Search the Community

Hi everyone, I've been wondering about people's experience who have been on both the immediate release and extended release version of Seroquel. I have only tried the IR, and it knocked me out at doses from 25mg-100mg and when i woke up it felt so impossible to get out of bed and get ready for the day, then the rest of the day was alright as long as I took my ADHD medication. My current problems are under control, for the most part, I am just looking for other's who have had different experiences with the IR vs the XR version of Seroquel so that I can have insight if I need to consider treatment with quetiapine in the future. I'm mostly interested in the effectiveness to squash mania, the difference in sedation between the 2 different formulations and if anyone uses Seroquel on a PRN basis, for example only taking Seroquel when you are feeling manic and cannot sleep or feel mania coming on, please reply and let me know how this works and how your doctor feels about this treatment. If you do use it as PRN, do you use the XR or instant release formulation? I also am interested in anyone who takes ADHD stimulants with Seroquel and feels that the Seroquel makes their medication for ADHD less effective? I feel that my Rexulti may be making my Dexedrine and Zenzedi somewhat less effective and am considering getting off Rexulti if necessary and my pdoc agrees. Thanks for your replies!!

Hello, Is it safe to take regular Quetiapine 800mg all at night? Pdoc prescribed four 200mg tablets at night, but maximum single dose is 400mg. If I want decent sleep I have to take all dose (800mg) as a single dose at night. I'm feeling fine, no overdose symptoms, just little concerns about safety.

Hi all! I'm brand spanking new to the forums and I already have a question..is it normal for one's resting heart rate to steadily increase while starting Seroquel? Or should I be concerned? I'll admit I'm a bit anxious of it, though being a hypochondriac certainly doesn't help. I think I freaked myself out a bit today reading about how it can cause long QT syndrome and such. My FitBit (god bless that little watch) has tracked my heart rate steadily increasing since I began taking it (9/8/18), and I take half of a 25mg pill (so about 13mg) nightly before bed. I'm 5'8 and hovering around 108-111 lbs. Yes, I'm very underweight and that's actually part of why my doctor prescribed Seroquel, so it could help me gain weight (and raise my blood pressure). If it matters any, my only non-MI related diagnosis is ulcerative colitis, and I've been fighting that battle for ~2-3 years before it's finally recently gone into remission (before the Seroquel). I take no other medications at all and only supplement with a mild daily multi-vitamin. From previous tests my heart has been perfectly healthy, and my electrolytes/blood work have come back normal. Normal RHR for me is in the mid 60's to low 70's. Highest recorded RHR on my FitBit so far is 77bpm. I'm aware this is still perfectly within normal range, but isn't my body's normal. So just trying to gauge when/if I should be worried and talk to my doctor or ride it out. Seems like even the slightest of physical exertion shoots my heart rate into 100+bpm. Thanks much!! -P

Hi guys, just started seroquel/quetiapine 25 mg two days ago. I think it makes me hypomanic. Has anyone else experienced this? Does it go away? Im taking it for bipolar disorder

I am married to my husband almost 20 years and I have spent the last 5 years thinking/ acting out constantly about other men. Usually it is one obsession that lasts about 12 months or so and is quickly followed by another Sometimes it goes to emotional affairs, flirting, once to sexting but always, always in my head, constant intrusive fantasy of a ‘new life’. Husb doesn’t know all of it but enough to hurt and dismay. We are in therapy and no, i will not tell all - that’s just me unburdening my crap. He is a good man. I need this to stop in my head. I’m BPII, CPTSD etc, already on Lith, Efexor, Lamotrigine, anti-ep So tired of running from thoughts. Doc not sure what to do- tells me to buy lingerie to wear for husband?. Been there done that. She thinks it is kind of funny but that my life would not be very good if i left him with MI (he is ‘big’ around town). He really is great and my best friend. The thoughts won’t stop though continuous rumination about other blokes. THAT’S what is most distressing. I hate myself for this. I’m so very very tired. I’m thinking of asking doc for quetiapine or similar to calm this mind? Anyone been the same position of feeling like a lying, sneaky whore? Any thoughts received gratitude. Except maybe more marriage counselling, talking, hurting him and the kids. This is my crappy rumination, i need it out. This is on me.

