19 Important Seroquel Facts You Need to Know (Quetiapine Fumarate)

Table of Contents

seroquel

1.) What is Seroquel?

Seroquel is an oral atypical antipsychotic drug that the FDA approved the use of in September 1997.

A single?25mg dose is the smallest tablet made and 400mg is the greatest.

seroquel uses

2.) What is Seroquel Used For?

Quetiapine is used alone or in combination with other drugs to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

It’s intended for bipolar disorder (manic depression) in adults and children who are at least 10 years old. It is also used together with antidepressant medications to treat a major depressive disorder in adults.

It also prescribed for treating major depression?in combination with antidepressants and to treat schizophrenia in adults and children who are at least 13 years old. 

The efficacy of Seroquel in schizophrenia was established in three 6-week trials in adults and one 6-week trial in adolescents (13-17 years).

The effectiveness of Seroquel for the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia has not been systematically evaluated in controlled clinical trials

It’s sedating in low dose, 100mg and lower is said to be more sedating. There are a lot of people these days who are prescribed take it just for sleep. More on that later.

It’s said that you will sleep with no disturbance (although the effects of the sleep cycle are unknown).

It’s also been used to treat Alzheimer’s patients, although it’s not licensed to treat this.

3.) How Does Seroquel Work?

What does the medication Seroquel do exactly?

How does it treat severe mental illnesses?

Although the mechanism of action of quetiapine is unknown, like other antipsychotics, it inhibits communication between nerves of the brain.

It does this by blocking receptors on the nerves for several neurotransmitters, the chemicals that nerves use to communicate with each other.

It is thought that its beneficial effect is due to blocking of the dopamine type 2 (D2) and serotonin type 2 (5-HT2) receptors.

This is why it works for bipolar disorder, effectively quieting the mind and helping with the manic side of this illness.

It can help to manage or mitigate the racing thoughts, obsessive thoughts, suicidal thoughts. Paranoia, hallucinations, psychomotor excitation, delusions.

seroquel uses sleep

4.) Seroquel for Sleep: is Quetiapine Fumarate an Effective Sleep Aid? / Insomnia

Use for insomnia & anxiety is “off-label” (meaning that it is not strictly approved for use in these cases).

Because of this, there are no official guidelines for dose and correct usage.

However, in practice it’s common for 50 – 100mg to be prescribed once at night to help with insomnia.?

This is the typical range, but under some circumstances upwards of 200mg doses are prescribed.

It’s important to note that many doctors do not recommend prescribing quetiapine for sleep disturbance.

This is because of its powerful use as an atypical antipsychotic.?Zolpidem,?zopiclone, eszopiclone (Z-drugs/non-benzos) are often better at inducing sleep due to their being hypnotics, and without as much as “brain dampening” side effects compared to Seroquel.

But, others argue that at the low dosages needed to promote sleep (typically <200mg), that Seroquel is not strong enough to provide it’s antipsychotic effects and only acts as a powerful anti-histamine/sleep inducer.

But the question remains concerning any of these drugs as good long-term solutions for sleep problems.

Short-term use can be okay, but eventually, tolerance will rise, effectiveness will decrease and dependence will occur.

Drugs can only mask deeper psychological complexes, and one must directly work with the roots of their suffering if they want any lasting change.

seroquel recreational

5.) Does Seroquel Have Any Recreational Value?

For some people, yes. Oddly enough abuse of antipsychotic medications is a real thing.

Is there a noticeable Seroquel “high”?

Seroquel has a psychotropic effect, maybe not one you would like or classify recreational but it does.

Its a major sedative/anti-psychotic and will most likely lead to sedation and drowsiness.

It can cause that slight dissociation effect which some people enjoy.

I’ve read that some individuals supplement any and all of their psychedelic trips with Seroquel and end every stimulant trip with Seroquel.

One user said:

“If you are someone who occasionally has a night of cocaine abuse, taking Seroquel shortly after you stop using is a great way to avoid the often times harsh comedown. It’s also a great way to get a good night of rest after serious drinking and possibly sleep through a morning hangover.”

Now with that said,

Seroquel can be a dangerous drug. Is it a very bad idea to mix it with other stuff, that could end really bad.

Do not ever take ever Seroquel with DXM.?Also, Seroquel taken with opiates is more dangerous than taking benzos simultaneously with opiates, so avoid that too. You’ll also likely end up in the?ER for a few hours after mixing it with coke.

Just heard of someone else on the news going to the ER after taking Seroquel with opiates. It’s a great med for withdrawals cause you’ll sleep. It’s great for its prescribed purposes. But don’t take it if your on drugs or even if you’re already coming down or you could lose your life.

6.) What is the Typical Recreational Dose of Seroquel?

You can definitely overdose on this drug when used recreationally or in excess. So be careful.

Too much Seroquel can cause seizures though isn’t that part of od-ing.

The seizures are due to hypokalemia (a considerable loss of potassium or lowering of potassium in the blood serum.)

600 to 1000mg (depends on body weight) would be the highest dose many recreational users suggest; but not unless you are accustomed to the medication (take it on a usual basis).

But remember, recreation use should never be suggested anyway! And these upper limits might not be what you could handle, everybody is different.

If you use it as a sedative to come down from a stimulant experience or possibly help with a negative psychedelic experience there is no need to exceed (200mg)

Remember, tolerance to Seroquel is built up real fast. As far as recreational use goes, too much of it can cause anxiety flairs up, shadows constantly shift around, and voices start materializing.

How about snorting Seroquel?

Some users choose to insufflate the drug.

Insufflating antipsychotics generally does not yield a higher bioavailability, but it is important to look the oral bioavailability up before trying this.

However, one can do this at home to have symptoms relieved in 2 minutes or so.

That is a big deal considering many antipsychotics take 45 minutes to work orally.

But no, snorting is really not a good idea.

seroquel overdose

7.) Can you Overdose on Seroquel?

Yes, you can overdose on Seroquel. And it can be fatal.

After a massive overdose of quetiapine, fatal consequences can be delayed up to 50 hours after ingestion, if not beyond.

Therefore, these patients require prolonged observation in a monitored or intensive care setting.

Seroquel overdose symptoms include:

  • Seizures
  • Liver toxicity
  • delirium
  • Drowsiness?
  • Rapid heart rate (tachycardia)?
  • Low blood pressure (hypotension)?
  • Low blood potassium (hypokalemia)?
  • Irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia)?
  • Coma?
  • Loss of life.?

For Seroquel overdose treatment, the individual who overdosed, or a family member or anyone who finds an individual in this compromised state should call for medical help immediately and get the individual to a hospital ER as soon as possible.

8.) How Does Seroquel Interact with Alcohol? Is it Safe?

Both Seroquel and alcohol affect the body in a sedative way.

When mixed, the results can be powerful.

Standard scenario of drinking while on atypical antipsychotics is dehydration that increases side effects, heavy sedation from the drug’s interactions, a need for a lot of sleep and a hangover that consists of a nice headache and cloudy feeling the next day.

Worse interactions, often following an overdose, can place you in the ICU for days. Seizures are a possibility, as is injuring oneself. Heavy emotions like severe depression and mania can also occur.

The general advice is to drink in moderation if you do choose to drink. (Even better, just give up on drinking.)

Many people find that their alcohol tolerance decreases once on APs (anti-psychotics) and one to three beers will really be all it takes to get them sufficiently drunk.

But beware; many people report blacking out without having the usual warning signs of being too drunk.

You might go from only feeling slightly tipsy to waking up the next morning wondering what the hell happened.

Remember that you are posing an increased risk of long-term brain damage from these drugs by combining them. There is still not much known about their long-term effects (or even short-term, for that matter).

If you love beer, just drink alcohol-free beer. 🙂

seroquel withdrawal symptoms

9.) What are Seroquel Withdrawals Like?

The withdrawals from this drug can be very uncomfortable, agitating and draining.

Many people who used Seroquel to sleep might experience even worse insomnia than what they had before starting Seroquel.

This can last for weeks.

Often times people report not feeling like themselves for a long time after stopping or starting to taper off Seroquel.

And this is often accompanied by a general sick feeling, sudden temperature changes, shooting “zapping” sensations in their head and severe emotional distress.

How long do the withdrawal effects last for?

Rare but serious side effects have been reported with this kind of medicine that can persist even after stopping the drug.

A neurological disorder known as NMS or Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome might occur. NMS is characterized by muscle rigidity and fever.

Another serious side effect that has been reported is Tardive Dyskinesia (uncontrollable movements and twitching, mostly in the face, but can occur elsewhere in the body.

This can entail body twitching that happens every few seconds of every day. And sadly, some cases persist for years after stopping the drug.

The worst part of stopping Seroquel ‘cold turkey’ is the first 48-72 hours; chills, sweats, anxiety…much like stopping any neuroleptic. Because of this, it is recommended to slowly taper. Ask your doctor about tapering effectively.

10.) What is the Standard Dosage for Seroquel?

Immediate release quetiapine usually is taken two or three times daily. Extended-release quetiapine is taken once daily. The dose usually is increased slowly over several days or weeks to achieve the desired effect. Quetiapine can be taken with or without food, although you will feel the effects quicker and more strongly when on an empty stomach.

The (typical) initial dose for bipolar disorder?is 50 mg twice daily (100 mg/day) of immediate release quetiapine. The dose can be increased by 100 mg/day to a daily dose of 400 mg/day. Most patients respond to 400-800 mg/day. Doses greater than 800 mg/d have not been studied. The starting dose is 300 mg once daily and the target dose is 400-800 mg once daily when using extended-release tablets.

The (typical) initial dose for schizophrenia is 25 mg twice daily (50 mg/day) of immediate-release tablets. The dose can be increased by 25-50 mg two or three times daily. The target dose is 300-400 mg/day in two or three doses. Patients respond to 150-750 mg/day and doses greater than 800 mg/day have not been evaluated. The starting dose is 300 mg once daily and the target dose is 400-800 mg once daily when using extended-release tablets.

The dose range for treating major depression is 150-300 mg/day of extended-release tablets. The starting dose is 50 mg in the evening for 2 days increasing to 150 mg in the evening.

11.) What about Seroquel XR Extended Release?

The XR pills (extended release) come in these dosages:

  • 50 mg extended-release tablets
  • 150 mg extended-release tablets
  • 200 mg extended-release tablets
  • 300 mg extended-release tablets
  • 400 mg extended-release tablets

Extended-release quetiapine (Seroquel XR) is for use only in adults and should not be given to anyone younger than 18 years old, especially children. Children have instead prescribed the instant release formula.

12.) How much does Seroquel cost?

When buying Seroquel without insurance you can expect to pay around $150 to $225 per month for the prescription when you go to your local pharmacy, or buy online from the likes of Walgreens, Walmart, CVS or Costco.

You can find quetiapine in an unofficial online pharmacy store as well, and likely for cheaper. But many of these operations are a bit sketchy. Most of the time you’ll get a generic. But they should be of good quality (if it ever arrives 🙂

  • When buying Seroquel without insurance you’ll likely be paying around $4 per pill. Sometimes even up to $13 for smaller quantities!
  • When buying Seroquel with insurance you should expect to find prices for a month worth of prescription costing you between $15 and $100.

It’s a good idea to shop around with different pharmacies. Often times smaller pharmacies have cheaper prices. As far as large pharmacies go, Costco will likely provide the cheapest prices.

When buying generics, it’s good to know that the instant release formula comes in generic form but the extended release form doesn’t.

13.) What does Seroquel feel like?

So what are the Effects of this drug when you take it? How does it make you feel?

The most common experience with this drug is sleepiness. This is especially so during the first two weeks of starting it.

Many people complain of being too groggy to function correctly and needing 20+ hours of sleep a night for the first couple weeks. But most people’s systems will normalize and they will be able to go back to somewhat normal sleeping schedules.

As far as treating psychotic/anxiety symptoms, many people experience a dramatic decrease in episodes. Some people have none. This is because quetiapine drugs do a very good job of stopping the brain signaling that accompanies mental disorders.

But while you may enjoy a lot less emotional episodes, you might also notice the rest of your life feeling “dampened”. Many people describe the feelings of Seroquel as extremely disassociating and dreamlike. Like their life is at a distance and they don’t “feel like things are real”.

14.) What are the Side Effects of Seroquel?

While Seroquel is primarily prescribed to normalize symptoms of mental disorder, some users will find they have increased in their mood or behavior challenges, including anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping. Maybe even feeling impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, hyperactive (mentally or physically), depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself in a way that wasn’t there before.

Stop using quetiapine and call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

  • very stiff (rigid) muscles, high fever, sweating, confusion, fast or uneven heartbeats, tremors;
  • feeling like you might pass out;
  • jerky muscle movements you cannot control, trouble swallowing, problems with speech;
  • tremors, or restless muscle movements in your eyes, tongue, jaw, neck, arms, or legs;
  • a mask-like appearance of the face, trouble swallowing, problems with speech;
  • blurred vision, eye pain, or seeing halos around lights;
  • increased thirst and urination, excessive hunger, fruity breath odor, weakness, nausea, and vomiting; or
  • fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms, white patches or sores inside your mouth or on your lips.
  • orthostatic hypotension
  • seizures

Common side effects may include:

  • dizziness, drowsiness, tired feeling;
  • dry mouth, sore throat;
  • stomach pain, upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, constipation;
  • breast swelling or discharge;
  • missed menstrual periods; or
  • increased appetite, weight gain.
  • agitation
  • dizziness
  • weight gain
  • stomach upset

As with other antipsychotics, long-term use of quetiapine may lead to irreversible tardive dyskinesia, a neurologic disease which consists of involuntary movements of the jaw, lips, and tongue.

A potentially fatal complex referred to as neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) has also been reported with antipsychotic drugs.

Patients who develop NMS may have high fevers, muscle rigidity, altered mental status, irregular pulse or blood pressure, rapid heart rate, excessive sweating, and heart arrhythmias.

If cataracts form, treatment should be discontinued. Quetiapine may increase blood concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides. (by 11% and 17%, respectively.)

Many become at risk for hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) and diabetes while taking atypical antipsychotics like quetiapine.

Patients should be tested during treatment for elevated blood sugars.

Additionally, those with family histories diabetes should have their fasting levels of blood sugar tested before starting treatment and periodically throughout treatment to detect the onset of diabetes.

