50 mg of Seroquel led to extreme dizziness and memory loss

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Not that long ago, I've been prescribed Seroquel (quetiapine), to take as a sleeping aid - not due to psychological problems; merely as a sleeping aid. I didn't take the pills out until recently, though, due to concerns of dangers that they maybe may cause. I've especially been concerned that they may be dangerous to use for people with Asperger's - I've heard that antipsychotics, which is what Seroquel is, may be dangerous in the case of one having Asperger's, but the information I got from a psychiatrist, after I expressed these concerns, was that she's never heard of anything of the sort, while I've heard of brain damage even being possible? :/ Anyway, due to my sleeping problems, I decided to take half a pill, or about 50 mg, instead of the full 100 mg dose I had been prescribed, to be careful. This was last night. What happened was that they certainly helped me to fall asleep, but when I had to go to the toilet during the night, I was struck with an overwhelming dizziness - a dizziness unlike anything I have ever felt. It was so extreme that I felt that I had no time to wash my hands - I had to rush back to bed as quickly as possible, or I would be certain to black out. Getting to bed, I felt so weak that I almost couldn't control my legs, and I had to focus on a light that was on to feel able of any focus, just for those few seconds. When I finally was in bed, the dizziness got so extreme that I got worried that something was wrong, but I rested and then quickly passed out. In the morning, I had gotten a phone call, but I can still barely remember anything of it at all, despite that I had to get out of bed to take the call, and apparently I had been acting somewhat confused. Being confused when I wake up is normal for me, but having an almost entirely blank space in my memory is not. All this from about 50 mg, or half the intended dose. Is this really a "normal" reaction to this substance? Of course, this is the first time I ever took it, but I wasn't supposed to take it every day. Other than all that, I have been feeling okay, today, although kind of not on edge, mentally, I must say. I also slept away the whole day - slept for at least fourteen hours.

Thoughts? Should I stay as far away from this substance as I can? Or isn't it actually dangerous, after all? It did help with sleeping, though - that's for sure. However, I'd have a hard time recommending this to anyone else - the possibility of memory loss seems like a great opportunity for criminal activity, done against the person who's taken this substance. :/ Having in mind something like rape being able to happen. :/

my ex used to black out on that too, and my current boyfriend(more of common-law husband) has a perscription for them but only took a couple and said they made him feel too weird.

have you tried anything else as a sleep aid? you can buy over the counter melatonin which is a natural chemical your body makes to help you fall asleep. we have been told that there are no long term side effects from taking it and it's safe even for children. we give this to our 5yo because he doesn't sleep much on his.

Try 25. If that is too strong, cut a 25mg pill in half. I once knew a lady that even found 12.5mgs a little stronger than suits her preferences for sleep.

I've been told to swallow my medication whole, without cutting it... is it seroquel XL by any chance? If you split that it's not so good.

I started on a dose of 50, which initially made me slightly nauseous ... I've only been giddy when I accidentally took two, at my current dose of 300. (So, I'd taken 600). It's an awful feeling, I was lying on the bed, dizzy and nauseus, convinced that the bed was lurching, and sure I was going to fall off it.

It could just be that seroquel is completely the wrong medicine for you. I think it's very strong for a sleeping problem.

Holy f**k. o_o This drug cannot merely cause permanent akathisia, but also permanent tardive dyskinesia of all things!! If that'd happen, my life would be over - it'd ruin my appearance, then, and that'd be enough for me to have to die. I can't believe I have been prescribed this as a sleeping aid, and then, after my concerns, been told that there is no reason to worry. I was told that no bad side-effect will end up permanent, but after some additional research, that certainly does NOT seem to be the case.


Here you can read about tardive dyskinesia (facial twitches, involuntary grimacing, involuntary tongue movements, etc., and involuntary bodily movements, as well):
http://www.tardive-dyskinesia.com/

Also here:
http://bipolar.about.com/od/sideeffects ... skines.htm

An estimation of 15% of patients using antipsychotics develop tardive dyskinesia within three years. (source: American Psychiatric Association)

Here you can read about akathisia, as well (severe restlessness, anxiety, panic attacks, etc.):
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-akathisia.htm


Maybe I was just another experiment? I'm going to ask for my money back for this terrible poison. :/ Doubt I will get it back, but that should be the very least I should be able to ask for. There went any remaining trust I had left for the psychiatry and psychology business. :/

It is the regular Seroquel, by the way, according to the box, but I guess that doesn't matter, anymore... not for me, anyway. Tardive dyskinesia may happen with several other antipsychotics/neuroleptic drugs, as well, by the way... not just this particular one. Maybe even with all of them? There is a list of various antipsychotics on the About.com page that I linked to.

