Seroquel and insomnia

2010
9:14 AM
I am female 35y no children and have ADHD. Attention Def Hyperactive Disorder. I am using Concerta which is long acting Ritilan and Venlor/Effexor 150mg. That I take at night. I was prescribed Seroquel to sleep as I have had issues with insomnia all my life because of this condition. I find it works well. I am on 300mg. Dr uped the dose to 600mg but I find it's too strong. I am very active I ride my horse and go to gym but I still find I am picking up weight because of the cravings at night. It's VERY irritating. Dr put me on Duromine 30mg which is an appetite suppressant but I find it does not work.

Wanted to know if anyone has a solution to the weight gain? Would be very greatful if I can fix this as Seroquel I found is the only thing that makes me sx off and sleep :( Sky

I have been on seroquel for almost 2 years. I was started on 100-200 mg/night for insomnia. This was after not getting more than 3 hours of sleep every night for 3 months. Even if I fell asleep, I never stayed asleep. I hospitalized myself after ODing on lorazepam at work. I absolutely LOVE that I can sleep through the night. I take it about an hour before I go to bed since that's how long it takes me to get sleepy. I really hate the weight gain that has resulted, but that's the worst of the side effects I experience. Another good thing about the seroquel is that I can be roused from sleep if needed because I have to be on call for my job. I am also on other meds for major depression and have been seeing a psychologist every week for about 5 months. I have been able to go back to 100 mgs seroquel and am looking forward to completely stopping in the next few months.

Wow, I'm on 200mg. I'm also on lithium, lexapro, xanax, reglan and ultrase. Um, I take the seroquel at night. I've been taking it for ten years. I'm bipolar with serious panic disorder and insomnia (During my sleep study i woke up over 90 times). Xanax wasn't doing anything for the insomnia. Obviously, taking such a large dose, I sleep like i'm in a coma. Unfortunately, I really can't be woken. The drug cocktail I'm on causes serious amnesia. My fiance has to remember everything for me. I had sex and didn't remember it at all. I forget everything every night after I take my meds. My sex drive sucks. my dreams are very vivid, but they always have been. But now it's as if i'm caught in a narcoleptic fit (as described by my mom). I can't do anything about how long I have to sleep. The drugs have to wear off. Otherwise I will act awake and hold conversations i won't remember. I smoke pot too for cronic digestive problems. Helps the nausea and appetite...does not help the memory ;) If I didn't smoke pot I would have to take obscene amounts of phenergan which puts me in a coma ALL day. Now I'm facing marriage and family time. It's going to be hard to get off the meds to get pregnant and I have been advised I will have to start back on them as soon as I have the baby. I have no idea how i'm going to hear my child cry or wake up for feedings. My fiance puts up with a lot but I don't think he'll be able to do the entire night shift nor would it be fair. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with seroquel.

I have been on seroquel for 5 years and i take 600mg a night. I have been on it since i was 15 and im now 20, i absolutely hate it but its the only thing that actually makes me sleep cause without it i cant sleep AT ALL.. if my husband tries to wake me up to tell me to move over or something he says i jump up real fast and get scared and then just go right back to sleep.. I have some of the craziest dreams. (scary ones). when i take it i just get so hungry, i have gained weight like crazy cuz of all the late night snackin.. my heart beats really hard and fast when i take it.. My husband says i talk about some of the most off the wall things and the next day i have no memory of ne of it.. I wake up in the middle of the night really thirsty.. Ive tried to go to sleep without it but i just cant.. At night when I take it if I hear even the slitest noisy I get scared and start freakin out.. If I fight it even a little bit my legs start to feel so weird, I cant even explain it.. and one of the weirdest things is that one day I can take it and I get sleepy in no time, then other nights it takes hours 4 the medicine to kick in and make me sleepy.... it doesnt make any since.. LIKE I SAID, I HATE TAKIN IT BUT ITS THE ONLY THAT MAKES ME SLEEPY

I've been on Seroquel for a year and a half, to help with insomnia (from PTSD). I am supposed to take 50 mg, but I only do that when I am desperate for sleep. Even 25mg leaves me groggy and sleepy after 8 hours of horizontal rest. The cotton ball mouth is dreadful. I've gained weight - despite working out daily, and my sweet tooth is nasty. I'm hoping to find an alternative.

weight gain, hair loss, rapid heart beat, chest tightness, bloating, sore throat, insomnia did not improve, excessive thirst and hunger, craving for sweet food, only became very drowsy and sleepy and slept for a few hours and woke back up, felt groggy in the morning and lasted for a most of the day. All that on only 50 mg of Seroquel XR for 4 days. ***!!!!!!! oh and my doctor told me to take my xanax to calm the racing heart side effect....really...are you freakin kidding me. I stopped it!!!!

