Sedated on the MINIMUM dose!

I know there have been a few posts recently about lethargy/tiredness and meds, but I am wondering if anyone has a total sensitivity to meds? I can take the lowest dose of something and it will still sedate me, and even non-sedating meds sedate me at times. I started taking Serequel again about 2 weeks ago but stopped after a week (with my nurse's approval) because I was having trouble getting through the day. She has just left the house, telling me that because of my current symptoms it would be most beneficial to me to re-start the meds. I only take 25mg (!!!!!). Does anyone else have this problem??? (When I was on all my other meds I was a walking zombie...taking naps all the time etc AND I was taking min 200mg Serequel a day- HOW did I wake at all I wonder now lol?!?!?!)

Serequel knocks most ppl on their bum! If you are having problems with anxiety prehaps try 40mg of Celexa. Serequel is nasty stuff!

I have never been on Seroquel, but I've heard it's pretty sedating. My psychiatrist wanted me to take it at one time, but I decided not to. I feel zombified enough already.

Most psych meds make me feel sedated, even at low doses. Lexapro (I take 10mg), Celexa (I was on 20mg), and Effexor (can't remember the exact dose, but it was the lowest) all made me feel at least slightly sedated and zombified. Wellbutrin didn't make me feel sedated, but I had a bad reaction to it -- it threw me into a major depression. I didn't take Paxil long enough to know if it would be sedating because it made me violently ill with the first dose (apparently my serotin level went too high).

Oddly enough, there are some drugs that are supposed to be sedating that don't have that effect on me. For instance, codeine (for pain) makes most people sleepy, but it makes me feel more alert. Go figure. Valerian root makes most people sleepy, but it makes me jumpy and edgy.

I would love to find a med that lowers my anxiety without making me feel sedated.

P.S. Caffeine doesn't perk me up. I can drink a cup of coffee right before bed and still have no problem falling asleep. I'm just easily sedated I guess.

Thanks Zen and Juliana. I do not know alot about Serequel; I didn't realise how sedating it is. I am sick of trying to convince medical ppl that I am TRULY sedated by such a small dose- when I was took a 'non-drowsy' antihistamine I went home early from work to sleep it off, and when they gave me 3x the 'normal' dose of Maxalon to up my milk production- when breastfeeding- I only took 2 doses and literally slept for 24hrs straight. Luckily it was while my daughter was in hospital; the staff became so concerned they ended up looking after me as well as my daughter but even after that they couldn't find any literature to support my 'theory' that it was the maxalon that had sedated me so didn't believe me (altho they stopped it). I'm off to look up Celexa and see what it is...tks again

Ahhh... celexa=citalopram=ciprimil... I was on that for a few years until the max dose was doing nothing for me and I was put onto all my new meds. I can ask my pdoc about changing to that instead of serequel but he does not believe anything else will be as effective for me...

Hi Irishj. I hope your doc can find something else for you. When my doctor recommended Seroquel to me, she wanted me to take it at night because she said it would make me very tired. It is sometimes prescribed as a sleep aid because it's so sedating.

I'm like you with the non-drowsy antihistamines, btw. They sedate me too.

Hi there. You haven't actually taken the minimum dose of Seroquel. Don't give up on it until you've chopped the 25 mg into quarters and tried 6.25 mg. That is all I take and it works nicely. I would be a zombie on 25 mg.

cheers,
rockgal

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rockgal said:
You haven't actually taken the minimum dose of Seroquel. Don't give up on it until you've chopped the 25 mg into quarters and tried 6.25 mg.

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Is it ok to chop these tablets? My pdoc looked it up specifically before he re-prescribed them to me, to see if we could lowwer the dose further, but said that because there are dividing lines on them then I couldn't? It would be great if I could- the really ironic thing at the mo is that I am having brain zaps- I fell asleep yesterday in front of the fire and missed my dose of effexor lol

Hi. Hmm...that's true, they're not scored. But my doctor didn't say I couldn't chop them up and - in fact she suggested it. I've had excellent results doing that. Good luck if you try it.

cheers,
rockgal

yes its okay to chop 'em.

a lot of people find that the dose that is theraputic for them is well below the 'reccomended theraputic dosage'.

especially... if you are taking it for anxiety or to help with sleep or something like that rather than for psychotic symtoms.

Seroquel knocked me off my feet as well, but Tylenol makes me sleepy, so I really can't say much.

Irish, I do have that sensitivity to meds. I react negatively to ALL generics, which make the pharmacist and I believe that one thing I do have problems with are the fillers used in generics... but also I have ongoing allergic reactions, severe side effects and to some classifications, paradoxical reactions to brand medicines. I'm allergic "by nature." My doctors all said they are amazed I was able to grow up without being a "bubble girl." (Guess you have to have a bit of age to understand that one. Maybe if you google bubble boy, you'll understand.)

Keep a list. List the exact name of the medicine you tried, date, dose, how you took it, for how long you took it, and the action you received from it. It helps when you try to explain multiple reactions to a new doctor... though some still won't believe you. My list is a typed page line by line...and that's just of the names and dates... I was too far into it to begin listing all the rest, though I wish I had.

I have to go into "lock up" whenever I need to try a new antidepressant...or similar med for pain management. The last time I tried something, the psychiatrist gave me 1/3 the dose for an elderly person and it overdosed me...and nearly killed me because the nurses decided to "let me sleep."

A good allergist can desensitize you to any medicine that can be liquified for innoculation. (I did this when it was imperative that I take Robaxin for a while.)

Good wishes!

Just wanted to say thanks for the replys, and that I tried your suggestion rockgal of cutting up the tablet. I tried 1/2 a tablet but unfortunately it never touched my anxiety... so I am on the 25mg and slowly getting used to it. Not helped my me stupidly agreeing to increase my work hrs from 12-13/week to 30/week

I got sedated on my meds so the doc added Concerta & Provigil to combat the daytime sleepiness. It works great. I feel energetic, motivated without being wired. I've been on these for 6 yrs. now.--Suzy

i've been on seroquel for anxiety and sleep. first few days it worked great. after that stopped working so they doubled the dose and it didn't work, and i became very drowsy so we stopped it