Quetiapine for Schizophrenia User Reviews (Page 2)

• Smo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 11, 2016

Quetiapine "I've been prescribed Seroquel now for roughly a year, and the side effects are so nasty I wouldn't recommend it at all. The main thing that attacks me relentlessly is the tickles under the skin in the legs, and I'm probably keeping the neighbors awake because I've got to keep stretching my legs and wriggling in bed to calm down the relentless torment that comes back maybe every 5 to 10 seconds for roughly 5 to 8 hours most nights. I've also got to the point where it feels like I'm going to swallow my tongue for hours on end, and I wonder if I'm going to be alive the next day as well. I get to the point where I'm nearly asleep and self-resuscitate with a jolt of adrenaline in my heart and a deep breath, like I nearly drowned and nearly have a heart attack. It's nasty."

• sap...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 26, 2018

Quetiapine "I took one pill, 50 mg. I was in such a deep sleep my children could not wake me up. Even the next morning, I felt like I was drugged. I slept the entire day away. You can forget about driving on this stuff. Two days later, I still felt the effects of the drug."

• Pho...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 19, 2021

Quetiapine "Seroquel XR saved my life. But, at a heavy price. Numb, zombie-like existence, no emotions, flat affect, morbid obesity. It takes hours and multiple cups of coffee to wake up... etc. But it has kept me safe by keeping me out of the psych ward."

• vos...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 12, 2017

Quetiapine "Definitely calmed me down during the first-time onset of schizophrenia. However, it makes me very sleepy, sometimes I sleep 14 hours a day, and when I wake up, I feel like I want to sleep even more. Also resulted in a lot of weight gain. Eventually, had to stop taking it because of how tired I always was."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 3, 2017

Quetiapine "Wow, this medication... it may have knocked me out many times (put me to sleep)... Hell, it may have made me sleepy 24/7. I would sleep sometimes 18 hours a day. I spent a lot of time recovering with this medication... sleeping. But I can't complain because, well... I have my life back. And I thank all those people who put their time and effort into producing this medication because without them, who knows where I'd be... right now I'm back in college off of this medication but still on Abilify. This drug may not be the cure for schizophrenia, but it does wonders."

• ITr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 24, 2020

Quetiapine "The first couple of days I took Seroquel, I was more or less a zombie. I was given the drug for multiple suicide attempts because of a severe depression. At day 8, I had the worst manic episode I have ever had in my life, I had no control over what happened, and I had trouble breathing. My mild schizophrenia has since worsened, and I experience more hallucinations than I ever have before. This drug is NOT recommended, in my opinion."

• Liz...
• April 8, 2016

Quetiapine "I complained to a friend of insomnia, mainly stress-related. She offered a Seroquel on the promise that it would relax me and put me in la-la land. I will never again take medicine that is not prescribed for me! For the first time ever... I heard voices starting at 2 a.m. I heard two men arguing on the other side of my closed bedroom door, loud enough to wake me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I was too afraid to look because I knew no one was there. Then around 4:30 a.m., I heard a baby crying nonstop, this lasted until 7:00 a.m. I sat up for hours listening to what it feels like to be going insane! Never again!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 18, 2012

Quetiapine "No antipsychotic medicine is perfect. But Seroquel is quite okay. Gives you a good night of sleep. You can feel dizzy. But the best is no extra pyramidal symptoms. I tried 4 or 5 other antipsychotics, but this is as good as it gets considering side effects."

• sch...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 15, 2024

Quetiapine "Been on 900 mg of Seroquel for over 10 years. It seemed to just go from so loud that I couldn't think to a soft, quieter voice. It also helped with auditory and visual hallucinations, but I still have them."

• ac6...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 7, 2017

Quetiapine "Helps with delusions and hallucinations with schizophrenia. It doesn't help anxiety but does aid sleep at the start. Now I can take 400-800 at night, and it still won't make me tired, just calms my schizophrenia down a lot. It is a very good antipsychotic, not sure how people use it for sleep, and it did help with sleep for the first week, and now it doesn't make me sedated or tired but sedates my mind."

• Eng...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 2, 2016

Quetiapine "I've been taking this drug for a few months. I'm on a very high dose (800 mg). I was finding on lower doses my paranoia was overwhelming, and my depression was getting to the suicidal point. Now I'm on a higher dose, I'm like a zombie, lack of motivation in everything I do. For me personally, I do not think it's the right drug for me, but everyone takes to medications differently."

