Reviewer: 35-44 on Treatment for 10 years or more

Comment:
I need this medication! I started on 200mg 11 years ago (for anxiety?) and was not informed of the side effects. I have also taken 400mg of Lamictal for 14 years. I had two young children at the time and after the first night taking it, I could hardly open my eyes in the morning to get them off to school. But, it allowed me to sleep (I just needed to adjust my sleep schedule/routine) and reall ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
I need this medication! I started on 200mg 11 years ago (for anxiety?) and was not informed of the side effects. I have also taken 400mg of Lamictal for 14 years. I had two young children at the time and after the first night taking it, I could hardly open my eyes in the morning to get them off to school. But, it allowed me to sleep (I just needed to adjust my sleep schedule/routine) and really turned down the volume on my ruminations. I didn't gain weight, I lost it, but I think that had a lot to do with some major life changes I was going through. I took that dose for several years before reducing to 50mg, and a couple of years ago I stopped taking it. (I of course discussed it with my doctor) I thought I needed to learn to sleep naturally, instead of being basically sedated every night of my life. What followed was a downward spiral that led up to suicidal ideations and insomnia about 9 months ago. I started therapy which has been life transforming, but my suicidal thoughts and sleeplessness increased to a really dangerous level about 4 months ago. My doctor convinced me to give Seroquel another chance. His argument--"do you smoke marijuana before bed?" Touche. (He doesn't necessarily approve my weed smoking but respects me) I have been back on Seroquel since and I'm sleeping through the night. My ruminations have quieted down to something that I can manage. Admittedly it does make me feel more dull. I'm groggy in the morning. I am going to fall asleep an hour after taking it so that takes some planning. I don't weigh myself but I have remained active and all my clothes still fit so that's a good sign.
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Reviewer: 25-34 on Treatment for 1 to less than 2 years (Patient)

Comment:
I have bipolar II and was prescribed this medication vas mood stabilizer and to help me sleep. It worked better at the beginning but then I started noticing the side effects. I gained weight, I do a lot of exercise but didn't stopped the gain weight. I couldn't control the hunger. I only took it at night because it will make me passed out. I started having Luka fairing issues when I woul t ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
I have bipolar II and was prescribed this medication vas mood stabilizer and to help me sleep. It worked better at the beginning but then I started noticing the side effects. I gained weight, I do a lot of exercise but didn't stopped the gain weight. I couldn't control the hunger. I only took it at night because it will make me passed out. I started having Luka fairing issues when I woul take it and I wouldn't go to bed fast enough. I started having difficulty for breathing this was mainly at night but during the day I feel like I had allergies or something witch I am not allergiec to anything that I know off. I got tested for allergies and I didn't tested positive for any. I decided to stop talking it. I got the dose reduce gradually until 50mg from the 250 that I was taking. I have take it for more than a year. I was under the impression that I would not have any withdraw symptoms since I did it very gradually. I was mistaken. It has been a week and the withdraw symptoms are still very strong. Insomnia is the worst one with night sweets and for the little time I got some sleep, I experienced very vivid nightmares. I am experiencing sever itching specially at night. The nausea, stomachake and headache are really bad too. I can't focus and my mood swings have been very noticeable. I am hopeful this will stop soon. The good side, I already notice that the uncontrollable hunger is almost gone! My problems breathing at night are gone and during the day I have fell less of the allergy symptoms, not completely gone though. The concentration is improving each day. I think that it is a very strong medicine that can really help but it does have very serious side effects. My doctor told me I had to choose between the benefit and living with the side effects. I hope I made the right decision.
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Reviewer: Alexiet, 25-34 Female on Treatment for 6 months to less than 1 year (Patient)

Comment:
Seroquel works for me after titrated in and out with Clonazepam but the side effects linger. My manic surges in the form of uncontrollable rage and anger. At times, I get hysterical and violent. When I am mellowed, I can't sleep. I take Seroquel as an addition to Lamactical in order to stabilize my mood better and regulate sleep. The first few weeks of Seroquel administration, my dreams were v ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
Seroquel works for me after titrated in and out with Clonazepam but the side effects linger. My manic surges in the form of uncontrollable rage and anger. At times, I get hysterical and violent. When I am mellowed, I can't sleep. I take Seroquel as an addition to Lamactical in order to stabilize my mood better and regulate sleep. The first few weeks of Seroquel administration, my dreams were vivid they feel freakishly real that I had to reconfirm which event was real and which event never happened. Vivid dreams reoccur if I skipped my dosages due to medical interruption. I was sleepy(11-12 hours of sleep) but I quickly tolerated the sedative properties of Seroquel and slowly, I was not sleeping again (I am tired but I can not sleep). My energy level was high. Anxiety was high. So the doctors increased my Seroquel and Lamotrigine dosages and added Clonezopam to the mixture. Now my sleep has regulated to 6-8 hours. I am not taking Clonazepam anymore. Sleep is ok, but I still have restless nights albeit not as frequent as before despite being highly active (I work out 1-2 hours 6 days a week; this has been my routine before taking Seroquel). Now I am readjusting to the new dosage, I can feel that my metabolism is a little compromised as I have been a little fatigued. I can feel cravings but I can still control it. And even though my weight fluctuates easily I end up losing 15lbs in 3 months because when I am anxious I can't eat. I bloat and have constipation easier if I am not careful with what I eat as I become sensitive to certain types of food. My rhinitis asthma becomes easily triggered so I had to take anti-histamine (a mixture of cetirizine and loratadine) more frequent. Overall, my anger and agitation have been significantly suppressed. I can be 'patient' and 'have control' of my patience. I am conscious of my 'triggers' due to the lagging of gratification, so I can rationalize my mood better even though my anxiety is sensitized.
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Reviewer: Suzanne, 55-64 on Treatment for 10 years or more (Patient)

Comment:
I love this drug it gave me my life back. However there is the issue of weight gain which has been around 10lbs. So I really canâ??t complain but I do have to watch what I eat.

Comment:
I love this drug it gave me my life back. However there is the issue of weight gain which has been around 10lbs. So I really canâ??t complain but I do have to watch what I eat.
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Reviewer: 65-74 on Treatment for 5 to less than 10 years (Patient)

Comment:
The brand Seroquel works best for me; however, the insurance companies do not want to allow pharmacies to give me the brand name. I am forced to take generic brands which are not as effective as the brand. Two of my doctors write scripts for Brand only but I keep getting a lesser quality substitute that usually allows two hours before kicking in and I wake up several times a night. These I have no ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
The brand Seroquel works best for me; however, the insurance companies do not want to allow pharmacies to give me the brand name. I am forced to take generic brands which are not as effective as the brand. Two of my doctors write scripts for Brand only but I keep getting a lesser quality substitute that usually allows two hours before kicking in and I wake up several times a night. These I have noticed with different manufacturers given to me. One time a pharmacy gave me a generic instead of the brand the doctor had written and I had an anaphylactic reaction. Brand works best for me. Generic is not the same just because people say it is. Generics have cheap substance. That is why they are cheap. They have cheap ingredients and are not on formularies. When that is all you can get, the quality of your life is reduced as well. I pray I can get the brand name prescription for Seroquel ER XL for a quality rest nightly,
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