r/seroquelmedication

for some slight background i am autistic and i have cptsd. i also have severe treatment resistant anxiety and insomnia. i was recently prescribed seroquel for my anxiety, mood swings, and insomnia.

when i first started it nothing went wrong but each time we’ve increased my dose it makes me tired enough to sleep and then i wake up an hour or so later. i wake up absolutely anxious and in a panic attack and nauseas (which could just be from my anxiety). i just went up on my dose again. i am at 300mg now and i started it last night. like everytime ive upped my dose i woke up within an hour of falling asleep and i was having a panic attack.

anyways all of that to say is this something anyone else has experienced or is it normal? and will it go away?

Hi everybody. I’ve already raised this a couple of months ago with my psychiatrist but they basically told me to just wait for therapy. I’ve been struggling with BPD, depression, anxiety, OCD and CPSTD (crossover symptoms) for about 15 years so I know myself and my problems and my limits, but I only got help earlier this year.

I’ve been on quetiapine 30g XR and 50mg IR. While they feel like they’ve stopped my impulsiveness and sort of balanced me out, they aren’t controlling this particular anxiety at all. It’s a hopeless feeling, triggered occasionally. It’s so intense and usually when I split.

I’m still experiencing significant panic,
Depression ans hopelessness and it’s affecting my ability to function. I understand therapy is important but I’ve been waiting for 8 months, previously waited 1 year before they said I had to reapply, and the time before that they said I wasn’t ’bad’ enough, and have potentially another 6-8 months before I’m off the wait list. No work or income either so I cannot afford to go private. Tried headspace, exercise all of it.

SSRIs I tried in the past made me stuck in mania and numb. So far quetiapine is the closest thing to help, but it’s just not enough. Im really getting exhausted and the S. Ideation becomes more rational every tjme im in this state and I no longer feel fear at the thought, just relief.

Is there any medication anyone else takes? Something I can ask for just until I learn how to cope? I’ve tried walking, excessive sometimes exercise, hobbies etc, but nothing stops the feeling of impending doom and I always spiral back into isolation. I’ve told this to my psychiatrist a couple months ago and they advised breathing techniques. Tried it but it’s like my brain is set on one thing when I’m this overwhelmed. The only thing to stop it is s.h., but I’m trying to quit.

I only bring this up because I just don’t know who else to turn to. I feel so alone and like no matter how much I manage to ‘be better’, I’m overstaying my welcome and just making everything harder on myself by convincing myself I can be a normal person eventually. I think I’m just evil, like something just so much more weong with my brain than a mental illness.

I’m 27. I’m exhausted. My heart just hurts so much, even on a good day. I feel like I’m going through this torment , and I used to think I couldn’t hurt the people I love, but lately I find little reason to hold on, because if not wanting to experience this daily makes me weak and selfish, then maybe I am just weak, and selfish, but why do I have to continue to experience these feelings every day, just to prove I’m not those things? I don’t even know if I am capable of love really, or if I’m just lying to myself to give me excuses to hang around and prove I’m good.

Personally on 300mg now being increased to 400mg as of this week. No side effects but have been taking as prescribed. Starting to feel like maybe what they called psychotic is actually not a problem or unreal, just normal and real and everyone else also handles this but well. Or that it's being made up. That sort of thing.

Thus, curious what happens to a 'normal' person on 300mg--how would they feel?

My doctor previously said that the fact that I didn't have side effects suggested treatment plan was correct, but I don't know, I'm not convinced. The 'symptoms' haven't gone away.

How do I know if it's correct what I'm taking? How do I know I'm not somehow deeply faking it and tricking everyone by explaining normal things inaccurately?

(EDIT to add hx: 23F, Aussie, ASD2, hx MDD (now more likely BPAD), ?SZ (or explained by BPAD), GAD, hx AN-R. Have been through several APs this year with varying bad side effects.)

Hi, hoping someone can point me in the right direction of resources or give me some advice.
A few years ago I had a few episodes of months long, severe insomnia and catatonia brought on by undiagnosed adhd and burnout, cptsd, mould allergy and poisoning (dx by immunologist and GP), and a spinal tumour. I was wrongly prescribed Seroquel 150mg, Mirtazapine 45mg, and sertraline (can’t remember dose), and if I’m being honest my memory is very spotty around those years because of the amount of chemicals I was constantly flooding my system and the heavy sedation. Are there any possibilities of permanent damage, and what tests should I run to make sure I’m all good? Is there any way I can get compensation? Thank you :)

First time poster here. I’ve been on Seroquel for 8 years—and only recently considering it may be contributing to my symptoms. I’m on 125/150MG a night for sleep, which started out as 50MG. I’m dealing with constant depression, anhedonia, little to no libido, chronic constipation, and emotional numbness. I literally never feel tired, regardless of how little of sleep I get, and can only induce sleep by taking Seroquel. Lately I’ve added Prozac which has made me feel more mentally unwell. I notice if I run out of Seroquel, and miss one dose, the next day I feel really angry and agitated. It’s like the drug is suppressing my emotions, only for them to rebound when the baseline in my body starts to lower. I know getting off isn’t going to be easy, but just wondering if these symptoms are common from long term use. Any help or info from personal experience is appreciated!

