seroquel, prescriped, but I won't take

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-16-2003
seroquel, prescriped, but I won't take
3
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 2:43am
Right now I am only taking 750mg of depakote, but I have been having trouble sleeping, so my pdoc prescrobed seroquel to help. He told me it wasn't really for bipolar, but he thought it would help in a tiny amount, just 25mg. I was hesitant to say yes, but then as soon as I saw the bottle and the warning label, I was nervous. I read the packet of information that came with it and now I am so afraid to take it and it was really stressing me out until I called home and they told me to throw the pills away. Is it bad that I am unwilling to try the seroquel? It was prescribed 2 weeks ago, but I am supposed to meet with a new pdoc since mine is on vaction to check how I am doing on the seroquel. Should I just cancel and wait the 2 weeks until my appointment with my normal pdoc, or still keep the appointment this week to say that I didn't even try the seroquel?

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-2003
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 2:08pm
Hi

I'm confused - who told you to throw the pills away?? What exactly about the seroquel worries you? I have to admit, it isn't a drug that I personally take, but if you have concerns, what you probably should do is call your pdoc (or the new one if yours is unavailable) and ask them about your worries. I did that when I was put back on lithium after many years and wasn't sure about my reaction to it. The pdoc or their nurse should be able to address any concerns you have about the medication. Or, call the pharmacy where you get your prescriptions filled and talked to the pharmacist. They are very knowledgable about medications and can also answer many of your questions. You have to remember, just because there is a warning label about something doesn't mean it always happens to everyone that takes it, it just means that it could possible happen to some people - sometimes even less then 1% of the people who use the drug. In this day of lawsuits, drug companies prefer to go overboard with warnings about side effects then risk having someone sue them for millions.

Good luck! Also, someone here may be able to give you some first hand experience info on seroquel - I know there are people on the board who use it.

Take care

Tracey

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 2:19pm

Why don't you call the office and let them know that you haven't been taking the Seroquel (and why) and let them decide whether you should keep the other appointment.


BTW-I try not to read the info on side effects until after I start having what I think are side effects, that way I don't unconsciously set myself up for "having" side effects.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-11-2003
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 9:12pm
Long time lurker here. I took seroquel for 2 years at night for sleep and some times in the day if I had a really bad panic attack. I started on 25 mg and got up to 100 mg on those really bad nights. Ill admit I was a little nervous about taking this medication but you know it helped me so much! I slept like a baby with no side effects the next day.

At first though I did wake up a little groggy but that went away.

I am extremely sensitive to medication and the only thing this medication did was made me groggy at first after that I felt rested for the first time in years. No more sleepless nights.

Talk to your doctor and express your fears maybe this is not a medication for you but I wanted to let you know my experience with it.. Hope you don't mind.