Posted 2/7/2012 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
Hi For My Love,
Your hubby is really lucky to have someone supporting him like you are through his illness.
Seroquel hangovers are very real, also extreme sleepiness and hypersomnia; muscular, physical fatigue, higher appetite and sugar cravings, constipation, twitches and muscle and joint aches, for me.
Just 25mg of Seroquel knocks me out. It works very well when I need sedating or help to sleep though. Seroquel is very good for hypomania/mania and anxiety.
I imagine your hubby has issues with Topamax, Tegretol, Lithium, Lamictal etc??? Because it is seems unusual for a doctor to start treating bipolar with an atypical antipsychotic instead of the usual mood stabilisers. If your hubby is bipolar 1 he may be trying to treat psychosis as well as stabilise moods with one medication?
What type of bipolar does your hubby have, because the types are very different - and then our collection of symptoms are unique and varied within that.
I hope your hubby's illness isn't impacting too heavily on you and that he is taking responsibility for managing his health too.
Hugs,
LWx
"The most common side-effect of quetiapine is somnolence. Other common side-effects include: sluggishness, fatigue, dry mouth, sore throat, dizziness, abdominal pain, constipation, upset stomach, orthostatic hypotension, inflammation or swelling of the sinuses or pharynx, increased appetite, and weight gain.[14]
It is marketed as one of the most sedating of all anti-psychotics, although those claims are contested.[15] Beginning users may feel extremely tired and 'out of it' for the first few days, and sometimes longer. Quetiapine's newest indication, for bipolar depression, usually specifically calls for the entire dose to be taken before bedtime due to its sedative effects. The sedative effects may disappear after some time on the drug, or with a change of dosage, and with possibly different, non-sedative side-effects emerging.
Both typical and atypical antipsychotics can cause tardive dyskinesia.[16] According to one study, rates are lower with the atypicals at 3.9% as opposed to the typicals at 5.5%.[16] Although Quetiapine and Clozapine are atypical antipsychotics, switching to these atypicals is an option to minimize symptoms of tardive dyskinesia caused by other atypicals.[17]
Weight gain can be a problem for some patients. Quetiapine has been found to cause more weight gain than fluphe****ne, haloperidol, loxapine, molindone, olanzapine, pimozide, risperidone, thioridazine, thiothixene, trifluoperazine, and ziprasidone, but less than chlorpromazine, clozapine, perphe****ne, and sertindole when calculated according to a fixed effects model.[18]
Studies conducted on beagles have resulted in the formation of cataracts. While there are reports of cataracts occurring in humans, controlled studies including thousands of patients have not demonstrated a clear causal association between quetiapine therapy and this side-effect.[citation needed] However, the Seroquel website[19] still recommends users have eye examinations every six months.
As with some other anti-psychotics, quetiapine may lower the seizure threshold[20], and should be taken with caution in combination with drugs such as bupropion.
A recent comparative study of anti-psychotics drugs has found that quetiapine mono treatment was associated with increased risk of death relative to the other analyzed treatments.[21]"