Ocracoker16 Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 I have been on Seroquel for 4 years now. I am on 600 mgs a day which is 150 in the morning and at 4 pm and 300 at night. I don't have any problems with the sedation. When I first started I fell asleep on 25 mgs. I was in the hospital for much of the time that I was going up on the dose. I fell asleep during groups. After I got to 400 I didn't feel drowsy at all while increasing the dose. It has not caused any weight gain for me. Sometimes meds don't have an immediate weight gain effect and it occurs more cumulatively over time. However, Seroquel has not added to my weight over the past 4 years.BSF, the first antipsychotic I was ever put on was Risperdal. I was diagnosed with major depression and I was told that it would make the antidepressant work better. So I have heard of it before and I would presume you would use a tiny dose. Don't be scared by the term antipsychotic. The newer atypical antipsychotics are used for many purposes other than psychosis and mania. I wish I had a more technical answer for how this would help your AD be more effective.Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvilla2426 Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 Well... I just started Seroques (like four days ago) so I'm only taking 25mgs and building up to it. I don't know what I'll build up to. The PDoc said something about 300 or 400 mgs, but I'm not sure if she was talking about the seroquel or the Zoloft, which I also recently started (about a month ago) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghayes420 Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Hello, this is my first post in a while. Good to be back.I am diagnosed with MIld Depression and Anxiety.I have been on Wellbutrin (200mg SR) for a couple years and I like it. My doctor also stacked it with Pamelor (Nortyptiline 75mg).He just recently added this Seroquel to my regimine to help me sleep at night. I was not getting good rest which he thinks may be leading to some anxiety. So he prescribed me Seroquel. Of course I was skeptical after reading that is is for Bi-polar and Schitzos. I am niether. The first night I took 50mg and I felt nothing and stillll awoke early at 5a.m. I called the doc and he said to bump it up to 100mg at bedtime. I did that last night and now this mornign I felt extremely tired and groggy when I woke up . I also slept almost 10 hours. My question to all of you is this...For those who are taking Seroquel, is this normal and does this groggy feeling wear off during the day? Also does the groggy feeling disappear after a few weeks. I am waiting to hear back from my doc on his thoughts but was curious as to what you guys think.Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Seroquel is often used by doctors who wish to avoid sleeping pills. Usually when you first take it you go through a period where you are groggy when you get up. If it doesn't go away in a week you may want to talk to the doctor about trying 75mgs instead of 100,Katie :wave: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchroedingersCat Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 I am currently taking 600 mg/day of Seroquel. 300 mg in the morning and 300 mg at bedtime. When I first started taking it, I was taking 400 mg/day. At first I felt like I was the title character from "Dawn of the Living Dead". But, after a couple of months or so, I reached a point where it just keeps me mellowed out. BTW, I take it primarily to control hallucinations and as an adjunct to my mood stabilizer. I am one of those bipolar and schizos. :;): SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeet Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 I take 200mg of seroquel for sleep aslo. It works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghayes420 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 OK so I am taking the 100mg of Seroquel at night. i have one problem. Why am I waking up every hour feeling like I have to pee? Has anyone heard of this as a side effect. This seems very strange to me, but I wke up with the urge to pee and barely anything comes out when I try. Has anyone ever heard of this??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 What other medicines are you on? I have that side effect as well and I take 600 mgs a day. However, my dr. said that it wasn't related to Seroquel. I looked in the PDR and they don't even list frequent urogenitary system effects. They list a few infrequent side effects which means that they occur in between 1/100 and 1/1000 patients. They mentioned urinary incontinence, but not anything about having to go to the bathroom and not being able to.Katie :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchroedingersCat Posted September 14, 2004 Share Posted September 14, 2004 I have that problem with SSRI's, but not with Seroquel. With SSRI's, it seemed like I needed to go every thirty minutes.SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allene Riley Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 I was but on Seroquel about 6 months ago to help with sleep/anxiety/ flashbacks (my dx is PTSD) and I was too a little skeptical because it was an anti-psychotic. But it has turned out to be my favorite medicine and the only one that I think has really been consistantly beneficial. I have been on a pretty low dose, never more than 400mg. Now I am only on 200mg at bed time. My pdoc keeps trying to get me off of it because of the potential side effects, but I have felt so much more stable on it that I won't let him, so he just keeps insisting that we keep the dose as low as possible. But, yeah, if you are considering Seroquel, it has my vote. I am also on a tonic of sorts of different meds--including Ambien for sleep when needed because my pdoc doesn't want to increase my Seroquel anymore ??? Oh well. The ambien works for sleep, but I don't really feel rested completly in the morning. I fell like it was a fake sleep? If that makes sense?Take care,Allene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny64 Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 I loved my seroquel but just recently had to go off of it due to swelly in my joints. I was on it for about a year at VERY low doses for sleep and went up to 400 in the last 6 months for mania control. It worked GREAT!