pains from using seroquel

[mazidontever]

I am suffering from severe and chronic insomnia that is greatly ruining my entire life. I know that only people who deal with real insomnia can understand what I am talking about and how much it can ruins people's lives. anyway, I'm basically treating (or trying to treat it) with a combo of some drugs that I am continuously switching (rotating) between in order to reduce the tolerance to them and also trying to limit my benzo usage either to no more than an equivalent dosage of just 10 mg of valium, but I am mostly just alternating between the drugs zolpidem and zopiclone and also occasionally valium as well. those medications do seem to work well but only for sleep initiation and since they are not doing a really good job in keeping me asleep, I am usually also adding an extra antihistamine medication in order to sustain my sleep, diphenhydramine, atarax or doxylamine. I have to say that I also am using a medication called Lyrica in order to help me for the neuropathy pain that I get at night. well, as a conclusion to it all - on an usual night in order to go to sleep and to get some normal sleep I need to take 7.5 mg of zopiclone, 25 mg of doxylamine, 5 mg of Valium as well as 150 mg of Lyrica.

 

I need to mention here that I do get the tolerance to the benzo very and very quickly (so quickly that I am talking about 2 nights here) and this is the reason why I keep in changing and rotating these things around. if I won't do it then the tolerance would set in which means that I shouldn't take anything for a while and have no sleep, either to get my dosages bigger, something I don't want to do. also I should mention here that I am not having bipolar disorder or any other mood disorder, I am only having a severe and chronic insomnia from a post viral fatigue (I guess so). but I also should mention here that what I am finding truly helpful when i'm in a truly bad sleeping situation it is seroquel. I need to take about 25 mg to 50 mg of it and I am only going to take Lyrica for the pain and that's it, I can also maybe add that up for a couple of nights in order to take a break from the benzos as well and on return to benzos they are going to work well (or at least they should work better since my tolerance would be lower). this seroquel seems to be simply perfect to me. this drug is working very well for me, it is knocking me out and I sleep well, not waking up a few hours later, then when I do wake up in the morning I am having just a little bit of hangover but even that hangover goes away within a few hours and it is not such a big hangover, overall - it is something that I definitely can put up with, especially taking in consideration how it works for my sleep. but the problem is that I am waking up really really stiff and sore after using it and the last couple of hours of sleep they can be interrupted by the increased neuropathy type of pains that I am getting in my legs, something that it really seems that this seroquel to aggravate. I have pains in my joint and in my muscles plus the neuropathy pains getting aggravated. this is something that I am not able to put up with. besides this - the medication is working very and very well for sleep and there's nothing else that I can complain about.

 

so, having all of that said, is there anybody else who is having those types of problems while using this medication and I would also need to ask you whether is there anybody who knows anything (some tips and tricks maybe) that I might do in order to help to avoid that increased pains and stiffness from using the medication. in case some of you missed that part - I am taking a dosage anywhere between 25 mg and 50 mg of seroquel and 150 mg of lyrica per night. to be honest, I would really like to continue taking this seroquel for some longer periods of time so I could take some longer breaks from benzos. I do like how it works for me and I have heard that tolerance is building a lot much slower to it than to for example benzos. and yeah, I should say that I am also having this problem with trazadone, with doxepine as well as phenergan too. so, anything in this matter would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Eva123]

so well.. my very first question that came into my mind and not to be cheeky or seem disrespectful or anything in this matter… is why do you even use Seroquel if you are not even bi polar or any other mood disorder? I guess you do know that this medication is meant expressly for the treatment and management of bi polar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia, yes? I do understand and I perfectly know that it is completely none of my business here, however in my training I did have worked with bi polar people and this is a really serious BP medication and you should know it too. you've just got to understand me right - I really do not want to mess with it in case you are using it only for sleep but you just need to know that it is going to also affect your brain in some other ways than this one. I just wanted to leave a note of warning here so you could know for sure what you are doing because I do know that sometimes people take something without fully being aware of what that certain medication can do! good luck!

 

[mazidontever]

yeah, I do know what you are talking about but this medication is also commonly used off label for chronic an severe insomnia condition as I have. doses that are being used are much lower than used for blood pressure. this is minimizing a lot of the side effects of higher doses than that, besides I am only using it intermittently and not on a regular basis. and yeah, I did knew what you said there as I have done research about this drug. this medication greatly helps with insomnia but when it is used in doses lower than 100 mg and generally, there is a lot of information online showing that off label doses for insomnia is ranging between 25 mg to 100 mg of seroquel and it does help. but only doses that are above 400 mg seem to be what it is commonly used for BP and so on. as you can see, I don't take even half of that, not even a quarter of that and again as I said - not on a regular basis. having this said, I am quite sure that I am out of danger.

