[Tart Cherry Jam]

That is my new combo. Latuda for mood with dinner. Seroquel for sleep at bedtime and it does not always help, meaning if I have crippling anxiety then I cannot fall asleep at all, but on most nights it helps. This is a change from previously taking a very low dose of Thorazine for sleep. Subjectively, I believe in Seroquel for sleep more than I believe in Thorazine.

I wonder if anybody else is on this combo. I am also taking Gabapentin at bedtime so that I would not get akathisia to antipsychotics.

[Aviza]

I just take latuda. I sleep great don't need help with sleep.

[Soupe du jour]

There was a period (maybe 6 months?) that I was on a small dose of Latuda. Maybe in 2016? As for Seroquel (and Seroquel XR), I've taken that for many of the years I've been prescribed meds for bipolar disorder. Most of them, I was on fairly high doses of Seroquel, beyond just as a sleep aid (at least 300 mg, but more often in the ranges of 450 mg to 800 mg). The only time I took it only as a sleep aid was at the very beginning of my treatment journey, when I took as little as 50 mg with 1,200 mg of Lithium.

I've been racking my brain to know if I took any Seroquel while taking Latuda. Possibly. If so, I was on several other bipolar medications, simultaneously. What I do remember is that my psychiatrist took me off the small dose of Latuda because a) I wasn't depressed, and b) my moods had been elevated. He and I concluded that Latuda was better as an antidepressant than anti-manic, for me. I needed more anti-manic, so he either upped my Seroquel XR or added it back, whichever the case. Ditching the mini Latuda dose in one swell swoop.

I don't recall any side effects from Latuda, other than maybe mood elevation. But again, I took a small dose of only 40 mg per day. My then pdoc didn't try increasing Latuda, because it was not indicated as being the best choice for bipolar 1 mania.

Seroquel XR and/or Seroquel IR have been plenty helpful for keeping my bipolar depression in check, over the years. It is also a good anti-manic for me. When it comes to side effects, Seroquel does seem to affect me, metabolically. I had to start taking meds for cholesterol and blood pressure. I've also had times I was pre-diabetic and had too high of triglycerides. These are my worst side effects. I believe I'm more vulnerable to them since I take higher doses. I believe I've taken at least 500 mg (or even higher) for a good five to seven years. Seroquel XR has always been a bit more weight neutral for me, than the IR version, but I need some of the IR for sleep. 400 mg of the XR isn't enough, at times. The IR simply works better at knocking me out, because of the method of release. I think the instant release (IR) is less weight friendly for me for a similar reason. That's why I currently take 400 mg XR plus 200 mg IR (600 mg total).

Lately I've been under an extreme amount of stress because of a big move, my dad's death, and my brother fighting for his life (he has late stage cancer.) My current Seroquel(s) haven't been enough to get me to sleep and handle anxiety, so I confess I've taken 1 mg of Ativan at night with it all. I probably should have a Seroquel IR increase, but I'm putting off contacting my pdoc.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

That is a lot to handle!

Have you considered adding Metformin since in the past you were pre-diabetic? It is now touted as a life extension medication, too, if you can tolerate it, of course, has a benign profile and is one of the best studied medications out there due to the long history of use.