Quetiapine for Insomnia User Reviews (Page 2)

• Mar...
• April 25, 2012

Quetiapine "I also completely agree with the first review. I have tried 9 sleep-aid medicines, including high doses of Ambien and Ambien CR. The medicines for sleep 'insomnia' really do nothing for people with true insomnia. Insomnia is a condition of the brain where your mind essentially does not stop working at night. Whether you are worried about something, excited, or are just thinking about something you saw on T.V or read in a paper during the day, you will not fall asleep until 20 minutes before you have to awaken. Sleep-aid medicines help people who just have poor sleep habits, like eating right before bed, etc. Seroquel actually suppresses your brain wave function and helps you mentally 'shut off.' No weight gain for me."

• JMH...
• October 20, 2016

"I was put on Seroquel (and now take Quetiapine) for insomnia when I was in a drug rehab about 10 years ago. It has been a lifesaver. They put me on this drug specifically because it is not addictive. It works fantastic for me. There are few drugs that assist with sleep that are not addictive and this is supposed to be one of them. I have fought insomnia all my life and searching for sleep landed me in rehab. Xanax, Valium, Ambien, Lunesta, and other Benzos, got me nowhere fast because of tolerance. The other non-addictive drugs I tried (melatonin, other herbs) were useless. For me, Seroquel works perfectly and with no side effects for sleep - but most importantly, I DIDN'T BUILD UP A TOLERANCE AND I DIDN'T GET HIGH. God Bless."

• Sad...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 6, 2021

"I have been taking the generic Seroquel for 3 months. I am up to a 50mg dose at night. It does make you have very vivid dreams, some scary lifelike, and I am a zombie most of the day. I get up maybe once and try to eat everything in the house too. Gaining weight!! I wonder if that will go away? Any thoughts on that? I do also take Klonopin and Effexor for panic attacks and depression. My doctor put me on the Seroquel for a mood stabilizer and sleep too. My mother took Seroquel XR for years. Her doctor took her off it because it made her a diabetic. She had a lot of trouble sleeping for months. I take the tablets only. Good luck to everyone."

• Squ...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 25, 2019

"My insomnia is genetic as everyone in my family seems to have it, but I have no other diagnosis as to why. We sleep very heavily 2 hours at a time with periods of being awake 1-3 hours in between, which makes working hard as we often only get 2-4 hours of sleep a night. After being tried on many different over-the-counter and prescription drugs which either did not work or had to have the dose increased every few weeks, my doctor suggested this. I have been taking this for insomnia for 3 years. Unlike other medicines, I have never had to increase my dose, and the only adverse side effect I noticed was some weight gain. I take less than the clinical dose for many depressed patients as I take only 25 mg a night an hour before bed. This was my miracle! After 2-3 years of 2-4 hours of sleep a night, I was beginning to literally lose my mind due to lack of sleep. I now sleep 6-8 hours straight every night, with occasional bathroom trips."

• Sha...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 19, 2019

"I've been taking 12.5 to 25 mg quite frequently for insomnia I've had for decades. It works like a charm. No weight gain, etc. I am groggy when I wake up, but coffee takes care of it. I hope it works this well the rest of my life."

• mic...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 5, 2014

"I had severe depression and could not sleep at all. My husband can testify that I could be awake for 4 days in a row. I had anxiety attacks. I was on Cymbalta, Lamotrigine, and Molipaxin. But the depression stayed, and my sleep did not improve at all. I was hospitalized 3 times in less than 3 years. The last time I was gradually put on bigger doses of Seroquel - up to 400mg. The last 2 days I slept through the whole night - deep sleep! I have been on it for more than 5 years. I take it at night - about an hour before I want to sleep. I have slept every night. My mood has been stable all these years - no depression, anxiety attacks, or weight gain. I do have difficulty getting 'fully awake' in the morning. But I would rather have this 'side effect'."

• nar...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 19, 2019

"I've been using a dose of 25 mg quetiapine for sleep for 4 years. Combined with a low-carb diet, I haven't gained any weight. The medication does cause a bit of drowsiness if taken late. Taken before 10:30 pm, I can be sleeping by 11:30 and up by 8 am with limited grogginess. It's been a cheap, reliable, and non-addictive medication for me, but I'm hoping there are no long-term complications!"

• Tea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 6, 2019

"After suffering from insomnia for decades and having tried everything under the sun, including homeopathic remedies, I decided to give an antipsychotic drug a try. It works amazingly well - I have never slept for 8 hours since I was a teen. This allows me to SLEEP. Yes, it does make you feel groggy in the morning, but I split my 25 mg tablet into halves or quarters, and then the grogginess is not an issue!"

• Tha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 1, 2013

"It's a wonderful knockout punch if everything else has failed, or if you've taken something like Ambien and it stops working. For me, Ambien was great until it stopped working. I then tried Trazodone but that didn't help much. Seroquel is an antipsychotic but at small doses (25-50mg) it only hits histamine receptors so it's like a large dose of Benadryl - but much better than Benadryl. The only downside is that it is a little hard to get out of bed the next day, but you will sleep like a bear so it's worth it. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to kick in and 25 mg does the trick for me. Also, there is no weight gain at small doses so that's nice too."

