Comparing Quetiapine vs Risperidone

For Insomnia This is the only med that actually helps me sleep. I had tried melatonin, zopiclone, lorazepam and temazepam, as well as every natural remedy I could get my hands on and then my doctor suggested quetiapine. I take 25mg about an hour before going to sleep and usually by the time I climb into bed I can hardly keep my eyes open. I'm also taking bupropion (which is technically contraindicated with quetiapine) which may be why I feel so sedated on such a low dose. The only downside is that I don't fully wake up from it until I've been physically awake for at least an hour and it makes me really thirsty. But that's a small price to pay for getting a good sleep after struggling for years. Also it makes orgasms less intense for me which sucks!

For Insomnia First a quick rundown, I'm a 44yr old white male with a whole slew of physical problems. Here's the short list of things hat's been keeping me awake days at a time. I have CRPS (2012) ,Degenerative Disk Disease C4 -C7 moderate to severe(2001 since 1.5" shorter). I suffered a T.B.I.( Subdural Laceration .60") in 2012. Both rotator cuffs that have been torn several times each both of them have SLAP tears and tendonitis ,arthritis in various places. 8 weeks ago I tore my left R.C. for the 3rd or 4th time this time it came with the SLAP tear too. I've had issues with not being able to sleep because of pain for the past 5 years, starting shortly after CRPS reared it's ugly little head. If you aren't familiar with it just imagine all ten of your toes are broken both feet being beat with a hammer repeatedly accompanied by a little fella with a flamethrower that follows you everywhere you go. This is a 24/7-365, It made me reconsider my position on voodoo dolls because at times I feel as if I'm being stabbed with an ice pick every 10-15 seconds then after 5-20 pokes it moves to a different joint. Imaginary time over now, on the McGill pain scale it's the highest rated pain 48/50 childbirth is a 36,cancer 32 many others listed too. The only difference is those pains go away or have treatment options. Recently the surgeon general changed the approved therapy from opioid pain medications to No Approved Therapies simply because nothing works for more than a couple of months then your body gets use to the nerve blockers and any and all types and dosages of pain meds. Some choose to have thier feet amputated knowing there may still be phantom pain but that's much lower on the pain scale. Okay now that you know why I'm not sleeping well or at all here is my experience with this RX. 8 days prior to going to see my Doctor I went to my 1st P.T. session( hurt too much B4 then). During the 2hrs there she pulled and tugged on everything that hurts trying to figure out the range of motion and all that. This was 2 Mondays ago from that day until the following Monday I had slept a total of 9.5 hours going a minimum of 48 hrs between 1.5-2.5 hr naps before the pain would wake me the same as if someone had dumped a bucket of bricks on my head. After a week of this I saw my Dr for my monthly visit and explained everything including how I tried shifting my medications around ,changing the times taken and completely stopping 1 of them for 3 days and another for 2 days with no effect what so ever. He gave me a few choices of medication to try and I choose this one because I've never seen a commercial for it on TV. I refuse to take anything that's advertised on TV. The side effects are usually a more severe of what ever you needed to take it for plus another 20 possible side effects, not 4 me No. I didn't get home until after 1pm so I planned to take it the next time I felt like I was completely drained and might be able to sleep I would take the RX then as it was the best shot for it to work. That ended up being 10am the next morning,Tuesday. I took 1-25mg pill 15 minutes before I laid down and I don't remember my head hitting the pillow. In the past 15 years that has happened maybe 5-8 times. I woke up twice to use the bathroom and take my other meds for pain, less than 5 minutes after getting up to pee I was asleep again. I woke up 5:30 am Wednesday morning and felt more human than I have in the past 5 years. The pain was tolerable enough that I laid there for a couple of more hours. The best sleep I can remember. Since then my shoulder is feeling a little better so it's not making my normally terrible situation worse and since I've learned to deal with it as best as one can I'm getting back to sleeping 3.5 to 4.5 hours every night. I've only needed to take 1/2 of one since the first. My situation is very unique but if spilling my guts about things I hate to talk about helps someone else get the sleep they need then it was worth it.

For Bipolar Disorder I started taking Risperidone a number of months ago after a psychotic episode. I'm prone to episodes of psychosis especially with very bad agitation, paranoia, and delusions and have been hospitalised before for this. I've been on Quetiapine, Olanzapine, Amisulpride, Clopixol (depot injection) and Clozapine. I am currently taking 3mg of Risperidone along wIth Venlafaxine. I take it before bed at night. It gives me a nice calm relaxed feeling and I find I can usually sleep better with less anxiety and voices at night. I don't suffer side effects and I think if people practice mindful eating and try to exercise a bit then they shouldn't gain weight, I haven't. I think this drug controls my symptoms well and stops mania.

For Bipolar Disorder Mentally this is great medicine but the weight gain is unbearable. Hoping to change my medicine without a psychotic episode.