Any patient developing symptoms that suggest diabetes during treatment should be tested for diabetes.

Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotics are at an increased risk of death when taking Seroquel.

For this reason, quetiapine’s are not recommended for the elderly.

15.) What About Switching to Seroquel from other Antipsychotics?

There are no systematically collected data to specifically address switching patients from other antipsychotics to Seroquel.

But people do it all the time.

While immediately quitting the previous?antipsychotic?treatment may be acceptable for some patients, more gradual discontinuation may be most appropriate for others.

In all cases, the period of overlapping the meds should be minimized.

16.) Is Weight Gain a Concern When Taking Seroquel?

Many people have experienced troublesome effects with regard to weight management after starting Seroquel.

Exactly how this drug and other atypical antipsychotics like it effect weight is unknown.

The drug does affect in some way your brain’s ability to regulate fat storage and process sugars, we’re pretty sure.

Through most of these beliefs are based on anecdotal evidence (if you know any studies, let us know in the comments below.)

It can also cause a lot of sugar / unhealthy food cravings, especially at higher doses.

This is because Seroquel likely affects the Hypothalamus gland which is the control center for hunger in the body.

What it does is mainly negate our satiety center meaning no matter how much you eat, you still feel hungry because that mechanism is not working normally as it should

Regardless of how much you eat, whether it’s less or more than normal, there is a chance you will gain weight on this drug.

Many people discover their triglyceride levels go through the roof and can develop a decent amount of extra weight.?

Adverse effects on your metabolism are a very real concern.

It’s not always just about developing the willpower to eat the right foods and exercise often if a drug is slowing down your metabolism, you won’t lose any weight even if you give your best effort. And that sucks.

Now that we’ve broken through that barrier I want to discuss some alternative existing possibilities.?

Basically, it comes down to having to take another medication to counteract the vicious consequences of Seroquel.

There is a classification of drugs known as “Anti-obesity medications” that can help counteract weight gain effects.

With the two most popular being Orlistat (Xenical) and sibutramine (Meridia).

There are also drugs such as Phentermine, better known as Adipex P, which is a stimulant drug (amphetamine) that will cause appetite suppression and weight loss.

Problem is it can be addicting and most doctors will not put people on these upper style weight meds unless all else fails.

It is usually a last resort type of thing. Diet and exercise, of course, are the best, but with Seroquel for many people, this does not seem to matter.

In some instances, weight gain can happen after stopping Seroquel.

But in most cases, you will slowly begin to lose any weight that you gained. But chances are, it won’t come off as easily as it came on.

17.) How about Weight Loss on Seroquel?

This is very uncommon.

Basically, everyone either gains or stays the same weight.

Occasionally people will experience weight loss while they are on Seroquel but it is likely due to interactions with other drugs or other events going on in their life that are affecting their brain chemistry.

18.) The Relationship Between Seroquel and Diabetes.

Many people have noticed a relationship between Seroquel potentially causing or?exacerbating?diabetes.

A large number of individuals who started the meds had a very thin athletic body before going on it, with very good health, low cholesterol, and blood pressure.

After a short while on the medication, pre-diabetes sets in. Later, full of diabetes. This happens far too often. 

The answer is, truly, nobody knows for sure how this is happening. But there are a few theories.

Research is suggesting that Seroquel affects the functioning of the pancreas, which is responsible for insulin regulation.

Insulin disruptions can lead to many things, including food cravings, diabetes, and weight gain.

One thing is for sure, Seroquel often makes people want to eat more, which causes weight gain, and overweight people are more likely to have diabetes.

Especially troubling is that the type of foods one craves on Seroquel tend to be sugary high carb snacks.

Patients who have schizophrenia have higher rates of diabetes regardless of their course of treatment in general, so it may be that the disease, not the drug, is correlated wi e diabetes.

However, Seroquel patients who are not schizophrenic have also been found in some studies to have increased risk.

Moreover, some studies have shown increased risk even when weight or weight gain are controlled for.

And as well, the direct evidence that eating too much or eating too much sugar causes diabetes is suspect.

Seroquel has some effect on blood sugar levels directly.

Patients who take the drug tend to have higher blood sugar levels generally. However, we don’t really know why that happens. There are theories about glucose metabolism and about the drug’s effect on pancreatic serotonin receptors, but nothing has been conclusively proved.

One Seroquel user expressed this:

“The only related side-effect I’ve noticed is weird cravings for junk food which I’d never really craved (being a light and mostly-healthy eater) before. New cravings include french fries and honey-buns, but mostly I don’t give into them, choosing to eat healthier alternatives (healthier carbs, or fruits for the sweet-tooth).”

These cravings signal that her body’s response to the pulse of insulin from Seroquel is causing her pancreas to produce chemicals too often for lower levels of blood sugar to cope with.?

So, these cravings are her body’s attempt to get her to actively pump up her blood sugar levels (binging on sugary food) so it can cope with all that Seroquel-induced insulin.

Now, what happens if your body finds itself in a situation where it’s producing too much insulin for its blood sugar over and over again??

Simple. It sends in the immune system to kill off some cells, and your pancreas can no longer produce as much insulin as before, making the insulin crises more manageable.

This is called medication-induced diabetes. It is not the same reason other Type II diabetes develops.

This medication, along with various others, causes a change in blood sugar. In order to stay healthy and not get the damage from diabetes one must be treated.

Often when the medication ends, diabetes will also. However, if you have a predisposition for diabetes, it runs in family or you are prone to obesity, then the medication may increase the blood sugar levels.

A study of U.S. military veterans with?schizophrenia?has reported that patients on quetiapine (the active ingredient contained in Seroquel) had 3.34 times as many cases of diabetes when compared to patients taking decades old drugs for psychosis including haloperidol, thioridazine, and others.

Additional studies have confirmed that patients receiving atypical antipsychotics (i.e., clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone) are at an increased risk of developing hyperglycemia and/or diabetes mellitus.

19.) Are there risks associated with taking Seroquel during Pregnancy?

While there are no adequate studies of quetiapine in pregnant women (only animal studies have been done), quetiapine should be used in pregnancy only if the physician feels that it is necessary and that the potential benefits justify the unknown risks.

In my opinion, you should steer clear of Seroquel if you’re pregnant.?

The periods that have the most potential for the drug to cause harm to the fetus are the first and last trimester. But there is inherent risk throughout the whole pregnancy.

For nursing mothers: quetiapine is excreted in the milk of animals during lactation. Although it’s not known if it is excreted in human milk, it is recommended that women taking quetiapine not?breastfeed.

Breastfeeding is important though for a babies health, so strongly consider coming off the drug to provide your child with healthy breast milk over potentially destructive formulas.

Lot’s of mothers who have taken Seroquel throughout their whole pregnancy and during breastfeeding have exclaimed their children are healthy and happy. This might be so, but we need to consider long-term effects.?

Seroquel effects the neurochemistry of the mother profoundly, and this altering of brain chemicals is no doubt also affecting the brain of the child from conception through infancy.

We have absolutely no idea how profound the impacts could be over a whole lifetime for the child.

196 thoughts on “19 Important Seroquel Facts You Need to Know (Quetiapine Fumarate)”

  1. Please fix the typos or atleast start proofreading when done. I see all these typos and wounder if I should believe any of it.

    1. foreywater

      Look at all your god damn typos you dumb bitch. shut the fuck up and stop being a hypocrite

      1. Maybe you are experiencing the side efect of irritability as I think Iam as well. Getting all upset about typo errors is really not a big deal and calling her a dumb bitch clearly indicates your unprofessional manner…did this start as a side effect or have you always been a jerk…you owe her an apology and talk to your Dr my aggetation is more physical not knowing if Iam hot or cold…Iam a very patient woman usually but have found myself swearing at video games and am finding it difficult to figure out why certain clothes make me irritable I dont like being this way but refuse to only live on 4 hours of sleep….so I need to be careful before i blurt out whatever..Wishing you well Thank you Frozen in Fargo ND maybe thats whats making me nasty!!!!

      2. I have spent decades of going to work at night and coming home and just sleeping, doing nothing else and not going outside during the day. I have tried all the meds and seen shrinks been hypnotised and nothing worked. After a week on Seroquel my life has completely changed, i am a new person and am living a full and happy life. I have been diagnosed with bi polar and major depression, i take 300mg before i go to sleep and have a great sleep. I I owe my life to this drug, for me it is amazing.

        1. Charlie max

          Do you still feel the same way you did about seroquel? Are you still taking it?
          Interested to know long term effects of this drug, I have been on it for 2months now & I feel good so far.. atleast I’m sleeping again.?

          1. I have taken Seroquel for 10 years. It was perfect at first for sleep, then I had to keep upping the dose. I weaned off over a years time. I?m completely off now. And I?m a friggin train wreck. I get maybe 3 hours of sleep, mostly broken. During the night while trying to sleep, I have attacks of panic and thinking I?m loosing my mind. It has damaged my brain. I had an MRI and I now have spots on my brain that weren?t there years ago. I have MS symptoms, but they say I don?t have MS. I doubt I?ll make it if this persist forever. Please do not take this for sleep only and expect to just stop, you are forever altered. I only used it because I had horrible sleep and now it?s 100 times worse.

          2. Hugh Gilleland

            Serequel is the Devils drug.I took it for 15 years,the last 5 really wanting off but it was impossible to sleep without it.The NURSE PRACTITIONER,one day pulled some sort of power trip and took me off both Serequel and Xanax,after 15 years cold turkey.How I didn’t off myself in the first few months I still don’t understand.I cant imagine a harder or longer “recovery”from this drug.It has been about 10 months and have REAL Dr.s looking out for me ,blood-work,Ambien and Xanax but even with Xanax and Ambien(at very very high doses).I sleep about 3 hours on a good night.I also had a TBI about 15 years ago so maybe this is contributing to my Insomnia however the human body grows dependent on the drug to sleep.I look at it like a body builder who uses steroids for years, his body stops producing testosterone naturally and needs “replacement therapy” just to get a hard on.My guess is do just about anything,even Benzos are effective and much easier to come off of,in my opinion.The addiction to sleep is stronger than any opiate.Try marijuana,eat it if you cant smoke.No sleep can turn into so much.Good luck

          3. Be super carefully I was taking 400 5 times a day i gained 120 pounds,,,my tolerance seemed to go up every 3 months,,,coming down on my dosage was very hard mentally physically it works great but I’m on many different sleep aids it’s got its pros and cons,

          4. It helps a LOT during an acute major depressive episode(I realize that sounds redundant, but my shrink says it’s an actual diagnosis;).
            You will be able to sleep and obsessive thoughts abate quite a lot. In my experience, this has been around 300 mgs at night.
            If you regularly take this medication, you WILL gain weight. Like, 40 pounds w/out even changing eating habits. If you take the 300 at night, you’re going to need to wake up early enough to have a couple cups of coffee:)
            Overall, as is so often said: your doc(& you) will decide if the benefits of the medication outweigh the side effects:)
            Seroquel can really help you get through some rough times( I write of depression and bipolar II disorder – unaware of the pros and cons for the treatment of schizophrenia- forgive me), but, as a mood stabilizer, I far prefer lamictal. Hope everyone is doing ok!
            Regards

        2. Richard So far the damage by Seroquel is Pre-Diabetes. Damaged & Fatty liver, emotionally fragmented, astonishing because l have studied functional medicine since 1972, and l’m an avid researcher, l looked up side effects at that time only in traditional medicine who cannot be fully trusted! I had no choice in taking it for war trauma insomnia. I made a big mistake in not checking the side effects in functional medicine. One is a known whistleblower, Mike Adams of Natural News! these people l consider to be heroe’s along with great risks to themselves in sharing this with the public. I am now going through withdrawals, down from 100mg to 50mg. Will share more later on that journey!

          1. I started taking seroquel more than 10 years ago as a sleep aid. I was told it worked like an anti-depressent and was non addictive. It worked great at first but the dosage had to be increased because like most things it became less effective over time. I went from 100mg to 200mg then 400mg. What a mistake!!! The first thing that happened was I stopped menstruating which is not that big of a deal except the reason was an increase of prolactin which has now given me osteoporosis. I gained weight…at least 50lbs over a 7 year period. I began exercising daily almost three years ago and have only been able to drop 20 lbs. Before you comment, I don’t eat fast food or sweets and stay away from fried foods ( I like a little candy once in a while). Anotherwards I eat healthy. I decided to start decreasing the dosage when last spring I became tachycardic (high heart rate). I saw a cardiologist in October who said I developed atrial fibrillation and in December I was hospitalized where they performed a procedure to shock my heart. I was told to stop taking Seroquel. I think it is good for it’s purpose, bipolar and schizophrenia, but anything else is just being careless and taking a huge risk.

          2. I forgot to write the whole reason I came on this site!! 1 year ago I began tapering. Three months since I lowered my dose from 200 to 75mg and I feel like I am losing my mind. I am either angry or crying and the rest of the time I feel numb. I started this to help me sleep and today my Dr gave me an antidepressant to counteract the side effects from coming off this drug! Some days it’s so bad I don’t want to live. Has anybody else had such severe withdrawal symptoms?
            The rest of my comment is above.

          3. May I ask what you mean by this?
            “One is a known whistleblower, Mike Adams of Natural News! these people l consider to be heroe’s along with great risks to themselves in sharing this with the public.”
            Or is it an accidental paste?

        3. I have taken serequel for 4 yrs and I felt great but blood sugar went up a little. I,became afraid and ask my Dr to put me on something else but it didn’t work. I’m back on serequel but only one dose so far. Hopefully I can get back

      3. No kidding. I didn’t notice any typos I was too focused on the issue at hand.

        1. I totally agree with Donna, I saw no errors because I was focused on my issue at hand as well. I take 200mg in the am and 400mg at pm. This drug helps me, better than any other out there.

        1. Josh Krogh

          I could not agree more, I get irritable enough as it is, that drug makes it worse for me. Also I don’t see anything listed in the side effects of this ,,- Well it just say’s body aches, my experience with this Seroquel it causes back pain to the point I had to stop it. It helps for sleep I can agree….. Need something different!

    2. A little dose of irony never hurt anyone, huh? Anyhows next time you decide to criticize a persons typos at least try to spell things correctly yourself. Also, to judge an individuals whole credibility on a few typos is pretty retarded indeed. I think you ought to chew a fist full of 400’s and repeatedly slam your forehead against the nearest stinking piss post until a state of unconsciousness is achieved.

