Is anyone in here taking quetiapine (seroquel )

[Bela64]

Hi my my friends .just wondering if anyone had good results with quetiapine for treatment of severe anxiety and depression? I was taking mirtazapine for a few months but unfortunately it didn’t work for me , doctor now prescribed me quetiapine in hope that will work ..25 mg I take half in the morning and half in the night..only just started couple of days ago ..I’m feeling very anxious and very weird can’t keep my eye open very tired but can’t sleep if that makes any sense?, I been told that will take a couple of weeks to start feeling better,but they say that with others antidepressants..I and have tried nine of than and it didn’t help me ..I’m struggling to coupe with this illness for so long .. some days I have no hope of ever getting better .. please can someone give some hope on this medication..many thanks. Bella

[Missy_D]

Hi I take both Mirtazapine and Quetiapine. Quetiapine, especially when you first start, will make you very drowsy and therefore best taken in the evening. Quetiapine is an anti psychotic not an anti depressant and I take it for stability of mood so I don't know whether it will work on its own for the depression.

On this combination I definitely in a better frame of mind most of the time, although like any illness I get flare ups. I am now on maximum dose of both tablets although when I first started Quetiapine I started at 25mg and increased to 150mg in 25mg increments over a week.

[Bela64 in reply to Missy_D]

Yes I know ..I tried all the antidepressants and it never works for me ..doctor decided to try quetiapine in hope that we’ll help me ..when you first started taking quetiapine how long before you fell better and less drowsy? Unfortunately mirtazapine didn’t help me but it was good for sleep ..

[Missy_D in reply to Bela64]

I can't remember exactly (I have been on them now 4 / 5 years) but I think it must have been a good 3 or 4 weeks. Personally I wouldn't halve the dose and just take 25mg in the evening and give it a chance to work for you.

[Bela64 in reply to Missy_D]

Thank you I was thinking about doing just that.. and you help me made up my mind .I think my problem is that I suffer from severe anxiety But I don’t like the feeling of sedated.. and don’t like feeling dizzy other it triggers my anxiety even more 🤷‍♂️.sorry another question did quetiapine made you sweet at night? I think it does me I wake up super sweeting in the night since I started taking it ..

[Missy_D in reply to Bela64]

Couldn't tell you to be honest as I do have night sweats but I think that is more to do with my age 😉.

Can I ask how long and what dosage of Mirtazapine? Just that at 15mg it acts as a very good sedative, 30mg and that effect lessens, and by 45mg there is no sedative effect at all (well that is what I have found personally).

[Bela64 in reply to Missy_D]

I was taking 15 mg and after 4 weeks I start 30 mg but on that dose the anxiety got even worse .. I’m very sensitive to all medication or might be I developed a phobia to medication as I tried so many with no success!? Who knows ! This quetiapine is number 10 of trials and I only start taking it 4 days a go and is already making me feel weird plus they all give me tinnitus ..or make the tinnitus worse ...this has been a very long journey and I still can’t see the end of the this long and bumping road .😔Wish you a lovely day and thank you so much for taking time to reply to me .. Bella

[Sonata2]

Hi Bela64 - Life sounds so frustrating for you. Though it can be useful to compare notes with others, different people can of course react differently to the same meds. Mirtazapine - I had one dose. It made me incredibly anxious. I felt panic, fear, confusion. Can never ever take it again! I take quetiapine. It's a useful mood stabiliser. I can only take it at night, because it has a strong "sleepy" effect. I also take an SSRI antidepressant, currently Sertraline (not sure it has the same name in the US, if that's where you are. After some months, I get tolerant to it, so switch to Fluoxetine (Prosac) instead. The SSRI antidepressants have an anti-anxiety effect. But I'm guessing you've tried them already? It's may not be a strong enough anti-anxiety effect on its own for severe anxiety. After some time, I stop being tolerant to the other SSRI. So I switch back and forth over time.

Your body gets more used to quetiapine over time, so start slowly. I know someone who slept so deeply when she took 25mg of quetiapine that she overslept badly and didn't hear the phone. She will not take it again. Before the first covid lockdown here in England, I had got my quetiapine dose down to half a 25mg dose at night, but also take antidepressants. When lockdown started, I increased my quetiapine to 100 mg at night. My body is used to it, and the extra dose helped me cope. But my problem is not severe anxiety. I have bipolar with rapid cycling depression.

From what you've said, I've the following suggestions:

(1) Are you with an up-to-date psychiatrist, or with a general doctor who deals with all sorts of things. If practical, you need to be with a psychiatrist who is up-to-date. There are other mood stabilisers which may be more useful for some people with depression, although quetiapine at present is helping me.

(2) A strong message coming across from what you say is that you really need to use non-medical methods to help control and manage your condition. Suggestions are below, though I appreciate in the USA you need insurance. In the UK treatment is free, apart from medicines some people have to pay for also I realise your anxiety might make things suggested below hard for you to take on - it's one step at a tiime, and try again later if it doesn't work first time.

Firstly, it seems to me you really need therapy as well as meds. CBT might be the best, but you need to find the therapist who is right for you, and lets you progress at a pace you can cope with.

Joining a support group, getting in touch with a mental health charity that deals with anxiety problems, and reading any info that might be useful, also physical exercise (every day if possible), also a healthy diet - research if there are particular foods that might help, but eat healthily, take vitamin and mineral supplements. Vitamin D - sold as vitamin D3 is especially important for mood, and if practical have a blood test to check out various aspects of your health. Also work out strategies, set yourself small achievable goals, try to develop things in your life that interest you - if not employed, voluntary work is really great. If your anxiety stops you doing voluntary work, try find a group that wilk let you start very slowly - maybe half an hour the first day, and build up gradually. Make sure you have enough social contact, take an interest in other people if you can - e.g. having a pen pal might be an idea? Get a cat??

Indo know it's easy for me to give advice - which you may feel is impossible to follow! I think CBT therapy, having things to be ibterested in and social contact are the most important things - plus take vitamin D3. It's natural to be anxious just now, but you can develop strategies and learn to manage your condition in a way that improves things for you. 🥰 ❤️😍

[Bela64 in reply to Sonata2]

Hello sonata2 thank you so much for you very kind advice and also to taking time to Reed my post ..i do actually live in Uk and I have a lovely family and friends...but I don’t fell connected to anybody at the mo .the anxiety and depression is taking control of my life .sad but true 😔I tried a few therapy’s but not yet CBT ..my psychiatrist is not taking this seriously and discharged me .My GP is not great in understanding how I’m feeling..but I guess that is hard ...only me who knows how I feel..yesterday I had a ok day but unfortunately this morning I wake up with the worse feeling and my heart was beating very fast once again..All medication for sure makes me feel worse..beginning to think that I have fear of medication...not sure how to deal with this horrible illness...feeling so lost and frightened.... I do take vit D3 every day and I do listen to many relaxing music.....but nothing seems to help me ..is so frustrating,I think the worse thing is that I kind of lost that loving feeling for family and friends and life it self. ..And that is the worse feeling in the world 😔I used to be so lively and full of energy..and now I’m so sad and lifeless 😢 if you have more advice for me ..I will be very grateful..once again many thanks and have a lovely day ...Bella.🌈💫⭐️