I was on 10m olanzapine for a month now im on serequel. I still have the withdrawels from olanzapine though ....serequel took away most of the anxiety but theres still some there and its been 6 weeks since my last dose of olanzapine. I never had any anxiety or panic attacks prior to going off olanzapine wondering how long this is gonna last or if anyone else is in the same boat so we can connect

Im prescribed 25mg, morning and night. Today I had bad news so I took a extra 25mg during the day. Is it OK to take my 25mg tonight?

I’m 23 and currently take Seroquel 75 mg + Ambien 5 mg for sleep, along with Prozac 30 mg and Adderall 15 mg. I’ve been taking Adderall since elementary school.
I recently increased my Prozac to 30 mg, which is a dose I’m otherwise tolerating fine, but since the increase I’ve been having a lot more sedation and difficulty functioning during the day. I had similar problems when increasing Luvox, which is one reason I switched from Luvox to Prozac for OCD.
I’m also trying to taper Seroquel, but sleep has been extremely difficult. I tried going without Ambien and the withdrawal/rebound insomnia was awful. I’m planning to get a sleep study because I may have sleep apnea.
My current pattern is basically:
At night: I can be extremely hyper/awake until I take Seroquel + Ambien.
During the day: I’m exhausted and sedated, sometimes to the point where I feel like I could fall asleep despite taking Adderall. I also get so angry and depressed. I’ll act impulsively as well by yelling at everyone and engaging in self destructive behaviors. The Adderall usually helps some of these- sometimes.
I have frequent nighttime awakenings, nightmares, and sweating.
I don't feel like I’m functioning normally and I can’t legally drive because of how impaired/sedated I can get.

150 mg: I felt extremely sedated and on two nights felt like I was going to stop breathing while trying to sleep.
125 mg: My entire body felt incredibly heavy, like it was 100× harder to move normally.
100 mg: Very difficult on my POTS symptoms.
75 mg: So much sedation that I sometimes feel like I could fall asleep even while taking Adderall.
There was also one night when I couldn't sleep after trying to go without Ambien. After the Seroquel kicked in, my hallucination-like experiences actually became worse while I was still awake. I had also been vomiting that day and my blood pressure dropped so low in the hospital that they were considering sending me to the ER.
For context, I've been hospitalized psychiatrically multiple times. The doctors there did NOT think I was psychotic or had a psychotic disorder, and my outpatient psychiatrist and therapist agree. My psychiatrist is currently helping me taper the Seroquel.
I've also had pretty severe reactions to several other antipsychotics:

Latuda (lurasidone):
Felt extremely "out of body" by day 2.

Abilify (aripiprazole):
I developed what felt like stroke-like symptoms, including right-sided weakness/numbness and shuffling of my right foot. I also had sweating, feeling very out of it, vomiting, and severe restlessness.

Saphris (asenapine):
Confusion and dizziness on the first day.

Zyprexa (olanzapine):
On day 2, I had episodes where I wanted to move but felt like my body wouldn't move for several seconds.

Risperidone:
Very similar delayed/inhibited movement symptoms to Zyprexa around day 2.

Seroquel (quetiapine):
Severe sedation, confusion, visual issues, extreme heaviness, and at times agitation/activation.

Droperidol:
I received this in the ER while I was also taking Seroquel. I developed jaw swinging/teeth grinding, muscle stiffness where it felt like my muscles would get "stuck" in certain positions, severe restlessness, sweating, lightheadedness, shaking, and cold sweats.
I've tried around 6–7 antipsychotic medications, and it seems like my body reacts very strongly to them.
I'm not necessarily asking whether I should be on an antipsychotic… my psychiatrist doesn't think I have a psychotic disorder. I'm more wondering:
Has anyone else experienced this level of sedation or unusual reactions to Seroquel/other antipsychotics? Could this be medication sensitivity, akathisia/EPS, interactions between medications, sleep apnea, or something else?
I'm especially interested in hearing from people who have had severe sedation on relatively low doses of Seroquel or unusual reactions to multiple antipsychotics.

