[CaminoDeOro]

Hi folks, my pdoc and I have started on a very systematic med search and I've been doing a lot of research into the scientific literature and the state of knowledge. (Feel free to PM me questions, BTW, I've spent thousands of hours over decades on understanding pharma.)

FWIW I have ultrarapid cycling bipolar II so I'm asking my questions from the standpoint of having an unstable mood on a period of hours to days, on a background of years-long moderate to severe depressive episodes.

Has anybody else found that seroquel improves their baseline mood (if you default to depressed like I do) and/or improves their ability to bounce back to that baseline when life throws a curveball and makes you crash?

I'm pretty sure that's what I'm seeing at this point.

However, it would appear that seroquel really does not act as a stabilizer for me to the same extent Zyprexa did. So, overall an improvement, but I'm still quite unstable.

I'm curious if anyone else has had this experience. So far I think I may continue with the seroquel at least another month before doing anything else, and if it does prove out, probably try to stay on it and figure out something else for the instability.

[Spectra VonPeachy]

Hi, I'm Bipolar and I've found that Seroquel does help but I'm also on Trileptal which is actually an epilepsy medication but I'm not epileptic. I was put on it as a mood stabilizer and I find it helps the most with my mood and paired with the Seroquel has been the winning combo for me. I also default to depression but these meds have been keeping me in check for once! I take:
Seroquel 25 mg 3 x daily
Trileptal 600 mg 2 x daily
Seroquel 200 mg at night
Hope this helps!

[CloserToTheMid]

Seroquel made me very irritable and aggressive. I think I was hypomanic. I took it for 10 months.

[Guiness187055]

For me seroquel only kept mania at bay. No mood stabilization. No antidepressant effects. Was not a good drug for me YMMV.

[Shazerac]

I rapid cycle and seroquel works for me. Everyone is different though

I have the same experience as you-olanzapine/zyprexa much more effective. I'm not convinced the quetiapine/seroquel does much of anything other than make me sleep. I can't function on seroquel when depressed--I had to lower the dose.

I wish I could take the olanzapine regularly, but it makes me eat until my stomach hurts, and I gain weight rapidly

[CaminoDeOro]

Yeah, my main goal right now is to raise my baseline mood without tipping into hypomania too much, or having too much instability. I would say the zyprexa/olanzapine is more effective at stabilizing me and does little for mood (though it used to), while seroquel does potentially much more for mood and little for stabilizing.

Give the option, I'll take "able to move around and do stuff more often than not, but unstable" over "stable but immobilized by crippling depression," I guess.

I'm only 6 weeks in on the seroquel, so still evaluating.

[CaminoDeOro]

Oh, and I tried ziprasidone (geodon) and it made me surly and weird, similar to what CloserToTheMid said about seroquel.

Antipsychotics are creepy and weird. So far I think seroquel may be the least so, for me.

[CloserToTheMid]

Originally Posted by CaminoDeOro

Oh, and I tried ziprasidone (geodon) and it made me surly and weird, similar to what CloserToTheMid said about seroquel.

Antipsychotics are creepy and weird. So far I think seroquel may be the least so, for me.

FYI, I've taken 40 mg of ziprasidone for 6 years. He tried to bump me up to 80 and it gave me some pretty uncomfortable panic. But 40mg is fine for me. I'm naturally weird without drugs!

[Sunflower123]

Seroquel worked for me but not as well as Zyprexa. Lol, I take 240 mg of that creepy Geodon to get a good night's sleep although I have no psychosis. I do wonder if that high level of mood stabilizer is causing my lack of motivation.

[~Christina]

Seroquil made me want to eat my sofa.

It just made my brain stupid as in unable to spell the word "What"

I hate big Pharma! Like a psych patient needs to gain a shyt ton of weight, we all have enough problems!

[CaminoDeOro]

Yeah, believe me I get frustrated about that.

Then I realize we could be on Haldol or Thorazine and maybe institutionalized. Things have come quite a ways in noooooot really much more than 30 years?

It still sucks though.

Anyway, looks like people's experience with these meds is highly variable. Good to know.