Quetiapine

[RenegadeMasterx]

Hi all. So I tapered off of lithium (id been taking it for 3 years) around 8 weeks ago, haven't taken any for around 3 weeks. Feeling flat, irritable, emotional. Wasn't feeling much better on it either, and it was battering my kidney so I had to come off of it. My diagnosis is bipolar 2, but I've never experienced mania, just sometimes feel a little brighter than normal and it's short lived.
Anyway, my MH team want me on quetiapine. I am so apprehensive and feel sick at the thought of starting another medication especially being an anti psychotic. It feels a bit extreme considering I'm never manic and need a big serotonin boost and an anti anxiety medication, I don't know if quetiapine is necessary? I mean, they're hell bent on me having it but it shits the life out of me starting it. They wanna start me on 50MR to take of an evening but all I've been told by people on Fb is that I'll be heavily sedated (I have two kids so, not really ideal), and read about some really undesirable side effects, not to mention tapering off is utter hell.

I really don't know what to do. Sleep is an issue for me, I'm awake from 2am most nights, but I don't want to be a non functioning zombie.

Does anyone have any advice/experience with this drug please? X

Quetaipine helps with sleep/ mood and is not only used in bipolar type 1 or 2 but major depressive disorder. Also with other mental illness. 50 mg is a low dose. It's seems the low dose is also used for insomnia, medium doses for depression and maintenance therapy and higher doses for mania and anti psychotics effects. I wouldn't worry about taking it, the lower the dose also easier to get off and higher can be tapered off.

I would probably give quetiapine a go if you can't sleep properly. It is very sedating, I think, but everyone gets on with each drug differently.

I'm surprised they put you straight on lithium from what you describe. I have BP1 and have had 5 hospital admissions and had to ask my psychiatrist to go on it. It has been very good for me but had given me hypothyroidism, and I've had to reduce the dose with the effects on my kidneys.

If you don't get on with quetiapine, one drug you could ask about it lamotrigine. I was on that as well, and it's often used for BP2 as it's better for depression but also works for hypomania. I didn't find I had side effects either, although it was at a very low dose. Was easy to come off as well, unlike some some drugs.

My diagnosis is bipolar 2, but I've never experienced mania, just sometimes feel a little brighter than normal and it's short lived.

@RenegadeMasterx Mousse makes a good point. Presumably you've had at least hypomania where your behaviour changes from your norm, or the mood change was very out of the ordinary; otherwise you wouldn'tve had a diagnosis of bipolar. You could ask your consultant about it as sometimes people do emotionally forget it/play it down to themselves when they're in a depression or something.

I think it made me stupid and angry

@Annaishere People can be irritable as part of why they're put on these medications.

I'm definitely not as bright since taking them, but as I'm on them for bipolar, bipolar can cause cognitive changes anyway I suppose. Being a bit thick is nothing compared to the meds keeping me out of the trouble I can get into with men amongst other things when hyper. I never was someone who enjoyed being hyper either, often I would have mixed states where I was distressed at the same time.

Yeah I think mental health needs to come first sometimes @porridgeisbae. I’ve tried Olanzapine which is the best thing I’ve found but it was giving me hypothyroidism unfortunately. Still not sure what’s wrong with me. I asked the psychiatrist can you have mania without elevated mood she said no. Maybe she’s wrong because I’ve wondered if it’s bipolar

If you had bipolar then you would have had elevated mood at some point probably. I probably did, I just mean I wasn't one of those people for whom stopping any meds at all would've led to a barrel of laughs subjectively (and it never leads to much that's good, objectively.)