Stay away from antipsychotics. :/ They may very well ruin your life. There must be something else you can do, or use, if you are doing unwell, right...?

It's the only thing that's worked for me. If I started to display involuntary movements I'd go straight to my doctor, and have to go through the whole rigmarole of finding a drug that worked, but the thing is, there are some people who really need anti psychotics. You are obviously not one of them, however.

It seems that when it starts happening, it's too late to stop using them, though. :/

I'm sorry that you feel that way. I obviously don't know how it is with you, but I'm absolutely certain that many "schizophrenics" in fact are sensitives that see and hear ghosts, or merely see *or* hear them. I think everyone who sees or hears things, or both, should consider that at least some of what happens may in fact be real. Spirits may take many forms. If one refuses to believe in the paranormal, maybe one should try to reconsider one's beliefs? I mean, what if that just maybe *could* be the case? At least that then means that you do not have schizophrenia.

As a matter of fact, I do believe in the paranormal. I'm a Christian, and I believe that the world is not just a material place, that there are plenty of entities and energies around that some people can see. I also believe, from personal experience, that these entities often drive people mad.

Imagine walking down a hospital corridor, and seeing voices and hearing sights (I do mean it that way round) and not being able to talk to the person you're visiting in hospital, because the jumble of it all got so bad.

Seeing "ghosts" never did me a lick of good. Whether what I experienced was real or not (and I think there might have been some "real" in amongst all the biochemical confusion and lies) I certainly don't want to experience it. There's no value to being a "sensitive" if you can't leave your house, get out of bed, wash the dishes, get dressed, talk to friends and family.

The other thing is that the manic symptoms bankrupted me, and nearly lost me the friendship of my immediate family. Even now, I have hardly any friends.

The medication is a life saver.

And from what I've read the symptoms do usually go away if you catch them early enough. Even if they don't, I'd prefer twitching to being insane.

No, I would agree to that...



I do hope that is true, despite what I ended up reading. Unfortunately, even if that is correct, the key word there is "usually"... those who will get brain damaged for life will still be as unhappy about it. I am happy that it works so well for you, though, but it still makes me very uneasy that anyone at all would use this stuff. -_-

Aspies tend to be more sensitive to drugs, so I would try it at the lowest dose, which is 25mg. The risk of EPS from Seroquel is MUCH lower than other atypicals, personally I wouldn't worry about it.

I must admit, I'm gobsmacked that someone would prescribe a powerful anti psychotic for insomnia. To be honest, I think you have a case against your doctor. Is there any kind of ombudsman you can report them too? They shouldn't be able to get away with this kind of stuff.

I take that, and what you list is a serious side effect you need to tell your Doctor to get you off this medication immediately!

you always need to tell your doctor about side effects so they can keep you safe and find the best medication for you.

Seroquel in an atypical anti psychotic and known as a "dirty drug" because it binds to more than one receptor. The trick with Seroquel is to remember that it is a completely different drug at different dosages. It binds in order of preference starting with histamine receptors first, which is why it is prescribed as a sleep aide at low doses, because this causes sedation and drowsiness. It can also cause weight gain, and dry mouth (leading to cavitities), at low doses.

You only get Tardive dyskinesia and akathasia on Seroquel if you take it at a high dose of about 400-800mg. This is when Seroquel starts binding to the dopamine receptors which is what causes Tardive dyskinesia and akathasia.

If you took just 50mg and it caused dizziness, then in addition to the histamine receptors it was also binding to the alpha-1 receptors which causes lightheadness and dizziness. So for you at 50mg it filled the histamine receptors and then spilled over into the alpha-1 receptors.

This means that you do not need such a high dose. All you want to fill are the histamine receptors, and these can be filled at a much lower dose. Some get all the of the sedation and drowsiness effect they need from Seroquel at just 12.5mg.

All of the atypical anti psychotic drugs can cause Tardive dyskinesia and akathasia, since all of them bind to the dopamine receptors at certain dosages. The difference amongst them is at what dose the dopamine binding starts and to what degree. I took a very low dose of Zyprexa (2.5-5mg) for 28 weeks and developed both severe weight gain and Tardive dyskinesia in the form of an annoying facial tic. Upon reading and finding that this was caused by the atypical anti psychotic, and could become permanent, I stopped taking it immediately. The facial tic stopped when the drug was stopped. This prompted me to become knowledgeable about psychotropic drugs, and to question any doctor thoroughly before taking any of them. (I currently don't take any psychotropic drugs as a result of my research).

These are serious drugs to be taken cautiously, at the lowest dose possible, for the shortest length of time possible, and only for very severe conditions.

