I happened to mention to a new CPN that I take 150mg quetiapine for anxiety as needed. He said this was a lot. In fact he asked if this wasn’t actually my regular nightly dose.
Most Seroquel PRNs are for 100 mg or less. I am allowed up to 200 mg for sleep. Seroquel is not the best medication for anxiety, however.
What’s the best for anxiety? Where I live doctors are very reluctant to prescribe benzos. It is a shame because clonazepam was a wonder drug for me.
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If benzos aren’t available, you can use a sedating tricyclic antidepressant like Elavil or Sinequan. Other options are Visteril, and BuSpar. Some SSRIs work too (like Celexa).
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Thanks for the speedy reply. Will talk to my doctor about the tricyclides.
You got me searching for the definition of “PRN” - since its not a term I’m super familiar with. For those interested, here it is:
p.r.n.: Abbreviation meaning “when necessary” (from the Latin “pro re nata”, for an occasion that has arisen, as circumstances require, as needed).
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They use the phrase PRN commonly in the uk. What term do they use where you live?
I’ve heard the term for years. In my mind I always think it stands for “Prescribed When Needed”, lol.
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I think most of the US uses the phrase “as needed”, if I’m understanding how PRN is used that is.
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I’m surprized that seroquel is being used as a PRN as it’s primarily an antipsychotic, one dose of it probably won’t have much of an effect if I’m not mistaken. Be careful taking benzos as they are very addictive and once you get hooked you will go through sheer hell getting off of them, the shorter acting it is the better. Valium is the worst and has a half-life of something like 18 hours and ativan is slightly better, xanax has a half-like of around 5 hours and is probably the best.
I take 400 mg twice a day, and I have no problems with it.