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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by clubfitter on June 22, 2011, at 8:59:59
I may start taking 12.5 Seroquel for sleep. Is this low enough dose to avoid most side effects?...I would think so....weight gain in particular. Thx.
Posted by sheilac on June 22, 2011, at 9:08:17
In reply to LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 22, 2011, at 8:59:59
I LOVED Seroquel for sleep. I could take 25mg and sleep great! If I got up to 100mg I lost the sleep side effect and started getting the weight gain.
I would think a low dose like 12.5 or 25mg will help you get great sleep. It did for me!
Posted by jms600 on June 22, 2011, at 9:46:20
In reply to LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 22, 2011, at 8:59:59
> I may start taking 12.5 Seroquel for sleep. Is this low enough dose to avoid most side effects?...I would think so....weight gain in particular. Thx.
I went up to 150mg daily without gaining much weight at all. Seroquel is certainly not as bad as Zyprexa. That put almost 3 stone on me in a period of four months. You should be fine on such a low dose, although the only way to know for sure is to try it. I read a while back that long term use of low dose Seroquel was not recommended, although I don't know the reason(s) why.
Posted by Phillipa on June 22, 2011, at 10:58:23
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by jms600 on June 22, 2011, at 9:46:20
For me it was too strong and couldn't take it. Was assessed in a hospital enviornment. So benzos are what I use. Phillipa
Posted by Christ_empowered on June 22, 2011, at 11:49:45
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by Phillipa on June 22, 2011, at 10:58:23
I would think hydroxyzine would be just as helpful w/o the cost or weird side effects.
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on June 22, 2011, at 19:10:01
In reply to LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 22, 2011, at 8:59:59
Low dose Seroquel is just an antihistamine - you can take Benadryl or Phenergan and thus avoid the side effects, and also save a significant amount of money
Posted by Phillipa on June 22, 2011, at 21:02:39
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by jono_in_adelaide on June 22, 2011, at 19:10:01
Potent though a week after the one day of seroquel my lips started peeling had to be the seroquel which 12.5 knocked me out sitting in a chair. If an antihistamine how come benydryl didn't even make me sleepy? Phillipa
Posted by sheilac on June 23, 2011, at 6:41:11
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by Christ_empowered on June 22, 2011, at 11:49:45
Hydroxyzine is excellent for sleep as well. It is an antihistamine I had to use for another condition.
Posted by Peter Heuer on June 23, 2011, at 7:55:52
In reply to LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 22, 2011, at 8:59:59
> I may start taking 12.5 Seroquel for sleep. Is this low enough dose to avoid most side effects?...I would think so....weight gain in particular. Thx.
I didn't sleep on a low dose of Seroquel.
Now I'm on Remeron.Peter heuer
Posted by desolationrower on June 23, 2011, at 22:22:23
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by Peter Heuer on June 23, 2011, at 7:55:52
Agree w/jojo
pick something with ai shorter halflife so you don't have a hangover
-d/r
Posted by morgan miller on June 23, 2011, at 22:31:15
In reply to LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 22, 2011, at 8:59:59
APs are overprescribed nowadays. Why take an AP for sleep when there are so many other options out there? Hell, I would take depakote or lithium before I took seroquel.
Have you exhausted all options? Have you tried all alternative therapies? Have you tried magnesium, valerian, glycine, lemon balm, holy basil, GABA, taurine, melatonin, bacopa? Do you exercise regularly? Do you stretch properly after exercise?
I hate this current antispychotic craze, it needs to die now. APs should only be used if absolutely necessary.
Posted by clubfitter on June 24, 2011, at 18:07:19
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg?? » clubfitter, posted by morgan miller on June 23, 2011, at 22:31:15
thanks for all replies..i do exercise at least 6 days a week and am taking trazodone 100mg, 6mg melatonin, and magnesium 500 2x daily....i just cant get a good hard continous sleep. i would settle for every now and then. figured a low enough dose would be side effect free.
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on June 24, 2011, at 19:12:17
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 24, 2011, at 18:07:19
I think somthing like Ambien would make much more sense for sleep than an antipsychotic, safer and proven efective. No hangover.
