Hey All,


Questions:
My doc says that a percentage of people with Bipolar don't cycle. Do you?

Yes, very much so and I am not sure I've heard of people not cycling although maybe he is describing one thing and I'm taking that another way? I know for me obvious cycling was how I finally was diagnosed (it became apparent with lithium and a therapist who asked for a comparison from visit to visit of how I was doing).

How have you done on Seroquel XR? Anything I should be watching for?

Seroquel has worked well for me. XR works better for me although that's not always true. The biggest side effects you asked about below so I'll answer that there to be sure I don't miss something.

After taking my first dose of Seroquel I slept for 15 hours, woke up for about half an hour and went back to sleep for another 4 hours. I might have just been exhausted, I've been averaging 3-4 hours of sleep a night/day. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Did it go away once you got used to it?

It is pretty sedating at first and 200 mg is a good bit to start on I think. I had to go on very slowly because of past issues with other meds so I don't know what is normal but I'm pretty sure people usually work up to that dose. But anytime you start a new med that is sedating (or have your dose increased sometimes) you'll be pretty sleepy for a few days and then it gets better, gradually for me.

The pharmacy pamphlet that came with the Seroquel said I should watch for over-heating. Is this something you've had to deal with?

I have been sensitive to heat on many meds. I don't think Serqouel was one of them until I got into very high doses that you aren't likely to hit. Always have water with you if you are going to be outside a while. When I go somewhere when it is summer I take a cooler with chilled water bottles and frozen washcloths I can put on my face and neck to cool off. I get really red in the face when I'm too hot and often start feeling sick. I've learned my limits over the years and it has changed with what meds I'm taking. Right now I'm on an enormous dose of Seroquel and it is definitely making me heat sensitive. But that didn't happen until 1500 mg for me.

If you over-heat easily and the medicine makes you gain weight, how do you watch your weight?
When I am feeling well enough I try to follow a modified diabetic diet so that I get lots of protein and fiber and less refined sugars. This doesn't always work when I'm in an episode and really despite whatever I've tried I've gained weight on meds. However I've been on many, many meds over a lot of years and can't really say any of them specifically caused weight gain. I exercise inside or I wait until it is almost sunset. I used to mow my yard almost in the dark I had to wait so late sometimes. (This was because of another drug).

I know that I have more questions, but I can't think of them right now. In fact, I have a hard time remembering much of anything these days, is this a "Bipolar thing"?