Author: tearj3rker
Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:05 pm
| Diary of a Quitter wrote: |
| Isn’t Seroquel an antipsychotic? With really awful side effects and a bad "disontinuation syndrome"? Didn’t the FDA recently recommend AGAINST approving Seroquel for anxiety and as a stand-alone treatment for depression?
I’m suprised to hear it suggested for anxiety. I’ve also heard of people taking it as a sleep aid. I wouldn’t touch that drug with a forty foot pole. |
Agreed about the anxiety. But big disagreements with everything else.
Anti-psychotic medications have more uses than just treating psychosis. Seroquel I think actually has more sedating properties than anti-psychotic ones. I’ve found it to be a pretty weak anti-psychotic compared to … Zyprexa, Risperidone. These days it’s often used as a sedating agent. A small dose – 25mg, is often enough to treat sleeping issues, with no dependence and little side-effects.
Anti-psychotics, including seroquel, do NOT have discontinuation syndrome akin to SSRI & SNRI medications. In fact, Seroquel I found was incredibly easy to come off compared to anti-depressants (esp SNRI’s), benzos and opioids.
There’s this really whack assumption out there that anti-psychotic medications are ‘hardcore’ and scary, as is lithium, and anti-depressants are relatively benign. I’ve been on all classes, and honestly they’re all equally psychtropic / mind-altering in their own way. I’d MUCH rather be put on an anti-psychotic than an SNRI medication, if anything because of the nasty discontinuation syndrome (*cough* withdrawal) from the anti-depressants.
Anti-psychs often have sedating properties, so I’m sure pharma companies would push for the anxiety indication. But anyone with anxiety who’s been on anti-psychs knows that a person CAN be both sedated, and anxious.
I’d encourage anyone on anti-psychotic medication to ask their doctor what ‘tardive dyskenesia’ is, and whether you’re at risk of getting it. Preferably get their response in writing.