Due to recent world events (having Japan in mind), I felt really stressed out, last night, and thought I might take 25 mg, to be able to just sleep, and I took a bit less than that, even... a bit over two hours later, I woke up, and what happened was just as bad as last time, if not worse, except no memory loss, at least, although when I was going to get some water, due to becoming so unnaturally thirsty that it felt like my throat would block up and leave me to suffocate - when I was going to get some water, I got so dizzy that I passed out on the floor. I have never passed out like that, ever, before, unless you count when I passed out from this drug, last time, in the bed. I remember getting to where I had gotten, then nothing - I just passed out, and then it was like I instantly woke up... as if no time had passed, but I was now suddenly lying on the floor. Maybe there hadn't passed much time, though; can't tell. It was pure luck that I didn't hit my head in a wooden object, beside me, or get teeth knocked out. And when I woke up, lying there, I felt pretty much incapable of using my legs; they were SO weak. I had to pretty much drag myself on the floor, back to bed, since I knew I didn't have the energy to stand up to get some water. Back in bed I was having what felt like some sorts of mild spasms, everywhere, and I felt like I had problems controlling my eye muscles. But I now was so dry in my mouth and throat that I felt like I really just had to get water, or I'd simply suffocate, as it felt, and I knew that to get this poison out, I had to drink water. So I forced myself to get out of bed, crawling and dragging myself on the floor, since I could NOT stand up for more than a couple seconds. I got to the toilet, got some water from the tap, struggling from the floor, under the sink, to raise the glass and place it under the tap. I had two big glasses of water, dragged my weak body back to bed and decided to pray that I wouldn't die, even though I know prayers never work and have stopped praying since long (I also felt like I had to pray for Japan in that same prayer). The mildly spasmic feelings continued and I felt as if I still had almost no control over my body. Then I got so thirsty, again, maybe five minutes later, had to get more water, and managed to walk to the toilet, but quickly feeling very light-headed, laid on the floor and drank another big glass, and filled it again and managed to bring it with me without dropping it. I quickly drank it and tried to get better, which I did. Half an hour later, I knew I wouldn't die, and I later felt "okay"... but when I managed to fall asleep, a couple hours later, I had horrible nightmares.

All the time that I had this horrible episode, I felt a mild taste of blood in my mouth. However, before I had my first glass of water, I checked my saliva for blood (the very little saliva I had, due to my terribly dry mouth, that absolutely was caused by this), and there was none. I had no blood in my saliva, later, either, and I had no nosebleeds. Does that mean I do not have to worry about having gotten brain damage from this?

As with the first time that I took 50 mg, and the other two times that I took 25 mg (but, I guess, slept through that nightmarish phase), I felt dumb the whole day. Not on edge at all... just... so very much with no edge in my mind. Processing the simplest things was so very much harder, this time, too, as with the other times.

I can't believe this drug. It's like some date rape drug or something. It should be illegal, or at least very strictly controlled. -_-; I'm going to talk with my therapist about what's happened... I'd like to express my exceptional disappointment with her for ever recommending it to me as a sleeping aid, but I can't get too frank... I rely on her for help with my economical situation. In two months or so, however, I should be able to be perfectly clear with her.

I really hope I haven't gotten any brain damage. :/ However, I had no more than 25 mg, maybe even just 20 mg, and the time when I had 50 mg, I felt perfectly okay, the day that followed after my dulled out day, due to the drug's effects. Same with the other two times that I had 25 mg. Does that mean I should be okay? I do have a mild headache on the back of my head, but it seems to be on the outside... it's probably from hitting my head in the floor, when passing out.

Anyone who feels sort of "okay", but just has severe OCD and really bad depression, should not take this terrible stuff. What I experienced today was unbelievably bad... I was SO scared; scared that I would end up drooling in a wheelchair, mainly. :/ That was my main worry. Never again. Alcohol is so much better, any day, and doesn't leave you feeling dumb when you wake up - not that it's something I'd want to use, frequently, either.

I am sorry you had such a bad reaction to the Seroquel.

Do you have a doctor who regularly monitors your condition ?

You will want to see the doctor who prescribed the Seroquel for you, so that your medical records can be updated to show that you have an unusually bad reaction to Seroquel. Medical records are permanent, and help healthcare providers know what medications will and will not be appropriate for you.

You may have sustained a concussion when you fell. Please see your doctor soon.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you are doing.

That's weird. Seroquel is considered by many as a very safe drug to take, not just safe but very effective.

It can cause dehydration, so maybe what you experienced was because you do drink enough water?

Or maybe it's just not suited for you?