      1. Who gives a shit of the typos or misspelling I clicked on this website to help me learn about the drug I was put on not to see a bunch of rude people insult each other.

        1. I had alot of the”bad systems ” and they kept upping my dosage. Never checked my heart or blood preasure once during my time on sequel. But put a paper in front of me to sign giving gaurdianship of my son if i became uncapable of raising him. I had depression only

        2. I completly agree!!! I need to learn about the drug and didn”t even notice the type o’s. But ur comment was very funny though. Thanks for laugh! 🙂

        3. Haha. Really informational. Everyone makes mistakes. There mom made one with them. Don’t sweat it. Thanks you!

      2. Laughing

        Thank you Jono. You said what I was thinking oh, so very well. 😉
        Thank you discoveryrehab.com for the post.

      3. lOVE ALL THE COMMENTS ROAD RAGE COULD BE THE NEXT STEP FOR THIS MAN…IF HE GOES OFF ON TYPO ERRORS GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT WILL BE NEXT GOOD ADVICE CHEW A HANDFULL OF THE MEDICATIONTIL YOU NEED IT

          1. Veronica

            This is crazy… I can’t believe this site actually let some of these comments on here. I’m here for information about seraquel! Not to read rude and totally immature comments.. I just wanted to know how long it will take to get seraquel out of my system so that the ambien I’m now taking can work?

          2. You know I?m right.

            Dumb people calling others ?dum?, lambasting others for spelling and grammatical errors while making plenty themselves, overly aggressive comments that are so disproportionate to the perceived offence… if this wasn?t indicative of real people we have to share this planet with, it?d be laughable in a good way. So much perplexing irony. Instead it?s saddening and only reinforces a desire to have a minimum intelligence test to be passed before a person can make any comment on the internet.

        1. I am trying to get off this horrible medication the longer you take it the more side affects you get. I now have nightmares every night along with stacks of other wicked side affects

      4. You tell him sweetie! And I agree with it being a side effect (irritability). I have good days and bad days (good out ways bad). Oh and by the way when I get irritable I remove myself from the situation and try to lay down and relax.

    3. dude some ppl have dislexia fuck face, u can read thus so stop bein a cunt crystal!

      1. Wow ur an asshole that’s an awful thing 2 say 2 some one w mental health issues. Why does everyone have 2 be so mean??

        1. People please!
          Why all the anger?
          Listen to yourselves
          I think we all need to try to respect each other and realize we are all on this site because NONE OF US
          are perfect and we are looking for answers!

          I wish all of you well!

          Hopefully we all can find the right medication!

      2. John what a sick sad person you must be…to spout such a vile comment….think you need mental health intervention!!! Immediately

    4. Crystal, would you kindly point out where the “typos” you’re mentioning are in this article? Grammatical errors are one of my biggest pet peeves and since I really didn’t notice any in this read, I’d like to know what you saw and I missed. Greatly appreciate your time. Thanks!

      1. What is the big deal about typos as long as you understand the meaning of what the person is saying. Some people just have to pick on other people, because that is the only thing that will make them happy.

      2. Jeannette Poulson

        Katlyb-I’m sorry I’m not crystal. One of the errors is in the last sentence of the last paragraph under section 8- Like “they?re” (their) life is at a distance.
        I thought the article was very informative, and well put together. I was just prescribed Seroquel for insomnia only, but diabetes runs in my family, and I’ve been apprehensive about taking it for this reason as my glucose and cholesterol levels already tend to be on the high side.
        Has anyone had success taking it just for insomnia without complications?
        I appreciate any feedback. The prescribed amount is 50 mg.
        Thanks

        1. I have, at 25 mg, at it worked fine with no side effects. I’m nervous about taking the hundreds of mg that my psych wants me to take which is why I’m here researching for probably the tenth time. BUT I can tell you that in my experience the low dosage 25 mg is fine and works wonders for sleeping. It would knock me out almost 12 hours. My migraine doctor prescribed it so that I would sleep through migraines while my other meds kicked in.

          1. Heather, I started Seroquel 16 days ago (25 mg) and am concerned about the side-effects. Doctors do not tell patients about drugs and what they can do to you especially in the long-term and/or how many days does it take to be effective! I am greatly concerned and frightened after reading many articles about it. He prescribed this medication for me to help the insomnia. However, I had lost weight because of the COPD end-stage3, plus, my chronic depression and anxiety I’ve had for decades which no medication has EVER helped. Of course, every situation is different but the lawsuits freak me out.

            WARNING:
            The FDA, over a dozen years ago sent out a warning about using this drug ‘off-label’ and what followed was the attorney generals filed litigation against the company. As of 2019, over $1 billion has been paid to settle these lawsuits and there are still some pending. The Pharma company never admitted to wrongdoing….hmmmmm

          2. You have just started?
            This drug can help for sleep in the beginning… But if prescribed incorrectly (for sleep) then you shouldn’t up.. Why does your psych want to up your dosis?

    5. July 2015 I took 8700 MG seroquel. Within 10 min I was out. Was in coma for 4 days. When I woke up I had a tube down my throat, tubing was every where, and I was restrained to my bed. I was very angry because I had to go to bathroom and couldn’t understand what was going on. Later I was told I should consider myself lucky to be alive. My O2 saturation level was 62. It’s suppose to be 100. My intention was to end my life. My mental illness is schizophrenic affective disorder, I was also in active addiction. So this is my reply to this page, and I will end saying this, there is nobody nor nothing worth taking your own life. It doesn’t have to be a option. When I o.d. ed, I had no idea what to expect. I had attempted suicide several occasions before this. Prescription drugs can and will take your life!!!!

      1. Kimberley.. I hope you are on the road to recovery!!!
        thinking of you…stay strong x

      2. I went into this site to find out how much of this medication i would have to take to end my life i have bipolar had many different meds over the last 45yrs including ECT on several in ward stays. If been sectioned in many occasions and take 600mg a day i get to this point as I can see nothing better or ahead.

        1. Please do not end your life, Susan. I have had schizophrenia for 3 1/2 years now, and I understand the feeling that nothing will get better… But Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of my life, and He has helped me through all of it. He Loves you, Susan; you truly do matter to Him, to me, and to so many others. Please do not listen to lies!!!

          Dear Jesus,
          Please show Susan that her life is worth living. Please show her Yourself and save her from the hopelessness she feels.
          In Jesus’ Name I pray,
          Amen.

          1. Hi annalee, your right. Nice prayer. God bless all those in this state of mind. I pray for all people of mental health, depression, anxiety, loneliness & bereaved. Please Lord Jesus be Our Guiding light. Amen… I’m fighting Depression & severe Anxiety.

          2. Sam Gravez

            This is the best thing ive EVER seen on here! Or anything. Thank you!!

        2. Stayin' alive

          Susan, I’ve suffered from extreme depression also. My last episode only lasted a few days but was so intense that I took safe medications to keep me sleeping until I felt better. Otherwise I’d have to go to the hospital again to stay alive. After trying many treatments, I eventually got better but I was moderately depressed for 2 years after a very serious bout of several depression following a manic episode. I’m down to 3 meds now in my current cocktail and I feel like a human again. I take Lamictal, Seroquel, and paxil. I’m down to 50mg Seroquel only at night. I’m on this site trying to find out if I should try to get off of it. Every single night, about 1 hour after taking Seroquel I go from not hungry at all to starving. After I eat way too much or even if I don’t), I get so tired I can’t stay awake. I’ve never had trouble sleeping and I’m waking up nauseated and find it hard to get up in the morning. Every time I’ve reduced this med, my tiredness gets better which helps my depression since I can get out and do more. Anyway, everyone reacts to meds differently and my point is that I’ve had to keep trying different combinations of meds until I found what helps. It’s so difficult since I get bad side effects from most psych meds. Lamictal is what finally brought me out of depression but it was the third time I tried it since I get very itchy the first few days and my doctor’s were afraid I’d get the deadly rash. Finally a nurse practitioner tapered me off very slowly so the itch wasn’t so bad. Anyway, please know there are people who feel like you do and it’s likely you will eventually get better. Try to keep alive even if you have to sleep a lot or go to the hospital to get through it. It May seem like you’ll never feel better but you don’t want to transfer your suffering to people who love you when chances are, if you keep trying, you will eventually get better.

        3. Susan how old were you when you started meds?
          I’m so sorry your life has been so hard! I really hope you are OK. Call your doc please. And look into alternatives. Discuss it with your Dr.

      3. Oh my word. That must have been scary? You are a survivor. So much wiser. I just hope you haven’t gotten more medical conditions due to this event

    6. Seriously grammar police that’s what you’re worried about when looking this up? You obviously need to be on it because you’re crazy.

    7. mad mick

      On average I killed roughly 17 people a year the guilt was horrendous but after taking these meds I can kill 17 a month and my conscience is clear. Thanks magic drug

    8. Sister fister

      You all have mental health issues. That’s why we are all here. So the arguments may just be side effects. Realize that. Fucking idiots. ?

    9. To people judging crystal :
      People with dyslexia have trouble reading (let alone with mistakes)
      If crystal has trouble with typos it’s hard for her to read the article. Just saying…don’t judge

      Crystal:it’s hard sometimes.. When you don’t feel like you’re understood and judged for your disability when you speak up.. If you are dyslexic and people attack back (not that you are attacking.. Cos you are dyslexic and it is a feedback.. Not an attack).
      If you’re a troll.. Stop it.

  2. Michelle

    Seroquel is a serious drug overall. Ask your doc for other options. Good idea for anyone to consider. I have been on it for two years. Best of luck!

    1. I’ve been on it 4 years and it’s worked amazingly for me, there was a lot of side effects for the first few months but then all was great but lately it’s starting to cause me bother and tried reducing dose but seriously bad withdrawals. I’m at a loss now to know whether to keep taking or to go through the withdrawals? If I had known at the beginning how serious this drug is I would have considered other options.

      1. I think this post was very helpful. I will be much more cautious before I take any medication. I have been out of seroquel for 10 days and feel like crap. I went to my doctor today and he just says if you had diabetes you would take your insulin. It was Prescribed to me for insomnia. I wish I had never started to take it!

      2. Can I ask I am on 800mg daily I have read the side effects but learning more about this medication is also good but I have a question why do your breasts swell

      3. have taken Seroquel for 10 years. It was perfect at first for sleep, then I had to keep upping the dose. I weaned off over a years time. I?m completely off now. And I?m a friggin train wreck. I get maybe 3 hours of sleep, mostly broken. During the night while trying to sleep, I have attacks of panic and thinking I?m loosing my mind. It has damaged my brain. I had an MRI and I now have spots on my brain that weren?t there years ago. I have MS symptoms, but they say I don?t have MS. I doubt I?ll make it if this persist forever. Please do not take this for sleep only and expect to just stop, you are forever altered. I only used it because I had horrible sleep and now it?s 100 times worse.

      4. Chris Berdan

        Since going on this medication, has anyone noticed weight gain and/or a decreased sex drive?

        1. I’ve been on it for years. Right around the age of 32. I’m now 47 it’s been a wonderful drug really helped with depression and sleeplessness but now im kinda numb idk if its age or the medication. My memory is horrible i loved math now i can’t add two numbers in my head or remeber a phone number. Sex drive is completely gone i feel like im just going thru the motions. I used to enjoy relating and joking with friends, now i just keep to myself. I lose words while in conversations, I’m sure age has something to do with it but im not sure if it should be to this extent. I felt it coming on at age 42, I went back to school at a late age earn my associates of science i was excited to go for a bachelor’s. All of a sudden i had a hard time retaining information, like everything became dull like background noise. I know 60 year olds shaper than i am. I had my doc check my test lvl im within normal, i workout everyday so lvl wont drop and health, but i feel like I’m a different person, hallow. I’m lower my dosage on my own, I just want to feel some kinda normal.

          1. Stayin' alive

            I had that problem too and have felt better tapering off of it. Thanks for sharing. I felt so guilty since I thought exercise would help but I feel too blah to do it. Not terribly sad anymore but still not interested in things I used to do and I get the brain fog you mentioned.

    2. I’ve been on it for 7 years now. Saved my life and never had a problem other than weight gain. It’s different strokes for different folks. I say that unfortunately. Sometimes the wait to find what clicks with your brain chemistry can be deadly but let’s not judge the drugs that work for others because they didn’t work for ourselves.

      1. I have store glee with mental health issues for over have of my life… I started on lexapro at 19 and then was fully diagnosed at 21 and now in on 6 , yes 6 different medications. I have multiple mental health disorders, two have resolved the rest Are a daily struggle, psychiatrist , group therapy , psychologist , the works, Ipatiebt stents oitpTient stents, however I’ve never had a problem with drugs or alcohol. My eating disorders were considered my “addictions” . I have to agree with that comment. It’s messed up how since everyone’s brain chemistry is different you’re basically a human Guinea pig until they find the right “cocktail” of meds to treat you with. And … At the same time you “cocktail” of meds can end up all interacting with each other and having such severe effects on your body…. It’s like pick your poison, your meds or your mental disorder which for me is dealing with SI and not wanting to be alive.. War with my mind. It’s shocking when I read this post about seroquel because I do have a higher blood glucose
        Level… And I have noticed to extreme cravings for sweets and junk food all the time. It’s like my whole palate changed. It’s messed up. And the doctors will always say “oh we wish there was one miracle pill that could just treat everything you have but there isn’t” Bc for me one of my disorders has not medication to treat… They just give you a Med for each symptom. I am borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, insomnia, hx cutting , hx multiple unsuccessful suicide attempts , hx anorexia, hx bulemia, ADD/ADHD, and complex PTSD. So I appreciate the sobering facts of the article. I also appreciate everyone’s comments.
        It really makes me feel not alone… Even though whoever commented or read this page maybe different from me, at least I know that other people are fighting their batles too. It gives me hope in fighting mine. I just wanted to say think you. I also wanted to say maybe someday there will be a better way. for all of us and for all of those who come after us.

        1. ^^^ I have struggled with mental issues for over half of my life.
          First sentence correction. Sorry guys.

          1. Yes u helped me a lot! Ash u did really. Been there , done that. God bless u!

          2. I dont sleep well and have major depression my provider added this to my nighttime meds which is ambien hope it helps. Any comments welcome.