 

I should mention here that I have not been able to sleep normally for the last 12 years since I have got chickenpox and then mono from ebv and then cmv and all within only half a year period. since that time, the tests are showing that I am having a very low natural killer cell function, neutropenia and lymphocytosis. I've also discussed a lot about this with my doctor and he told me that it is not an uncommon thing in my situation that the damage has been done to the sleep centre in my hypothalamus that is controlling sleep and sleep patterns. which is why I am now on drugs for getting sleep. and no, I didn't started to take drugs for my sleep without informing myself. I did have had some sleep studies in order to rule out apnea and others. then again, besides the minimal sleep in those studies, everything that they have told me has been that I was not able to go any deeper than only stage 2 sleep and that talks about it all.

 

but generally, insomnia has been one of my worst symptoms out of them all, it has been the one that made my life worse and the one that still plagues me daily. as I said, I've tried and I still try to learn a lot, to study, to research so among all those researches I have seen that there are a lot of people who are given whatever medication for their insomnia problem and doses increased over the time by their doctor. however, when the time is coming to get off for whatever the reason, mostly have stopped from working, they are having a lot of troubles with the withdrawal issues - and this is not a wonder if you ask me. in the time I have been working with my doctor I have learned a lot either and he does know about my medications intake and he is just really happy for me that I am continuing to rotate between the medications in order to avoid the increasing doses and trying to avoid the tolerance to them.

 

but then again, I do understand it very well what seroquel is being given for (as I said, I've done a lot of research about this medication too) and even so I have to say that in my opinion (and my doctor's opinion as well) is that this is an much more safer alternative than to simply use ever increasing doses of benzos until I reach the point when I can't take them altogether.

 

but trust me, in case you do have any other cure for insomnia (any other besides seroquel and benzos and a number of other medications that I have already tried in order to make me sleep) then I am all ears. and if you do find anything for me (alternatively to them) then I am going to be the most happy person on the planet and I would appreciate you and your advice as nobody else did!

 

[Warmaded]

oh yeah, what has been said up there mazidontever is absolutely correct. I personally am using a therapeutic dose of 350 mg PD for a constellation of my severe anxiety disorders. but yeah, it is definitely true that it has been used off label for insomnia by a lot of doctors for quite a few years now and there are a lot of people taking it for that purpose. however, there are some new things implemented and I am talking about the fact that not so long ago I have found out that the dosing guidelines have changed regarding the low dose administration of this drug. this being said I have found out that it is not recommended that people use 25 mg of this medication on an intermittent basis. from as much as I could read about it and from as much as I could understand - it is currently recommended that people should use a minimum ceiling of only 50 mg pd and to use it on a regular basis, however whether this is precluding the intake of seroquel for the intermittent insomnia, I don't know and it was not written in there. but I only decided to let you know this information as I have seen it written on some several source websites which I assume that must be true. talk to your doctor again. best wishes!

 

[Monique]

hello mazidontever, I have seen your post and so I just wanted to add that I have used it for sleep as well and I do know that there is nothing wrong with intermittent low dosing for insomnia and I am not sure how can it be possible at all. it is pretty much like saying that you need to drink an entire bottle of wine and not only a glass of it. that's definitely not correct. or it's like saying that you should drink it daily and not only on Saturday. but that's for as long as we are talking about the chronic severe insomnia because the bipolar treatment would be a completely different story for sure.

 

either way, I can tell you that drinking a lot of water is a must do when you are taking it. that's because I could hardly pee the next morning after I was using it and when I was drinking lots of water I was feeling better. having this said I am trying to hint on the fact that maybe dehydration could be the cause of your discomfort? if you would try to drink more water maybe you'll get better? good luck!

 

[kristen33]

hey there OP just wanted to say that I am really sorry for your insomnia… I guess you have already tried the natural methods for getting sleep? I guess I don't need to mention which ones since I assume that you've tried all of them already. anyway, I can say that I did have used seroquel in the past for my insomnia condition but I can't say that it worked as it did for you. It didn't worked very well and I have felt off mentally for like a week but then I have stopped from using it. I am currently alternating between trazadone and ambien for the same reason - not to get tolerance and I am getting sleep. sorry for your problems..

 

[Vordy]

in response to OP, some years ago I have been administered an anti psychotic drug that it is not very popular and it is called Haldol (I am feeling like I was mistreated, but I only wanted to withdraw from PCP and this is what they have given me). I remember well that it has been an very terrible experience as I was having very bad muscles cramps, they were so bad that a nurse came running with an injection of cogentin to administer me, that's how bad it was. cogentin it s muscle relaxer. then I have learned that the stiffness and the restless legs side effects I was getting were just a side effect of a lot of the older anti psychotics out there and I have found out that the drug I was talking about cogentin had to be administred along with them in a lot of cases when giving such anti psychotics (like for example in my case and a lot others). I don't know anything at all about those newer drugs like for example seroquel as I have not used them and I am not sure if this applies to them either, but since you write that you have this problem then it seems that they do have it either, maybe at a lowered level, not sure. anyway, I think that you may mention to your doctor the stiffness that you are suffering from. if your doctor would find out about this then he might help you and I think that he might help you more than we would. maybe you just need a muscle relaxer to use with seroquel? If that's so then a doctor would know it and can prescribe it to you either. I am not sure, this is only what I thought about... 

