Seroquel dose question

[effie]

Hope it works for you kaiba. It is definitely not a great first-line treatment for insomnia, but I appreciate that you have tried most things.. I presume you've tried all the simple sleep-hygiene stuff? It sounds silly but it really does help (having a routine, only using your bed for sleep, no TV/computer for an hour or so before bed, no caffeine or sugar in the latter half of the day, warm bath, milky drink, making yourself get up at a reasonable time even if you are tired etc..)

Quick tip - if you want to reply to several people at once, click the multiquote button (bottom right corner) for the first post then the normal quote button for the second. You can multiquote as many people as you like, just keep checking that button

 

[Doug2113]

Just an extension on that tip, you can also multiquote a couple of people and then go to the next page and multiquote them as well and just hit the post reply at the bottom of the page between the last post and the quick reply box.

 

[painenduser]

The doctor prescribe me 25 mg IR for sleep/insomnia. After a while, I wanted to try 100 mg IR for sleep/insomnia, the doctor agreed. After that, I sort of preferred to take 25 mg to 50 mg for sleep/insomnia - so I use a pill cutter to divide/cut the 100 mg IR tablets.

I never tried to break up / cut an XR pill as I thought it broke down the binders that make it XR. By cutting it in half I would have expected it to become more of a 50 IR. I'm not really sure with sql though.

 

[effie]

^ it depends on the XR mechanism, whether it is due to a coating or something within the pill.. most are the latter AFAIK.

 

[painenduser]

^ True and thats kind of what I was getting at however if you break up the pill and lets say its got the XR mixed into the binders in the pill and not the coating, the coating may still contribute to the delay as it may need to travel further down the digestion tract say down into the small intestine before it starts releasing the active ingredients in the meds. Also when you cut the same type tab, it is no longer tightly bound together and may still release way faster then intended. It's just something to becareful of. The patient information sheet usually will tell you if it's ok to cut an XR, SR, EX, whatever type pill and thats usually based on whether the med can still worrk as an extended release if broken.

 

[whorechild]

Yeah I was prescribed 400mg xr in the morning and 600mg IR at night.

However I still think it's heavily over prescribed as a sedative. It really shouldn't be used as such. My current Prof is writing a paper to try get it removed from the prescribed medicines list.

The thought of being on a gram of quetiapine daily makes me CRINGE!

25mg has always been useful to me, but I have only ever had the need to use it as a utility drug.

I would highly recommend anyone who dabbles in psychedelics to try and nab a sample from your doctor to have just in case.

That advice was especially useful to me one lucky day when a certain mad scientist mixed up his phenethylamines.

 

[effie]

Definitely, it is always something worth bearing in mind. The act of cutting up a pill increases the surface area:volume ratio so even if it isn't due to the coating, it can still speed up the release. Good point

 

[painenduser]

Definitely, it is always something worth bearing in mind. The act of cutting up a pill increases the surface area:volume ratio so even if it isn't due to the coating, it can still speed up the release. Good point

I always like to keep those little pointers in mind, especially here being this is a "Harm Reduction" site..

 

[skillz~4~thrillz]

as a long time taker(as prescribed by my psychiatrist for Bipolar 1) of seroquel here is my contribution to this thread and HARM REDUCTION ...you have to stay it for a while for the side effects-like sedation-to wear off. I do prefer the 300mgs XR I am now prescribed over the 300mgs IR I initially was on for years prior to the XR form...my adjustment to the XR was much easier and quicker than IR...also if you miss a dose- as i had often done in the past-the XR doesn't seem to hit you as hard as the IR. but everyone is different and react differently to different meds and also what the med is prescribed for. Follow your Doctor's orders(this should be a psychiatrist and not a GP or any MD-paragraph below explains why). If you have a problem consult them before making a change or discontinuing ANY medication.

Also,seroquel (more info than you could ever want on this)is an atypical anti-psychotic-i don't understand why it would be prescribed for anything thing other than mood disorders-like bipolar disorder-or schizophrenia-unless done so by a Physician other than a Psychiatrist. as far as recreational use-i see a lot of posts about ppl using it this way,but i cannot for the life of me imagine why.


be safe and stay safe..............skillz

 

[Doug2113]

i see a lot of posts about ppl using it this way,but i cannot for the life of me imagine why.

There are A LOT of kids that no matter what it is/what it does for you, as long as it fucks you up, it's awesome. I have no idea why either, but apparently being sedated to the point of staying awake makes you go nuts if you try to stay awake and auditory hallucinations is just awesome for some people. Like I said, I have no idea why the fuck people would want to take this recreational either. Kids just don't give a fuck, I guess.

And is it odd that I'm prescribed it for depression?

 

[painenduser]

And is it odd that I'm prescribed it for depression?

No, not really as most people suffering from depression also suffer from some time of mania (possibly bipolar) or anxiety, this is where the seroquel comes in. It suppresses you down to a point where the mania from the depression or bipolar tends to even out the highs and lows and because of it's sedative effects it calms down the anxiety. While it is not considered an anti depressant, it is often prescribed with anti depressants as well, prescribed for uses other then for what it is indicated for. This is true for many anti-psychotic medications.


This is from PubMed Health on Seroquel:

Quetiapine tablets and extended-release (long-acting) tablets are used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia (a mental illness that causes disturbed or unusual thinking, loss of interest in life, and strong or inappropriate emotions). Quetiapine tablets and extended-release tablets are also used alone or with other medications to treat or prevent episodes of mania (frenzied, abnormally excited or irritated mood) or depression in patients with bipolar disorder (manic depressive disorder; a disease that causes episodes of depression, episodes of mania, and other abnormal moods). Quetiapine extended-release tablets are also used along with other medications to treat depression. Quetiapine tablets may be used as part of a treatment program to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in children. Quetiapine is in a class of medications called atypical antipsychotics. It works by changing the activity of certain natural substances in the brain.

