Why won't Quetiapine (Seroquel) work?

[pally pete]

I got hold of some 50mg XR Quetiapine tablets. I've researched them a fair bit and was under the impression that they would put me to sleep.

I took one and felt nothing. So a few hours later I crushed one up into powder and swallowed that and 2 hours later I still don't feel anything.

?

 

[paranoid android]

Hmm that's odd as even in really low doses of 50mg's Quetiapine has strong anti-histamine effects hence the sedation. I could see the XR version of the 50mg pills not making you sleepy though as that's released over 24 hours but i can't see them going through the trouble to make it abuse proof. I get the Quetiapine IR's and have some Seroquel XR laying around as well. I get prescribed 300-400mg's of Quetiapine a day but if i don't take it for weeks i will get pretty drowsy off only 100mg's of it.

Are you taking any other drugs with anti-histaminic side effects such as diphenhydramine, doxylamine, promethazine, hydroxyzine, certain Tricyclic anti-depressants, some other anti-psychotics, the atypical anti-depressant Mirtazapine which is a really strong H1 antagonist aka anti-histamine, etc. You can build a tolerance to anti-histamines which is really dangerous actually as my mom found out first hand when she had a allergic reaction and IV drips full of diphenhydramine and Promethazine barely worked. She had been taking loads of diphenhydramine for her allergies (i often saw her pop 4 25mg pills at a time) and when she had a bad allergic reaction the anti-histamines barely worked. She didn't get drowsy off them at all while the same dose would knock me out solid.

Also when i am manic Quetiapine often does not make me drowsy at all and sometimes for some reason it just does not work . For sleep you won't need anymore then 100mg's tops though and if it doesn't work then it's not going to.

 

[pally pete]

Hmm that's odd as even in really low doses of 50mg's Quetiapine has strong anti-histamine effects hence the sedation. I could see the XR version of the 50mg pills not making you sleepy though as that's released over 24 hours but i can't see them going through the trouble to make it abuse proof. I get the Quetiapine IR's and have some Seroquel XR laying around as well. I get prescribed 300-400mg's of Quetiapine a day but if i don't take it for weeks i will get pretty drowsy off only 100mg's of it.

Are you taking any other drugs with anti-histaminic side effects such as diphenhydramine, doxylamine, promethazine, hydroxyzine, certain Tricyclic anti-depressants, some other anti-psychotics, the atypical anti-depressant Mirtazapine which is a really strong H1 antagonist aka anti-histamine, etc. You can build a tolerance to anti-histamines which is really dangerous actually as my mom found out first hand when she had a allergic reaction and IV drips full of diphenhydramine and Promethazine barely worked. She had been taking loads of diphenhydramine for her allergies (i often saw her pop 4 25mg pills at a time) and when she had a bad allergic reaction the anti-histamines barely worked. She didn't get drowsy off them at all while the same dose would knock me out solid.

Also when i am manic Quetiapine often does not make me drowsy at all and sometimes for some reason it just does not work . For sleep you won't need anymore then 100mg's tops though and if it doesn't work then it's not going to.

I took 25mg Mirtazapine 36 hours previous to this. But that was a one off! So I really don't understand??

I was told crushing up the Quetiapine XR into powder would make it IR so that is what I did yet I feel absolutely nothing.

Although none of the 1st generation anthistamines ever made me drowsy, yet Mirtazapine has worked in the past.. I was really expecting some knock out potential from this stuff! I just want to be sedated. I've completely used up my GABA receptors due to massive Benzo abuse, as I mentioned no antihistamines work.

I have Amitriptyline, Mirtazapine and Quetiapine at my disposal aswell as Bromazepam and Diazepam.

 

[Lolie]

Seroquel XR never made me drowsy in the same way Seroquel IR does. I find that the IR version takes from an hour to an hour and a half to kick in for me and the onset time for the XR version was at least double that (I had problems with XR, but when it was prescribed my doctor told me to take it at least 3 hours before I wanted to go to bed - it doesn't reach peak plasma levels for at least 4 hours).

Don't go above 100 mg if you're using it for sleep. Because the onset is so slow, if you keep re-dosing you might find yourself with a nasty case of next day grogginess tomorrow without the benefit of any solid sleep. Even Seroquel IR is not fast acting compared to many other prescription drugs used as sleep aids, but the "hangover" can still be quite nasty.

Also, from memory the time release mechanism for Seroquel XR isn't just a coating (which is what crushing/splitting defeats).

 

[Dystopia35]

I took seroquel for years. Trust me the xr does not have the same sedating effects. They give the xr to psych patients to stabilize them but not too sedate them. This way they can take the medication and not be a zombie.

The ir seroquel however works wonders. But 50mg is very low. My 15 year old daughter takes 200 mg at night.

 

[Lolie]

25-50mg is a pretty typical dose when it's prescribed as a sleep aid. The therapeutic dose for psych conditions is considerably higher (200 mg is a fairly low dose for those).

 

[paranoid android]

I took seroquel for years. Trust me the xr does not have the same sedating effects. They give the xr to psych patients to stabilize them but not too sedate them. This way they can take the medication and not be a zombie.

The ir seroquel however works wonders. But 50mg is very low. My 15 year old daughter takes 200 mg at night.

