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Seroquel apathy

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adicabrady

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I am diagnosed bipolar.I've been on seroquel for years.It helps me sleep which otherwise is very hard.I have been reading that seroquel causes low energy and apathy.I am afraid to go off of it,but feel like I need to.I wake every morning wishing I was dead.I have no interest in anything I used to do.Anyone have bad experiences with seroquel?
 
Yep that was the #1 reason I stopped it as early as I did (only 3 months). I could NOT wake up in the mornings no matter how early I went to bed. I also had to sleep a minimum of 12 hours a day and even at that point when I woke up I was foggy as shit and it would take another few hours just to feel like I could do things.

I think even if you take provigil you'll still feel the apathy. You might get a bit more energy but I just think seroquel is too strong for provigil to really break through. Although an amphetamine like adderal might work but I would not recommend that.

I think you should talk to your doctor about stopping the seroquel and trying other things that are possibly less sedative overall. There has to be things that work better for bipolar that don't put you in that position. All I know is once I stopped that junk I felt 100times better overall. I couldn't fall asleep as easily but I also didn't need to be in a zombie state 24 hours a day.

The only think you can really do though is talk to your doctor about this. And maybe some other bipolar diagnosed people on here can help you with alternate med ideas.
 
adicabrady said:
I am diagnosed bipolar.I've been on seroquel for years.It helps me sleep which otherwise is very hard.I have been reading that seroquel causes low energy and apathy.I am afraid to go off of it,but feel like I need to.I wake every morning wishing I was dead.I have no interest in anything I used to do.Anyone have bad experiences with seroquel?
Click to expand...

Seroquel has been a lifesaver for me and has caused me no problems at all. If you are having issues with your medications you need to speak to your psychiatrist about them so your dosage can be altered. If that doesn't work, then you need to speak to your psychiatrist again to safely change your medications until you find something that works better. If you can't find anything that works better, and the Seroquel does a good job of keeping your bipolar symptoms at bay, you may just need to learn to deal with the side effects that won't go away. It's a give-and-take sort of thing.

Do not stop your medications on your own; talk to your psychiatrist. If you stop your medications on your own you could suffer adverse side effects or health problems.

How long has this problem been going on? How long have you been on Seroquel? Sometimes it can take a month or two (or three) before the side effects go away after your body becomes adjusted to your medications. Maybe you can try the Seroquel XR? That's worked wonders for me.
 
adicabrady said:
I am diagnosed bipolar.I've been on seroquel for years.It helps me sleep which otherwise is very hard.I have been reading that seroquel causes low energy and apathy.I am afraid to go off of it,but feel like I need to.I wake every morning wishing I was dead.I have no interest in anything I used to do.Anyone have bad experiences with seroquel?
Click to expand...

The shit makes you feel like your already dead. You become a ghost. It's the worst feeling in the world, I need to take it, but I skip it anytime I can, it's horrible.
 
Seroquel made me a zombie. It crushed my short term memory and made me more depressed 'cause I felt incapable of doing just about anything. Luckily I was only on it for a short amount of time.
 
Sandman.I mentioned that I had been on it for years,about 8.It gave me Tardive Dyskinesia but I went off and still had TD so I went back on because my neurologist said it wouldn't get any worse.I was put on it when Astra-Zeneca was under reporting side effects.
I have been reading lately about apathy being a side effect.I am so apathetic,I rarely do anything except watch TV or read.I'm afraid of coming off this drug because I am scared about not being able to sleep.It has become a vicious circle,take Seroquel,Xanax and clonidine and sleep most of the day.
I tried small dose (10mg) adderall and it helped but my doctor took the whole practice off it.

Does anyone know of something that might help that is not too addictive that he might give me?
 
adicabrady said:
Sandman.I mentioned that I had been on it for years,about 8.It gave me Tardive Dyskinesia but I went off and still had TD so I went back on because my neurologist said it wouldn't get any worse.I was put on it when Astra-Zeneca was under reporting side effects.
I have been reading lately about apathy being a side effect.I am so apathetic,I rarely do anything except watch TV or read.I'm afraid of coming off this drug because I am scared about not being able to sleep.It has become a vicious circle,take Seroquel,Xanax and clonidine and sleep most of the day.
I tried small dose (10mg) adderall and it helped but my doctor took the whole practice off it.

Does anyone know of something that might help that is not too addictive that he might give me?
Click to expand...

I apologize that I had missed that part of your post. I hope that you will forgive me. I think it would be best to speak to your prescribing doctor (psychiatrist?). I have never met any psychiatrist who would expect you to live with such debilitating side effects. There must be a different dosage or another medication, or combination of medications, that would work better for you. It may take a while to find out the right combination, but it is probably worth it.

I hope that things go well for you!
 
The only anti-psychotic ive ever gotten the zombie effect on was risperidone but i can't say it caused apathy. Seroquel certainly was never strong enough to do it but thats just me and everyone is different.

There are lots of meds out there for bipolar disorder and anti-psychotics are just one class used and seroquel is just one drug of that class. I would definetely tell your doctor about it because you shouldnt have to trade mania for depression.
 
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