Get Informed: Seroquel

Question/Comment:

my son was recently diagnoses with nos psychosis, and was given seroquel. He suggested that we needed to adjust the meds....seroquel only turned the "volume" down on the auditory hallucinations and paranoia. The dr prescribed abilify and paxil for the depression and said take the seroquel if needed. We are new to this...any suggestions

Question/Comment:

i would like to know why this drug seroquel is so expensive , also i was takin just plain old seroquel(600mg) but now my psych has me taking seroquel XR (extended release) of which the effects are not the same. i have thus started to chew my dose of 600mg even though the bottle of meds clearly states Do not crush, chew or cut in half, swallow whole. Will chewing the pills hurt me or something? i am a female 39yrs, been taking seroquel for 7 yrs, only recently have been chewing up meds since they changed it by prescibing the seroquel XR.

Answer/Reply:

i am a 20 y.o. female who has been on medication and in therapy treating depression and bipolar for over 15 years now.(i started off being diagnosed with adhd very young, and in my teens my mom found a doctor who agreed with her that i was indeed bipolar)i am obviously no doctor, but have come to understand in all my trials with different medications and whatnot, that a major reason that pills say not to crush or chew them, is because (in so many words...) how they dissolve, and how fast they enter and pass through your system. i have been taking 25 mg pills of seroquel for years now(i take them at night for sleep, and/or during the day for anxiety, and for some reason i have almost no tolerance for it) and there have been times that when i have a really bad anxiety attack i will chew 2-3 pills to get them into my system faster, and after having talked about it with my doctor have learned that although its not really reccomended, it wont exactly hurt you, and of course make sure that even if its just a few crackers, there is food in your stomach when you take them. however i would reccomend just calling your doctor, or even next appointment just mention it to them because one, as i said im no doctor, and twoim not familiar with the XRs and i would hate for something to happen to you over something so preventable...good luck!!

Answer/Reply:

since you are taking extended release seroquel now when you chew them crush them or otherwise break them down you are putting more medicine in your body at one time then your doctor would like and even though the mg. says the same, the extended release are higher mg then the regular seroquel in order to stay in your system longer. So basicly instead of your 600 mg you could really be taking 800-1200mg at one time when you break down the extended release pills of any kind. not a good idea. if you don't like the new meds. tell your Dr. to switch you back to your regular pills. IT'S SAFER!!!!

Question/Comment:

I have serious eye issues that is related to being a premmie. I was taking Seroquel since 2002 for various reasons. Recently I was experiencing "visual disturbances". I mentioned this to my doc and described what I was experiencing. We were not sure if the severe eye issues was affected by taking seroquel. I was seeing things like cobwebs or wispy clouds. When I began to experience this problem it caused me to have major panic attacks. Since I knew about the risk of developing catarcts I wasn't sure how it affected my severe eye issues. So we discussed at length about this problem, it was suggested by a person that I was working with that I see an opthalmalogist about this issue. I went to have my eyes checked and they didn't really say a whole lot about it so I have stopped taking seroquel since may 2009. Right now it's a waiting game because we weren't sure if my eye issue was affected by the seroquel. So if there is anyone out there that have the same eye issues that I have you might want to keep an eye on the "visual disturbances" that I described above and make appts with an opthalmalogist/optometrist. I don't want to scare anybody out there I thought I would bring the issue up.

Question/Comment:

I have taken seroquel since 2002 for various problems. I thought I would mention on what's been happening-I have had eye issues relating to being a premmie. I recently experienced "visual disturbances" what I mean is that I was seeing some things that have sent me into a panic attack. I tried to find more info on the side effects-I knew about the possiblity of developing cataracts but it doesn't say anything about those patients who have serious or severe eye issues. Since I was seeing visual disturbances I discussed with my doc and informed him/her about the eye issues. I know that I am always at risk for detached retinas due to being a premmie so I am always being aware of what to look for. I have been off the seroquel since may 30th of this year. So if you have serious eye issues that I mentioned it is a good idea to check with your opthamalogist/optometrist to make sure that everything is okay. So I thought if there are anyone out there that might have the same problems I mentioned so discuss with your docs about any eye issues that you may have. I don't want to scare anyone but thought to mention about this situation.

Question/Comment:

My 7 y/o son has Bipolar & ADHD. He takes 300 of Seroquel 3x's/day, 30 of Cymbalta & 4 of Periactin. Even with all these meds we are still having a lot of problems. The docs have tried several ADHD meds, all with the same outcome, increased bipolar behaviors, especially aggression & anxiety. My son goes to a “special school” & the class size is only 10, but still daily he has to be taken to the "quiet room" & put into holds to keep him from hurting himself. We have tried several different meds, the doctors are at a loss as to what to try next. Is anybody going through anything similar or have any suggestions?

Answer/Reply:

I am very sorry that you are having such a hard time. Seroquel is one of the worst drugs a person with brain issues can take. My daughter tried to kill herself 3 times while on the drug. She attacked me also.

She has been off of it for 6 months now, has a job, is her regular self again. You need to seek help elsewhere. I can't imagine a 7 year old on the amount of drug my 22 year old was taking.
They are taking stabs in the dark, while your son suffers. This is appalling.

I am a 30-year special education teacher and I've never heard of such a thing. Stand up and advocate for him.