Quetiapine IR pretty much loses all sedative effects on me after maybe a week or being on it. I have yet to try Seroquel XR but i do have a sample packet here so i may try it out. I am prescribed 300-400mg's of Quetiapine a day for Bipolar disorder but besides the awful dry mouth and some hypotension after taking it i don't get any real side effects from it. Though i's effects on things like blood sugar do scare the shit out of me to be honest.

50-100mg's of Quetiapine IR is plenty for sleep as it's the H1 antagonist effects you want as that is what causes the sedation and you get hit with those side effects at low doses. Hence why once you reach a certain point Seroquel does not get anymore sedating for most people. Once you get up into the 200mg mark your starting to hit the anti-psychotic dose and it may start blocking serotonin receptors at that dose.

Personally i would suggest the OP go with Amitriptyline since he has it. I found that to be the best and most consistent sleep aid i have ever taken. I took it for about 2 and a half years for neuropathic pain as well as Major Depression which turned out later to be Bipolar disorder. Not only did it work well for both the nerve pain and the depression side of Bipolar but it made me sleep really good every night. Tat is until it crapped out altogether after taking it for 2 and a half years. Trimipramine is another Tricyclic anti-depressant that i have been on and it is actually more sedating then Amitriptyline for most people. Doxepin is supposed to be even more sedating but i have never had that one.

The most sedating drug i have ever taken by far is Methotrimeprazine aka Levomepromazine which has the brand name Nozinan. I don't think you can get it in the US but it is still used in Canada. It's a old typical phenothiazine anti-psychotic that is related to Chlorpromazine aka Largactil and good ol Thorazine and is about half as potent in it's anti-psychotic action. Despite it's rather weak anti-psychotic action it is by far the most sedating drug i have ever taken and is far more sedating then Thorazine as wel as any atypicals i have had including seroquel. Actually it's so sedating it makes both Quetiapine and Chlorpromazine look like Methamphetamine by comparison. 10mg's was usually enough to knock me right the fuck out for half the day. I have no idea how people take 100mg's of Methotrimeprazine for schizophrenia or Bipolar disorder as the most i have ever taken is 25mg's and that knocked my ass in the dirt for nearly a whole day.

 

[Dystopia35]

You are correct if taking for sleep, after awhile you will need to up the doses. When I was really bad off I got up to 500mg ir. Eventually I quit taking my meds but it took me over a month before I could get a good nights sleep without seroquel. Also at least for me seroquel made me extremely hungry.

 

[Lolie]

You are correct if taking for sleep, after awhile you will need to up the doses. When I was really bad off I got up to 500mg ir. Eventually I quit taking my meds but it took me over a month before I could get a good nights sleep without seroquel. Also at least for me seroquel made me extremely hungry.

I get hungry about an hour after I've taken it, even if I've already eaten a substantial meal earlier. It's a common side effect of the neuroleptic drugs.

If you were taking 500 mg of Seroquel, I'm guessing you weren't taking it as a sleep aid. It's common to have problems sleeping when you lower your Seroquel dose or stop taking it, but increasing the dose of Seroquel doesn't improve its performance as a sleep aid. You sure as shit don't want to be on moderate to high doses of Seroquel if you're only using it as a sleep aid and not for addressing a significant mental health issue.

 

[Leegrow]

Seroquel doesnt really make me tired it just gives me a small uncomfortable psychoactive effect.

 

[Dystopia35]

Yeah I was prescribed it as a sleep aid and for bipolar disorder. Later found out that the bipolar was just my wife drving me fucking nuts lol. We are divorced now and I have not been on meds for 6 years since the divorce.

 

[pally pete]

Oh well... 200mg Diazepam, 60mg Bromazepam and 1200mg Codeine helped!

Not really the route I wanted to take as I try and try and try to keep off Benzos & Opiates but needs must.

 

[dishearten]

Hey Pally Pets,
I had the same issue with Quetiapine 50mg XR.. Only not only did they keep my insomnia afloat, but when I did fall asleep they gave me the worst night-terrors I couldn't really describe. They were quite frightening pills.
I would definitely recommend asking your doctor for the 50mg Instant Release.. That's what I'm on now and despite the night-terrors, and difficulty to wind down, I can manage to take a half most nights and combined with my night-terror medicine (Prazosin), it works better than any sleeping medication I've ever had.. Much better than Ambien, and not habit forming.
I would tell your doctor that you did a lot of research and would like to try the Instant Release ones if possible.. That's the usual approach I take when I consult my doctor regarding new medication or some sort of a change..

Good luck hon, feel free to message me with any questions.

dishearten

 

[Tyrielle]

I don't wanna scare you and i'm certainly no expert but you might have an underlying pyschological condition that seroquel could be used to treat/alter.

I started taking seroquel during my time in rehab mainly to suppress meth-induced paranoia. It helped my paranoia at 200mg but I needed 500mg to get a guaranteed sleep aid effect... The doc said someone who actually benefits from the anti-psychotic properties would typically need more to be also used as sleep aid.

 

[pally pete]

I don't wanna scare you and i'm certainly no expert but you might have an underlying pyschological condition that seroquel could be used to treat/alter.

I started taking seroquel during my time in rehab mainly to suppress meth-induced paranoia. It helped my paranoia at 200mg but I needed 500mg to get a guaranteed sleep aid effect... The doc said someone who actually benefits from the anti-psychotic properties would typically need more to be also used as sleep aid.

I have an appointment with my G.P tomorrow who openly admits the fact that she has very little knowledge when it comes to mental health. She hates it when I start talking about different medications and whatever knowledge I have.