[Blackbeltwolfmother]

Hey all, I'm new here. Dx bipolar2 with generalized anxiety disorder (which does end up in panic attacks from time to time.
My doc just put me on seroquel, because i needed sonething ti moderate my anxiety alongside the lamictal i was on for bipolar. I had stopped taking the tiny bit of prozac with my usual lamictal months ago (I swear it started making the anxiety worse after being in that a couple yrs).
One of my anxiety focuses is on nausea/vomiting and worrying if any if the family members are going to get sick. So nausea as a side effect is a scary thing for me. I was also worried about feeling dizzy or sedated, because anytime I feel like I can't control my own body, anxiety goes thru the roof! And I worried that I might not wake up to our baby during the night.

Well I'm only about 4 days in and can barely take any in the am without getting really drowsy. Dizzy from time to time but just when getting up so that's not too bad. Gah I hope this wears off soon because as long as I'm drowsy, I WILL feel anxious about not being in control, and about my ability to look after our baby, and what if I pass out, etc etc.

I'm whittling down on lamictal and building up on seroquel but waaaay slower than my doc wanted. I feel sure I'd b passed out for 2 weeks straight if I followed his protocol!

Anyone else take seroquel and have the drowsiness go away eventually? If so, how long did it take?

Thanks!

[healingme4me]

Hi blackbeltwolfmother,

I don't have personal experience with Seroquel, but have heard that the body can adjust, I just don't know how long. I see that you're a rather new member, and this particular forum can be quite busy and I'm giving your thread a *bump* in case it wasn't viewed as new threads poured in and other members with personal experience may not have seen it.

[elevatedsoul]

ive taken seroquel for a while, it makes you tired... it used to knock me out but now it isnt as strong after taking it for a while

it works good for some people, for me im just tired of taking everything

[Cinnamon_Stick]

I take seroquel and I have been taking it for a long time. It makes me feel really sedated at times. It has not gone away. I also get dizzy when I stand from sitting at times. I have learned to live with this as I have been taking it for years and these have not gone away. At least it helps me to sleep better at night.

[nottfadeaway]

Originally Posted by Blackbeltwolfmother

Hey all, I'm new here. Dx bipolar2 with generalized anxiety disorder (which does end up in panic attacks from time to time.
My doc just put me on seroquel, because i needed sonething ti moderate my anxiety alongside the lamictal i was on for bipolar. I had stopped taking the tiny bit of prozac with my usual lamictal months ago (I swear it started making the anxiety worse after being in that a couple yrs).
One of my anxiety focuses is on nausea/vomiting and worrying if any if the family members are going to get sick. So nausea as a side effect is a scary thing for me. I was also worried about feeling dizzy or sedated, because anytime I feel like I can't control my own body, anxiety goes thru the roof! And I worried that I might not wake up to our baby during the night.

Well I'm only about 4 days in and can barely take any in the am without getting really drowsy. Dizzy from time to time but just when getting up so that's not too bad. Gah I hope this wears off soon because as long as I'm drowsy, I WILL feel anxious about not being in control, and about my ability to look after our baby, and what if I pass out, etc etc.

I'm whittling down on lamictal and building up on seroquel but waaaay slower than my doc wanted. I feel sure I'd b passed out for 2 weeks straight if I followed his protocol!

Anyone else take seroquel and have the drowsiness go away eventually? If so, how long did it take?

Thanks!

Seroquel actually did nothing for me in terms of sedation (I took it for sleep). I know it can cause weight gain, as a lot of the anti-psychotics can do, but I hope it works out for you.

I took seroquel off and on for 13 years, everything from 50mg to 1000mg (that was absolutely insane). I have been on both extended release and regular seroquel...

The side effects definitely decrease after awhile, especially the sedation and dizziness. Also, I found that extended release could smooth me out throughout the day...

Other side effects go away slower.

[raspberrytorte]

For me the sedation got better, like I could take 50mg at work if I needed to and be fine (and I have a physically active job, so I'm always walking and lifting heavy shyt, etc.). It helped a lot with my anxiety. But it didn't work out for me long term. It turned me into a lazy, chocolate eating slob. Seriously, I craved sweets all the time. I couldn't stand it. I'm usually an energetic and motivated person, and seroquel just killed that, but all meds work different for everyone, so that was just my experience on it. I was only on it for seven months though, but really it was seven months too long, and I wish I could have been put on something different sooner (I was in between doctors).

Good luck!

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I've taken up to 1500 mg (not fun) and just got down to 900 in the last few days after being on 1200 or 1500 for about 18 months. I have never taken any in the day and I can't imagine doing that.

It definitely got less sedating with time and I don't find it all that sedating at all now (I'm writing at 1:45 AM and I took it at 9:30 along with plenty of other sedatives). The XR form was much less sedating for me and I went on that about the minute it came out and life got a lot easier then.