        2. Ash I hope you are doing better! You are not alone,my 2 sisters and I suffer mental illnesses, it runs in my family, 5 members committed suicide, with medicine we are trying to live better and to open doors for our kids so they find a way to deal with our lives instead of killing ourselves. Keep up honey,while there is life there is HOPE!

        3. Ash, no offense but after dealing with several SO with those issues, my advise is to instead of looking for meds to treat the symptoms, go to a therapist and address the issues that are causing them. Obviously you have had a tragic, traumatic event(s) in your life and you need to learn to let go of that(them) and take control of your life and realize that life is what YOU make it. Yes there’s bad out there, but there’s alot more good. We all have to deal with that on a daily basis. You need to empower yourself with armor, like everyone else and confront the bad( positive energy captures and subdues negative). A fact of life is that there’s positive and negative energy in the Universe. We all have freedom of choice to choose which of those we walk in. I use the analogy that we’re all walking up a LONG hallway and there 2 beams of light, beaming along that hallway- Red light and Blue light. We all walk in one or the other light( altho most are walking right on the line, in both lights). Now, which ever light we’re walking in, that light is all consuming, it runs through us, is all around us and everything we see( think, feel, (mis)perceive, conclude, etc), is bathed in that light. it effects our thoughts and chemistries and processes, etc. The GOOD news is that we can choose which light to walk in, we just need to realize which light we’re in. Btw, the Red light is negative energy and the Blue is Positive energy. BTW before anyone jumps on me and say stuff like, “Hey it’s a brain chemical issue or a medical condition or a disease, blah, blah , blah,”, let me respond to you now. I beg to differ. Imo, that kind of talk comes from those who have ‘drank the Koolaid’ and bought into the pharma machine and are “addicted” to symptom treating meds. We can actually change our own brain (and body) functions and chemistries by our own shear will, in a good or bad way. Do I need to remind you of the massive, dangerous side effects of 99% of the RX drugs out there? I profess that 99% of those drugs do more harm than good. IF someone like Ashley REALLY wants to get well, she needs to get ALL the negative people and energy out of her life and surround herself with POSITIVE energy and people who REALLY want to help her heal herself. YES Ash, you can actually heal yourself. You have that power. Imo, no one has shown you that.

    3. I have been on it for 12 years and up 1200 a night it is the best thing that ever happened to me

  3. hi there, I started out with Seriquel at 25 mgs a night, and it helped me sleep, but I don’t really think I need it for sleep, the 1st 25 mgs helped with my depression and anxiety, but seemed to wear off after a short time, I was then put on 50mgs and felt better quickly for three weeks, I have had another bout with anxiety I am wondering if 75 mgs or 100 would help more, 50mgs twice a day, I also take 75 mgs of Sertraline and , 1/2 mg of clorazepam twice daily

    1. Don’t. Seroquel is so dangerous I’ve been on it for 4 years and I would love to come off of it but my brain won’t let me! I also take alprazolam with it & wish I could go back in time & never have got on seroquel. If I were you I’d definitely consider getting on a different med for sleep. This drug is no joke.

      1. Sorry to say, alprazolam has very serious effects too, if taken in high doses. In my case 5 mg is causing neurologic effects, major cognitive deficit, and Parkinson’s-like symptoms like the “Parkison’s Mask” including major tremor, and a defective gait. Now they say the highest dose is 1/2 mg/day for anxiety/sleep disorder. I never knew this drug was such a high risk. Seroquel increases these effects.
        But at least, for me, tapering alprazolam is not making me too uncomfortable. When I taper by 1/2 mg, the discomfort lasts for 10 to 12 days, then I’m OK on the reduced dose, so a few days after that adjustment, I can cut it by 1/2 mg again. But some patients are in pure hell for a year or more, even if they do taper off very slowly.
        Once I’m off alprazolam, I’m slated to taper off Seroquel and after that, taper off of Trazadone. The whole process will probably last for 1 1/2years, and I don’t have a clue about the outcomes.

  4. Are there rehabs or doctors willing to titrate you off this drug?

  5. And thank you for telling me what my dr refused to admit all these years.

  6. Thank you, I found your article interesting.
    I’ve managed bipolar disorder for over twenty-two years, using Lithium and increasingly Quetiapine. I used Quetiapine during second and third trimester of pregnancy. 25mg Chlorpromazine 1st trimester.
    Something which keeps turning to mind when reading this article is that as a child I remember eating a spoonful of sugar when I felt ‘hungry’ (low bsl). I thought my Mum knew I did this but she recently alarmedly said she didn’t!
    My eight year old son displays ridiculous behaviour after eating sugars, luckily I have the will to help him manage this and he is indeed a happy, healthy child. There is history of mental illness in my family and I would imagine medication was used in the past. My Grandad died whilst having ECT in a psychiatric hospital.
    I hope I see the day when psychiatry is given the research opportunities it more than deserves and the mystery behind it, is unveiled.
    In the mean time I am the best person in the world to look after my son and I will do everything I possible can to help him to have a happy and healthy life.
    I believe in human adaptation and believe that his brain accepted Quetiapine and has adapted to function appropriately within the real world. If he has any backlash from Quetiapine as I said I’ll be with him all the way!

  7. Seriously effects thyroid function. In rare causes actually causes insomnia and auditory hallucinations. Suicidal ideation is another possible side effect, especially at the beginning. This drug is not for everyone. When starting and during increases, doctors should monitor patients closely.

  8. Hi all,
    I took Quetiapine (lowest dose of 25mg at bedtime) for about 4 months after ambien simply wasn’t working. In FOUR months I gained 15 pounds, became severely depressed (suicidal thoughts and all) and felt like I walking around like an emotionless zombie. As we all seem to advise, really be careful when taking such a powerful anti-psychotic drug if all you’re looking to accomplish is sleep through the night.

    1. Mary Scoville

      We’re you able to get off ok? That’s what I took it for and as long as you and now weaning off.

  9. After shooting me up with ketamine and severely overdrugging me for 2 weeks at a psych ward my doctors decided to convince herself that I had schizo affective disorder and put me on this shit drug. After 7 months being pumped full of random antipsychotics, benzos, antidepressants. Ketamine, ativan, zyprexa, cogentin, risperdol, seroquel, invega, zoloft, benadryl I have gained 50 pounds, probably have diabetes, probably have heart damage, brain damage, nerve damage and every other ailment under the sun because of my imaginary mental disorder. That’s what you get when you have a doctor with a low IQ.

    1. John Dollarhide

      So why were you in the psych ward in the first place? You mentioned your “imaginary” mental illness.

      1. David Ford

        Try this one. My boy was grieving over an online friend he had and both kids could talk about anything with each other. Turned into a very good friendship. Unfortunately his friend was a victim in the parkland Florida school shooting and did not survive. My son was already in counseling for being a victim of molestation and asked his counselor for help with the grief. Next thing I know he was 302’d and is now on this Seroquel crap. 400mg at night. He’s now having extreme nightmares which he never had before this devil’s potion. He also had a rapid heart rate, slow, labored breathing at night, and now he’s showing signs of a tremor in his left leg, that went numb 3 days after being on this crap. He’s only been on it for approximately one month. He is weaning himself off the drug. Does anyone know if this tremor could be permanent?
        And one last thing. I’ve never heard of grief counseling that involved being locked up in a psych ward. And I was also in the room with my son while he was talking to his counselor. So I know what he said. This counselor just finished her internships, and the ink was barely dry on her license to practice. Absolutely gross negligence on her part. And if I had known she had absolutely no experience I would have brought him to a different counselor. His first counselor moved out of state and she was his replacement

    2. Curious…
      Schizo affective disorder. Do you have info on that

  10. If you think you will find health in SSRI’s or antipsychotics, you are insane.

    1. GypsyQueen13

      Seroquel is neither an SSRI OR MMOI, hence the “atypical” nature of it’s classification.

  11. Seriously ill…on an off of seroquel. Only been on it for about 2months off an on ….severe fluid retention an liw back pain an head disoriented ect. While on it an serious upper right stomach pain an head pain an back pain an groin pain a very badly sick off of this …an this is not the only drug that has severe side effects. ..zyprexa, valium,all benzos for me .I have severe sensitivites to most all drugs ..it’s awful .cause I can’t tolerate anything an I am hard to treat for what’s been ailing me. that’s my story .

  12. This really gave me some insight as to what I’ve been taking. I’ve been on Seroquel for 3 years, along with Lexapro, Paxil, and Risprodol. I have had many of these side effects on here (9) and now, I’m quite concerned. Now I’m kind of debating if I would discontinue use of the drug.

  13. Carissa Lukoff

    Umm this person has no idea what they’re talking about regarding taking this medicine while pregnant I took it with both my pregnancys and breastfed and it’s perfectly Damn safe it’s class c drug no known risk I wouldn’t take it If it was harmful so telling someone they need to stop it when u don’t know shit is retarded

    1. Well I’m 110kg, taking 25mg for depression and mild anxiety. I stepped up to 50mg briefly but was so wiped out in the morning I had to drop back down. Personally, there is NO FUCKING WAY I would consider taking this if pregnant. I absolutely agree 100% that you should stop this if considering becoming pregnant. No way would I risk having this drug in my system whilst a fetus was developing. Saying it’s completely safe for pregnant women is totally irrresponsible. How the HELL would you know. You’re kidding yourself. Imo what you did was potentially dangerous and completely irresponsible.

      1. I didn’t know the risks of taking this medication when I was pregnant. My son was born with a tight muscle in his neck and had to have physical therapy for the first 2 years of his life. I do blame the doctor for not telling me. He had me on 400mg twice daily and after I had my son he raised it to 400mg three times a day. I quite it 3 months later and stayed off it for 3 years and I went back to see my Dr and he put me back on 300mg twice a day last week

    2. Actually, a category “C” drug is defined as “Animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks.”
      So…NO! It’s not considered “safe” with regard to human pregnancy as there are inadequate studies to make the claim on safety, but notice it says animal studies DO indeed indicate adverse effects on the developing fetus! Basically, it’s take at your own risk with this knowledge provided. You can’t possibly condemn a woman for choosing not to take while pregnant, I certainly didn’t consume ANY meds classified beneath category “B” while pregnant, nor did my OB recommend such; it’s risk/benefit assessment on behalf of the individual. You made your choice and fortunately there were no problems as this may not hold true for every case and others should be free to do the same without criticism.

  14. Martymandm

    I am the spouse of a long term user of Seroquel. My wife had been diagnosed with Arthritis and Fybro. After the first pain management doctor overdosed her into renal failure we became extremely watchful of medications. She was prescribed Seroquel XR 50 at first then after 2 months it was increased to 100. 10 years have gone by and other than the normal side effects things moved on. As anyone who has dealt with long term Fybro will know there are good days and bad ones.
    Last week she developed Tardive Dyskinesia. They tell us it is a known long term very common side effect with most psychopathic medications. Have been informed that TD may last for a life time.
    So for those thinking about ” What are the long term effects?” Be very careful. He side effects manifested in less than 2 weeks. Primary physician ( the prescriber) told us to seek a Neuro doctor. They take 30 days to set up 1st visit. Primary did not tell us to stop meds.
    Now we have possibly a life time to wonder… What if we never took Seroquel?

  15. I was on Seroquel for about a year for anxiety and insomnia. Went off it about two months ago. Had the itching, some nausea, vivid dreams and exhaustion after sleeping ten hours. Most of the withdrawal symptoms have gone except for the exhaustion. This is very discouraging since I can’t exercise to get the weight off I put on taking Seroquel. My daily dose was 50-75mg. I really don’t know why I am still so exhausted after being off it for over two months. Can anyone relate?

    1. Yes, I related to your story. I don’t even know why my doctor prescribed this medication. I don’t have bipolar or any other symptoms. I just use it as sleeping aid. Recently I did blood work and I was told that I am pre diabetes. That news really concerned me because I am very active and eat healthy. I don’t use sugar on anything. I decided to do some search about this medication. I am scared. No matter what it takes, I am stopping this medication. I hope this help to anyone who is using this medication for sleeping aid.

      1. Charles McWaters

        This is really not a direct response to your post. >>

        But – just a little nugget of incite

        Very, very broadly we are “coned” by Big Pharma into thinking – basically – most depression is highly correlated with low Serotonin levels

        But – Seroquel is a rather potent Serotonin blocker – beginning at doses around 100 mg

        Broadly again – very, contradictory – but hey we’re really taking about $$$$ for all the usual suspects – and Big Brother gets the added benefits of having 35,000,000 people hooked on various rx drugs

        It’s complicated

  16. Taking seroquil takes some dedication and is completely relevant. Mania is so god damn shitty especially if your mania is a side affect of you being awake. So take seroquil and get of that mountain of doubt that your on and admit that you have a MENTAL DISORDER! So go ahead take the seroquil. Give up you fucking pussy.

    1. Funny. I think what you’re willing to commit to is directly related to how sick you are. I am glad I found this drug through an excellent doctor. I suffered from mania, insomnia with no feeling of being tired for days, which is very dangerous, and spontaneous and uncontrollable anger. I know I could not have lived with my sickness. Quietiapine works for me. I take 75 mg and have for over a year now.

      1. GypsyQueen13

        what the hell is wrong with the both of you tc12ot and mark??? Did u never learn that if u dont have anything nice or positive to say, say nothing at all? For G-d’s sake, is there not something more important for u two to do or comment on besides wasting time and space saying the things u are here??? Wasted time, Wasted words, and WASTED SPACE!!!

  17. I have been taking 25 milligram seroquel at night for 2 weeks now for bipolar hypomania. It has greatly reduced my hypomania and I feel great and like my normal self again. I am on the lowest dose because my body is very sensitive to any medication action and side effects. I am worried about the weight gain and have been exercising regularly and eating healthy so hopefully that will not happen or I will have to try something else. I have been sleeping great which I think was a big problem before as I have restless leg syndrome also. Hearing these stories from others scares me but I am going to stay positive. All antipsychotics have bad effects on some people, just depends on the person. I would never stay on the same antipsychotic for more than 5 years due to risk of long term effects I always switch it up but for the last 5 years got that idea in my head that so many bipolar people do that I didn’t need to take medicine anymore because I was feeling better the truth is when you are bipolar you need to keep taking medication for life because if you stop five years later all your symptoms will be back just the same. Good luck everybody.

