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Q: Seroquel-"Mood Stabilizer" Effects?
Obsessiveness
Dear Dr Phelps,
I have 2 questions. One is about Seroquel. I was started 7 days ago on
just 25mg at bedtime along with Remeron 15mg for 4 days then 30mg a day
there-after. I was told you need to treat both the mania and the depression. I
was thinking I should just be put on a mood stabilizer.
I have read recent studies showing Seroquel to help in controlling BP. I
know it's an anti-psychotic. Does it act as a mood-stabilizer for BP? I read somewhere it really just helps with the irritability.
Is this Seroquel going to help me from becoming manic? I have become
hypomanic and maybe manic on Prozac, Adderal, and Paxil( just 10mg a day). I
took these seperately.
Tonights the 8th day of these meds and I usually have fast and good results. So
far no benefits that I can tell.
After a year of being misdiagnosed and being on different meds, I'm worse then
ever. I've been having mixed states and alot of depression. I feel so irritable
and want to avoid people. I keep doing a mood chart and I'm never stable for 2
days in a row. I'm constantly going up or down.
My second question is about hypomanic symptoms. I know everyone is different,
but I wondered about how I'll get so excessive with something. In hypomania this
is a problem with me. People have said I get "obsessive". I will get
interested in something and it's all I want to do or think about. I get
"tunnel" vision and it hurts my functioning and taking care of other
things in life. I also feel very selfish that I do this.
A side note, about the connections of BP and ADD. I had just ADD all my life and
so does my son. I learned all I could about it. I was coping well in life until
this BP cropped up, I think in my mid-thirties. I now feel like I have the worst
ADD ever, I think BP makes you feel that way. I can't keep track of things. I
can't "stay on task" or sustain my attention long doing things. My
house is more a mess. I can't keep organized and spend so much time wandering
around looking for things.
Thanks for reading,
Jen
Dear Jen -
I've gotten a bit behind on questions here so will try to be very short and
hopefully "sweet":
1. Antipsychotics are generally anti-manic,
though a sometimes rather blunt instrument for same; but so far Seroquel does
not seem to have had the "mood stabilizer" effects of Zyprexa, and I'm
not at all convinced that Risperidone does either, though it probably does more
than Seroquel, which has been dubbed "Mellaril Light".
2. ADD and a sort of obsessiveness that
doesn't look like OCD as such (though can) is a fairly common manifestation of
"hypomania" in my book, although some would invoke separate diagnoses
for this. I don't because in my experience, treating with more mood
stabilizer will relieve the symptoms better than a stimulant or antidepressant,
which often seem to make things worse, especially the latter.
Dr. Phelps
Published November, 2001
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