Quetiapine for Schizoaffective Disorder User Reviews (Page 3)

• Joh...
• August 16, 2017

Quetiapine "I have been taking Seroquel XR 800mg for almost 11 years. Before this, I was taking a low dose of regular Seroquel for many years. It really helps me manage my schizoaffective disorder. I am also taking a doctor's prescribed antihistamine, hydroxyzine 50mg, because I get hives while on Seroquel XR. I have noticed male breast growth and hard glandular breast tissue build-up under my breast during this year. I am also experiencing breast pain. I am on a calorie-restricted diet and have been exercising and lifting weights regularly for the past 10 years and have gained 5lbs to 10lbs in weight. I have low body fat and can do 70 push-ups in a row easily, so it's not body fat."

• JoS...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 16, 2018

"Been taking Seroquel XR for about 8 years for severe insomnia and schizoaffective disorder. It's great for sleep, but I've put on about 50 lbs. since starting. Currently trying to titrate off of it, and I'm down to 50 mg. I do work out 3 times a week, so I'm not gaining, but I'm not losing weight either. I'm not a fitness god, but I've been pretty active all my life and skinny, so being 50 lbs. overweight is a dealbreaker for me. I want to have my knees and hips functioning in old age, can't do that when I'm lugging extra weight around that's crushing my knees. There's just too many negative physical symptoms that my pdoc doesn't care to address that affect quality of life."

• sin...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 23, 2016

Quetiapine "I'm taking Seroquel XR 400 mg. It all started last winter with my psychotic episode. I went a bit manic, anxiety, depression. Won't get into details. I went into the mental hospital for 2 months, there is where I started taking Seroquel. To be honest, the first 2 weeks I have been vomiting every single night, had dizziness so hard that I had to hold walls while walking down the hallway. It's fine because at that point I didn't know if it's just a bad dream or reality. After a period of let's say 2 months, I got much better. Still, I was feeling like my emotions, vocabulary, thoughts were really in bad condition. As time passes, I got used to it (I'm using it for 10 months now). DON'T DO COLD TURKEY!!!"

• del...
• August 4, 2020

"Quetiapine made me way too tired, it also worsened my paranoia and psychotic symptoms from my schizoaffective disorder. Overall, it just felt like a sleeping pill that didn't really take care of the schizoaffective. When I was starting to fall asleep, I felt like I couldn't move my body because it was too heavy. This gave me panic attacks at night. So I guess it didn't work for me, hopefully, you don't have this experience."

• Ann...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 4, 2022

Quetiapine "In my experience, Seroquel literally saved my life and helped control the symptoms of schizophrenia correctly when the dose was increased to 400 mg. I felt more like myself again and far less paranoid. My downsides include drowsiness, tiredness, and dry mouth, so drink more water than usual."

• TyT...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 26, 2020

Quetiapine "I was on Seroquel XR 300 mg for a year. It worked for the most part, but the sleepiness during the day was just too much for me. I gained 83 pounds and developed NA Fatty Liver Disease from it. Can’t say I would recommend this medication."

• Nia...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 10, 2022

Quetiapine "I have a love-hate relationship with this drug, I really do. It seems to be the most effective in reducing psychotic symptoms, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts. It definitely helped me feel less depressed before, but I find that it doesn’t quite have that effect anymore (maybe it was a placebo). The major downside to this drug is that it triggers me to binge eat. As someone with bulimia, I have to be super careful with my dosage. I wish this medication didn’t cause me to binge eat, but none of the other ones work quite this well for me."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 15, 2022

Quetiapine "I have been on Seroquel XR for five days and feel so much more positive and restful. I am on 150 mg. Still feeling the side effects of tiredness, but apart from that, all good. Very impressed with this medication."

• Jt1...
• April 27, 2016

Quetiapine "Been on regular Seroquel for 4 years, fine. Started this for mania/depression and paranoid thoughts. Awful. Weaned up from 50 mg to 450 mg, then back down to off in 1 week. Stomach pains. Out of touch with reality. Groggy. Weight gain immediately. It helped the symptoms, but no way to live."

• jui...
• March 13, 2011

Quetiapine "The doctor decided to put me on Seroquel XR instead of Risperdal. Today I took it, then felt the calming effects of it. Then I was conscious of it kicking in, and I started sweating. The sweating stopped, but all of a sudden I feel the same as I did before. Is this normal? I'm also still feeling impulsive and have trouble communicating with people."

• Kit...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 29, 2020

"I've been on this medication for two months. So far, my paranoia has lessened, but it makes me feel weird. It's difficult to move sometimes, and I feel like it has made me somewhat more aggressive. I can't tell much difference with my delusions. It has helped my mania slightly."

