Our 25 year old son is now doing a great job of taking his medications for the past month (Sereoquel) and the doctor wants to ramp him up to 800 mg because he was at that level before but at 300 mg he’s having panic attacks and symptoms aren’t better either.
He is Szaffective so has anyone had better luck with sz with other antipsychotics? Which one is now considered most effective from the individual’s perspective and maybe more innovative?
Thank you
Just for clarification - was your son previously at a dose of 800 mg of Seroquel and doing well, and then the dose was reduced to 300 mg? If that is correct, why was the dose reduced?
Vallpen - I always appreciate your advice. Over a year ago, the doctor had it noted that Alex was at 800 mg but even then he felt he had panic attacks so he was rarely compliant. He was also self-medicating with marijuana then. Thankfully now he’s off marijuana and going to therapy for the first time and trying to get these meds right. It seems, however, that his level of delusions is higher than when he was on marijuana which of course isn’t the answer but we’re desperate to help him to figure this out.
There is a lot of good news there! No marijuana! Taking his meds! Participating in therapy! Wow!!!
I can only speak from my experience. But if your son is getting some insight, and is ready to work with the doctor, then you might be in a good position to consider other medications. Like you, I think that there is likely something that might address his symptoms more effectively. There are certainly a lot of other options. Has the doctor tried other things before Seroquel?
Unfortunately, some failure might be built into the process of figuring that out. I think Seroquel is used more to address the mood disorder component of schizoaffective disorder, even tho it is classed an antipsychotic. Sounds like it has addressed some of his needs, but not all.
Do you have concerns about returning to the 800 dose to see if, with the elimination of the marijuana use it will be effective for him?
Vallpen - You’re right there is plenty of good news. Today wasn’t a great day but overall he’s doing so much better. He’s completely delusional right now so loud, self-opinionated and being called vulgar names needs to not be tolerated. We’ve tolerated so much of this type of verbal abuse in the past so it will take time to implement new expectations.
The Serequel is giving him panic attacks at the 300 mg level. So it’s a no go. Is your child sz? What are other medication options I should ask his Dr. to explore with him?
Thank you!
Ugh!! That name-calling crap is something I’ve had to deal with, and is NO FUN. When it is happening, I think it is usually a result of my son dealing with a lot of psychosis, with voices saying a lot of extreme stuff to him. Its horrid for him, and horrid for anyone around it.
My son is 26, and is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Most psychiatrists would probably next try an Atypical Antipsychotic. One that is a frequent first try is Risperdal, but there are many others. If the atypicals don’t work, the doctor may actually decide to try an older ‘Typical Antipsychotic’. There are side effects with ALL of these meds. For the older drugs, movement disorders are common, tho potentially controlled with added medication. The newer meds often cause weight gain.
We struggled thru several failures until finally the doctor went to clozaril. It is used for people who have not had success with multiple other trials.