Seroquel question(1)

Ed1937

My son was just prescribed seroquel. He has psychiatric problems, but is home with me now. His depression is pretty severe now, and I was wondering how long it might take for him to feel just a little better mentally. I know it can vary with different people, but just looking for a ball park est.

Dio

Seroquel was prescribed during DH's hospital stay... since I was only allowed to visit for a 4 hour stretch each day, I couldn't gauge when the meds took effect. It seemed to work because he was discharged 2 weeks later. Then it lost efficacy 6 months later when dementia was diagnosed and severe sundowning hit the fan.

Sligo177

Hi Ed,

I bet you know this, just mentioning what I found online, but sounds like it calms within a couple of days and symptoms are noticeably better in a couple of weeks.  I do not know of anyone on it, wish I could be of more help.  Hang in there.

Ed1937

Thank you both. If it would take the edge off in a couple of days, that would be wonderful. I know some people say it might take 4 to 6 weeks for full effect.

Twin Mom

I have a son who is bipolar, has anxiety and is high functioning autistic.  He has taken it for years.  It helped pretty quickly, and if he quits taking it it's obvious pretty quickly.  My husband also takes it and I think it has definitely helped him, but he and my son are both on a lot of psycho active meds...so hard to say which does what.   Having the "right cocktail" though certainly makes a difference, but is hard to achieve

Joe C.

Ed, When DW started seroquil it took about 2 weeks for me to notice improvement and 6 weeks till it see the full benefit. Hope he responds more quickly.

M1

Ed one of the nice things about Seroquel is fairly rapid onset of action, as well as wide dosing range.  Our reason for starting was sleep fragmentation and the improvemetn was literally immediate, with the first dose.  Here's hoping that it's sooner rather than later for both of your sakes.  Hope the covid symtpoms are subsiding, too.

Ed1937

Thank you, friends. He's on 150mg before bed. I hope that works fast for him because he rarely sleeps more than 3 or 4 hours at a time. Then he's up for quite a while, but napping during daytime. Of course we're both dealing with his depression. But that's nothing new.

Re: Covid - I feel pretty much like normal tonight. I did a lot of sleeping the last 2 days.

Lills

Seroquel was magic for my DH.  He was getting up 4+ times every night.  After taking his first dosage (sorry, don't remember how much he started with, although I know it was a low dose).  He actually slept through the nights after beginning Seroquel.  Hope it's magic for your son too!  

In time, of course the dosage needed to be increased...

mommafour

Ed - My DH recently started taking Seroquel due to anger and delusions that were becoming quite scary for me.  He was started on 25mg twice per day but that made no difference at all.  He is now on 150mg (75mg twice per day) and experienced a huge improvement within a couple of days.  In the 3 weeks he has been on the 150mg/day dosage, he has had no instances of anger or delusions. I was amazed at the difference but am only cautiously optimistic. He is also taking a small dose of Zoloft on a daily basis, so I'm not sure if the combination contributed to the quick change.  I hope your son has the same good results with Seroquel.

Ed1937

Well, the first night taking seroquel produced 11 hours of straight sleep. I'm sure his body needed a little extra, especially since he is still recovering from covid. I'll take it!!

Jo C.

With my step-dad, it had an effect on the first day.  He was on a very low dose and in about a week it served him best to have his regime adjusted to better suit his needs and all was well.  He also slept better at night, but as he always did prior to taking Seroquel, he also continued to nap in the afternoon.

J.

Jo C.

With my step-dad, it had an effect on the first day.  He was on a very low dose and in about a week it served him best to have his regime adjusted to better suit his needs and all was well.  He also slept better at night, but as he always did pior to taking Seroquel, he also continued to nap in the afternoon.

J.

harshedbuzz

Ed-

I think the answer to your question is going to vary a lot around the condition for which it is prescribed as well as the dosage. 

What counts as "effective" for young adult with bi-polar disorder who is looking for mood regulation is not the same as for an elder with dementia looking to treat fractured sleep. 

For my dad, who had dementia and some sort of mental health issue (per his geripsych maybe bi-polar or antisocial personality disorder), the sleep issues were improved with the very first dose. But then many people who start an atypical antipsychotic will be sleepy in the period of time in which they get used to the medication. The delusions and mood swings improved slowly over a period of a about a month but required additional tweaking to get to a place where he was calmer. 

HB

M1

JJust checking to see how you both are doing Ed-

Ed1937

Thank you!! Covid is at bay now. I feel perfectly normal, and he is doing very well too, as is my daughter. Seroquel seems to have had a positive effect on Mike. He's been sleeping through the night, and it even seems that his mood is a little better. Maybe some of that is due to the rest he's getting? Whatever it is, it's a blessing. Much easier to deal with.

Twin Mom

So glad everyone is doing better.

M1

glad for the good news.  Hope it will continue on an upward swing.