Answer/Reply:

I just want to say that it was a good thing they took your son off of ADHD medications because those definitly can exacerbate the mania, especially if someone is wrongly diagnosed as ADHD which shares many symptoms of bipolar. ADHD meds I believ are the only class of drugs that have the opposite affect on someone who does not have ADHD. Also remember that anti-depressants when taken alone exacerbate the bipolar as well. In regards to your frustration, sometimes it takes many med adjustments to find the perfect match for a particular person. But when it is found, all your hard work will be worth it! Don't punish your son for not knowing how to control something he currently has no control over. I'm sure it scares him just as much as it scares you.

Answer/Reply:

My son is now 12 and has been Autistic/Bipolar ADHD since 2 1/2. He now takes: Trilepatal, Clonidine (.01) 20 mg Ritalin LA, Risperdal. He just came off of Seroquel.

Its hard to determine what is best because each child will act differenty to the same meds. Patience is a big virtue.

Is your son attending a special school?

Even when the dr. finds the right meds , the meds will eventually have to be changed again. It's like being in a honeymoon period.

I hope this helps you.

Answer/Reply:

Our son is 16 and was diagnosed with Fragile X (genetic) and PDD, severe social anxiety disorder. He has been on the following meds for anxiety:
Ritalin, Celexa, Straterra, Tenex, Adderall,Seroquel, Prozac,Remeron,adavant,Risperdal.
He gained alot of weight over the yeras but when he was 8 and very small the psychiatrist gave him alot of risperdal like start with 1 cc and increase very day until 3 and then stay with that. He was a mess and all he did was sleep like on a 6 hour flight he slept thr whole time and side effects were horrid.
Now we are taking him to a place in MD Kennedy Krieger Institute to be re evaluated and re diagnosed byt ehir fragiel X clinic and neuro psychiatrists.
ha sanyone been theer?
What do you think of the meds he has been on?

Answer/Reply:

I have an 8 year old son that has been diagnosed with bipolar and severe ADHD. We have been through so much with him! He has been on so many different kinds of meds. Same thing as you, increased bipolar behavior along with the aggression. He is in "special classes" also and the school still could not handle him. We then hospitalized him and did a med wash. They sent him home with no meds because he all these evaluations they wanted to perform but were just waiting for the doctors. With Landon on no meds was an absolute nightmare!!!! He then had to be hospitalized again. He now is on a total of 3 meds a day instead of a whole cocktail of meds. A total of 125 mg of Seroquel several times a day, a total of 30 mg of Ritalin, and a total of .25 mg of Clonidine. His behavior has really improved. There are still many problems we face with Landon, but they have gotten better.

Answer/Reply:

I wonder if your son is lashing out because he is over medicated. As a teenager I was on 200 mg of Seroquel 3x a day and could not even get out of bed or find the energy to take my next dose of medication. I was mad and felt terrible all the time. Even now, as an adult on Seroquel I find that if I don't sleep it off all the way I am just flat out nasty,mean, and aggressive-and thats on 100-150 mgs at night to help me sleep. It should also be noted that antidepressants are known to increase symptoms and suicidality in young children and teens-which is always the first info in the leaflet they give and readily found on drug manufacturers websites. As difficult as it may be to do,maybe they could admit him to a hospital until they are able to find the right meds at the right doses and combination so that his symptoms and behavior are better controlled and you don't have to worry about him harming himself or others. I wish you the best of luck! :)

Answer/Reply:

I have a grandson I have custody of for the past 6 years and was diagnosed as adhd. We have tried several brands of medicine on him and have had to go back to ritalin 20mg. 4xdaily and respirodine twice daily. He is 8 years old now and is due for another med. change because it doesn't seem to be working.He has his good days and his bad days. We are seeing a specialist up in Marquette for his med change and will be doing it when school lets out because we never know how the medicine is going to work or not work at all. Good luck with finding the right medicine. Every child is different and acts different to different medicines. Try not to buy anything that has blue or red dye in it. That makes there condition worse. Billee, E.M.

Answer/Reply:

i know a lot of people have replied to you, but i am a 20 year old female who grew up bipolar, taking adhd treatments because none of my doctors would listen to my mother when she told them she thought i was. my mother had a unique way of punnishing me and handling my misbehavior, that she got a lot of..."unpleasant remarks"...from other people for, but i think, as her only child, that it worked out for the better. for example, if i was throwing a temper tantrum, my mother would very calmly turn to me, and in a quiet voice(yet still loud enough that i could hear her) she would tell me that she has things she needs to do, and that i can cry and scream all i want upstairs in my room, but she doesnt want to hear it. if i didnt go to my room, she would calmly carry me there, put me down and leave me alone...she would ignore me completely until i calmed down, occasionally she would come in and "get the laundry" to check on me and make sure i was okay, but she would never make eye contact or talk to me while i was carrying on. eventually i would realize that i wasnt getting a rise out of her, and i still didnt have what i wanted, and i would calm down, usually pout for a while before i eventually started to just play. then my mom would come in and we would talk about the situation whether it was me misbehaving, or not getting something i wanted, or something else. another thing my mom did for me that helped a lot, was she always explained to me why she said what she said
if i asked for a cookie at 5:00 in the evening, her answer wasnt just 'no', it was 'no because we will have dinner in half an hour, if you eat all your dinner maybe you can have a cookie, but only if you eat all your dinner'. then not only would i understand why she said no, but i would have incentive to behave through dinner because i still wanted that cookie. incentive to behave usually helped me through school...my teachers had rules that if you get so many star stickers you get a prize, some went on behavior and some went by schoolwork scores. i hope some of this helps you!!

Answer/Reply:

sorry to hear your son isnt respoding to Seroquel, ive ben on it since 2001 for schizo affective disorder, and it has worked well for me, the only thing now is im now a diabetic and Seroquel is known to cause it get his sugar checked