Seroquel and rocking back and forth/feeling like on a boat - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

tattoogirl · 06-30-2009, 01:34 PM

Since starting Seroquel I can't stop rocking back and forth. I feel like I am on a boat and going up and down especially while walking. I also feel like I sound like I am talking with marbles in my mouth or am drunk and slurring. Any thoughts?

Also been feeling like I have bugs under skin/numbness and tingling and I keep feeling like I have lice on my head (I don't). I remember this when I was full blown manic/psychotic/delusional after I had my son. Could I be in full blown mania but on the lower end of the spectrum because my mood stabilizer is helping decrease the intensity? I have been going from suicidally depressed to feeling like I am in a perpetual panic attack. Thanks.

dreams in neon · 06-30-2009, 03:36 PM

It sounds like you could be experiencing tactile hallucinations (i.e. a feeling of having bugs crawling under your skin).

Feeling like you are on a boat moving up and down seems to be indicative of motion sickness/nausea which is a common side effect of various meds including Seroquel.

If these symptoms are bothersome to you, I'd let your pdoc know so your dose can be lowered or you can be put on a different med.

As for whether or not you are full blown manic, I can't say because when I had my manic/psychotic episode I heard 20 different voices who told me bad things.

I experienced a manic episode 2 weeks ago in which I had a panic attack. I didn't have any bad thoughts, but felt a tremendous sense of restlessness, impending doom and as if I was having a heart attack.

Anxiety can be a sign of mania, but with the depression you say you're experiencing, it sounds more like a mixed episode meaning that you feel manic, anxious and depressed at the same time. Would that be an accurate assessment?

tattoogirl · 06-30-2009, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreams in neon

It sounds like you could be experiencing tactile hallucinations (i.e. a feeling of having bugs crawling under your skin).

Feeling like you are on a boat moving up and down seems to be indicative of motion sickness/nausea which is a common side effect of various meds including Seroquel.

If these symptoms are bothersome to you, I'd let your pdoc know so your dose can be lowered or you can be put on a different med.

As for whether or not you are full blown manic, I can't say because when I had my manic/psychotic episode I heard 20 different voices who told me bad things.

I experienced a manic episode 2 weeks ago in which I had a panic attack. I didn't have any bad thoughts, but felt a tremendous sense of restlessness, impending doom and as if I was having a heart attack.

Anxiety can be a sign of mania, but with the depression you say you're experiencing, it sounds more like a mixed episode meaning that you feel manic, anxious and depressed at the same time. Would that be an accurate assessment?

Yes, that seems accurate. Mixed episode(s). I have them continually but the extremes of being suicidal to feeling I am losing my mind and the world is so distorted is so great that I just don't know what to think anymore. I disassociate and colors and sounds are so intense. I was outside for a bit but the colors hurt my eyes they were so bright and I found myself caught up watching the tree branches blow. It was very bizarre. I never am on one feeling alone for long enough to know for sure (although I am VERY ANXIOUS all the time).

Have questions for you since you seem to have a great handle/understanding of all this. Does it ever get better are there ever any "good" times? Can you still have episodes when your medicine is "stable" or do they constantly need to be tweeked? When you said 2 weeks ago (hope I didn't read it/interpret wrong) you had a panic attack, was it because you were manic or the mania is the panic/anxiety or the mania caused it. I am so confused.

I remember after I had my son and became psychotic I jumped out of a 3 story building thinking people were after me....I ran into a woman's yard and grabbed her phone, called my mom at work and then sprinted off.....ran for about 3 miles till' I collapsed. I am afraid of all that. I spent so long psychotic I worry that I will split like that and I have a child.

dreams in neon · 06-30-2009, 05:46 PM

I don't know exactly what caused what, but I think my mania caused the panic attack since I've never had a panic attack of that severity before. All I know is that I woke up feeling the way I did and felt like I was going to d*e. Things can and will get better. I don't know why I experienced the panic attack I did, but my new tdoc told me they come out of the blue and don't always have a cause. Anxiety attacks don't always need to be the result of mania either. They can also be due to other anxiety disorders like Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and panic disorders. All I can really speak to is how well my meds have controlled my rapid cycling, mania and depression. Feeling panic/anxiety is a new experience for me, but my pdoc gave me a benzo (Klonopin) which I'm supposed to take whenever I feel anxious due to mania. It helps a great deal especially if I take 2 tablets 3x/day. If my anxiety is severe like it was 2 weeks ago, all I can do is take my Klonopin and a nap so I can calm down and no longer think about how manic or anxious I am. I don't know if that helps, but if you have any other questions for me, I'd be happy to answer them. Just let me know.

hysteria81 · 07-03-2009, 11:20 AM

Could very well be akathisia, a common side effect of neuroleptics. I see it alot in patients of these medicines