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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mr Cushing on February 23, 2003, at 20:25:57
Hi, I'm Bi-Polar and have been having a VERY difficult time tolerating any SSRIs, my Doctor has decided to start me on Seroquel to complement my Depakote. I'm one of those lucky Bi-Polars that experiences both extremes sometimes at the same time. So my Doctors have been insistent on keeping me on Depakote but my depression has become absolutely horrible.Anyways, here's the problem now... Last Tuesday I started on Seroquel after going 6 weeks without any anti-depressants in my system and starting to go into a deep depression. My Doctor has suggested that I try taking 25mg of Seroquel every morning and night to start off with. When I take my Seroquel during the day, not only am I completely sedated (feels like I'm living underwater and I can fall asleep in any position if I just closed my eyes) but my depression gets absolutely horrible. By about the middle of the afternoon about the only thing I want to do is curl up and die. Then around evening, about 10-11 hours after my last dose of Seroquel, my depression completely fades away and I feel normal again.
This has been going on now for several days and my "bottoming out" has become VERY bad during the last 2. Has anybody else dealt with this before or have known somebody who has? And if so, is what I'm experiencing normal for a start-up side effect and can anybody recommend anything to help me get through this?
Thanks for any advice...
Posted by babs on February 23, 2003, at 20:52:31
In reply to Seroquel for Depression -- Help Please..., posted by Mr Cushing on February 23, 2003, at 20:25:57
Mr Cushing- I don't know if that's something that normally happens with seroquel but it doesn't sound like it. It sounds like what happened to me when I tried geodon and it just kept getting worse. I would contact your pdoc right away and let her/him know what is going on.
Posted by Mr Cushing on February 23, 2003, at 20:59:18
In reply to Re: Seroquel for Depression -- Help Please..., posted by babs on February 23, 2003, at 20:52:31
Hey Babs, I'm seeing a good PDoc again on Wednesday. She's actually trying to give me my first professional diagnosis. I think I'm already going to blow her away with that Mood Chart thing that she gave me to fill out. You know the ones where you circle a number (1-9) depending on how depressed, anxious, and what your energy level is like for the day? On just about every day I've been circling numerous numbers. I've been bouncing around so much...Since I'm already supposed to go there in 2 days, maybe I should just try to tough it out for another 2 days?
Posted by Ritch on February 23, 2003, at 21:20:07
In reply to Seroquel for Depression -- Help Please..., posted by Mr Cushing on February 23, 2003, at 20:25:57
>
> Hi, I'm Bi-Polar and have been having a VERY difficult time tolerating any SSRIs, my Doctor has decided to start me on Seroquel to complement my Depakote. I'm one of those lucky Bi-Polars that experiences both extremes sometimes at the same time. So my Doctors have been insistent on keeping me on Depakote but my depression has become absolutely horrible.
>
> Anyways, here's the problem now... Last Tuesday I started on Seroquel after going 6 weeks without any anti-depressants in my system and starting to go into a deep depression. My Doctor has suggested that I try taking 25mg of Seroquel every morning and night to start off with. When I take my Seroquel during the day, not only am I completely sedated (feels like I'm living underwater and I can fall asleep in any position if I just closed my eyes) but my depression gets absolutely horrible. By about the middle of the afternoon about the only thing I want to do is curl up and die. Then around evening, about 10-11 hours after my last dose of Seroquel, my depression completely fades away and I feel normal again.
>
> This has been going on now for several days and my "bottoming out" has become VERY bad during the last 2. Has anybody else dealt with this before or have known somebody who has? And if so, is what I'm experiencing normal for a start-up side effect and can anybody recommend anything to help me get through this?
>
> Thanks for any advice...
>
>
Seroquel was very sedating for me too. The "underwater" feeling I can identify with perfectly. For me it was more like transmission fluid! I was prescribed 25mg at bedtime to help sleep and sure enough about 10-14 hours after my bedtime Seroquel dose I would start to "wake up" and feel fairly decent. I couldn't take it during the day at all. I never really felt depressed on it just zombified to a major degree. I was on a low-dose of Trileptal with my Depakote during my seasonal bipolar depressive episode and it worked fairly well for the depression but it made me so nauseous I couldn't stand the stuff. You might ask your pdoc about a possible add-on. Sounds like the Seroquel is making your depression worse, IMO.
Posted by babs on February 23, 2003, at 21:24:14
In reply to Re: Seroquel for Depression -- Help Please... » Mr Cushing, posted by Ritch on February 23, 2003, at 21:20:07
I would call your new pdoc tomorrow even though you have an appointment Wed. No need to suffer any longer!
Posted by laurarn on February 24, 2003, at 11:45:43
In reply to Re: Seroquel for Depression -- Help Please... » babs, posted by Mr Cushing on February 23, 2003, at 20:59:18
I was on 25-50 mg of Seroquel at bedtime for over one year. I took it for sleep/anxiety, but it also really helped my depression. I would take a daytime dose occasionally when my thoughts raced out of control. I would sleep for a couple of hours and wake up much more together.
But, your experiences taking Seroquel during the day matched mine exactly! When first starting the med I took a morning dose as well. I had to stop that time of dosing as it made my life hell. I would stop my morning dose but keep with the night dose at least until your appointment on Wednesday.
Best of luck with your new pdoc. I feel very fortunate to have the pdoc I do. What a difference that makes.
Posted by Mr Cushing on February 24, 2003, at 11:59:09
In reply to Re: Seroquel for Depression -- Help Please... » Mr Cushing, posted by laurarn on February 24, 2003, at 11:45:43
Laurarn, I actually tried doing that last night... I took 50mg before bed last night and didn't take anything this morning... It was kind of rough waking up at first, but today, I feel a HUGE improvement than I've felt over the past two days.So you said that this stuff is going to be good for my depression? That's the sole purpose why I'm taking it. SSRIs are Hell for me and I need something to keep me from bouncing towards both extremes. The Depakote that I'm taking is working VERY well on controlling my mania/anxiety symptoms now I just need to find something equally effective in controlling my depressive symptoms.
This is the end of the thread.
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