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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Chris O on March 13, 2015, at 0:20:13
Any success stories from babblers using Seroquel for severe anxiety and paranoia? Any feedback--positive or negative--appreciated. Side effect feedback helpful, too.
Sincerely,
Chris
Posted by Christ_empowered on March 13, 2015, at 2:32:28
In reply to Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia?, posted by Chris O on March 13, 2015, at 0:20:13
way back when...only got up to like 100, 150mgs/day w/ other stuff for anxiety, agitation, paranoia...worked well. Had it not been for the over-sedation, I could've stayed on it...
...I think it was really the Klonopin w/ the seroquel that made the combo not so great for me.
Posted by Chris O on March 13, 2015, at 8:42:24
In reply to Re: Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia?, posted by Christ_empowered on March 13, 2015, at 2:32:28
Thanks for that feedback. I've taken Klonopin (and I'm on Xanax now 1.5-2mg a day). But benzos, they just don't get to the depth of my anxiety. They just gloss over the surface. I've tried to explain this to my p-doc many times; I think he gets it, he just doesn't know where to go with me.
I have never tried an antipsychotic for any length of time beyond a few days. I still have my "physical health" (despite my life being completely destroyed by severe anxiety), and I cannot see worrying about massive weight gain, diabetes (my blood sugar has always been normal), and akathisia, tardive dyskinesia, and heart disease for the possibility of my being a partially functional wage slave.
How were the side effects on Seroquel for you? How are the side effects for any other antipsychotics you are on now?
Thanks in advance for the feedback.
Chris
Posted by Lamdage22 on March 13, 2015, at 10:43:02
In reply to Re: Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia? » Christ_empowered, posted by Chris O on March 13, 2015, at 8:42:24
> and I cannot see worrying about massive weight gain, diabetes (my blood sugar has always been normal), and akathisia, tardive dyskinesia, and heart disease for the possibility of my being a partially functional wage slave.
Now hold on a second.
Akathisia on Seroquel is very rare. So is tardive dyskinesia. Heart disease i believe also rare. Massive weight gain on Seroquel PLUS Metformin, i dont think so.
Seroquel is a good med. You may want to take Metformin along with it against weight gain, to lower cholesterol and triglycerides.
Along with Metformin against metabolic side effects, Seroquel is a very well tolerated AP. So if you take an AP, which you may need, Seroquel perhaps 2 or 300 mg is not bad.
Hope this helps.
Posted by phidippus on March 13, 2015, at 13:29:52
In reply to Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia?, posted by Chris O on March 13, 2015, at 0:20:13
It works if the anxiety stems from the paranoia.
Eric
Posted by Christ_empowered on March 13, 2015, at 16:56:41
In reply to Re: Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia? » Chris O, posted by phidippus on March 13, 2015, at 13:29:52
seroquel is supposed to be good about EPS, including akathisia. Long-term...I dunno...I think the TD risk is supposed to be higher than clozapine, but lower than a lot of other atypicals, and lower than low potency old school AP drugs.
I take a high dose (30mgs) Abilify now. As time progressed, I went from being somewhat paranoid to developing straight up psychosis. My doc calls it bipolar I. Anyway...
...I do orthomolecular (lots of antioxidants and B vitamins) in the hopes of reducing the TD risk. This is probably more of an issue for me than it will be for you, because I take a high dose atypical all the time, plus I have to take anticonvulsants. Also, Abilify seems to be the weirdest drug ever w/ TD (some docs say its clean and amazing, some say it causes TD more often that we've been led to believe...), whereas seroquel has a longer track record of relatively low frequency of TD.
Dosage and duration of treatment are big issues w/ TD, but sometimes people develop it after brief, low dose exposure. Some people develop tics during tapering (withdrawal dyskinesia). There are tardive syndromes--tardive akathisia, supersensitivity psychosis, tardive dementia--that are mentioned in the literature and do occur, but no one seems to be investigating them all that in depth.
From what little I know of the subject...tardive akathisia is often related to, but can occur independently of, TD. Tardive dementia isn't well studied, but it does appear that TD itself is a "dementing disorder," so...there's a link (I think). b-6 has been used in high doses for both TD and akathisia, with good results. I take 400mgs/day along with other stuff for TD prevention. I don't even get stiff gait from Abilify, and I used to be sensitive to neuroleptics.
Well...good luck to you. I would recommend that you consider trying the XR, just to make your life easier. Also, metformin, as lamdage mentioned, can make a world of difference. There's limited info on some supplements, such as alpha lipoic acid, to prevent weigh gain and such w/ atypicals.
Posted by Chris O on March 13, 2015, at 17:59:14
In reply to Re: Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia?, posted by Lamdage22 on March 13, 2015, at 10:43:02
Thanks, Lamdage! I appreciate and respect your feedback. Metformin I am completely unfamiliar with. Just looked up the article on Wikipedia. I guess if I have any significant symptom relief with any of the antipsychotics, I will have to look into taking something like metformin.
Chris
Posted by Chris O on March 13, 2015, at 18:05:54
In reply to Re: Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia? » Chris O, posted by phidippus on March 13, 2015, at 13:29:52
"It works if the anxiety stems from the paranoia."
What an interesting perspective. I don't know if my anxiety stems from my paranoia. I think it is the other way around, actually. My anxiety seems to stem from a place in which I feel completely abandoned in the world, unable to take care of myself, and unable to manage the "stress" of "extroverting" myself. I feel like there is a wall of anxiety around my being. I believe it is related to two things: 1) the horribly broken adult-child of alcoholic brain chemistry I inherited from my mother 2) the horribly broken and abusive way my mother beat down my masculine personality, bonding me to her in such a way that it seems "wrong" to assert myself in the world, even as an adult.
Anyway, short of someone paying for and convincing me that some type of Janovian Primal Therapy will do the trick (which I have always wanted to believe could), I guess all I have is whatever messy patches psychiatry can come up with.
Thanks again for the feedback.
Chris
Posted by Chris O on March 13, 2015, at 18:13:00
In reply to Re: Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia?, posted by Christ_empowered on March 13, 2015, at 16:56:41
That was a totally brilliant analysis of the TD risks associated with antipsychotics. Thank you for it.
I've read many of your wonderful posts on this site and have benefited from them greatly. I don't know if we are on the same axis, but like you (if I remember some of your musings correctly), I struggle with the idea of how much of my "disorder" is socially mediated (on a grand scale; the 1% forcing the rest of us to be wage slaves and take our meds) and how much of it is biological. I also trend toward, if not orthomolecular, then at least "natural." But every herb and supplement I have ever taken has failed me. So I angrily lean on psychiatry, with all of its flaws.
Hope you are well. If I do go down the AAP route long-term, I'll explore Seroquel XR as well as Abilify (I've gotten Abilify prescriptions multiple times but have never taken them). I'll also look into meformin.
Chris
Posted by Lamdage22 on March 14, 2015, at 12:15:30
In reply to Re: Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia? » Christ_empowered, posted by Chris O on March 13, 2015, at 18:13:00
Chris that sounds like a good plan.
Posted by Chris O on March 15, 2015, at 1:13:42
In reply to Re: Feedback on Seroquel for anxiety, paranoia?, posted by Lamdage22 on March 14, 2015, at 12:15:30
I just started Fetzima because my psychiatrist gave me the sample packs last month and I can't convince myself to take the Seroquel yet.
This is the end of the thread.
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