[IrishGreenEyes]

May I ask if anyone has had any experience taking quetiapine. I started taking them on Saturday night. A dose of 25mg (to be increased by 25mg every 4th night till I reach 100mg)

Saturday night I took at 3am as I had been out but no alcohol taken. I slept till 12 on Sunday morning. I felt very refreshed on Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed my sleep. I had a lazy day as I was quite groggy. But that was fine too.

So last night I took my pill at 9pm and headed for bed at 10.30 only to wake at about midnight. I was awake all night. No further sleep was achieved. But here's the thing I don't feel like I haven't slept I feel giddy and hyper with thoughts racing in my head.

I'm new to this whole bipolar disorder and am wondering if this is usual. I'm not looking for medical advise I plan on speaking with my GP later, I haven't gotten my referral to a psychiatrist yet.

[Jodine1312]

I take 25mg three times daily and 200mg at night to sleep. If you have ever struggled with your weight, keep an eye out. I gained 40 pounds in three months. The medicine should help keep you level. I'm mostly manic and is keeps the racing and obsessive thoughts away and just keeps me level. It sounds like you are just taking it for sleep, you may need it throughout the day. What else are you on?

[tigersassy]

I am in a similar situation. If you are manic right now it makes sense. Dose is too low to be theraputic. Plus it might not be the right med for you or you may need an additional med. Get your referral to a psychiatrist soon. The wait might be really long. I am still waiting for my first appointment which is April 21. I am taking 100 mg 2x's a day of the generic seroquel. So there is room to grow. So know you aren't alone.

Tig

[Curiosity77]

Currently I take 25-75 mg quetiapine prn for sleep. It doesn't work that well, but I can't take most of the other sleep meds so it's better than nothing. I used to be on it as a mood stabilizer, but I switched to Saphris because I was concerned about metabolic side effects and weight gain. I didn't gain any weight on it, but I was worried about that so we switched. It worked OK as a mood stabilizer for me. My dose was quetiapine XR 400 mg hs at the time, and I was taking it along with lamotrigine and wellbutrin.

[IrishGreenEyes]

My GP put me on this as an interim measure. I've not yet been fully diagnosed and she recommend it until I see a psychiatrist.
I'm not currently taking any other meds. I had been taking citalopram for what was initially thought to be depression, but that only lasted a month as it drove me lower than I've ever been.
Looking back over my history two separate docs have expressed concerns that I may be bipolar.

Another question I had was does a person really know that yes it is bipolar or do people with bipolar not know until it's pointed out to them?

[wildflowerchild25]

Everyone is different. I had an idea that's what it was before I went to the pdoc - but also because I had been given the dx years earlier. Some people get the dx and it's like a light bulb - oooooh NOW I see it. And some like me refuse to believe it until years later when there's no question anymore. And still others rightly question - just because your doctor thinks so doesn't mean you have to accept it if you truly don't feel it's right.

My suggestion would be to read about it, especially personal experiences, and see if you recognize yourself at all.