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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by iowamoo on August 13, 2014, at 14:17:37
For mood disorder as my Dr. Has labeled me now.
I've been on risperdal with some success but to much gastro problems and currently un medicated and was doing so good til 3 days ago when I fell off the good mood wagon. My Dr. Gave me seroquel this time and only 25 mgs but to take only half to start out to see how I react to it. He thinks the loss dose will work for me because I'm very sensitive to meds. Of course I worry about weight gain with seroquel more so then I did with risperdal. Anyways any thoughts on how this low dose seroquel might help "mood disorder" ?
Posted by iowamoo on August 14, 2014, at 8:54:45
In reply to risperdal vs seroquel, posted by iowamoo on August 13, 2014, at 14:17:37
any suggestions please.
Posted by Christ_empowered on August 14, 2014, at 20:23:48
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel, posted by iowamoo on August 14, 2014, at 8:54:45
OK. From what I've read, low dose Seroquel (up to like 100 or 150mgs...I forget) is a sedating antihistamine. If it works at a low dose, you might wanna try Vistaril. It'd be cheaper.
You hit 100-200mgs Seroquel, its a sedative with additional mood leveling and mood improving qualities. Go higher, like 300 or so, it can tame agitation and psychosis.
So...I'd say, if you have good insurance, try to get the XR and work up to maybe 200 or so. It'd help you sleep :-)
The only problem with any antipsychotic is "tardive dyskinesia," plus any metabolic issues.
Have you tried Trileptal, Lamictal? I take both (bad Bipolar, apparently), and they help me a lot. If your mood is low and you get angry, I'd say Lamictal first, then see what happens.
You can PRN Risperdal. Like I said, I have pretty intense Bipolar I. So, on top of everything else, when I really need it, I'll take a 2mgs tab of Risperdal at night. Works! The extra tranquilizer keeps me calm and all that for a couple days, easy.
Anyway, I'm not a doc. Please talk to your doctor about all this, but...
...these are my suggestions.
Posted by iowamoo on August 16, 2014, at 13:00:32
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel, posted by Christ_empowered on August 14, 2014, at 20:23:48
Thank you for the reply!
Actually my Dr. wrote on the pill label for "thought organization" weird huh?
I told him about my anxiety and mood swings
and he says because I did so well on only .25
of Risperdal before the wheels fell off and I got scared on it and stopped it that he thinks that I may be able to get by with a very low dose of Seroquel.The other night I took only 1/4 of a 25 mgs of Seroquel and it literally put me to sleep while I was sitting there on the couch and I had to drag myself to bed, the next day I found myself on the couch up at 4:30 and sleeping on the couch till 7:00 followed by a nap at 1:00 to 2:00 then I was fine the rest of the day.
To test this out again I did NOT take any last night and today I am fine. So I think this proves that that tiny dose konked me out. I do not need it for sleep though, I have a lot of anxiety in my body that causes me to not be able to stand in one place and I fidget a lot. I am hoping that this low dose of 25 if I can make it up there will be helpful with something anything even if only my mood. the odd thing is that the next day I had actually ventured outside on my own although briefly and with some anxiety I actually felt less anxiety that whole day but I don't hold a candle to that with just one dose. My Dr. is going down a list to see what works and if this does not help our next one is Depakote, then lamictal then trileptal.
My blood sugar numbers were getting high with Risperdal and I had a lot of stomach pain and bloating and worse constipation so I have to see if my hba1c numbers come down mid sept. to really be able to determine if it was the Risperdal that raised them and if not then I could go back on Risperdal.
Posted by phidippus on August 16, 2014, at 14:45:31
In reply to risperdal vs seroquel, posted by iowamoo on August 13, 2014, at 14:17:37
It might keep you from going into an elevated state, but that's an awfully low dose. It won't do anything to stabilize your mood. I don't see why you're reluctant to go on a mood stabilizer.
