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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 jms600 on March 10, 2008, at 17:26:31
Hi everyone,
I've been on Seroquel now for around 8 weeks. I'm currently taking 50mg in the morning and 100mg at night. My psychiatrist has prescribed it for chronic anxiety (GAD) and terrible panic attacks, as well as racing thoughts. I'm also on Lexapro - 10mg per day.
The Seroquel isn't doing a thing to help. I'm still suffering from terrible ongoing anxiety and panic. The Seroquel isn't even helping me to sleep.
I've got an appointment coming up this coming Thursday with my psychiatrist and I'm going to ask him to change the Seroquel. Trouble is I don't know what to... Is it really worth trying another Atypical Antipsychotic even though Seroquel hasn't helped in the slightest? If I haven't responded well to one Atypical, does it mean that it's unlikely I'll respond to the others e.g. Zyprexa etc?
Could anyone advise??
Thanks!
Posted by Phillipa on March 10, 2008, at 19:42:16
In reply to Seroquel isn't doing a thing for me..., posted by jms600 on March 10, 2008, at 17:26:31
Is seroquel the only med you've tried? Phillipa
Posted by bleauberry on March 10, 2008, at 21:54:44
In reply to Seroquel isn't doing a thing for me..., posted by jms600 on March 10, 2008, at 17:26:31
Some would say the dose isn't high enough. I don't know. If 50mg didn't knock you out, something's wrong with that picture.
I still hold Zyprexa as king of the APs. Or Queen, however you look at it. I do not think failure on one AP predicts failure on another. No matter, it is hard to beat the reliability of Zyprexa.
Anxiety is confusing though. Someone here was on a high dose of Klonopin with no relief. They were given Lithium instead and had bigtime relief. Maybe it was some weird kind of mania and not anxiety. It's hard sometimes to put a name on the symptoms with complete accuracy.
Lexapro is generally anti-anxiety, but not always. In a minority of people it aggravates the situation.
What about Xanax, Lorazepam, Klonopin? I mean, while SSRIs seem to be first line meds for anxiety these days, the real anxiety meds are the benzos.
Sometimes the histamine response is too strong and that is stimulating in an anxiety/panic sort of way. Meds that have strong antihistamine action such as the TCAs can work on anxiety pretty well. Maybe a simple test for that would be to try some Benadryl.
On the natural front, are you getting enough magnesium? Sometimes all it takes is some magnesium glycinate or citrate to calm things down. I noticed at the health food store they had cheap 1 dose sample packs of magnesium citrate advertised for its calming effect. That's easy, cheap and healthy to try. An easy test before spending money is to put about 2 to 4 cups of epsom salts in a hot bath and soak in it for about 20 minutes. Do it for 2 or 3 or 4 days in a row. If not antianxiety then it probably isn't a magnesium issue.
Just some stuff to think about.
Posted by Zyprexa on March 11, 2008, at 15:12:30
In reply to Seroquel isn't doing a thing for me..., posted by jms600 on March 10, 2008, at 17:26:31
I have not tried seroquel, but know that 100mg is a small dose. You could try more like 300mg, some go higher. I do take zyprexa and find its realy good, also for anxiety. Also tried all the other Atypicals and they are not the same in the least. Zyprexa was the only Atypical that works for me, altough I've not tried seroquel.
Posted by Basia on March 12, 2008, at 11:51:17
In reply to Seroquel isn't doing a thing for me..., posted by jms600 on March 10, 2008, at 17:26:31
I was on Sulpiride for ten years and it was the best at calming me down and getting rid of all hallucinations. However, my prolactin was sky high and I was changed to Seroquel in December. It is only now, in March , that I am getting over horrendous adjustment dissociation and HPPD symptoms. Some of them take time, some work immediately and this will all vary according to your constitution. The only reason I stayed on the Seroquel for three months, one of which was titrating off Sulpiride, was because the only atypical i hadn't tried that didn't raise prolactin is Geodon, which my psychiatrist wanted to import from the States and give me if i didn't respond soon to the Seroquel. I couldn't face switching to something psychiatrists wouldn't have experience of prescribing here in the UK, even though this psychiatrist said he had tried it as part of a trial. NOt exactly the same as giving it to a mentally ill person!
So, if things really are getting worse, switch to something else, but remember things can suddenly get better over a few weeks. I had to titrate up to 600mg of Seroquel, even though my psych wanted me to stay at 300mg. It is only now that i am on 625mg that my symptoms of anxiety and dissociation, as well as mild visual hallucinations, have disappeared. So maybe try increasing and see if that makes a difference. I found Abilify made me panicky and psychotic and insomniac, whereas Seroquel gradually calmed me down. I have also noticed that, with several of the APs i have tried over the years,i.e. Zyprexa,
Sulpiride, Amisulpiride, Stelazine, Haloperidol, Loxapine, etc, that sometimes anxiety increases at the outset as the brain adjusts to a new chemical.
Excuse the long post! Needed to get it all off my chest :)Lyn
Posted by jms600 on March 12, 2008, at 17:07:11
In reply to Re: Seroquel isn't doing a thing for me..., posted by Basia on March 12, 2008, at 11:51:17
Posted by yxibow on March 13, 2008, at 4:16:38
In reply to Seroquel isn't doing a thing for me..., posted by jms600 on March 10, 2008, at 17:26:31
> Hi everyone,
>
> I've been on Seroquel now for around 8 weeks. I'm currently taking 50mg in the morning and 100mg at night. My psychiatrist has prescribed it for chronic anxiety (GAD) and terrible panic attacks, as well as racing thoughts. I'm also on Lexapro - 10mg per day.
>
> The Seroquel isn't doing a thing to help. I'm still suffering from terrible ongoing anxiety and panic. The Seroquel isn't even helping me to sleep.
>
> I've got an appointment coming up this coming Thursday with my psychiatrist and I'm going to ask him to change the Seroquel. Trouble is I don't know what to... Is it really worth trying another Atypical Antipsychotic even though Seroquel hasn't helped in the slightest? If I haven't responded well to one Atypical, does it mean that it's unlikely I'll respond to the others e.g. Zyprexa etc?
>
> Could anyone advise??
>
> Thanks!
>Usuually these days Seroquel is combined at night because a) evidence based psychiatry has shown that it is equivalent to double dosing, and b) that normally a lot of people can't sit through b.i.d. because of the somnolence factor. That being said, I can't speak for you but I know that 150 mg is sort of just under the clinical threshold of 200mg. Some people can get by with that, but with the painful anxiety you are experiencing, I would think that raising to 200 and parking it there for a bit could provide some more benefit.
Now, of course you have to discuss this with your doctor, its just an opinion that the dosing may not be high enough. Its a tricky place so that the dosing is right, but it is the MED (minimum effective dosage) so unwanted effects are avoided.
As for the sleep -- if you've only been on it for 8 weeks, you are either a) fairly immune to the antihistamine effects or b) there could be a comorbid sleep disorder, which does come with anxiety disorders. But I'm not trying to add more pathologies to your life, that isn't fair -- just a comment.
You might need to take Trazodone for a short period of time and possibly tryptophan or 5HTP to get some rest -- sleep affects anxiety disorders a lot. At least that is what I am doing.
As they say, everyone differs.
-- hope you feel better
Posted by jms600 on March 13, 2008, at 17:22:14
In reply to Re: Seroquel isn't doing a thing for me... » jms600, posted by yxibow on March 13, 2008, at 4:16:38
This is the end of the thread.
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