Posted by UgottaHaveHOPE on November 29, 2005, at 2:42:08
If you have severe anxiety (GAD) or racing thoughts that ravage you 24/7, you may want to consider trying Seroquel. It has absolutely positively been a miracle drug for me.
I was ravaged from anxiety (followed by depression) from 1997-2005). It tortured me every day without failure. Just racing thoughts, couldnt really concentrate, avioded ppl, laid in bed in free time, tried to sleep away the time, etc.
I knew, from talking with many others, that my only way to true healing was changing my thought patterns. However, as hard as I tried, I could never calm down enough to work on my thought patterns.
Finally, and only by accident, I stumbled into Seroquel. Since 1997, I tried literally every med on the market (Paxil, Luvox, Effexor, Buspar, Xanax, Klonopin, etc, at least 40), and nothing seemed to help me with GAD. Nothing calmed me down.
When I talked with an old friend last summer, I told him about my racing thoughts. He said that sounded like "cyclical thinking" which I guess is a characteristic of BiPolar. He said I should try Lamictal and/or Seroquel. It sounded good to me because nothing else was working.
I convined my pdoc to let me try both. First was Lamictal, and I really felt nothing after two weeks. Then we added Seroquel and wow. This med needs no 30-day trial. If you take it, you will feel it within 20 minutes.
It is like being shot with an elephant dart. This is the med police give ppl who really go super wild, like in high doses of 800mg or more. I take 25mg or 50 mg. It just terminated the rush of nervous anxiety I had been feeling.
We dropped Lamictal after a few days, and stayed on Seroquel (25mg or 50mg), along with 1 mg of Klonopin. It has been a miracle mixture for me. Yes, it made me very tired in the beginning, but it was worth the tradeoff and my body is adjusting.
I take 50 if my mind gets all worked up or I want a deep, deep sleep. I take 25 if I want to be full of energy the next day. You just have to switch back between both and see what is right for you. I wish they made a 12.5 (I just break tablet in half for that).
It is so great, yet strange to feel good again. You appreciate and notice all the little things: Like being able to watch a 30-minute TV show without having your mind wander, or keep your focus in a conversation with someone. It's like waking up from a terrible nightmare.
Back to thought patterns: Because I was able to finally calm down physically, I was able to finally focus on my thought patterns, which again is the only true way to long term healing. Without Seroquel, working on my thought patterns would not have been possible. Thank you God for meds!
Anyways, many pdocs do NOT prescribe Seroquel for GAD. They use it for other purposes, such as ppl who get very out of control and as a mood stabilizer. But Im telling you, The word is slowing getting out, but you know Pdocs, they like to stay with meds that have a history of working with their patients, even if it is an outdated med. You will most likely have to ask your Pdoc to try it. I would recommend 50mg before bedtime, and then try to ween down to 25mg within a month or two.
My heart goes out to all of you. I know you hurt, and I have hurt too. Just know that there is hope out there. New meds are coming out each year. Hang in there!
poster:UgottaHaveHOPE
thread:583246
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051126/msgs/583246.html