Seroquel XR and/or Zeldox - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

wonderangel · 08-07-2008, 07:30 PM

Hi everyone! I'm a new member and would like to know if anyone has taken Seroquel XR or Zeldox for Bipolar. My new psychiatrist told me about these newly approved meds. I am bipolar and currently take lithium, effexor, trazodone and zyprexa. I am mostly depressed with some periods of mania. I'd like to know if these drugs are helpful and if there are any side effects that I should be worried about. I have taken seroquel in the past, but seroquel XR is supposed to be a timed release drug at a higher dose. My doctor told me that if I decide to take either or, that I could eliminate all my other meds. and just take one of the new meds. My main concern is my depression. I need to know if these 2 drugs help with depression or if they just subdue mania. Thanks to all who respond!

willow64 · 08-08-2008, 06:00 PM

i take seroquel for a mood stablelizer and take prozac for depression , i am bi polar . seroquel has been a god send it allows me to sleep everynight wich i wasnt doing before , been on tegretol , topamax, didnt like either of them and with them i had to have something to help me sleep. other than having a slight memory laps from time to time i like seroquel , keep in mind though i am on a low dose 50 mg twice a day, dr started me out 3 times a day but it made me to drowsy so dropped back to 2 and have been there since and working fine.. good luck !!

katlin09 · 08-09-2008, 10:06 AM

I've never heard of the Seroquel XR or the other drug you mentioned. I've been on Seroquel 450mg for months, I take it at night and it also helps with insomnia. It works really well for the depression, but I've finally got up to my thereapeutic dose of Lamictal which is 300mg, so I'm getting off of the Seroquel because it has started to cause some slight weight gain in the last month in a half or so. So since the Lamictal is working so well, I don't really need the Seroquel. I'm taking Neurontin 900mg now at night, and that helps with the sleep issues.

Muneca77 · 06-05-2009, 08:52 AM

I have Bipolar 1 and was recently put on SeroquelXR with horrible results. I felt out of it the first night and by the third night I was in full blown disorientation. I stumbled to my bathroom and was grasping onto the sink to hold on. Before I knew it I fell face down into my bathtub, not a fun event. My face is now bruised and I have so much pain on my left side which must be the side that got hit the hard. When I saw my Psychiatrist the next day he said I was the second patient who had the same results, lucky for him he didn't fall face down in the bathtub. I don't know how this drug got on the market.

Has anyone else had this same result?

Dianne

dreams in neon · 06-05-2009, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wonderangel

Hi everyone! I'm a new member and would like to know if anyone has taken Seroquel XR or Zeldox for Bipolar. My new psychiatrist told me about these newly approved meds. I am bipolar and currently take lithium, effexor, trazodone and zyprexa. I am mostly depressed with some periods of mania. I'd like to know if these drugs are helpful and if there are any side effects that I should be worried about. I have taken seroquel in the past, but seroquel XR is supposed to be a timed release drug at a higher dose. My doctor told me that if I decide to take either or, that I could eliminate all my other meds. and just take one of the new meds. My main concern is my depression. I need to know if these 2 drugs help with depression or if they just subdue mania. Thanks to all who respond!

Seroquel is sometimes used for the off label treatment of depression, so it's possible this med could make a difference in that regard.

Seroquel is also FDA approved to treat mania.

However, it may take some time for you to notice any positive results (generally 6-8 weeks), so if you do not start to notice a change by then, I would advise your pdoc.

I happen to take Prozac for my depression and so far it's working like a charm. I have had a few mixed and depressive episodes along the way (my dose was recently increased from 20mg or 40mg), but they are not as frequent nor as severe as they used to be.

I also take Trazodone for sleep. I take 100mg when I'm feeling level and 300mg PRN when I'm manic. The 100mg dose works in 15 minutes while the 300mg dose works
in 5.

I've also taken Lithium in the past (1991-1997), but it didn't do anything to address my depression until Paxil was added.

Having said that, Lithium did a good job of keeping my mania under control.

You also mentioned Zeldox (Geodon). I've been on Zeldox (Geodon) twice in the past. I was given this med for my voices, delusions and paranoia. It worked great the first time I started taking it (during my IP stay in 2006), but after having done so again a few months ago, Zeldox (Geodon) eventually lost its' efficacy. I now take Risperdal in its' place.