Hi, I take generic Quetiapine 200 mg for anxiety and insomnia. There was a lot of improvement but I still suffer from anxiety/panic attacks. My doc tried increasing the Quetiapine dose up to 400 mg but I didn't notice any improvement. Looks like 200 mg is the optimum dose. If my sleep quality is good, the day will be very calm and relaxed. I observed that if I take Quetiapine 200 mg + Diazepam 10 mg before sleep then my anxiety/panic attacks are totally under control. Sleep quality was very good. There was no daytime drowsiness either. It was just perfect. But the problem is that benzodiazepines are not for long-term use. So, we have been trying to find other medications that can augment Quetiapine just like Diazepam did. Quetiapine 200 mg + Trazodone 50 mg caused a lot of drowsiness and daytime dizziness. I could not take the combination for more 5 days. Quetiapine 200 mg + Tegretol 300 mg actually reduced the sleep quality and increased anxiety (Tegretol and Trileptal reduce the effectiveness of Quetiapine). Quetiapine 200 mg + Lithium caused a lot of daytime drowsiness but there was no improvement in my anxiety/panic attacks. What other medications can I take along with Quetiapine before sleep to further improve the sleep quality? Is anyone taking any medications in addition to Quetiapine before sleep? Thank you for your responses.

I have quite a long history of major depressive disorder, with anxiety, along with an ED that I've recovered and relapsed with several times over the last 15 years. Over the years I've been prescribed paxil(gave me double vision), citalopram (worked well for around 12 years, but left me constantly exhausted and flat) and currently effexor-xr/venlafaxine. I'm currently spiraling down pretty badly, after over a year of several traumatic events and other stressors, and my dr has prescribed seroquel/quetiapine 25mg, to help me sleep and as an ajunct to the effexor I'm already taking. I've taken it two nights so far, and I don't know if I should persevere with it or not. It helps me sleep alright, I'm asleep by 10:30pm, instead of still being awake at 3am, however I have such a hangover that doesn't wear off until about 5pm, and it seems to be making me angry and even more depressed. This is a small dose so it shouldn't be hitting me so hard? Should I persevere? I'm currently not functional due to MDD, have had to take time off work, don't know if I even still have a job. I'm also struggling with the idea of taking an antipsychotic when I'm not psychotic. The stigma etc. Which is in my own head because the only people who know I'm taking it are my self and my dr. And I'm afraid of losing my intelligence on it. I pride myself on my intelligence. It's the only strength I feel I have.

When i was on week 3 of 150 mg Wellbutrin, the depresion lifted and i felt better. Motivation and energy came back. Depression wasn't all completely gone though, so i wanted to increase the dosage to 300 mg. At the end of week 4 however, i had a massive anxiety panic attack because of something i read online that really confused me. So whole week 5 i spent with massive anxiety, screaming, crying and loss of joy. Obsessing over what i read. 3 days ago I contacted my phsyciatrist, and decided to increase Wellbutrin to 300 mg and Seroquel to 100 mg. Since then i've been feeling lethargic, empty and demotivated. Just like how i felt before i started on Wellbutrin. Does this indicate that Wellbutrin stopped working for me? Or could it be the Seroquel making me feel like this?

Hi everyone, I'm new here, I posted an intro topic which can be found here for anyone who's interested :-) The escitalopram I was using pooped out after 6 years, so I needed to find something new and I saw a psychiatrist recently. I was put on sertraline 10 days ago. So far so good. No real side effects. I'm on 50 mg, that's hardly a therapeutic dose, right? I want to go to 100 or a little more, and see how it goes. What he also said that I could take quetiapine / Seroquel 'as needed'. Never heard of this but I suppose since he's the doctor he would know. Are there any people here who take an anti-psychotic 'as needed'? I won't see this pdoc anytime soon....he only does consultations for my general doctor's office, so I can't ask more questions. I don't know if I have to wait for the sertraline to kick in? My issues: I call it 'stuck thought syndrome' because the classic Pure O is more about scary/bizarre/agressive/sexual thoughts and I don't have these. But it has become a big obsession for me to get rid of a certain unwanted thought. It's really intrusive, it comes back often, I get anxious, I try to find solutions, ruminate about it all the time...It's always the same thought bugging me and after 10 years of therapy I'm still not able to let it go. I have a big aversion to this thought so that is probably why it keeps coming back. Fluvoxamine pooped out on me in 2010, but helped me a lot, later on escitalopram was helpful....but with sertraline I can't tell yet. I hope it will work, and I really dread the antipsychotics because of side effects. I don't know if I'm going to gain weight on it but I really don't want to. But maybe I don't need to worry about this side effect because I just take it whenever this thought comes back and gets stuck again? The pdoc said it's a really good med for getting thoughts 'loosen up' and 'unstuck'. Could be just what I need!

