• BASIC DRUG
    DISCUSSION
    Welcome to Bluelight!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Benzo Chart Opioids Chart
    Drug Terms Need Help??
    Drugs 101 Brain & Addiction
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums
  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Low-dose Quetiapine / Lorazepam questions and comparison

L

Lord

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 10, 2010
Messages
803
What is the lowest dose of Quetiapine (A.K.A. Seroquel) per pill? I have heard of 10mg tablets but I can't find much information about anything below 25mg.

How would 10mg Quetiapine compare with 1mg Lorazepam for insomnia, positives and negatives, assuming my tolerance to both is low?

While you're at it, how about anxiety and paranoia? I'm sure I can find information on this one... but those specific dosages?

edit:
I have experience with Lorazepam. My tolerance is high right now, but way back when 1-2mg worked for mild anxiety and insomnia, 3-4mg for mild paranoia and psychotic symptoms. Lorazepam doesn't really work for anything beyond mild symptoms.
 
Last edited:
I believe the lowest dose of Quetiapine is 25mg. I've never taken Quetiapine in a 10mg dose but 25mg is more potent than 1-2mg Lorazepam in its ability to knock you out and get you to sleep. Hard to compare the two because one is a "major" tranquillizer and the other a "minor" Tranquillizer (as they are labeled). So its hard to make an equivalence. Very hard to compare the two for anxiety. I couldn't begin to answer that.
 
K'd-OUT-in-AZ said:
I believe the lowest dose of Quetiapine is 25mg. I've never taken Quetiapine in a 10mg dose but 25mg is more potent than 1-2mg Lorazepam in its ability to knock you out and get you to sleep. Hard to compare the two because one is a "major" tranquillizer and the other a "minor" Tranquillizer (as they are labeled). So its hard to make an equivalence. Very hard to compare the two for anxiety. I couldn't begin to answer that.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your honesty. It's better to say you don't know than to post bullshit.
However I can only expect general or vague answers so I still appreciate guesses from people who have a lot of experience.
 
seroquel is powerful antipsychotic with extremely sedating properties. it will put you to sleep without fail, as i use it to come down of methamphetamine and once it hits i'm out cold. positives are it will put you out and its not addictive like a benzo, it also won't build tolerance as fast as a benzo. negatives are the list of possible adverse effects antipsychotics can have(this is ususally at full antipsychotic doses, but seroquel has less of these risks than other antipsychotics and you won't need that high of a dose for sleep), groggy feeling in the morning, and possible drug interactions due to its blocking of certain receptors.

lorazepam(and benzos in general) are effective insomnia treatments and are generally well tolerated. they are also physicaly addictive, mentally habit forming, and can have serious withdrawl symptoms. tolerance builds relatively quickly, esp. to the hypnotic effects. benzos are safe as they are very difficult to overdose on by themselves, unlike the older barbiturates. however combined with alcohol, opiates, or other CNS depressants they can be dangerous. lorazepam is generally classified as a high potency benzo, so problems like tolerance and dependence are more likely than weaker benzos.

in conclusion: seroquel may be better for every night use, and you won't run risks of addiction. lorazepam is good for an "as needed" basis and is effective at first but addiction is quite possible if used frequently. note also that seroquel is a more powerful sedative, but is also a powerful antipsychotic and has risks due to that action.
 
25 mg is the lowest formulation available here. The usual dose for sleeping is between 50 mg and 100 mg. At those low doses it acts primarily as an antihistamine, it's antipsychotic properties kick in at higher doses - between 200 mg and 800 mg per day is the usual range when it's being used as an antipsychotic.
 
25mg is the lowest dose of seroquel ive seen in Canada anyway and i can't see less then that being of much use. You can't compare the 2 drugs at all really but for sleep i don't find lorazepam to be of any good but seroquel knocks most people right out.
 
If you hadn't mentioned psychotic symptoms I would have advised you against using Seroquel for insomnia, to be honest. It's risk profile is significant enough that its use should probably be reserved for treating major mental health disorders.

My shrink happened to mention during my appointment today that 200 mg is about the dose of Seroquel used for anxiety disorders.
 