Eric
Posted by iowamoo on August 16, 2014, at 21:04:22
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » iowamoo, posted by phidippus on August 16, 2014, at 14:45:31
What? Wait a minute! I thought sequel was a mood stabilizer! Oooh ugh..My Dr. Is the one holding me back but not sure why so guess I'll have to ask.
Posted by phidippus on August 18, 2014, at 20:59:21
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » phidippus, posted by iowamoo on August 16, 2014, at 21:04:22
Seroquel is an antipsychotic.
Eric
Posted by ed_uk2010 on August 19, 2014, at 13:27:23
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » phidippus, posted by iowamoo on August 16, 2014, at 21:04:22
>What? Wait a minute! I thought Seroquel was a mood stabilizer!
Although Seroquel is classed as an antipsychotic, like Risperdal, this doesn't mean a great deal (to you) because both drugs have other effects as well as reducing symptoms in psychotic illness. Seroquel appears to have considerable 'mood stabilising' properties in bipolar disorder, which include:
1. Relief of manic or mixed episodes.
2. Reduction in depressive symptoms.
3. Reduction in the risk of relapse after the treatment of an acute episode of illness.
4. Reducing the number and severity of mood episodes in patients with bipolar disorder.The doses used in bipolar disorder are usually 200mg to 800mg per day, after the initial use of lower doses for titration. Very low doses eg. 25mg (or less, as you tried) act essentially as a sedative. The sedative effect tends to wear off after a while and usually 'maxes out' beyond a certain point so that increasing the dose has little effect of the amount of sedation.
Posted by iowamoo on August 20, 2014, at 17:13:32
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » iowamoo, posted by ed_uk2010 on August 19, 2014, at 13:27:23
I don't need to be sedated because I have no insomnia problems. At this point I thought I would try it for anxiety only since that seems to be a BIG problem for me! Hoping that maybe if I can get a handle on that that maybe other things may fall into place like even a micro ounce of mood control. I do not want to get into taking a whole big amount of this even past 50 mgs.
My Dr. has not put me on the lamictal because I am afraid of taking it for the rash worry and because I am terrified of seizure withdrawl because I have a history of seizures....so here I sit. I've read a ton of great reviews on this med from people taking only 12.5 mgs for anxiety and it working wonders for them, so I pray I can be one of them lucky ones!
Posted by phidippus on August 20, 2014, at 17:37:48
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » iowamoo, posted by ed_uk2010 on August 19, 2014, at 13:27:23
I would not replace a mood stabilizer with Seroquel. It has limited effects on neurotransmission whereas a mood stabilizer such as Lithium has a global effect on the brain, slowing neurotransmission, whereas Seroquel affects dopamine and serotonin alone.
Eric
Posted by iowamoo on August 20, 2014, at 20:43:02
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » ed_uk2010, posted by phidippus on August 20, 2014, at 17:37:48
I know from total experience and my husband and daughter can attest to the fact that the Risperdal definitely affected and changed my mood in such a positive way that when I stopped it they were literally angry with me! I stopped it out of the fear of the side effects plus my hba1c went way up as well and too much bloating and constipation or I would of stayed on it.
so far you are managing to discourage me from going any further with the Seroquel.
Posted by herpills on August 21, 2014, at 12:34:07
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » ed_uk2010, posted by iowamoo on August 20, 2014, at 17:13:32
> I don't need to be sedated because I have no insomnia problems. At this point I thought I would try it for anxiety only since that seems to be a BIG problem for me! Hoping that maybe if I can get a handle on that that maybe other things may fall into place like even a micro ounce of mood control. I do not want to get into taking a whole big amount of this even past 50 mgs.