Hello. Around a week ago my Seroquel dose got increased from 150mg a day to 300mg a day. I take it for bipolar I and autism spectrum disorder. I take 150mg early in the morning, before school and the other half before going to sleep. I'm feeling extremely tired and drowsy. I find it hard to concentrate which is an issue because I have a very demanding academic life that requires me to be awake and cognitively at my peak. Since it manages my psychosis and makes me able to tolerate life I am reluctant to stop taking it. I have taken risperidone and amisulpride before but they make me extremely irritable/ don't quite stop the psychosis. In addition to Seroquel I take 20mg of escitalopram (lexapro generic). My question is, will the tiredness go away? Or do I ask for a change?

Hello. Around a week ago my Seroquel dose got increased from 150mg a day to 300mg a day. I take it for bipolar I and autism spectrum disorder. I take 150mg early in the morning, before school and the other half before going to sleep. I'm feeling extremely tired and drowsy. I find it hard to concentrate which is an issue because I have a very demanding academic life that requires me to be awake and cognitively at my peak. Since it manages my psychosis and makes me able to tolerate life I am reluctant to stop taking it. I have taken risperidone and amisulpride before but they make me extremely irritable/ don't quite stop the psychosis. In addition to Seroquel I take 20mg of escitalopram (lexapro generic). My question is, will the tiredness go away? Or do I ask for a change?

I've been titrating Seroquel down from a dose of 600mg XR and I'm now down to 0mg. I've been titrating slowly, without going cold turkey. Because of the way Seroquel XR is formulated, you have to drop from 50 mg to 0. It is worth noting that I'm being treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, not schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. I'm in the process of taking Prazosin (minipress) and titrating it up to a therapeutic level and now that I'm up to 20 mg of Prazosin, I'm feeling okay in general. Prazosin is an alpha 1 adrenergic receptor antagonist in the same way that seroquel is - hence the change in medication. I reduced the seroquel from 50 mg to 0 mg on Thursday night. I slept fine on the Thursday, but by Friday afternoon, things fell apart. I became irrationally suicidal. I had a large amount of medication due to weaning off seroquel, titrating up the Prazosin and also taking 300 mg of Pristiq per day. Since then, I haven't slept more than 4 hours a night. I can't seem to get to sleep before 5 am, and I wake after a couple of hours at best. The insomnia is intolerable, I just can't drift off to sleep. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to go to the GP and get some sleeping tablets.because I just need something to get me to sleep. My psychiatrist has been really unhelpful, he tells me to just take enough seroquel to make me sleep, but I don't want to do that. I feel like if I do that, that I'll never get off the seroquel. I need to be able to sleep because I'm a law student, and my trimester is starting in a week's time. How long will the insomnia from the seroquel last?

Please can someone help. I am very stressed and worried. I am 19 weeks 3 days pregnant and have been taking 400 mg of quetiapine the whole pregnancy so far for physocosis, insomnia, and anxiety. Can someone please tell me if they have ever or is taking Quatiapine during pregnancy ??? If so how did it effect the baby, mentally.. physically.. please Help. I don't think me stressing about the answers to this is good for me and the child.

