Seroquel
 

I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with Seroquel?

I have always been a little "overweight" since puberty, but at age 20/21 i was put on seroquel for my severe depression at the time. I gained 50 lbs in two years... and i have never been able to take it back off. I am 27 now, and have gained about 15 lbs since last year because of some huge stressors.

the good one is that i got married... but still HUGE stress.

the trauma was my nephew died of SIDS last year.

I haven't been on Seroquel since i was about 22ish. But i am on generic celexa just to treat my depression. and ativan for the really tough days.

Anyone else struggle with weight gain from seroquel have any advice?

I was Seroquel for a short time. I gained 15 pounds in 2 weeks!! I'm still struggling to get it off months later. I've gotten about 7 of those 15 off. I struggle everyday with weight loss (so does everyone else here LOL). Basically keep eating right and exercising, that's the best way to lose weight.

I was on seroquel for 4 months. It helped greatly and I absolutely loved that medication. I ended up quitting cold turkey because I ran out of medication and I didn't call my doctor up to get a refill. My doctor wasn't happy. she wants me to go back on it. Oh, and Gah!! the side effects of going off it cold turkey was horrible. Sorry for getting off track.

Seroquel didn't make me gain weight. I made myself gaining weight by eating tons of burger king and wend'ys combos, lol! I was gaining before the seroquel incident anyway. I stopped seroquel in the begining of January by the way. Then I changed my eating habits as of 2 weeks ago and now I am losing weight.

My first couple weigh ins I wouldn't look at the scale, I would let my husband look and take down the number because I didn't want to know. I finally gave in and asked what I have lost, he told me I lost 8 lbs and he can even tell I lost weight by looking at me. My jeans also are getting a little loose, so that's good, lol

I can strongly suggest to NEVER EVER quit Seroquel cold turkey!!! I can only equate it to what heroin withdrawals would be like. I too, a couple of times, ran out without being able to go get a refill... i was in bed with shakes, and nausea and aches and sweats and it was the WORST!

Now i understand that i gained the weight by eating and what not... but it was like the Seroquel must have turned off my metabolism almost completely! LoL!

I am giving it another go, however!

Stopping cold turkey was horrible. I felt like I had the flu. Lasted for two weeks. But what gets me is, my doctor doesn't believe you get withdrawals by stopping cold turkey. Sad, I know! But right prior to stopping, I was on vicodine for a minor surgery. I only took it for 2 days. She was convinced it was the vicodine that made me feel that way. I can't believe she doesn't believe I went through withdrawals.

I am also on zoloft, which I hear you can go through horrid withdrawls. I asked her about this and she tells me within 2 days it's out of your system. When it's time to go off it, I am going to have to ween myself off slowly.

I'm currently on Seroquel and I can say, unequivocally, it is 80% responsible for getting me together enough to lose weight. Probably not what you want to hear, but it's true.

Sorry to hear you're having such a tough time - good luck :hug:

Seroquel.....

Let's see.

I was put on in it for severe insomnia.

Gained 50 lbs. in about a year. I was RAVENOUS on seroquel. Heard similar experiences of extreme weight gain.

Not fun.

I was put on seroquel couple weeks ago for bipolar disorder. I am really upset with it, I have lost over a hundred pounds over last 14 months and since starting it have gained 2 pounds and staying very bloated. I am going to speak with dr about it, but got a feeling I will just have to bump up exercise and watch more closely to everything I am eatting like I was in begining. I am just terrified to gain weight after working so hard.
Monday i had a kidney stone procedure done and had to be put to sleep so dr made me quit seroquel cold turkey 3 days prior to surgery and let me tell you it was so horrible. I was shaking puking and sweating. Just awful.

Jessica
260/159/145

My husband has taken seroquel for 5 yrs for bipolar disorder. He has gained alot of weight on it. He does tend to eat more with each increase of seroquel. He went off it once under drs orders and he didnt sleep for a week . SO he was taking 50mg for sleep and was loosing weight......he started having a manic episode and had to increase it and has gained 8lbs in 2 weeks. Seroquel is a good med . He is also taking topamax and some drs are giving it to people who take seroquel or zyprexa to help them lose weight. Dont go off seroquel unless your dr tells you too, It was miserable for hubby.
goodluck
debi

I've been on Seroquel for bipolar disorder for almost a month. I haven't noticed any weight gain or increased appetite. I asked my psychiatrist if it would make me gain weight. He said it shouldn't, I refuse to take anything that will make me gain weight - I don't need any help doing that at all. I lost three lbs. my first week on WW.

I have taken Seroquel for years now, for bipolar induced insomnia. I am SO GRATEFUL for this med! However, I believe that it can easily cause weight gain. An acquaintance gained 35 pounds on it. I am a lifetime Weight Watcher, and I have to be very vigilant every night after I take my Seroquel, to keep myself from binging! I am so grateful, however, that Seroquel does its job and knocks me out so that I can get up at 6 a.m. and take care of my sweet family. I exercise 6 mornings a week, and like I said, really follow Weight Watchers.