• Cla...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 6, 2019

"I don't know what I would do without Seroquel for sleep. I have bipolar 1 and have not had an episode in about 5 years, which I attribute to taking Seroquel for sleep and having a bit of lithium in my system, along with a low dose of Ritalin in the morning for depression. I take 25 mg of Seroquel to sleep at night, I know most people need more. I only sleep about 2-3 hours at night without it. I have gained and lost about 10 lbs on it. If I take it before going straight to bed, I get a serious case of the munchies. Just take it and try to get right to bed and don't fight the med and eat. It takes about an hour for the Seroquel to digest for me. If I am really restless, I take 50 mg to sleep and it makes me feel drowsy in the morning."

• Pin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 4, 2019

"My doctor put me on a low dose of quetiapine to help with sleep as I also have mood issues. Quetiapine works very well to help you sleep. Before I started taking it, it would take me probably 2 to 3 hours to fall asleep on my own, within a half hour of quetiapine I could sleep. This was great at first, however, now, if I don't take it I can't sleep AT ALL. If I don't take it, for whatever reason, no matter how tired I am, my body will not fall asleep. I have been up for more than 30 hours multiple times. I can lay in bed in complete silence and darkness for 12 hours and not fall asleep for a minute. My body is dependent and I don't like it at all. I just want to be able to even take a nap in the afternoon without taking something. If this is what the lowest dose can do, I can't imagine if I was on a higher dose."

• JPa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 15, 2019

"I’m going to give a short version of my journey the past year. I went into inpatient therapy twice while trying to figure out what was going on with me. During that time, I was put on seroquel to help me sleep. I take 50mg every night. It doesn’t always put me right to sleep, but it helps me find sleep. I haven’t had any trouble with nightmares, and honestly, I’ve had better dreams since taking it. All in all, I personally have had a decent experience. The only downsides I’ve seen are feeling super sleepy when trying to get out of bed and feeling terribly hungry if I don’t go to bed pretty quickly after taking it. If you read all of this, thanks. I hope if you're prescribed it, it helps you."

• Tam...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 1, 2024

"This works amazingly well for sleep! I have had insomnia my whole life, usually, it would take me up to 2 hours to fall asleep every night, no matter what. I also suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. When my anxiety is really bad, it makes it even more difficult to fall asleep, then I develop sleep anxiety. I now take Seroquel and go to bed in an hour, it makes me fall asleep within 15 minutes. It has worked 100% every time. I’ve been taking 50mg for almost a year. It seems to calm the racing thoughts and allow my body to fall asleep naturally. Once I am asleep, I sleep great. I feel rested, alert, and energized the next day. When I had insomnia, it was also hard to manage my weight because I was up all night, I would start to get hungry and need to eat something to fall asleep. Since taking this, I can manage my weight so much easier. It’s also very safe with minimal side effects. Hope this helps anyone dealing with similar issues! It’s also very cheap. Highly recommend!"

• Anonymous
• June 9, 2009

Quetiapine "My doctor prescribed this to me because I have trouble sleeping. I don't know what I would do without it. I am 28 years old, and I have had insomnia most of my life. The first time I took it, it helped me so much. I so would recommend this pill to anyone who has had my problem."

• geo...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 5, 2017

"This is the only med that actually helps me sleep. I had tried melatonin, zopiclone, lorazepam, and temazepam, as well as every natural remedy I could get my hands on, and then my doctor suggested quetiapine. I take 25mg about an hour before going to sleep and usually by the time I climb into bed, I can hardly keep my eyes open. I'm also taking bupropion (which is technically contraindicated with quetiapine) which may be why I feel so sedated on such a low dose. The only downside is that I don't fully wake up from it until I've been physically awake for at least an hour, and it makes me really thirsty. But that's a small price to pay for getting a good sleep after struggling for years. Also, it makes orgasms less intense for me which sucks!"

• kas...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 3, 2021

"I used to have really bad insomnia. I don't know the cause, but it made me sleep 7 hours in the span of three days. My mind was like a radio, nonstop playing and talking. When I took Seroquel for my bipolar disorder, I was super drowsy, and I could not wake up during the day. I started with 25 mg, but I noticed that I was getting sleep. Over time, I had to increase my dose to 300 mg to get good sleep. My body always gets used to meds, and I ended up increasing every time. I found that 300 mg was good to give me 8 or 9 hours of sleep at night. If I take it early, I can wake up early and feel well-rested for the next day. I noticed that if I need to wake up sooner, I lower my dose to 200 mg. The only downside to this medication is the weight gain. I would wake up in the middle of the night hungry and thirsty. I spoke with my doctor and tried Trazodone and Temazepam, but none worked better compared to Seroquel. Still a lifesaver."