Last edited:
I used a HALF** of a 50mg Seroquel XR tablet, then another half shortly before going to bed. I noticed anticholinergic effects similar to a few benadryl before some very mild antipsychotic effects. It reminded me of risperidone which I was on for a few months when I was eight years old, the way videogames and movies look (very direct, limited view) That shit made me slow for a while even at 1mg/day.

Seroquel made my body race a bit on the inside, kind of a restless feeling, and I couldn't stop moving in bed. I have always had a bit of anxiety, nothing severe. But the paranoia and psychotic symptoms came from the drugs. Really, stopping drugs is what I should do. I don't think Seroquel is for me.
 
Last edited:
There is a name for that restless feeling but I forgot what it was. Its what anti-psychotics produce sometimes. I get it when I wake in the morning, not at night. But now I'm on Risperidone which isn't as bad and still helps with sleep. Surprised the Seroquel didn't get you to sleep, it usually does for people.
 
K'd-OUT-in-AZ said:
There is a name for that restless feeling but I forgot what it was. Its what anti-psychotics produce sometimes. I get it when I wake in the morning, not at night. But now I'm on Risperidone which isn't as bad and still helps with sleep. Surprised the Seroquel didn't get you to sleep, it usually does for people.
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akathisia

I was on seroquel in inpatient rehab coming off opiates. I took those pills twice and even in my barbiturate induced haze I refused to take them again. I understand that some people legitimately need anti-psychotics for shit like schizophrenia but IMO they are becoming extremely over prescribed. I even saw a ad for seroquel XR as a depression treatment yesterday.

Drugs effect everyone differently but I never will understand how people can bring themselves to take stuff like seroquel.
 
K'd-OUT-in-AZ said:
There is a name for that restless feeling but I forgot what it was. Its what anti-psychotics produce sometimes. I get it when I wake in the morning, not at night. But now I'm on Risperidone which isn't as bad and still helps with sleep. Surprised the Seroquel didn't get you to sleep, it usually does for people.
Click to expand...

It made me sleep but it was quite uncomfortable. For sleep, I far prefer my multi-drug + benzo/zopiclone binges despite the side-effects. Although perhaps the 15 Benadryl can be left out (and has been for a while).

p.s. I got very short but unique visual distortions and thoughts around the beginning.
p.s.s. Actually it WAS a whole pill (I edited to 1/2 a pill). my memory is so skewed from a single fucking pill...
 
Last edited:
^^^

There are certainly instances where it's entirely justified to prescribe antipsychotics to people with major unipolar depression, but the idea of it being advertised to consumers as an antidepressant is quite disturbing.

Many of the manufacturers of atypical antipsychotics have been fined in the past over their promotion of off-label uses (the fines have been hundreds of millions of dollars) and there are still class actions before the courts in respect of some of them.

My own experience has been that certain drugs go through cycles of popularity and that there's always a drug du jour which is currently in fashion and being overprescribed - it was bad enough when SSRIs were that drug but it should never happen with the atypical antipsychotics.
 
an easy cure for seroquel induced restlessness is a low dose of a benzo with decent muscle relaxant properties such as clonazepam or diazepam. this will also help with any dysphoria and/or anxiety from the seroquel.

i do this when coming down of meth, the seroquel knocks me out and prevents me from craving and wanting to binge while the benzo offsets the restlessness and "bad feelings" of both the seroquel and the comedown. the benzo also gives the seroquel a "boost" and makes sure i'm out cold and i stay asleep the whole night.
 
