Posted by octopusprime on October 2, 2002, at 22:58:50
In reply to Re: Hope first, then Seroquel v. Benzo, posted by musil on October 2, 2002, at 6:28:33
> It's been 4 weeks now that I've been ramping up my Seroquel dose to 100mg night, 50mg morning.
> It's allowed me to refrain from diazepam when normally I would have been in obvious distress.
> This morning I decided to bring my daily Seroquel down to 125mg (25mg morning) because of some conspicuous muscle stiffness in legs, neck and back.
>
> My hope is that the Lexapro anxiolytic effect has kicked in and that I can bring down the Seroquel.
>
> It's a dangerous game. Clearly, Seroquel is better than ending my life. But that fact is hardly clear when in the throes of a Clinical Depression with psychotic tones, so the game is
> as critical as chemotherapy for cancer.
>
> My pdoc insists that depressions can and will spontaneously remit with time, if you survive.
> I still don't buy it.Your pdoc is an optimist. Spontaneous remission is the best possible result, but I hardly think it's likely.
Seroquel's product literature says that short term treatment is 4-6 months. You are well within that window. However, the more I think about it, the more I find the muscle stiffness side effects disturbing. You should definitely be telling your doc, and likely be cutting the dose.
I just read up on this now ...
http://bipolar.about.com/library/sfx/bl-quetiapine.htm*******************************************
Stop taking this medicine and get emergency help immediately if the following side effects occur:Rare:
Symptoms of NMS; two or more occur together; most of these effects do not require emergency medical attention if they occur alone: Convulsions (seizures); difficult or unusually fast breathing; fast heartbeat or irregular pulse; high fever; high or low (irregular) blood pressure; increased sweating; loss of bladder control; severe muscle stiffness; unusually pale skin; unusual tiredness or weakness
Always Notify Doctor:
Less Common: Fever, chills, muscle aches, or sore throat; loss of balance control; masklike face; shuffling walk; skin rash; slowed movements; stiffness of arms or legs; swelling of feet or lower legs; trembling and shaking of hands and fingers; trouble in breathing, speaking, or swallowing
*********************************eek! frightening. I don't know what your psychotic features are .... mine were uncontrollable racing of thoughts (primarily a problem at night). If I were you, I would ask the doc for 50mg/50mg morning/night or maybe even 25 mg / 50 mg. Your dose seems rather high. Best of luck,
op
poster:octopusprime
thread:121796
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020930/msgs/122048.html