Seroquel questions

I have been taking a low dose of Seroquel for about a month. I was told to take between 25-100mg to help me sleep. I'm up to 100 mg and now I'm noticing that it is taking longer each night for it to work.

Is this drug something that you have to continually go up on dosage as your body adjusts or do I maybe need to ask for something else? I don't want to have to jump around between a lot of different medications but I'm not sure how your body reacts to it over time since I haven't been taking it long. Also, My pdoc said he doesn't want to keep me on it long term and that kind of scares me since I'm actually feeling quite a bit better.

BTW, I also take Lamictal. Just titrated up to 100mg last weekend.

I know everyone is different with how meds work but I appreciate the input. Thank you

Given the information in this article:
The Last Psychiatrist: The Most Important Article On Psychiatry You Will Ever Read
I think it's unlikely. Once you hit the "ceiling", taking more won't help.

I took seroquel 50 mg for a while to sleep and it worked for 10 months or so (well, the first few days I was on 25 mg, but that only worked the first night). Then for a few weeks I took 50 mg before bed and 50 mg when I'd wake up and be unable to get back to sleep (usually between 1 and 3 in the morning). Then I was put on Zyprexa (10 mg at first, for depressionrelated psychosis) and my sleep pattern normalized instantly so I didn't need the Seroquel anymore.

I was on seroquel for seven months. I was up to 300mg. Regardless of the dose, it always knocked me out (even just 50mg), so I'm not sure about the tolerance thing. Maybe.

I was on it years ago and I remember having to up the dose because I built up a tolerance. I was on lamictal then as well. I've had to do that with my vistaril more recently.

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm still really new at figuring out the medications and learning about all the different options. I hadn't seen that article Breadfish so I will go read it. Thanks for the link.

I'm on 500mg a day (100 mg AM, 100 mg afternoon, and 300mg PM) and it doesn't knock me out but keep me normal. I went from 25mg to 500mgin about 1.5 weeks as my pdoc was trying to find a balance. Haven't built a tolerance to this dose just yet.

I was on 300mg PM and found that that the effect on my sleep wore off until I hit the higher dosages. I think it made me more sleepy the following day than it did during the actual night I took it

Wow I just literally got put on this yesterday. 1-2 pills a night to help me sleep at 25 mg each. I took one and still same insomnia. Took the second about an hour later might of looked at the clock once or twice then I'm reaching for the alarm, it knocked me out and I was glad to finally get some sleep.

It was helping me sleep really well in the beginning which is something I really need and I can still fall asleep after taking it but it isn't working as quickly as it was. I am however grateful it is still working for now.

Seroquel has never made me sleepy.

When I first started Seroquel 2 years ago, for the first 6 months I had to take it literally AT bedtime. Within 4 minutes I almost couldn't stand up & I certainly couldn't walk. Now I can take the Seroquel an hour before bedtime and I'm lucky if I fall asleep fairly quickly & stay asleep all night.

This thread is interesting because it really shows how wide the range is...how differently people react to the same medication.

I've been on Seroquel since 2006 and have not built up a tolerance. I take a low dose (100mg XR) and it still puts me to sleep, although not quickly like when I took the regular ones. I know if I've forgotten a dose as I lie tossing and turning in bed wide awake, then realize why.

I've taken 25 mg it 5 or 6 times a month for a few years and haven't noticed any change. It still knocks me out and leaves me with a hangover the next morning. Idk what it would be like if I were taking it on a daily basis.

I used to take 100mg for maintenance when I was *cough* stable .... and would probably have slept at that stage even without it. I think alot of factors would come into play, pending on what's causing you not to sleep at night (worrying/anxiety/elevated mood etc can come into play).

Hopefully you'll get the right dose that you need to help you settle during this phase.

Best of luck!

When I was prescribed the Seroquel in July I was in a pretty severe depression which is what caused me to seek help. I couldn't fall asleep and then when I finally did fall asleep I couldn't get up in the morning. I'm sure most have experienced this and it sucks. I emailed my pdoc yesterday and he refilled my prescription so I guess I'll be on it for awhile.

I noticed last night it took me well over an hour after I had taken it to fall asleep where it used to only take about 20 minutes. I guess maybe that could be due to my mood being a little improved over when I was first diagnosed. I'm going to try taking it a little earlier and see if that helps me get to sleep by the time I want to go to bed.

I was on 400mg twice in my life for a couple of years. If I had nothing in my stomach I would be crawling up the stairs to bed in 15-30 minutes from taking it. Other nights, when I had food in my belly it could take 1-2 hours, and every once in awhile several hours. It was sedating for me even at high doses (I read the article-good article). Everyone is different I guess. Now I can't sleep worth a crap, even after all the meds prescribed.