What are the Seroquel (Quetiapine) Long-Term Side Effects? Weight Gain. This type of atypical antipsychotic is frequently associated with changes in metabolism, leading to weight gain. Other consequences of metabolic changes are high blood sugar and high cholesterol, both of which can lead to severe conditions.
Seroquel may be associated with other long-term physical effects including the following: Tardive Dyskinesia: This condition affects a person's nervous system and is characterized by numerous involuntary movements.
The biggest disadvantages of Seroquel are the potential long-term side effects, which can include tardive dyskinesia, increased blood sugar, cataracts, and weight gain. For teens and young adults, the medication may also cause an increase in suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Seroquel is typically used short term, for a few weeks or months, to treat bipolar mania or bipolar depression. In some cases, your doctor may have you continue taking the drug long term to help prevent manic episodes from recurring.
Warnings: There may be a slightly increased risk of serious, possibly fatal side effects (such as stroke, heart failure, fast/irregular heartbeat, This medication is not approved for the treatment of dementia-related behavior problems.
If Seroquel is used for sleep, the lowest effective dose should be prescribed by your doctor. However, even low doses of Seroquel used for insomnia have led to weight gain up to 5 kg (11 lb). Longer-term use may increase the risk for metabolic syndrome, and related heart disease.
QUETIAPINE (kwe TYE a peen) treats schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It works by balancing the levels of dopamine and serotonin in your brain, hormones that help regulate mood, behaviors, and thoughts. It belongs to a group of medications called antipsychotics.
You and your doctor should talk about how long you need to take quetiapine before you start your treatment. If you take quetiapine for mania, bipolar depression or schizophrenia you will probably take it for a few years, otherwise your old symptoms can come back.
Its ability to also calm and make people sleepy means it may be used in addition to antidepressants or to treat other conditions (off-label uses include anxiety disorder). Seroquel is available as a generic under the name of quetiapine.
Abruptly discontinuing Seroquel can result in withdrawal symptoms including dizziness, increased heart rate, insomnia, nausea, and vomiting. Never stop taking your medication without talking to your doctor first; your doctor may advise gradually tapering your dose over a period of a few months.
As is the case for most psychoactive medications, using them for several months or longer may lead to physical dependence. Stopping Seroquel may evoke what is called Seroquel discontinuation syndrome If the decision to come off Seroquel is made, stopping should rarely to never be done abruptly.
You should not use quetiapine if you are allergic to it. Quetiapine may increase the risk of death in older adults with dementia-related psychosis and is not approved for this use. Quetiapine is not approved for use by anyone younger than 10 years old.
Drugs you should not use with quetiapine
Examples of these drugs include: Anti-arrhythmic drugs such as quinidine, procainamide, amiodarone or sotalol. Antipsychotic drugs such as ziprasidone, chlorpromazine, or thioridazine. Antibiotics such as gatifloxacin or moxifloxacin.
Irritability was a rare side effect in Seroquel's clinical trials. With irritability, you may feel angry, agitated, or annoyed. Keep in mind that anger can also occur with mood changes related to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Seroquel has a boxed warning for the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Ocular adverse effects include blurring of vision, retinal vein occlusion, oculogyric crisis, ocular pain, transient myopia, narrow angle, halos around lights, hallucinations as in Charles–Bonnet syndrome, and photopsiae.
The exact way in which Seroquel functions in the brain is unclear, but it is believed to help calm your mood and control symptoms of schizophrenia and depression by working on dopamine and serotonin receptors in your brain.
Seroquel may start working within 2 to 3 weeks of taking it. But typically, it takes 2 to 3 months to experience its full effects. Once-daily doses are best taken at bedtime to help limit daytime drowsiness.
Three studies also reported the onset of a withdrawal dyskinesia characterised by abnormal choreiform movements as well as confusion and speech disturbance in some cases.
This medicine can cause changes in your heart rhythm, such as a condition called QT prolongation. It may change the way your heart beats and cause fainting or serious side effects. Contact your doctor right away if you have symptoms of heart rhythm problems, such as a fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeat.
In some cases, more serious side effects may occur. Some of these include: Increased risk of death due to dementia-related psychosis. Increased risk of suicidal thoughts.
Seroquel (quetiapine) is a psychotropic medication used to treat schizophrenia in adults and children who are at least 13 years old. Seroquel is also used in the treatment of major depression and bipolar disorder.
Your doctor may prescribe Seroquel for many reasons: to help you sleep, to help you lose weight, as an add-on to an anti-depressant. What you may not know is that Seroquel isn't approved for and hasn't been found to treat any of these conditions, but it can kill you.
Cognitive and Memory Impairments
Seroquel is an anticholinergic drug, meaning it suppresses the excitatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Acetylcholine's function, in part, is to facilitate sending messages throughout the CNS. Anticholinergic drugs are associated with causing or exacerbating memory impairments.
How does it work? Quetiapine works by attaching to the brain's dopamine receptors and altering serotonin levels. Short-term effects include feeling sleepy, a dry mouth, dizziness and low blood pressure when you stand up. These effects lasts about six hours.