It helps you to think more clearly and positively about yourself, feel less nervous, and take a more active part in everyday life. It may also improve your mood, sleep, appetite, and energy level. Quetiapine can help prevent severe mood swings or decrease how often mood swings occur.
Mood changes
It's possible to experience changes in your mood while taking quetiapine. In rare cases, it may increase feelings of depression, or raise the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior.
Quetiapine is a medication that works in the brain to treat schizophrenia. It is also known as a second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) or atypical antipsychotic. Quetiapine rebalances dopamine and serotonin to improve thinking, mood, and behavior.
To begin with you may find that quetiapine makes you feel more alert and less slowed down. Many people do not have any side effects. Over time, you may find that quetiapine makes you: feel calmer and less upset.
In addition to its antihistamine effects, Seroquel also blocks the neurotransmitter dopamine, which may contribute to its sedative effects. But may also dampen the reward system which can make life feel a little dull. Some people even describe feeling like a zombie, especially at higher doses.
Yes. Quetiapine is an antipsychotic that sedates and calms you down by reducing the severity and frequency of manic episodes. It helps to alleviate manic and depressive behavior and psychotic thoughts by maintaining a chemical balance between neurotransmitters in the brain.
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.
Common/Short-Term Side Effects of Seroquel
Trouble thinking. Problems speaking. Unusual dreams. Irritability and mood swings.
Confusion, headache, drowsiness, agitation, constipation, weight gain, dry mouth, and blurred vision. Sedation - which may affect your ability to drive or operate machinery. Avoid alcohol.
Quetiapine may cause a condition that affects the heart rhythm (QT prolongation). QT prolongation can rarely cause serious (rarely fatal) fast/irregular heartbeat and other symptoms (such as severe dizziness, fainting) that need medical attention right away.
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.
Manic (periods of high energy) and mixed episodes (both manic and depressive symptoms) may improve about 3 weeks after starting Seroquel. Depressive episodes seem to improve in about 8 weeks (about 2 months).
Sedation. Given their action on histamine receptors, second-generation antipsychotics commonly cause sedation. Quetiapine also has sleep latency-enhancing properties (reducing the time from being fully awake to falling asleep), attributable to its serotonergic action, leading to the drug's off-label use for insomnia.
Quetiapine is an antipsychotic medication that treats several kinds of mental health conditions including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It balances the levels of dopamine and serotonin in your brain. These hormones help regulate your mood, behaviors and thoughts.
Even a small increase in quetiapine could cause serotonin syndrome in patients taking serotonergic agents.
If you take quetiapine for schizophrenia or depression, you may need to take it for a long time, maybe several years. If you take it for mania or depression in bipolar disorder, you may need to take it for a few weeks or months.
Absorption: Quetiapine fumarate is rapidly absorbed after oral administration, reaching peak plasma concentrations in 1.5 hours. The tablet formulation is 100% bioavailable relative to solution.
Seroquel will typically stay in your system for about 12 hours after dosage with a half-life of about seven hours. It takes between 24 to 48 hours for Seroquel to be fully metabolized out of your body.
Quetiapine is not suitable for some people. To make sure it's safe for you, tell your doctor before starting to take it if you: have ever had an allergic reaction to quetiapine or any other medicine. have a heart problem such as an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)
Quetiapine is available in both immediate-release and extended-release variations,1 Seroquel helps reduce anxiety by balancing the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain.
Quetiapine may cause drowsiness, trouble with thinking, trouble with controlling body movements, or trouble with your vision (especially during the first week of use), which may lead to falls, fractures, or other injuries.
They can cause movement disorders such as twitching and restlessness, sedation and weight gain, and lead to diabetes. Because of these side effects, antipsychotic drugs are usually only used to treat severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
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.
Adults—At first, 25 milligrams (mg) 2 times a day. Your doctor may adjust your dose as needed. However, the dose is usually not more than 750 mg per day. Children 13 to 17 years of age—At first, 25 milligrams (mg) 2 times a day.
Quetiapine is neither approved nor recommended for primary insomnia although the drug is often prescribed off-label as a sleep aid. There is evidence of addiction to quetiapine. Side effects associated with quetiapine — such as next morning hangover symptoms and daytime fatigue — means that patients should be cautious.