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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Lindenblüte on October 28, 2006, at 16:40:49
Hi all,
About a month ago, my pdoc increased my seroquel dose from 50 mg titrating up to 300mg. Reason- to reduce intrusive thoughts of bad stuff, flashbacks, etc. I protested, saying I'd be a zombie. My pdoc said I'd get used to it. pdoc was right. I can't believe it.I take it at night. Within 20-30 minutes, I'm barely able to stagger to bed. Then I sleep for 8-9 hours and I wake up and feel fine. It took about a week once I got to the 300mg dose before the fatigue went away. For the first week, I could barely manage to swallow a provigil pill before collapsing in bed and getting up an hour later to make a big pot of coffee.
Fatigue did go away though. So did most of my bad thoughts and flashbacks. (I'm not psychotic, btw)
Here are my other meds.
120mg cymbalta, 200mg provigil, klonopin prn.If your doctor asks you to take a dose of seroquel, and you find it completely knocks you out, try titrating up gradually. It took me 10 days to go from 50-300.
Don't give up- I hope you will be able to stick it out for a week at your final therapeutic dose and see if the fatigue/sedation gets better each day. This morning I was feeling so awake, I forgot to take my provigil until I had been up for an hour already :)
-Li
Posted by yxibow on October 28, 2006, at 21:32:40
In reply to No longer sedated by 300mg seroquel, posted by Lindenblüte on October 28, 2006, at 16:40:49
> Hi all,
> About a month ago, my pdoc increased my seroquel dose from 50 mg titrating up to 300mg. Reason- to reduce intrusive thoughts of bad stuff, flashbacks, etc. I protested, saying I'd be a zombie. My pdoc said I'd get used to it. pdoc was right. I can't believe it.
>
> I take it at night. Within 20-30 minutes, I'm barely able to stagger to bed. Then I sleep for 8-9 hours and I wake up and feel fine. It took about a week once I got to the 300mg dose before the fatigue went away. For the first week, I could barely manage to swallow a provigil pill before collapsing in bed and getting up an hour later to make a big pot of coffee.
>
> Fatigue did go away though. So did most of my bad thoughts and flashbacks. (I'm not psychotic, btw)
>
> Here are my other meds.
> 120mg cymbalta, 200mg provigil, klonopin prn.
>
> If your doctor asks you to take a dose of seroquel, and you find it completely knocks you out, try titrating up gradually. It took me 10 days to go from 50-300.Same with doxepin. Which I took instead of Trazodone over the weekend at college. It destroyed that weekend and I never went back to it. So I suffered the occasional minor priapism. But Trazodone is yucky anyhow, glad I don't have that on my off label plate...
>
> Don't give up- I hope you will be able to stick it out for a week at your final therapeutic dose and see if the fatigue/sedation gets better each day. This morning I was feeling so awake, I forgot to take my provigil until I had been up for an hour already :)
>
> -LiGlad things are working out with the Seroquel -- the modafinil is probably moderating it. I know at 800 mg, I stagger out of bed still. If I take it too late, i.e. stay up, like 1 or 2 am, it takes 2 half lives (12 hours) before I'm not completely free from its grasp, which means not until 2 in the afternoon. If I have to be somewhere early, I try (hard to resist staying up sometimes) to take it at 10-11, or at least midnight.
-- tidingsJay
Posted by Phillipa on October 28, 2006, at 22:34:24
In reply to Re: No longer sedated by 300mg seroquel » Lindenblüte, posted by yxibow on October 28, 2006, at 21:32:40
Li when did you go up to 120mg of cymbalta? Love Phillipa
Posted by Lindenblüte on October 28, 2006, at 23:37:53
In reply to Re: No longer sedated by 300mg seroquel » Lindenblüte, posted by yxibow on October 28, 2006, at 21:32:40
> Glad things are working out with the Seroquel -- the modafinil is probably moderating it. I know at 800 mg, I stagger out of bed still. If I take it too late, i.e. stay up, like 1 or 2 am, it takes 2 half lives (12 hours) before I'm not completely free from its grasp, which means not until 2 in the afternoon. If I have to be somewhere early, I try (hard to resist staying up sometimes) to take it at 10-11, or at least midnight.
>Oh, I'm sure that the provigil helps a lot, especially in making poor Li able to get up during the 2 weeks of zombie mornings! Mostly though, the daytime fatigue that I experience is due to cymbalta. I waited many weeks for that to go away, and it NEVER did. so frustrating!
