Seroquel and melatonin

started taking seoquel 25 mg an hour before sleep, then 50 mg. went up to 75mg because i wasn't "tired" enough to sleep. it was working okay, but my friends had warned me that i might experience weight gain and absolutely uncontrollable hunger for carbs and sweets. and as a 46 yo woman that already weighed 200 lbs. that was not a happy prospect. but i ignored that; maybe it would be different for me. btw, i am diagnosed as bipolar 2 and am taking lamotrigine, celexa, lithium and now seroquel. i was in a couple months ago for anxiety and loss of time, for lack of a better term. my pdoc told be to get off the 75mg of benadryl i was taking and gave me samples of seroquel to help me sleep, etc.. so, after experiencing weight gain, sore breasts, bigger stomach (i don't have a scale), labored breathing when walking to the freakin' mailbox and feeling like a truck has run over me for at least half the day, then anxiety immediately following, i have decided to pitch the seroquel. also, i am going off lithium and my blood pressure med (i was taking that for migraines associated with pre menstruation and now am menopausal). i'm going to start melatonin again (which i used for years and it worked) when i'm weaned off the evil seroquel... sigh. and no, the docs DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT GAIN!!!! THEY JUST WANT TO KEEP YOU ALIVE AND UPRIGHT IF POSSIBLE! i'm more depressed knowing i could easily balloon upwards to god-knows-what. so if your doc hands you "free" samples of seroquel, please keep track of your symptoms. maybe it will work for you but be cautious, please!

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.

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.