Seroquel for Bipolar Disorder User Reviews (Page 5)

• Woofy
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 1, 2021

"I started Seroquel due to being on the 'Spectrum' of bipolar and having bad anxiety / depression and some paranoia. I remember when I started it, feeling at peace just being in public. Calmest I have ever felt in my life. Had to stop it cause I was having issues with it causing edema in my legs. Have issues with Type 2 Diabetes, prior to this so figured I'd better not try to start it up again. I really wish I could cause it was nothing short of a miracle for me. Weight gain wasn't bad. Getting up to fast from bed would cause dizziness / ear ringing sometimes, but just a few hours after I took it at night. ( Didn't happen that often though) In combination with Luvox, made a big difference in my life for the better."

• sadnl...
• October 11, 2009

"I have been depressed most of my life. I have tried several medicines over the years, even tried not taking medicines. Racing thoughts of suicide, worthlessness, irritability, crying spells led me back to taking medicines. I started taking Seroquel about a month ago and take 25mg at night. It has helped me sleep and I have not experienced any side effects, yet. I have noticed feeling better during the day, not as many inappropriate thoughts as before, hardly any crying spells. I'm looking forward to enjoying life again, right now I take one day at a time and can make it through the workday - mostly happily."

• freed...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 27, 2013

"Took for bipolar disorder (for the depression). In small doses, this caused me to be too sleepy to function. When I took a large dose at night however, it knocked me out and I was good the next day. This really did help with the depression and mood swings. However, it caused significant weight gain. I had to stop taking this when a job had ended and I no longer had insurance. I fought insomnia for around 6 months, but after that time was finally able to sleep again and the weight came out. I would recommend this for someone who really needs it, but not until other medicines have been tried first with no success."

• Jake
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 16, 2019

"Seroquel has been life saving for me after being on the wrong medications that it made more unstable so I ended up being in hospitals for years. Now at 125-150 mg of seroquel I’m able to get rest and have reduced agitation and anxiety and am finally stable. I have also been put on higher doses which felt uncomfortable but the right dose has been life saving."

• J Money
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 7, 2016

"Pleased with this medication. I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 two years ago at age 48. Started on lamotrigine (300 mg) and buproprion XL (150 mg) taken in the morning, which worked well, but didn't calm the incessant negative and depressing thoughts I was still battling. Seroquel was added recently. I take 300 mg at bedtime. Great sleep medication! This is the best, most effective medicine I've ever used if I need to get to sleep early in order to wake up early in the morning for work. I exercise on my elliptical on average 5 days a week, and haven't experienced any weight gain since taking Seroquel, gratefully. I think weight gain would be less of an issue if more bipolar people committed to exercising on a regular basis."

• Katan
• May 8, 2012

"Seroquel helps both manic and depressive symptoms, however is much better when combined with other mood stabilizing medications. Good for providing sleep, but it can be too sedating until you get used to it (just take it consistently and stick with it). Slight raise in appetite for carbs but nothing a healthy diet and exercise can't counteract which is what you should be doing if you have a serious mental illness anyway. A good first medicine to try, because it's a mood stabilizer (for both types of episodes), anti-psychotic, sleep medication, and anxiolytic! It's great for controlling anxiety and making you feel calmer, and means you don't have to take Valium or sleeping pills which can be addictive - whereas Seroquel is NOT addictive."

• Anonymous
• April 27, 2008

"I have been on Seroquel for 4 months now. I have terrible insomnia and racing thoughts because of my bipolar disorder. This drug worked wonders for me and now I can finally sleep at night without my mind racing for hours."

• Gone...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 22, 2017

"Only lasted 2 weeks at the lowest dose, stopped because the side effects were so intolerable. Took in the evening, but still had trouble staying awake during the day, and felt like a total zombie when I did. May have given this a couple more weeks to see if it would have worn off had I not gained 15 lbs. as well (with no appetite change - I wasn't awake long enough to eat more!). I was already 35lbs overweight from meds as it was, & when I med chunks me up, it doesn't stop. Only reason it gets 2 stars is that it kicked my chronic insomnia's butt."

• Audrey...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 9, 2017

"My experience with this drug has been generally positive. It does tone down my hypomania, and is amazing at helping me sleep (it used to take me up to 3.5 hours lying in the dark to fall asleep...now it's closer to between 1-2 hours). However, it does give some weird side effects. It gives me intensely vivid dreams. I normally dream very little, but this gives me very strange dreams every night that I can very clearly remember on waking up. These dreams even frequently (3/4 times a week) cause me to wake up in the middle of the night! Would not recommend if you already have frequent nightmares or night terrors, as seroquel may make those much worse. Ineffective for depression."

