Seroquel: Potential Side Effects of this Psychiatric Drug

Seroquel (generic name quetiapine fumarate) is a psychiatric medication used as an antipsychotic in the treatment of schizophrenia and, as recently approved by the FDA, as a mood stabilizer in the treatment of both depressive and manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder. As with all medications, there are certain risks and side effects caused by taking Seroquel and these may vary depending upon the individual.

Based on my own personal experiences with Seroquel, the most common side effect is extreme sleepiness. This goes beyond the typical "drowsiness" side effect of things like over-the-counter allergy or cold medications. This is more of a "knock you out cold" lethargy. There's also a hangover effect that makes it almost impossible to get out of bed and get moving the next morning and a feeling of sluggishness throughout the day. Fortunately for a lot of people, including myself, that hangover effect goes away once your body adjusts to the medication which is typically a couple of weeks. After that passes, the Seroquel will continue to produce the drowsiness and functions as somewhat of a sedative or sleep aid for those taking it, especially at lower dosages (in the 25 mg to 200 mg range). Oftentimes a patient will be started on a low dose and work their way up to a manageable dose. During my own process of trial and error, I started out at 25 mg, went up to 300 mg which knocked me out for about 18 hours straight, and eventually settled on a 100 mg dosage taken every night. Others have gone to levels as high as 1800 mg without feeling any sedative effects from the drug at all.

According to Astra-Zeneca's Web site, the manufacturer of Seroquel, side effects can include dry mouth, dizziness, high blood sugar, weakness, constipation, abdominal pain, sudden drop in blood pressure upon standing, sore throat, weight gain, abnormal liver tests, and upset stomach. Of these, dry mouth, weight gain, and dizziness seem to be the most common although some of those tend to be temporary as well.

Some of the most extreme, and luckily rare, side effects are neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) and tardive dyskinesia (TD). TD symptoms include uncontrollable movements of the face, tongue, or other parts of the body. NMS consists of symptoms such as a very high fever, rigid muscles, shaking, confusion, sweating, changes in pulse, heart rate, or blood pressure, or muscle pain and weakness. NMS is potentially fatal so any symptoms should be reported immediately.

For information about Seroquel, I would suggest checking the Astra-Zeneca Web site at www.seroquel.com in addition to discussing it with your physician or psychiatrist.