Does Seroquel work?

[cnote]

I was on and off Remeron for the past 2 years, helped, but then pooped out and no longer works.

I saw a psychiatrist today who prescribed me 50mg seroquel XR. It's not supposed to be as potent as straight/regular Seroquel.

Anyone with anxiety benefit? Thanks!

[cnote]

I'm 20 days med free, feeling awesome! :)

[lillimink]

i dont know if this will help but im on seroquel XL the prolonged release version and i swear this drug has saved my life. my moods are more stable. i wouldnt say it helps me sleep i know if i dont take it i cant sleep due to withdrawal but she did give it to me due to my constant lack of sleep im on 300mg a day now. but it does help, i guess with all of these meds its not a simple fix you have to give it time. my sleep has been alot better on it not perfect by any means but its alot more than the 2 hours max i night i used to get. no person is the same and i can understand others reactions on this post, my side effects were horrible for a good month, i couldnt physically wake up after i had fallen asleep i felt horrible, but now im fine with them. oh and yes it did help my anexiety too :) i dont know if this helps

[Atilla]

Did you see the sleep doc Monday?  Anxious to hear his advice.  

[Atilla]

I believe I did because I went to a doc and he said I could just stop taking Remeron since it pooped out on me.  This was certainly a mistake, because I got a severe several weeks of very bad anxiety, added to this I was panicking over something that I thought I had wrong with me that alot of women have gotten these days..  Mamogram was fine, but I still went on having the anxiety..  So yes, I have to say a good portion of my bad/severe anxiety had to do with stopping cold turkey and of course some anxiety from the other worry.  Interesting enough, to try to calm my anxiety, I went back to 7.5 mgs of Remeron for 3 days and it did calm down to a certain degree the anxiety.  I only used the Remeron for these few days because I needed to take somethng with Remeron to help get me to sleep.  I couldn't accomplish this with either Ativan or Xanax because I would get dizzy when I would use either one.   After the Remeron got out of my system, at doc's request, I went back to Xanax; but Xanax is not giving me enough sleep.  It varies from night to night how many hours I can sleep anywhere from 2 to 5 hours.  I would love 7 to 8.  I'm hoping the new doc willl help.  Keep in tough, I would certainly like to know how you fair and I will do the same.

[cnote]

Did you have any withdrawal from the Remeron after it pooped out?

[cnote]

Atilla, I will not take benzos. I used to be on ativan for 4 years. Yo Yo use. Went through a terrible tolerance withdrawal. Not trying to scare you. But benzos can cause, IN SOME PEOPLE, NOT ALL, a dependency and a tolerance withdrawal. Meaning you can still be taking the drug, while withdrawaling.

Took me 2 months to SLOWLY ween off the ativan. I actually took Remeron to help ween off the ativan. Been ativan free for 2 years.

I'm sure I'll be able to sleep again soon. Just have to get my body detoxed and used to sleeping again without meds. Will take time b/c Remeron was SUCH A HUGE sedating drug.

[Atilla]

I understand your need for sleep.  I am currently dealing with the same problems.  My Remeron pooped out on me after being on it for a couple of years.  I didn't know what to take next after this.  So my doctor prescribed some Ativan for sleep.  This helped alot for sleep; but I developed a tolerance to the lower dozage.  Dr. presibed a highter dozage of 1 Mg.  I couldnt take 1 mg. because it made me dizzy.  So doctor switched me to 0.5 mg of xanax which only gives me 4 to 5 hours of sleep. Doc said I could try another half of xanax and see if this could give me a little more sleep.  I did try Paxil; but, it was hell for me only after 3 days on it; so I stopped.  I have gone back and forth on Xanax/Ativan.  I am still looking for some good sleep.  I actually liked Ativan at lower levels than Xanax.  Let me know if you figure it out with our sleep doc?!!  It would be great to learn to sleep again without meds.  I will be seeing another psych in a couple of weeks that does some behavior therapy.  I hope this works.  

[Paxiled]

Adrenal support herbs good to try are eleuthero and ashwagandha.  Holy basil is good at lowering cortisol.  You might feel a little tired after a while from taking it because it also lowers blood sugar, but nothing major.  Certainly these aren't as strong as medication, but that's what makes them easy to take and easy to quit taking.  For sleep, I recommended a homeopathic remedy called Calms Forte by Hyland and melatonin, about 1mg -- many take too high a dosage, which doesn't usually work as well as lower doses.  You can play with the dose.  Worse case, they don't work, but they don't hurt you (they were never able to kill a rat with melatonin, though they tried hard enough).  Not saying this will definitely work, but right now the meds haven't been your friend so it's time to perhaps try something else.  And even better, if they give you a placebo effect, well, that's the safest form of medicine there is!