    1. Functioning-schizo

      Church! I’ve been on a range of typical and atypical antipsychotics for the bettepart of a decade now, diagnosed with bipolar I and schizophrenic tendencies. I stopped all meds for 4 years, after waking up 2 weeks later to a pill induced coma suicide attempt. 4 years without any meds and true as bob one day all of those tormenting feelings, thoughts and emotions were right back. If you have high blood pressure or cholesterol you manage it with meds. The same goes for metal disorders, you NEED your medication.

      Don’t take the gamble, odds are you won’t make it out alive.

      Peace to all, keep strong and keep fighting the good fight – you owe it to yourself!

  18. Wow. I’m so thankful I stumbled upon this information. It’s these kinds of casually written articles that often save me from demise, as my reaction to medications is off the cuff and always surprises doctors. They try to discredit my associating certain symptoms to certain drugs because other patients haven’t reported anything similar. After a short while, they realise how incredibly aware I am and how in tune with my body I am, therefore they start taking me a little more seriously. My theory is, it’s not that others don’t feel the same, they just can’t articulate or connect the dots. Aside from posts like this, I find articles written outside the US far more accurate and candid. Perhaps because other nations aren’t slaves to Big Pharma like the US. The doctors here are not trained to seek the truth, to observe patients objectively , or listen to the patient when they say bizarre things are happening to them. They’re just trained to prescribe, prescribe, prescribe. I started taking seroquel 25mg not even a week ago for my anger problems. I am bipolar and nothing ever calms my anger or anxiety. I’m on Lamictal 200mg, Wellbutrin XL 300mg, and Lexapro 20mg. I have Xanax and Ambien but I cannot take either every week or I get very sad, depressed, and violent, so nobody knows how to treat my sleep issues and anxiety problems. That’s why I reluctantly agreed to try Seroquel, even though my mom did not react well to it. I just so badly want to find a regime that allows me to sleep well, calms me, and allows me to function …but I’m 38, suffered from depression and anxiety my entire life, and have spent the majority of my life in bed. I wonder if I will ever be able to feel like a normal person…whatever that means. I digress. I just started taking Seroquel and it magically stopped my nights sweats that I’ve batted for YEARS, and incredibly, I sleep through the night. However, I’m already having breast pain swelling (a problem because I need a reduction NOT an enhancement!), and mood instability. Not good. What I’m also really concerned about are other physiological effects. For example, right before I started Seroquel, I got under 170 for the first time in 3 years but my cholesterol is still a whopping 333. I believe it’s not only my inactivity but the other damn medications. Also, I’ve been addicted to sugar for years. With that said, the idea of weight gain, and weight that won’t come off; the possibility of blood sugar and pancreatic issues, super high cholesterol, and metabolic disturbances that may be permanent…I have to stop, tonight. I’m done. I’m too high a risk. Thanks so much for this info and also to all of you who have forewarned against ever beginning Seroquel. I have a gut feeling I’ve averted catastrophe! Good luck fellow nut jobs. We are the most misunderstood population on the planet.

    1. This is amazing over thinking. You have accomplished nothing!

      1. What is wrong with you man? Why are you even on this site? You have absolutely no empathy or compassion and more importantly not a shred of advice. You are so pathetically abusive. Get over yourself

    2. I think you are looking at things in the wrong way. If you don’t like what one Doctor does, there is no problem going to a second or find a good phycologist, one that cannot prescribe medications and they will be able to help you decide on weather medication is right for you. Instead of Quetiapine, have you tried relaxation methods or even herbal teas. So I’m on a dose of 100mg in morning, 300mg at night and up to 200mg per 2hrs as a PRN (as needed). I’ve just started on the bigger dose and have very few side effects. The problem with weight gain is all in the head, the drug slows thinking and you have no full switch, plus you crave sugar. Its easy to stay healthy, only buy healthy stuff!!!

  19. Chris Schneider

    been taking the same does for 15 years and theres no tolerance.

  20. There are no scientific studies -anywhere- to substantiate your claim that Seroquel and Dextromethorphan (DXM) are dangerous in combination. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Seroquel can in fact safely be used to end a DXM “trip”. You’re also not “likely to end up in the ER” if you take it with cocaine. Almost all “recreational” seroquel use is done as a means to come down from cocaine or (meth)amphetamines, and the desired effect is more about stopping come-down symptoms and not about any effects of the Seroquel itself. The remaining portion of “recreational” use is usually reported among prison inmates, and they’re just desperate to catch a buzz off anything no matter how shitty it is. Seroquel’s stand-alone recreational value is almost nil – it’ll make you feel “f*cked up” but not in a fun way at all.

    1. Informed User

      Thank you for adding this comment. I’ve taken seroquel to end the night after using cocaine a dozen times and have a friend who takes seroquel every night (and has used cocaine dozens to hundreds of times) without any bad reaction. I decided to double check the combinations safety tonight (I always check before taking two diff drugs.)
      After reading this article, I continued googling, finding NO other websites suggesting that the combination of cocaine + seroquel is unsafe. Finally, I landed on a news article linked below. Seroquel has been studied MULTIPLE times on human test subjects to research potential use curbing cocaine abuse/cravings. The article made no mention of any negative interactions and explicitly said volunteers took varying doses of Seroquel, all of whom were frequent cocaine abusers (the studies also documented how much coke each individual used per week and money spent on it) CLEARLY, seroquel and coke are safe when used together. Unfortunately, Seroquel didn’t show promise in helping treat cocaine addiction.
      http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/738908

      As far as DXM + seroquel is concerned, webmd says it has the potential to increase the toxicity of one another and potential cause irregular heart beat.

      1. Wow that statement just blew my mind ” Cocaine and Seroquel are safe to use together”? How can you even make a statement like that. Mixing drugs is always dangerous. Not saying I’ve never done it but that statement is crazy. Plus the fact that you don’t know how pure the coke is and what it’s cut with. Now I’m not saying it’s a prescription for death or anything but you can’t say it’s totally safe. That’s so irresponsible and uninformed. Good Luck

  21. I have just found this article and while it has been very useful I do feel that some people are mixing too much emotion in their replies. I am 35 I have a history of Bi-polar and ADHA behavior and have spent a lot of my life on and off perscription drugs, special diets and behavior therapy. I have tried a variety of Anti-D’s but so far ( just over a year now) I have been on Quetiapine 200mg nightly doses. My personal side effects have been similar to other peoples, drowsiness, weight gain, larthargic attitude and the worst is the constipation and hemorrhoids caused by it, but there have been so very positive effects as well. I am able to communicate a lot better with people and I am now able to breath and think before my emotions get the better of me and I have been able to be more productive in my personal development, call it an active action plan if you will. I still get depressed and I do sometime have to force myself to go out ( I have been MTB and BMX riding all my life) as I just dont’ have the zest anymore. BUT what I have discovered is sometimes this is just a mask for being tardy and once I have taken the initial step to get off my arse I enjoy the activities like I always have. Different people have different reactions, not everyone’s chemistry is the same, I take mine at 10pm each night and rise around6-6.30am sometime I am groggy for a day but other times I am fresh as a daisy so I put this down to my habits of the week and that it is not like this everyday. I have found that alcohol is not the best thing for me but I do like to have a spliff and a cup of tea to relax ( again I have taught myself not to abuse that drug as well, but again this is my personal preference and might not work for everyone. Depression is a tide that some people will always have to fight but I have met a lot of people who use it as an excuse for being lazy and non productive, my only piece of advice is to not let depression be your life but a part of it that you are proud to be a warrior against.

  22. I was hospitalized 5 times since 2012 in three different mental hospitals doctors prescribed me too many different drugs such as seraquil,trazadon,temazapam,and vestril so I can get some sleep none of them work not to mention one of those doctor or I should say one of those Sherlock Holmes put me on saphris it’s an anti psychotic drug that not only help me it made me a psycho I was pacing back and forth for hours finally two years ago one of those doctor prescribed me citalaprom and mertazpine and I add 5 mg of melatonin myself at bedtime and it starting to work if you guys suffering from depression, anxiety,and sleeping disorder like I’m please talk to your doctor ask him about those two medison and a sublimint which is melatonin and please stay away from seraquil and benzodiazepines which is worst than poison.best of luck

  23. This was intresting. I’ve been taking seroquel on and off for 5 years. When I stop I cold turkey it and never withdrawl. When I start I start at the same dose and it doesn’t really affect me other than it makes me sleep. I had insomnia at 13 when I started this drug for sleep 200 at night and I got 900 in the am for my post traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder, while I was able to completely stop the xr 900mg I’ve never been able to stay off of the instant relase seroquel even tried siting to a different sleeping medication. I can’t sleep without it and I don’t have insomnia anymore my sleep study showed very different results than the one when I was 13.

  24. Just wondering if its okay to take seroquel every now & again to aide in relaxing my mind. For over a month I haven’t slept well and have anxiety all the time because I can’t get the fear of a panick attack off my mind!!

  25. 30year old male.

    Been on 25mg seroq for 5months now. Got a job but lost it in this time period.. Seroq helps me sleep but does not help me wake up.. I need 12hours of sleep before I stand up and show up for work and still am tired and need to take a nap a few hours later. I have not gained weight but i have less balance as my reflexes are slower and my eyesight is foggy. I have no power for excersize and if i do i get very tired and exchausted after a short time. I sometimes feel the hemorige and i usually have constipation. But I havent had the bursting rage mood tantrums as i used to have in the time ive been on seroquel but I feel scared of being on seroquel.. All those side affects are making me more like a slow motion zombie and i feel life is not as frisky and fun. I feel down and let down by seroquel so i think im going off the medication. Im scared of the long term side effects and reading all those stories just makes me terrified. The thought of seroquel having effect on my body for the rest of my life even after stopping using it is horrible.

  26. I found the article very interesting and knowledgeable (I certainly did not focus on typos!). My son has bi-polar disorder and is taking 100mg 2x daily. Unfortunately it is not agreeing with him at all and he is begging to get off this medication! His doctor insists he take it, and told him to just try and deal with the side effects…..it may be time for a second opinion. His mood has changed DRAMATICALLY since he started taking it in the hospital last month. He is angry, irritable, nasty, yelling all the time. Needless to say living with him is a nightmare.

    1. My son is bi-polar on Lithium 450mg twice a day and has been experiencing insomnia and agitation. Was taking risperidone 1 mg but experienced too many side effects (weight gain, etc.) and Dr has now wants him to try seroquel at 100mg once a day at night. This drug sounds very scary. I’m not even sure I want him to start it! So I’m reading as much as I can before tonight to see if we should ask for something else!

  27. I am diagnosed bipolar and squitzoed effective dosorder. I took this medication at 400mg at night and woke up feeling extremely hung over and had slurred speech. I discontinued the drug after a year without consulting my psychiatris. Fortunately there were no detox issues. I would not reccomend taking this drug for the sole purpose of treating insomnia

    1. I have a brain tumor. Even though this tumor is causing horrible and increasing pain, my pain management doctors have cut back my dosage of pain meds, almost every month since January 2018, because ?war on opiates?. Because the pain is so extreme and now, uncontrolled, I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. My GP just prescribed Seroquel. After reading these posts, I am really scared to take it! I have no psychosis, I am just in pain. I really need some advice!

  28. H?lp!
    Please!
    I am a 60 yr. old female 220 lbs 5 ft 6 in.
    Dr increased Seroquel from 75MG (reg release)
    To 150 mg.
    Then, increases again to 225mg.

  29. So, my body reacts strongly I auger walk into walls feet itch legs and feet release and contract I can,t sit still,heart races blood pressure rises. I tell him of my reaction and he wants to prescribe a higher dose.
    I feel this drug will kill me, and am going to taper
    Any one else have these reactions?

  30. Tim Godfrey

    Hi, Thank you discoveryrehab.com and contributors.
    I was diagnosed with schizoprenia (yes a typo) at 28 years of age in 1986 after a ?mental breakdown? (wonder wounder, dislexia fuck face, etc). I have been on many drugs since, have had 2 relapses and many years are a blurrrrr. In time, I finally accepted my psychosis and realised much of it was self-induced, and set about changing my mind and thinking.
    I accepted my doctors recommendation to go on Seroquel (I think this was about 12 years ago). At first I was paranoid about what I was taking: Seroquel or quetiapine (same thing), and being a pawn in another (multi-national) drug scam. In fact, my sleep improved and Seroquel has helped make me a more stable person.
    In time, I began to address the psychological aspects of my character. I went to university and studied. I read a lot. One of the most helpful books I found was ?Change Your Thinking, by Dr Sarah Edelman PhD (3rd Edition 2013, including Mindfulness). I was (and still am) obsessive about some things, but I am more in control. I now take more time and care to deal with my emotional stress, so as to avoid thinking errors.
    Over time I have reduced my dosage of Seroquel to the minimum 25 Mg and now my aim is to be drug free and free of the mental care heath system. I believe this is a realistic goal but only if I can deal with my sleeplessness. My experience with psychiatrists is they are unlikely to recommend me going off the drug, but may suggest another one. With my doctor?s support, I have tried cutting Seroquel tabs in half, even 3/4 to titrate myself off them, but this does not work and I have been unable to deal with total withdrawal, even after a 2 month period. The withdrawal, which is characterised by tension, volatility and distraction, is manifested by sleeplessness, which is part of the vicious circle of my condition.
    I remain hopeful someone will have tried another medication (herbal or otherwise) to successfully get off Seroquel and to eventually have a good nights sleep, drug free. Now wouldn’t that be something! Thanks, Tim.

  31. Hello Moderator,

    Can you please change my name to Tim G?

    Thanks Tim

  32. I was diagnosed with bi-polar II at age 43. I was prescribed Zoloft (an SSRI) for misdiagnosed GAD and depression that, after being on for a week, sent me into a manic episode (very common reaction for misdiagnosed bi-polar on an SSRI) . It felt like I was on ecstasy for three days. The best feeling I have ever had and I have done every drug under the sun at one point. No comparison!!!! I was in love with every woman I came across, I went to bars playing live music and had the time of my life. I lost touch with reality for about two weeks. I ended up out patient at Faulkner Hospital. They put me on Seroquel and came out of mania in about two days. I have been on it ever since (3 years). Anxiety / Bi-Polar is totally in check. It is the best a-typical anti-psychotic on the market. Efficacy is amazing and has very few side effects. I take 300mg at bed time and sleep like a baby. I dont take any during the day now that I am in a “maintenance” mode. For people suffering with Bi-Polar it is the best drug with the fewest side effects. Just get through the fist few weeks of sedation and you will get used to it. Titrate up from 25mgs by doubling the dose every few days. Depending on the nature of your form of Bi-Polar you will end up between 300 and 600 mgs. Any more than that and the sedation will be too high. When you are well out of a Manic episode just take it at night. BEST DRUG EVER for me anyway.

