Quertapine

[Weeble]

Has any one taken this alone or in combination with ssri's?

Got to decide if I want to take it

Kat

[winegirl]

I havent but I know a few clients who take it on its own, dont think I have come across anyone yet who has combined with SSRI... What are your thoughts on it?

[Weeble]

Hi wine girl

Great to hear from you. Overall I am fairly desperate after 15 months of this illness and over 16 months since I last was well. I will try anything.

The drug seems to have reasonable write ups and is liscensed for depression and seems to have been successful for PTSD. Things that worry me, don't want a fossilised brain, dont want to gain more weight, sleepiness could be an issue with night feeding.

What experience have you seen for people taking it.

Kat

[winegirl]

I havent seen too much of the brain fog or the weight gain, but i have seen a degree of sedation.. I guess its the same as all meds, you run the same risk with all of them. My prescriber told me that escitalopram can not cause weight gain, yet i put two stone on taking it, lost a stone when off it and then went back on and have gained again. I think they all have the potntial..

Perhaps its a suck it and see job? Trial it for three months and see how it goes?

Listen to me, you are the last person I need to be saying all this too!! You know more than I do!

[0132sarah]

Hi i've been taking quetiapine (seroquel) for the last few days while taking an old ssri (paroxetine) I have found them really helpful. they have calmed the chaos/pressure in my head. the down fall is they can make me drowsy. i'm going to ask my doctor if can take it throughout the night and one before bed. twice a day. they are for mental disorders like bipolar. but I didn't care, i was so desperate to stop the hurting. i still feel very down and find it difficult to do simple things, but at least i don't have a million racing thoughts. hope this helps. take care and wish you all the luck. let me know how you get on please! merry christmas. xxx

[winegirl]

Hey Sarah

I hope the meds work for you, and remember to stick with them for a while before seeing how things are with them. Please feel free to talk anytime, we are always here and listening x

WG x

[Weeble]

Great thank you girls, that is what my psychiatrist says the drowsy is the main side effect. I have read about it today and have concluded that for most people the drowsiness is short lived. Ohh being rid of racing thoughts that could be good, my mind races when I am at my worse.

Thanks wg, my now the technical answer but not the practical experience based one.

Kat

[winegirl]

Let us know how you get on with it hun xx

[Weeble]

I like it, will post later, but putting this one back up as I saw bookworm princess took it and did not like it. Bwp hoping you see this thread and will add something.

Kat

[winegirl]

Its great to hear positive reponses about meds. I know different drugs suit different people, like fluoxetine kills me, but so many swear by it! That it is why its important to share all experiences and to know that there is one out there for us.

Glad you like it - sure BWP will see it tomorrow x

[Bookwormprincess]

Hi Kat, sorry it's taken so long to see your thread. I wish I got time to come on more often. Just nipping on on my phone before I hit the sack.

I'm glad you're getting on with it. I've tried 3 anti-psychotics and quetiapine was the one I'd choose again if needed. My first experience of it was towards the end of the numbing depression of my PP, when I was almost well again, but I gained a stone on it and then when I came off within two weeks I felt so much better, and I slowly began to lose weight with dieting. Something that was impossible on anti-psychotics.

My second experience of quetiapine was as a prophylactic drug to prevent a second episode when Samuel was born and it certainly did it's job. I did have a few signs that I may have became unwell had I not been on the medication, like racing thoughts at night and insomnia but no-one can say for sure what would have happened without the meds in place. I think with the stress of my son's medical emergency I probably would have got ill without the medication. My main worries about taking it again whilst not being psychotic or in the resulting depression left after a psychosis, is that I would feel emotionally numb on it and also gain a lot of weight again with an increased appetite. I started taking it at 33weeks pregnant (an extremely difficult decision as you can imagine) and the first major side effect was sedation. I felt like I was constantly fighting a sleeping pill during the day. Some days I struggled to take care of my 2 year old because of it. After the birth the sedation wasn't as extreme but I was useless at night an hour or so after taking it, even though I was on a slow release dose of 600mg, which soon went down to 400mg then 300mg once it was clear the psychosis wasn't coming back. The psychiatrist felt the sedative effects were so prevalent because the medication didn't have to deal with an over active psychotic brain so all of it effected the area to do with sedation. Not explained that well but it made sense at the time. I was grateful to come of it once I was in the all clear but I did miss the fact that it helped me sleep, although not very helpful sleeping through my baby's cries. So grateful my husband helped out with every might duty.

