My brother takes 450mg a day and gained weight. He takes it for bipolor. I have high anxity and PTSD. I take Prazosin 4mg. at night and it works wonders. While he has bipolor. Been on many things that made me worse and kinda scared to try this. My Dr told me its such a low does it wont effect my weight but I hear it will. That will made me even more sad when I have reacuring nigthmares that make me sad and hipervigalent at the same time already. Hope to hear from someone. Thanks
Has anyone taken 25mg. to 50mg of Seroquel and gained or lost weight?
Question posted by Deliarose on 17 Aug 2012
Last updated on 11 March 2024
Added 17 Aug 2012:
My Dr. has put me on 25mg of seoquel today one a day. Then might might raise it to 50mg. she says a hight dose would make my stuation worse.
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34 Answers Page 2
Fedbev
13 Jan 2019
Yes I have been on Seroquel for 2 years and have increased weight significantly with blood sugars and liver enzymes not right. I have only recently really read the side affects as presumed my GP would have said something as the weight gain has been causing my severe depression and anxiety worse. I also see that it can cause Reflux which my GP have sent me to specialist, given all sorts of tests - but NO-ONE has ever mentioned it maybe a side affect. Has anyone else suffered with Reflux, increased sweating, decreased strength and energy plus vision changes ?
sickofmeds76
11 May 2018
I created this account just to comment on Seroquel and weight gain and loss. When I first started taking it, I gained 25 pounds in about 1 month. No joke. I was taking 100mg a day for anxiety.
I went down to 50mg just for sleep and the weight was still there. So I started cardio, 1 hour SIX times a week, weights at the gym 3 times a week, and basically starving myself. 800 calories a day. I lost 20 pounds in 3 months, but that was with excessive exercise, food restriction.
I recently tapered down to a 1/4 of a 25mg pill. Used a pill splitter, so 6. 25mg a night for sleep or I sometimes take 12.5mg.
I literally peed out 10 pounds of bloat in 2 weeks on this lower dose. No joke. I can see my cheekbones again and everyone I know has commented on how I look less puffy. A good portion of the seroquel weight gain was water retention for me.
I was also pre-diabetic on higher doses of seroquel, I no longer am.
No matter what people tell you, Seroquel DOES do something to your metabolism. I want to get off it completely, but I need sleep and haven't found something that works for me.
If you can lower your dose, I highly recommend it. I don't feel like I'm wearing a fat suit anymore! When weight comes on that quickly, it's an awful feeling :( Does a number on ones self esteem for sure.
I wish you all good luck in your journey.
kchanthyasak
5 Aug 2019
Thank you for this! I just started on 25mg (originally scheduled going to 50mg in few days). 25mg is working perfectly for sleep and mood stabilizer. Planning to stay at 25mg and doing 50mg only as needed. I will provide an update! (I am active and eat light)
DonAllen1973
12 Jan 2018
I was overweight in my early teens, but never had a weight problem since then. I am 44 now. That is until I started taking Seroquel two years ago. I have been on it for two years and have gained 50 pounds. I was taking 200 my at night. Lots of times I eat absolutely nothing during the day. I drink only zero calorie drinks such as unsweetened tea and water. My issue is night time eating. I wake up in the middle of the night starving and craving sweets. It doesn't matter if I eat before bed or not.
I have weaned myself down to 100 MG. I will go down to 50 tonight. The last time I tried to wean off I was fine at 50. It was going to nothing where I experienced major anxiety and insomnia problems. This time I am going to cut more slowly, from 50 to 25 to 12.5. I hope it works. I honestly believe that withdrawals are what keeps lots of people on the stuff.
Pgirl
9 Sep 2017
I've been taking 1000mg. a day for almost a year to help treat manic bipolar, anxiety and depression and I have gained over 50lbs. I have never been overweight in the past and now I can hardly recognize myself. I feel ravenous all the time. I don't over eat but still keep gaining weight. I'm depressed more than ever. I'm really worried about trying an alternative medicine because it was a struggle finding a medicine that has helped my disorders as well as Seroquel. I guess being fat out weighs being crazy. Pun intended!
Jonathanwant
26 July 2017
I took seroquel (anywhere between 50mg to 400+) for insomnia, for about 4 years... I gained about 50 pounds on it. I'd take it and start eating everything. I somehow managed to get to 207. About 2 months ago, I got off it and started taking over the counter medicine for sleep. I then started dieting and exercising. I'm at 174 now.
WildcatVet
20 July 2017
In clinical trials only 6% of patients taking Seroquel (quetiapine) reported weight gain as opposed to 3% of placebo users who also reported weight gain.
I took high doses of quetiapine for Bipolar disorder for over 4 years with no weight gain at all.