• cmw
• April 16, 2013

"I just started taking Seroquel(50mg) for now at bed time, and will eventually increase the dose to 150mg when told to by my doctor. So far, I have experienced serious trouble waking up the next morning, but my doctor says this will go away as I continue to take it. As a teenager, I can honestly say it has helped so far, and that I highly recommend it to others who have struggled as I have."

• Jacob...
• February 5, 2016

"I have had severe depression and anxiety for a long time. Adding to that, I was sexually assaulted and now also have PTSD. Long story short, I became addicted to opiates and am now in recovery. Being in recovery, I embarked on a journey to get my mental health under control. I was diagnosed with Bi Polar 2 and PTSD. I take Seroquel at night with Lamictal, and Lithium twice daily. The Seroquel is a must for me. After five years of flashbacks, panic attacks, and night terrors over my rape, I can finally get a full night of sleep. I have asthma and it doesn't bother it, and I'm on 100mg per night. I saw one reviewer say do not take seroquel if you have asthma. The truth is EVERYONE is different. Seroquel works great for me."

• Aubrey...
• September 23, 2016

"I've been taking this for a few weeks and I think I've already gained 10 pounds because I am hungry 100% of the time. I've had insomnia for all 20 years of my life and have yet to find a medication that makes me sleep till this one, and on the 50 mg dose. That would be amazing if it did not make me sleep for the rest of the day too. It shuts me down to the point where it is harder than normal to breathe. I've been staying with it in hopes that I would improve but all I've noticed is that I am more irritated by even the smallest things."

• Tay...
• March 23, 2015

"I've been on Seroquel for a couple months and I'm surprised at how good it works and how I have minimal side effects. I take 100mg-300mg at night and before my naps, just depending on how tired I already am without the medicine. Like most people, if you don't get ample sleep (8-10 hours), you usually wake up feeling tired & groggy. It usually wears off within a couple hours though. I noticed when I take it my eyes become super red like I just finished smoking weed. I have experienced a little chest pain in my lower rib cage but it's tolerable. Other than that, I sleep like a baby; I have the vivid dreams which in my opinion is neither negative or positive. But it's helped in stabilizing my mood & controlling my swings."

• Anonymous
• December 9, 2011

"I've had bad reactions to every mood stabilizer I've tried, but this was truly the scariest. I had to withdraw from college because I was sleeping constantly, crying for 8 hours at a time, and hallucinating. I eventually became suicidal and landed myself in the hospital for 2 weeks. I know that everyone reacts differently and finding the bipolar cocktail is a painful trial and error process, but if you have this experience, I wanted you to know you are not alone."

• SnoSp...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 18, 2021

"I started off taking 25 mg of seroquel with lamictal, 450 mg of buproprion xl, risperidone and 9 mg of melatonin to aid the sleep effect of the seroquel. I slept great and gained no weight on it. I began having trouble falling asleep. My pdoc upped the dosage to 50 mg without changing anything else. At first, I was a little groggy in the morning. That went away, and now I sleep well every night, and for a little over 8 hours, which is normal for me. So I've had a very good experience with it."

• Eliza...
• August 15, 2015

"I sometimes hear negetive of Seroquel. At first i had bad giddiness and light head. I wanted to stop but was recommented to stay on it and I did. I changed to XR and i havent looked back. Its been three years, if I hear a off handed remark at the chemist thats its not popular, i tell them i would not change, i tried Zyprexa but it wasnt good for me, i lasted not even a full foil. Seroquel isnt too bad on the weight, and a better diet or and exercise would help. For me this is a great med, and i dont want to change, it helps with so much, it has many uses. The tiredness you can have wears off and as time goes by your body gets used to it. It is tiring, but small price to pay. Im sticking with Seroquel. I am a positive vote."

• quiat...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 16, 2024

"My dosage is 200mg XR at noon. Completely removed anxiety and feel smooth when I go to sleep. I take 300mg Seroquel, and it takes 30 minutes, and I'm knocked out for a good night's sleep. Need time to adapt to it but well worth it. Not for everyone but for me it works! Godsent medicine."

• PMA
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 4, 2016

"I am a 42 yr. old woman with ADHD along with Bipolar Depression also coming off 8 yrs. of taking pain medications every day ( norco's as well as Percocet's) I was getting between both 300 a month.. I've been off the pain meds for 4 mth now so far so good.. But after the fog cleared from the pain meds all my other diagnoses come out full blast,. So I was taking a 2mg Xanax, 350mg soma, along with 300mg trazadone at night and still couldn't sleep. Thanks to my new doctor I'm on 1mg Xanax along with 100mg Seroquel at night and within a hour I'm asleep and I mean good sleep (no dreams getting up thru the night etc.,) so fingers crossed it stays that's way!!!"

