• 💊 OTHER DRUGS 💊 Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads 1 Notable Threads 2
    Dangerous Combos Addiction Support
    Emergency Services Benzo Guide v.1
    Addiction Stories Scary Case Studies
    Biology, Pharmacology & Drugs 101
  • Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Misc Adverse Side effects from taking Seroquel?

P

pstyles89

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Messages
135
Hello everyone. I suffer from chronic insomnia and have taken pretty much all prescription sleep aids with varying degrees of success. The only sleep aid that seemed to work for me was seroquel(quetiapine), which as i'm sure most know is not usually used as a sleep aid but rather as a atypical antipsychotic. Anyways I took Seroquel for almost two years with absolutely no side effects and no tolerance increase. Then one night I began getting some bad RLS symptoms where I literally could not sit still all night. I was tired but really hyperactive at the same time. I quit taking it in exchange for xanax temporarily, then, hoping things would return to normal, I began my seroquel again. Same adverse effects. Has anyone else heard/experienced anything like this? I talked to my doc about it but she said she had not heard of anything like it. I hate taking benzos for sleep and would love to return to seroquel, but I dont want to experience those awful side effects again. Someone please give me some insight.

Also, as a side note, since my insomnia isn't intermittent, I need a sleep aid that can be taken long term with little/no dependency issues. My doc gives me temazepam when I dont sleep for long periods of time but its usually only temporary. I've tried so many things and besides seroquel, nothing has worked. Suggestions would be wonderful. Thanks
 
I too use Seroquel for insomnia and I've never had any unpleasant side effects from it, apart from the sedated feeling you get the next day. Some people react badly to it though, getting akathisia (intense restlessness - possibly like you described), tachycardia, and even tardive dyskinesia. Personally, I only get the akathisia from more potent typical anti-psychotics like Haldol.

If you want to continue the Seroquel minus the restlessness, I'd recommend taking it with a benzo such as diazepam, but on a low dose to minimise tolerance/dependence. Either that or try cutting down the dose of the Seroquel that you're taking, if you haven't tried that already.
 
I take Zyprexa (olanzapine) (also an atypical antipsychotic) and the only time that i had those effects was when i was in jail.. oh my fuckin god it sucked. Imagine being in a little cell and not being able to sit still, i would rock back and forth on my "bed".
But it doesn't do it anymore, i've been on it about 3 years (same length i've been on suboxone).
I don't take it for insomnia tho. I take it for Bipolar along with an arsenal of 5 million other life dominating meds :| (including the haloperidol that the above poster mentioned.)

EDIT: To help with it you could take a benzo with it like already mentioned, or propranolol (sp?) is also used for it. It's a beta blocker but crosses the BBB unlike atenolol, and has sedating and calming effects on the mind and body. Maybe ask about it at your next dr appt? i believe the brand name for it is Inderal, but i could be wrong.. a quick search will answer that. Good Luck.
 
Last edited:
Its funny you say take it with a benzo because whenever I experienced the symptoms as you described xanax was really the only thing that helped. I know some people do get tardive dyskinesia from antipyschotics but from what I understand that is mostly upper body/mouth twitches which I never experienced.

I looked up akathisia like you said sweet p and that seems to be it down to the T. I guess it is possible to get from seroquel, but is a rare side effect which would probably explain why my doc was not familiar with it. I have not taken seroquel in about 6 months now, but would like to return to it if I wont encounter the extreme restlessness again. I took it for 2 years before I experienced any discomfort, so i wonder if I started again would the symptoms eventually return?

Also, does anyone else eat a lot on seroquel? I used to tear the fridge up before bed. thanks for the info guys much appreciated
 
Never was a fan of the stuff.

About six years ago, my doctor prescribed Seroquel for my bipolar disorder. It took me weeks to adjust to the overwhelming sedative effects of the medication. I chose to stop taking the pills after about a month because I didn't care for the side effects either. The most uncomfortable sensations I remember noticing were extreme dizziness, cardiac arrythmia (which was very frightening to me at the time), a feeling of being unable to properly breathe, major confusion and lack of coordination, and 'blackout' episodes (periods of time in a trance-like state during which I would perform tasks and have no memory of doing so). Most of all, I was just so doggone tired all the time. I felt like a zombie.

A few years after that, I was given a prescription for Seroquel to help with insomnia on an as-needed basis. The dose was much lower than the previous prescription. (It was between 25 and 50 mg, compared to the 100 to 150 mg I was taking before.) I rarely took them, however, due to the uncomfortable feeling in my body that would linger throughout the whole next day, as well as the awful dizzy feeling I would get right before falling asleep that caused my heart to race and beat erratically.

I prefer AmBien for insomnia. Those don't make me feel hung over the next day or 'drugged out,' they simply help me along when I want to get a good night's rest.
 
i've just read about interactions with benzos but i think they are worried of you becoming too sedated. now tramadol would be dangerous to take with that, but it works wonders for my rls, it knocks me right the fuck out at night, and wakes me right up in the day, odd.

ANYWAY, i would recommend ambien or benzo with it. if you are taking "quil" for life then adding a benzo for life isn't much worse if you are prescribed. your tolerance will increase though.

ask your doctor about maybe tramadol (good for rls) WITH xanax for helping with the seizure issues, but that could be pushing it pretty far though, depending on the tramadol dose and seroquel dose.
 
I have similar sleep problems at take Trazodone, also a non-narcotic drug used as a sleep aid. It works for me, ask your doctor.
 
This question seems to get asked all the time on BL for some reason.

I have used Seroquel (100mg) for depression and for sleep. Currently I'm not taking it because of the price of the drug, but during the 5 or 6 years that I was taking it I never noticed any negative side effects at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top