Prescribed seroquel in combination with alcohol abuse

[silversoul14]

So Someone I know is diagnosed bipolar 1. And doesn't know much about this website. But doesn't know where else to go. This person has been prescribed to seroquel at 600mg in the evening. For the 5 years that they have taken this a large amount of alcohol has always been consumed. Well, this same person has tried to stop drinking and take this same dosage and it has caused SERIOUS panic attacks after consumption. To the point where they have discontinued the seroquel. Which isn't good when being bipolar. Does anyone know any correlation between seroquel and alcohol consumption and then taking it alone? The panic attacks have caused emergency room visits. Can anyone give any input that is helpful and not condemning? Has 5 years of alcohol and seroquel lead to the discontinuation of seroquel alone?

 

[Boku_]

This someone you know who is diagnosed with bipolar needs to see his Doctor or Psychiatrist that had originally prescribed the seroquel. It's entirely possible that your friend is going through alcohol withdrawals seeing as you said your friend was drinking large amounts of alcohol for 5 years and has now stopped drinking all of a sudden. I find it hard to believe a anti-psychotic medication like seroqeul would cause a panic attack. If anything stopping alcohol cold turkey after 5 years of heavy drinking would cause serious panic attacks.

Best to seek proper medical advice as to stop taking 600mg Seroquel without tapering off under medical supervision is unsafe and dangerous. People don't realise this but anti-psychotic meds like seroquel are serious medications that if you stop abruptly can lead to negative withdrawal symptoms like severe anxiety and insomnia. Another term for anti-psychotics withdrawals is anti-psychotic discontinuation syndrome.

 

[d1nach]

I agree with boku its probably alcohol withdrawl not due to the seroquel. Why not tell the doctor that you tried stopping drinking and had a panic attack and where wondering if something could be added to the seroquel so i dont feel overwhelmed when i dont drink

 

[nancy145]

I'm gonna answer your question, so read the whole reply. I just wanna say first that you don't need to say it's someone else, you can just say it's you. We all know it's you, saying it isn't you doesn't provide any legal protection, this website is completely legal, and you won't get in trouble for incriminating yourself on bluelight because the government doesn't seek out individual users to allow these websites to exist and be used. Unless they think you are the head of a large heroin ring or anything worse, they won't do anything about you. Everything you're talking about in your post is legal anyway.
To answer your question, I'm a bit confused about how the seroquel is worsening panic attacks due to alcohol withdrawal. Seroquel normally helps with panic attacks. However, everyone reacts to drugs differently, so for whatever reason the seroquel is probably worsening it. Talk to your psychiatrist about taking another bipolar medicine. Lithium is probably your best option here. Lamictal would be very helpful as well, but you need to gradually increase the dose for a period of 1-2 months until you get to an effective dose because it can have serious side effects of you start off with a normal dose immediately. Consider it after this problem is resolved. You could also use another antipsychotic/atypical antipsychotic, such as Zyprexa or Abilify, but you may react the same way to those as seroquel. If all else fails, try busparione. It works very well with the people it does work for, but does not work for most people. Avoid benzodiazepines. They would be the #1 most effective drug here, but are very addictive. They're also similar to alcohol in the way they work in your brain, so if you were a hard alcoholic it is almost certain you will develop an even worse addiction to a benzo. Talk to your psychiatrist about all of this, but take his advise over mine. Im basically trying to give your doctor suggestions, not prescribe you something myself. I hope all goes well

 

[T. Calderone]

Silversoul are you still with us? It's not a good idea to abruptly stop using Seroquel or any other psych meds. Have you considered getting help for alcohol dependency? It's likely these symptoms of panic will keep returning each time you go without drinking. Alcohol withdrawal can also be deadly.