Seraquel/Neurontin opinions ?

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I take both Seraquel (800mg/day) and Neurontin (2400mg/day), mostly for anxiety/panic attacks, and have had some very positive results. I'm now able to socialize much more effectively than before taking these meds. Specifically, the added control over panic attacks, has given me a great deal more confidence, socially. Anyone else try either, or both, of these meds? If so, were your results positive or negative? Just curious. Thanks,jawbrodt.

I've taken both.

Seroquel is pretty dangerous. I would hope that they would find something else for panic attacks, given that even most of the rest of the psych drugs are less dangerous than the neuroleptics.

And Neurontin is not intended for anxiety. It's been over-marketed for just about everything though. (Its actual on-label uses are for seizures and for some very specific kinds of pain, and while there are off-label uses, they aren't as numerous as the number of ones the drug company has tried to push on people.)

Hi, I was wondering why you think seraquel is dangerous? Just curious.

Whenever I took just one 25mg tablet of Seroquel I was ready to pass out and was so sluggish and sinking in molasses that I couldnt get up to stimulate myself with anything to make me less depressed and thus less anxious about being deoressed; I was on the Seroquel to help me sleep and take away anxiety (about getting depressed and falling into black holes) but it increased it because I was so sluggish I couldn't stimulate myself to get less depressed.


Try antidepressants or painkillers for killing anxiety.

I was put on Seroquel, but did not stay on it very long, once I realized it was a psychotropic drug. It is claimed that this drug will not cause tardive dyskinesia, but I have to wonder about that. I was not about to find out. I am guessing the main reason there are new psych drugs is that these drugs are still under patent. In the institution I was in back in the 70's, thioridizine (Mellaril) was the drug of choice to make the children there more manageable. The bad thing about tardive dyskinesia is that once it occurs, it's irreversible.

I'm pretty suprised you would be given both quetiapine and gabapentin purely for panic attacks. Quetiapine is more commonly prescribed as an anti-psychotic. It can lower the seizure threshold.

Gabapentin is used primarily for treatment of neuropathic pain, and used in seizure disorders as an adjunct to other meds, so it may be that you're being given that in part to counter the increased risk of having seizures (from the quetiapine) you may have.

I wonder if you have been offered various meds (and combinations of meds) before but found them ineffective, as there is no way the two you're on is a first-line treatment for panic attacks.

The fact that you need both meds surprises me, but if you find they are working, then that's great.

Queerpup

I was on Seroquel briefly and I hated it.

I felt like my creative brain was destroyed. I was very numb. I also woke up and could not breathe. My doctors told me I was having panic attacks. I've had hundreds if not thousands of panic attacks in my life, but never like that.

I have suffered from severe panic attacks since, around age 12. It eventually got to a point where, practically my whole day was a panic attack. I was so hyper-sensitive to everything that I simply could not function. Just a thought of a panic attack, would bring on a panic attack. I could't leave the house, answer the phone, or have company. When I wasn't having a panic attack, I was experiencing an unbearable sensory-overload from life itself. I was desperate. I started using alcohol, for its numbing effects but, had too many problems with the law. Then I discovered pain-killers/opiates which gave me a freedom that I never experienced before. That was also short-lived. Tolerance grew to the point where I became a full-blown heroin addict. Not a solution! I was then placed in a rehab, by law, where I was given the opportunity to experiment with different meds. I chose Seroquel specifically, for its numbing effects. I'm still smarter than all my friends and, for me, the trade-off was worth it. The gabapentin/neurontin was recommended to help control the involuntary, subconscious trigger of panic attacks. They told me that it is also used to control the involuntary tics, of touretts syndrome which, kinda makes sense. I don't recommend this cocktail(I also take lexapro) for just anyone. I think I'm an extreme example, and now that I'm able to think clearly, I think my past childhood abuse, was a large contributing factor. Oh well, I just know that I'm a much happier person today and am drug/alcohol free. Almost, I now only drink on special occasions.

Last edited by jawbrodt on 02 Feb 2008, 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

/vouch

Seroquel was a huge failure for me. All it did was make me want to sleep.

800mg? That's WAY too much. I wouldn't even be able to stay awake at all during the day.

I also heard it can make you lose your hearing.

Haven't tried either of those. As far as prescription meds go, I have taken xanax and clonipin with good results, though my doc doesn't want to prescribe them long term. Buspar was ok the first time I tried it (some weird side effects, but managable). When I tried going back on it after a year's break, it caused agitation. Doc wanted me to go on SSRIs, which I have resisted.

Later, the panic/anxiety got really bad. I came across an article that found that older antihistamines (diphenhydramine and chlorpheniramine) are also SSRIs. Siince I also have allerges, I decided to ease onto chlorpheniramine. So far, it seems to be very helpful. Less sedation than I expected. Chlorpheniramine has a much longer half-life than diphenhydramine (20 hours vs 4). There is also debate on whether it is more a Serotonin or Serotonin/Noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor.

While this med is over-the-counter, it doesn't mean it is any safer than prescription SSRIs. Do your own due diligence before going down this or any road, especially if you are taking other meds. Find the medical journal citations and talk to your doctor. I am pretty amazed at the fact that almost no one (even in the medical community) recognizes the SSRI properties of the older antihistamines - big potential for interactions that people should be told about ... for example, mixing any SSRI with tryptophan or 5-HTP could cause serotonin syndrome ... the fact that no one is aware that OTC antihistamines are SSRIs doesnt change their chemistry.


>> Reprint of a journal article on this topic << Antihistamines for anxiety/panic discussed towards the end of it.

Do you really take 2400 of neurontin? I take 600, and that was an increase over the previous dosage. I haven't had any negative effects...but honestly, I'm not sure if I've had any positive effects, either. My dermatologist prescribed it so that I would stop picking the scabs on the skin. I guess it's helped some, but not as much as non-pharmaceutical solutions I've worked out.

Yes, I take neurontin 600mg 4 times a day, and seroquel 200mg 4 times a day, I also take lexapro 20mg/day. I was pretty sleepy in the beginning but, anything was better than what I had to deal with before. I haven't come across anyone with anxiety/panic problems as severe as I have. I now suspect that I developed some type of post traumatic stress disorder, from the the child abuse. I couldn't stand to be around anyone, even family or friends. It took alot of medication to control that degree of anxiety. The more time that goes by, the better I get,though. I guess time does heal old wounds, sort of.