[cnote]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Paxiled, why am I concerned about sleep? I can not function with little to know sleep after prolonged periods of times. Which I think makes me more anxious.
And maybe it's not the fact that I'm concerened about lack of sleep. But more about the symptoms I'm having while im in bed. The adrenal surges feelings, the RAPID heart rate, the clammy sweats, the shaking. But, remember, my heart rate during the day is also high, and I'm pretty anxious during the day too. It comes and goes.

It very well could be just anxiety, and not anxiety caused by remeron withdrawal. Maybe it's due to Remeron poop out? It was working for me, but then seemed to have stopped. I tried reinstating for 5 nights and NOTHING.

How do I know it's Cortisol/Adrenaline? Well, I dunno. It's just what I'm assuming. It's what it feels like for sure. I asked my Dr. to check my Thyroid and adrenals. He said okay. But I think he only checked my thyroid levels. I asked the guy taking my blood what he was testing for, and he just said Thyroid.

Also, Paxiled, what herbs did you recommend? Dont' remember seeing those.

I don't think this is necessarily a reaction to all the allergy meds. I have not taken allergy meds for 3 months. BUT. Remeron in small doses IS an allergy med in a way. It's basically a giant antihistamine.

Nursegirl, I didnt read about the adrenal surges and then thought, omg, thats me. I experienced the adrenal surges, then researched it. Who knows maybe I am having them during the day. But since I'm moving about, I don't notice them as much. But my heart rate is SUPER high at times. Maybe that's when I'm having them?

I do know this. I do NOT want to go down the benzo road EVER again. If I have to start an antidepressant for a short period of time, then maybe I'll have to do that.

For now, I'm just going to try and stop worrying/obsessing about it. And just accept it.

I wish I could just jump into CBT with the psychiatrist, but all he wants me to do is take serequel. Screw that. He told me CBT won't be enough. I don't like that answer and don't believe it's true. I've gone months without antidepressants and have been great! I CAN DO THIS W/OUT MEDS.

As for me adding a bunch of meds to the mix. I'm not really adding anything. I'm refraining.

I stopped Remeron. I tried Seroquel 1 night. I do have some safety xanaxes around just in case it's TOO much. But am REALLY refraining.
And last night I got a script of Ambien. Thats the ONLY pill I might take from time to TIME. I know it can also be habit forming. But I need some z's.

5mg helped me only sleep 5 or 6 hours last night. But it was better than 2 hours or nothing.

I will figure this out! :) I'm seeing a sleep Dr. on Monday. Tell him my history.

I think with going on and off the remeron and allergy meds over the past year and a half, I think I have either, like you said, A. Conditioned my brain to THINK I need something to sleep. or B. Physically conditioned my brain to need something to sleep at night.

I know with CBT, which I think the Sleep Dr. can do, I can learn to sleep again without meds. THATS MY GOAL. :)

I will keep you guys updated.

I CAN DO THIS. :)

[nursegirl6572]

Excellent post from Paxiled!  

I agree 100%.  To risk sounding like a broken record, c, again, you're SO hell bent on convincing yourself of what the black and white answer is, when the truth is, it's impossible to know for sure.  I think it's LESS likely that the Remeron has anything to do with this than it is that this is your mind working against you, conditioning yourself.  Also, reading on the internet is keeping you chasing your tail too.  You read about the adrenal surges and have yourself convinced that's what's going on.  It would be highly unlikely that if that was going on, it would only happen at night after you fall asleep, and the symptoms are consistent with panic also.

I still maintain that you're experiencing anxiety and panic, probably made worse with all of the different meds you've been introducing trying to remedy this..you're still stuck on the need to take something at night.  I would recommend moving up the CBT appointment, as you need to start getting to work undoing this thought process/obsession you've got going on with the sleep/nighttime issues.

I personally wouldn't advise adding anymore meds to the mix.  Like Pax said, enduring a period of time where sleep doesn't come easy isn't fun, but it isn't the end of the world.  I would encourage you to just try to accept that you're not going to sleep well for a while, instead of fighting it so hard.

Hang in there my friend.

[Paxiled]

C, why are you so concerned about sleep?  You know, everyone has periods where they don't sleep, but it isn't that serious a problem unless it's prolonged.  Yes, it does lead to problems down the road, but only when it lasts a long time (as it has for me, unfortunately, but even for me after 8 years of my personal odd reaction to stopping Paxil, I'm not dead of it.)  And how do you know you're having cortisol rushes?  Have you had your adrenals tested over a period of weeks to see what your normal levels are and whether they're particularly distorted?  And I know I recommended some herbs that can help with this a while back since you're having so many problems with the meds -- did you try any of them?  To me, and what do I know, it just doesn't sound like you were on Remeron very long this time to have such a bad withdrawal, though anything can happen with these meds.  What it does sound like is you're having a bad panic period and need to separate out what's real and what's imagined because of your distress.  Right now it sounds like if anything you might be having a reaction to all the allergy medication you're been taking to help you sleep, if I read you right and you've been popping some form of medication every night to sleep.  Hope you find the answer.

