Quetiapine (Seroquel) for insomnia and severe depression

[Nietz93]

Hello everyone,
My psychiatrist has prescribed me Venlafaxine 150mg XL + Quetiapine 50mg XL the quetiapine is for insomnia and to treat resistant depression.
Has anyone ever taken Quetiapine alone for depression or in addition to another antidepressant? If so, what was your experience with it?
Thanks

Hi I have been on it for 15 years and currently take 350mg XL so quite a hefty dose. I take it around 8pm and sleep about 10.30/11pm.
did you get the advice about having it 2 hrs after food and then waiting an hour afterwards before you eat? Doesn’t matter for immediate release but is important for XL or it reduces the effectiveness.
I do feel sedated with it, I am looking to reduce. I do sleep well tho which is good but I feel pretty flat in general. You def get kind of used to it so if you feel really floored then it should hopefully improve 👍also I am 4stone heavier than I was when I started 😖

I'm really sorry you had such a terrible experience with this medication!

I'm also talking Venlafaxine 150mg XL for depression, I'm not just relying on Quetiapine. It was prescribed to me for insomnia but I was told that in combination with an antidepressant it helps those who have major depression disorder.
To be honest 50mg XL might be not enough for me as I am still well awake after 1.5h I've taken it 🙄

Takes more like 3 hrs to reach max effect - I’m not tired 1 and a half hrs after I’ve taken it

Oh I see, I'll give it more time then. Thanks for letting me know! 🙂

Do you take it 2 hours after dinner or it could be taken a bit sooner?

The guidance says 2 hrs at least sothat’s what I stick to as I worry about it not being as effective if I have a fuller stomach x

I will stick to that too then. I really need it to work as my insomnia is quite bad at the moment 😩

It needs to be taken on an empty stomach so that it's absorbed slowly. If you still have food in your stomach the absorption will be quicker as it will be carried with the food through the digestive system. This makes it act more like the standard release version. On low doses this might not be the biggest difference you just might find it wears off quicker. It causes more problems on high doses (400mg+) as on the standard release version have to be taken as a split dose, half in the morning and half in the afternoon. You might find that you have side effects from having too much in one go including higher levels of sedation especially in the morning. I inadvertently took 600mg standard release as a full dose at night for 2 years and found mornings were difficult. At some point my prescription had been swapped from extended release to standard release without me being informed and I hadn't noticed that the change in instructions on the box. I'd been in an episode it was only once I had fully recovered and able to pay more attention to things I noticed. I had been switched to the extended release as I struggled to work after taking my morning doses.

I definitely notice a difference if I have snacks in the evening. I find myself getting a bit dopey about an hour after taking it. I tend to take it a bit closer to bed time on those days. As one offs it doesn't make

If it's primarily about improving sleep it might be worth asking about switching to the standard release, once you see if the quetiapine is going to help you you could then switch to the extended release. It would be easier to find that sweet spot for the right time to take once you have had some better sleep. Regulating my sleep has been one of the best thing quetiapine has done for my mood. I had awful insomnia with low moods and very low sleep needs when manic.

To be honest, last night I took it 2 hours after food and I slept like a baby. I'm not taking it just for insomnia, it's also meant to help my depression. 50mg extended release is my start dose, we will go up in a couple of weeks