50 mg of Seroquel led to extreme dizziness and memory loss

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I am disgusted that a doctor prescribed a drug such as that to assist with sleep of all things. First of all sleep problems should not be treated with medications. There are millions of things that people can do and learn to do that can assist with sleep. Further the dosage given is just so high that is beggers belief.

As for the person who claims that these drugs do not cause such side effects in high doses that is simply niave. No one drug acts the same in every single person and what becomes a problematic dose for one person will not be for another. I would love to see the research that says that they bind to certain receptors at certain dosages. That would be very interesting reading and not something I would be inclined to believe. We also know that once a person has been on drugs for a certain period of time the drugs become more potent and are impacting on the brain more. This continues to occur over the decades that many people take the drugs. What happens for the first few months is not what happens over the lifetime.

No medication is safe, and it is an individual decision to make as to whether the side effects outweigh the benefits. Chemotherapy for cancer is hardly good for you, and there is no doubt that in the scheme of things it would reduce a persons lifespan, but given the nature of cancer it also increases it than would happen if the chemotherapy was not given.

We do know that people on antipsychotics do die on average 30-40 years earlier than the rest of the population and at least half of that can be attributed directly to the medicaiton side effects. The problem we have is that we rarely if ever attempt to remove people from these medications and we also rarely if ever try to reduce the dosage. There is no doubt that some people benefit from them at times, but the simple reality is that there is no research to support the basis of keeping people on excessive doses for live. There is also a great deal of research to show that people can be weaned off them incredibly slowly and that they will remain symptom free for life. The difference with these drugs is in how they are used and the dosages that they are given in. They should be used as a last resort, and then at the minimum doseage possible and every attempt should be made to get people off them at the earliest opportunity. Unfortunately this is not something that ever occurs.

I should also add that given that the original poster was from Sweden this is even more disturbing. Sweden tends to use these medications in significantly lower doses than that used in the US and Australia. I would suspect that the authorities in your country would also be inrecdibly concerned. They also do not refer to them as antipsychotics, but rather as Nueroleptics as they sedate the nuerological system.

http://www.madinamerica.com/madinameric ... 6-12-5.pdf


In 1977, Jonathan Cole, the former head of the NIMH Psychopharmacology Service Center, concluded that given the myriad of problems caused by antipsychotics, “every chronic schizophrenic outpatient maintained on an antipsychotic medication should have the benefit of an adequate trial without drugs.” He titled his article, “Is the Cure Worse than the Disease?”
http://www.madinamerica.com/madinameric ... eworse.pdf

I also had a bad experience with seroquil though I only took it once at half a pill.

You might try natural options:

ZMA-5
Phenibut XT (only 3 times a week max)
Melatonin 3-5mg
Sleep Assure (works pretty good- has melatonin, and gaba in it and is cheap)
GABA

I found that prescription sleep aids such as ambien, benzodiazepines, or tryciclic anti-depressants did not work for me for sleep.

Well...benzo's did but that's just not a good idea to take frequently.

I find natural supliments work well enough and have fewer side effects.

bjcirceleb, thank you for the information... :/ that really doesn't sound very good at all. I figure my therapist/"therapist" asked me if I wanted it prescribed as I had been having so much sleeping problems, and I've had sleeping problems ever since I was fifteen, but it certainly seems that is no excuse. Actually, she seemed sort of uninterested in hearing about my experience with it, which is strange as she's been extremely helpful with some things I had to get help with, in regards to my continued status as "disabled", and always been very kind and seemingly interested in helping me (even if she just can't help at all), so I'm not sure if I could report her; however, I never even met the doctor that then prescribed the stuff for me. That's obviously not very good. I still wonder what had happened if I had taken the full 100 mg... :/

As for the sleeping aids you suggested, liveandletdie - do you know more about those natural aids that you list? Natural doesn't necessarily mean good. Why should Phenibut XT, for example, only be taken three times a week, at max? As a side note, I took the unnatural substance zopiclone (brand name Imovane), for the last time over a year back, at times, for a while, which worked well for a few days, but they were unbelievably addictive and made me start getting bad anxiety and finally even a severe panic attack that lasted for over two hours. I know it was zopiclone that did it because I used it, periodically, for months, and the anxiety I got always matched with my usage of that so-called "medication". It also made me get tics in my face, maybe because of the anxiety it caused, when I took a break from it (or just the day (or night, evening) after, when I woke up). The tics started going away when I completely ceased using it.