For example:

Neurontin (Gabapentin) - Originally and anti - seizure drug, now mainly used for nerve pain and a mood stabilizer in bipolar and depression cases.
Remeron - Indicated for depression, now often given for sleep / insomnia.
Trazadone - Indicated for depression - Now often given to people with a history of alcoholism for insomnia.

So as you can see many drugs may be indicated for one issue but often prescribed for other treatments.

 

[Doug2113]

I knew about the gabapentin for the nerve pain, didn't know about the mood stabilizing effects though, nice one. I've never even heard of Remeron, but I also knew that Trazadone, being indicated for depression, was also used to treat insomnia. I didn't know it was specifically indicated for insomnia from alcoholism, but my mom was prescribed it for sleep when she was depressed when winn-dixie moved out of texas, leaving my dad unemployed from the job he had for 27 years. Ya, that's right, my dad is 52 and he's only on his second job in his entire life lol. Started as a bag boy at 16, at some point went to the meat market, and for the last 15 years or so was manager of it. Now he makes half that much money doing ground maintenance for the local school district (he's happy cause all he has to do is mow, which is basically his hobby at the house (keeping the yard pretty), because he has such a stress free job). And no, my mom has never been an alcoholic lol. She MIGHT have a total of 5 daiquiris per year lol. This is getting way off topic though, thanks for the answer pain.

 

[Violenza666]

Shit, I have slept on low doses of seroquel. My ex always used to be late for work so his bosses old lady would give him 25mg of seroquel after work and 20 minutes later it would be lights out... He stopped taking it because he never got to eat dinner or do anything... I also thought it was pretty fucked up of her to give him meds like that without telling him what it was... this was years ago... I got some for insomnia that I would take here and there.. but not now... I won't touch the shit now though.... It causes diabetes.

 

[painenduser]

Shit, I have slept on low doses of seroquel. My ex always used to be late for work so his bosses old lady would give him 25mg of seroquel after work and 20 minutes later it would be lights out... He stopped taking it because he never got to eat dinner or do anything... I also thought it was pretty fucked up of her to give him meds like that without telling him what it was... this was years ago... I got some for insomnia that I would take here and there.. but not now... I won't touch the shit now though.... It causes diabetes.

Wow, thats some fucked up shit man, I can't believe what I just read, Turns out that seroquel can in fact cause type 2 diabetes among other issues. Had I known this when I was on it I'd have been taken off immediately, luckily I got off it real fast for its extreme drowsiness which is actually a side effect which is why Dr's are perscibing it for insomnia or "off label" issues. I know that we can't talk legal stuff on this site but I think it's ok to mention this since this is a harm reduction site. There is a patient class action law suit against AstraZeneca the makers of seroquel due to the side effect of diabetes.

I'm not going to post the link due to it being a link to a law firm advertising for this lawsuit and I don't think that would be with in proper rules of this site so here is just a snippet from what I just read.

The onset of Type 2 diabetes is only one of the known Seroquel® side effects. Increased drowsiness is one of the main Seroquel® side effects. It is so common, in fact, that some physicians prescribe Seroquel® to combat insomnia and other sleep disorders. The sedative attributes of the drug have led to some cases of Seroquel® abuse.

More serious, but less common, Seroquel® side effects include the neurological disorders of tardive dyskinesia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. There are also some claims that Seroquel® causes serious injuries to the kidneys, liver, and pancreas and may possibly be linked to such major health issues as seizures, heart disease, and blindness.

I guess what I'm taking from this is take at your own risk!!

Mods could you let me know if posting the link would be ok as their is a little more interesting things about this or just leave it out due to what 'i stated which is being a law firms advertising page?

 

[tunatacozav]

yes very intersting information on seraqerals seqerels sorry spelling, fuck it anyway i just also ate a xanax 3mg xr triangle shaped pill.. i had laying around i have one more left anyway sorry again first time posting.... i had 2 300mg seqerals one time and ya def put you out i ate half one that time. the other time i snorted little bits and pieces here and there and that seemed much better not as intense nodding more like i feel asleep standing up at my work bench in my basement building my rc piper cub wtf. ive got one seraqel left though il prob just snort little bits if i need to come down from coke here and there. and lyrica i found helps dramatically with opiate withdrawal for some reason it did for me big time higher doses though 300mg to 600mg, or snort one 50mg and take 200mg if in bad withdrawal. peace out bluelighters!

 

[Doug2113]

You REALLY shouldn't mess with Seroquel. They're a chemical that I feel uneasy about having in the medicine cabinet simply for fear that someone accidentally take it, and I keep 240 Tramadols, 180 Gabapentins, 90 Flexorils, and an unknown number of pills of a C-II Clinical Research Chemical/Placebo in my medicine cabinet.

 

[effie]

Painenduser, I think people can google it if they want to get more information on the lawsuit - I'd not be keen on there being a link to a law firm here.. Very interesting though, thank you for sharing!

People take antipsychotics far too lighytly IMO - they can have a lot of side effects, both acute adverse reactions and long term effects. It's always a balance weighing up the pros and cons of taking a medication, and it is something that should always be discussed with your doctor.

Kaiba, I think your question has been answered now so am going to close this. Any queries, shoot me a pm