 26

Community AnchorEffexor

Great resources Catina! Way to go!

Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.

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CatinaFeb 26

Community AnchorEffexor

Thank you! So many struggle with insomnia during withdrawal. It's good to have as many coping skills as we can. 👍

OxycoffinMar 16

Navigatorother · planning

I was worried about tapering past a certain point off it too - my fears were unfounded. Even if its harder at first to fall asleep or stay asleep - there are tons of things you can do that will improve the quality of your sleep naturally. I'd recommend trying anything you read about, because you never know how much something has the potential to help you until you try it. By the way - seroquel actually makes the quality of your sleep worse even if it felt sedating at one point. You will sleep much better off it, if you give it a bit of time.

other — 45 mg — Years — planning taper | with clinician

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CatinaMar 16

Community AnchorEffexor

"there are tons of things you can do that will improve the quality of your sleep naturally. I'd recommend trying anything you read about, because you never know how much something has the potential to help you until you try it." — @Oxycoffin

So true! We've created a very informative document about Insomnia in the Symptoms & Self-Care section here that has some good suggestions: https://taper.community/thread/fad854f7-f9a4-421d-b60f-bf11aa13a251

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CatinaMar 16

Community AnchorEffexor

@Oxycoffin, I must say that I really like your screen name. It's quite clever and very fitting!

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