Seroquel | ADHD Information

Since you asked me to tell you, I will... you're wrong. If the dose gets too high, then one can feel a bit emotionally numb. At lower doses, they actually improve flat affect in patients.

BTW... SSRI's which, of course, boost serotonin are actually more likely to produce anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure) and apathy than are atypical antipsychotics. Roughly 40% of patients on SSRI's experience some apathy, compared to 20% on atypical AP's. Both classes of drugs have a cost/ benefit ratio to consider.

shakespeare38661.4239236111you tried dexedrine also? anti-psychotics are bad news. ADHD is a dopamine issue, so stimulants are very effective, there must be other things going on. it cant be adhd.

keep in mind the brain is a sensitive piece of equipment. good luck.

And actually, atypical antipsychotics are increasingly being used in patients who don't respond to/ can't tolerate stimulants. While they block dopamine receptors in the mesolimbic system, they also block serotonin receptors. Serotonin receptors regulate dopamine release. The end result is that there is actually an increase in dopamine in the frontal cortex, which is exactly where you want it for ADHD. You might be surprised at how effective antipsychotics can be. My personal interpretation (and this is just my opinion based on quetiapine's receptor binding profile) is that quetiapine could be very effective in this regard. It blocks a lot of serotonin receptors, which should translate into lots of dopamine in the frontal cortex/ reasoning and behavior part of the brain. Hope that helps![QUOTE=newadhdmom]

Hi everyone! Sorry to be joing so late, but this forum really took hold of me! My son is in 3rd grade (almost 9) and will not take a pill to save his life. We tried it for the first week, and after screaming, crying, and lots of days late to work we looked for another alternative (meds). His Dr. prescribed Adderall xr and it has been fine, however, now he is having trouble in school more often than we would think "normal" I called the Doc and his nurse told me that they couldn't increase his 20mg dosage due to his age, weight. I still have 1/2 a presc left of the Adderall, so I gave him one and prob a third of the second (in yogurt sprinkled and mixed "so he can't taste it". Now we are being told that he will have to take a pill in the AM and at school to have the longer lasting booster effect until he comes home and finishes his homework.

I am so scared! I hate forcing a pill down my cats throat, how can I do it to my own son?

Anyone who has experienced this please give me some ideas!!!!

Thanks :)

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I'm not sure why you posted that on this thread... it probably should be it's own thread. But since you posted here, I'll answer here. This is my personal experience, not textbook knowledge. I feel that it is cruel to deny treatment to a child who needs it. I struggled and barely got by until I was finally given medication at 17, after innumerable problems I will not elaborate on here. Suddenly the world opened up to me. I had always had the intellectual capacity to succeed, but never had the ability to utilize that. Clearly you love your child and hope for only success and happiness, so I would say that you should consider medication. It can't hurt to try it, it can only help. If you feel it is not helping, you can always take him off of it. Please give him the opportunity to do what he is really capable of. Your reservations, in my opinion, are touching but misguided. They're based on stigmas and preconceived ideas rather than concrete reality. I would never have made it into med school without medication, and I mean that with all the sincerity at my command. In fact, I doubt I ever could have acheived a bachelors degree. There are numerous studies evaluating self-esteem in ADHD children, both medicated and unmedicated. Needless to say, the unmedicated group always have lower self-esteem. Imagine the frustration of not being able to keep up, no matter your intellectual capicity. It's heartwrenching for me to know that children have to bare the consequences of such decisions just because parents don't want to medicate. Just think about it carefully, and weigh your options... please.

Seroquel, or quetiapine, is a fairly unique drug. The other atypical antipsychotics all seem most effective when they block 60%-80% of the dopamine receptors in the brain. Seroquel, in contrast, tends to block 20%-40% of the dopamine receptors but does a number on the serotonin receptors. I'm not trying to give you a pharmacology lesson, I'm just trying to make the point that we are not entirely sure why quetiapine is so effective... it doesn't seem to follow the established rules about how an AP should function.

BUT it definitely does function. It took some time for it to catch on because it tends to cause tremendous sedation and fatigue, even at low doses. That fatigue usually subsides within the first two to four weeks, so don't prematurely pull him off of it if he wants to sleep all day for a few weeks. That said, there has been a surge of interest recently in quetiapine. It is often a very effective drug, though I'm not familiar with any studies specifically relating to autism (as there are with risperidone). It seems to lift depression, stabilize mood, normalize sleep cycles, and generally improve the quality of people's lives. In fact, it has replaced risperidone as the most frequently prescribed AP. I would definitely encourage you to give it a try and give it some time to work for your son. It really does seem to be a wonderful med for many people out there who didn't respond well to other meds.