Ruokday
26 July 2017
When most of these trials are funded by big pharma you have to look very closely at these findings/claims. Over how long were participants followed? You'll get quite a different figure if it's over 12 weeks compared to 12 months. I found the drug produces no change in weight for the 1st month or 2, and then the weight gradually starts to creep up (I put on 10kg over about 16 months), and I lost it when I came off Seroquel.
WildcatVet
26 July 2017
How about when the post market clinical trials are performed by independent agencies?
Ruokday
26 July 2017
The last RCT abstract I remember reading reported 2-3kg for weight gain on average over about 16 weeks (from memory). To produce this average if only 6% gained weight, that 6% must have gained 100kg or so each! Nonetheless if you have any independent studies I'd be interested to see. From the responses above there clearly is a lot of variability as to how Seroquel impacts people's appetite and weight.
WildcatVet
26 July 2017
Why scare people to death with only horror stories? 6 pounds? OMG, I'm a neurotic, psychotic basket case but my jeans still fit???
Ruokday
26 July 2017
Well you'd be foolish if you got scared to death by that. Of course this medication can have great benefit. It does for me. But if I can find an alternative that does the same job with less weight gain and sedation I would. It's not about being negative it's about taking a comprehensive look at a medication, both the potential benefits and side effects
sphinxnoir
20 July 2017
I have been on Seroquel since maybe age 8. I was only on 50 then 100 mg. Just recently they put me on Quetiapine 200mg (substituted for Seroquel) because the medicine wasn't working as well to help me sleep. I noticed after this and being put on 2 other known weight gainers I gained weight pretty quick. I had the same issue with another medication, I was 118lbs and within 2 months I ballooned up to 165 lbs then topped out at 178lbs within that 2 1/2 month period. I quit Lyrica immediately. I guess with someone struggling with an eating disorder it doesn't help being on a medicine that makes you balloon up like I did and am now doing again. The pants (size 7/8) i bought because of the weight gain a few months back now are too tight on me and I struggle to find a pair to fit me without squishing out the muffin top too much. I had to change what and how I wore once again.
Pania1980
19 June 2017
Hi I gained 45kgs in like 8 months of being on quetiapine. I only have 50mgs a day. Ive fluxcuated with my weight all my life my heaviest at 160kg and my lowest at 79kgs I dont have any issues with being fat I got way to many other problems without weight being one of them, I really dont care but it has put quite a strain on my back which pisses me off from time to time.
julesbelle
16 July 2017
i started this med in october- I have gained 25 pounds no change in eating -i even went to a nutritionist to try to lose on 1.200 calories and gained weight. this is terrible as the drug works for sleep and i only take 25 mg. if anyone tells me you have to eat to gain weight on this drug you are wrong. i am proof - i see a new doctor this week and i have no idea what they will do- i wish i never went on this drug- what a catch 22!
thanee
8 March 2017
Hey, I'm on 200 mg/day for BPD.
I did gain a bit of weight the first month I took it but I honestly cant say for sure if it was the drugs or just my eating more and it wasnt a dramatic weight gain - it was noticeable but it wasn't as if i became obsese over night. I was still slender, just a little rounder so to say ha. It was really just in the first month though, so maybe my body was getting used to it, now im in my second month and i have lost the weight i previously had put on, and i feel that i'm not hungry at all anymore. I eat once a day and it will be a soup or something light and i honestly am not noticing hunger at all.
I've slept through days and not eaten at all. So yeah for some reason it does make me tired and sleep more.
So maybe the weight gain is just while the body is getting accustomed to the drug? I'm also taking 40 mg prozac / day as well as Adipex D (37.5 mg/day) in addition to this. Adipex - D works as a counterdrug to fight the hunger caused by seroquel so maybe that has something to do with my decreasing hunger.
Hope that helps, I know its different for everyone.
Deb1055
18 Jan 2017
I would like to add that I am a diabetic and I do take seroquel and nothing else works. I know that I gained weight on this drug but... there is a reason for it I ate more because somehow it makes you hungry and it is hard to resist. I am only mentioning the diabetic part as pharmacists were concerned that it would raise my blood sugars and did not really think it was a good plan. However I would keep having to go back on it as nothing else was effective for me. In the end I have developed a strategy for dealing with it and resisting the urges which is nearly impossible so I have food in my fridge that I will grab and eat that is not bad for me to eat when the cravings hit. My weight has stablized and I am still taking the drug. The main point to remember here is the way you gain weight on it is eating because it causes you to have a larger appetite. The pounds do not magically appear.
Ruokday
20 Jan 2017
I would agree that it increases your appetite, particularly at night when you take it (I found). In theory you could resist the urge to eat but I have never really found a way, as it is very difficult to fight. The only thing that helps to some degree is eating lots of vegetables to fill you up. It doesn't solve the problem but it can help. Seroquel combined with Lithium worked well for my bipolar. The only drug that I have found works better than Seroquel is Latuda. I replaced the Seroquel with it about 1.5 mths ago and it has been miraculous so far with virtually no depressive symptoms, and less appetite problems. But it does not help you to sleep so I have been taking other sedatives such as benzos to sleep. Early days yet of course but I hope it keeps working like this in the long term.
zep1982
14 March 2019
does your diabetes meds lower your glucose counteract the seroquel?
