Seroquel and night sweats

[paranoid android]

I have been taking seroquel on and off now for about 6 years for treating my bipolar disorder. I also take 200mg's of lamotrigine and 300mg's of wellbutrin (bupropion) a day to help it as well. The lamictal is the main medication i take to stabilize my moods and it usually works pretty well. But my moods have been very bad lately as i have been mostly depressed but occasionally manic as well. Lamotrigine does not always control the mania hence the need for a anti-psychotic. Also seroquel does help with the depression side of bipolar when i take it with lamotrigine and wellbutrinso that is another positive for me.

However the worst or atleast most annoying side effect i get from seroquel is the night sweats that i get from it. When i start taking it again i sweat in my sleep so bad that you can see the fucking imprint of where i slept ffs. I don't know why seroquel does this to me as none of the other atypical anti-psychotics Ive had which where risperidone and zyprexa(olanzapine). I have also taken Thorazine/Largactil (chlorpromazine) and Methotrimeprazine aka Levomepromazine which is a anti-psychotic that is only half as potent as chlorpromazine but is much more drowsy. These also did not cause any night sweats.

I am fairly limited in my selection of anti-psychotics because the only atypicals that are covered are seroquel and risperdal. That sucks because zyprexa really works well for me but even the generic version costs a fortune so i only get a few on occasion and keep them for emergencies. There are always the typicals but i really don't want to take haldol or something.


So what could actually be causing the night sweats? This side effect really sucks because i always have to change the sheets because of the sweating. It's that fucking bad . I would also like to know if anyone else has had the same problem with seroquel and if there is any way to help with this side effect.

 

[blight12]

Just my experience, I take nightly for sleep 300mg and dont get this side effect. Pehaps an interaction with your other meds. Also what are your dosages?

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

OP is there any other drug you're using. I would bet that its not because of the Seroquel. I'm not trying to call you out but I have read that you take opiates; perhaps your sweating is due to opiate withdrawal.

Also, do you just, just get sweats or is it associated with a mental feeling. What other changes happen when you get on Seroquel.

We don't diagnose or treat illnesses here but I'm willing to bet that a lack of information is what stalls this thread.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Sweating is a know side effect of Seroquel. It can also be a symptom of a serious adverse reaction called Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome or NMS. NMS is a potentially fatal complication of antipsychotic medications such as Seroquel. If you have some of the following symptoms please see your doctor:
high fever
muscular rigidity
rapid heartbeat
altered mental state
tremor
dark urine
profuse sweating
rapid breathing
incontinence

Of course as Ho-Chi-Minh mentioned there could also be other causes for the night sweats. It can be hard to know where specific side effects are coming from when you take a number of different drugs.

I have heard of many others having night sweats and/or sweating in general from Seroquel but I don't know if there is a huge amount you can do to stop it other than switching to a different drug. You could shower before bed, keep your room cool (but not too cold), and use only natural bedding - NO synthetic down/polyester/etc, all-cotton sheets, etc. Here is a list of natural ways to reduce excessive sweating.

 

[Tripman]

I would say it is due to quetiapine's (seroquel) strong anti-histamine properties.

Ho-chi, night sweats is a known side effect of Seroquel, I got it constantly when I was on quetiapine daily.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

ok I stand corrected

 

[paranoid android]

Seroquel is Satan incarnate. Stop taking it.

And mania or worse mixed states are hell. I need a atypical anti-psychotic for bipolar disorder. Besides the sweating i don't get much else in the way of side effects besides dry mouth that sucks bad.

Sweating is a know side effect of Seroquel. It can also be a symptom of a serious adverse reaction called Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome or NMS. NMS is a potentially fatal complication of antipsychotic medications such as Seroquel. If you have some of the following symptoms please see your doctor:
high fever
muscular rigidity
rapid heartbeat
altered mental state
tremor
dark urine
profuse sweating
rapid breathing
incontinence

Of course as Ho-Chi-Minh mentioned there could also be other causes for the night sweats. It can be hard to know where specific side effects are coming from when you take a number of different drugs.

I have heard of many others having night sweats and/or sweating in general from Seroquel but I don't know if there is a huge amount you can do to stop it other than switching to a different drug. You could shower before bed, keep your room cool (but not too cold), and use only natural bedding - NO synthetic down/polyester/etc, all-cotton sheets, etc. Here is a list of natural ways to reduce excessive sweating.

