QUETIAPINE - side effects

Mental health
1

HI, ANY BODY OUT THERE ON QUETIAPINE SUFFERED FROM INCONTINENCE? MY DAUGHTER HAS RECENTLY HAD AN INCREASED DOSE PRESCRIBED AND SEEMS TO HAVE BLADDER PROBLEMS WHICH, IF THEY ARE A SIDE EFFECT ARE UNACCEPTABLE.  SHE ALSO SUFFERS FROM A DRY MOUTH, DIZZINESS AND EXTREME TIREDNESS THROUGH THE DAY.

THANKS J

2

Yes Judie. My son found that the quetiapine above 50mg resulted in bed-wetting every night & this is one of the reasons that he hated it and refuses to take it. Urinary incontinence, dry mouth & sedation/exhaustion are very common with this med and it is only used where the condition treated is more inconvenient/dangerous than these awful side effects. I hope that your daughter finds something better suited to her.

3

some of these drugs do have a relaxant effect to both induce bladder release and tiredness.  maybe you should review the meds.

richard

4

Hi Krissy thanks for your reply. Its  reassuring to know that other patients have experienced problems as well. The docs really rated this medication. When I mentioned a while ago mild fecal incontinence they just shrugged it off saying the problem should resolve itself which it hasnt and bladder incontinence as well is too much to put up with. Did your son find a suitable alternative?  My daughter has been on Olanzapine for a few years but it has lost its effectiveness and higher doses caused seizures so we are reducing that and were trying the Quetiapine.....Judie51310

 

5

Thanks for your comments Richard, unfortunately we were trialing this drug as a last resort. My daughter has tried a few antipsychotics but has had problems with the side effects from all of them [extremely sensitive to medication] except Olanzapine which she tolerated quite well for several years but it has now lost its effectiveness so were weaning her off it.

6

there are plenty of other drugs to try don';t feel honour bound to trial a drug if it is not working

Richard

7

Yes Judy. My son is now taking just 7.5mg Olanzipine & 900mg lithium. He is also taking large doses of zinc, vitamin C, vitamin  B6 & evening primrose oil. I'm an HCP & have done masses of reading, realising that neuroleptic meds are not properly effective for ~70% of people who are prescribed them, so now have my son under Dr William Walsh and Biobalance Nutritional therapy...

8

hi judie.

I'm on 150mg quetiapine at night. I have no side effects. But when I 1st started taking it I was on 25mg....I was like a nodding duck! I was in a daze, but for me it was a welcome change and all my bad thoughts dissappeared. It went up to 50mg the following week and symptoms were much less. The bad thoughts crept back, but I knew that would happen and needed to really to enable me to have therapy. I did urinate more the 1st week, after that back to normal.

I have a few friends on quetiapine and very mixed reviews. I think like other meds it can react so different for each person.

Can't they change her meds? surely there are other options for her.

hope this gets sorted for her xx

9

I'm taking 50mg of Quietapine morning and night and agree with your side effects. I have a really dry mouth most of the time, a need to urinate several times a day and during the night. Lethargy and weight gain and a general malaise. I need to keep with it as it does cut down on the voices. I also take 20mg of Olanzapine at night which means I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. To make matters worse, I also take 150mg of Amatryptaline as well. I take these tablets at 7pm which wipes out the evening but makes it a little easier getting up in the morning. I would love to stop all these tablets, and I did stop last summer, but then the voices came back and the paranoid thoughts and feelings of suicide. I'm not happy with it but the side effects are something to try and live with for the benefit the medication brings. One of the worst side effects, and I'm not sure which of the three drugs are responsible for it, is the dizziness when I stand up. It's not the first time I've fainted but luckily not had any injuries. Sometimes I think about wearing a bicycle helmet to protect my head when I faint.