[blue]

My psych just recently prescribed me this medicine, and after some back and forth I decided to give it a shot. I'm dealing with excessively anxiety and are kinda "trapped" in a behavior that is apart from "being myself". My therapist said Seroquel would help me "bring myself together", and get rid off the anxiety. I'm confused now, because every where I look I see links about schizophrenia and bipolar, but nothing about MY type of suffering. I feel like I'm the only one on the planet dealing with this problem, and when I say planet I mean the planet of "Seroquel". Somewhere in the back of my head I am doubting my psych, thinking she prescribed me something just for the "heck" of it.

I have been on this medicine for about 1 and a half week now, I started out with 25mg 1 pill in the morning and evening, then after a week increased it to 2 at a time. I can't say I'm noticing any difference at all when it comes to anxiety and the "lack of being myself". All that this medicine has done this fear, is putting 2000 pounds extra weight on my shoulders, panick-attacks because of the "abnormal" symptoms that's including breathing/fast heart-beat, about-to-faint symptoms, pale and weak, THE GENERAL FEAR of all these horrific side-effects.. I also feel VERY, and I mean it when I say, VERY alone. My psych didn't leave me her number, in fact; I have to wait another 2 weeks until I will meet with her again. I've tried to call the psych-hospital, but she is never available. Now everything is closed-up 'cause it's christmas. It makes me sick just to think about it. If anything happens to me now, no one knows. I don't wanna tell my family, nor my friends.. I am ALL by myself with this. Don't even have my psych to help me out. It makes me SICK to my stomach, it makes me SO SICK that I can't take one pill of this medicine without thinking about this extremely unfair treatment-- the fact that I am on a medicine that is not even related to my problems, and that could give me so many other horrible side-effects that could last for THE REST OF MY LIFE! That it can turn my life into so much worse.. I am SO scared!!

Is any of you on this? Does any of you feel like I do? Can any of you please be or at least "pretend", that you are here for me? I'm 18 years old, and feel like I am giving up my whole entire future by "experiementing" with this drug. Every hour after taking this pill, I feel a pain so unbearable all I can do is lay down in my bed and pray.. the more I pray the more I realize I'm alone with this.. Please respond!

[livid]

A good friend of mine has been given seroquel to help her sleep. There are often many uses for certain meds.
For example: I'm on depakote. I am bi-polar. This medication can be used for bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, seizures, and migraine headaches. More ofetn than not when you look up info on it the main thing you find is it's effective use as an anti-seizure, ant-migraine med. Rarely is there info on the schizo part, usually a mention of the manic side of bi-polar. It effectively works on the depressive side of manic depression (bi-polar disorder) as well, but usually doesn't mention this at all. My neurologist says it has VERY strong "mood stabilizing" properties, and it's in the class of lithium in that respect.
Also have another friend who is being given the SSRI anti depressant trazodone for sleep. And when I complained of taking literally hours to have an orgasn during sex when I was using paxil (another ssri) my family doctor told me he would often prescribe a low 10 mg daily dosage of paxil to his patients who complained of premature ejaculation. So there are often many uses for different meds... some of which might not be so well publicized.

[livid]

Another thing. If your doctor will not be there for you, it's time to find another. I'm quite familiar with the collect the money and shove you out the door feeling they can give you. I ahd one doctor threaten me with collection on a bill for one visit, after not collecting a disability check for over 2 months because SHE failed to fill out the form I needed to mail in.
While you should be aware of the possible side effects of medication, you should also know that these are usually rare, esp the more serious ones. Reading the warnings on your prescription slip are enough to scare the hell out of anyone. Don't believe me, look up the warnings for depakote (that I'm on) online. It basically says hey this med could kill you really quickly if you are one of the intolerant, biggest risk being fatal pancreatitis, followed by liver damage. I have to get blood tests every 3 months (monthly first 2 months) to make sure I'm ok, and not doing damage.
Try to relax, you're already suffering from anxiety. Try not to let the possible "cure" (I use that word VERY lightly) make things worse. Doctors do in fact "experiment" in trying to find the right medication for the individual... it's never clear cut which will work for who, and often the first isn't the one.

[Johncarol72]

I have had migraines for 40 years, have panic attacks and depression. I was just started on Seroquil a short while ago(few days) and it is really helping. If it were making me feel worse or have other side affects, I would scale back down to a low dose and get off. At least until you can talk to your doctor. You don't sound like you're getting good care. Sorry
Carol

[blue]

What it also says on this medicine is that you shouldn't get off it unless speaking to your doctor. I think I will just have to continue with it till I am back at her office. Theres so many things we didn't discuss about this medicine, it is almost as though she prescribed me something just to prescribe it, didn't worry a bit about what it could do to me. I do know that medicines in general could work on several things, and also that this one does. But from what I've read this far, it mentions anxiety but only anxiety in a form of bipolar. So the anxiety bipolar people experience. I'm trying to remember our conversations and whether or not we talked about bipolar; sometimes my symtomps could sound like bipolar but I very much know that's not the case. But how would my doctor know?..