Since going on 50 mg of quetiapine I have been getting visual hallucinations. They essentially look like a constant static, a constant flicker, constant rapidly moving transparent lines, or looking through the open doors of a supermarket on a cold winter day, encompassing my entire visual field. I used to see these same hallucinations before I went on risperidone a long time ago, in any mood. Now that I am at 100 mg of quetiapine they are more pronounced (e.g. I now see this in my computer screen where I did not at 50 mg), and I assume that they will become even more pronounced with subsequent dose increases. And it does seem that my dose will need to be increased as, while 100 mg is working some, it is still not working enough. Apparently hallucinations are not an uncommon side effect of quetiapine. What I am asking is for others have they continually increased with dose, and they have, typically how fast have they increased? I ask as for me the hallucinations are likely going to be the limiting factor in how high I will be able to go on quetiapine, and while I really want to see if I can go higher on it even with increased hallucinations, if they increase so much that I will never reach a therapeutic dose before the hallucinations become intolerable, why should I bother?

I've been on Seroquel( well generic, Quetiapine ) for months now, i've been on 100mg at night - Since its been amazing for helping me sleep at night, i have noticed my anxiety hasnt really improved ( not blaming meds ) and my moods have not either, infact im up and down in some type of pattern ( noticed a week or 2 weeks before im due for my period ) i seem to get suicidal and/or really depressed ) - anyways im going off topic a little - Wanting to not be sleeping my days away i thought id go back to GP and tell him, i told him i really dont wanna change meds ( because this is my first time being on Antipsych meds ) and i was scared enough as it is going on them in the first place - anyways, he said for me to take 100 mg in the morning and see how that goes - oh boy was i wrong in feeling like that would help.. I was doing that dosage for 3 days, those days were all fine, infact i was feeling really drugged up and relaxed ( i took that as a good sign that that would start working in a week or so ) - Hell no, no no no no - Its been 7 days since i had light headed and HUGE panic attack that is just worse, i got up to get a drink from being on pc and i though oh wow this is weird i dont feel good, its like a panic attack but worse, walking around i thought fuck im going to passout, yup im going to pass out and im gone, something felt so so wrong, anyways not a good time i nearly had to get my mum to call ambo, she really wanted me to but i freak out, im scared oh hospitals (aswell as ending up in psych ward, great fear ) - anyways to cut it short, 2 doctors later and im on day 7, i feel not well at all still. After this happened i went back to my 100mg dosage at night only ( 2nd doc that i had to call to home ( home doc ) said to do that, 1st doc i went to was really useless ( Sunday doc, my doc was shut ) - I still feel like walking around and even sitting down like im going to pass out and panic attacks/anxiety attacks, the main thing is i feel like im " not here" its scary as fuck and i want it to go away, its horrible its hell. Does anyone have a clue or something happened to them going up in dosage on Seroquel/Quetiapine ? Both doctors didnt give much - And yes im going to go see a pdoc, its just really hard atm, im really struggling, i wanna feel like myself again, i want these passing out/ not feeling like im here that i get with panic attacks to go away, i thought by now id be better since im on my normal dose again and its been days, and im doing my best to stay as calm as possible and not freak out as i read thats not going to make it better. Also have freaked myself out at reading another forum and people have this and its lasted them a month/ or months or even years, im so scared and im so so tired, its draining, i feel like im always on the couch now, so instead of sleeping my days away im now couch bound and feeling like this.. I've been meaning to make this thread for days now, i keep holding hope that its going to go away I hope i havent forgotten anything and sorry about typing or any errors as my mind is just really all over the place confuses slightly It might not even be from the upped dose? I dont know. I thought maybe its from something else, since i have been have nightmares ( meds make them vivid but then again i have dreams that are vivid so im not blaming meds ) and it has been bringing someone up but i wont get into that as its very TW im sure to others, and it might not even have anything to do with that.

.

My dr has been intent on getting me off of Seroquel. I was taking 200 mg and now I'm down to 25. I'm cutting the pills up about as small as I can. For those of you who've weaned off it, what was your last dose? I take my meds at around 9pm. At 6 pm the next day, I start feeling dizzy and hung over. I know Seroquel has a half life of roughly 6 hrs, so that must be the point that it's nearly out of my system. The dr has mostly left me to my own devices after giving me a rough guideline as to how to wean off. I've weaned off meds before. But for those of you who have gotten off it, do you think I'm better off just jumping off here? I don't know which would be worse... the "wear off" effect around noon every day, or going off it entirely.

