Seroquel seems to be working

[wolvie15]

When i first saw my doctor for my anxiety problem, he prescribed a SSRI, cipralex. which is supposed o be the easiest SSRI to tolerate. I took 10 mg for 2 days.

And, i had about all the side effects in the book , I was so hyper that the Energizer rabbit looked lethargic in comparison. I already had problems sleeping. it just made it worse. So, my doctor suggested taking half a pill and melatonin. No change. I slept no more than 2 hours a day. After 3 days, i stopped taking them. Kept the malatonin until i could see my doctor . I slept a little better.

Within 5 days, even my libido had been affected to the point of being inexistent. I did not eat. I was a mess.

I saw my doctor . And he concluded that SSRI and SRNI would just work the same as thye target the same receptors.

Benzos and sleeping pills were out of the picture as i already have balance problems. He chos Seroquel , as it would help a little with anxiety and should also help with sleep.

It has been only a week. So, not much change in the anxiety level ( i know it takes at least 2 weeks ) . But , what a difference in my sleep hours.

I haven't slept so well in years, if not decades. For all my life, even as a child, i would get to bed, and take an hour to fall asleep. I would wake up because of noises, because i needed to go pee. And then have trouble falling back asleep, or if it was past 2 A.M. , not fall back to sleep at all.
But, even after the first dose of Seroquel, i fell asleep within minutes. I wake up only if there is a REALLY big nois, or if i need to pee. And, then, i can get right back to sleep within 2 or 3 minutes. Even if it's 3:30 A.M. , i can get back to sleep until my waking time wich is 4:30 . I see a lot of people posting how bad Seroquel is, how it should not be used off-label . But, i laso know , in real life, of many people who were prescribed it as an anxiety and insomnia medecine . That have been taking them for years. And who have experenced in some case the best sleep they ever had in their life. I guess finding the right medecine is a trial and error preocess until you find the right medecine. For now, i need it. A the time i saw my doctors, i wa in a near state of panic all day long. I was to the point where i thought dying would be a blessing. And when benzos , sleeping pills, SSRI and SNRI are not an option, what is left ? the old , side-effect heavy . Tricyclic, according to my doctor were also out as was Buspirone as they target the same receptors. All that was left was seroquel.

I am amazed of what a difference a good night sleep can do to anxiety. It is still there. But i can look at it and not completely panic.

Of course, meditation , which i began to do 2 weeks ago helps. And with group therapy beginning in a month , i can foresee the day when anxiety will not overwhelms my life. When it occupies it's rightful place. That of being a tool necessary for survival.

[gcltr777]

I just got put on 50mg of Seroquel recently. It really does help me sleep very well. (very vivid dreams though). I do feel groggy in the day, but it's getting better. A cup of coffee helps. You're 100% right that a good nights sleep has a HUGE effect on anxiety through the day. We had bad storms here the other day and I kept getting woke up by warnings (which don't help anxiety either). The night finished with a tornado warning for us at 5:30am... awesome...

Anyway, I slept great last night. I have heard a lot of negative about this stuff, but I'm wondering what dosage their on. The Dr. is trying to see if this stuff can help with my 'overthinking'. I'm not sure how much I want to be on though. 50mg is working for my sleep, but not so much on the OCD stuff. My pharmacist says he sees dosages of 200-600mg for some people. I really don't want to be much over 50. I'd just wanna sleep all day .*shrug*, we'll see.

[gypsylee]

Hey there

I'm one of the anti-Seroquel people.. I haven't been on it since about 2009 so I can't remember how much I was on (200mg maybe?) It definitely helps you sleep at first and that can be a lifesaver, but it was when I'd been on it for a while I started having problems. One of them is it puts on weight like nothing else. The other was, it actually made my anxiety worse - I'd get this rapid heartbeat at night and didn't question the Seroquel but eventually I worked out that's what it was.

I've been on Zyprexa as well and had similar problems. Great at first for sleep but long-term not good.

Good luck!

Gypsy x

[Ponder]

I'm also another anti-Seroquel/quetiapine Individual. There is good reason a LOT of people detest seroquel.

At first I was also very thankful to my doctor for putting me onto such a wonderful drug. Everyone I spoke to I praised that drug. "Oh how much better I am sleeping" "This is amazing! I feel so wonderful now that I am sleeping" I also said that same about taking a piss. "Even if you have to take a piss your back in your bed sleeping like a baby!"

Unfortunately about 12 months later I was experiencing the nightmare that millions of others on the internet have blogged about. Chronically Obese, Sever Memory & Cognitive Issues! (known to kill people with who already have dementia) with a good dose of Mumbling, Drowsiness/All Day Fog!!!, ,Extreme Dry Mouth syndrome unlike any other drug, Hives - agony itchy!!! and Heat Stress - LOTS of SWEATING- (dosage related - extremely sensitive to change - low dosages more triggering) ... & MORE!!! '

Considering the nightmare story's plastered across the internet it's a wonder Seroquel is still on the market. That drugs has a honeymoon period that last between 6 to 12 months. (longer for those often classified as positive testimonials for the drug - unbeknowns to others they typically wind up with some pretty sever illnesses as a result) It can take a long time for the major side effects to hit.

The side effects I mentioned are but just a few (from memory which whilst still not that great; is much better now I am off that poison) of the side effects of which I suffered. In some ways I am thankful as this was the drug that got me off all medications and lead me into choosing natural life style choices to help me combat my mental instability. If you feel you need to poison your body to pacify your anxiety, you can do MUCH better and or lower the risks with by taking "anything" else.