I wish you the very best!!

With loving friendship,

Diana

Seroquel on it since it came out
 

I am on 300 milligrams of Seroquel at nite for clinical depression. It's kept me out of the hospital going on 4 years. When I am stable, I am on 200 milligrams.

Now for weight gain. I take 4 different meds for bipolar II. I use to attribute weight gain to my meds. Actually depression contributed to weight gain.

But on Atkins in the past four months I lost 23 pounds. So it can be done in spite of the meds when you are ready. Good luck

I am on 300 milligrams of Seroquel at nite for clinical depression. It's kept me out of the hospital going on 4 years. When I am stable, I am on 200 milligrams.

Now for weight gain. I take 4 different meds for bipolar II. I use to attribute weight gain to my meds. Actually depression contributed to weight gain.

But on Atkins in the past four months I lost 23 pounds. So it can be

i was prescribed topamax for part of the time i was on the seroquel for the weight gain... but the topamax broke me out into rashes all over my wrists, neck and stomach!!! i just had no luck with that cocktail of meds!

i am glad to hear that it does work for some!

daisy sorry you cant take topamax. it does seem to help hubby control his weight. good luck with everything

I have Bipolar disorder, ADD and PTSD and I took Seroquel prn for anxiety. It didn't do much, but my new pdoc pulled me off of it because it causes weight gain and makes cholesterol and triglycerides increase.

Seroquel/Xyprexa
 

I have been on both of these meds.....having had dep/anxiety for 9 years now. Xyprexa made my cholesteral and sugars go up and seroquel gave me tremors so bad I couldn't safely drive. I have now run out of drugs to take so I maintain on 5mg of Clonazapam, 60 mgs of Remeron and Ativan as required. All of these drugs have had a weight gain component to them. Not to mention the various ones we've tried over the year before. I am better off than I was, just wish I could dump the weight considering the healthy eating and very hard workouts at the gym 5-6 days per week for 2 hours.

I didn't have any problems going off any drug slowly, but with Effexor, I was only on it for a couple of months and had withdrawal for 2 months. It was the worst. So I can understand the withdrawal of Seroquel being awful, I wasn't on it that long fortunately, but the Xprexa did wonders for me until that unfortunate blood work that showed the side effects.

Good luck to you all!

I was on Seroquel for several months... during that time I gained probably 25 pounds. I don't think it was just the Seroquel, because I went off it and ended up gaining another 5 pounds, but I don't think it helped my weight loss efforts any. It totally made me more hungry and prone to binging at night (when I took it). However, I was also eating more in general and had stopped exercising regularly as well.

I've been on Seraquel for almost two months. I am taking 400 mg. at bedtime. I have lost 10 lbs. over those two months on Weight Watchers. I am a slow loser so 10 lbs. in two months is great for me.

I don't think the Seraquel is affecting my weight.

I just started taking a measly 50 mg of Seroquel a day for anxiety and insomnia and it isn't doing much. In fact, I feel more panicky, am having vivid nightmares, and have tremors. I think I'm going off. My psychiatrist told me it was the least likely of the antipsychotics to cause weight gain but I think she's sorely mistaken.

Congratulatios on your success. :bravo:

Seroquel is a med. that you have to build up on. You start at a very small dose and work your way to the correct dose for you. I started at 50 mg. two months ago. Yesterday my psychiatrist upped me to 400 mg.

That said, I am not having any of the side effects you listed.

I have been on Seroquel for 2 and half years now. i have gained about 100 lbs since starting it. i manager to lose 60 but then i started with other meds partnered with seroquel. My only advice, is that constant exercise works to make the weight fall off. sticking to healthy eating and lots of cardio, i need the cardio and weights, seems to be all that works.

Anybody know an effective exercise/ diet regime for people on Seroquel??

I used to be a size 12 -14 and then after taking seroquel for 2 years i ballooned to a size 18. I exercise daily, lately for 2hrs a day doing aerobic exercise. Still, nothing budges. I don't eat sweets, junk food, fizzy drinks etc. My diet is natural low fat etc and portions are small.

It seems this weight gain is abnormal and it doesn't get eliminated in the normal way!

Hi all you Seroquel takers. I was just reading the info about Seroquel and it does say that it will tend to cause weight gain when you are taking high doses. I take 50 - 75 mg. at bedtime and have not had a problem with weight gain. I do think it has been harder for me to lose weight, but I just keep doing my cardio and going to the gym. I have noticed a difference in my body (the way clothes fit, etc.) but I have only lost 9 lbs. in the past 6 weeks. Not bad, but not great either. I know that the Seroquel DEFINITELY helps with my sleep and right now I wouldn't consider stopping. I am also on Lamical for my bipolar, which I really like and it is considered weight neutral.

