lysergia Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 okay i've had this wicked pain in my calf that hasn't gone away for five days (without a triggering injury). i stayed home for two whole days this week to rest it, made sure i was well hydrated, ate bananas and yogurt and cheese (potassium and calcium), used heat and advil, all that stuff. right back to severe cramping as soon as i started walking again. surfed around a bit and i guess this is a possible SE of seroquel. so i read what one would do about it (in the short term) if that were the case. benzos & NSAIDS together, says teh interweb. so yesterday i tried it and lo and behold, i could WALK to my neighbours and back with minimal pain last night. of course it's back again this morning, and as soon as i feel awake enough to swallow more benzos, i'll repeat what worked. i may be totally imagining that this is the seroquel. i thought at first it was dehydration, but i'm not sure about that now since it hasn't gone away. anybody get these? what did you do about it? i'm scared to give up seroquel because i don't know about any other AAP that works for BP depression, and the AD class is officially a no-go for me ever again (according to pdoc, and i agree). i don't like the idea of more benzos but if i can keep the quel by treating the cramps this way i'll do it. hell, both pdocs i've seen in the last few months don't want me off the clonazepam anyway. so yeah, if you've had this and fixed it, or if you think i'm overreacting, please i would love some feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 lys, I get them. This is actually the first time I HAVEN'T on high dose quel, but that is beause I am all benzo'd up atm. They are short, but disabling. I literally fall to the floor in pain, yelling. It's like a total spasm. I find risperdal antidepressant more so than seroquel actually, tbh. I like it better overall, I just need some quel for sleep which is why it's always been my primary AAP. So that might be one to consider, if quel is disabling for you. Or, you may opt for something to treat the EPS long term, which there are other options besides benzos, which you should talk to your doctor about. If sleep is not an issue for you, risperdal might work perfectly well, and also find it more organizing brain function wise than seroquel. I really, really love it. In fact, I am considering asking my pdoc if I can keep risperdal as my main AAP, and just reduce the seroquel as low as I can go for sleep. When I got OFF quel in preparation to try saphris, I got down to about 50 m.g. when not episodic and found I could still sleep. So, eh, you have options. Zydis may be an option for you, if it doesn't make you gain weight. I find zyprexa similarly antidepressant, but I absolutely cannot take it in any form. Some folks though, do NOT get the appetite increase, especially with zydis. I find zydis to be similarly useless for sleep, also. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enlightened_plutonian Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 This is interesting. I have always put my leg cramps down to my chronic pain issues, but these last few weeks I have had times when they get worse in the evenings (around 11pm, not long after taking my Seroquel). Personally I have never put the 2 together, but maybe there is a chance that Seroquel could be making them worse? Though thankfully bad leg cramps are not an everyday occurrence in the same way as my back pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpladybug Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I get sort of restless legs, with some cramps at night which i think is due to Seroquel. I sometimes pop some Xanax which helps. Now that I am on Temazepam at night it is better. Also my doctor gave me a big bottle of liquid calcium/magnesium......it helps but it tastes like YUCK. It is not a problem during the day, as I only take Quel at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I get restless legs after taking my 300 XR in the evening. Then last night I had to be on my feet on pavement at a party and my calves were cramping a bit. But I thought it might be from exercise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lysergia Posted July 30, 2011 Author Share Posted July 30, 2011 whew thanks y'all. this may not be imaginary after all, heh. i'll be telling pdoc about this on friday, but i hope by then it's a freakish one-time non-issue (yeah). Anna, risperdal was not nice to me when i tried it years ago. bad prolactin-related stuff. i'm anticipating a bump in my relatively tiny seroquel dose for depressive sx, and i'm scared this whole cramping thing is going to ruin that idea. but i'll keep in mind that maybe zydis would be an option. i've tried zydis for mixed stuff before and it was great but i have a feeling i'll gain mega weight, as i remember wanting to eat the entire fridge. i only get hungry on seroquel right after taking it, and i take it right before bed, so i'm kinda lucky that i can avoid the worst of it. not that i haven't already gained enough weight already to outgrow my clothes or anything maybe i'll wake up tomorrow and nothing will hurt! there's always hope... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 In retrospect, I felt kinda silly complaining about restless legs when you are in pain. Sorry, and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seamonkey Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 My feet cramp up a lot in bed. If it gets bad, I just do what my ballet teacher told us to do before ballet class to prevent cramps. Eat a banana and drink pickle juice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another bipolar bear Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Magnesium is good for muscle cramp too! I am on Seroquel as well and have cramping and tingling and pain but I think that's because of Fibromalgia but i will keep it is mind also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Yah, lys, ask yr doctor about options for EPS then. There's some really pretty harmless options, really. Also, over time, the cramps may subside, so you may be able to lower the side effect treating meds. Hang in there, hope the dr appt goes well. As I understand it, the only real EPS sx that can occur suddenly with quel that is an issues is esophageal spasm (I have no clue how to spell that) but it makes it so you can't feel like you can breathe, and that's a reason to quit. But, you don't have that one.... so.... Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceAndHarmony Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I get muscle cramps and spasms as well so I take 1mg of Cogentin twice a day. It really helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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