I am glad you are finding something that is giving you a relief although saddened it comes in the form of such a pill. Just don't count your chickens before they hatch. Most of the people I know that seroquel is working for (and I know quite a few short circuited people that require meds) mumble and put up with brain fog as the alternative for them is simply more "extreme." IMO - and it would seem many others whom tell their own stories online - that Seroquel is a drug best left for extreme cases and should be monitored a hell of a lot more more than currently is by your average GP. They are good drug pushers, but terrible monitors.

Enjoy the honeymoon period while is lasts. If you do end up like the hordes of others attempting to come off it → be extremely careful as that drugs has a record of more than just a few deaths:
Coming off Seroquel

Wishing you all the best with your new wonder drug.

~Enjoy.

[gypsylee]

I wonder if Seroquel could just be taken "as needed" by people with severe anxiety. I mean it works straight away and doesn't need to build up like the SSRIs, so you could just take it when you've got bad insomnia.

[Dahila]

I had read medical journal about Seroquel and there is proven too many side effects, ie masive, I say massive weight gain like 60 pounds in 60 days, then it will cause Diabetes type 2, this is the last news, FDA really is thinking about taking it off the shelves, It is in states, and as you know they are all for the money. Seroquel brings a lot of money to big pharma. I got script on it from my doc and went to read about it, Jeez , I had never filled the prescription. It is really dangerous medication.

[wolvie15]

There really seems to be no middle ground with Seroquel. It either works well with minimal side effects at low dosage for many people i know. Some of which have used it for years.

And for others, it is a nightmarish medication . Most people i know who had huge problems with it had very high doses, 200 mg or more.

I was close to suicidal. SSRI gave me MUCH more side effects with TWO half-doses ( 5 mgs ) than i have had over a week with Seroquel. so far on Seroquel, i have increased appetite ( which i do not need as i am already overweight ) And dry mouth. But, a lot of my medication have given me dry mouth over the years and it always passed with time. Just have to sip a bit of water more often in the day. I don't dream more , i don't dream less. The dreams are no more vivid than they have been in the past . I' ve always had dreams that i woke up from, and wondered if they were reality or not as i tend to have quite realistic dreams. I do not wake up in a fog and don't get drowsy in the day. In fact, i have a bit more energy han i had. i get 25 mg though, the smallest dose possible. And my doctor, having seen the effect the SSRI had, is not poised to increse the dosage if 25 mg works. On Ci^ralex, with 2 doses of 5 mg , i was not sleeping, jittery, had zero libido, had stuffed nose ( which a chronic sinusitis sufferer is not looking forward to ) , was constipated like i never was in my life ( i already have a high fiber diet ) , i was dizzy, had night sweats so severe i had to change my bedding evey night , a huge loss of appetite, and yawned all day long. About the only side effect i did not experienced was , obviously drowsiness and dry mouth. The effects persisted a week after i stopped ( overall i had taken 10 mg for 3 days, stopped for 4 days, then took 5 mg for 2 days, had to wait to see my doctor a week and a half , then he prescribed Seroquel )

I would rather have had no ned for any drug to face my anxiety crisis. But, when you are getting suicidal, can't sleep, are in a state of near panic all day long, and cannot afford to se a therapist and are on a waiting list for free group therapy ( i live in Canada where there is free psychological care available, but it takes time to get it ) , you need something tha will work relatively fast. I had slept no more than 4 hours a night for months . I NEEDED something hat would help me sleep. And benzos and sleeping pills were out ( my bigest fear is falling on ice , this winter , we had 29 days of freezing rain way more than the average 10 days we normally have in winter. I hav poor balance, always had . I was falling many times eacgh winter. Except that in the last 7 or 8 years, i have to take anti-coagulants. It increased my fear of falling to new heights ) . SSRI and SNRI all targeting the same receptors in the brain, it was obvious that they would all have the effects Cipralex , the best tolerated medication of that class had on me.
I se taking Seroquel this way. My internal house is burning. Insurance will pay for chemicals to put out the fire. But not for water ( therapy ) . So , i took the drug .

I remember a drug i was taking decades ago for my asthma. Can't remember the name. It worked marvelously. But because of a few deaths in teh USA, it was taken off the market. In order to control my asthma, i needed THREE drugs to control the drug as well as that one drug did. I needed 1 pump and that medication. I since take 3 pumps and one pill to do the job. And , the pill has way more side effects than that old pill did

Sleep has had a VERY good effect on diminishing my anxiety. Meditation had helped , before Seroquel, but i still had insomnia. Now, until i get therapy, at least , the anxiety is bearable ( meaning it is at the level it has been for years. When i described that level of anxiety to '' normal '' people, they ask me how i can live wih so much anxiety )

So, basically, it was Seroquel or continuing to not sleep until the fre care is available ( i ma have a place on a group in April, if it is noy fill in yet. Otherwise, it will be in September )


I'd rather hope i don't need this medication forever. But i am prepared for that possibility.

[gypsylee]

"My internal house is burning. Insurance will pay for chemicals to put out the fire. But not for water ( therapy ) . So , i took the drug ."

Good analogy. You do whatever gets you through the night. I'd probably take a bit of Seroquel right now if I had some to be honest.

Hang in there x