condition Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Hello, I am being struggling with insomnia, mainly the first stage, i.e. difficulty to fall asleep. My Doc prescribed zolpidem and clorazepate but instructed me not to use them daily. At another visit, the last, we discussed to use quetiapine 25mg as a sleeping aid. So I got a box of 25mg and the first one knocked me out. At the time I was very happy with quetiapine as I believed that 25mg will not make me hungry or change my metabolism. However after 15 pills -NOT DAILY- around 3 nights per week, it cannot send me to sleep. Obviously I have to increase the dose to get the sedating effect, haven't met with Doc yet, but if I go up to 50mg, then after a month I have to raise it to 75mg in order to be effective and then to 100mg? Do you have any feedback on that? Maybe people that use quetiapine 50mg only as a sleeping for years? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brainweather Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 i know people who have been on the same dose for years and still find it effective. after a certain point, seroquel will actually become less effective for sleep, but that point is different for everyone (AFAIK the lower the dosage, the more effective it is as a sleep aid in general). i personally went from 25 to 50 to 100 to 150 and it works most of the time. others however can stay on 25 mgs for years without any change. there's no hard and fast rule, and insomnia can be tricky to treat. i have the same problem as you - falling asleep. staying asleep is not a problem and after i've been asleep i can generally stay in bed for hours and hours but falling asleep is really difficult and stressful for me;.are you on XR or IR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condition Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 thanks for replying, I am on 25mg IR generic, but I haven't even finished the first box containing 60. The first 10 pills were like godsend for me and didn't use them daily, couple of nights per week, when I felt the more stressed and didn't want to rely on ambien. Then last week I pop one at evening around 10 and up to midnight I didn't fall asleep and took trazodone to help it. Then I didn't use them for 3-4 days and when I got another one, I reconfirmed that it wasn't enough anymore. What I really don't like is that even using them rarely, one or max two per week, and after around 30 pills, the initial dose of 25mg is not effective any more and the thought that if I relied on them daily I would now be up to 100mg for the same effect, or this is my conclusion so far, based on minimal use and knowledge of the drug, that is why I appreciate users' feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brainweather Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 i use them daily and i never had to make that far of a jump so rapidly. i went up every couple of months (but took 50 pretty quickly on, 25 mgs was too low for me from the beginning). 50 or 75 mg might be sustainable for you, you won't necessarily have to keep bumping up so quickly or at all. i also think that you have to take them a little more to gauge the effectiveness. is there a reason you aren't taking them every night? there are other factors to take into consideration too. the time you're taking your meds and caffeine consumption around bedtime, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condition Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 (edited) Where I live quetiapine is cheap and without prescription needed. I am middle aged and have done my research about side effects of each drug. We decided with psy doc to use ambien that is cheap too but it requires prescription and I have to pay the doc visits, but has less side effects and I was on diet then with no need to be on diet anymore though. To avoid using ambien daily and avoid eventual pop up and possible addiction, I am using it every other day and the other days trazodone, clorazepate or even atarax and seroquel of course. The doctor also told me that almost all of his elder patients are to some dose of seroquel and I decided to leave it for a next decade, how do you find my logic, is it better to use mainly ambien at my 40s and keep seroquel for a later stage? Also switch sleeping drugs daily, will somehow confuse my sleeping pattern and better to stay in one drug? Edited May 14, 2014 by condition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoidling Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 (edited) - Edited April 30, 2022 by Paranoidling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condition Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 For how long?Sorry I just saw the month. I hope it wl work for you for long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brainweather Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 (edited) seroquel effectiveness/use/prescription has nothing at all to do with age. i am 22, and i was prescribed it first in my late teens. AFAIK its given to all ages, i know a lot of people in their 20s on seroquel for sleep. i personally would think it better to take the same drug consistently, when i stop and start taking seroquel it doesn't have the same consistent effect, however, i never go through withdrawal. talk to your doc about it. it seems strange to take so many drugs off and on for the same reason when one would do the trick. are you worried about side effects with seroquel? since you said you were on a diet i'm thinking you might be worried about weight gain/increased hunger as a side effect. it could and does happen, but not with everyone. Edited May 14, 2014 by brainweather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condition Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 it didn't happen for me yet at 25mg. Anyway I have lost all the weight that I wanted and now I am in no need of a further diet. I have appointment with my doc next week next Thursday, and I will discuss it again. I am 6.1 ft with weight aroun195 lb. I guess this plays a role, my weight, so I would need higher dose of seroquel than a female with weight 120 lb, provided also of my past with various abuses. Regarding seroquel and ambien, I have to admit that I feel better the next day if I take ambien, more refreshed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brainweather Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 you will know what works best for you (under guidance of your doc, of course). if ambien is the more helpful drug overall, the benefits might outweigh the possible negatives in your case. finding the right meds for you will always be a work in progress, but when you find the right mix it feels great and totally worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condition Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Thanks. I have found out that 10mg of clorazepate help me sleep better than any other, but its a benzo and I am kind of reluctant to rely for sleep for possible physical addiction and dose increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess xox Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 I used to be on 600mg (also for psychosis and mood swings/racing thoughts), I'm currently on 250mg. It does the job but it's wrecking my body. But the side effects are better than the discomfort of not sleeping, so I would increase your dose slightly if you're up for that. It definitely helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condition Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 I used to be on 600mg (also for psychosis and mood swings/racing thoughts), I'm currently on 250mg. It does the job but it's wrecking my body. But the side effects are better than the discomfort of not sleeping, so I would increase your dose slightly if you're up for that. It definitely helps. thanks, I am already at 50mg couple of times per week (alternating with clorazepate and zolpidem) and 75 mg sertraline with intention to go to 100 mg. I do not want to end up taking more than 100 mg quetiapine for sleep. If 50 mg works for now, do you think that after some months I will need a further increase? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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