As for withdrawals, I haven't read much about Seroquel, but I think stopping any med cold turkey gives you a good chance of getting withdrawal symptoms. Everyone talks about withdrawals from Effexor, but I was one of those people who had not trouble at all. Go figure...

Good luck to all taking Seroquel. Maybe there are other meds out there that would do the same job without the weight gain. Just be careful because Seroquel is considered to be the mildest of the antipsychotics. Stronger ones just might make the situation worse.

seroquel
 

Hi everyone, brand new here but this thread caught my eye. I have been diagnosed with long term depression, bipolar 2, for over 20 years now. Seroquel was one of the many mood stabilizers I've been on. The last time I was hospitalized, with severe depression and suicidal ideation, I had gained about 40 lbs. since the last time a certain psychiatrist had seen me. He had treated me briefly when I first had moved to that city about 12 years before. Well, after 12 years of meds, including weight gaining meds, I was on seroquel at the hospital and he saw me as he was the attending house physician
. Well, this collosal jerk had the nerve to say "what happened to you? How did you get so big?" Can you believe this from any p-doc, let alone to a patient who is in the hospital for that reason? The kicker is that he himself was at least 100 lbs. overweight. Luckily, I had the wearwithall to say "what happened to YOU should be the question!" Needless to say, once I was stabilized by my reg. doc I was put on lamictil, and have lost a good 40 lbs since, partly from med. regulation but mostly from finally receiving the correct diagnosis of Hashimotos disease after lots of thyroid problems. For those susceptible to weight gain, I think seroquel is one to be watched out for, JMHO.

I take Seroquel for Borderline Personality Disorder (I also take Lexapro and Depakote). Seroquel make me gain weight yes (but so did the depakote) but to me its definantly worth it. Most of my weight gain was also due to my (former) poor eating habits and (former) lack of exercise.

As I said, seroquel was a definant life saver for me, because being a Borderline is not a fun experience to go through. Plus I'm no longer suicidal, homicidal, self injuring, paranoid, depressed, and everything else anymore. So it might take a little longer to get the weight off but to me I'd rather have the extra weight than all the other stuff.

bwahahahahahaha seroquel

that f*cking ******* of a drug. i gained 30 pounds IN ONE MONTH

on top of the 10 pounds here and there from every other med they 'tried'

i hate it. hate. it i'm glad some people here have had good experiences with it...but good lord i hate that drug WITH PASSION. it is the reason i am here... lfjslfkjaslfkjsldfjsdlfkjdslf

I gained a ton of weight on seroquel, but have continued to gain weight since i stopped taking it; my dr said that the SSRI I'm on may be contributing. I've been on it for five years, and she said that sometimes suddenly like five years into treatment ssris can start to cause weight gain. Has this happened to anyone else?

I was put on seroquel at 16 and gained over 50lbs a few months. I did sleep 18 hours a day most days, too! Just want to say that you aren't alone in the meds making you gain.

I am also and take Seroquel. But I only take 50 - 75 mg> (usually 50) at night for sleep. I usually don't go to bed. until about 10:30 or 11, but I have found that if I take is around 9 or so I fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed and I sleep very well and I waje up the next morning feeling great. If I take it later, sometimes it's hard toi get going in the morning. I also used to have very vivid, weird dreams, but I don't do that anymore. My weight haven't changed since I started, but it may not since I am on such a low dose. I just need to exercise more

Seroquel has definitely played a huge role in my weight gain. Since starting it 4 months ago, I've gained roughly 15 pounds. The gain is rapid, too. One Monday, I wore a pair of jeans that were a little baggy on me. On Thursday, they seemed tight. By the next week it was a struggle to get them over my hips. My once baggy jeans now give me muffin top. I'm trying to work with my doctor on finding something that won't make me gain weight.

No judgement!
 

Everybody's brain is different as are our reactions to Seroquel and other meds. Just because some people are able to keep the weight off with diet and exercise doesn't mean that people who can't are somehow failing. This drug messes with your blood sugar so some people gain weight even with a restricted diet. One thing my doctor did was put me on metformin, which can help with the effect the seroquel had on your blood sugar. That helped a LOT, but didn't take all the weight off. I love seroquel it's kept me out of the hospital for three years, but I have to go off it for a time as I am preparing to try to get pregnant. I had to stop so much other medicine that my body is waaaay out of whack and I've actually gained weight (NOT FAIR!) I'm hoping diet and exercise will get me back on track.

Are you still on seroquel & if not have you been able to lose the weight? I have gained 25 pounds and haven't changed my diet in anyway, makes me feel horrible ahou myself.

Are you still on seroquel & if not have you been able to lose the weight? I have gained 25 pounds and haven't changed my diet in anyway, makes me feel horrible about myself.