I have had the sugar cravings especially and dry mouth which after six months caused tooth decay and severe pain, but the most awful thing was running out of a 100mg dose after six months use. The insomnia (bi polar diagnose) I had prior due to stress I believe intensified for two nights without seroquel. Even with an ambien I snapped awake from a vivid dream (yes the dreams are hours long and vivid) and tried to sleep again later in the day twice and gave up first time and second. Then muscle tightness after 24 hours and eventually suicidal laying awake and angry, FINALLY the muscles in my face tightened up above my mouth and scared the hell out of me.

Seroquel is EVIL why did they not tell me this before prescribing it. And also a dr. wanted to give it to me for insomnia. I will have to try to wean myself off of it as for now I cannot handle the withdrawals even my pharmacist said were narcotic like.

I have anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and insomnia. I've been taking seroquel since September of 2009 it is now March 2010. I am rx'd 100 mg to be taken at bedtime for insomnia. No noticeable change in my mood. I also take 1.5 mg clonazepam daily for anxiety/panic. At first 50 mg. knocked me out but then had to up it to 100 mg. for it to be effective. The worst thing about this med. is the stomach cramping. It has also affected my cycle...every now and then I don't have a period at the end of my cycle. The periods I do have are hard to predict. My appetite has also decreased, which is not a bad thing. I am concerned about possible weight gain and if I see any weight gain I will go off this medication immediately. In the beginning, the 100mg. dose did give me some jumping sensations in my heart but not consistently every time I took it and they only lasted a few seconds. Dreaming is fun these days, my dreams are very vivid but sometimes they are a little scary. Seroquel hasn't affected my sex drive at all. Seroquel never helped my depression in fact in the beginning it made it much worse! I am depressed most of the time but not as intensely as I was after I started taking this med. I've not taken any seroquel since March 24 and I haven't experienced any withdrawal symptoms. I am getting by on 200-250mg. of benadryl and 1.5mg. clonazepam at night to put me to sleep while I wait for my rx to be shipped. Is that much benadryl harmful I wonder?

I was on Lexapro 10mg and Seroquel 100mg. Lexapro for depression and Seroquel for sleep. I asked my doctor if I could get off of Lexapro and just take the Seroquel for both the depression and insomnia. The doctor took me off Lexapro and raised my Seroquel to 200mg at night. Now, my boyfriend tells me I do crazy things in my sleep....swatting at things, talking crazy, grabbing him and saying crazy stuff. I don't remember doing these things....and its starting to worry me.

Hi all, I'm hoping someone here with Seroquel-experience can help us with some information. My wife has been on Seroquel for approximately 5 weeks (ramping up to 200mg per day during the first 10 days, approximately). After 4 weeks, the severe breathing problems started. Physicians have verified the oxygen level in her blood to be excellent, her lungs and heart are in perfect shape, she has no fever and no indication of bacteria-infections. All indications are that this is caused by the Seroquel. She explains the intense sensation as drowning, almost passing out while gasping for air. She's feeling very dizzy, probably due to breathing too much as a result. Occasionally her breathing is not so deep, but more like hyper-ventilation. The problem became unbearable (and my wife endures a lot) after approximately 1 week, so 5 weeks into the Seroquel scheme she quit cold-turkey two days ago. The breathing problems are still the same. We are hoping someone could tell us how much time these breathing problems can be expected to remain, as I've googled my eyes out without finding any information on this. A week? - Two weeks? -Even more? - please respond, and in advance, thank you for your help!

oh, my gosh! i have been on seroquel for six months. it has been horrible! sweating,dehydration, weight gain. the WORST has been costchondritis(severe chest pain), extreme hoarseness, and now muscle aches and tightness in my legs, arms and chest. my psych says he has heard of these side effects but has never seen them. am i poisoning myself?

hated it. It was prescribed for insomnia and anxiety. Worked at first for the insomnia at 25 mg, then had to go up to 50 mg and barely worked then. My anxiety was worse, woke up with panic attacks. Vivid horrid nightmares. Spiraled into a severe, deep suicidal depression on it. Had hand tremors and restless legs. Currently weaning off. Never again!

