Please post your Seroquel/Quetiapine experiences here, positive or negative.

>> Note: This is for the regular release, not Seroquel XR or Quetiapine XR!

My experiences:

I was too sedated on Seroquel. I started off on a measly dose of 25mg and could barely stay awake, sleeping approx 12-14 hrs a night! I even went up to 50mg at one point because supposedly sedation lessens with higher doses; however, the sedation remained the same for me.

The Seroquel was mostly a PRN for me, though. I'd use it when I wasn't getting much sleep, as it would put me to sleep rather fast. So I'd say from that perspective, it was a pretty good med. Otherwise, I really couldn't tolerate it.

My grandmother was on Seroquel and would take 50mg three times a day. She did not get sedated from it and it kept her stable, actually. So I do know that there are people out there who can tolerate it!

[Blue_Bird]

My experiences is with 600mg regular release seroquel. It helped quite a bit, but wasn't exactly, I guess keeping me as stable as other meds have. I gained weight on it. Didn't have any other problems with it though aside from having to be careful after taking it too not stand up too quickly because I'd get dizzy and my heart would beat very fast.

[Sometimes psychotic]

I was only on it for two nights because I got dizzy and thought I was going to faint.

Seroquel regular release was the first antipsychotic I ever took. During my first hospitalization, about 50 mg was added to 1200 mg of Lithium ER. I needed the Seroquel to help me sleep because I wasn't on Lithium ER alone. I recall it helping me sleep a bit, but it didn't sedate me during the day, at all, and I had even been taking a benzo on top of that because of alcohol detox.

I think my Seroquel dose went up and up. I forget to what dose and I forget what happened and why I was eventually taken off. However, sometime later down the line, I was put on again when manic. I do recall times when it overly sedated me, but again, not always. I then recall being taken off yet again. Then...

I was very unwell with a manic episode w/mixed features. I did something very dangerous with alcohol and old Seroquel pills. I ended up in the hospital via ambulance and then forced to drink a charcoal drink. And would you believe what the psychiatrist prescribed for me in the hospital? Seroquel! I remember being on a fairly high dose. At one point I took 800 mg, split between morning and evening. In the beginning, it didn't sedate me, but then as my mood shifted, it did and my dose went down and down. Eventually I was taken off of Seroquel again.

Some time later, I was put on Seroquel XR. This thread is not about the extended release version, but I can say that I prefer the extended release. This is a novice description, but I like how it has what I feel is a shorter "peak" to it's sedation. However, the effects are longer-lasting than the regular, so I only need to take Seroquel XR at night (not twice per day). It still helps me get to sleep, but is "kinder and gentler" for me. It still took a bit of an adjustment. I have to take Seroquel XR early in the evening (no later than 8 pm) to get to sleep at a reasonable time. Taking it earlier also helps me wake up at 6:30 am without a "Seroquel XR" hangover. Nowadays, Seroquel XR doesn't oversedate me unless I take it too late or deliberately sleep too little. Sometimes it's not even sedating enough. For those times, my psychiatrist gives me a supple of 25 mg and 50 mg Seroquel regular release pills as "prns". When I'm too agitated or getting manic, I can take the Seroquel prn. It usually helps. In those cases, it doesn't sedate me when taken during the day. It just gives me a more level mood or "Smooth Jazz". At night, a prn added to my usual Seroquel XR can assist with sleep when insomnia increases.

[Nammu]

Horrible med. it indeed knocks me out at first and I sleep. Was a low dose, about 50 I believe, but then it gave me horrible leg cramps so I'd be awake and in pain but groggy as hell.

Was on a higher dose much earlier in my life those years are foggy but I remember that I gained a ton of weight on it.

[Moose72]

One of the only meds that works for me without bad side effects. My weight has been stable. (I started out overweight from Depakote and Zyprexa.) Im currently on 150 but was up to 450 last Spring when manic.

[Under*Over]

Its the only med that works for me. Im on 600mgs. But just because it works for me doesnt mean I like it. I feel very sedated sometimes on it and it makes it hard for me to concentrate at other times.

