Just wanted to share an interesting tidbit about the drug Seroquel that has baffled two different doctors. I've been lazily prescribed Seroquel after an even lazier diagnosis of BiPolar Type I Disorder. I've never agreed with either this diagnosis or the treatment plan. Because of my disagreement with said treatment plan, in 2005 I decided to stop taking all three of my psychoactive drugs (I was also on Trileptal and Zoloft), all one at a time.
I started with Zoloft and left it at that for awhile. Cold turkey, no problem. I figured any negative side effects were being displaced by the other two. Then I stopped the Trileptal. Again, no change. I was beginning to believe that my theory that doctors prescribe placebo type medications in abundance to normally healthy people was ringing true. Finally, the Seroquel. I normally take 100mg of this bastard once a day, always at night since it knocks me out.
The first night without taking it I lie in bed sweating - tossing and turning all night. My body was screaming for the drug. The next day was fine. I had a lot more energy than was typical and I was less irratible. The future looked bright, indeed. That night, when falling to sleep, my hands and fingers started itching. I looked and there was no rash, just persistent itching. I thought it odd. The next day, my hands started itching but now so did my head, and my perineum of all places. I was in full on junkie scratch mode. Plus, that nervous energy experienced the first night trying to sleep had returned en force.
By day four I thought I was going to be fired from my job for really scratching and twitching all day long, it was bad. So, that night, I took another 100mg Seroquel and laid down and slept the best night of sleep I had had all week long. And, the next day, no more itching either.
