Posted by Gracie2 on February 24, 2002, at 23:26:37
In reply to Re: My ambien saga--where I am now--info on Seroquel, posted by Emme on February 22, 2002, at 17:05:02
It's not clear to me either why an anti-psychotic like Seroquel is prescribed for us non-psychotics.
I am taking 400 mg nightly as prescribed and it makes me groggy. During the first couple of weeks, the fatigue was just grueling. I was going to stop taking it but I noticed (rather it was pointed out to me) that the Seroquel actually has made a big difference.
Old Me: the Insomnia Queen arrives nearly every night. I went to great lengths to help myself sleep: melatonin, 5-HTP, Alluna, Benadryl, Nyquil, valerian, hot baths, a new mattress, counting sheep, waking early, avoiding naps, hypnosis tapes, and a sound machine that makes white noise (it also makes the sound of a heartbeat like something out of an Edgar Allan Poe story, which only creeped me out). My body just laughed at these pathetic attempts to make myself sleep. Eventually I started wearing sweatpants to bed because I knew that I would soon be up again and wandering the house like an exhausted ghost - waiting for sunrise, too exhausted to do anything constructive.New Me: 400 mg. of Seroquel will usually knock me out cold. I'm often in bed by 10:00 and sleep soundly for 8 hours - no trouble sleeping and no waking up in the middle of the night. The stuff MAKES you sleep but, curiously enough, it also
refuses to let you sleep late in the morning. There is still some lethargy when you wake up, but a few shots of Starbucks Espresso will take the edge off.An amusing anecdote: I felt well enough today to go to Barnes & Noble. I had a handful of bargain books when I spotted a new hardcover: Surviving Manic Depression. Since I've been diagnosed with this problem by two psychiatrists (the second doctor said that my symptoms were "classic"), I put away the other books to buy this one, along with a book for my husband that I found in the bargain aisle - the 2002 Gun Buyers' Guide. The cashier stared at my Manic Depressive book, then my Gun Buyers' book, and she looked up at me with such a worried expression that I busted out laughing.
When I went to see my psychiatrist for the first time in 6 months, he asked me sternly why I hadn't come in to see him earlier. I said, "I thought I was getting better and that I could handle my emotional problems on my own." I told him I was uncomfortable with the stigma associated with mental disease. He looked irritated and said, "Would you try to treat cancer or diabetes on your own? Do you think there's really a difference between seeking help for a physical or mental ailment?"
Well, damn Skippy there is. Particularly here in the Southern Midwest, where a majority of us have not evolved to the latest thinking. We still smoke, eat Big Macs, shun bottled water, love
deep-fried food, don't wear seatbelts, have gun collections, drive cars without vanity plates, and don't give a fiddler's fart about sushi, DNKY
or Tommy Hilfinger. In the same vein, anyone who seeks help from a psychiatrist is crazy.But I digress. The point is, if Seroquel can knock out this problem for a die-hard insomniac like me, it must be useful for others. I don't know about 400 mg daily - this seems excessive to my untrained mind. But even the lethargy is acceptable (to me, anyway) when the pay-off is deep, regular, wonderful sleep.
-Gracie
poster:Gracie2
thread:95022
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020222/msgs/95386.html