Can an anti-psychotic relieve depression?

[Ellen70]

Hello everyone. I have seen a lot of threads on here about anti-psychotics but not one in relation to that group of meds and depression.

I was prescribed a very low dose of Seroquel (Quetiapine) for insomnia about six weeks ago. The dose is only 25mg which I believe is the lowest dose of this particular drug.

Anyhow I have never been able to tolerate even the lowest dose of any anti-psychotic but I was so desperate to sleep that I took the Seroquel, which is one of the newer anti-psychotics.

Anyhow it worked a treat for the insomnia, can sleep for hours on end now.

The point of this thread is that I was also really, really depressed when I started on the Seroquel but for the first four weeks of using the drug I was in a positive mood and had a very definite respite from the depression.

I was putting this down to being able to sleep but I am still sleeping pretty well but the depression is back.

Could the Seroquel have relieved depression? I felt that it was the drug that helped me for those weeks and that the depression has come back because the dose is so low. I am wondering if I took a higher dose of the Seroquel would it relieve the depression again? I have never heard of anti-psychotics being used to treat depression but I am wondering if they sometimes can?

Has anyone ever had success with using one of the newer anti-psychotics to relieve depression? I would be glad of any feedback on this.

I know I should talk to my psychiatrist about this but he is not what one would call a 'listener'

Thanks for reading this.

Eibhlin

[happyone]

Hi,
I was prescribed quetiapine to help with my bi polar depression. it works for insomnia, it is also used in a similar way to some mood regulators. my depression has improved greatly since taking quetiapine but I am also taking 60mg citalopram a day.
I put it down to the good sleeps I am getting but it was only recently I read that it is used as a mood regulator, in a similar way to lithium.
I don't know about the depression coming back. i can only suggest you be assertive with your shrink and maybe take in a written list of questions. He or she is there to serve you and your medical needs, don't let them forget.
Hope it goes ok for you.
Happyone
xx

[jo61]

Hi Eibhlin, I was on quetiapine for a couple of weeks and it did me in. I had to come off it in the end. It was tried for me as I wasn't sleeping. I did find that when the sleep came back (not due to the meds) I started to feel better. I'm now on lithium which seems to have lifed the depression almost completely. Happyone is right, go to the psych guns in assertive mode and with a list of questions

[Ellen70]

Hi Jo and Happy, thanks for posting.

Happy, do you mind me asking what dose of quetiapine you are taking?

Jo, as you have mentioned lithium, I can't understand how in the twenty odd years that I have been seeing doctors for depression, that I have never once been prescribed lithium. I have mentioned the possibiliy of it to doctors over the years and usually been told that it wasn't suitable for me or that lithium is a 'last resort'. The peculiar thing is that my father began suffering from depression and anxiety about five years ago and lithium was the first thing he was put on, and he is still on it.

I think I will take the matter up with my GP as I get a lot more sense out of her than I do out of the psychiatrists.

Take care!

[Ellen70]

Well I went to my GP this morning and asked her if I could deal with her solely regarding my gad and pa and depression and not have to continue seeing the psychiatrist that I see for free through the government health services (I live in Ireland).

She said that she would need me to see a psychiatrist a couple of times a year because of my history of frequent hospitalisations and suicide attempts. So I said if I saw a psychiatrist privately two or three times a year, would that do? and she said that would be fine. So she gave me the name of a female psychiatrist she knows and I am going to phone her and make an appointment.

I am so, so happy that I don't have to deal with the state psychiatric services anymore and I am looking forward to writing a letter to that psychiatrist to tell him that I won't be attending his clinic anymore

Also my GP said that Quetiapine is indeed used as a mood stabiliser and she increased my daily dose to 50mg so I am hoping that the extra 25mg will improve my mood

So all in all I am more than happy with the outcome of my GP visit and it is great to know that there are some decent GPs around!

Eibhlin

[jo61]

Great news EIbhlin. Things seem to be moving in the right direction.

[sarah1984]

That's great news! Not meaning to cast a black cloud, but you realise you will be paying through the nose to go privately. Anyhow, I think it's more than worth it when it concerns your mental well-being.
Psychiatrists are a funny bunch though....I haven't met one yet who seems really human! GPs tend to be more sympathetic and human-I guess you have to become hardened to people in distressing circumstances to a certain extent if you want to be a psychiatrist, otherwise the job would be unbearable.

[Ellen70]

Thanks for posting Jo and Sarah.

Yes, I do know that I will be paying to go private but my GP only says I need to see the psychiatrist 2 or 3 times a year. If I had to see a psychiatrist privately on a weekly or fortnightly basis then that would be a big problem, but as it is I will find the money somewhere for the occasional visits. I think the rate per appointment for a psychiatrist now is about €80.00. To be honest if I get benefit from it then I don't care what I have to do to find the money.

I have always felt that psychiatrists are only really interested in the 'serious' mind disorders like psychosis and elation. Plain ordinary depression seems to bore them and they are often downright condescending about anxiety and panic disorders.

Anyhow here's hoping!

PS I found this interesting article about quetiapine and depression whilst browsing the net earlier on:
http://www.psycheducation.org/depres...quetiapine.htm

[jo61]

Sorry folks have to disagree with you. I don't think you can generalise about psychiatrists. I have met a human female psychiatrist who is genuinely interested in me even though I'm not psychotic. She has made it very clear she just wants to help me recover using whatever resources are available. My previous psych was more 'clinical' but still had my best interests at heart. I still have faith in the profession!

[Ellen70]

Hi Jo, yes, I know it is incorrect to generalise about psychiatrists in general, or indeed about any group of people.

From my own experience, and it has been a long one, I have found the pyschiatrists I have encountered to be generally unhelpful and lacking in compassion. I have just been unlucky with the ones I have met but I know there are others who are very happy with their experiences of psychiatrists.

Eibhlin