Anyone Experience With Lexapro/seroquel Combination?

[verasdfghjkl]

Hi guys,

Saw my new psychiatrist who prescribed medication for the PTSD (background physical/emotional abuse) for the first time for me. I have never taken this kind of medication before. She prescribed a combination of Lexapro (against depression and long term anxiety) and Seroquel (against insomnia and short term anxiety like panic attacks).

Yesterday I took Seroquel for the first time, immediately felt I had to get used to this (super drowsy, slow, sedated, like I could barely move or was paralyzed or something, by the time it had worked out the anxiety kicked in harder than ever before).

Tomorrow I will start with Lexapro. A friend of mine told me the Lexapro didn't really do anything for her (her background is eating disorder), so right now I kind of wonder what the experiences are with the combination of Lexapro and Seroquel.

Also side effects on this is a big question mark to me. I read things about gaining weight, having bigger appetite, this kind of scares me. Psychiatrist said 'just eat a little less than you would like to, keep exercising,' but I would like to hear some of the experiences on this from people who actually used it :) I have read more articles on side effects on the web, but I'd like to hear from you what this combination did for you, because I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into here :)

 

[new gamma rays]

I have been on a similar combination for years. In fact I was put on seroquel in 2002 at 50 mg. All I can say right off the bat is that it will probably help a little, but its certainly no cure-all. Lexapro is a pure serotonin re-uptake inhibitor.

Personally, I didn't like it because it made me feel so numb that I got off it. I ended up on celexa a couple years later - which was essentially the older version of lexapro that they tweaked to make it have supposed less side effects. I wouldn't really worry about any side effects on lexapro.

Seroquel does taking some getting used to. At a low dose it is essentially a sleep med. For me it always helped kind of equalize the side effects of the SSRI (term for several of the most common antidepressants ) But it does make you super drowsy. You really need to take it before 9 or 10 at night to make sure the drowsiness doesn't effect you the next day.

I don't know how high your doctor plans to raise you. I wouldn't try to go too high on it, because that's when it does have an effect on your metabolism. I got put on a higher dose of it and I really wish I hadn't, but it does make you calmer I guess.

 

[verasdfghjkl]

@new gamma rays I really hate this getting used to the Seroquel thing. It just worked out like an hour ago and I immediately got the anxiety and a panic attack again. Feels like the anxiety is just being pushed away by the sedation or something and when I'm not sedated anymore it just comes rushing back even worse than before. Feels like I have a fever or something, sweating, but feeling cold and stuff. Feels a little confusing, all of it.

I will start with Lexapro tonight, taking at the same time as Seroquel.

I ended up on celexa a couple years later - which was essentially the older version of lexapro that they tweaked to make it have supposed less side effects.

But does the Celexa have those severe side effects that they tried to take away? Just curious.

Thanks for the tip of taking it earlier. I took it like at 12 at night or so. I am on a low dose of 25mg. So that should be a good thing.

I really hope that the Lexapro will help though. I read and hear things that it doesn't do to much, and I would not like to feel numb off it. Also, I read an article about how 20% or something of all PTSD sufferers who take the combination of antidepressants and antipsychotics don't really feel like it helps them... That scares me to. But everyone is different of course, so maybe it would help me. :) We'll see. Thanks for your reply.

 

[new gamma rays]

They definitely make things a little easier. When I try to go down on them, I find I'm more easily emotionally aroused, or when my flashbacks happen they feel more real. But Therapy is supposed to help a lot more, according to everyone here.

And no, there aren't really major side effects on celexa either.

 

[verasdfghjkl]

@new gamma rays I do have therapy, doing EMDR for 9 months approx now, so hoping it will pay off someday :) just took lexapro after seroquel and can literally feel my heart pounding, and my pulse everywhere where my body touches my bed, hoping this side effect will be temporarily.

 

[heyImcured]

I currently take this combination and it has worked wonders in around 2 weeks. (150mg quetiapine and 7.5mg escitalopram(lexapro). The q knocks me out at night and I take the escitalopram in the morning. Remember we are all different so don't be scared by someone that has a bad experience. Sadly we need to experience the bad to realise what will work. Good luck and don't give up

 

[Disorder7]

I used to take that combination until I went to online and discovered there is a major interaction. I wondered why my pdoc didn't tell me.
I guess he was too busy getting me addicted to Xanax.