As for my worry about emotional numbness I never had any of that. So perhaps it was the illness last time round that kept me in that state even though I blamed the meds at the time. Or could have been a bit of both. I think it did dampen some strong emotions though because after coming off them this time I found myself getting angry quite a lot, which I had felt before but not so strongly. The anger was mainly about life handing us another raw deal with Samuel being rushed to hospital etc. (I will share that story one day about my journey after baby no.2). Also more angry in arguments so perhaps it did dampen some emotions, but it certainly didn't stop me feeling all other emotions from happiness to fear strongly.

I did gain weight on it, at least half a stone, probably more and had an ever so slightly increased appetite. Couldn't get away from that side effect. Weight I couldn't lose whilst on it either. The weight dropped off when I stopped taking it.

I have also taken it with an ssri, escitalopram, which I took throughout the duration of the PP after the psychotic stage. Neither did much to improve the dead weight of depression but who knows what I'd have been like without.
I have also taken it with the old tricyclic anti depressant, dosulipin, which is my standard fibromyalgia medication. I wasn't allowed to take both of these for a long period together because there is some thought that an anti depressant taken at a risk period for psychosis increases the chances of a manic episode. Which is why if there is depression and elements of psychosis or mania then quetiapine is a good choice as it has anti depressive qualities. A better name for it rather than anti psychotic is a mood stabiliser.

One last thing I remembered is that in lower doses it is more sedative which is why when my dose was low during pregnancy it was like a sleeping pill in the day, yet after the pregnancy at a higher dose the sedation was more manageable in the day.

What dose are you on Kat and do you take one in the evening? You could ask for the seroquel XL which is the slow release type. Better than having to take one in the morning and one at night. I hope you're not getting too many side effects and that it is helping you.

I know quetipine was the only drug to help a young teenage mum with PP who has been hearing voices for 8 months, olanzipine didn't help but this one is finally doing something slowly.

I didn't know it was used to treat PTSD, that's interesting. I'm having a lot of flashbacks to 3 years ago, especially at night. Going to talk to my psychologist about it Monday but I wouldn't want to go on medication again, the weight gain can make me feel depressed not to mention having to battle the sedative effects.

Hope some of that has helped. Sorry I wasn't around when you were deciding about it initially.

X

[Bookwormprincess]

P.S. if you ever want to ask anything or prompt me to come on here you can always pm me as then I'll get an email or come and find me on facebook. X

[Weeble]

Hi bwp

I am on a very low dose, 50mg. It has transformed me, but its hard as I am much less in control of my actions. I have not gained weight in fact I have lost nearly a stone. It has made recovery from the dips easier but I have had my worst and crashing low for a year on it.

Kay

[Bookwormprincess]

Hi Kat,
sometimes it can take a long time to get medication right. I've only ever taken it at a higher dose. I was told that for a mood disorder therapeutic doses started at 400mg so I'm surprised to hear you are on 50mg but that's only based on my own limited experience and perhaps there are different brands etc. which require different doses.

I'm so sorry that you're having worse lows than ever. If they have been worse since on a new drug I'd definitely go back to your doctor, and particularly talk about your concerns that you feel your actions are less in your control. I recall that feeling from the psychosis. It's a nightmare and so scary. But it can be treated and you will get through this. Is your psychiatrist a specialist in perinatal care? If not perhaps you could ask to be referred - in East Kent we have a new specialist service called MIMHS - Mothers and Infant Mental Health Service. If there was something similar in your area it might be worth seeking their help. You don't need to face this alone. Keep going back until you feel happy with your treatment plan.

Keep letting us know how you're getting on and tell us what your doctor thinks. X

[Weeble]

Telling me bwp. 18 months and they are still not right, but I don't want them to change them again, it all feels too much. We don't have a specialist perinatal mental health service the local psychiatrists tried to refer me out of area but the pct refused to pay. Seen six psychiatrists but I am happy with my current one, she is young but seems very clued up. Today I want to make it through this I just want my life back. Psychiatrist on Monday so see what she has to say.

Thanks

Kat