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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by bandoracer on September 17, 2002, at 8:54:57
Hi long time since I have posted here as bpbando, but I am puzzled by something and would like your impressions.
I have been on 2400 mg neurontin and 1 mg of klonopin for bipolar for about two years and 20 mg of ritalin for add for about ten years.
I take the last dose of ritalin around noon; that way only my wife is driven to madness by my in attention. I take no caffien past my second cup of coffee in the morning.
However over the last two months sleep has become a problem. I guess I am a little irritable.
Anyway my last visit to the p-doc she gives me this stuff seroquel to try. I think it was 25 mg
(I HAVE THROWN THE REMAINING TABLETS AWAY)so i am not positive of strength but she said it was the smallest dose. This stuff knocked me on my ass.
I took extra ritalin the first few days hoping it would clear my noggin. It did not work!! I was totally loopy. I did sleep though. But I am Pissed Off..I found out what kind of drug seroquel is. Nothing against folks who that med is designed for but i have been bipolar from early childhood and She did not tell me this stuff was an anti-psycotic med. If she thought i was psycotic
she should say that. not give me something that i was totally unfamiliar with. (a few years ago when i switched from ambien to sonata little needed to be said because they are the same class of drugs.) I understand that seroquel is a dopamine anatgonist. So what does it mean when you give somebody a small amount of it and it knocks them out. Does it mean i have too much or too little dopamine. Or am I reading too much into it. I have a appt later this week and i probably have a lot more that i want to say than i should. How would some of you handle it.
thanks.
so
Posted by crepuscular on September 17, 2002, at 12:53:46
In reply to seroquel Dopamine Mystery? , posted by bandoracer on September 17, 2002, at 8:54:57
do some reading on the atypical antispychotics and you will find that they are "broad spectrum" psychotropics. that is, the combination of D2 (dopamine-2) receptor blockade, the duration of this blockade, along with an affinity for some serotonin receptors, seems to land them in a different class of medications than the original antipsychotics.
there are strong arguments for why these new medications should NOT be used for anything besides pychosis. but, that does not take away from the fact that they are often effective in treatment resistant depression, bipolar disorder, acute anxiety, sleep disorders, and delusional depression.
with the other meds you are taking, the sedative effect of seroquel would be more pronounced.
c.
Posted by fachad on September 17, 2002, at 21:10:49
In reply to seroquel Dopamine Mystery? , posted by bandoracer on September 17, 2002, at 8:54:57
Seroquel is a potent histamine blocker - that is probebly what caused your knock out effect. The histamine blockade, not the dopamine blockade is what usually causes the sedation.
But, as others have pointed out, dopamine blockade is a serious thing, and should be reserved for people who really need it.
Other antihistamine hypnotics, such as Remeron or doxepin, are very potent without any possibility of causing movement disorders.
> Hi long time since I have posted here as bpbando, but I am puzzled by something and would like your impressions.
> I have been on 2400 mg neurontin and 1 mg of klonopin for bipolar for about two years and 20 mg of ritalin for add for about ten years.
> I take the last dose of ritalin around noon; that way only my wife is driven to madness by my in attention. I take no caffien past my second cup of coffee in the morning.
> However over the last two months sleep has become a problem. I guess I am a little irritable.
> Anyway my last visit to the p-doc she gives me this stuff seroquel to try. I think it was 25 mg
> (I HAVE THROWN THE REMAINING TABLETS AWAY)so i am not positive of strength but she said it was the smallest dose. This stuff knocked me on my ass.
> I took extra ritalin the first few days hoping it would clear my noggin. It did not work!! I was totally loopy. I did sleep though. But I am Pissed Off..I found out what kind of drug seroquel is. Nothing against folks who that med is designed for but i have been bipolar from early childhood and She did not tell me this stuff was an anti-psycotic med. If she thought i was psycotic
> she should say that. not give me something that i was totally unfamiliar with. (a few years ago when i switched from ambien to sonata little needed to be said because they are the same class of drugs.) I understand that seroquel is a dopamine anatgonist. So what does it mean when you give somebody a small amount of it and it knocks them out. Does it mean i have too much or too little dopamine. Or am I reading too much into it. I have a appt later this week and i probably have a lot more that i want to say than i should. How would some of you handle it.
> thanks.
> so
Posted by bandoracer on September 18, 2002, at 5:00:43
In reply to Re: seroquel Dopamine Mystery? or Histamine? » bandoracer, posted by fachad on September 17, 2002, at 21:10:49
Thanks. Now I know what to ask my p-doc.
Posted by octopusprime on September 19, 2002, at 23:53:34
In reply to seroquel Dopamine Mystery? , posted by bandoracer on September 17, 2002, at 8:54:57
did you try splitting the pills and taking 12.5 mg?
I found that really helped.
I rather enjoyed being knocked on my ass by Seroquel at 25 mg, as I hadn't slept well in months. But I cut the dose to 12.5 mg, as I found I had to get 10 hours of sleep a night to be functional on 25 mg (which is too much).
best of luck
ps - 25 mg is a very low dose of seroquel. dose is titrated up to 800 mg for schizophrenics and the like.
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