As for the three times I've taken Seroquel.... could they have caused permanent brain damage? :/ Just those times, with 50 mg, 25 mg and 25 mg...? I feel completely normal, and did so just a couple days after that final time I took it, but I've rather frequently had strange headaches and toothaches, since a month or so back. At first I assumed it was a sinus problem, since I've had that, before, so I got sinus meds for it, but while they've aided in breathing more easily from my nose, the head- and toothaches haven't gone away, so I then instead assumed that I must have tooth rot that's affected the root in at least one tooth, so I went to a dentist that I know is very professional, and it proved, much to my surprise, that I didn't have the tiniest cavity. So I've started to wonder, could my incompatibility with Seroquel have made me get brain damage that means that I may be about to get a stroke? I mean, considering that mild taste of blood in my mouth, then, and all (even if there was NO blood in my mouth (checked several times, as I mentioned))? Or is a concussion from when I passed out more likely? Does it sound like it could be a mere concussion? My head didn't hurt too much, when I woke up on the floor, though, although I feel pain far more mildly than others so it's difficult for me to properly judge. If it'd be a mere concussion, will the headaches go away?

I'm not sure about getting a magnet scan of my head as I then may be confronted with problems with opposing the psychiatry asking me of having a brain scan done, to aid in the finalization of my Asperger's diagnosis. I'm not comfortable with it as I really am NOT normal, and that is an understatement. I'm concerned that they could find out, in those scans, that I'm partially sort of a psycho, and that actually is a truth about me and not just me imagining it. Would a scan really be necessary, or could blood tests show if anything is wrong, even over a month later?

A brain scan is not going to show up anything at all. A once off dose of a tablet would not cause permanent structural abnormalities to the brain. The brain also has the ability to repair itself, to small degrees. We do know that when people are taken off these medications after a year or so their brains do eventually begin to function normally. It is if they are used in excessive doses over a long period of time that they begin to cause brain damage.

There are NO brain scans they can do for asperger's, or any mental illness. The ONLY differences that are found in brain scans are in those of people who have been on medications for long periods of time and those that have not. That is medication difference, not illness or condition differences. And the reality is that they have no idea at all of what they are looking for. The chemical imbalance in the brain theory was established as a way to encourage people to take medication. As for the specific chemicals, well they said that depression must have been linked to serotonin as the newest antidepressents on the market were serotonin based. The fact that they are now using melatonin in the newest antidepressents is causing a problem as they have no idea of how to convice people to take a pill that has nothing at all to do with serotonin, which the whole community has believed. ADHD, Biplor and psychosis are supposedly all linked to dopamine as those drugs act on dopamane. Again they cannot prove that. In fact the Lancet and many other of the top medical journals have admitted that there are NO chemical imbalances in the brain and that that theory has not held true. And it was only ever a theory. It is amazing though what happens when the media becomes involved. I do not dispute that the brain is possibly involved in these condtions, but the fact is we know so little about it and it is way too complicated to be a simple chemical imbalance. The other reality is that these conditions, differ in diagnosis in different parts of the world and even within the same country. No two psychiatrists agree on a diagnosis 90% of the time and between two people they are wildly different symptoms. Sure medication can help to provide some symptom relief and that is not always bad, what is wrong is when we are told that it is curing something it is not.

As for sleeping the truly natural sleep aides, and that is lifestyle changes are the best. First it is important to make sure your bedroom is used for nothing but sleep. It is important that it is not too hot or too cold, and that you are comfortable in bed. A weighted blanket has been very benifical for many people to assist with sleep. Having the room very dark and blocking out all possible noise and that includes white noise if possible is important. Making sure you go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time if at all possible each day is important. Eating well and exercising so that you are tired is important. Making sure that you are not stressed when you go to bed, so that you may for example write everything out in a journal beforhand can be good. Not eating or drinking caffine and related things before bed, and reading if this helps to make you tired, but do so on the couch. The best sleep time is usually the hours after midnight. Many adults need more than 8 hours a night and there is nothing wrong with allowing yourself 10 hours or more if that is what you want and need. You cannot get too much sleep, but you can get too little. There are however many people who do not need 8 hours and that is OK too. What is important is that you accept your natural sleep cycle for what it is and not try to force yourself to be someone you are not.

Seroquel was a big issue for me. I have Asperger's, and I took it long term. I'm not sure if it is actually dangerous to those with A.D. or not, but while on it, I expirienced extreme memory loss (entire summers and days lost), and near the end when they took me off of it I was hospitalized. I was on such a high dose of Seroquel for so long that I was passing out, twitching constantly and my chest kept lurching like my heart stopped. This was near constant for four months.

So don't worry, you aren't alone.

I've been taking a low dose of seroquel for sleep and anxiety for about 6 months. I hadn't really thought about it before, but I have noticed my memory is quite poor now, and I'm getting dizzy spells. But its the only thing that works for me. Even if I've been physically active and am completely knackered I won't sleep. I wake up every 10 minutes and only manage to stay in bed for a few hours. My brain just won't turn off.