I also forgot to say that I am very good about taking my pm meds between 10 and 10:30. And yeah, I do need a good 8-9 hours of sleep. My husband sleeps an hour or two longer than I do, though, and he's "healthy" no meds or anything. Just a crazy wife lol.
Oooooops! I guess I'm up past my bedtime tonight...Oh well. Tomorrow is sunday am.
thanks for tidings Jay,
Are you taking seroquel these days? you can be my seroquel buddy. zzzZZZzzzZZZzzzzz!-Li
p.s. the best thing about taking seroquel at night is that even if you *wanted* to count sheep, you wouldn't be able to imagine them or say the numbers aloud in your head. No more hallucinations or intrusive flashback of nocturnal sheep. Zonk!
Posted by Lindenblüte on October 28, 2006, at 23:39:07
In reply to Re: No longer sedated by 300mg seroquel, posted by Phillipa on October 28, 2006, at 22:34:24
wow phillipa, you really do pay attention, dont you!
:)
off to take the pillies right now.
-Li
Posted by ronaldo on October 29, 2006, at 11:11:29
In reply to No longer sedated by 300mg seroquel, posted by Lindenblüte on October 28, 2006, at 16:40:49
> Hi all,
> About a month ago, my pdoc increased my seroquel dose from 50 mg titrating up to 300mg. Reason- to reduce intrusive thoughts of bad stuff, flashbacks, etc. I protested, saying I'd be a zombie. My pdoc said I'd get used to it. pdoc was right. I can't believe it.
>
> I take it at night. Within 20-30 minutes, I'm barely able to stagger to bed. Then I sleep for 8-9 hours and I wake up and feel fine. It took about a week once I got to the 300mg dose before the fatigue went away. For the first week, I could barely manage to swallow a provigil pill before collapsing in bed and getting up an hour later to make a big pot of coffee.
>
> Fatigue did go away though. So did most of my bad thoughts and flashbacks. (I'm not psychotic, btw)
>
> Here are my other meds.
> 120mg cymbalta, 200mg provigil, klonopin prn.
>
> If your doctor asks you to take a dose of seroquel, and you find it completely knocks you out, try titrating up gradually. It took me 10 days to go from 50-300.
>
> Don't give up- I hope you will be able to stick it out for a week at your final therapeutic dose and see if the fatigue/sedation gets better each day. This morning I was feeling so awake, I forgot to take my provigil until I had been up for an hour already :)
>
> -LiI'm glad you had better luck than me, Li. Maybe I should have perservered like you did. I only gave Seroquel three and a half weeks; and then I was taking it at all different strengths from 6 mg to 100 mg. Maybe if I had stuck to one dose, say 50 mg and kept at it for a month I would have had better luck! But dammit I needed some sleep!
So I went back onto the Zyprexa at 10 mg and after 2 weeks I have just had the best night's sleep I have had for years. I hope it continues......Alan
Posted by Lindenblüte on October 29, 2006, at 14:30:41
In reply to Re: No longer sedated by 300mg seroquel, posted by ronaldo on October 29, 2006, at 11:11:29
> I'm glad you had better luck than me, Li. Maybe I should have perservered like you did. I only gave Seroquel three and a half weeks; and then I was taking it at all different strengths from 6 mg to 100 mg. Maybe if I had stuck to one dose, say 50 mg and kept at it for a month I would have had better luck! But dammit I needed some sleep!
> So I went back onto the Zyprexa at 10 mg and after 2 weeks I have just had the best night's sleep I have had for years. I hope it continues...
>
> ...Alan
>
>Hi Alan, I hope your good sleep continues too! I think that if you were taking a small dose of seroquel to help you sleep better, you probably would have known withing 30 minutes or so whether it was going to knock you out. Certainly a few nights experience will tell you whether the drug is strong enough to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
My problem was waking up the next morning! Fatigue so profound it was almost painful, I don't know how to describe, but it was misery for the first hour I was "awake" barely conscious, waiting for my provigil and coffee to sink in.
best,
-Li
Posted by Phillipa on October 29, 2006, at 19:34:58
In reply to Re: No longer sedated by 300mg seroquel, posted by ronaldo on October 29, 2006, at 11:11:29
Alan if the zyprexa is working so well that is wonderful. Is there a reason you prefer seroquel? Love Phillipa
This is the end of the thread.
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