Yeah i am on 150mg's of morphine a day, hydromorphone when i can get it, as well as clonazepam 4-6mg's a day (i'm presacribed 6mg's a day but usually only take 4mg's) and gabapentin 3200mg's a day. The morphine and gabapentin i am prescribed is for the really bad nerve pain i get. The clonazepam is for my anxiety as well as mania and my trigeminal neuralgia. So there explains my high dose. I don't think it has much if anything to do with the opiates or clonazepam because every time Ive stopped taking seroquel the night sweats went away. I have also been on my other psych meds lamotrigine and bupropion at the same time and regular dose of the morphine and clonazepam with none of the night sweats. I doubt it neuroleptic malignant syndrome because of how many times Ive been on it.

\it is really annoying so i may just get switched to risperidone which is not my favorite medication but it does not cause real bad night sweats. Either that or i could go on Thorazine, haldol or some other typical. I know it's super hard to figure out what causing it given how many fucking meds i am on and it could very well be some interaction.

I would say it is due to quetiapine's (seroquel) strong anti-histamine properties.

Ho-chi, night sweats is a known side effect of Seroquel, I got it constantly when I was on quetiapine daily.

I know 2 other people that got night seats so bad from seroquel that they switched over to other anti-psychotics. Too bad my insurance doesn't leave me with many options. I can't even get seroquel XR covered to see if that would be more tolerable because the only other atypical covered is risperidone which i have been on before in doses of up to 4mg's. I think you could be right about the strong H1 antagonist effects. It's a strong anti-histamine and maybe that combined with one of my meds is causing the night sweats. Did you get the seating when you where awake? I never got sweating while i was taking seroquel. Did you switch to another anti-psychotic or just forget about them altogether.

I hate the med merry go round so i don;t want to have to change meds again. If ikt keeps up for much longer i am stopping it though.

 

[Tripman]

I never got day time sweats while on seroquel (from memory, it was a while ago).

I switched to chlorpromazine which didn't seem to cause the sweating - however I ended up off all meds so currently i'm not taking either.

I really do believe it is the strong H1 antagonism as many anti-histamines such as diphenhydramine and promethazine give me the same night sweats.

If you are uncomfortable taking risperidone then if you wish to continue down the anti-psych path you will have to look into the typicals, I personally found thorazine (chlorpromazine) more tolerable than seroquel.

 

[ldawg616]

I take 600mg of seqoquel a day and it doesnt give me night sweats soit has to be something else

 

[Tripman]

I take 600mg of seqoquel a day and it doesnt give me night sweats soit has to be something else

IR or XR? and when do you dose?

Also just because you personally haven't experienced a side effect doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's a well documented side effect of taking seroquel

 

[Sweet P]

Interesting thread... I've recently increased my nightly dose of Seroquel (up to 300mg's) and I've also been waking up with bad sweats. It never crossed my mind that the Seroquel could be causing it until now, but it makes sense. I'm on other medication which could be a factor, but the night sweats have definitely got worse since increasing my Seroquel dose.

Seroquel is Satan incarnate. Stop taking it.

What a stupid thing to say. A person prescribed Seroquel for a diagnosed psychiatric disorder should not just "stop taking it."

 

[T. Calderone]

I had better results from Risperidone or Geodon. Seroquel just was too harsh for me. Even though I took it at night and it did help me sleep I felt the effects well into the next day and that was only 100 mg. Every day I felt as if it was making my muscles tired sort of like a hangover effect. Once my speech got all distorted and I couldn't speak properly when I woke up. That's when I tossed them into the bin and my doctor prescribed Depakote.

I don't want to say Seroquel is an evil drug but it affected me badly, but really helped my sister along with Abilify. Everybody responds differently to it. One thing herbal that helped me with the sweats was Black Cohosh and I need to get some more.
Florida endless summer + middle age give me sweats at any given time, with or without meds.

 

[ldawg616]

ir 200 3 times a day one at bedtime w/ 200mg of trazodone 30mg paxil

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I take 600mg of seqoquel a day and it doesnt give me night sweats soit has to be something else

As Tripman and I had both already said, night sweats (or sweating in general) are a known, listed side effect of Seroquel. Not everyone gets every side effect, just like with any other drug. Just because you don't personally experience it doesn't mean others can't. I'd really like to discourage people on here from talking in absolutes and making generalizations like this based solely on their own personal experience. It can sometimes even be dangerous, for example if someone says "I took X dose of Y drug and I was fine, so it's perfectly safe".

paranoid android - It does sound like it's the Seroquel if you're getting the night sweats only when you take the Seroquel and you've ruled out other causes. Maybe tell your doctor about this and see if he/she can recommend anything. Otherwise until then or if you decide to stay on it the only things I can think of that might help a little are the things I mentioned above. Good luck I hate night sweats! I get them from opioid withdrawal myself, or any time I use a non-natural blanket/quilt.