Hi all !! So I've been tapering off Quetiapine for a good while now, as my only bout of severe depression has been in remission since 2011, and am now on 87.5mg. Four weeks ago, I believe I suffered a concussion/mild brain trauma from boxing, my cognitive functions have suffered significantly and I've had bad anxiety/depressive thoughts too - my pdoc is viweing this is a flare up of my past depression which needs resovling ASAP. So I was offered Paroxetine, then Venlafaxine, I really wanted Wellbutrin because it has the least reported sexual dysfunction issues and may help with mental sharpness. Pdoc wasn't sure, so in the end I've been prescribed Trazodone 150mg at night - along with the existing Quetiapine dose! I woke up at 4am feeling like I was drowning / suffocating inside my own body and my mind was actually racing for a while before I zonked out back to sleep. I eventually came to around 8am feeling really groggy and struggled dizzily to the bathroom mirror - my eyes were a mess, I looked as if I had been on a huge night out on the town. I've not been able to think properly all day, there was no way I would have been able to function in work and in light of the fact that I believe I am already suffering cognitive impairment from the concussion, over sedation is the absolute last thing I need. At one point I had a really bad migraine type headache, which I never get, so I managed to speak to Pdoc, who eventually suggested cutting the pills in half, then review the over-sedation issue Friday. My gut feel is Quetiapine combined with Trazodone is heavy duty. If its still an issue, it looks Venlafaxine at 75mg/d, though he conceded to looking into the possibility of Wellbutrin too (largely subject to establishing any contra-indications with Quetiapine). All I know is I cant take any more Trazodone tonight and will start 75mg tomorrow evening to see how I get on - if I return to a state of non-complis mentis on Thursday, they are going in the bin. This basically leaves the pdocs preferred choice of Venlafaxine, or possibly the Wellbutrin; Does anyone have any experience with Trazodone and Quetiapine combined? How about any opinions on Venlafaxine and sexual dysfunction?What experience do people have with Wellbutrin in terms of its anti-depressant / anxiety efficacy or mental lucidity and whether it impacted sleep?

Hi there everyone, I'm new here. I'll try to keep this as brief as possible! Basically I have bipolar & I'm going through a very low patch at the moment. I currently take 30mg Abilify, 200mg Lamictal & 150mg Trazodone. I know Trazodone is an antidepressant but it doesn't seem to make me manic at such a low dose & I was put on it originally to help me sleep, which it unfortunately doesn't. So my problem is that I want to stop taking the Trazodone & replace it with something that will help me sleep because my psychiatrist won't prescribe me sleeping pills regularly. Until a year ago or so, I was on Seroquel 700mg instead of the Abilify which knocked me out for hours but I gained 70lbs on it. When I saw my prescribing nurse last week, he suggested no longer prescribing the Trazodone & instead adding Zyprexa (a low dose, in addition to the Abilify) but my immediate reaction was absolute terror that I would gain back the 70lbs which I have now lost again. So my question is this - does ANYBODY out there know of an antipsychotic that will cause some level of drowsiness, control my moods (which tend to be more depressive than manic) & NOT make me gain weight? Or am I really asking for too much over here? Thanks so much for any responses in advance. I am really struggling at the moment & knowing that there are people like you in similar situations helps a lot.

Hi, I'm dealing with really tight stiff muscles all over the place. I've been tapering off of seroquel, the lower the dose the worse these symptoms have been getting. Has anyone else had really stiff/ rigid muscles while taking seroquel? The fact that it's getting worse while tapering is making me worried about various TD syndromes. Thanks, Beau.

So quetiapine makes me hungry. I am hungry even after meals. I've tried snacking but I just overeat. I'm now trying three meals a day but I'm HUNGRY. I drink water before and after each meal. I've joined a gym to get fit and diet is the thing holding me back now. How do I stop being hungry? Any advice, helpful links, filling foods, just anything to help me feel full??? Help!

