Seroquel??

[Kara Isabel]

Anyone have any experience with Seroquel, good, bad or indifferent?

I'm already taking Abilify and I like it, but my doc wants me to add the Seroquel since I'm not able to tolerate much more than a tiny dose of Risperdal. UGH.

Are there any odd side effects anyone knows of?

Thanks
Kara

[Ben G.]

I was on seroquil for a while, mainly to help me sleep, but since I'm an IC patient it also helped a little with discomfort. I only took 75 mg's usually at the most because it had a strong effect on me. I was on it for a year or so but eventually got off it cause it made me ridiculously hungry when I took it. A side effect probably not that common. It can also dehydrate you. If someone were taking this med for bi-polar, the dosage would probably be much higher than what I took, in which case I'm not the best judge of its affect.

[Kara Isabel]

I'm actually taking it for fibro at a lower dose, between 25-75 mg......I've taken it a few times and the only real side effect I've noticed is it makes me EXTREMELY sleepy the next day, which I don't know if I can live with that! lol I find myself needing naps at the lowest dose, I'd probably sleep ALL day and night on the higher dosing.......good gawd......the stuff knocks you out.

Kara

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I don't know about the med you first mentioned, but I went recently went to a famous pain doc who was using Provigil (usually used to treat ADD) to help treat fibro. He found helped his patients with not only fatique but the pain as well. This is just his personal experience.

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I'm actually taking it for fibro at a lower dose, between 25-75 mg......I've taken it a few times and the only real side effect I've noticed is it makes me EXTREMELY sleepy the next day, which I don't know if I can live with that! lol I find myself needing naps at the lowest dose, I'd probably sleep ALL day and night on the higher dosing.......good gawd......the stuff knocks you out.

Kara

[green_the_fish]

My experience with Seroquel has been very positive. It is the best medication I have ever taken for any of my health conditions. I am taking it for bipolar disorder, type one, so I take 200mg. This might seem like a lot, but if you take it all at night, then it's not that bad.

For the first few weeks I was on Seroquel, I woke up with what felt like a hangover in the morning. There's not much you can do about that side effect; it takes time for your body to get used to the Seroquel. It still takes me a few extra minutes to get up in the morning, but I feel like this is a small price to pay for all of the help that Seroquel has given me.

I just really thankful that this medication exists. Without Seroquel, I don't know how I would manage. I hope it can help you as much as it has helped me :)

[Ben G.]

It knocked me out too, and it was really hard for me to wake up after taking it. You're right, at least in my case if I took much more than 75 mg I'd be in a make-shift coma. And I never got used to the hangover part of it, despite being on it over a year. Between the huge appetite it gave me, and the next-day fatigue, I really wanted to get off it. But it was the only thing helping with the OAB. My brain just wasn't wired for the side effects to level off, though.

[Ashelliak]

I take 50mg of Seroquel at night and it works well for me. I too get hungry though and feel myself wanting to munch at night..lol

[Claredale]

I have been on it for about a month. I have the munchies as well, but they started prior to the seroquel. I have such a tough time with insomnia. I am dreading going to sleep because I know that as soon as I get still, my bladder will go into spasms. I have tried so many sleep meds, including melatonin, ambien (both kinds...highest dosage) Lunesta...It worked well for a while, then that too started being less effective. After I take the Seroquel, it takes me about a hour to go to sleep and I only wake up a couple of times to go to the bathroom. I still wake up in pain a couple of time and take my pain meds, but I normally don't have a problem with functioning the next day. I am on 100 mg. I hope it keeps working because I have been going on at the most 2 hours of sleep every night.

When I see the doctor next week, I will mention the weight gain, but I am sure that most of my meds contribute to that. I feel that since I am finally getting some sleep, I am able to actually do some activity and will start losing some of this weight.

[Ben G.]

Hang in there, hopefully the seroquil will help at least long enough until you can find something more permanent. Hopefully it could become permanent if it helps. I was on it a long time, and really couldn't sleep at all without it, let alone try and make it through the next day. The only thing I can think of as to why it helped some during the day, was because it dehydrated me while I was asleep. So, when I woke the next day, my bladder was much more calm, less stretched feeling. But always as the days wore on the frequency and spasms would return. And I totally empathise with you about dreading to sleep. I know if I try and lay in bed I will feel the spasms too. I will lay still but I can't sleep without rolling around several times. Each time I begin to move I feel the spasm, even laying completely still I feel them. It sux, that's why I take two lunesta, one of anything usually isn't enough for me. Be well.

[Claredale]

My husband just went to Walgreens to pick up my original prescription for my B&O Supp. The pharmacist noticed that I was also taking Seroquel. She asked him if he would tell her how long and why it was diagnosed. I have only been on it for a month. She called my doctor and verified that he had written Seconel. She called my doctor and he told her to tell me to quit taking the meds immediately. I am scared to death. My only symptom is IC. Not bipolar, etc. I return to my doctor on 11/30/06.

[Ben G.]

