Seroquel, it’s what’s for dinner
Tags: medicine, schizophrenia
By: johnnyb
I taught recitation for a drugs and behavior class, and am in contact with a lot of undergrads. It seems most of the undergrads I come in contact with have been on some powerful narcotics, uppers, downers, or both uppers and downers. All prescribed. One guy said he took vicodin every day before he went to work. I asked if he did a lot of heavy lifting…”not really”. One student was on Seroquel to go to sleep. These are useful medications, though as the article points out the old ones may be just as useful as the new ones for the right patient. I’m just irritated when they are overprescribed for off-label use, often in conjunction with other drugs prescribed for off-label use.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:44 am
Hi. I take Seroquel as a sleeping aid. It is good to see it in the news as a sleeping aid as it is an anti-psychotic and anti-psychotics are stigmatized by society. Thanks for the blog!
March 16th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Olympiada,
Thanks for commenting. You’ll note that seroquel is used as a sleeping aid off-label. The recent death of a toddler who was prescribed both seroquel and depakote triggers my concern about the off-label prescription of such drugs. Prescription of anti-psychotics for anything but psychosis is so prevalent these days I don’t think twice when someone tells me they are on it. I usually have to reassure them of this when they say, “but I’m not crazy!”
March 16th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Right, that is why my first doctor prescribed it to me, *after* he warned me it was a pretty strong anti-psychotic. He knew that would freak me out, but wanted to make sure I wanted my symptoms treated. He said if the label “anti-psychotic” bothered me, we could always treat my “disorder” instead (PTSD) but that the medication would not be as effective. I deferred to his professional expertise, thank goodness. People on Usenet tend to be very judgmental if you mention such things though, if you have ever written on Usenet.
March 19th, 2007 at 1:54 am
Well, I’ll defer to his expertise. I’m not an MD, so what do I know, right
Just read a paper talking about second generation antipsychotics, of which seroquel is one. They said prolonged (>90 days) impairs working memory in rats and reduces markers of cholinergic function. Most importantly, it reduces nerve growth factor in the hippocampus. Since the hippocampus is most effected by PTSD, there is a chance that prolonged use of an SGA can further impair hippocampal function.
The sedative effect of Seroquel is due to it’s antagonism of histamine. Any antihistamine, such as benadryl, will have the same sedative effect, without the possible side effects.
March 24th, 2007 at 5:28 am
I don’t know about that effect on the hippocamus. Did it say what dosage?
March 29th, 2007 at 1:09 am
olympiada,
Drop an email to logipundit and I’ll send you the paper.
June 7th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
hey everyone i take seroquel.I take seroquel as a sleeping aid.
what?! i thought that seroquel was just a sleeping aid but now i find out that its an anti-psychotic med; but i’m not crazy.why can’t there be medsfor 1 specific reason?