what is the alternative to quetiapine?

[DumDum32]

hi all,

Just a quick question re quetiapine & other anti-psychotic.

I've beven on quetiapine for about 7 months now and it's losing its effect actually it already has lost it's effect.
I've got an appt coming up with my Dr (psychiatrist) where I'll be asking for my medication to be changed. Has anyone changed their anti-psychotic to another one? if so which one did you find good for not gaining weight.

I've put on soooo much on quetiapine & really don't want another anti-psychotic that will make me weight gain.
I know I should be more conscious about getting my mind straight but all the weight I gave gained is causing me severe pain in my lower back (I've got a damaged disc) & alot of trouble walking ( I had problems anyway before the weight gain now it's far worse).

any experience of anti-psychotic will be appreciated.

thanks

That's a tough one because for me personally I've found quetiapine okay for weight gain. I have put on weight but that's down to my poor eating habits.

You could try Abilify. Personally I hated it and it didn't help at all (I take meds for bipolar) but I guess it depends what it's prescribed for as to what the best med will be. You want to steer clear of olanzapine. Excellent med but horrendous for weight gain.

Think it's pretty much a case if trial and error.

I lost weight on quetiapine (by calorie counting). Ariprizole and olanzapine didn't work for me, I'm now on clozapine.

thanks fedupandtired I guess everyone is different and each anti-psychotic works differently. quetiapine has been horrendous for me I've gained almost 4 stones in 7 months :(

really snowy that just goes to show each anti-psychotic effects people differently.

I gained loads of weight on olanzapine but have lost half of it on abilify.

thanks maniclady that is useful to know.

I was on Quetiapine but they didn't seem to work, I didn't gain any weight, I'm now on Olanzepine and can see how people gain weight as if I take any during the day I just want to eat.

These don't seem to be working either so I think I will be changing meds again next week as Psych said he could try something else, I haven't gained any weight yet but I also haven't lost any and am looking forward to the shopping coming later.

I was on Rispiridone, but really it wasn't working well for me. Sure, it stopped me being psychotic, but I wasn't completely well.

Now i'm on Quetiapine which is working great. I am truly well but I have put on a lot of weight.

I think this thread shows how each drug affects everyone differently, the only way to know how it will work for you is to try it I guess.

mawbroon - ur so right I suppose u just have to trial & error. I'm hoping this Thursday when I see my psychiatrist he changes my meds. for me anything but quetiapine or olanzapine. abilify sounds llike the one to try but of course my.psychiatrist does not listen to anything I suggest so it's going to be tough to get him on side!

I hope your appointment goes well. I had a psychiatrist who didn't listen. It was not good. Can you see someone else or is he the only one?

I switched from quetiapine to risperdone and it has worked out well for me. I initially was put on 4mg straight away and found the side effects to be bad so I stopped and now I am slowly working up to my target dose. Doing it this way is working for me.

I have not gained any weight and not felt sedated with it. I have felt restless and had stiff legs but I am on medication to help with it.

I hope you find the medication that is right for you.

thanks mawbroon & fluffy.

my psychiatrist didn't change the anti-psychotic meds as he said I need to get my anxiety under control first. the med I could possibly switch to will be abilify which apparently mmakes anxiety worse so I have to deal with that first. he did increase the dose of the anti-depressant to 120mg.

he is also leaving & that kinda hit me a bit hard. we didn't exactly have a great relationship but for some reason I got rather upset. he's the only one I've seen since I had my breakdown :(

I am on abilify. The dose has been increased slowly and I have to say the anxiety has increased a lot. I am wondering if I should ask it to be changed to something else.

mix - if it is making u feel really anxious then u should look into changing it. u don't want to be on meds that make u worse. I hope u find the right meds for u.