Personal experience with both

Hi, i dnt normally post on these things but I read this and wanted to give you my opinion as I have used both meds. I suffer from depression for which I take 40mg of fluoxetine a day and i have quite severe anxiety issues. To first start treating my anxiety my doctor started me on cognitive behavioural therapy. It wasnt until things got really bad that i practically begged him for some lorazepam. reluctantly he agreed as he knows my history of drug abuse(I havnt taken illegal drugs for years by the way) and didnt want me to become dependant. He started by giving me twenty 1mg pills at a time and these were supposed to last me a month, the idea being that i only had them when I really needed them and half every night for my insomnia. I didnt imagine id have any problems as ive never really liked the effects of benzos so i knew i wasnt gonna take them just for 'shits and giggles.' I underestimated the pull a drug like lorazepam has and 20 pills never lasted me a month. within a week i was taking two during the day and two at night to sleep. the need to take more for the same affect developed really quikly. everytime i ran out, i wouldnt go back to my doctor str8 away coz i thort hed judge me. so every couple of weeks i would have to stop them cold turkey and go through hell detoxing for 3days suffering panic attacks where i couldnt breathe and getting myself drunk just to calm down. After a few months of this i couldnt take it anymore so i confessed to my doctor and (again) begged him for something different that I wouldnt develop a tolerance to, would help me sleep and with my anxiety. He decided I should try quetiapine, starting on the lowest dose of 25mgs and increasing until I found the right level for me. Quetiapine has been the best med ever, i now take 75-100mg everynight before bed. It made weaning off lorazepam very easy. It has no noticible side affects such as bad memory loss which i got from lorazepam. I sleep like a baby every night. It also has a follow on antianxiety effect which lasts the through next day. If i decide not to take or miss a dose there are no nasty affects other than not being able to sleep because of insomnia. A VERY long story short...... I would never gor back to using lorazepam and quetiapine is a life saver. I dont want to offer you any advice on what is right for you, just thought my experience may help. feel free to email me with any questions
Hayden
 
Lolie said:
^^^

There are certainly instances where it's entirely justified to prescribe antipsychotics to people with major unipolar depression, but the idea of it being advertised to consumers as an antidepressant is quite disturbing.

Many of the manufacturers of atypical antipsychotics have been fined in the past over their promotion of off-label uses (the fines have been hundreds of millions of dollars) and there are still class actions before the courts in respect of some of them.

My own experience has been that certain drugs go through cycles of popularity and that there's always a drug du jour which is currently in fashion and being overprescribed - it was bad enough when SSRIs were that drug but it should never happen with the atypical antipsychotics.
Click to expand...

I'm prescribed it for bipolar depression.
 
si it just me or does seroquel not make me sleepy? even lights off just reading a light book. lorazepam make me drowsy as hell cant even finish typing something
 
cassius14 said:
si it just me or does seroquel not make me sleepy? even lights off just reading a light book. lorazepam make me drowsy as hell cant even finish typing something
Click to expand...
No, you're not the only one!

Quetiapine doesn't touch me at all. I've tried all different doses at different times, ranging from 25 mg - 200 mg. Nothing! Nothing at all. Infact nothing will put me to sleep. I'm completely tolerant to Benzos, Barbs, Z Drugs, Pregabalin etc. I've tried all the OTC stuff, including all the so called sedating 1st generation antihistamines. I've tried the so called sedating anti depressants, like, Amitriptyline, Mirtazapine, Trazodone, Dosulepin.

Oh yeah, I also exercise, eat a very healthy diet etc etc. But nothing helps slow down my mind no matter how tired my body may be.

Any suggestions?
 
pr0d1gy said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akathisia

I was on seroquel in inpatient rehab coming off opiates. I took those pills twice and even in my barbiturate induced haze I refused to take them again. I understand that some people legitimately need anti-psychotics for shit like schizophrenia but IMO they are becoming extremely over prescribed. I even saw a ad for seroquel XR as a depression treatment yesterday.

Drugs effect everyone differently but I never will understand how people can bring themselves to take stuff like seroquel.
Click to expand...

I have bipolar disorder and i take 300-400mg's of Seroquel a day. It's sedating effects have mostly worn off by now plus i find that Bupropion kind of counteracts the shit side effects of Seroquel such as low blood pressure. I find Seroquel to be so so for bipolar disorder but it's nowhere good as Zyprexa or especially Zyprexa Zydis (the wafers) in controlling my symptoms. Also unlike Zyprexa Seroquel is useless for treating a emergency manic or mixed state as it takes a good week for it to fully kick in. Too bad my insurance doesn't cover Zyprexa and it's costs a fortune because it works the best with no side effects for me. So when it comes to the atypicals i can only get Seroquel and Risperidone covered. Risperidone i find has nasty side effects such as the zombie effect once i get to 2mg's or above which is usually what i need to do anything. Also i find it to be unreliable in treating bipolar as it does not always work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top