just started on quetiapine

Treatment and medication
1

Been diagnosed with "mild depression" and possible bpd. Main problems were insomnia and anxiety causing me to avoid everything and become depressed/suicidal. Was previously taking sertraline but my anxiety was through the roof.

Now on quetiapine 50mg (25 in morning, 25 at night) and mirtazapine. Been taking the quetiapine at roughly 9/10 every morning and at about 7pm. So far though im noticing that its making me knackered in the day but im still awake as anything at night. If anything its making ny sleeping worse because its 10x harder to drag myself up in the morning and I end up sleeping til 1/2 and not able to function til about 4pm.

It's early days though so hopefully things will level out a bit! So far I've been so tired I haven't been feeling anywhere near as emotional as I was, just very irritable (probably due to the tiredness! ). Here's hoping I've finally found something that will make life more manageable!

Just one question.. does the tiredness simmer down a bit once you've been taking it a while? Tiredness has always been a problem for me and brain fog which has been excasserbated since I started taking this.

Many thanks

Abs xx

2

Hi,

i was diagnosed with BPD about 6 weeks ago, after suffering from depression for years. I had been taking 225mg of Venlafaxine but it had stopped working, and I had a severe bout of depression that started in January this year and suffered terribly from insomnia, which obviously didn't help my mood.

after being diagnosed BPD I was prescribed Quetiapine, starting off at an initial dose of 25mg at night which will slowly increase to 200mg. At the moment I am up to 50mg at night and 25mg in the morning.

i will eventually reach 100mg at morning and 100mg at night. Then they will start to reduce the venlafaxine which I am currently still taking. So it's going to be a long process until the balance of medication is right for me.

when I first started taking Quetiapine, the 25mg at night complete

y knocked me out. I slept for at least 9 hours every night without waking and it was brilliant. My mood was so much better aswell. 

After 2 weeks, I started with an additional 25mg in the morning, and for the first few days it completely knocked me out in the daytime as well so I wasn't sleeping so well at night. But this passed after about 4/5 days and as long as I resisted the urge to sleep in the mornings my sleep at night got better again.

this last week I have now been on 50mg at night and still 25mg in the morning. And I can honestly say that I feel brilliant. This is the most stable I have been for a long time. My mood has settled and I feel happy. I no longer have dark thought.

i know it's really early days, but I hope this continues because I am beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, with a chance of leading a relatively normal, stable life.

i hope that helps.

please keep in touch and let me know your progress so we can share notes, experiences etc.

Liz

3

Ooh, one other thing, try taking the Quetiapine about half an hour before you intend to go to bed as I find that that's the optimum time for me to fall asleep easily. Maybe you go to bed at 730pm but I suspect not, so try taking it a bit later.

Liz

4

Hi, I was diagnosed with depression/anxiety 18 years ago and have tried most of the anti depressants and find fluoxetine suits me best but it is different for everyone. I found that sertraline didn't help my anxiety levels either. I take 25mg of quetiapine at night to help with sleep and was told by consultant that they can cause day time drowsiness at first, which I did experience. I am also on fluoxetine (40mg) and had just increased my dose as I started taking the quetiapine so it was quite difficult to tell whether it was the quetiapine or increased dose of fluoxetine which can also cause drowsiness. With both meds it has taken a matter of months to settle properly but my consultant did say the quetiapine side effects would last 2-4 weeks.

Hope it all settles down for you soon and you begin to feel the benefits.

H

 

5

Right so taking 2x 25 mg at 11pm, MY OWN side effects have been:

*frequent urination

*sleepiness (so much that it was prescribed for insomnia to me) (still)

*bloated feeling all day long (still)

*dry mouth all day long (still)

*feeling like a zombie until 10am (still)

*loud ringing in the ears (persisted for two weeks)

*very bad migraines (ended after about a week and a half)

*huge weight gain (ten pounds) current

*metabolism slowes to a snails pace (even though exercising) (still)

*moderate constipation (still)

*sugar cravings (ignore these! Once your on the sugar train its hard to get off) (still)

*change in palett/smell - foods I once liked smell and taste differently (still)

*vivid dreams

*increased anxiety at weird times of the day where there is no stress (still)

*anxiety over having anxiety (still)

*because I am prescribed anti depressant, I get positive thoughts but the Quetiapin makes me so relaxed i dont have the "energy" to do them which results in a negative experience.