 

[JamesSs]

"so, having all of that said, is there anybody else who is having those types of problems while using this medication and I would also need to ask you whether is there anybody who knows anything (some tips and tricks maybe) that I might do in order to help to avoid that increased pains and stiffness from using the medication. in case some of you missed that part - I am taking a dosage anywhere between 25 mg and 50 mg of seroquel and 150 mg of lyrica per night. to be honest, I would really like to continue taking this seroquel for some longer periods of time so I could take some longer breaks from benzos. I do like how it works for me and I have heard that tolerance is building a lot much slower to it than to for example benzos. and yeah, I should say that I am also having this problem with trazadone, with doxepine as well as phenergan too. so, anything in this matter would be greatly appreciated! "

 

regarding this part mazidontever wrote I have to say:

 

I surely do know and understand very well what you are trying to say about the leg muscle problems when you are using seroquel and trust me you are not the only one with it. it is true the fact that it has been given off label for insomnia as well. generally, seroquel has multiple purposes why it is being prescribed, mostly depending on the dosage. I know that this is true because as a lot of other people out there, I have also been prescribed this medication on and off through some years for both my conditions of insomnia and BPD. exactly as it happened to you, the leg cramps you are talking about happened to me either and this occurred especially with higher doses (the higher the dose of seroquel, the worse it was getting). I do know what is that, it is feeling nearly like restless legs or an opiate withdrawal. however, I have to confess on the fact that unlike you, it has never really bothered me really that much, that's due to the fact that even if I would be kicking my legs a little bit, I would still be completely knocked out after only a few minutes of lying down.

 

but yeah, be sure that anywhere between 25 mg and 50 mg it is completely fine to be prescribed for condition of insomnia. that's totally true. this is because for this drug, this is an extremely low dose and I know it as I have heard of some people out there that are having schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder who are being prescribed by their doctor 800 and more mg per day. as you can see, your dosage in comparison with this is like taking nothing at all. but anyway, the main reason why I have decided to write this is that you have asked for a few tips and tricks on this and so I do know some of them that might work to help you lessening muscle pains/cramps. as you can see, I told you that they might work which means that they are not surely and doubtless going to work. but I still think that it is worth a try. especially (and the best part) is that you can do all of them combined which, obviously, gets the chances higher that you'll have success. so well, here we go

 

- the first one is that you should exercise or/and stretch your leg muscles every single day.

 

- the next one is that you should be hydrated,  be wary that you should stay hydrated always which means that you need to drink a lot of water!

 

- maybe you know about this one but haven't thought to try it out, I suggest you to do so: there are some herbal relaxers like for example valerian root, or chamomile tea, or kava kava. as I said you may know about them but I think that you should try it out as they can help.

 

- you need to use some potassium supplements as this can help either (they can be easily found in some pharmacies or in vitamin stores)

 

- I would also say that you need to use some magnesium supplements since they can lower your cramps too (and these ones can be purchased whenever you would buy potassium supplements also in pharmacies or in vitamin stores).

 

- you could take an anti inflammatory in the time you are taking the seroquel, which means taking them together (any anti inflammatory like for example ibuprofen, naproxen and so on and so forth).

 

this is pretty much everything except one thing. I told you about magnesium supplements and potassium supplements but you can also start having a diet which contains foods that are high in magnesium and in potassium. eating those foods and taking the supplements would just double the effect. if you don't know which foods are high in magnesium and which in potassium then you can simply search this information on google and you'll be given tons of articles about it. all you have to do is to search a bit about them.

 

once again, you just need to remember that these are some methods that may or they may not work for you. it mostly depends on your body but it also depends on how strict you would be in following them all. as I said, they can also be combined which means you can follow each of those steps concomitantly. this is what I have done when I was having that problem and they did have worked for me, besides, there are also some other people I have spoken with who have vouched for them either! however, there is one BUT… it is very important that you would make sure to talk about this all with your doctor and to find out whether are they okay for you (and that's especially with the herbal supplements) as there are some people that are contraindicated to use some that I have said up there. I really hope that this is going to help you at least a little bit. good luck and take care of yourself! 