• Res...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 15, 2015

Quetiapine "I lost touch with reality for quite a while. I mainly use this as a sleep aid, but I am a paranoid schizophrenic. As far as symptoms of my schizophrenia, it helps. However, whenever it's about time to take my dose, I notice my condition worsening a lot. If I take it late, I am loopy and a bit delusional, but I hold a steady job that requires us to work late some days. Also, if I am just having an overall bad day, it seems to not help my symptoms at all. I am pretty sure I would be a lot worse without this medication. My insurance doesn't cover it, but I got a card from the doctor making my prescription only cost around 17 bucks. If I didn't have that card, it would be about 80 bucks with my work insurance, 400 or something with none."

• Ale...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 1, 2021

Quetiapine "This saved my life. I take 400 mg at night and am still working on finding the right dose, but this drug is the most helpful I have ever been on. Because of my psychotic symptoms (I had an undiagnosed psychotic disorder), I was unable to live my life, but this drug saved me. The only downfall is it makes me sleep a very long time, and it has caused some weight gain, but the benefits far outweigh the side effects."

• Wha...
• May 15, 2019

Quetiapine "I started taking this when I was 12 years old, and the entire time I was on it, I gained probably like 40-60 pounds. But I was somewhat overweight at the time, so probably thought not much about it. I would miss school because my mom had a death wish if she woke me up. It made me tired and foggy for days. Last October, my mom woke me up just a few hours after taking it. And I couldn't even comprehend what she was saying. So along with the schizophrenia, I also have sleep apnea, I stop breathing in my sleep. Thank god I can figure it out pretty fast and wake up. On Seroquel, it's impossible and also makes it worse. Even after more than ten years, I really hate this medication. I haven't taken it for a year or more. But they still prescribe it. They started me on Abilify, which I recommend for anyone with schizophrenia or B.L.P. or B.P. because Abilify does work, and it works fast, and also it doesn't cause any sleeping problems or drowsiness. And even comes in a once-a-month dose."

• Gre...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 25, 2019

"I have used quetiapine for about a year and a half in total. This is the medication that gave me the least side effects. It reduced my anxiety a bit as well. My symptoms of schizophrenia aren't too visible, so it didn't change much, but at least I can move on in life."

• Ale...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 30, 2023

Quetiapine "I have been using Seroquel since 2016. It has improved my sleep, but my other symptoms have gotten worse after I started using it. I hated the experience and would never recommend it to anyone. I’m hoping to heal naturally soon and no longer use it."

• Skr...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 27, 2014

Quetiapine "When I was 14, I was put on 450 mg/day before bedtime, and within 6 months, I gained 25-30 pounds. It worked super well to get rid of my hallucinations (including the tactile ones), but it made me extremely zombie-like. My grades slipped at school, and I slept as soon as I got home till the next morning. The first day, I slept 22 hours. This medicine made me so hungry all the time, and no matter how much I ate, I was never full."

• Jor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 20, 2018

"I started on 50mg, and I'm now on 600mg within 4 months. This medication was my saving grace. It stopped all my suicidal thoughts, it stopped the voices in my head. If I don't take this medication at night, the next day the voices start coming through, and they are not all nice. I'm on a lot of medication, including tramadol and diazepam, I never feel sedated the next day, but 600mg combined with a zopiclone helps me get some sleep. I'm 24 and was bullied for 4 months straight, every day while serving in the forces. Now I'm ruined for life because of one man abusing his power."

• Hot...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 21, 2021

Quetiapine "I was prescribed this first in 2008, then again in late 2012, early 2013 when I was 15. I took the smallest dosage both times for schizophrenia and depression, and I felt like so bad on this! I was insanely sleepy, dozing off in class, at lunch, in public. I gained so much weight, and my stomach was literally a bottomless pit! Otherwise, it got rid of my symptoms such as mania, anxiety, paranoia, and anger, but still. I’m on something way better now."