Also, out of the SSRIs, Lexapro and Celexa are more likely to cause QT problems.

I have a new pdoc now. I'm on a minimal amount of Paxil and using Valium to withdraw off Xanax.

 

[Charita 3000]

Seroquel and cipralex, celexa etc. can easily interact and cause serotonin syndrome (google it); it can be a very dangerous condition, and uncomfortable at the very least. Anxiety, sweaty, clammy skin, over heating, feeling flu-like symptoms, confusion, muscle spasms, difficulty sleeping (coupled with extreme sedation), intense itching.
I've got it right now from accidentally taking an extra seroquel last night with cipralex. Haven't slept yet (its now 11:11 am; and i am having all of the aforementioned symptoms. Kinda sucks, but it will go away. It can however be life threatening depending on the dosage.

 

[new gamma rays]

I can't say this definitively but I would say the risk is not as severe as you have shared. At most serotonin receptors seroquel is an antagonist - meaning it blocks the serotonin from binding. In my experience seroquel has helped off set some of the ssri side effects of whatever ssri I am on. Not to rule out that its impossible, just that maybe it could be something else going on, but everybody's different. How much seroquel/ celexa are you on if you don't mind me asking? I'm on 60 mg of celexa (higher than I want to be) and on about 250 mg of seroquel. But in the past I was usually on 40 mg celexa and 50 mg seroquel.

 

[Jimothy]

Seroquel and cipralex, celexa etc. can easily interact and cause serotonin syndrome (google it); it can be a very...

I had a very serious version of serotonin syndrome which started out in the more benign hypomanic phase where I was talking a mile a minute and not sleeping a lot and was sweating a lot and had the Hershey squirts for at least a year... Then I started loosing consciousness close to passing out... things turned grey and my hearing started to be very distant... And my vitals were very high... Then I went over the top into the very dangerous phase where I felt like I was crawling out of my skin and had a total absence of well being... Felt like I was in hell. Myoclonus from hell... muscle spasms like from The Exorcist... Then I had an unusually long detox... I was detoxing from every pore and hole in my body... I was sweating out 8 to 12 t shirts a night. I called the cycle The Crazies, The Agonies and The Sweats... I didn't sleep much at all and was so tired at the same time... Like I was dying for sleep but I was super jacked up... I was puking from my lungs and there was a metallic medicinal smell/taste in my olfactory for months... The worst thing was the fear... Words cannot describe how bad this experience was. When I crapped there was so much bile in my poo that it just floated on the top of the water... It was like this for a month or more... My complete detox took about a year or more though it usually only takes a few days to a few weeks... I was very sensitive to any foods high in tryptophan (a pre-cursor to serotonin in the brain) and had to devise a special diet. A tiny piece of chicken or turkey and my blood pressure would shoot through the roof and the serotonin excess would go into high gear again. If you have SS you should be hospitalized and given an IV with a combination of sedation and ciproheptidine. I later found out that I have trouble detoxing because of the MTHFR mutation which is probably why my detox took so long... And I was just doing what the label said... But my docs were giving me things in wrong combinations and didn't warn me about using OTC sleep aides that contain Dextromethorphan and L-Tryptophan. I found the doctors to be extremely ignorant about Serotonin Syndrome and some didn't know what it was. Many of these doctors get their info from books that have very short descriptions with pictures not unlike "pop up books" and they don't study the complex drug interactions in depth... Then they consult pharmacists who have incomplete knowledge then the patient could possibly go into a coma or die... I was lucky... Lots of people scratch the inside of their arms from the wrist to the elbow... I lightly scratched it but not enough to cause permanent scarring which often happens... This is a very serious condition and when in the dangerous phases can cause coma or death and permanent scarring of the inner arms.

 

[steph8208]

I have been on a similar combination for years. In fact I was put on seroquel in 2002 at 50 mg....

you have it backwards, Lexapro is newer with less side effects

 

[8888]

I used to be on both together. Lexapro didn't really do anything for me either. Made me get an annoying tingling sensations in my feet. Seroquel was fine at first but once I got up to a higher dose I gained a significant amount of weight. Seroquel was helpful though. I'm on Geodon instead now and no weight gain and seems to be working just as well.