>
> My Dr. has not put me on the Lamictal because I am afraid of taking it for the rash worry and because I am terrified of seizure withdrawal because I have a history of seizures....so here I sit. I've read a ton of great reviews on this med from people taking only 12.5 mgs for anxiety and it working wonders for them, so I pray I can be one of them lucky ones!I wouldn't worry about the rash...it's very rare, and if you start to get a rash, you just have to get checked by a doctor and they can tell you if it's benign or something more serious in which case you would then discontinue the med. Although there is some anecdotes on here about people using really low dose Lamictal (25-50mg) it generally requires a minimum of 100-150mg to get any kind of long tern benefit for mood. Lamictal isn't really an anti-anxiety med...but I think what some people call "anxiety" could be more like a dysphoric hypomania...which Lamictal can help. Hope you feel better soon! Keep working with your doctor and you will find what works for you.
Posted by ed_uk2010 on August 21, 2014, at 13:41:04
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » ed_uk2010, posted by phidippus on August 20, 2014, at 17:37:48
> I would not replace a mood stabilizer with Seroquel. It has limited effects on neurotransmission whereas a mood stabilizer such as Lithium has a global effect on the brain, slowing neurotransmission, whereas Seroquel affects dopamine and serotonin alone.
>
> EricOverall, Seroquel appears to have similar efficacy to lithium for prophylaxis in bipolar disorder. Of course, many people respond better to one than the other. The precise mechanism of action isn't especially important if it is working.
Posted by ed_uk2010 on August 21, 2014, at 13:48:23
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » ed_uk2010, posted by iowamoo on August 20, 2014, at 17:13:32
>I don't need to be sedated because I have no insomnia problems. At this point I thought I would try it for anxiety only since that seems to be a BIG problem for me! Hoping that maybe if I can get a handle on that that maybe other things may fall into place like even a micro ounce of mood control. I do not want to get into taking a whole big amount of this even past 50 mgs.
Well, it could help anxiety. Do you have a diagnosis or not really? 50mg is not a large amount by any means. You will initially find that even very low doses make you feel drowsy, but this tends to wear off if you take it continuously for a few weeks or more. I don't think it's a good idea to decide in advance what dose you will take. The dose will need to be adjusted according to how you are responding after several weeks of treatment. The effective dose of Seroquel is very variable from person to person and cannot be predicted in advance.
>My Dr. has not put me on the lamictal because I am afraid of taking it for the rash worry and because I am terrified of seizure withdrawl because I have a history of seizures....so here I sit.
I don't think you need to be afraid of Lamictal, it is usually well tolerated. Minor rashes are relatively frequent but serious rash is very uncommon. Withdrawal seizures are not a major issue with Lamictal, but if they do occur it is usually in people diagnosed with epilepsy who abruptly discontinue after taking a large dose on a regular basis.
Do let me know if you have any questions about either medication.
Posted by iowamoo on August 21, 2014, at 20:13:13
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » iowamoo, posted by ed_uk2010 on August 21, 2014, at 13:48:23
My Dr. just labeled as "mood disorder" he has flip flopped back and forth between that and bipolar 2 so who knows. I know anxiety is a huge component in all my troubles and if taking this Seroquel with help that over my moods I think I would prefer some anxiety relief. I took 12/5 mgs last night and woke up with my whole body aching which was not normal so don't know what that was. I didn't wake up refreshed like I've read others say so I was bummed, my voice was harsh and hoarse and I felt like I got hit by a truck, hoping to feel better tomorrow morning though.
Posted by ed_uk2010 on August 25, 2014, at 15:07:14
In reply to Re: risperdal vs seroquel » ed_uk2010, posted by iowamoo on August 21, 2014, at 20:13:13
> My Dr. just labeled as "mood disorder" he has flip flopped back and forth between that and bipolar 2 so who knows. I know anxiety is a huge component in all my troubles and if taking this Seroquel with help that over my moods I think I would prefer some anxiety relief. I took 12/5 mgs last night and woke up with my whole body aching which was not normal so don't know what that was. I didn't wake up refreshed like I've read others say so I was bummed, my voice was harsh and hoarse and I felt like I got hit by a truck, hoping to feel better tomorrow morning though.
Did you try it some more times to see whether your response changes?
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