Posted by clubfitter on June 24, 2011, at 19:41:00
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 24, 2011, at 18:07:19
ive read ambien and the like can exacerbate depression....which would not be desireable....then again it seems everything these days can exacerbate depression.
Posted by desolationrower on June 24, 2011, at 20:34:48
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 24, 2011, at 19:41:00
i don't think an interruption in sleep is necessarily harmful, though if you have an 8 hour window to fit stuff, wasting 1.5 hour awake is unwanted. I have read that it is common for older people in huntergatherer cultures to wake for an hour or so in the middle of the night.
-d/r
Posted by morgan miller on June 24, 2011, at 22:24:04
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 24, 2011, at 18:07:19
No antipsychotic is side effect free. No drug is truly side effect free for that matter. What if you like Seroquel's effects enough to take it long term? Do you really want to risk what an antipsychotic might do to your brain just to get a few hours more sleep?
Posted by morgan miller on June 24, 2011, at 22:31:41
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 24, 2011, at 18:07:19
> thanks for all replies..i do exercise at least 6 days a week and am taking trazodone 100mg, 6mg melatonin, and magnesium 500 2x daily....i just cant get a good hard continous sleep. i would settle for every now and then. figured a low enough dose would be side effect free.
Lower the dose of melatonin, higher doses can shorten sleep time. Also, use a timed release melatonin, if you are not already.
I would try adding more supplements before trying any other medication. Ambien will put you to sleep, but it does not improve quality of sleep, if anything, it may disrupt sleep quality. I used to talk my *ss off in my sleep on Ambien. My buddy sleep walked every night on Ambien. He ended up pissing in his friend's closet. Ambien has also woken people in partially vegetative states up enough so that they started talking and responding for the first time in years.
How much sleep do you get?
Are you taking any other antidepressant besides trazadone? Trazadone is a crap *ss antidepressant. I realize you may be just taking it for sleep.
If you can master the discipline, meditation may help you tremendously with sleep issues.
Posted by clubfitter on June 25, 2011, at 5:16:07
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by morgan miller on June 24, 2011, at 22:31:41
Trazodone is just for sleep. I take lamotrigine 200mg and lexapro 10. Just started meds again recently and treading lightly. I don't want to have to take more Trazodone for sleep. I get between 6-8 hours of sleep but not contnuous...I would guess it is actually about 4-6.
I would consider taking the Seroquel only when REALLY needed......a good nights sleep......I here what your are saying about AP's. Honestly, at this point, anything other than weight gain for me is tolerable. i have lost 100 lbs in about a year and cannot go back there. Im scared of most meds for that very reason. I know that may sound naive and reckless.....but right now those are my priorities.
Posted by morgan miller on June 25, 2011, at 13:21:55
In reply to Re: LOW dose Seroquel for sleep...12.5mg??, posted by clubfitter on June 25, 2011, at 5:16:07
Why lamotrigine? Are you in the bipolar spectrum?
Occasional use of Seroquel wouldn't be so bad I guess. It's long term use of APs and what that might do to the brain that is my main concern, not the weight gain, though that is a big one.
Can you nap fairly easily?
How are you doing on the lamotrigine/lexapro combo? Is it pretty early in the treatment? I'm sure you realize the medications could be making it harder to sleep well.
Honestly, 4 to 6 hours half the time does not sound bad enough to justify the use of an AP. Like I said before, I would exhause all other possible treatments, medical or natural, before resorting to an AP. How about a low dose of lithium? Or a low dose of Depakote? I would choose those over an AP anyday. Lithium is likely brain protective, so if a low dose helps you get a better night's sleep, your also likely doing something good for your brain at the same time. It's very possible lithium could disrupt sleep, but you will only know until you try. Maybe you already have. Remember, low dose, like 150 to 300 mg. Or, order some lithium orotate from a company called Vitamin Research Products and try that. I only say order from VRP because they may have one of the better quality lithium orotate supplements available.
This is the end of the thread.
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