Now I think I'm Being Over Medicated

Someone made mention that the amounts of the drugs were high (i was thinking it, but thier comment made me really really think that I am. I am currently taking 800 mg of Seroquel and 900 mg of Lithium a day. I have been thinking that I have been overly medicated for some time. I can still funtion on the meds, they don't "wipe" me out. I feel as though everything...isn't the way I should think. I am not overly tired, I can drive and operate heavy machinery on them.

Kathie-
hi, please see above- 800 is apropriate- alter is misguided re: medss. Take as prescribed.

Again thanks.

Any time you have a question about meds you can always go to the Drug's website (google or yahoo it) and read what the manufacturers say about it.... be well.

Thanks Sky

Kathie,

I've only been on my mix of Lithium/Seroquel for about six weeks, and am on 900mg/day Lithium and only 100 mg Seroquel, plus 1mg twice daily of Klonopin.... 800mg sounds so high to me. I get my firtst blood levels in a month, as I'm told that 900mg/day of lithium is the baseline dosage for people just starting out by my pdoc.

Dolfin

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post. I will be talking to my doctor about my dosage again on monday.

Kathie - Medication dosages are highly individualized. There are many, many reasons for this. Everyone has a different genetic make-up (eg. personal pharmacokinetic parameters), and that combined with how the differences in their exposure to different environments, and how these affect their physiological parameters (eg. diet, exposure to local climate, and local environmental toxins), with the resultant psychological stressors.

Doses of 800mg of Seroquel (quetiapine) may be a high dose for some people, but obviously not for you (especially, when you are able to function at a productive level.

Also, I do find that 900mg of lithium per day is not a very high dose, just a high dose. Again, if you are not experiencing debilitating adverse effects, this dose is probably the proper dose for you.

i hope that this is of some help - Cam

Hi there,
It may be the Seroquel more than Lithium, that is causing you to feel wiped out. I personally prefered the Lithium over the Depakote I had first been put on, the Depakote use to wipe me out, barely staying awake.
The Lithium did not do this, I was able to drive, function regularly.
My suggestion like I tell everyone is to contact your doctor, and see if adjustment of meds may be necessary.
I wish you lots of luck with this, and don't give up often it takes time to hit on the right combo.

Take care,
DE

thank you Cam i think that helps a little.

I never get the feeling of being "wiped out". I can function normally. I just think that the doctors are just giving me too much meds.

900 mg of Lithium is a very common dosage, as is 800 mg of Seroquel. With lithium it is actually the amount in your blood that is most important. Most psychiatrists consider that 1200mg a day is around the upper limit for Seroquel. The published doses were too low when it went on the market. As others have said, if you are not having bad side effects and the medication is helping, you likely are not being overmedicated. If you were overmedicated on these medicines I would expect you to feel very drowsy (interfering with your life/work/school) from Seroquel, or nauseated, anxious, tremulous with lithium. Is you hesitation due to the actual miligrams of medicine, or having to take the medicine in the first place?

I think that the mg is what bothers me. My doc said that last time she wanted to switch me meds. my parents told her that they were working fine and now i am looking for another doctor.

Kathie,

After being on a number of different med cocktails, many of them including anti-depressants, I find the Lithium/Seroquel combo to be pretty effective after all my failures with med management (almost 5 years worth).

Not sure what your DX is, but for my bi-polar, I wouldn't trade my current meds for anything. I can actually function and know that the lithium isn't gonna 'poop out' on me any time soon, so long as it's managed and titrated correctly. Many people put on Lithium can stay with it for many years without problems (except for the blood levels if you don't like needles).

Just know, you are on to very effective meds, and bear this in mind if you choose to go through with switching doctors.

Jenn

thank you