suffering from seroquel

By The Crazy Rambler Wednesday, April 14, 2010

- A
- A
- A

To anyone taking seroquel or has been taking seroquel,

I hate this med! That doesn't help when I have to take it, cuz I have become hypomanic. But the side effects are nearly as bad as the hypomania. I am out for the count once I start. Even 50 mg can effectively drug me up and make me a zombie. Meaning: extreme tiredness, at first difficulty speaking, getting eyes open is a major efford, forgetting EVERYTHING (no joke), feeling as if your limbs are made of lead, as if your eyes are puffy permanently, and your mouth refuses to cooperate. That's about it, I believe.

At the moment I am building up to get my hypomania under control. I am now on 200 mg. I am not sure if it is enough yet. After a couple weeks being on a stable dose the side effects will wear off mostly, but I will still suffer from extreme tiredness and memory problems.

The thing is: it deals very effectively with my hypomania.

But at the same time, I do wonder every time if there isn't some other drug out there that will not have all those side effects and still be as effective.

Please, share your experience with me, ok?

Thanx!

The crazy rambler

life sucks...... again!

Comments (4) | Add comment

jozi girl

4/15/10 3:09am

Jeepers, thats quite a hectic doss, I have an aniexty disorder and I was given them as sleeping tablets 25mg before bed time, just to clear the mind, I feel absolutely zonked the next day ( Today Been one of them )
, only on 25mg imagine 200mg wow wee huni,
thats cant be right, think get a second opinion.

Gotto go, want to try and sneak a wink on my work desk :)

The Crazy Rambler

4/15/10 12:47pm

Hi Jozi girl!

Thanks for commenting!

It's good to know it is not just me....

As for the dosage: I've had sort of a second opinion, since I had to change pdocs. I don't think it is unusual to have higher doses since it is also used as a mood stabilisor for BP's. That is what my second pdoc wanted to try. I got to 600 mg (!), but it messed with my hormones and made me feel in other ways just terrible. So we decided to take me totally off of it, with the side note I would keep it at hand for the hypomanic episodes.

My hypomania is a result of very high stress and unstable living situation. Things I don't have control over..... which sucks in and of itself!

Next Wednesday I will see my new pdoc for the second time and I want to talk about it with him. Maybe he can come up with someting better..... one can always hope :)

the crazy rambler

tabby

4/15/10 8:38am

My last psych IP, I was placed on it cause I had not slept really in like 8 weeks by that time.

Man did it knock me out. I mean out. I mean, just a snail's hair short of comatose.

In the mornings, at the hospital, for some damn reason they could not understand why many of us (on Seroquel btw) could not make it to morning group or get through the day without going to sleep. One woman peed on herself and did not know it for she went to sleep in group one day... another, my roommate, did not wake up even for meals.

I was on a lower dosage so though I was awake, I had one eye half open and only 3 cylinders firing out of 8.

After 5 days of inpatient, they bounced me out (insurance ended their payment) and the pdoc felt I was completely fine to return to my job on the 6th day... He, at first, refused to write me a note to excuse me.

there I was... on high dosage of Lithium that made me lethargic and diarrhea, Seroquel that semi-comatosed me, and klonopin for anxiety. In his opinion, I was perfectly fine to return to work - sans driving for I wasn't safe to drive he noted - but, return to work a full time 8 hour job that demanded awareness, high focus and concentration, and mental functioning the very next day.

I demanded he write a note at least till I saw the follow up doc outside. He did, but not without some bitching.

The Crazy Rambler

4/15/10 1:07pm

Hi Tabby,

Thanks for your comment!

Sorry to hear about how you were treated in psych hospital and by your pdoc. I truely believe I have been blessed with the pdocs I have had, even more so when I hear the troubles others are having.

What a totally ridiculous idea that you are fit to work when fighting episodes that are so tough, PLUS the horrible side effects of the meds we have to take!!!

I am a outspoken advocate in my own treatment plan. This is not always well received and easy when dealing with (p)docs, but then: it is my life and I know what I feel and what the meds do to me. My counselor, who knows me like no-one else does, told me I have a good insight in how my BP works and believes in my wisdom of how to use the meds. Fortunately, even though I have had times I really wanted to stop taking the meds and slush them thru the toilet, I have always continued taking them. My outward circumstances are and have been so unstable, that it would surely land me in hospital if I would discontinue my meds. Knowing this, I deeply sight and angrily took them anyways.

But I am soooooo ready to chuck seroquel out of the window forever!!!

It is that I hate being hypomanic more, and I want to get that under control, but still.....

I do wish I got something good out of being hypomanic, but I am one of those BPs who, apart from being productive, don't get any good out of it. And that really sucks!!

Wishing you the best, Tabby, on your way to recovery!

the crazy rambler

suffering from seroquel

Ask a Question