For the better part of a year, I've been prescribed AstraZeneca's wonderpill-- brand name SEROQUEL. This is what you need to know about my time with quietapene fumarate: (While many take the pill in small doses at different intervals during the day in different doses, I was always on varying amounts of the extended release form [Seroquel XR]. While this delivery method differs, the drug is the same.) Seroquel is an atypical antipsychotic with powerful sedative properties. Seroquel is often abused by prison inmates without access to other substances, but my research leads me to believe this is an anomaly. The "high" as I have experienced (a curious me once insufflated a few lines) is very unsatisfying. The effects of alcohol while on the drug are magnified, though not in the same way you'd expect from something like diazepam. You only get sleepier quicker. Diagnosis: Bipolar Type II I was first prescribed Seroquel by a doctor in Miami Beach. Long story short, this was during a rough patch of my life. I did not have my shit together whatsoever. I came into my psychiatrist's office looking like a sweaty, pallid ghoul. After describing the extreme side effects I'd suffered on Wellbutrin (basically a fullblown two-week period in which I slept a total of twenty hours and lost like twenty pounds-- though coke may have been responsible for some of that) he whipped out his pad and handed me the script. "This will help you sleep and maintain mood. I'm going to start you at four hundred for the extended release and we can go from there." I went home, still pretty wired (no coke, just crazy) and popped a couple. I passed out within the hour. Like Ed said... babies don't sleep this good. As far as the mood stability, I can confirm I had only one major incident while on the drug over that year (as opposed to five incidents in the previous year without any meds). All in all, a good thing. Right? Maybe. But for the first time in a long time, I haven't taken this little silver bullet in over twelve days. Why? A few reasons (and these are basically all the downsides to the drug I can relate): -EXTREME hypersomnia. The half-life of Seroquel XR is around 12 hours. If I took the pill a couple hours before bed as is suggested, by the time I fall asleep I still have a minimum of 10 hours of sedation. I'm not suggesting that the sedative effects are felt the entire time, just that it stays in your system for a while. Obviously, that's the point of the XR version-- to slowly release to provide mood stabilization. Unfortunately, it comes at a price. Waking up was hard. Going to bed at 9 and waking up at 10 am or later was not unusal. -Dependence. Once your body adjusts to the Seroquel (and from my understanding, this is true of the regular delivery form as well) you can't sleep without it, or your sleep suffers greatly. I once described a sleepless night without Seroquel to my therapist as "not sleeping, just waiting." This is not a joke-- Google it if you want. Many, many people using this drug are totally dependent on it for sleep. In stark contrast, however, if you can't sleep anyway, call it a net win. -Weight gain. The biggest side effect for me was the weight gain. I put on about 20 pounds after starting the drug (an increase from 170 lbs to around 190). I eventually rallied and took off most of the weight through diet and exercise. After stopping the pill, I lost an additional two pounds and am currently at 168. I am 5'10", so the 190 weight was NOT ideal. How does Seroquel make you put on weight? Somehow it affected me to the extent that I would continue to feel hungry even after a meal. I ended up overeating a lot because of this. -Withdrawal. The withdrawal effects are not insanely unpleasant-- I cut myself off of a 200 mg XR dose with only mild agitation, sleeplessness, and intermittent nausea. It can be done, but I've read many accounts in which an "addiction" forms (I don't believe Seroquel has any addictive potential, to be honest, despite the prison use quandary) and the user has to be weened off of it in small doses. The accounts are obviously anecdotal, but seem to come mainly from people being treated for addiction to other substances (thus this reaction seems pretty feasible). Conclusion: Seroquel is a wonderful drug. It helped me through a rough time, but I'm ready to move on to an "as needed" style of medication. After recognizing I was dependent on it for sleep, and after growing VERY tired of oversleeping yet again, I quit without a doctor's supervision successfully. I'm not suggesting people stop taking their meds without telling their doctor-- I didn't take this lightly. When I see my doctor next week, we will discuss my plans for alternate medications. READ: I've also been able to confirm that Seroquel in almost any amount will negate virtually all psychedelic effects of magic mushrooms. (After I realized this, I would let the drug clear my system before a trip-- whether it interferes with other substances like tryptamines, I do not know. If you are taking it, don't waste your money by combining these. You won't get shit out of it.) Use as a comedown pill is well documented-- though I never had the one-shot pills, so I haven't used it in that fashion. A comparative study vs. benzos could be interesting.
in Iraq we would get elevated.. lol take 100mg + Elavil with some Adderalls and coffee and be fucking psychotic high tripping like...
As it turns out AstraZeneca is in the middle of 3 whistleblower lawsuits regarding their unwarranted off-label marketing of Seroquel, including being prescribed for PTSD. I hope your friend finally got the appropriate meds.
Last year I got them prescribed for anxiety, and was told to take them "as needed" Made the mistake of taking it for the first time before my end of year exam. Ended up getting hit hard by the sedation and almost falling asleep. failed the exam lol. Since then I decided to just take them when I was feeling upset so I'd just fall asleep and not have to deal with whatever I was sad about. I still have them, and take them occasionally just to knock me out. The past couple of weeks have been hell and so I've been taking them almost every night. My instinct tells me its a really bad idea, I still have a couple of dozen left and I'm tempted to throw them out. :/
I took it for over a year at night time to help my insanely awful insomnia. I had obviously been on a lot of other medications before we tried this one.. It worked wonderfully, totally knocked me out. BUT.. I put on weight as well. A lot. And I couldn't have that anymore. No matter what I did I couldn't loose weight. It was ridiculous. So now I've been off it for at least 6 months. I've already lost all I gained from that and now I'm loosing some other weight that I gained from just being immobile. It's insane how I used to diet and work out to no end but not loose a pound.. Now they are dropping so quick!
Agreed! I take Seroquel IR 50mg as needed now (maybe wice a week at most)-- and I'm still losing fat. There's something to be said for the caveats of medication. Or at least a couple dozen pounds worth of them