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VelvetElvis Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 I take 100mgs in the PM to make my brain shut up and leave me alone so I can sleep (OCD). It puts me down like a racehorse, for six hours or so anyway. I leaves me feeling calm and chilled out on into the next day. I also take dexidrine for ADD which nullifies the effect of the Serequel by the end of the day. At night when I'm rebounding off the ADD meds and I feel all crappy, the Serequel is a godsend. I've probobly been on over 50 meds, and this is definately one of my favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird2E Posted November 8, 2004 Share Posted November 8, 2004 If you read many posts in these forums, you know I am having major problems with insomnia. And all over the place looking for some answers!I have been on Ambien, but my doc won't let me stay on it for more than a couple weeks (addiction issues). I took a stab at 50 mg.Trazodone, but it made my heart feel like it was going to jump out of my chest, which woke me up.... feeling like shirt and still groggy. UGH!! I'm giving the rest of my script to a friend who has had good sucess with it. She told me "I take a Trazodone and sleep like a baby."A lot of people have praised this drug as a life-sver. But, I have done some research on Seroquel and found some people complain about it being as bad as Tradozone as far as increasing your heart rate or strength of pulse. Have any of you Seroquel users experienced this? Does it go away after a while?*Hugs*Janet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest I am Cat Posted November 8, 2004 Share Posted November 8, 2004 I don't remember my heart rate ever raising during taking Seroquel... except in the fact maybe that I was always concerned I might not wake up! LOL! this stuff puts you to sleep! It's no kidding. Ambien can't hold a torch to it. What I like about ambien is that you don't feel drugged. Seroquel drugs you to the max! You will feel sleepy, BE sleepy and STAY asleep on Seroquel! I don't see how anyone couldn't be. My problem was WAKING UP! No kidding. Good luckCat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhole Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Oh my God! I'm so glad I found this thread!!! When I first started seeing my new doctor, he swithced me to Prozac and Seroquel 200mg. He said it was to put me to sleep. (Diagnosed with severe depression and had survived a handful of suicide attempts with huge amounts of sleeping pills, so I guess that's why he wanted to stay away from prescribing any sleepng pills) When I started it, it was so strong I was actually tripping out on it (also a recovering addict, but never went to rehab), I would get so sleepy, I'd hallucinate and get totally lost, like I used to when I would go on my "party extravanganzas". I had no trouble waking up until my 5th day. I would feel so sleepy all day. Then my doctor switched me to 100mgs. Now it doesn't play with my head anymore but I CAN'T CAN'T CAN'T get up in the mornings! It's really messing with my day because now I can't hit the gym in the mornings (as it is also good for my depression) and as soon as I get off work, I try to be asleep by 9pm because this medication seems to demand 12 hours of sleep from me otherwise I'm completely groggy the next day. When I have days where I REALLY have to be up for a work commitment, I skip the Seroquel at night and just take sleeping pills to sleep (but these days I need to take six times my normal dose for any of them to work). But I do notice that my body reacts and looks for that missed dose in the form of bouts of depression (or "black holes" as I like to describe them) or anxiety or even panic attacks.Will this effect wear off eventually? My work really demands I have a clear and sharp mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanie26 Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 I am on Seroquel for severe anger outburts and insomnia,I thinks it's helps more than any other phycotic I have been on...I am alot calmer than I used to be.I have been on it for a little over a year I think...I take 300 mgs. a day.Melanie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swinn Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 I have a question for all of you seroquel users. Did this med put weight on you? My dr said something about trying this next if topamax didn't work. Right now, my main problem is insomnia. Sally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhole Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Sally,Been on Seroquel since July of this year. The depression left me with absolutely no appetite, and being put on Seroquel didn't help with the appetite at all. In fact I've only gained 4 pounds since then and that'sbecause I've been forcing myself to eat right. So no worries about unwanted cravings (What made me gain weight like anything was Zyprexa. Thank god I'm off that now)I have trouble sleeping as well, and I have to say that Seroquel is heaven sent. It used to be way too strong for me, but now that my body has adjusted to it, I sleep so incredibly well and I wake up feeling great (energy-wise). Of course, waking up HAPPY is another story :p Good luck with your insomnia!BH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swinn Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 BH,You actually feel energized and not tired the next day? I'd like to be able to sleep good but have some energy to get things done the next day. I guess I want my cake and to eat it too. Don't we all? Ha, ha. If you felt tired at first when you got up, how long did it take till you woke up feeling energized? Also how many mg. are you on? Sally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietman Posted September 30, 2005 Share Posted September 30, 2005 just started quetiapine.absolutely wiping me out,but still feel acutely anxious.worried about weight-gain.feel really strange too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizard Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Sorry you're having these start-up effects. I hope you can work through them, and that you have success with this med. Wishing you well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilfighter Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Wow. I am so glad to see Seroquel is not just for the treatment of Bipolar Disorder. My Dr put me on it without really explaining why, so I looked it up on the internet and it was all about bipolar. That diagnosis is a frightening idea for me, because my dad is bipolar and he can be very scary at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietman Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 thanks for the concern lizard:)feel even worse today-can't concentrate and feel very irritable.seems to be more sedative rather than anxiolytic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an unquiet mind Posted October 3, 2005 Share Posted October 3, 2005 Seroquel is often used by doctors who wish to avoid sleeping pillsI am trying to kick an Ativan addiciton. So, the pdoc put me on Seroquel to help. I will be trying it for the first time tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dispatch Posted October 3, 2005 Share Posted October 3, 2005 ...an atypical antipsychotic for sleep..... one word...my opinion...."Overkill" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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