Quetiapine - is the drowsiness worth it?

[BettyInc]

I've been prescribed 100mg at night for my severe anxiety, along with fluanxol in the day.

I'm only taking 50mg so far and sleeping SO MUCH I can't cope at all. Take it at 730, out at 8pm til around midday then have a nap later on too.

Help please, I'm so low and can't work out if I just need to persevere or give up on it. It's only been a week but I'm meant to be going back to work soon and there's no way I can.


Also- I have a long term sick meeting at 9am. If I take the Q there's no way I can go, no way I can possibly drive. Can I just skip a night or will I get ill?

[blue2014]

Some people use it as needed for sleep (and sleepyness is a massive side effect) but you really could do with medical advice. Did they tell you how long before you would settle with it? Did you start on a lower dose?

[iveburntthetoast]

Quetiapine has been a god send for me, but I take it for bipolar and psychotic depression so it's a good fit for my symptoms. But it's heavy duty medication. The tiredness went for me eventually. I take 1350mg and it doesn't sedate me, but I've been on it for years.

Have you tried other meds for anxiety? The sedation might go, but it might not. You'd have to give it a month before you could be sure. It seems a heavy duty med for anxiety, unless you've exhausted other options.

[BettyInc]

I've not tried any other meds. Pdoc said 'mildly sedative' but this is insane and making my depression worse!

It's just anxiety although he's diagnosed borderline BPD.

[doleritedinosaur]

It takes quite a few weeks to get "used"
To the tiredness. You could ask for 25mg if you're really struggling with sleeping so much & can then build up from there.

[BettyInc]

I've decided not to take it tonight otherwise there's no way i'll be at the meeting at 9am tomorrow.

This is the latest I've been awake since I started taking them!!

[blue2014]

Hope the meeting goes well @BettyInc

[BettyInc]

thank you :) it's so stressful trying to navigate things like work meetings when my head is all over the place.

[blue2014]

I can imagine try not to give it too much thought now. If it gets hard in the meeting just slow down and focus on slowing your breathe down. You're gonna be ok

[alpacasandwich]

Is it being used off-label? It's not a usual treatment for anxiety. Maybe you could try something else?

Are you having CBT?

Get a second opinion if it doesn't suit your lifestyle.

[KeemaNaan]

Your body will get used to the quetiapine in time and you won't be quite so drowsy, but it can take weeks. I've been on it for 6 years and it still knocks me out.
Mildly sedative is a joke. It's renouned for its drowsiness side effect.

[Breezy1985]

I've been on it for 2 years and gone from 50mg a night to 200. The extreme tiredness does get easier however I can guarantee it still knocks me out all night but I'm perfectly ok in the mornings now.
It literally saved my life though.

[BettyInc]

I don't know why my Pdoc gave it to me. It's purely for anxiety, I've been taking fluanxol for two months and had a really suicidal week so he gave me this instead.

I didn't take it last night and i've had such a clear head today, for the first time in ages, that I've decided not to take it again. The exhaustion and foggy head just isn't worth it.

@alpacasandwich I'm having intensive CBT four times a week!

[BettyInc]

@breezy how long did it take to feel ok in the day?

[erinaceus]

I did not get on with quetiapine at all. Similar to you, I could not endure the initial adjustment bit and I only started on 25mg per day. At that dose, quetiapine functions in a manner similar to a massive dose of antihistamines. I was off work when I tried it. For sure I would not have been able to work during that time.

I know other people who got on with it, but it was not the one for me.

How are your thoughts at the moment?

[BettyInc]

I had such a good day yesterday. I feel ok this morning too, better after I slept last night.

However I have an 'empty' day and those are what I struggle with the most. I can't seem to cope with boredom without getting panicked...

[blue2014]

Have you learnt mindfulness yet? Will that help? Or maybe a walk?

[BettyInc]

I've done so many mindfulness sessions but they just take me feel worse. I can't bear being that still and aware of myself, it just doesn't seem to work for me at all.

I mentioned this on another thread but exercise- being out of breath- can make a panic attack happen. It's like my body realises one of the panic attack symptoms is underway so provides all the rest. The same thing happens if I get hot.

[erinaceus]

Mindfulness doesn't work for me either. I feel as if I gave it a fair shot. Exercise works for me, but my motivation is not what it once was. The breathlessness leading to a panic attack makes sense physiologically. Must have been a bit shit during the headwave though

Do you have any plans for today or tomorrow?

[blue2014]

Ah body focus mindfulness doesn't work for me either. What works for me is external mindfulness (is bit like grounding so focus on external sounds textures etc)

[BettyInc]

It was awful during the heatwave- that's when I was suicidal and ended up on the quetiapine! I was an absolute sobbing wreck throughout it, my poor partner didn't know what to do with me @erinaceus .

Yes external grounding works much better than body focus for me too.

I just tried and failed to go to Boots. My son is away at a camp but we've got to pick him up tomorrow and i'm terrified of the chaos.

[erinaceus]

Chaos sounds terrifying. What are you up to at the moment?

[BettyInc]

Today has been a bad day. I had a panic attack at home which doesn't usually happen because I was upset about the earlier panic attack. Fucks sake :(

[erinaceus]

Panic attacks are horrible. Do you have another appointment with your Dr any time soon? It could be worth discussing going on a lower dose of Quetiapine than 100mg. It comes in tablets down to 25mg - or at least, it did when I was started on it.

[BettyInc]

I've come off the quetiapine and don't think I could be convinced to take it again. The fogginess was horrendous and I definitely felt worse than ever the past week. This past three days has been clear headed but hard.

Going to ask to see him this week- clearly these pills aren't working for me. What else could I try? He's very old school and keeps insisting the fluanxol will help, even though i've noticed no difference and have the same number of panic attacks three months on.

[erinaceus]

That's quite an odd choice of medication. If you don't mind my asking, is your doctor a psychiatrist or GP, and is he NHS or not?