But it is better than being off of it for me. It helps. I just hate the side effects

[*Beth*]

I was on Seroquel for a total of seven years. The initial dose was (I think) 350mg/day. I didn't feel that this medication did anything for me except cause me to sleep really well.

The main side effect was horrible for me; I started the medication weighing 112lbs. (I'm 5'6 1/2"). 5 years later I weighed 230lbs. Now I'm having health probs...high blood pressure, increased cholesterol levels, increased glucose, and chronic pain. So my pdoc decreased the dose way down to 25mg./night, then even lower - 12.5mg.

Last month I finally decided to stop taking the stuff altogether. I titrated down, bit by bit, until I was off of it. Huge issue: I am not sleeping for more than 3 hours every night. I have given in and taken the 12.5 a few times, just to sleep for at least 5 hours (I really need a full 9 hours of sleep).

So I'm not a fan of Seroquel. No helpful traits (didn't even touch anxiety, depression, delusions), massive weight gain, and a major addiction to using the crap for sleep.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I was on regular release for a while. I was really sedated and had trouble getting in to work--I really flexed my flex time. I think I gained weight and really didn't like it but there weren't a lot of other AAPs available at the time that I hadn't tried so I kept taking it. When XR came out I begged to be on it, so much that I had to go to 5 pharmacies to find one that was even stocking it.

[Pookyl]

I use a ‘baby dose’ of 12.5mgs in the morning. It is enough to take the edge and more of the constant anxiety I feel.

[saucygirl31]

was on 200 and worked good for depression and irritability, then on 800 in psych ward which was overkill, then back to 200 but got restless legs.

on 50 now PRN for sleep and works good for me.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I gained a ton of weight and was full of rage 24/7.

[unicornlady]

I was able to tolerate 25 mg doses during the day for elevated mood. I usually took 200mg regular release at night. Made me very very drowsy and sleep extra long, 10-12 hrs per night, but no day drowsiness.

Weight gain was ridiculous. I think it ended up being like 80lbs?? 100??

Seroquel was very helpful for combatting mania.

[bpcyclist]

They used it in my last hospitalization for everything but a broken leg. I mean, they used it for everything. All the time. I actually inquired of one of the nicer RNs whether the Psych. Dept. had some kind of deal going with the manufacturer, because I just could not believe that almost everyone was on that drug.

Including me. Usually on about 200 mg taken at night. It helped me sleep for awhile, but became tolerant to that ultimately and then it didn't seem to be doing a whole lot positive for me. I knew a couple of people who became diabetic on it, which freaked me out. So, when I finally got out, my pdoc was like, this just isn't worth the risk. I'm stopping it. He is not a big Seroquel person because of the metabolic issues. I realize there are a lot of happy Seroquel users on PC, so don't want to irritate anyone. This is just my experience. So, we stopped it and I feel great. Sleep is, of course, dicey, because I am completely naked now (also stopped the Ambien--another story). But I keep to a rigid schedule, I exercise a ton, and for the most part, it seems to work for me.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by bpcyclist

They used it in my last hospitalization for everything but a broken leg. I mean, they used it for everything. All the time. I actually inquired of one of the nicer RNs whether the Psych. Dept. had some kind of deal going with the manufacturer, because I just could not believe that almost everyone was on that drug.

So true! What is the deal with Seroquel?! Every psych symptom and it's "Seroquel." Seems so irresponsible to me to prescribe an AP for minor symptoms.

[downandlonely]

I understand prescribing it for bipolar and psychosis, but I don't think they should prescribe it just for sleep. There are other meds (such as trazodone) that work for that without the weight gain and diabetes side effects.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by downandlonely

I understand prescribing it for bipolar and psychosis, but I don't think they should prescribe it just for sleep. There are other meds (such as trazodone) that work for that without the weight gain and diabetes side effects.

I agree. One of the major problems, at least for me, is that I used a baby dose of Seroquel for sleep for several years - now I can't sleep well since stopping the Seroquel a month ago. My sleep is a wreck and I end up falling asleep several times during the day.