[poptardqueen]

I've been put BACK on seroquel again.

Last time I ended up putting on weight while on it, but I cant say for sure it was the drug, though I know a side-effect can be weight-gain. I packed on about 20lbs, eating pretty normally as I was before on the seroquel.

History: I have a past with anorexia/bulemia, and am still struggling with it. Weight gain would kill me, but I'm on the ledge right now anyways, hence the addition of the seroquel to 'help' me sleep since the insomnia is making things 100x worse. It has helped in the past, so I want to take it, but I'm scared. I'm very mixed about what to do. I have the samples here, but I've yet to take any. Too afraid of my scales.

Question is, any of you who have or do take it, have you gained weight specifically because of the seroquel?

Please, any input from any of you would be lovely!

[poptardqueen]

anyone?

[psisci]

Well it has to do with dose, your genetic makeup, your diet, your lifestyle etc.... It will not just pack on the #'s by itself at most low doses.

[boomslang]

I've taken Seroquel for over a year now (anywhere from 100-300mg, but for most of the time, 250mg) and I notice that when the Seroquel starts to hit me I get munchies and will eat anything, snackfood, steak, ice cream, salsa and chips...etc. And I will eat until the food is about to come back up, I get SO hungry it is ridiculous.

I am 165lbs, 5 ft 11 inches and very lean but I do exercise. I have not noticed a change in my weight from the Seroquel, though I have heard that it changes the metobolism in some people, which could lead to diabetes or weight gain, though noone is really sure how or IF Seroquel actually causes this.

[Pandama]

My daughter was very fearful of weight gain when she went on Seroquel, but mainly because she had put on a lot of weight, very quickly, with Risperdol. We have found that the Seroquel seems less likely to do this.

Perhaps there is a tendency for weight gain with seroquel, but being aware of it seems the important point ie not dieting at all, but just keeping a watchful eye on what and how much she eats. So far, she has remained a good weight and hasn't had to really modify her diet much at all.

Fortunately, she has always been inclined towards good nutrition and has never been one for fast foods or sweet foods generally, so that helps. She has always been very active too, so perhaps that is a factor. However, overall,there doesn't seem to be a major weight gain issue with Seroquel for my daughter. Now, with Risperdol, it was a whole different story and, although there may be other advantages with Risperdol, this side effect was important enough to keep off it and prefer the Seroquel. My daughter isn't anorexic but I think she could easily drift over to that, so that was an important point in favour of the seroquel.

I guess. maybe, there are cases where people put on some weight around about the same time they switch or go onto different medications, and maybe attribute it to the medications rather than perhaps other causes. I can understand your being wary here, but in our experience at least, the beneficial effects of the seroquel were sufficient for us to deal with the issue of possible weight gain.

As regards the change in metabolism, sugar response etc, yes, my daughter has this checked at regular intervals, also the other possible side effects such as vision changes, liver function etc. We would do this anyway as her overall health has to be monitored fairly closely, particularly cardiac effects, as she developed malignant neuroleptic syndrome whilst on another anti-psychotic (olanzapine)

I think perhaps, it could be helpful to discuss your concerns with your medical people. The very fact that you are concerned about possible weight gain is a very valid concern for you and i am sure they would take it seriously. There is not much point taking a medication for one problem if you are going to stress out about something else that may, in fact, be quite unlikely. I would speak to your doctors and explain your fears about this medication. Those fears may not be medically realistic but they are real for you and need to be treated with compassion and understanding. perhaps it may be useful for you to just try this medication for a while and see how it goes ?

Good luck with this. Your concerns are valid and need to be listened to, however, I think and hope that you can be reassured by speaking with someone about this. Take care.

[DaveyJones]

I'm kind of like boomslang... if I'm not careful I will eat anything in sight.

I have been putting on weight for a year and a half... I think it started when I moved home, before that I was too poor to eat much...and I think I started another spurt since I started Seroquel. I joined a gym, and I have sort of stopped the gain, but I haven't been able to roll it back. I guess I'm going to have to suck it up and get tough.

DJ