[Paxiled]

For everyone reading this, be careful when prescribed seroquel.  While doctors can use any approved drug any way they want, this is a serious drug that was illegally marketed (the company was very publicly found liable for this) for just about everything under the sun, but is often used for its unwanted side effects (such as sedation).  I'm sure it helps some people, but this is a drug that is very difficult to figure out due to the intense and illegal marketing campaign that made it one of the most prescribed drugs out there for purposes other than what it was researched and approved for.

[cnote]

Psychiatrist told the receptionist to tell me he wanted me to take 25mg instead of 50mg. He said it can cause hallucinations. I told the receptionist "You can tell him NO THANK YOU. This is TOO MUCH."

Nursegirl, I truly believe I'm going through Remeron withdrawal. It is very common. But it will pass.

I got a script of Ambien tonight from my GP. 5mg. I really had high hopes with the psychiatrist... but didnt end up that way.

I dont plan on taking the ambien every night. I just have to get a couple nights GOOD rest. My body has taken a SERIOUS beating the past 2 weeks.

These adrenal surges WILL PASS.

The reason I'm confident it's Remeron withdrawal/my body adapting without it. Is b/c every time I have quit Remeron in the past, my nasal bridge feels HEAVY. It is heavy again. My back aches, my back is achey now. I had insomnia when coming off remeron, I now am dealing with insomnia.

However the adrenal surges/shaking/trembling in bed are new. But the only reason I relate it to the remeron is b/c when i tapered a month and a half ago, I had them, so I went back on a small dose and they went away. Then when I FINALLY weened a little slower, they came back.

Time heals everything. But sleep does too. lol. So I'm going to get a little break here and take a 5mg ambien. My brother said I should sleep good tonight. Praying. :)

Oh and I also found research on how Remeron affects the adrenals when stopping, which is why people also can't sleep at night.

Here is a post from someone I found on the web

"there is such a thing as remeron withdrawal and it is severe. It has taken me 8 months to fully get back to normal after trying to stop this drug 3 times. I had never had issues with insomnia, but once I stopped taking the remeron, I stopped sleeping more than 4 hours a night - I was told that it's because of the over-sedating effects of remeron and the stimulation of your adrenal glands; apparently, once you've stopped the drug, your body needs large amounts of time to get back into its own rythmn again. this drug was the worst thing i ever did to myself and i would caution anyone to not take it. a safer drug, because of the long half-life, which equates to a built-in tapering system, is prozac. beware - as you withdraw from remeron, people will tell you that its your "old" symtoms reappearing - no it's not! it's the symptoms of withdrawing from this evil drug and you can get through it! i tried every sleeping pill from ambien to trazadone to help with my sleep, but never took more than a couple dosages - i figured that eventually, if i stopped worrying about it, my body would get back on track on its own, which is exactly what happened. as far as the anxiety - cognitive therapy works wonders - there is a great book out called "Don't Panic" by R. Reid Wilson - it's changed my thinking and erased my panic and anxiety. don't believe most docs, who are in the back pockets of the pharmaceutical companies anyway, when they push drugs on you...i learned my lesson but almost lost my mind in the process of stopping remeron."

[nursegirl6572]

Sorry to hear that, what did the doc say?  What's plan B?

[cnote]

It did not even make me tired. I still had the cortisol rushes, but then once i tried to fall asleep, the serequel put me into some sort of sleep paralysis/hallucination. It was the scariest thing EVER. NEVER TOUCHING THAT STUFF AGAIN!!

[nursegirl6572]

What?  The Seroquel?

What happened?

[cnote]

I WILL NEVER TAKE THIS DEVIL DRUG AGAIN!

[remar]

It really helps some people with their anxiety and depression. I've heard some people say it makes them tired, others say it's stimulating and others have no side effects.
I really hope it helps you and you're able to get some much needed sleep and anxiety relief.

[cnote]

im hoping the seroquel xr will help me sleep, b/c remeron no longer makes me sleepy nor helps with anxiety or appetite.

My anxiety is very bad right now and I need sleep. SOOO sleep deprived.

Hopefully this seroquel xr 50mg will help with insomnia, anxiety and appetite soon. :)