I was on Seroquel for about a year or so for "anxiety" and insomnia. I gained weight and noticed a thick white coating on my tongue while taking it. I eventually came off of this medication when I suddenly began to lose weight rapidly - I dropped to 88 lbs. My hair also began to thin considerably, especially around the temples and top of my head.

None of this even matters because the anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder was actually chronic Lyme, babesia, and a number of viruses - along with an allergy to the wireless boom.

If you've been placed on this medication, please join lymenet and find an LLMD. Also, google 'electromagnetic hypersensitivity' and 'microwave sickness', because US doctors are clueless. It's more profitable to prescribe psych meds than to remove the cell phone masts and antennas that are causing "mental" illness.

I was on Seroquel for 3 years for tourettes and I went off it September. I went off it because I wanted no chemicals in m body that would hurt the fetus. Since then I have been dealing with insomnia.It is now January and I am pregnant. I was up all last night and its getting worse. I have pulled 4 overnighters in the past month. I am scared because I know I need to sleep in order to keep this baby. I wish I never went on it!!

Seroquel helped save my life. It is one of 2 drugs I now take to treat my bipolar disorder. I take 75 mg at night before bed. About 45 minutes after I take it, and I get tired and go to sleep, and so my insomnia is cured.

Getting tired before going to bed is the only side effect I have encountered with Seroquel. I am very grateful for this medicine. After the onset of my disorder and and before my Dr. and I found the right medicines, I couldn't function in society. I have been quite successful ever since. If you are still searching for the right meds, please try it. It works for me.

Up until the end of August, 2007, I was on 20mg of Abilify a day. I weened myself off of the Abilify before my wedding on October 20. Then, I went on my honeymoon to Germany. When I returned from Germany, I could not sleep. This lasted for 3 weeks, until I felt like I had to go to the hospital to get knocked out or I would die. My family doctor told me to see a psychiatrist because I went off my meds without medical supervision. The new psychiatrist prescribed Seroquel for my insomnia. She gradually increased it until I was getting about 6 hours a night. I'm now on 500 mg, which I take about two hours before bedtime. I've noticed an increase in my breast size in less than one month of use. I've also gained about 5-7 pounds. Some days, I feel hazy during the day and some nights I have difficulty taking a deep breath. I am seeing a new psychiatrist tomorrow to see about getting off of Seroquel and on something else. Its great for insomnia, but the side effects are immediate and troubling.

Who ever said there is a fine line between love and hate must have been on Seroquel. I have been taking Seroquel off and on for about 4 years. When it comes to my dosage, I have been all over the map. I have taken as much as 800 mg. which I felt I needed for the insomnia in the beginning. I ended up at about 200mg. per night. I wanted as little in me as possible and still get a good nights sleep. Here is where the HATE comes into play, I GAINED 50 lbs. in about a 5-6 month period that time around. Nothing I did would take all of it off, trainner 4 times a week, low cal. diet about 1400-1500 a day. I lost about 20 over 3-4 months where I stopped loosing. I said the HELL with this and stopped taking it. I didn't sleep much during this time but I did get back down to my orginal weight. I recentally started taking my Seroquel again reguarlly and once again I remember why I HATE it soooooo much. I have now gained 40lbs. in about 3-4 months. So I was just reserching other methods for us non-sleepers. I just feel like I'm already being punished by not being able to sleep and to top it off, I get really fat.... as a bonus?? Its not easy to go from a size 2 to a 8-10 in 4 months!!! I will say the love I have for Seroquel comes from the wonderful sleep I get when taking it although it seems I'm starting to loose sleep thinking about how fat I'v gotton. Just wanted to say over my years of taking this medication I have gotton some great sleep but now that the weight gain is back for the second time any LOVE I'v had has turned to HATE.....again!

I've been on Seroquel for a month now. My dosage was progressively increased from 100mg to 400mg for severe chronic insomnia, a symptom of manic depression.

Within one month, I've gained 20 pounds and I look as if I'm six or seven months pregnant.

