My quetiapine wipes me out morning and night. My old nurse didn’t seem that concerned but is really effecting my quality of life. Want to change to the XR. Thing is it costs a lot.
quetiapine is generic now, so the cost might be down. quetiapine nearly killed me, but I was using it as mono therapy. I don’t know that xr will be any better for sedation, it might be worth a go. Did you try a lower dose? 600mg along with another AP seems a lot.
You did say it was a game changer for you though. Do be careful messing with success.
If you switch to xr, make sure you take it at the exact same time every day. Well, you should be doing that anyway I guess.
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Hey @everhopeful. Yeah I remember you saying you hard a real bad time on quetiapine.
I actually have been on XR in the past and it worked great. But the doc took me off it, according to my nurse, for money reasons. Had hardly any sedation on it.
I also agree 600mg is a lot when polypharmacy is involved.
I have a real long term plan to reduce my meds to the lowest effective dose. Problem is I am on a lot of meds and can only wean off one at a time so it will take months. (I get bad withdrawals so the meds only reduce a little bit per week).
Should I put my foot down and insist on the XR? I know for a fact a lot of people where I live are prescribed it.
If it worked before, without sedation, then definitely put your foot down. Just say you can’t tolerate it.
Do you take 600mg all in one go? Maybe you Could you split it into 2x300 chunks. (assuming your doctor agrees to that) .
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I currently take the normal quetiapine 300 in morning and 300 at night.
Tried 150 in morning, 150 at lunch and 300 at night but was still sedated.
On the XR you can take it once at night, sleep well and not endure the sedation in the morning.
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Found this on the internet
The patent for “Seroquel XR” does not run out until May of 2017, or later if they extend their patent, so don’t look for the generic to come out any time soon.
Hence the high cost.
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I found this regarding quetiapine in the uk:
http://www.pharmafile.com/news/171937/teva-launches-generic-seroquel-uk
Seems like the extended release is generic here but not that cheap
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That’s interesting. It’s a bit cheaper, but the non xr generic is dirt cheap. Put your foot down, and say you can’t tolerate it. That’s all you can do really.
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From www.hpft.nhs.uk
quetiapine-briefing-note-1.pdf (122.0 KB)
This is probably what your doctor should be reading. It says if you experience sedation on switching to immediate release you should take 200mg in the AM, and 400mg (at night I assume)
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when i was on geodon and in school i was sleeping every the whole day besides walking from class to class. so sedation is definitely a valid reaason to switch aps
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Being too sedated was a good enough reason for my psychiatrist to take me off zyprexa.
I think it’s a perfectly valid reason to switch meds. You must have quality of life, and that can’t be had if you constantly feel out of it.
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Seroquel is a good med due to its fast-off d2 receptor property. You can switch but all antipsychs have side effects. You pretty much cost benefit trade offs with other. For instance abilify causes restlessness in some
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If you can switch to Seroquel XR that would be better in terms of sedation levels.
Seroquel XR should be less sedating, it also should not knock you out right away like plain Seroquel does sometimes.
I was on Seroquel XR and liked it because it helped with my anxiety.
All the Best to you @Jimbob
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I dont see how anyone could take seroquel in the morning. I wouldn’t be able to function.
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i thought all tranqulizers cause sedation?
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Some more than others. Normal seroquel is one of the biggest sedators. The extended release version is less so.
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its a good reason to switch meds yes, jimbob, dont worry try another ap 
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the zyprexa 15mg knocks me out within a hour
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Abilify might be the opposite of sedating. Also a few others may be less sedating than others.
I think sedation is a good reason to change anti-psychotic unless everything else causes bad side-affects and doesn’t work for you.
I refused to become committed to anti-psychotics til I found one that causes very few side-affects for me (and that one is abilify)
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Cheers @Anna1 - had good results with fewer side effects on the extended release formulation. Will phone my nurse tomorrow.
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