Pro:

*my anxiety is squelched and almost non existant except sometimes i can get anxiety over having anxiety.

*anything can trigger anxiety for example:

*something on TV

*something someone I heard saying

*fearful thoughts that randomly occur to me

6

IF your still interested in more replies regarding Qutiapine use the SEARCH bar.

7

Thanks everyone for the replies. Not having a great couple of days, but I'm trying to stay positive although I've been really tearful, irritable and having major suicidal thoughts. All my flatmates are away for the next week so im on my own which I'm a bit worried about when I feel like this.

The quetiapine is not enough to get my mind to turn off and get to sleep at this point but will keep you updated. Would be nice if you guys could share your experiences seen as you're new on it yourselves. We can support eachother through this!

Abs

8

"Thanks everyone for the replies. Not having a great couple of days, but I'm trying to stay positive although I've been really tearful, irritable and having major suicidal thoughts. "

If you are having suicidal thoughts you need to call your doctor immediately!

"All my flatmates are away for the next week so im on my own which I'm a bit worried about when I feel like this."

The technical word for worrying is anxiety.  Your flatmates being away is obviously a trigger for your anxiety. Your anxiety however it is triggered is very normal.  

"The quetiapine is not enough to get my mind to turn off and get to sleep at this point but will keep you updated. "

The body needs at least two full weeks on the medicine to START to work.  Try not to worry about it.  You will start to feel better soon.

"Would be nice if you guys could share your experiences seen as you're new on it yourselves. We can support eachother through this!" Not many respond to these messages, but i wrote you a lot of feedback and information in my last response regarding my experience on quetiapine for the last 8 weeks.

Please if you feel you absolutely need more information use the search bar at the top of this page and enter the name of the medicine you are looking for information on.

 

9

Thank you for replying. You say call a doctor but its a sunday and the doctors is closed. I really dont think I can keep myself safe and I'm so scared. But don't know what to do. Tried samaritans but it doesn't make me fwel any better because they dont offer any advice. I lost the number for the crisis team. Dont want to present in a&e cos im too scared to go on my own and last time I went it was a really traumatic experience and was waiting there for 12 hours whilst being verbally abused by another patient.

10

Also now I have a label of bpd I know they won'ttake me seriously and will see this as attention seeking behaviour. That isnt my view btw but I've worked in mental health and unfortunately have too much insight into staff attitudes towards people with bpd

11

Your life is not a joke. If call the emergency number in your country. In usa it is 911. They have operators standing by to take your phone call. This is their job. 

12

Hi 

I have been dealing with depression, anxiety , panic and now doctor insisted that I am a bit maniac.. this has been  for many years . now went back to zoloft and Quetiapine or Seroquel .. I started last night 25mg and I feel more anxious today ... my main problem is I get obsessions cant top

13

wow so very specific!!  Thanks for that.  I have had all of these side effects you  mention, but some of them I didn't associate with the med.  I've been on it only 9 days and it is a trip of it's own.  I hope for some relief for the original visit to the doc.  I already have enough anxiety, and the added anxiety was starting to worry me.  (more anxiety).  Again thanks for this info. 

14

i have been diagnosed with BPD also know as EUPD emotional intensity personality disorder. i feel emotions 10x worse than everyone else and i have low moods i have highs and when im on a high i feel like nothing can ruin it but when i hit a low i feel like whole world is trying to swallow me up and destroy me. i write a lot and that seems to help however it would be good to find people who ave been through similar experiences and to talk about out difficulties and try and help each other through it. if anyone needs any help or advice, i dont mind helping out when i can

15

honestly if you need any help or advice i will try and help you through it i dont want anyone to be where i once was and if i can help i will try. how are you feeling? whats made you feel this way? has there been a trigger?