While you are taking quetiapine, you should avoid excessive exercise, stay inside as much as possible and dress lightly in hot weather, stay out of the sun, and drink plenty of fluids. you should know that quetiapine may cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting when you get up too quickly from a lying position.
At standard doses used for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, quetiapine has been associated with weight gain and increased levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which are risk factors for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Drugs such as quetiapine raise the risk of death in seniors who have dementia. Risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors warning: During the first few months of treatment, quetiapine may increase suicidal thoughts or actions in some children, teenagers, and young adults.
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.
Quetiapine can cause postural hypotension so it should be used with caution in patients with cardiovascular disease. Other common adverse effects are somnolence, dry mouth, constipation, dizziness and altered liver function.
Its efficacy is poorly documented, and even low doses may have substantial side effects. There is thus reason to warn against prescribing quetiapine for sleep. Quetiapine is a second-generation antipsychotic approved for treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and as supplementary treatment for depression.
Adverse Effects. Amongst the many adverse effects of the first generation, or 'typical' antipsychotics, the most disturbing was Tardive Dyskinesia, which involves uncontrollable movements of face, hands and feet [2].
Medications like Seroquel can increase risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts, especially at the start of treatment. Report any sudden changes in mood to your healthcare provider, including depression, anxiety, restlessness, panic, irritability, impulsivity, or aggression.
Recommended assessments at baseline include: pulse, blood pressure, weight, height, calculation of body mass index, fasting blood glucose or hemoglobin A1C, lipid panel, CBC, electrolytes, renal function tests, hepatic function tests, TSH.
May also cause anxiety, nervousness, or insomnia. There is a risk of tardive dyskinesia (uncontrollable, repetitive, facial movements) associated with all antipsychotics, including Seroquel. Significant weight loss has been reported, although may cause weight gain in some people.
Most people feel better with a daily dose of 150mg to 300mg. Take it once a day at bedtime.
The antipsychotics most commonly used to treat insomnia are quetiapine (Seroquel) (dosed at 25–250 mg) and olanzapine (Zyprexa) (dosed at 2.5–20 mg). Olanzapine has a tmax of 4–6 hours, making it better suited for the treatment of sleep maintenance problems than for sleep onset problems.
How Seroquel Affects Sleep. Seroquel is known to have a sedating effect, which can make it easier for people to fall asleep and stay asleep. It may also help with sleep-related issues such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, which are common problems among people with mental health conditions.
Quetiapine has an average rating of 7.2 out of 10 from a total of 2,063 reviews on Drugs.com. 62% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 19% reported a negative experience.
Quetiapine may be to blame for increased levels of the hormone prolactin in long-term users. This hormonal imbalance can lead to all sorts of additional problems, including: Osteoporosis and resulting bone fractures. Loss of sex drive.
Seroquel (generic name quetiapine) can really make people feel sleepy; that's one of its most common side effects. In fact, many doctors use it as a sleeping pill for just that reason, and often at exactly the dose you are taking -- 50 mg.
Data synthesis: Quetiapine is commonly used off-label for treatment of insomnia. When used for sleep, doses typically seen are less than the Food and Drug Administration-recommended dosage of 150-800 mg/day; those evaluated in the studies reviewed here were 25-200 mg/day).
Acute treatment of depressive episodes of bipolar disorder. Maintenance (long-term) treatment of bipolar disorder (when used alone or with lithium or valproate) Adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder. This means quetiapine is used in addition to an antidepressant to help treat depression.
Quetiapine is FDA approved for schizophrenia, acute manic episodes, and adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder. Quetiapine is also used for several non-FDA-approved indications, such as generalized anxiety disorder.
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.
All antipsychotics can cause antimuscarinic side effects. Combining them with other drugs that also have antimuscarinic effects is likely to make these side effects worse. This is especially likely if you take antipsychotics with tricyclic antidepressants. Anti-Parkinson's drugs can also be antimuscarinic.