I have bipolar disorder and have been on some kind of antipsychotic for the past 18 years or so. Currently am on lamotrigine 100mg in the morning + 150g at night + quetiapine 250mg (immediate release) at night.

For over a decade I've had pangs of hunger where I just feel very weak, my hands are shaking and everything falls off of them including the food I'm trying to eat, I trip on everything, can't remember basic words like chair, TV, fridge. It's not cravings - I'm not thinking about any food in particular I'm just weak and crummy and either I eat everything in sight or I eat some candy and even then it takes a bit before I feel like myself again. Once I even had to call my boyfriend to come pick me up because I was on the street and then I could barely walk and just sat on the sidewalk crying.

Some months ago I made an effort to add more fruit and veggies to my diet hoping it will help me feel satiated for longer. And strength training at the gym 2 times a week + one cardio day. But it's not working. I'm still hungry every 1.5hr/2hrs. I'm gaining weight because I'm simply eating more food and my clothes are starting to not fit because I'm adding muscle on top of my normal weight.

When I try ignoring the hunger I get to that point where I'm weak and shaky, my brain can't function and I eat everything in sight.

My current diet is more or less like this:

- Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs + one small (around 40g) piece of toast + 1 drinkable low fact lactose free yogurt + 1 coffee with a small coffee spoon of sugar.

I'm hungry 1.5hrs (sometimes 1 hr) after this. I eat an apple (peel on) + 30g of cornflakes or 1 drinkable yogurt or 1 solid yogurt (both low fat), sometimes I eat all of this.

- Lunch: always start with a bowl of vegetable soup. Then my plate is about one third vegetables (steamed broccoli/brussel sprouts/green beans/cabbage) + one third protein + one third carb

Once again I'm hungry 1hr - 2hrs after this. I eat a 100g bowl of low fat greek yogurt with 11g all bran cereal + an apple or a liquid yogurt. Sometimes I'm still weak so I eat one toast with scrambled eggs or cornflakes.

- Dinner: same as lunch. And then I need to eat around 30mins before bedtime or else I wake in the middle of the night feeling weak and hungry or wake up in the morning so weak I struggle to get out of bed. I usually eat some cereal + a yogurt or some toast with scrambled egg or greek yogurt with all bran. If I eat soup or fruit I wake up in the middle of the night needing to poop.

I've tried bigger meals (more veggies + side salad of lettuce and tomatoes with a spritz of olive oil and I eat until my stomach is so full it's uncomfortable) but I'm still hungry about 3hrs after. I always have a 700ml bottle of water with me and I'm drinking at least 3 bottles of those per day. Drink alcohol 2 - 4 times per month max and it's always just a glass of sangria or a small bottle of apple cider.

Could it be the quetiapine causing this? My psychiatrist thinks it's not likely. Anyone been through the same?

Edit to add: I'm at a normal weight (154cms and 56kg)but I've spent the past 6 years trying to go down to 50kg with no success, plus, the hunger pangs are just very uncomfortable, especially when they happen when I'm out of the house

I started Seroquel 25mg Wednesday August 12th, I had a few drinks two days ago, like a shot and two mixed drinks and that shit made me feel so fucking good like euphoric absolutely loved it. The alcohol hits you super quick, oh I should also specify that I'm 163 pounds 19F it usually takes three shots for me to feel anything so that's cool, but I am planning to get absolutely fucked up tonight should I be worried about anything? I would ask my psychiatrist but she doesn't answer my emails lol. Also a few side notes for y'all, Seroquel does not help me sleep if anything I've noticed it makes it worse but maybe that'll go away idk it numbs most of my emotions which I don't mind, I still have anxiety but it's not too bad not like before, now I can actually speak up for myself and say how I feel, but also I'm empathetic towards others especially if I believe they are wrong, and see I've always thought this way especially when people would tell me about their problems, but once I started the medication it's like I stopped masking and faking, I stopped people pleasing and it feels amazing, but I understand enough to know that, that isn't good. I don't want to stop this medication it's made life so much easier for me like I no longer gorge on food because of my emotions, sure I can't sleep but I don't really care anymore, oh btw I'm also taking bupropion/Wellbutrin XL 150MG

Hello, I am suffering immensely from horrific intrusive thoughts. SSRI's do not seem to be working for me. I am diagnosed with OCD and severe anxiety as a result of the horrific images. Did this med help your nonstop rumination? (Suicidal themed OCD).