 

[paranoid android]

I never got day time sweats while on seroquel (from memory, it was a while ago).

I switched to chlorpromazine which didn't seem to cause the sweating - however I ended up off all meds so currently i'm not taking either.

I really do believe it is the strong H1 antagonism as many anti-histamines such as diphenhydramine and promethazine give me the same night sweats.

If you are uncomfortable taking risperidone then if you wish to continue down the anti-psych path you will have to look into the typicals, I personally found thorazine (chlorpromazine) more tolerable than seroquel.

Hmm i don't get sweats from diphenhydramine, hydroxyzine or any other anti-histamine Ive tried. Or even mirtazapine which is a strong H1 antagonist and maybe a stronger anti-histamine then even quetiapine. So i don't know.

Ive taken up to 100mg's of chlorpromazine at a time with no problem at all and i never got any zombie effect from it Or any other side effects from it besides some drowsiness which is of course to be expected. Sadly i don't have a shrink at the moment and my doc is wary of giving me any typical anti-psychotics so i don't know wtf I'm going to do about it all but this is pissing me off

 

[Tripman]

Sounds to me like chlorpromazine is a pretty good bet for you. I thought it was a fantastic medication - for what it is.

It's difficult when you have to deal with a GP rather than a psych but maybe you should explain to him/her exactly why you don't want to take seroquel and perhaps explain that in the past you've had great results with chlorpromazine?

I'm sorry you have to deal with this, I hated going through this kind of shit.

 

[Mysterie]

i get night sweats from seroquel as well

i wake up with a really dry mouth and feeling a bit out of it, in a pool of sweat

that happens when i have too many though, perhaps lower your dosage?

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

Seroquel caused me great anxiety and I would wake up soaked and dehydrated... I have been hospitalized on 600 mgs daily.

 

[paranoid android]

Sounds to me like chlorpromazine is a pretty good bet for you. I thought it was a fantastic medication - for what it is.

It's difficult when you have to deal with a GP rather than a psych but maybe you should explain to him/her exactly why you don't want to take seroquel and perhaps explain that in the past you've had great results with chlorpromazine?

I'm sorry you have to deal with this, I hated going through this kind of shit.

Yeah if my GP will go for largactil I'll take it. I must say despite it's reputation it's not a harsh med at all. I hate having to change my sheets so damn much just because they are soaked in sweat. I'm sort of hod blooded anyway and sweat alot cause i feel warm alot but this is way beyond that. Plus something with strong anti-nausea effects would be helpful for me to as well since i sometimes get bad nausea.

i get night sweats from seroquel as well

i wake up with a really dry mouth and feeling a bit out of it, in a pool of sweat

that happens when i have too many though, perhaps lower your dosage?

If i lowred it below 300mg's i might as well switch to something else because it would be pretty useless.

Seroquel caused me great anxiety and I would wake up soaked and dehydrated... I have been hospitalized on 600 mgs daily.

I never got any anxiety from it but yeah certain times i had to go running for the Gatorade in the morning.

 

[The Raven33]

Hello all, this is my first forum post on the site. Glad to be here. Let me tell you, I just started taking Seroquel a few weeks ago to help with my not so normal functioning brain. I got up the first morning and my bed was soaked. I thought that I had wet the bed in my sleep. Of course being the manly man that I am, I covered it up and told noone. Second night, I woke up in a pool of SOMETHING. I was shocked. Of COURSE it was the medicine I thought to myself. So I called my pharmacist the next day. He says that I'm crazy and nope that's not the cause. So, still thinking that I am peeing all over myself, I go to see my doctor. After the usual tests for infection and such he tells me that seroquel doesn't normally cause bed wetting. Okay so I'm at square one. That night I wake up again drowning in something, but this time my body is covered. Naturally I run to the shower, and it dawns on me... I am sweating perfusly. So I put 2 and 2 together. The sweating was SO bad that I was certain I was wetting the bed. But after speaking with my doc again he says OOOOHH YEAH the med can cause sweating (thanks for the late input doc). So I did what any rational person would do. Me, a 26 year old man, went and bought big boy diapers to test it. Much to my wife's horror I wore them for 2 nights (and enjoyed every damned second) and learned that regardless I woke up in a swimming pool.

So as for your question YES Seroquel can cause night sweats. Mine were so severe that I went though an extraordinarily embarrassing time to learn that. But the good news is after a while I got use to the medicine and they slowed down and gradually stopped. Thank God for that. This medicine has been a godsend for me. The side effects were uncomfortable but it gets better. I wish you luck. and many dry nights.