  33. Fed-Up-With-This-Drug

    Clearly, there is no moderator of this site. Who set this up? Can’t they read and respect the wishes of their contributors? Is this site just another example of commercial exploitation by the manufacturers of Seroquel?

    1. Hi. I let this site basically be a forum for people to share their experiences. I’m by no means in cahoots with any pharma manufacturers. Not too keen on them.

      Cheers.

  34. Hi Admin,
    You can let this site basically be a forum for people to share their experiences, and I do not want to get off this track. Later, after having got off this medication, I may be more willing to share what I have learnt, with my name in full. As there is no other way to contact you privately, I am asking you again, to respect my wish as a contributor and make the change to Tim G as requested. Thank you and have a good day.

    1. From what I can see your comment does show up under the author name of Tim G. Sorry if I’m missing something.

  35. It works great for me. I’m an opiate addiction in recovery. I used for about 8 years. Along with buspar, I have very little anxiety, no depression, and my cravings for opiates are very low. I was prescribed both seroquel and buspar in my 2nd week of recovery while still in rehab.

  36. Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou…. I’ve been taking it for a while now and had the worst headache the other day, took some painkillers and felt like I was going to die, my whole surrounding felt odd and I felt so detached from everything, I was totally off my tits but thanks to your information and because Like a stupid cow, took 1000mg of paracetamol and 30mg of codine. From what I read and if I’m right, codine is an opiate ??? Fuck, I’m never mixing them again :-0
    Major dangerous :-/

  37. Was diagnosed as bipolar 2 or so years ago and was given Seroquill .I went all the way up to 400 mg. but cut myself back to 200mg. I was feeling very groggy the next day .
    I’m fine with 200 mg. and sleep a normal amount ( 8 or 9 hrs.) With the added dosage 400 mg. I could sleep 12 hours or longer which is too much .
    I have run out before and stayed up for days .I need Seroquill .I don’t mind if it’s an addiction now since it helps me sleep like a baby !

  38. I am Welsh (British) and cannot believe how many tablet/meds so many of you are prescribed, this just wouldnt happen here, and labels that are so easily thrown out, our drs/general practioners have nothing to gain they are on fixed yearly salaries, they train for 7 years then often specialise in psychiatry, medicine, surgery, gaenacology, neurology etc then become G.P’s, they listen to your ailments, they refer you to the correct consulant in the right area, and also prescibe hopefully the correct medication, also counselling maybe mindfullnessness remember this is all free, everything even surgery etc when I had a few problems, insomnia because anxiousness etc and was put on quetiapine, I have put on 3 stone (no help that I have an underactive thyroid), I crave all the foods I would never normally eat, so I basically now hardly eat but cant loose weight, I sleep for approx 12 hours a day and feel groggy for most of the rest of it so I cant really leave my flat sorry you say apartment, until the afternoon, so I cant go to any appointments, courses or classes in the morning, now after working for nearly 30 years of my as a draughts person then a nurse, I am a qualified youth worker, teacher and nurse but now I cant work because of this tablet quintiapine, which I feel has ruined my life im tired and groggy, fat and my brain doesnt seem to function wheras I used to be sharp as a knife, being as I dont work i, d like to write a book but im too bloody groggy to do it.So I, d dearly love to come off the drug but im frightend to.
    When I was really depressed the best I can prescribe which worked for me I went to do youth work in the really poor areas of the eastern block countries like Romania, we worked are balls off , built a school and youth club for the poorist little kids ive ever seen.You work so hard there no time for illness, self pity, living in the past etc and when youve finished to see the faces of those kids, theyre happy and your feeling good, so fuck all those money grabbing U.S doctors and pharmacists who want to fill you full of disgusting tabllets and give you all labels for money honestly I dont mean it in any offence to you, but im real glad im british xx

  39. Hi Jacqui,

    I am also British, (Nottinghamshire actually). Thank you for your comments about american psychiatric practises. I really thought that they may have a better way of treating Bipolar disorder than we have. Now I know the truth about all these drugs I have a different opinion.

    As you say that you have been a nurse I was wondering if you had any involvement with Quetiapine overdose? I overdosed on the 9th of Sept and ended up in ITC on intubation. I am really looking for info on the damage that I might have done to my brain. Obviously I don’t expect that you have a crystal ball and can’t comment on my case, but any generic info would be appreciated. I am trying to ascertain if the symptoms I have are as a result of the overdose or the intubation. Thanks in advance.

    1. I was on seroquel 400 XR for about 7 years. I did not notice anyone commenting about their white blood cell count plummeting. My labs came back with it dangerously low, the doc said I was wide open to infection. He detoxed me in one month. I miss that sound sleep.

  40. Hello all, I too am from the UK. I have been diagnosed with bi-polar schitzo affected disorder. I have been on quetiapine now for 5years at 600mg XR. I have to say that fortunately I have not suffered any serious side effects. Though now I am seriously putting on weight. Its quite dramatic how much my weight is growing. I’m at 5′ 10″ and 17.2 stones. Way to high. I therefore started supplimenting myself with a gram of amphetamine daily to try and curb the weight gain, but while I dont eat hardly the amphetamines are having no effect at curbing my weight gain. Also the amphetamine takes away the vicious drowsyness associated with taking quetiapine. I can’t stress enough the drowsy effects of quetiapine. It can be equivalent to a shot of morphine I believe. Really potent. However the twist in the tale is that now (even though I’m prescribed quetiapine) I take it to releive the effects of the amphetamine. In which it works really well. My goal of course it to come off the amphetamines completely and cut down my quetiapine intake. Thus far I’m heading in the right direction as I have now gone from 600mg of quetiapine down to 400mg of quetiapine daily. Plus my amphetamine intake has gone from a gram down to half a gram daily. I guess what I’m trying to say is that whatever you do don’t take any form of stimulants in order to releive or cure the drowsyness or weight gains due to the quetiapine. They do not work and your left susceptible to stimulant abuse or even dependance, along with the taking of quetiapine. I am proud of myself for the reduced intake of queitiapine and am (over considerable time) going to ween myself off the quetiapine altogether. (I’ve had my psychiatrists go ahead for this) What I’d like also to say is that the ceasing of quetiapine should be gradual, over time. I tried the cold turkey method with bad results. Intense insomnia being the most remarkable. I’ve researched all side effects of taking quetiapine and they’re not very good. So though I believe the drug is very effective at treating mental disorders, I wouldn’t recommend it because of the affersive side effects. So to sum up.. Don’t use chemical suppliments to releive the negative effects of quetiapine. Don’t ever overdose on quetiapine even a little as you get used to taking it as sleep addiction. Only take your prescribed amount. And if your aim is to cut out the quetiapine, then make sure you do this gradually. I am also on monthly injections of haldol, which I hope will be suffice alone to cure my schitzo bi-polar. I hope you all achieve your goals, take care and god bless you all.. Stuart.

  41. I like a wide variety of psychotropics.
    Datura and LSD colonics are for hard-core weekends, apart from that.
    I smoke Qutiapine with PCP and hindu pussy juice, i may also on some rare occasions sedate negroid children and injured livestock with “sherbeted Quaalude juice and my special “gelatin Placidyl” confectionery concoctions.
    I may inject DMT freebase directly into my anal cavity to great effects, sheer Aztec fire..

  42. For one all of the trollers need to go back to being cunts on youtube. We came here seeking advice and found it in some way, shape; or form. So if you didn’t find what you needed go away we don’t need anymore negativity!
    On that note can someone please help me get through a few of the side effects. I’m experiencing dry mouth very badly. Chapstick on my lips and drinking 20 glasses of water can’t quench my thirst, and I’m sleeping excessive amounts when I take the 50mg dose I can hardly get to sleep but when I do I only have about 4 hours before I have to be to work and I keep missing alarms. I’ll set 4 alarms and sleep through all of them until my internal alarm kinda goes off. I’ve only been on this medicine for a few days and I don’t know if I can handle it.

    1. Yes I experienced that when I first started, and I started with 25mg. I spoke to my doc and he said some of the side effects will slow down eventually. Good luck.

  43. I have been on seriquel for 10 years now, and I want to get off so bad but I need it for my insomnia and mood swings. Any recommendations on natural sleep aides? Seriquel is the only thing I have ever found to help me sleep (I have had insomnia for over 35 years)

  44. I was diagnosed with Bpd and have been on 25mg and noticed it was helping with my insomnia and racing thoughts. I would feel ok and go to work and feel rested. Now after about 2 months I start feeling tired at work now, so I decided to start taking 2 pills at night to see if it would make me feel rested as before. now I realize I am feeling worse, more so how I felt before going on the medication initially. I am falling back into Depression. I think am going to look into something natural for my condition.

  45. Hope Dennis

    My husband took 2 of these on accident and now is suffering extremely bad leg tremors. How do I counteract this without having to take him to the er?

  46. I hope Jess (12/24/16) has seen a doctor to be checked for diabetes, with the unquenchable thirst and sleepiness!

  47. Clifford

    Our ?herb doctor? informs us that many Western medications that have been prescribed long-term (especially for anxiety/mental health issues, including Seroquel) are now shown to be linked with an increase in early-onset Alzheimers.

    It may be seen as a cynical view (but a certain amount of cynicism is surely beneficial) that the pharmaceutical giants encourage this trend as, hey presto, they get to treat (and be paid for) the consequences.

    We are in the field of addiction treatment and prescribe natural herbal preparations to help with withdrawal symptoms. The real difference is that the natural products do not create or extend a dependence and almost 100% of the side-effects turn out to be beneficial to general health.
    Prescription drugs including Opiates, Benzodiazepines and anti-depressants have all been increasing at an alarming rate.
    Perhaps it is in tandem with the alarming rate of anxiety and general emotional malaise experienced by many of us.
    Our Doctors and mental health practitioners our clearly trying to alleviate suffering, a noble cause indeed, yet the problem only seems to get worse, not better. Are we ready to perhaps entertain the idea that we are doing something that actually makes the problem more real? Is it time to stop the medicating and see what is going on?

    There are simpler, more kind, natural and inexpensive ways to tackle this increasingly worsening situation. For at least 60 years we have taken the pills offered by our Doctors and created by our drug companies, and if we take the cynical route (follow the money trail) we can see where the problem lies: a self-serving system that never wants to end the problem. It?s no conspiracy theory; it?s business as usual. Chemo and radiation ?success? rates for cancer treatment sits at around 3%. The figures are slightly better for specific treatments like testicular cancer (around 40%), but overall these rates are real, and what is more startling is that we have accepted that it?s the only way. The rates for ?success? in dealing with drug and alcohol addiction (5 years or more sobriety after treatment) are around the same. The common link is the pharmaceutical/medical input and our acceptance of shockingly low results.

    It seems that we are blinded by the string-pullers at first glance. Yet it is really down to ourselves. We cannot go on blaming ?them?; there is only ?us?.
    Herbs. There you are, I said it. Plants. Stop me now. No, I?m pressing on. I know you?ll consider me a tin-foiling, sage-stick waving tree hugger but I?m still pressing on.

    There is so much healing to be gained from natural plant-based remedies it?s frightening. Not to me, I?m a skeptic by nature but I have seen and experienced what goes on. Including curing cancer. Yes, really. The system will do all it can to stifle the perceived threat; there?s no money in it. Simple herbal remedies are performing seeming miracles in all areas of health and well-being. They cost next to nothing, and there?s the rub. It?s true that some individuals and companies have tried and succeeded in exploiting their potency (Firms like HorribleLife and JuiceBus) and these exploitations have, quite rightly, sharpened our cynical eye. But let?s just put their MLM, Pyramid scheme, over-priced stunts to one side so we can focus on a viable, authentic solution.

    Traditional Eastern medicines are not subject to the rigours of Western Pharmaceutical scrutiny. Just to take an aspirin we need to know the elevation of the building they are made in, the ambient mean temperature of the cleaner?s holiday home, and the exact metallic compound breakdown of the spoon they use to mix in the binders.

    A local Thai ?Doctor? will advise, for sleep problems, ?Boil two handfuls of fresh passion flower leaves for a short while then allow it to steep for a few hours or overnight?. I know, it?s not very scientific but let?s look at the consequences.

    The Western prescription for anxiety and sleep disorder will be an expensive, often state-funded course of pills which may work for a month or so. Until dependence rears its ugly head. So you?ll get prescribed the next super-duper pill. The hook has been cast and we?ve opened our mouths. All the while we are warned about some side-effects like:

    ?May cause dependency?

    ?Do not drive?

    ?May cause depression?

    ?Overdose can be fatal?

    and possibly my favourite:

    ?May cause suicide ideation?

    The Thai doctor may tell you that if it?s not working yet, use three handfuls. If you ?overdose? you may poop the bed.

    I know which one I prefer. My maid disagrees.

    Unless we tackle this problem now, we?ll be having similar and worse conversations in another 50 years. There?s no point lobbying senators or MP?s or standing outside the head office of Travisno or Buyer screaming for change with a placard with the words ?BIG PHARMA IS NAUGHTY? smeared with menstrual blood, rewarding as that may seem. Do we really believe the CEO will pop out and agree with us?

    Professionals have a tendency to protect their profession, first and foremost. And we have to acknowledge the good that they do. No-one feels like a doing a neutral self-analysis based solely on criticism.

    So perhaps an answer lies not with the professionals. The local Thai community where I live (Chiang Mai) are growing herbs and sharing their healing knowledge and have been doing so for hundreds of years, for next to nothing. Maybe when the string-pullers see the results they?ll start to weigh the passion flowers and advise 11 ounces of fresh leaves to 2 pints of water for 21 minutes at 212 degrees Fahrenheit in a copper pot. They are not being robbed of their science; the universe is a big enough place for us all.