I had to go on very slowly over 3-4 months just to get to a therapeutic dose but once I got there it was fine after my body adjusted. I think overall it took 4 months to go up to a good dose and adjust so I wasn't quite so tired. Then XR came out a year later and it got much easier to handle even on the really high doses. Even 1500 mg wasn't sedating after the first 2 days.

Take it at night. I miss seroquel like parched soil misses the sweet summer rain.

[kimber1234]

My experience- taking 600 for 6 years:
When I first started
- extreme fatigue
- restless legs at night
- eating, eating, and gained up to 50 lbs, after 3 months

Now:
-I do get sleepy at night but not drowsy during the day
- can't lose weight
- am on a pre- diabetes meds (metformin) b/c my became glucose is an issue

Overall:
It's the only med in my cocktail that has worked for my manic states. When I am climbing to a manic state, it only takes one or two doses to get me thinking straight. I'm weaning off it now to trileptal for manic episodes because I can't stand the weight issue.

Good luck. It is worth it in the short term, but takes a little while to get through the symptoms.

[emptyspace]

Was on seroquel extended release for a couple of years, 800 mg. I was always exhausted and would sleep alot of the day.
I also gained a ton of weight because I was eating all the time.
Personally, I think it is the worst drug on the market.
I was put on it for mania when I was inpatient.
My pdoc recently switched me to abilify after trying a few others. I would never go back on seroquel.

[Blackbeltwolfmother]

Thanks all! I'm a terrible patient, I can't handle certain types of side effects due to the panic they cause. Other kinds like headaches I can deal with for a while. Sooooo I'm titering back off this stuff. Might ask about trying wellbutrin or celexa.

[SillyKitty]

Yeah. I quit because the dizziness and sleepiness never subsided. Also I gain massive amounts of weight. I would ask about Wellbutrin. Celexa sent me into manic h*ll. of course, it might be different for you.

[Disorder7]

Originally Posted by emptyspace

Was on seroquel extended release for a couple of years, 800 mg. I was always exhausted and would sleep alot of the day.
I also gained a ton of weight because I was eating all the time.
Personally, I think it is the worst drug on the market.
I was put on it for mania when I was inpatient.
My pdoc recently switched me to abilify after trying a few others. I would never go back on seroquel.

I'm the exact opposite. Abilify ramped up my anxiety and increased panic attacks. Like, I remember going to the grocery store and ending up huddled in a corner and chewing at my fingers.

It's interesting how people are so different.

[raspberrytorte]

I agree about how it works great when YOU NEED TO COME DOWN RIGHT NOW. My doctor when I was inpatient put me on it, and in three days I was back to reality. So it worked well for that.

[secretgalaxy]

The first week it was really sedative, but now it is only sedative the second hour after taking it. I'm on 500 mg spread out throughout the day (100 am, 100 pm, and 300 nighttime) it definitely helps keep me sane as I am in the middle of a manic episode.

I have been on it for about 1 month and I haven't gain a ton of weight, just a little, but I can control my urges and I exercise.

Good luck!!

[gina_re]

I was on it about 10 years ago for sleep. Started off at 25mg I think and I can't remember how high I went once I built up a tolerance for it. What I do remember is gaining a lot of weight...probably because once I would get drowsy and start to fall asleep I would get out of bed and go to fridge to eat something. And I was still halfway between awake and sleep. Weird.

[elevatedsoul]

oh, i didn't gain any weight from seroquel... for me its been pretty weight neutral

[Christopher1990]

I tried serequell once and gave me horrible tremors, and uneasiness, wasn't for me


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Seroquel is also one of those weird drugs that is supposedly more sedating at lower levels.

For me, it is just a different type of sedation at low levels compared to high levels... low levels were like... cant get out of bed or wake up... sedation. Higher levels and, for the most part, I didnt even realize I was sedated until I got off it, everything was just fuzzy...

The weight thing is very common and sucks, also, though not as bad as olanzapine.

Know lots of people who seroquel worked great for... lots of people, not so much... me, I am not so sure. Mostly, I think it worked as well as anything could have worked, at the time. Now I am off (after a long long run of it, the only med I ever consistently was on).

[BlackSheep79]

I was on Seroquel for several years. I don't have children, but there is no way I would have woke up to a crying baby. And if someone would have woke me up to take care of a child I couldn't even attempt to due to the sedative effect.

[xxKaneLovesZoexx]

I am on it 4 times a day 25x4, all I ever feel is tired and lazy. Although my visual hallucinations have improved, my psychosis is strong.

Originally Posted by xxKaneLovesZoexx

I am on it 4 times a day 25x4, all I ever feel is tired and lazy. Although my visual hallucinations have improved, my psychosis is strong.

25 4x a day is a very low dose for anyone, an incredibly low dose for psychosis... might want to talk to your doc. of course, you do not want the side effects to get worse... but you also dont want to be psychotic (presumably).

[Blackbeltwolfmother]

Yep, the looking after little ones made it impossible for me to continue on it. Did switched me to celexa with my lamictal. Fingers crossed!