Posted by ed_uk2010 on August 8, 2010, at 17:16:16
In reply to Should I try Requip?, posted by Dima on August 8, 2010, at 16:23:49
Hi there,
>100 mg Seroquel to sleep.
Do you really need to be on an antipsychotic for sleep? Seroquel can cause many adverse effects - and antipsychotics can aggravate RLS.
>Tomorrow, I plan to call my family doctor about my RLS and hopefully he will prescribe either Requip or Mirapex.
Have you been formally diagnosed with RLS? Dopamine agonists can be effective for RLS but they do tend to cause a lot of side effects. A very low starting dose is essential to reduce the risk of nausea, dizziness and vomiting. The safety of dopamine agonists in the long term is also an issue. Before you consider whether a dopamine agonist is needed, you really need to be off all dopamine antagonists (antipsychotics).
>Doesn't it seem like it's a low dopamine issue?
I don't think it's quite so simple. There's an increasing tendency to talk about the brain as if it were a pot of soup.....if only we could add a bit more dopamine and serotonin, a bit less NE and maybe a smidgen of acetylcholine, it would all be OK. This really isn't how it works. It is the popular psycho-babble (or should I say neuro-babble) of the 21st century! The incredible complexity of the brain (and how psychiatric drugs affect its function) is beyond the complete comprehension of even the most knowledgable neuroscientists - I don't understand it, you don't understand it and in all probability your doctor doesn't understand it.
I'm not saying that Requip won't help, but I do think you should tread carefully when it comes to starting new meds, especially at the young age of 19.
>And I've read that Lithium and Seroquel both lower dopamine. Do I really need more of that?
I doubt it. Treatment with antipsychotics such as Seroquel needs a clear justification. In the absence of any psychotic symptoms, use for insomnia should be very carefully considered. The side effects (such as pronounced weight gain) may be worse than the insomnia.
poster:ed_uk2010
thread:957858
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100731/msgs/957865.html