    Clifford Edwards.
    Co-Founder of banyantree21.com

    An alternative herbal drug, alcohol and addiction rehab and treatment centre in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.

  48. I have just started seroquel today, slept good but woke up groggy, felt a little panic, so I took my Xanax, which helped right now. But what I’m asking, I am bipolar and panic attacks r bad. Will the panic attacks go away eventually now tha I’m on Seroquel, how little big does this medicine help work for me, right now no desire to do nothing to keep myself busy. Can anyone out there answer this for me. Desperate for help….ty !

    1. Bridget C.

      I just took my very 1st 25mg. 10 min. ago and I don’t know what to expect. I have trouble taking new meds because I always thinks I’m not going to wake up or I’m going to experience those scrary side effects specially of suicidal ideation which I experienced while taking clonazepam and efexor .
      I got panic attacks, depression , insomnia and occasional hallucinations. I’m diagnosed with Borderline personality & depression. I’m so tired of taking different meds that only gives me bad reactions. I hope it works this time. I’m losing hope sometimes & it makes me more anxious , angry and withdrawn . These forum helped me a lot . Thank you all for your inputs.

  49. Was diagnosed with “bipolar” 23 years ago.
    Get a copy of Good Mood, Bad Mood by Dr. Ellis, Deceptive Diagnosis by David Tyler and Kurt Grady, and PsychoBabble by Richard Ganz.
    No, I am NOT crazy as the world labels me.
    My only HOPE is in Jesus Christ!
    I will be off all of my meds soon.
    I’ll keep all of you in my prayers.

  50. Is it really healthy to block the serotonin and dopamine receptors? I take 200mg at night for sleep as well as zoloft, lamictal, magnesium, and lithium. Does the neurotransmitter blocking affect the efficiency of my other meds?

  51. kerrielou

    I’ve been taking somewhere between 200 mg – 1000 mg for 6 years. Sometimes it’s more, sometimes it’s less. Currently I take 400 – 800 depending on my level of mania.

    The last year or so my memory has gotten so bad I’m actually quite alarmed and I normally don’t get too worked up about medications. I will tolerate a fair level of side effects if it means preventing a major manic episode or a couple of times, even psychosis.

    I’m constantly having people begin talking to me and I have no idea what they are talking about. Then they will tell me they had an entire conversation with me a week or even a few days or even yesterday that I have absolutely no recollection of. I will have told them I was going to do something, or had made some kind of plan, or agreed or disagreed with something and I just have no memory of it AT ALL!

    It’s really starting to impact my life as my ex and I often coordinate so many different things concerning our 4 kids. I will say I can take one of them to an appointment, or that I can take them to an extracurricular, but I don’t remember. Or I won’t remember that he said he would do something and I’ll think I’m doing it until like the last minute when I text him about it. It gets really challenging when all of their appointments and activities and different events overlap, which is ALL THE TIME! For awhile it was just embarrassing, but now I’m just getting more and more unsettled.

    I’m concerned this might be permanent and that it might not just be my memory that’s deteriorating. I’ve tried other anti-psychotics, in fact I was on the Risperdal Consta bi-monthly injection for 4 years, but started developing Tardive Dyskinesia so I have to discontinue it. I can’t tell you if I took 200 or 400 mg of Seroquel while I was on it, because I can’t remember.

    I’m honestly not sure where I can go from here. I’ve tried virtually every other anti-psychotic out there and Seroquel is the only one that has worked and not been a completely miserable experience. I guess I need to talk to my shrink and see what we can do. Maybe lithium. Anyone know if it causes memory loss or brain damage, because I’m starting to worry this may be getting the point where it’s permanent. This article describing how anti-psychotics, including Seroquel and Lithium shrink your brain wasn’t exactly comforting.

    https://medlicker.com/510-11-medications-that-may-cause-memory-loss

    I also take Lamictal and apparently it’s on the list too. Being bipolar just really fucking sucks ass. Usually I can accept it and just live life the best I can, but this possible permanent memory loss and decreased cognitive function is just so not what I wanted to hear. I’m only 44. I’m not ready to have some kind of pseudo Alzheimer’s, just like I wasn’t ready to have pseudo Parkinson’s from the freaking Risperdal Consta.

  52. Well I read through practically every post. I thought I had a great friend, real love at long last. Then it started, the lying, cheating, hiding homemade porno. Disrespectful to me even in front of others. Secret Facebook (2) and swore up and down he didn’t do it. Who did? I don’t know. Can’t remember. Through me a way like common trash. Treated everyone else with kindness, Love. Only coming around to get fucked, when satisfied left me. Made me a raving mad woman. I have so much love but yet so much hate. I never gave up on him when wanting to commit suicide. Second go round of ECT. I’ve mutilated my self with knives, cigarette’s, steam from a clothes steamer and nothing releases the disgust, I’m no Worthy if My Jesus Christ. Nothing but filthy words come out my mouth. I want him to hurt like I do. After reading this, he’s dead. Except to others. The filth he says to me. Long story, he left his quetiapine fumarate 200 mg here that he was taken off almost a year ago to end my meaning life once for all. I’m in a, can’t describe it, I suffer deeper than deep. After what I read I can actually go meet my Lord, after all if he can use my vagina, video his cock inside and talk the filth and ask him forgiveness over and over, Damn he would give me forgiveness. No Good, Not Worthy…
    .. Robin aka: his Whore: Unique, PussyCat

  53. Have been prescribed seraquel for insomnia,am very hesitant to take it had the prescription in my handbag for three weeks now! My doctor said I could use it as a backup if I couldn’t sleep am too scared to try it.

    1. Don’t take it. I am currently trying to get my son off this stuff. I recently read that Aldactone ( Spiranolactone ) helps with Seroquel and opioid withdrawal .

  54. Aldactone helps with Seroquel withdrawal. Don’t take it for sleep, most people develop a tolerance and have to increase their doses.

  55. Ryan Robitaille

    Everyone reading this thread is apparently softer then a pillow. Being hurt by words is what children fight about. Grow up people, you women and some men here need to see a therapist for more then withdrawals. Learning is an essential part of life and knowing when you have serious insecurities is one of them. Peace and love people. The term sticks and stones will break bones but words will never hurt you is beyond true unless you value strangers opinions more then your own. I wish everyone well during their withdrawals and hope the mentally distressed individuals who are hurt by comments and typos get help as well.

  56. I see things more clearly with seroquel. Although I do find myself obsessing over certain realities now that I do see them more clearly. Maybe that’s why tho, I been trying to fool myself for too long. Thanks seroquel! For making me wake up

  57. The comment about losing weight is incorrect… I put on 70kgs in the first 4 years on Seroquel!! 50kgs in the first 2 years. In saying that alot of that was me always being hungry all the time and having no self control to stop from eating. I have been on it for 12 years in total and whilst still on it I lost 60kgs in one year 3years ago and now almost back to my original weight. I do fluctuate alot though. I have put on 10kgs recently but am confident I can lose this easy. So if you have put on weight, don’t listen to that comment, it is possible!!!! Currently on 200mg.

  58. I dont know if this is alot but I been taking 800mg of Seroquel before bed and 100 mg of seroquel when i wake up.

    I also take .5 mg of Rispiradone…a heavy tranquiler

    2 mg of Clonazapan before bed..

    is this alot…i mean i take it for the last 4-5 years… the only dru thats hard is the rispiradone…jus one knocks you out…

  59. I tell ya,Bunch of dumb shit people out there,Grow the Fuck up!!!!!!!!
    I been takin Seroquel for 2 mnths now,Only problem I gain few pounds.But other then that It seems to be workin for me?!!!!!

  60. Well, it is 04:40 a.m. here in South Africa, and I haven’t been able to read every comment. I can tell you about my Seroquel experience though, and it is also a cautionary tale. I have Bipolar II, BPD and adult ADHD, for which I am on a nice little cocktail of Seroquel, Lamictal, Fluanxol (Flupentixol), and Wellbutrin (Buproprion), with an added anxiolytic here and there, and here’s the kicker, 1500mg of Metformin per day. I have been on Seroquel and Lamictal the longest, for 13 years now, and in 2011 I was on a knockout dose of 900mg of Seroquel per day. I slept around 16 to 20 hours a day and ate the rest of the time. When I started it I weighed around 120lb (55kg) and by 2013 I had gained 134lb. Do the math. I had always had an emotionally unhealthy relationship with food, gaining and gaining up to 20lb at a time in my 20s. But this was something else. And to add to the madness, they kept testing my thyroid, as if that was the answer to everything. Thirteen years later my thyroid is still fine, and around 2 years ago I finally left the lunatic psychiatrist who put me on Seroquel without an eating and exercise plan. When my glucose and insulin levels were tested in 2013, my sugar was remarkably normal, but my insulin count was 66. I had metabolic syndrome, a rapid heartbeat, and severe craniofacial hyperhidrosis. Check the tardive dyskinesia box too, although only fine observation will tell – and of course it was a stumbling block when I started doing Latin and Modern dancing last year. But the fact is, I gained more than my entire body weight in fat thanks to the main Seroquel/Lamictal combo. And when my pre-diabetes was diagnosed and I went on Metformin, an eating plan, as well as starting to train at a gym, I barely lost 26lb (12kg) in an entire year of working my butt off and still trying to fight those insane (there is no other word for it) cravings. I even got my poor family doctor to prescribe an off-label dose of 60mg of Duromine (Phentermine), which basically turned me into a person whose only three mood states were hypermanic, enraged, and completely panicked. It was not sustainable. And still I ate, as soon as the Phentermine left my system. Nothing I did or could ever do on my own was going to help me lose AND keep off that extra person I was carrying around. And then I met someone, (no, this is not a love story), we dated, he had ASD, untreated, and it was a toxic relationship. So I became depressed. Back then my mom had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the end of 2012, and keeping a difficult relationship going while caring for a parent as well as trying to work a full time job at a law firm was driving me so far down that something I never anticipated happened. As I had to quit a second job to care for my mom and mortgage the house partially a second time, I became so depressed, I went all the way beyond stress eating, all the way beyond the reach of the Seroquel, and I lost 132lb in about 14 months. Food tasted like cardboard and wouldn’t even stay in my mouth. I spat out yoghurt, fruit, instant soup… Finally I sold the house, miraculously found a bed for my mom at a home rather far, but decent, and since I had nowhere to go, I was forced to rehome 4 of my 5 cats and move in with my then ex and his parents, of all people. And 2 weeks after, my first cat, my therapy animal (I never called him that, he was my best friend) of 13 years, died of silent liver cancer. I had gone as low as I could. I had to go to a government clinic for medication, since I wanted to keep what little savings we had and not spend it on my damn medication, and I was clearly unfit for work, but the government in ZA does not give Seroquel. They give Risperdone. And due to a massive screw up, on my first day there I was never seen by a psychiatrist. He simply reviewed my private script, crossed out everything, and swopped it all for a single dose of Risperdone per night. The next night I nearly died. Try stopping all your psychiatric meds cold turkey and taking Risperdone after. I was basically elbows deep in a basket full of leftover benzos, painkillers, my mom’s old morphine syrup, codeine phosphate she no longer took, and of course my last month’s doses of all my old meds, including Seroquel 300mg, Lamictal 200mg, and a whole box of Diazepam. Half my hair had fallen out, from weight loss and stress yes, but did you know that after 10 to 12 years Seroquel and Lamictal among several other medications cause hair loss and skin changes? If they can cause cataracts and diabetes… My skin was so intolerant I could barely wash it with tap water, and the enamel on my teeth was worn from involuntarily vomiting up anything normal I tried to eat after moving in with my ex and his family. I had lost a further 10kg by then. So I was gonna do what I was gonna do, obviously. And then my best friend, who never phones, called me for no reason at all. And saved my life. She only recently stopped paying for my meds every month, now that I am fit for work once more. Or so they say. If anyone is still reading at this stage, you may wonder what the hell my point is. So this is it, sort of: I had to lose absolutely everything I cared about in my life, including my will to live and sustain myself for my own sake; I had to lose my hair, my healthy skin, and the proper functioning of my organs (the pharmacist was very blas? when he told me Seroquel only takes about 5 or 10 years off your lifespan) – I had to go through all that, before my brain was finally fucked up enough to “ignore” the cravings and binge eating that Seroquel causes. I had to go beyond suicidality, to a place where I didn’t care whether I lived or died and had no energy to do either, before that bastard medication was neutralised enough that my body could basically eat itself. Because that seems to be the only way you can lose weight on it. Lose everything else first. And I guess I need to give a lot of credit to my (then) new psychiatrist, who not only realised the dangers of ever putting me on antidepressants again, especially for reactive depression, and also agreed with me that numbing it all out with another massive increase in my Seroquel dose would not only likely push me into Type II Diabetes, but also prevent me from adequately caring for my mom, our finances and admin, all of it. So I stayed on 300mg, which is barely a therapeutic dose for me but still used to make me eat like a demon in the past, and I started seeing a clinical psychologist (no more counseling shrinks) for actual CBT and DBT, and I fought my f*cking way back from that dark hole as best I could. Most valuable thing I have learnt to date is distress tolerance and compartmentalisation incidentally. But, of course, with wellness comes a normal appetite. And wouldn’t you know it, even though I was dancing 4 or 5 times a week, I started gaining weight again. And no, muscle does not weigh more than fat because physics. A kilo is a kilo is a kilo. And due to my unhealthy circumstances (living with a co-dependent ASD ex and his parents? No.) the binge eating returned with a vengeance. Because his mother was a dietician and tried to control me with food, I would buy junk and hide it in grocery store cooler bags under my bed. As if she wouldn’t have looked there. I became vegetarian, got punished by not being offered more than a bit of rice or a potato every day for weeks, so I bought my own “food”. Non-perishable junk of course. In the end, by December 2017, I had gained a whopping 40lb again, despite the dancing. On average though, since my stomach had shrunk so very much, I am still unable to eat what you would consider a full meal, plate of food, load od junkfood at a time. I can finish a Happy Meal, or a Medium Cheeseburger Meal, in McDonalds terms. I felt like I only had to eat a fraction of what someone with a normal metabolism would eat, and I would immediately gain 3 times the weight. It seems I’m right, after reading the information on this page. And guess what?
    I have now lost 11lb since the middle of January 2018. Yes I did start dancing again after the Xmas break, but that isn’t all. I am currently living with my German godmother, who has turned out to be the exact opposite of the person I thought I knew growing up. She is 75 and admittedly possibly developing mild senility, but mainly she is a bully, plain and simple, who fights with everyone about everything. And I rent the bedroom right next to hers. Her spare room. So despite the best efforts of my psychologist to equip me with the tools and skills I would need to withstand such an environment until I dinally find a job and am able to move out, I am too new to this kind of therapy, and my fallbacks, reactive depression and paralysed anxiety and denial have all bloomed again, and once again badly enough to leave me with little to no appetite. I hadn’t eaten a proper full meal in about 3 days last week when I had a particularly energetic Salsa lesson, and afterwards my blood sugar dropped so low that I barely made it to my car before passing out. New tests showed that although my sugar isn’t abnormal, my insulin, which had been 7 in 2016, had gone back up to 11 from all the binge eating in 2017. So here I am, hair falling out again, losing weight the wrong way, and yet always scared that if I eat too much ALL the weight will eventually come back and I will die a morbidly obese woman with Seroquel-related (we may as well call it induced) diabetes, losing the battle against the so-called holy grail of Bipolar meds, but also the indirect cause of lifelong misery, side effects and causing enough comorbidities to probably lead to many a death. I see some people have tried to come off it, try something else – Zyprexa, Geodon, Risperdone (I had two terrible episodes on Lithium) – fun, wasn’t it? Having BPD complicates matters, and it means that no Bipolar cocktail will ever fully control my symptoms, which is why lifelong therapy is recommended. Guess what else stays with you for the rest of your life? I don’t even have to say it. Take it, cease to take it, it doesn’t matter. I am an addict (stimulants) in constant recovery, unsuprisingly experiencing my first relapse in 4 years, and dying of shame and disappointment, and still I am of the opinion that Seroquel is the worst monkey that has ever ridden this back of mine. And my relapses probably don’t give it too much credit for the stimulant-craving reducing effect it reportedly has. I’m done, make of this what you will, since most people who come here are probably already on Seroquel. And this was only my story. Thanks to anyone who read to the end.