Please don't get discouraged with the sedation that I can almost guarantee he will experience. Seroquel is renowned for that. It is often prescribed off-label in very low doses as a sleep aid for that reason. That will pass. It hits histamine receptors hard, which tends to make it an ultra potent Benedryl. Oddly enough, there is a huge body of evidence that suggests that the higher the dose, the less the sedation (though no one understands exactly why). In any case, that should pass over a few weeks. In adults, the typical therapeutic dose ranges from about 200-600mg, although some people take up to 800mg, and even 1,000mg. I regret that I am unfamiliar with any studies pertaining to pediatric patients, but I would assume (based on studies of other drugs in children) that the dose would be about half the standard adult dose. I would also make one suggestion... if the twice daily dosing regimen is causing too much sedation, seriously consider a once daily bedtime dose. Quetiapine has a very short half life (roughly 6 hours) which logically suggests twice daily dosing, but there is quite a lot of evidence supporting it's effectiveness taken once daily. Your doc is probably familiar with that practice, but if not you can feel free to PM me and I'll email some studies to take to him.

One more thing, and I'll shut up. You mentioned weight gain with risperidone. I should warn you that there is a risk of that with quetiapine as well. In the end, if you average the weight gain experienced by patients, the average is about equal between quetiapine and risperidone. There is a difference in the distribution, however. More patients in the risperidone group experience weight gain (the majority, in fact), meaning the risk is much greater. However, those in the quetiapine groups that do gain weight tend to gain more than those in the Risperidone group. Does that make any sense? He is less likely to gain weight with Seroquel, but if he does he may gain a little more than he would with Risperdal. In either case, careful consideration to diet is a good idea.

The most important thing you can do right now is give Seroquel some time to work. It tends to have heavier side effects than some of the others in the beginning, but given a month or so the side effects tend to be less than or equal to the others. And it is at least as effective, and for some people more so. People who do well on it absolutely love it, which is a very good sign. Sorry to be so long winded about this... I have been extremely interested in this drug recently because of the sudden boom in use, and the resultant attention it has gotten. All in all, I think it is a very good choice. Good luck, and please PM me with any questions or any specific issues he has when you begin treatment.

I am so scared! I hate forcing a pill down my cats throat, how can I do it to my own son?

Anyone who has experienced this please give me some ideas!!!!

Thanks :)

[QUOTE=JonSilverman]what the heck is seroquel? [/QUOTE]

Uhmm .Are you trying to be funny by asking this question? I am noticing it by the way that you answered it.FYI it is a drug that is in the same class as Risperdal and Zyprexa.I need serious replies and not people that are going to respond like you did.

tj,

it's my add, the impulsivity makes me shoot from the hip.

here is what's funny though-- kids with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder are given stimulants and they calm down ... sooooo if your complaining about your kids' hyperactivity "climbing the wall" , why use seroquel?

my guess the reason your not getting any resoponses is because ADDers, like myself dont take drugs like seroquel or Risperdal or Zyprexa (what the hell are those things..?)

look, you mentioned autism? are these drugs given to autistic kids?

[QUOTE=JonSilverman]tj,

it's my add, the impulsivity makes me shoot from the hip.

here is what's funny though-- kids with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder are given stimulants and they calm down ... sooooo if your complaining about your kids' hyperactivity "climbing the wall" , why use seroquel?

my guess the reason your not getting any resoponses is because ADDers, like myself dont take drugs like seroquel or Risperdal or Zyprexa (what the hell are those things..?)

look, you mentioned autism? are these drugs given to autistic kids?
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He has been on the Adderall,Ritalin,Straterra,Etc.As I mentioned in my first post he has been on every medicine in the book.Stimulants makes him worse.Like really out of control plus he starts to lose weight.So the doctor stated that the Seroquel is suppose to help calm him down I was just wondering has anyone had any experience with this drug.That was all.Seroquel,Risperdal,Abilify,Geodon,Zyprexa, are antypschotic meds that are being used for adhd and other issues.

what the heck is seroquel?

I would appreciate any info that anyone could give me.

P.S. Shakesphere where are you?

[QUOTE=shakespeare]... they also block serotonin receptors. Serotonin receptors regulate dopamine release. The end result is that there is actually an increase in dopamine in the frontal cortex, which is exactly where you want it for ADHD. You might be surprised at how effective antipsychotics can be. My personal interpretation (and this is just my opinion based on quetiapine's receptor binding profile) is that quetiapine could be very effective in this regard. It blocks a lot of serotonin receptors, which should translate into lots of dopamine in the frontal cortex/ reasoning and behavior part of the brain. Hope that helps!

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If it blocks all these serotonin receptors you will be less feeling. That's why they are called anti-psychotics. Tell me if I'm wrong, but the price of using anti-psychotics is personality.

Hello everyone.I have an 8 year old nephew that is autistic/adhd.He has almost been on every medicine that is out here but he has had side effects off of them.His adhd is so severe until he cannot sleep nor focus in school because he is climbing the walls.He has been on resperdal 0.25 twice a day for 2 weeks now and already he has gained 6 pounds.The doctor today changed his medicine to seroquel starting at 25 mg at night time for 3 nights and then upping the dose to twice a day until we see her again in two weeks.Has anyone had any experience with either themselves or their children on this medicine? Oh also he has sudden impulstivity to tear up things and destroy anything.

Thank you Shakespeare for giving me as much info as you could about this medication.I really appreciate your help. I will let you know how he does on this medication.

Thank You

here they would never dx an autistic child with adhd..
the adhd traits are common to autism..
i think that this may be part of the reason why adhd is so overdiagnosed in the usa..

just a thought...