I am weaning myself off of it, because my doctor doesn't seem to care much about the weight gain, despite the fact that I eat less than 1000 calories a day.

A symptom of bipolar disorder is also depression, and the more I look at myself in the mirror, the more depressed I get.

I'd rather go without sleep than gain weight at the rate I've been gaining it. It's just not safe, and I can feel it taking its toll on me physically and psychologically.

It's just not worth it in my opinion. I'm giving Melatonin a try. Hopefully, that will work for me. It was suggested by one of my nurses.

It's not easy to go from a 4/5 to nearly a size 9 in a month. It really makes you feel terrible, especially when you exercise an hour and a half everyday and are on a low calorie diet.

Until I'm given something that can counteract the weight gain, I refuse to stay on Seroquel.

I admit I'm having some bouts of insomnia, but they're not nearly as bad as they were before I started the Seroquel. Perhaps that will change once the Seroquel is all out of my system.

I also notice I'm itching everywhere, from head to toe. I suppose that's a symptom of weaning yourself off of the drug.

vomiting,severe headache,insomnia,low mood,sleepy all the time

i started taking seroquel about 2 years ago, and with being steadily increased in the dosage i have gaine 100 pounds, and i cannot lose anything. I have tried every diet out there, besides surgery. I am afraid to go off them because i have insomnia and deppression, and anxiety soo bad that i can never sleep. and now in reading other persons' effects i am starting to wonder if all my other problems are an affect of this medicine. I take 800 mg. a night just so i can sleep 7-8 hours. How crazy is that??? i am so afraid...

I have never posted anything to a website before. After the terrifying effects of Seroquel - I feel the need to inform others.
In December of 2004 I was under alot of stress from work. I went two weeks without sleep. I went to the doctor and he perscribed 300 milagrams of Seroquel. It did help me sleep. Only I could sleep 24 hours a day! It took away my personality. My personality turned aggressive. I couldn't stop eating and I gained 35 pounds in 10 months. I craved sweets and fast food like a madman. I started to hear voices - I never heard them before Seroquel. Then I started getting suicidal. I decided to wean myself off Seroquel in February of 2006. It was like death. The insomnia came back as a rebound effect. When I got completely off the Seroquel in May of 2006 I started breaking out in a weird itching all over my body periodically. For one week all my bowel stools were pitch black. Before Seroquel I used to be an avid exerciser. Now I can't exercise for more than 10 minutes with out being in bed with chronic body aches for a week. My immune system is very fragile too. I have not been able to lose the weight yet. And I get very tired mentally from little things.
I have since found out that melatonin works great for insomnia. You just have to take it for 2 weeks before it starts to work.

Positive: I get a good nights sleep.

Negative: I feel no emotion & weight gain. But I take with bromocriptine & venlafaxine. The venlaf.. & Quetiapine help the depression and insomnia caused by the bromo. I don't know which out of the three, or if the combination of all three, is causing me to some nights shake like I am freezing and my teeth chatter. But I have the heat cranked, three blankets on and i feel like I am sweating under the covers but I am still shaking like I am very cold. I don't understand that.

I am a bipolar teen, who was put on seroquel back in the 8th grade. I did notice some weightgain, but mostly an extreme increase in breast size. I was 134lbs (5'8") with a D cup at 14 years old. For whatever reason, I was taken off seroquel in the summer of 2002. I lost 10lbs almost immediately. Several years and many alternative medications later, I was put back on seroquel. I've noticed no weightgain, but I am more impatient and physically aggressive. It helps with the manic hallucinations and the insomnia, as well as keeps me out of the depression cycle. I'm 17 now, and haven't had acne for years. I've noticed a small amount on my face lately and am wondering if it could be from this medication??

Im 28 and have been on seroquel for 3years and it causes
impotence and insomnia stomic issues. Be Careful

I was taking Lisinipril for high blood pressure and
started taking Seroquel. My nighttime blood pressure
dropped to 80/40. I was going to stop taking the
Seroquel but my doctors said to stop taking the
Lisinipril. Too soon to tell if my high blood pressure
returns. PS I've seen the recommended dosage
for Seroquel is 300 - 400 mg a day. I only take
50 mg at bedtime to help with my insomnia, a
primary symptom of the mania I experience with
my scizoaffective disorder.