I've taken a range of other pills, and nothing worked. Its much worse in the spring and summer. I do worry about long term effects of medication, but without sleep I am unable to function at all, and I become completely obsessive and get a lot of compulsions and paranoia. Its tricky enough at the moment even with taking it. If I stopped, I would go back to how I did last spring, that would not be a good idea.

A little off topic, this is one of the only medications freely handed out to people in prison.

http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... -meds.html

I had a better article on it...but cant find it anymore- it's not just in certain area's but most prisons.

most prisoners are drugged to extreme levels, it makes them more easy to control. Over 98% of aged people in nursing homes are being given antipsychotic drugs as well, just to sedate them so the staff to not have to give them any interaction. The same is done for people with intellectual disabilities as well. In many cases people are told it is a vitamin, that there underlying condition is causing the side effects, etc. In fact the whole diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia has been changed, so that medication side effects are now classifed as a part of the condition. The fact that it is almost impossible to be diagnosed with something until you are medicated is incredibly scary. Do the people really have the condition or they being labelled as something because of a side effect. This also leads to the question of what are the drugs actually designed to treat. We call them antipsychotics, but then they have to be on them first be diagnosed with schizophrenia in the vast majority of cases

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/11 ... urce=error

It is also important to remember that when going off any of this sort of medication that you have used for more than a week or so, you will have some withdrawl effects. The longer you take it and the higher the dose the more severe those withdrawl effects will be. It is an individual decision to make as to how they decide to manage an individual problem. I do however have problems with the fact that so few people in the US, UK and Australia at least are offered any form of psychological help to deal with their issues, instead we simply offer them medications to mask the problems. If someone is not sleeping there are reasons for that and if there is not an underlying medical condition then the psychological and lifestyle reasons need to be addressed. We are at times offered some basic advice on lifestyle changes, but from my experience that is about it. I do not have a problem with people voluntarily choosing to use medication, providing they are offered many other alternatives, that they are fully informed of the side effects the medication can create and the like.

I have a huge issue with forced treatment for those with so called mental illnesses. Sure there are people that we need to keep safe, but there are much more humane ways to keep someone safe than to lock them up. And does that give us a right to force medication down their throats, when that medication has lethal side effects. What about giving them time to get better, what about getting informed consent from their next of kin, etc, etc. I think a total zero tolerance on medication is wrong, but the lies that have been told, the amounts that are being prescribed, that very little if anything is done to ensure that people are on the miniumum dose possible, that people are not being weaned from them slowly and so suffering huge withdrawl effects, that people are being kept on them for life for very little to no reason, etc, etc.

I think these say it all!! !

Psychiatric Diagnosis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdY-cg-U ... e=youtu.be

Visit with a psychiatrist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn6orT2j ... dded#at=36

The psychiatrist and the drug rep:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9em-6sT ... re=related

How do you get all these drugs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEKP9NW7 ... re=related

Is being human a mental disorder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYBkrlnTgi8&NR=1

I am just a child:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LmfX2ISNcA&NR=1

DSM V: Name a diagnosis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sclrIojV ... re=related

I want Cymbalta:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_gZwSd5 ... e=youtu.be

Behavioural analyst verses residential care staff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr6_rFMiSmw

Behavioural analyst verses day program staff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQL5OpIxgVA&NR=1

funny vids.

Do you know, I keep seeing claims being posted that anti psychotics reduce people's life spans... on one post in this section of the forum somebody said it reduced your life span by twenty five years, and now on this thread I hear that it reduces your life span by thirty to forty years. Where are these figures coming from? For one thing the atypical anti psychotics haven't been on the market long enough for that kind of data to have been collected. Without seeing some hard data it's hard to know whether we should take this kind of statistic seriously. For example, people with psychotic disorders are more likely to commit suicide... is this fact weighted for in the studies?

Obviously, since I'm on an atypical anti psychotic I'm rather hoping that I'm not chopping my life in half (I'm already forty) but I still find it hard to believe that I'm suddenly so much less healthy because I'm on seroquel than I was before, when I was too depressed to move, and too paranoid to leave the house.

So, can we have some solid data supporting these claims? If someone reads that their med is likely to chop their life in half, and decides to come off them, then relapses and kills themself, how is that beneficial? Would that suicide be included as a death attributable to anti psychotics?

You see my problem here, don't you?

there are a lot of studies showing anti-psychotics reduce life span.

I was quite surprised to hear this as well.
Then researched it and found it to be likely true.
But as far as the newer atypical antipsychotics I do not know.

Probably can't be enough data but if they are at all similar to the older ones it's not a leap of faith.
maybe the guy with the snoopy dog avitar will put some info down, he is pretty knowledgable on the subject.