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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by TomG on March 9, 2005, at 13:23:17
I have recently started 50mg Seroquel nightly. I was posting about my Geodon experiences on this board where it initially worked wonders for my symptoms but after two months it gave me this weird sleepy dampening effect.
Anyway I am hoping the Seroquel works, but I am wondering if holding at 50mg a whole month is too slow of a titration. It seems slow to me, and my doctor said we have alot of room to work with meaning that the dosage can go up pretty high. I responded to Geodon at only 20mgs/day.
My main symptom is that my thoughts don't seem to flow. I have problems vocalizing thoughts and feel like it is hard to talk to a cetain degree. I feel like my speech is really slow almost like I've been drinking. My mind seems tense and "locked" up. My doctor thinks this is a symptom associated with the cognitive confusion of schizophrenia. The only med I've ever responded to over one month is Geodon. For some weird reason I also responded to lithium for only 5 days about three years ago. Could've been a placebo effect.
Mainly, I'm just looking for people's response dosages of Seroquel and how fast they ramped up the dosage. In the two days I've taken the Seroquel I've slept great, but too long, and I also have this hangover feeling. Thanks.
Posted by Phillipa on March 9, 2005, at 15:15:10
In reply to Seroquel: Is My Doctor Right?, posted by TomG on March 9, 2005, at 13:23:17
For what reason are you taking an antipsychotic? They're used for so many reasons today. They gave me seroquel in the hospital and it made me feel drunk in the am. I have depression/anxiety. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by ed_uk on March 9, 2005, at 15:39:35
In reply to Seroquel: Is My Doctor Right?, posted by TomG on March 9, 2005, at 13:23:17
Hi Tom,
Oops, I guess this answers my question that I posted to you above. I asked you what med you were going to try next.
I think you're doctor is doing a slow titration for two reasons...
1. He thinks you may respond to a low dose given your past experience with a very low dose of Geodon. He wants to find the minimum dose that can treat you, helping to avoid side effects.
2. Seroquel can be sedating, especially if the dose is high. He wants to avoid causing too much sedation and give you plenty time to start developing tolerance to the sedating effects of Seroquel.
Best of luck,
Ed.
Posted by D minor on March 9, 2005, at 16:28:03
In reply to Seroquel: Is My Doctor Right?, posted by TomG on March 9, 2005, at 13:23:17
Hi Tom,
I titrated up on Seroquel really fast because I was in the hospital. Along with that came some pretty bad side effects. So I don't know whether its better to go slow or fast. I think you might be able to go a little faster than 50 mg a month, but then again, I'm not a doctor.
goodluck,
dm
Posted by fires on March 9, 2005, at 17:25:19
In reply to Seroquel: Is My Doctor Right?, posted by TomG on March 9, 2005, at 13:23:17
Seroquel can be extremely sedating -- in fact many years ago my doc gave me 25-50 mg for sleep, but I was too groggy.
Posted by med_empowered on March 10, 2005, at 6:07:58
In reply to Re: Seroquel: Is My Doctor Right? » TomG, posted by fires on March 9, 2005, at 17:25:19
Your titration does seem slow...but its good to have a doc sticking to the "start slow, stay low" approach. My experience with seroquel was this: my doc rx'd 100mg tabs and told me to start at 50 and work up to 100mgs "as soon as possible." The whole thing was an utter disaster--I missed classes, nearly got in a car accident, etc. etc. etc.
Keep in mind that the people who push "target doses" the most tend to be drug companies. Responsible docs will try to find the minimum effective dose, especially with antipsychotics. Since anti-psychotics generally take about 6 weeks to "kick in" (though sedation can be immediate), your doc may be doing a low-dose trial run to make sure a) seroquel actually does something for you and b) you don't have any major side-effects from the outset (akathisia, neuroleptic malignancy syndrome, etc.).
You mentioned that Lithium helped you a bit in the past...recent research has tended to show that mood-stabilizers, alone or with anti-psychotics, can ease psychotic symptoms in both bi-polar and schizophrenic (even treatment-resistant) patients. The addition of a mood-stabilizer can help minimize the dosage of anti-psychotics, which is always a good thing.
This is the end of the thread.
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