• Evefl...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 27, 2021

"This drug is awful. I became a zombie. My muscles began twitching and I felt like I was hit by a truck after taking for 10 days. I stopped it and immediately felt better and actually felt my emotions again. I do not recommend."

• whoever...
• February 10, 2017

"My Dr told me basically nothing else has worked so what do u want him to do. The seroquel seemed to at first but I gained weight quickly and people are always asking if I'm expecting because I look maybe 5 months pregnant. I have paranoia problems as well with anxiety. I have suicidal thoughts throughout the day but I don't share that with my Dr because I don't want to get put in a hospital so I keep that to myself. I'm extremely depressed and it doesn't help me sleep. I can't sleep because of the thoughts going crazy in my head. So I have to take ambien. I'm sick of all these medications. I also take wellbutrin for depression and Xanax for anxiety. the Xanax helps but when I try to pull back from using it my body jerks. I know I need help"

• Ckn
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 20, 2017

"Where do I begin? Seroquel, personally I think it is a great medication for the right person. I've taken seroquel on and off 3 different times, I am currently back on it and will most likely stay on it. I take 800mg before bed time and sleep like a baby. I do have a few side effects from this medicine which include dry mouth, constipation and indigestion. I take seroquel for Borderline personality disorder (BPD), I am also on 300mg lithium and 300mg 3x a day of gabapentin. Seroquel helps control my mania and impulsive behavior, it does not make me a zombie and I have great concentration. What I don't understand is this drug being prescribed to people for sleep issues, sure you sleep like a baby but those are the people with all these terrible side effects and horror stories."

• Debbie
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 8, 2021

"I was prescribed Seroquel for sleep and I was diagnosed with Bipolar II. At first I was prescribed a low dose, but still couldn't sleep, so now the dose is 200 mg at night. I also have ADHD, so take Adderall, along with the Seroquel. What I notice is this. If I go off Adderall, I get very depressed. I did some research on this phenomenon, and found out that Seroquel is a dopamine antagonist, which means that it actually suppresses dopamine in your brain. I also take 100 mg of Topamax twice daily as a mood stabilizer, and the combination of medications seem to work like magic. I don't gain weight at all. However, when I had some blood work done, my thyroid hormones were low, and also my blood sugars were very high, even though I am not overweight. I believe these are side effects from the Seroquel. I do not recommend Seroquel, unless absolutely necessary for sleep, because there are too many metabolic side effects."

• Headi...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 4, 2016

"Although my doctor prescribed it mainly for Bipolar Depression, he will temporarily increase the dose in response to emerging manic symptoms especially racing thoughts, agitation, extreme irritability and dilusions. Positive - Significantly (80-90%) calms my thoughts. Helps me fall and stay asleep. Keeps my depression in check. I am now compliant with all of my medications and trust my doctor. Negative - higher doses blunt my affect. I must take my dosage at bedtime because of tremendous sedation which is when the drug saturation is highest in my blood and brain. If I must get up during the night, for example bathroom, I'm disoriented and dizzy. I could never take it during the day. Weight gain from "munchies." Sex-related problems"

• In Wo...
• July 22, 2019

"Female, 22 years old. I was given seroquel for what was thought to be psychotic depression. I was given 50 mg to take at night. The first night I took the med, it absolutely knocked me out BUT before I actually fell asleep, I felt super anxious, had shock like sensations through my body. It made me actually want to fight the medication because I did not like the way it made me feel. So the next night I went down to 25 mg, side effects weren’t as bad but I still felt very anxious then the next morning when I woke up, I noticed I felt super angry like my first thought as soon as I opened my eyes I just felt like so angry and I’m not usually an angry person. I also drooled on myself so bad that my shirt was soaked the next morning. I didn’t feel well rested, I tossed & turned & remembered doing things in the middle of the night that I knew weren’t dreams (all of these happened both nights I took the seroquel regardless of reducing the dose)."

• jelly...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 23, 2021

"This was a miracle drug. I was on lithium initially and it made me sick and incapacitated each day for lengthy periods. Being on Seroquel enabled me to discontinue other medications that one of my psychiatrists had put me on. As far as weight gain goes, I may have an edge on people since I have a lot of GI issues and don't feel well if I eat too much. I won't say that I had it easy curbing my appetite though. I have had to monitor my weight and use restraint. My bloodwork does have my cholesterol and glucose inching up. My body is able to compensate so far to keep them close near normal range then."