• spe...
• July 31, 2019

"So, on paper, this drug worked miracles. I could live a normal life and function again. For the short 6.5 months I took this, the effects became less and less, so my practitioner prescribed (alongside this medication) Olanzapine. I began having unusual twitches in my face, odd numb feelings too, so I spoke to them, and they said not to worry, it's a normal side effect - ok then, I'll take that. Two weeks later, I am struggling to speak, my sentences stop in their tracks, and my throat tightens up. My heart was fluttering and pounding all day, so we visit the ER. I am sent home, given the 'It's just anxiety.' Two hours later, I have a seizure, and this induced an SVT (or vice versa, the cardiologist can't say for sure), which brought my pulse up to 248 bpm. I struggle to get oxygen, and in resuscitation, I begin having a cardiac arrest and am given cardioversion. This medication may work wonders, but if you are one of the unlucky few who suffer cardiac problems, take caution of any symptoms."

• Pan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 30, 2022

Quetiapine "It’s been two weeks now, so it’s a little bit early, but wow. I don’t have a diagnosis, I just know I was feeling bad from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning to bedtime. I mean, I had the feeling I was in danger, stuck on hyper-vigilance mode all day long, and I was so tired. Since one week, I’m on Seroquel 300 mg, I just feel lighter. My body isn’t this huge bunch of flesh and dark thoughts anymore. I can breathe again!? Light side effects for now, I hope it will last! Suicidal thoughts are fading away slowly, and that’s pleasing."

• You...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 18, 2019

"Was on haloperidol for many years and was somewhat helpful with my main schizophrenia symptoms, but my psychiatrist was worried about tardive dyskinesia as Haldol use has a high incidence of TD. I switched to quetiapine (Seroquel), and many of the remaining psychotic symptoms went away, and my confidence came back, and I had energy, and fell asleep easily, and slept well. I was more social and less socially anxious. Months down the road, I realized I had mania. It started to cause problems with my relationships because I talked TOO much and became much too task-oriented, less sensitive to my family's feelings, and was agitated. Mania makes you feel great, but it really isn't a good thing. AH started presenting again, so I upped my quetiapine to double the dose (under supervision). Now TD seems to be presenting significantly. I love quetiapine, but it has a lot of upsides and downsides."

• Kar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 25, 2023

"I suffer from schizophrenia. My dose of quetiapine is 150mg three times a day, every 8 hours. I take one at 6 am, another at 2 pm, and the last dose at 10 pm every day. It has taken a while to adjust to the doses, it was gradually increased. It works very well for pain, sedates me, and helps me rest. I had trouble sleeping because of body pain and anxiety symptoms such as chest pain, and it has completely eliminated those. The dose of 450mg a day is very effective for my symptoms of schizophrenia, and life without this medication is extremely difficult. I can recommend this medication to anybody who suffers from the illness, it saved me, and I'm very thankful for it. Apparently, it could be a bit hard on the liver, so I take 40mg of omeprazole on an empty stomach each morning. I haven't experienced any side effects on the liver myself, but it has been reported, and I take omeprazole for indigestion and reflux. Both of the medications are very effective. I recommend it."

• Ada...
• March 16, 2018

"I have been diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia 6 years ago. I'm now 19. I have been on quetiapine (Seroquel) for the last 5 years, as many of the other medications had little to no effect on my illness. I am now on 550 mg of quetiapine a day, 100 mg in the morning, 100 mg at lunchtime, and then 350 at night. This medication is a lot different from other antipsychotics, very different as it affects different parts of the brain, and I find it doesn't leave me 'blank.' But all other antipsychotics left me very foggy and unable to think. This drug has worked wonders for me. It does not knock me out, but it helps my schizophrenia, delusions, voices, etc. But I would recommend getting a muscle relaxer as my legs get very restless, where you have to move them. It's a weird feeling, but usually, a muscle relaxer would fix this. I have progressed a lot with this medication, but it will only work well for some people. Always research all medication before taking it. Try to find the right one for you!"

• We...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 29, 2021

"This drug quetiapine is good, used to treat psychosis even at 50 mg - 75 mg (different person = different dose). Switched from haloperidol to this quetiapine (due to side effect EPS and high chance to develop TD, and zombie mode). Haldol price is cheaper, but not worth it. Quetiapine has much less EPS, less chance of tardive dyskinesia. Initially, you will feel sedation, usually, the doctor starts at a low dose and slowly increases to control symptoms (balance the symptoms vs. side effects). Sleep enough, exercise more, drink water, eat healthy. Have support from family and friends, learning and improving is good. Hopeful & wellness. Be happy and healthy all, may you all recover and live beautiful lives. Don’t give up, we all can have a good life!"