I don't think you have anything to worry about from the seroquel and b&o stuff... I took seroquel for about a year, not for bi-polar, many other people take it who aren't bi-polar either. I also tried the b&0's, they didn't help me at all and made me really drousy. hopefully they'll work better for you, i got them from my pain specialist who was trying to find a solution that wasn't just another narco script. he was pretty surprised when they didn't work, so maybe i'm just weird ;)

[Ben G.]

it definitely effects people in different ways. Some people have a very strong reaction to it, other people don't have many side-effects other than the general fatigue. It is something that should be monitored if you take it with another medication. I never had any side-effects over long term use, but I never got use to the general fatigue it caused either.

[mylilegirls2]

Hi guys..
I am on seroquel and have been on and off since I was about 20. It is a great medicine to help when you have mental health issues with hearing voices or seeing things as I seem to have on occasion..
NOW here is the bad part... Seroquel has a law suit against it right now because it is cauing Diabeties (just got diagnoised with this due to being on the seroquel).. It is good medicine but beware..
http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/Seroquel

If you just go into Yahoo and type in Seroquel lawsuit it shows up with lots of different lawyers pages about the lawsuit.. there are also lawsuits of other meds in the same class of medications..
Good luck to everyone.. and I hope you do not think I am trying to steer you away from this med. I am just warning you from personal experience.. I am 27 and now have Type 2 Diabeties.. Just more on my plate that I did not need..

[Kara Isabel]

Thanks for all your replies! I'm still sitting on the prescription, I only took it a few times and it made me SOOOOO very tired the next day, I'm just not sure if it is the right med for me right now! :(

Tracey, let us know what happens with the pharmacy and why there was an interaction! I'm curious to know. I'm not taking B&O, but I am taking MSContin and a slew of other meds for the IC and pain.

hugs,
Kara

[mylilegirls2]

I am on Seroquel as I put in the last post I made.. I am also on B&O's strength 16A.. I try to take them only on a needed basis.. mostly cause I have a very high tolorance to medications.. so they really do not work for me. But they are a wonderful medicine and help most of my spazums in my bladder to the point I can try to get to sleep.. I have had no problems with taking the seroquel and B&O's .. Sometimes it makes me a little more sleepy but that is about it..

[Claredale]

The woman in the pharmacy was giving my husband my original prescription for the b & O supp when she noticed that my doctor wrote Seconal, not Seroquel. My doctor's writing is terrible, but she was able to read it. She called the doctor just to verify it though. I go back to the doctor this Thurday, so I will keep you all informed. The B & O supp 16A 30 seem to be working pretty well, but it sure was hard not to go to sleep last night. Everyone is right about the daytime sleepiness. I am fine when I stay busy like at work, etc, but put me on a couch, and I am gone. That is definitely not my usual behavior. I have also notice that I am more clumsy, so I am not sure if it's from my Seroquel. I don't remember being clumsy with just my b & o supp. I have also started having a terrible attitude. Even worse than when I was not getting sleep!

[Claredale]

Does anybody know about the Seconal? I can't find much on it. Like I said before, I have noticed 2 side effects. The need to eat and I really can get snappy if something gets on my nerves. I also fell for no reason on Thanksgiving day and scared my hubby to death. Mainly since I am on so many meds. I had to go through the routine with my mom again about the need for sleeping meds and that I can't sleep because of the pain, frequency and urgency. With the Seroquel, there were nights that I was sleeping 6 hours straight. I haven't done that in years. But I also seem to sleep most of the weekend unless I am up doing something.

[harleybluz]

Kara,
I actually read that the sleepiness is worse at lower doses, however, I too am on a low dose and because of the sleepiness will not go up to a higher dose. I can't believe that it would get better and not worse. It also makes me have to urinate sooooo much and I feel weak from it. I've only been on it for 2 weeks. I'll give it another week and if it doesn't improve, then I'll taper off it.

[Sharon]

I was put on Seroquel for insomnia, and anxiety problems. I was told it was non addicting. I would take 50mg at night. It really helped me with my sleep, I would wake up to go to the bathroom, and then go right back to sleep. It does cause a strong hangover effect the next day, but in time it does gets easier. The hangover feeling usually wore off about 4 hours after getting up. My bladder also tolerated it very well, though it can cause an increase in urination in some, and night sweats.

I was on it for about 5 weeks, and started to have some side effects, so the doctor told me to go off of it, to just stop it. So I go off of this medicine completely, and found myself on a roller coaster of emotions. The worst side effect being rebound insomnia. It not only makes it hard to go to sleep, but hard to stay asleep. So, I thought just a couple sleepless nights and my body would adjust. No, not that easy. I've been told a month maybe because this med does mess with the chemicals in the brain. Some say longer before my body will adjust back to sleeping.

If you have sleeping problems, or may be prone to diabetes, use this med with extreme caution, as it does have withdrawal and health issues associated with it, including weight gain.

[snowgirl]

I'm actually taking it for fibro at a lower dose, between 25-75 mg......I've taken it a few times and the only real side effect I've noticed is it makes me EXTREMELY sleepy the next day, which I don't know if I can live with that! lol I find myself needing naps at the lowest dose, I'd probably sleep ALL day and night on the higher dosing.......good gawd......the stuff knocks you out.

Kara

exactly how I am feeling on 50mg right now. Just had an all day nap.Vicky

[harleybluz]

Well, I ended up tapering off it and feel a whole lot better for it. I couldn't get enough sleep while on it. I still take naps at lunch everyday but at least I can keep my eyes open during work hours. Thanks for the replies.