• Mon...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 22, 2018

"I took quetiapine for several years, 800 mg. It worked well for me with controlling my symptoms. I did gain a lot of weight while taking it. I continued gaining weight the entire time I took it. It also caused my heart to feel like it was going to beat out of my chest. My psychiatrist and I decided to start ramping me down while starting me on Vraylar. I've only been completely off the quetiapine for one day. If not for the massive weight gain, I would have stayed on it."

• K1t...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 14, 2016

"Little side effects. All I got was weight gain, dry mouth, and I slept an awful lot. It did nothing for my psychosis, despite being on 750 mg. At 600 mg, it started to help a little with my mood, but the change wasn't consistent."

• Pix...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 12, 2014

Quetiapine "Unfortunately, after more than a year, pervasive stuff like weight gain, increased lipids, and diabetes all started to be present. Great for a while, but I started to need more of it to deal with psychotic symptoms, and the sedative nature of it got in the way. Swapped to paliperidone ER, which is more focused on the psychotic symptoms and doing well without the sedation."

• Jer...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 21, 2021

"At first, quetiapine took some dosage adjustments. It works great. I sleep so well now. My hallucinations are at a minimum now. When it gets bad, I take 25 mg during the day, which levels me out. I take 350 mg at night."

• Stu...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 4, 2021

Quetiapine "If my diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder (bipolar type) is correct, then Seroquel is working better for me than Invega did. Invega is the only drug currently approved for schizoaffective disorder, but I predict in 2021 that Seroquel will eventually be approved for schizoaffective disorder too. I am allowed to take 600 mg to 800 mg of Seroquel daily/nightly, and it works better and more consistently for me than taking Invega daily by pill or capsule."

• Kri...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 25, 2024

Quetiapine "Seroquel has given me peace of mind, finally. I have terrifying racing thoughts that take control of me and leave me feeling really low. I started at 50 mg at night, now I'm taking 200 mg each night before bed. It has really saved me, and I am grateful for this treatment."

• Blu...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 23, 2022

"I just started this at 30 mg. It knocked me for a loop. I had to cut the pills in half or I would fall down. I could barely make it upstairs to my bed! I am having nighttime hallucinations. All versions. This has just started, and so my neurologist prescribed it for me. I don't want to take this every day like you are supposed to. It definitely puts me out, but the next day I walk around groggily. This is not something I will continue. I can't believe how high of a dosage some people are taking! Good luck!"

• Que...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 25, 2024

"I have only had 2 schizoaffective episodes that were caused by my marijuana use, one major (full-blown psychosis) and then one acute (severe insomnia). Why I did it again is a long story, but I self-admitted for early intervention. I have tried another antipsychotic before (Zyprexa, horrible experience. I had to stop and deviate from my prescription order after a few days). Quetiapine is something that can be prescribed for those who are sensitive to other strong antipsychotics. It is a more gentle antagonism against D2 receptors and has sedative antihistaminergic properties. Those attributes of quetiapine were just perfect for thwarting my acute episode from developing any further, it has given me more insight into how insomnia happened to be the backbone of my episodes, personally. It's a pretty unique antipsychotic overall, and it's uniquely effective. I strongly recommend this medication for those who are currently having ineffective experiences with other antipsychotics."

• Qui...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 8, 2024

"So close to being the one. It helped with maintaining a deep sleep and helped a lot with nighttime auditory hallucinations (I rarely have visual hallucinations), but that’s where the issue lies with this drug. I was consistently tired, and it leaves a foggy/dizzy head feeling for a few hours after waking up. The drug did for me what it needed to do, but the side effects even after cutting my pills in half left the same feeling. I can’t see why this would be prescribed for those with major depressive disorder because lack of energy is a pretty typical issue with depression, and this drug will make you feel low energy, especially the first few weeks. I try to get around 5 hours of sleep a night because that’s what works best for me, but taking this drug, that simply won’t happen. Once you’re asleep, you’re ASLEEP. If you already struggle to get out of bed, this is your worst nightmare. If your issue is only insomnia and you don’t deal with depression, this would be a great option."

• ger...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 24, 2013

Quetiapine "Gained excessive amounts of weight. Made me feel catatonic."

• Anonymous
• January 5, 2012

Quetiapine "Seroquel is a lifesaver. I used to not be able to sleep, used to be stuck in my head. This has granted me a second chance to live a happy life."

• Bip...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 21, 2016

Quetiapine "Works kind of well, but you will sleep like nonstop, and you will gain weight. I gained at least 30 pounds on this med and was sleeping like 14 hours a day."

• Cha...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 8, 2014

Quetiapine "No problems, watch what you eat."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 28, 2017

Quetiapine "If you have a mixed diagnosis, bipolar I or II, with traces of schizophrenia, Seroquel acts as a good 'sidekick' to medications such as Risperdal and Zyprexa and Abilify."