Why combine Seroquel and Zyprexa?

[AlliedMintOwl]

Hello all! First post, and it's a question.

 

I was recently hospitalized and had another anti-psychotic (seroquel) added to my current cocktail. However the psych never gave justification for why he had added this except to say that it had a mood stabilizing effect. I was already taking 12.5 mg of Zyprexa daily at the time (now down to 10 mg). From what I have read there is little benefit to combining AAPs. The doctor intended to increase the dose to around 250 mg. Has anyone had this combination in the past and found it superior to simply taking one AAP? I was only able to find one thread and it was a couple of years old, but it seemed that most posters that took both used seroquel as a sleep aid rather than used for mood stabilizing effect. I am now out of the hospital and don't have a chance to speak to this doctor again, so I am seeking the advice of strangers online.   Thanks in advance for any information you guys are able to provide.

[Zxrtpky7g]

So they are currently decreasing your Zyprexa? Sometimes they will put you on a second antipsychotic when they are tapering you off the first one. They did that to me. I was taking risperdal and my pdoc(psychiatrist) started me on seroquel at the same time as I went down on risperdal. My seroquel is for my disorder itself, not as a sleep aid. My seroquel helps with the voices. People take seroquel for different reasons. 

 

I hope everything goes well for you. I know that I did not have the same combination of meds as you, but I hope this answer somewhat helps. 

[lysergia]

maybe one is for mood and the other for sleep?  i dunno, just a guess.

[AnneMarie]

To my knowledge, Zyprexa is as good with mood stabilization as is Seroquel, perhaps better depending on dosing. Of course, your mileage may very since each person responds a little differently to these psych meds.

 

Your Seroquel dose is more of a sleep aid dose than that of a stabilizer.

 

You'd really have to talk to the docs to figure out their reasoning. None of us are docs here. When is your next appointment?

[notfred]

Seroquel does not have activity as an antipsychotic at 50 mgs and is used as a sleep aide.

[Savannah]

I take 3 antipsychotics and it takes all 3 to keep me sane, or relatively sane.

[AnneMarie]

I should have added above that 250mg of Seroquel is starting to be a stabilizer dose. However, it is not equivalent to the amount of Zyprexa that you are taking. Of course, you can always increase if the med seems like a good fit.

[rowan77]

When I was hospitalised a few days after Christmas last year I was on Seroquel XR and the pdoc increased that to 800mg.

 

After a few days with little improvement in my manic state I was started on haloperidal 5mg 3 x daily. My symptoms improved but I was still manic.

 

So the pdoc prescribed 10mg zyprexa 2 x daily PRN which I took most days. So at one point I was taking 3 anti-psychotics to get me out of the horrors of mania.

 

Now that I'm stable I am only taking one anti-psychotic. Sometimes you just need extra meds when you are acutely unwell. And there are lots of people who take more than one anti-psychotic in order to stay well. 

[mellifluous]

i've been prescribed more than one atypical concurrently.  in my case it was a matter of covering all possible bases, much like someone else noted, after having finally been yanked out of being psychotic and my doctor not wanting to take any chances. as far as whether it was more effective than one alone...personally, i can't say and i doubt my doctor could either.  it's possible that being on just zyprexa, for example, would've been equally effective.  the problem was that there wasn't room for risking having it fall short.  

 

i will say that for a spell i was taking three and that wasn't ideal for me, but i think that's an individual thing.  atypicals are less homogeneous than people might think,however, and i've reacted, or not reacted at all, differently to each.  there are some things that traditional antipsychotics almost across the board fall short on, and some things atypicals have in common, for the most part, and i've found my best combination to be one of each at this point...

[Wonderful.Cheese]

I'm currently taking 3 AAP's. I want to drop one of them (the latuda). Seroquel and abilify work much better for me. Not saying latuda is bad, because it is a great med. But for me personally seroquel and abilify have been my lifesavers.

 

Some pdocs like to prescribe more than one AP at a time. Others frown upon it. YMMV of course.

 

Personally though I have found it most helpful for me to be on 2 AAP's. Abilify really helps my mood. But once I got on seroquel I noticed that it helped my anxiety, sleep, and psychosis. Abilfiy alone didn't cut it for me.

 

Anyways, I hope you find the right combo of meds soon. It can be a long search.