The effect is like reduced ? I am having anxiety crippling back when talking to people and doing stuff , why ? Did this happen with anyone here

So I am 26 y male and I smoke daily ( smoke a lot 🍃all day everyday been doing it for 8 years). Recently been prescribed seroquel for my anxiety. Is there any risk I should know?

Hello, I recently started taking seroquel to treat my SI and severe depression, my psychiatrist hasn’t confirmed but in general basis was thinking bipolar depressive (I don’t ever have manic episodes or thoughts that align with mania beside when I was at my most suicidal). In addition I’m on 50mg Zoloft and 150mg Wellbutrin.

Now, I’m only 4 days in on seroquel so I know I’m definitely experiencing side effects, I just don’t know if they call for notifying my psychiatrist.

I wake up always from these weird vivid dreams, I wouldn’t call nightmares but definitely not ones that leave me feeling good.

For example: I had one with my ex and he’s telling me everything I wanted to hear, then in same dream I’m playing a board game that’s to the death against my ex best friend.

Tonight, I woke up where I’m in high school and two recent friends from college are there and one had fireworks, so I lit it in the assembly and it went wrong and exploded right where we are sitting and I owned up to it and was getting carted around to find the principal and police, and old classmates were there like sobbing as if I’d bombed the place

There was another one but I can’t remember, all I know is how conscious I am in these and making choices to an extent / have control over myself to a level.

I assume I’m in some REM cycle or working through trauma in some way, however I don’t know if these dreams call for concern as side effects as they’re not pleasant and I make myself wake up the same way I do when having a vivid nightmares because I don’t like the way they make me feel or direction they’re heading and I don’t know I am messing with my sleep or going to fuck up my future sleep if these persists because I don’t want to have such vivid dreams EVERY night

So does this side effect go away? It is a side effect right?

Fml

So I was on seroquel for sleep for about 7 years, 200mg, sometimes 250mg
I started coming off it in late 2025, about a year before that I had this unexpected side effect pop up, I started noticing intense fear, like fear for my life, like sometimes having to uber to my parents house to feel safe, every time my medication kicked in when I took it to sleep. It took me and my doctors about a year to become absolutely sure it was the seroquel, but there was no other explanation. The intense horror feeling only happened 30 minutes after I took my seroquel. It was weird because it popped up so late into me being on the medication, like 5 years in.
So back around October 2025 I started tapering, going down 25 mg every month or so. I didn’t have much trouble at first, just some sleep disruption. However in April (I think), I came down from 50mg to 25mg and the last 4 months have honestly sucked. Uncontrollable thoughts, almost like OCD symptoms where I feel like I have to think thoughts the right way or I’ll get anxiety, I’ve also had bad anxiety, felt less social, random ED here and there, and lastly like my confidence has disappeared pretty much. This last month has been the easiest but has still been difficult.
Has anyone else experienced these sorts of long term symptoms? Or maybe the fear I described. Any recommendations on helping to recover my brain chemistry a bit? I can’t take benzos for the anxiety bc I get severe rebound anxiety even after just one use.

So for context I live in MA where the Lindsey Clancy trial is going on and maybe it's just my Facebook feed but all I read is people saying all sorts of stuff about Seroquel. It's kinda to the point I feel scared that someone will find out I'm taking it. It also totally could be in my head. I have been taking Seroquel for almost a month now 150mg for I think mood. I was taking Latuda for years and didn't believe it was working great so I stopped cold turkey for a year and managed to become the biggest angriest monster on the planet. I also had a TBI in 2018 that messed with me. My previous psychiatrist had diagnosed me with a myriad of stuff but my new psychiatrist just met me so I think she has me on this medication for my aggression. But that's all besides the point. Is anyone else feeling maybe a sort of state of stress because of all the attention the medication is getting due to the Lindsey Clancy trial? I get a lot of the people making the comments are "armchair psychiatrists" (I think that's what it's called) but it's almost like a sense of being ashamed or uncomfortable too.

Also anybody that is willing to comment their experience on 150 mg and above for psyche issues (it appears people are prescribed it to sleep too) I would love to hear your experience, especially after an increase in dosage.

So im on Two 200mg pills twice a day for schizophrenia but lately nothing has helped me fall asleep like upper-dosing my Quetiapine.
I haven’t taken my morning dose (400mg) for the past week as I have been combining my doses at night as well as taking some smaller 25mg pills.
I sleep great but someone told me this is dangerous?
I should be fine no?

Long story but need to come off seroquel 25mg what has been the easiest way to do this.. was on it for sleep for 17 years 🥴

Has anyone taken this is it any better for sleep and anxiety the immediate