Deb1055
15 March 2019
I am still on the Seroquel and it has now been 7 years. My dosage has not changed much but if I do not take it I won't sleep. Weight gain wise I have gained about 15 pounds but I am still eating at night in the middle of the night I am starving from this pill so it does affect my blood sugars and no the medications are not counteracting the weight gain at all. However I have noticed that I have sort of stabilized at this weight I am at now and I have learned to accept that the benefits of sleeping outweigh the other detriments for me personally. I do take more diabetic meds to offset a bit the numbers that are increased due to my nightime eating.
Chiquita45
15 Dec 2016
I took it 6 years ago for sleep and I put on 40 pounds in 6 months. Once I got off it, the extra weight quickly went away.
EmmaVictoria
29 June 2018
Hey, I was in it from January this year and gained so much weight I went from 11 stone and I’m now 13 and that was 3 months.. I came off it two months ago and he Weight just won’t go away, I don’t know what else I can do about it, how long did it take for yours to drop off?
jhoneybrown
14 Dec 2016
In my experience I Went From 130 To 180lbs In One Year Period. Plus It Made Me More Depressed And Felt Like A Zombie Literally. I Don't Take It Any Longer And I Did Lose Weight Once I Got Off It. Took Me Nearly A Year To Lose The Weight And I Was So Traumatized By It. I'm 5'2 So I Was Very Misserable. But I Have Friends That Have Taken It And Maybe Gained 10lbs. My Sex Drive Went To Minus Zero. I Hope You Don't Have The Same Side Effect As I Did. Not Everyone Gaines Weight Like I Did.
PatriciaCeee
19 Oct 2016
I have been on anywhere from 25 mg to 100 mg and have gained 50 pounds. I have never been overweight!!! I was taking remeron which is a weight gainer, too. I went to my pcp yesterday and got off of both. Now taking trazodone. Hope I can lose this weight now...
Ebony lewis
25 Oct 2018
How long did it take you to gain the 50 pounds of you font mind me asking.
PatriciaCeee
25 Oct 2018
I believe this happened in the course of a year, maybe slightly less. It's that histamine blocker effect. I'm certain. However, I really do need an antianxiety medication. I'm missing that tremendously...
DanielleMarie73
7 Dec 2015
I started on 50mg, no weight gain. Went up to 100, a bit of weight gain. Up to 200, then I gained weight like crazy!! I am an athlete, run every day, and it made me absolutely crazy that I could run over 40 miles a week, strength training and eat healthy, and continue to gain weight. I had no idea about the side effect of weight gain due to the fact that I never gained on the lower dosage, so this is not "all in my mind". It is a fact. I read that supposedly the drug changes something in your brain that effects the way your metabolism works. This drug actually slows your metabolism, on high dosages especially. btw, 200 mg is not that high... This weight gain is not something that you can control. I experimented and did a cleansing fast, something that I could normally lose 5-10 lbs on, something I had safely done as an athlete many times to cleanse my system.
While taking this drug and doing a fast I gained weight, it was only one pound, but when I would normally lose weight on a cleanse fast, gaining weight got my concern up and then did more reading on the drug. This drug makes you gain considerable weight with higher dosages. It can cause weight gain at any dosage if you are not an active healthy person. For the people who say that it is mental and such - this is just not so. For me I had been taking the lower dosage and only took the higher dosage for a specific reason, I have my dosage lower now and the weight is coming off easily.
Inertj
19 July 2017
Yup, the weight gain is not a mental thing, it's a biological process affecting histamine and hunger receptors in the brain. There are clinical studies to show that in addition to changes in BMR.
The people who say "just eat right etc... " are making it worse for the rest of it, because not only are their comments dismissive, but their data is wrong and they are invalidotating the truth. The think there are several NIH studies available to show it's an actual brain chemistry change that creates the weight gain.
For the rest of you, if you don't know what your talking about scientifically or have zero personal experience, stop the nonesense with "eat right and you won't gain weight." It's detrimental.
Cole717
27 March 2014
I take 25 mg of Seroquel at night and it helps me sleep so much better and i wake up refreshed. I noticed a little bit of an increase in my appetite so i decided to eat healthy snacks throuout the day so i would be full and also my metabolism would jumpstart. I was on 50 mg but that just made me too tired. so a good tip is if you are worried about it making you gain weight just eat a little healthier and work out more. You can also lose weight while you are on Seroquel it just might be a slight bit harder.
margiemckinney
13 Aug 2018
Did you get dizzy or anything first time
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seroquel, post traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, prazosin, weight, anxiety and stress
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