    1. hey guys thanks for sharing.

      Queitapine saved my life. I have been on antipsycotics for around 20 years. 5 years ago a insightful psychristrist changed my meds from olanzapine to qieitapine.. to help with post psycosis depression initally the changeover or tiratration perirod caused my heart to race which was not the best at bed time. after a few weeks this was not an issue.

      i no longer get depressed or psycotic. I wake a little hung over and cloudy after a solid 8 hour dream free sleep;

      more importantly i am stable and have not been sectioned or needed to be an inpaitent since my meds have changed.

      If i am not tired at bedtime and take my meds 200 -300 mg dailey i get restless legs which is no fun this only happens once every 3 months or so. When it does happen it usually takes 4 hours to pass. not cool when you brain wants a rest and my legs want to tango, I have to ride it out on sofa with late night telly.

      my weight is stable and i have no cravings for sweet or junk food i excercise a little every day.

      my bi poler symptoms are controlled

      I can function as a member of society the trade off is a slight hangover in the morning. strong coffee and a spliff helps.

      queitapine is a powerful med so strong i am not dead, it does not make me a poet or help with spelling.

    2. Hello Alli! Thank you so much for your post. You are amazing and you seem to have been able to accomplish much despite immense suffering and unfairness. I admire your courage.

  61. I do not recommend going on Seroquel/Quetiapine. I was put on 15 years ago when I had severe post-partum depression and gained fifty pounds in six months. By the time I began to wean myself from the drug, I was taking 1200 mgs, an outrageous amount. I’ve been weaning myself for five years now and am down to 50 mgs with the help of a therapist and a different, younger psychiatrist. It has been hell. Every time I go down 12.5 mgs I have sever rebound insomnia, stomach issues and horrible muscle pain. I’m afraid I wlll never be better. I Have lost some of the weight, but I’m now pre-diabetic. Don’t take this horrible drug. Read everything you can find about it. Go on the website Mad In America. Good luck to everybody. My mind is actually functioning again. It’s not always great, but I’d rather be able to read and write and mostly function again than sleep for 15 hours a day and never get off the couch.

  62. Y’all are way out of line and extremely rude. The comments/attacks were and still are irrelevant. People are seeking insight and information here, so save the drama and unnecessary, unrelated comments for Facebook or any other stupid, social media outlet. Please and thank you.

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  64. Christopher Mankey

    “. Go on the website Mad In America. Good luck to everybody. My mind is actually functioning again.”

    Fuck you!

  65. Katherine

    Thank you for this very informative article on Seroquel. It has clarified a few issues I have with it. I appreciate the depth and breadth of the information you have supplied. Fascinating and concerning. Anyway, thank you again.

  66. Amy Cook

    Insomnia has been a long term issue. I took ambien with great success for 11 years until a terrifying episode of sleepwalking. I went to bed with a severe migraine and my imitrex wasnt working, I took my usual dose of ambien 10mg and that was my last recollection.
    I woke in the ER 7 hours later after being picked up in my pajamas by the police. I was ranting, completely incoherent and drunk blocks from my home.
    I had no liquor in my house and was thus terrified that I had driven under the influence, crashed my car or worse yet caused an accident and killed someone.
    Since stopping ambien I recently started seroquel after trying remeron and trazodone. I’ve also tried melatonin at high doses and benadryl.
    SEROQUEL worked great the first week but I’m already building up a tolerance.
    Suggestions for other meds?

  67. I have a year and a half on seroquel it was prescribed to me for drugs use… So now after a year and a half am sick of this drugs and i have 2 weeks on 35mg i was 2 weeks on 50mg so every 2 weeks i am lowering my dose. The problem is that now i am in low doses i am experiencing some very bad side effects, a day ago a had very fast heart rate, my sleeping is not the same as i was in higher doses but still is ok i dont eat much often as i used to do i sweat like i can not describe it at all, my eyes hurt every 3 or 4 days and then my face sometimes becomes with spots and thinner but this is rare not often and i have like 1 week and a half while i sleep my body moves by it self my back sometimes moves like someone is shaking me, i have like nearly 3 weeks now since i cut of to 50mg i was ok for like 2 or 3 weeks then this side effects started then there i days i feel strong energetic and positive but it seems now its been like a week and a half i more and more side effects are showing up each day, today i had blurried vision, little eye pain, the sweats are daily they never go away, dry mouth more often lately so to be clear am on 35mg now 2 weeks tomorrow i will cut off to 30 even tho if i ever had any clue about seroquel withdrawals which i was prescribed by a doctor and am an ex drug user but if i had just a little bit of an idea there are plenty many other better drugs and now that i am having this type kind of effects more often

    1- very stiff (rigid) muscles, high fever, sweating is daily never goes away, confusion 1 day yes 1 not, fast or uneven heartbeats not all the time but when i experience i calm my self down i do not panic, jerky muscle movements you cannot control lately this is happening alot while a sleep….., trouble swallowing sometimes, problems with speech one in 2 or 3 days; – blurred vision everyday if i do not sleep good from other side effects or if i tire my eyes it goes worse but yes its an often side effect , eye pain not often, or seeing halos around lights not often
    fever, chills, body aches , flu symptoms, white patches or sores inside your mouth or on your lips this type of side effects also is quite more often daily there are days of course that i do not have this but now that i cut off to 35 is getting worse…

    So when i was on methadone it had side effects but not this horrible if i did not do drugs while i was on methadone i think methadone is the best drug out there so this doctor in spain i was in a rehabilitation had no right to put me in this type of strong med just because i might have had during my drug use some paranoiac times which is normal if you do drugs, anger and all the rest of that type of things which everyone has but prescribing me on seroquel which i only am learning now how horrible it is now that i will stop using it even if i die i do not care i will stop this drugs that was given to me without asking me anything what have i experienced what type of drugs i did and seroquel as much as i have read heard been told is never prescribed to addicts. I havent had the chance in life to have an income but if i had trust me people never do what others say is best for you read learn from your experiences and precribe your self the drug that you might need in low doses never does harm to you makes you feel good i know now everything about drugs i know exackly what that idiot doctor should of prescribed me KRATOM, even benzos are away away much better safer then seroquel, people dont follow rules i have done benoz i have drinked before nothing happen i have drink just one beer on seroquel and it took me 2 days to become normal, what type of drug is this with 10000 side effects when you quit???? this is worse then heroin worse then methadone worse then everything all opiates only have one side effects when you stop aches fever are hell of course but imagine having what opiates have when you stop but in top of that, sweating like a dam god pig even tho am not moving or anything, now you feel good then you feel shit, your muscles fucking ache sometimes like someone is putting an electric cable on them, your heartbeat goes 200 when you go to s leep stress comes back even stronger i can handle stress heartbeat i dont give a fuck about this shit anymore but having this eyepain, blurried vision, muscle ache no words the pain, dairreha now and then, sometimes getting thiner in face sometimes fat, in top of all this getting ugly with spots, dry mouth daily you talk funny like you have been drunk and not finished side effects of seroquel continue and the funny part is this happens not when your body is getting cleaner because you are not taking seroquel anymore but because your lowering your dose just IMAGINE FUCKING IMAGINE WHEN WE WILL STOP CAN YOU IMAGINE??????? WORSE THEN HEROIN WORSE THEN METHADONE WORSE THEN ANY TYPE OF BENZO AND AM FUCKING ANGRY WHY THE FUCK HAVE I NOT STOP LONG TIME AGO…. PEOPLE NEVER DO ANYTHING WHAT OTHERS SAY IF YOU DONT HAVE YOUR OWN INCOME I DONE THAT AM FUCKED YEAH THEY HELP ME BUT HAVE FUCKED ME TWICE WORSE HAVE MUCH MORE REASONS NOW TO FEEL MORE POWERFUL EVEN THO WE R 32 BECAUSE THE DOCTOR GAVE US A DRUG USER A SCHIZOPHRENIC DRUG I WANT TO GO TO DOCTORS I LIKE CHANGE ORDER SOMETHING KNEW DO THE BEST NAH AM FUCKED THATS WY AM FUCKING STOPING NO DOCTOR NOTHING I DONT GIVE A FUCK EVEN IF I DIE NEVER DO SOMETHING NEW IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IT IS IMAGINE AM STILL ON 35MG AND HAVING EVERYDAY WITHDRAWS WORSE THEN HEROIN IMAGINE WHEN I STOP

  68. Now that i am tappering off Seroquel if i had just a little information when i was in a rehabilitation center what were they giving me what side effects why for what reason because as fare as i know we ex drug users have insomia problem which methadone fix that and many other drugs. My point is Seroquel is the worst drug exists i have been two weeks on 35mg and another 2 weeks on 50mg before that on 75mg, anyway since i cut down to 50 my first side effects aspired but not often… since am on 35mg my side effects have never gone away am on withdraws 24-7 the funny part is while am still on 35mg. so am preparing for hell when the day of stooping it all. So my mouth 1 in ever 2 days is like when i talk is like am drunk, my eyes burn hurt cant see well etc etc…. you sleep sometimes good sometimes shit so i want to know is there anyother drug i can replace this 35mg of seroquel because am pretty sure even heroin does not does this much harm as seroquel just sayin my point is 100% sure there is no other drugs with this much side effects… and i wounder when doctors prescribe drugs do they mean i use it for life???? Because stress is killed only while on seroquel but i have more then a month since i was on 50mg i have it back and stress is a parte of life you learn from your lows and ups…. i cant wait even tho am 32 years old i feel like all the good parte of my life is over but am doing my best this year i have worked like never before even tho am still waiting for results…. so this is what seroquel fucking has done to me i have been worse on methadone because i have abuse it but if i have done methadone or even street drugs used them with daily doses i guess i was gonna have much better results and by now free… this drug is holding me like in prison i have been in worse drugs i have thought before never like now 100000 side effects 24-7 and still on 35mg on top of that our life problems on top of that 32 nothing is looking good even tho i keep my distance and do not care about addiction no more seems to me doctors are only for advise choosing the drugs is us and no one else no one knows better then me whats good for me… if someone is suggesting kratom might help stoping seroquel 35mg??? or anything else i have to go and get checked also after 6 months have gone by tires with this it has put me in a place were people fam members i live doing things and am acting stupid because yeah the doctor prescribe me a schizophrenic drug for heroin alcohol withdrawals. so now we can be fooled and if said anything we are crazy or seeing things dont exists we work but hiden so addicts never do big mistakes cuz dont have to go throw things we r kept as prisoners we feel sick people think we might be again on shit how much long does the human brain can take before it explodes and fucking bruns everyone and everything into ashes yeah side efects of seroquel 1 more month i keep updated i will stop i have to stop i have a few more month in mind i have done everything i been able if still people wanna take me for a fool which i guess they are fucked up with their own lifes and wanna keep hostages spy talk to our friends make them do us mistakes the gun is getting loaded mother fuckers

  69. Hi all. I’m bp and taking seraquil and depakote In addition I take Paxil. I also love my Chardonnay. I drink to feel normal. With me it’s like what comes first ….the chicken or the egg? I’m definitely an alcoholic. I’m scared all of the time. Seraquil calms me too the point of feeling FLAT!!! I don’t know what to do with myself. Krazy Kris

  70. Have you people ever thought about taking just 25mg or 50mg on occasion when your having sleep trouble or anxiety?…and NOT on a consistent basis? That’s what I do and I am completely fine with this medicine. Different strokes for different folks!

  71. You take this, say bye to any chance of a helthful life, from impotence to cataracts you got it.

  72. I stopped taking seroquel and switched to abilify about 3.5 years ago. Seroquel worked great at treating my bipolar II but I gained about 100 lbs over 10 years on it. When I came off it, I dissociated with severe social anxiety for about 1.5 years. It took a long time for me to piece together what happened and why I fell apart so much. Anyway, I’m back to myself now, but this comment is for anyone experiencing anything similar. I’m glad I went off, it did get better BUT it can be a hard thing to go through, so talk to your doc if you’re experiencing anything similar. (I didn’t talk to my doc bc I didn’t know why it was happening)

  73. Jeez. I was prescribed it 25mg. I am a healthy girl, with a little bit of mania. It very well may be my superpower. I can’t have the weight gain, that is a great way to diminish my self esteem. And one can build up tolerance, I see. I don’t want this stuff. LOL NOPE.

  74. is it normal to suddenly stop having periods when you’re normally irregular on this medication?

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