Seroquil for Sleep

Hi All,

Just curious how many people here are on Seroquil for Sleep? If so what is your dosage? For those of you who have taken the drug for sleep how long were you on, and what were your experiences like coming off? Was the dosaged lowered at first?

Thanks

Hi yoandflow,

I have taken Seroquel for sleep and it was awesome. It gave me a great night of sleep every time, vivid and interesting dreams (not nightmares, just really interesting dreams) and I felt rested every morning. However it has also given me a tremor -- I couldn't eat soup because my hands were shaking so badly I tried dosages of 50, 25 and 12.5 mg, I slept well on all of them but also had the side effect on all of them.

We didn't taper it off, I just switched to something else (about to go and post my "love story"...) without much problem.

oliveira wrote:Hi yoandflow,

I have taken Seroquel for sleep and it was awesome. It gave me a great night of sleep every time, vivid and interesting dreams (not nightmares, just really interesting dreams) and I felt rested every morning. However it has also given me a tremor -- I couldn't eat soup because my hands were shaking so badly I tried dosages of 50, 25 and 12.5 mg, I slept well on all of them but also had the side effect on all of them.

We didn't taper it off, I just switched to something else (about to go and post my "love story"...) without much problem.

Thanks I too have great sleep but I can sleep for 11 hours no problem and thats a little bit too long. I do get tremors too but intermittenly and not too bad, what did you go to?

I went back to zopiclone, which worked for me.

Yeah, I was on Seroquel for insomnia for about a year. First off this drug has NEVER been approved for sleep, but only for regulation of bipolar, schizophrenia and other diseases with psychotic symptoms. I started off on 25mg and it eventually was raised to 150mg. Having experience with a very wide variety of medications, I can safely say this is one of the most sedating drugs I have ever come across, possibly only surpassed by halperidol. It made me incredibly drowsy to a point where staying awake is virtually impossible. So it put me to sleep but I had a great deal of unwanted side effects. For one, it gave me this irritating twitching in my thigh which is still present to this day (this is a common side effect of antipsychotic meds), it also made me feel like a zombie. It can also cause weight gain. If it works for you, well then great. But keep in mind this drug has never been approved for sleep, and there is little evidence to suggest it actually gives you a restful and refreshing sleep. But it definitely knocks you out, which some people desire. I got off of it and switch to Zolpidem which I like a lot more.
Also, fun fact. Seroquel manufacturer, Astrazeneca, was sued a ridiculous amount of money for marketing Seroquel as a sleep aid to doctors. In my opinion try an on-label sleep aid, I think Seroquel is far too heavy for treatment of insomnia.

I've been on Seroquel for 10 years for chronic insomnia that has been life long. I have tried every drug imaginable for my insomnia and keep going back go seroquel as it works the best. For the first couple of years it made me sleep like a baby. I took 200mgs for awhile. I now take 50mg with clonazepam. My sleep is not great but most nights I sleep decent however wake up many times. When I go through the odd spell there is no amount of any drug that can make me sleep, sometimes for days and weeks. Most of the time though, Seroquel is such a trusty friend I cannot imagine life without it. It is the reason I am (usually) a functioning human being!

Seroquel is a pretty heavy drug with an extensive side effect list, I'd advise caution for using it as a sleep aid, but I'm not a very educated person and I'm sure you'll consult a doctor and such.

Yeah I know seroquel is pretty intense :/
Luckily I am under the supervision of my psychiatrist and a sleep disorders specialist and am pleased to say in 10 years I have cut my dosage by 3/4. My " team" is also proud of my progress. Hoping there's more promising new treatments in the future.

I posted this exact same question on another forum (drugs-forum).

Over the past 6 months my insomnia has been really bad (only sleeping on average 3 hours per night). I've tried many medications (Amitriptyline, Nytol, Trazodone, Zopiclone, Clonazepam, Tramadol, Pregabalin, Clonidine) but to no avail. My situation is made complicated because I suffer with tics. Unfortunately, all these medications worsened the discomfort associated with my tics, which made falling asleep impossible.

My sleep problems are two-fold. First the issue is falling asleep due to being in discomfort and having a hyperactive mind. The second issue is staying asleep. Usually I would wake up after 2-3 hours and would find it impossible to fall back asleep.

My neurologist has suggested seroquil as a last resort since anti-pyschotics are also effective at suppressing tics. But after doing lots of reading (research literature and peoples experiences through forums) I decided to hold off for a bit longer. The long and short-term side effects of anti-psychotics are some of the worse compared to any other class of drugs.

Personally, I would advised trying any other medication first before considering an anti-psychotic. For instance, even though benzo's are considered addictive and do have some long-term side effects, they are more like candy in comparison to the dangers of anti-psychotics!

Fortunately, I've found that taking 2-3 g of inositol before bed helps me to stay asleep for 7-8 hours. I've also started to dream since taking it. But my tics are still not great so I am going to be trying to another medication (calcium channel blockers) before considering seroquil.

Remember, relying solely on a medications for sleep is a recipe for disaster. Having a bed time routine to wind down, good sleep hygiene and a healthy diet (low in sugar and caffeine) is also important. Furthermore, I've found mediating and light exercise (walking and stretching) to be helpful. But I do completely understand that sometimes is necessary for medications (at least in the short term).

I wish you the best of luck.