Hello everyone, I'm on Risperidone for my anti-depressant induced BP-II (had serotonin syndrome). I really would like to just keep it with anti-psychotics if possible. So my question is, what AP have you found stabilizes you without the need for other meds? I've been on 0.5mg up to 1mg daily (currently trying 1mg at night). I tried spreading it out during the day but got unacceptable side effects such as sedation and nervousness. I'm so far not feeling a great stabilizing effect, I've been getting swings every few days still. So I'm not convinced this is the best choice. A year ago I did find Seroquel worked wonders for stabilizing mood, but at the time had something of a fragile dopaminergic system so it ended up causing panic attacks after 3 months of working up the dose to 250mg. However after that I was able to ride it out without medication (before I upset my balance again with lithium orotate) so I'm wondering if I should try Seroquel again. An alternative would be Abilify, unsure whether the partial dopamine agonist (so called 'dopamine stabilizer') would be good or bad considering my propensity for anxiety, and sensitive dopaminergic system, or whether its just a matter of finding the right dose. Has anyone had a pdoc willing to mix 2 different APs successfully? Such as Risperidone and Abilify for example, or maybe risperidone and Seroquel (quetiapine)? I know the standard wisdom is it increases the chances of EPS but I doubt that would be a problem with Abilify in a small dose, or even Seroquel (since its a loose binding dopamine antagonist). Would be pleased to hear your thoughts Thanks

I know generally, for a lot of people, it's the other way around and that antipsychotics can cause it. I had pretty bad Akathisia prior to being prescribed a quite low (50mg) dose of quetiapine split into two 25mg doses - AM and PM. I found that, at first, the morning dose put me into a horrible in-between state where the inner restlessness was still ever-present but the sedating effect of the meds stopped me from moving as I routinely did to find relief. After a few weeks, though, it began to apply to the restless feeling too, and I no longer felt the need to keep moving. Has anyone else experienced this? Curious to see whether it was, in fact, the seroquel that stopped it when I was on the med since Akathisia's been back after stopping cold turkey.

Hello! I am new to the board, I hope I have chosen the right forum to pose this question. I've been on 300mg of Seroquel XL for close to three years, for Bipolar II. Almost four months ago I had the dose upped to 400mg. Sometimes I have a feeling that is best described by the Akathisia label, internal feeling of restlessness, external feeling something uncomfortable on my skin. Moving, shaking, rubbing my arms, and etc... helps relieve it most of the time. It is rare and transient; I thought it was connected with mania, but I've had it a few times recently, and have certainly not been manic. I do also get it when I take my medication and don't allow myself to sleep. I rarely let this happen, but whenever it does, I always get the akathisia feeling, and it's much, much, stronger. I feel like there are ants under my skin, I have to move, and when I sit still again, it comes back quickly. It goes away when I lie down to sleep, and it's never there when I wake up. Essentially, I am wondering a) If anyone else has this feeling on Seroquel (or not); b) If it is a form of akathisia, or something else; c) If it's psychosomatic - my mother thinks so, but I really don't feel like it is; d) If it could be a precursor to chronic akathisia? That is my main worry - I really, really don't think I could manage this feeling long-term. And Seroquel works so well for me! Any and all answers appreciated - thank you!

Hi, I've recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (don't know which type yet), and the psychiatrist prescribed me some Seroquel XR. She told me to slowly increase the dose: Week 1: 50 mg DIE HS x 7 days Week 2: 100 mg DIE HS x 7 days Week 3: 150 mg DIE HS x 7 days Week 4 and until they find an appropriate dose: 200 mg DIE HS *DIE = once daily **HS = at bedtime I just started 150 mg last night, and I suddenly lost about 3 lbs., and I woke up this morning experiencing a down phase. I was 161 lbs. before starting Seroquel, and now I'm at 156-157 lbs. My cheeks have also hollowed. Kind of like this: It makes me look sick under certain lighting, and I feel like I lost a lot of muscle mass (looking in the mirror). The psychiatrist told me it might make me gain weight, but I'm experiencing the opposite (cut appetite too; usually I have a huge appetite after working out, but now I always feel disgusted by food), and even after 2 weeks of this, I'm still sleeping 12 hours a night. So, my question is, have any of you experienced weight loss on this? Also, how are you managing with the drowsiness (excessive sleeping)? What would increasing the dose do to my body?