Going off Antipsychotic meds

I've decided to start a blog as I attempt to go off my bipolar meds for the second time. The first time, over a year ago, I had lots of withdrawal symptoms despite using True Hope's supplements, and had to go back on my regular doses of Depakote, Seroquel and Zyprexa. I've spent the last 15 months trying to find out as much information as possible as to how to go off the meds without severe withdrawal symptoms. I'll cover some of the info I came across in upcoming blogs and possibly test out some of the natural alternatives myself as well.

In a week or two, after I start a 7-day pre-taper using the organization The Road Back's supplements, I'll begin tapering from the 500mg of Depakote ER I'm currently on. We (my psychiatrist and I) are switching to Depakote sprinkles in the hopes that I can weigh the sprinkles and then gradually cut back on the dosage. If I don't do that, my cuts will be 25% with each taper (the smallest dosage Depakote immediate release comes in is 125mg), and that might be too big since The Road Back suggests 5% cuts every two weeks for an anticonvulsant (Depakote falls under this category, but is also used off label as a mood stabilizer). I'm going to try a 1/8th reduction instead, and see how that goes. I can always make adjustments for a faster or slower taper as I move along.

I'm also only tapering one drug this time around, the Depakote, since The Road Back claims that you need to go off of the anticonvulsant before the antipsychotic meds (which is the category Seroquel and Zyprexa fall under). According to The Road Back, the reason why is that the antipsychotic stimulants increase the clearance time of the anticonvulsant by as much as 50%, and if you reduce these other drugs first you will go into withdrawal with the anticonvulsant, even though the anticonvulsant dosage was not reduced.

And one more thing. I plan on continuing with The Road Back supplements throughout the taper, and I'll go into more detail about those later, but I'm really hoping that they help with some of the symptoms that I experienced last time, such as:
Hot flashes/sweats, day and night
rashes
headaches
nausea
anxiety
heart palpitations at night right after going to sleep
jaw clenching
insomnia
restless leg syndrome
overall just feeling lousy

I think that the Seroquel was causing many of those symptoms, but I could be wrong. I wish I had a magic ball that would tell me what would be the best way to get off of all of my meds (something my psychiatrist is on board with), but until then, trial and error, keeping notes on my progress, and gut instinct will have to suffice.