 

[kilian]

Quetiapine (brand name of Seroquel) is really a drug that needs to be used only under the supervision of a doctor and those people using it without a direction of their doctor might be doing a really really big mistake! that's because there are some side effects that may occur that are not able to be reversed as soon as they appeared in case the intake of this drug is not being monitored properly. this is why I should warn you that you need to use caution when trying to taking and especially if you are using it on your own. and I do not try to say that you are irresponsible or that you have no idea what you are doing, all I want to say is that something might happen even when you're trying to be as much responsible as possible.

 

[Thadestal63]

oh yeah, the previous commenter is definitely right when saying that and I also want to warn you that you should be careful on that drug. it is true that there are irreversible side effects when using it improperly and besides that it is very easy to overdose on it, something that you surely do not want to happen to you. so just take care and use it with caution. 

 

[GreenUp]

oh well, you should know that seroquel it is an very abused drug and it is also very and very sedating when it is taken in high doses - something that should be completely avoided! it is so much so that in the green isle they are using some high doses in order to sedate prisoners due to the fact that there is a very strict of no benzo policy in all of the prisons out there. I have been put on a very and very high dose of seroquel either when I have been hospitalized for my very and very severe insomnia! then I have had to withdraw from it and I was withdrawing cold turkey… oh my… it has been a real nightmare. I was completely horrible… but anyway, I am still having some of it and from time to time I am using it for my insomnia that I still have. it is true that it is going to knock you out like no other drug would in case it is used on the right dose, however the biggest 2 problems with it is that it is never giving you any quality sleep and the side effects from using it (those side effects that all people here have mentioned and even a few more that have not been) simply just make it not worth to risk using it in my opinion. but again, this is only my opinion. however, there is also something good about it and it is the fact that using it in a small dose now and then again when you are in a really really bad when then there is not going to be no harm and that's the way I would recommend everyone to use it. but regarding the overdose of this drug… well… not sure… let's just face the truth, you can overdose on anything in this life, and that's even on water when you are really overdoing it. but since the dosage of seroquel is 25 mg to 50 mg then it is a small dose and that's why I really don't think that a overdose would occur. regarding the side effects… which medication do not have side effects? they are always going to come and disappearing with medications. I guess that all of us already have read the very huge leaflet that they are leaving in those boxes... 

 

[LaRocca1]

I am not very sure if I have already said it here on this forum or maybe somewhere else but it doesn't matter, I can say it one more time as I am sure that this is true: Seroquel it is an amazing medication for sleep and those people having severe insomnia I recommend to give it a try. I have been suffering from severe insomnia myself and my psyc doctor has prescribed me this medication a few years ago. I remember that when I was using it - it was only working for sleep and nothing else at all! I would say that it is pretty bad the only way I was able to get a benzo has been to see my sleep doctor and she was giving me klonopin! I can say that she has been a life saver for me! my psyc doctor at that time has told me that I have had bipolar disorder while I wasn't… he just has been so so so wrong when saying that. it is scaring me what doctors are thinking you have before they are really listening to you! I am not sure but I just think that it is coming down to find the right doctor that it is going to listen to you normally, that is going to ask you question about what you have told them. this is what really means that they are listening to you! to be honest, now I would really love to see my psyc doctor and to tell him off how much wrong he has been about me and about what he was thinking about me, but I am not going to waste my time now trying to find him doing this because I have moved on and I am over this all. I wish good luck to all of you

 

[Hodd1969]

hey there JamesSs, what you have written up there is indeed a very good advice and some people (including, obviously, OP) might benefit from your recommendations of what to do to lower the muscle cramps. but I also only want to add that in case the natural stuff is not going to work then you can also try baclofen which is a muscle relaxant and might be doing a good job. besides the fact that baclofen can help you to relax the muscles, it can also help you with your sleep which means that in case you would take it along with Seroquel then you might find out that you can also be able to reduce the dosage of Seroquel as soon as you add baclofen. but anyway, even though I do know there's a friend of mine that is having similar issues as you have mentioned up there in the beginning of this thread, if you are really interested in this combination that I have said and you intend to try it out - it is still best for you to go and check it with your doctor in the first place. in any case I do know that you are going to need to start with a low dose and then to work it up until you would find an effective dose. do not try to rush things and to take a moderate - high dose of them or you might find some very unpleasant side effects as you don't know how your body would react on this combination. hope someone would find this helpful!

 

[Olcou1960]

so well, I have been looking for a low dose seroquel for a back up when my insomnia is getting worse. my main problem is a noise from building work that it is near my house and this noise is preventing me from sleeping in the morning and fulfilling my sleep. I did have found some Quitipin 25 mg from the Sun Pharma India. is there someone who has at least any experience with this specific brand? if comparing it to the astra Zeneca Seroquel then what you can say about it? generally, do you that you can compare the 2? what you can say about this medication? is it worth it? thank you in advance everybody just in case there is someone who can answer my question. good luck people!