• KKa...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 27, 2019

"This specific medication has a bit of an angel/devil quality to it. In the previous posts, I see the possibility for some confused/misdiagnosed causes of insomnia. In bipolar people, regular prescription sleep aids don't really work because bipolar individuals can't sleep due to their brains having a hard time turning off or turning on very quickly. I took 600mg of Seroquel for years, and it worked well to control the associated symptoms as it is an atypical antipsychotic with a mood stabilizing quality (the ONLY med of its kind), but put me in a 'fog'. After coming off the high dose for 2 or 3 years and suffering from bad insomnia, I asked to go on a low dose of Seroquel to get some sleep. My psychiatrist gave me 50mg, and it's working well. It's gonna work for some people, and it'll be a nightmare for others. Make sure you're being prescribed this medication by a psychiatrist NOT a GP or any other doc that can't validate why they choose to give you an atypical antipsychotic for sleep."

• dam...
• March 15, 2014

"Don't know why it took so long for someone to recommend Seroquel for sleep. Tried them all. All sleeping pills, benzodiazepines, PM medicines. I take 50mg up to 100 mg tops per night and am getting sound 7 plus hours sleep without the all-day grogginess the other meds gave me. It's the best sleep I've had in a long time."

• vic...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 22, 2020

"Seroquel drug works wonders for my insomnia. It’s the only thing that’s ever worked for me and it also helps with my hallucinations. Only downside is that it makes weed completely ineffective (no tolerance and half a gram and you get no effects whatsoever). Still think it’s a fair trade-off if it means I can sleep and don’t have to worry about my psychotic symptoms though."

• Tan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 8, 2024

"I've read experts say it is not a sleeping pill and shouldn't be used for insomnia. Maybe if you don't want to help people get the deep and restorative sleep people need. If you think otherwise, try 25 mg of Seroquel/Quetiapine and tell me the difference. It's the best sleeping pill there is at 25-50 mg only. It lowers the dopamine slightly at this dose so your mind can turn off, calms you, and puts you in a different perspective that is enjoyable to watch TV or read a bit before you fall into a deep sleep. Put more studies into it. It's a miracle medicine, but yes, at really high doses it will block all the dopamine, taking away pleasure and excitement or lowering interest level. That's why 25 mg to 50 mg is the best. Higher doses can cause panic attacks and turn into a nightmare. 25 mg is like magic. AMBIEN or other certified sleeping meds don't have the calming effect or the change of perspective that Quetiapine does. I say add some magnesium, lavender bath soak, and a good night's sleep."

• Hen...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 10, 2016

"I scarcely leave reviews but I feel compelled to give credit where it is due. I have fought insomnia, anxiety, depression, and a myriad of everything in between for the past 8 years. This has completely changed the game and given me my life back. I can sleep again! I haven't gained any weight. In fact, I have shed a few pounds due to feeling so amazing and having the energy and wherewithal to get out of bed and tackle my day. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but I seriously have tried EVERYTHING - benzos, SSRIs, tricyclics, natural remedies, counseling, and inpatient rehab. Seroquel wins hands down as it conquers my insomnia, which is my worst trait. I noticed a little bit of a short temper at first, but that has subsided."

• Mam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 4, 2024

"I have had insomnia for over 50 years, like my Mom and Grandma. I fall asleep quickly but wake up after a few hours and struggle to get back to sleep. Sleep studies over the years were “normal” showing no sleep apnea. Finally, after again telling my doctor that I am tired ALL of the time, every day, she referred me for a 3rd sleep study. That doctor looked at my 2 previous tests and said that, when sleeping, I was spending most of my time (75%) in light sleep and not getting enough restorative, deep sleep. He said that Seroquel wasn’t just a sedative, but actually improves the quality of sleep by extending the amount of deep REM sleep. I take 12.5 mg of Seroquel 30 minutes before bed and now I sleep through the night. I am having dreams almost every night, which I rarely had before. I feel so much better! I’ve learned not to take it if I don’t have 8 hours to sleep, or else I feel groggy when I wake up. Honestly, this medication has changed my life."

• TCa...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 19, 2020

"I feel like taking Seroquel must be like getting roofied. I took the 100 mg, and it literally knocked me out for 12 hours straight. Then, after waking up, you're groggy for at least another 6 hours and are grumpy to the people around you. I also got restless leg syndrome or some kind of very weird involuntary leg movements. I would also always wake up in some kind of pain, and it might be due to the fact that you're so knocked out you're contorting your body in unusual positions while you sleep. I then got reduced halfway to the 50 mg, which did the same thing but with half of the same effects! Seroquel seems like a dangerous drug to me, and I've been on a few."

• sbr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 17, 2015

"Lately, due to a lot of stress because of an ex-boyfriend harassing and threatening me, I've been staying awake all night and not being able to fall asleep, and it had been increasing the anxiety so much. Well, I went to my doctor, and she gave me 25mg of Seroquel to take at night. And this is where I will add my 'WOW' haha! This pill has been a lifesaver. I can sleep through the entire night and do not wake up at all. But if I need to wake up, I can without a problem. Medications work differently for everyone, but for me, it's worked wonders. So thankful!"

• alv...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 21, 2020

"So I was prescribed Seroquel for insomnia, and I was so scared to try it. I had the best night's sleep I have had in probably 5 years. The downside is the side effects the next day were hard on me. My anxiety and depression are worse. So do I keep taking it, and will the side effects subside, or is this drug just not for me? Ugh, it's the only thing that has helped with sleep. Help."