Sleep/Insomnia is also something I've read about this medicine, and it also makes a lot of sence. When swallowing the pill I walk around like a zombie and I can sleep ANYWHERE. That including in the bathtub. Pretty scary indeed.

[livid]

The reason it says not to discontinue use without speaking to your doctor is because you have to be weened off of it gradually if you've been using it for an extended period. All anti-depressant and anti-anxiety meds are like that, you risk feeling much worse if you just stop because you "feel better". If you've only been using them a couple weeks stopping wouldn't have any real complications because your body hasn't even become accustomed to it being there yet more than likely.

Bi-polar is going thru cycles of extreme mania (highs) where you are overly happy and psyched about everything, setting unrealistic goals and thinking they are totally attainable (as an example). Followed by often very long, and deep depression where you do little more than cry and think about, and possibly even attempt and/or be successful, suicide.
While anxiety can accompany bi-polar, it's not necessarily a symptom of the disorder, and they wouldn't use anxiety alone as a reason for the diagnosis. Bi-polar is just the "new" name for manic depression... if you don't experience mania AND severe chronic depression in cycles, you aren't bi-polar... it's the very definition of it.

[GothicCrow]

blue, I have been on seroquel for about 7 months now, I was put on them for rapid thoughts as in thinking alot, I was also in the hospital for over 3 months last xmas, while I was in there they had me on different tablets for the rapid thoughts, when I got out my shrink or doc or whatever one may call them put me on them, I was on starter pack now im on 100mg in morning and 200mg at night, my shrink told me I could juggle the dosage about as in take what I felt like, I have seeked adive from others and they said you just can't do that, I also starting to think my shrink just give me them for the heck of it. I have been looking at the seroquel site and all it says that they are for is for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder feck I don't have that ****, my shrink says they put me on them cause when I was in hospital they didn't know what was wrong with me I was confused and ****, I thought I took a breakdown due to over working and other ****e.

I rarely go out I seem to feel safer at home but why I have no idea, I sometimes fear that not taking these tablets will do something to me but what that is I have no idea, I don't feel great on them as I have been told, sometimes I'm grand other days I fell like jumping through my window, they have me confused I don't know wether I'm coming or going, I feel I want to run away to but where I have no idea, now my shrink says I can't go off them as in like right away that I have to gradually cut them down, the day my shrink give me them he looked at a medicine book and just picked them from it, this worried me abit like this mofo has years of experience and he's picking them from a book, to be honest i think he know's nothing whatsoever about these tablets and is just going by what i tell him if any, your not alone I'm sure there is many of us whom at one time in our lifes have become sick due to whatever anxiety, depression suicidal whatever and have been put on these tablets by doctors whom don't seem to know what day it is, but they give us them anyway cause they don't know what's wrong with us, but they see keywords in a book or on a site that describes the symptons we have and they say wow I think I know what's wrong with my patient, and before one knows it their on tablets that have nothing what so ever to do with their sickness, I'll be on to my shrink the day, and just ask him ok mofo tell me the lot what you know of these tablets and what groups are there here in Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the world if any for people whom are on them and are worried, if you can't talk till your shrink or doctor blue find someone that has more power than them, as we all know some shrinks are text book critics, as in they know nothing unless they get it from a book.

Keep well blue

[livid]

actually crow some of the things you mentioned could indicate bi-polar disorder. It's a cycling of highs and lows... ups and downs. But if you don't feel these except when using the meds, then i'd say they aren't what you need. I'm surprised they didn't give you an A.D.D. med like ritalin instead from your description of your original condition.

[1up]

For What It's Worth, I'm on Seroquel 1000mg daily. My psychologist has mentioned that he has kids on something like 500 If I Recall Correctly. I've tried Abilify, which had painful side-effects, but made good progress and tried Risperdal, but didn't have much progress with it. Seroquel is very nice with the low side effects, I have been taking it awhile and no serious problems.

[GothicCrow]

All I know is I was put on them for rapid thoughts, aye and whats a A.D.D? to be honest on these tabs some days I feel fine and others I feel like my head has exploded from the inside, when I see my shrink and tell him how I fell he scribbles notes on a pad and says see me in a month short but sweet, all I was told 7 months ago while first put on them that they would slow down my rapid thoughts and they have but way too much, he also put me on something called ciprelax or something they where for nerves but they didn't go well with the seroquel and I had to stop them, and if I do have bi-polar disorder why don't they tell me, to be honest I don't think they know what I do have, I have been told I'm not schizophrenia thank feck, but I will be on to my shrink asap even if I have to come of these slowly I think personally it be for best, at the end of the day they don't know they prescribe the tablets not take them.


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