Seems there's no end to how confused drug companies are about what their drugs are for. Although my favourite Seroquel mis-description was when someone with the DEA called it a "heroin substitute". This whole anitpsychotics-to-treat-refractory-depression thing scares me to no end.

Seroquel is one doozer of a sedative -- it's not an antipsychotic and it's not an antidepressant in the sense of really "curing" either psychosis or depression. None of these drugs are "disease" specific; they work by knocking you out or speeding you up, nothing more, nothing less. Seroquel (and other sedatives) put your prefrontal cortex out of commission for awhile. Why don't they put that on their bloody website? As I've said before in my comments let's call a spade a spade and stop trying to pretend these drugs are disease or disorder specific. And by the way I hope you notice the way in which the name of this drug subconsciously makes you think of serenity and quiet -- do you know how many millions they invest in choosing the names of these drugs? It's all about marketing. Calling something an "antipsychotic" or an "antidepressant" is a marketing tool as well, nothing to do with the real mechanism.

Yes, that website is reading as misleading the public as well as doctors and appears to be something worthy of a lawsuit in my opinion.

It is not an anti depressant , it is an antipsychotic, and this is where we are entering the already assumed marketing positions of all antipsychotics; the future has arrived in that regard.

Off-label rx's are already happening with regard to Seroquel et al for depression, anxiety and insomnia, so it's just a matter of time when the general public believes what AstraZeneca is promoting on their website.

Dear Philip:

Thank you for the update and news on seroquel. I had just posted an article/commentary with my personal experience with Seroquel on my blog site, and I happened upon your article. It boggles my mind that they are giving this drug to kids to use, and calling it an anti-depressant! I have taken just about every anti-depressant created by mankind, and Seroquel is not an anti-depressant by any stretch of the imagination or by rational thinking persons anywhere! I'm now a diabetic bipolar thanks to this drug and it's side effects. If they are going to be allowed market this drug as an anti-depressant! The FDA should just close it's door and walk away; because we will all know they are completely bought and paid for buy the pharmaceutical industry. Making them a totally ineffective and corrupt government organization. Oh well, enough said!

yours truly:
Stan
http://bipolar-stanscroniclesandnarritive.blogspot.com/

I am not a fan of antipsychotics, but where on earth does www.Seroquel.com refer to it as an antidepressant? (Aside for its use in bipolar depression, which, as Philip mentions, is approved.)

The only reference to antidepressants I could find is in a warning about their (not Seroquel's) association with suicidal behavior in teenagers - which I expect is only there for CYA, in case someone ELSE decides Seroquel is an "antidepressant" and tries to sue them. If that's some sort of oblique attempt to promote Seroquel as an antidepressant, it's a pretty lame one.

It's not too hard to check a website to see what it actually says. As far as I can tell, the article is simply wrong.

yes i think some reporters may have misread that black box warning, but it is the anti-dep black box warning which i guess they have to list now cuz seroquel is approved for bp depression. i'm just looking ahead to the day when seroquel is approved for depression. stay tuned

What needs to happen is antipsychotics need to have a black box warning, beyond the "not for elderly patients with dementia".

Well, watching its effects up close for "bipolar depression", prescribed by an intimidating, very well-known psychiatrist, the result was thus: weight gain that has yet to come off (two years later), excessive sleeping, zombie-like behavior, elevated blood glucose, continued suicidality. Now there's a big vote of confidence. I suspect its used for depression is as is happening with all the atypicals. The docs switching because of the black box warning....and, as Philip said with this one, the bipolar depression part being misinterpreted. They all belong in the trash.

Isn't the DSM wave of the future supposed to do away with plain depression and call all depression part of a spectrum disorder, i.e. all depression is bipolar depression, and this will then lead to antipsychotics instead of antidepressants just about the time ssri's fall out of fashion? Sedatives as antidepressants, hmmm seemed to work for Jack Daniels.

Sure Seroquel works as an anti-depressant. It knocks you out and makes you so foggy that you can't feel your overwhelming depression. I would really be interested to know how much free supply of Seroquel are handed out to those in our prison system to those classifed as "depressed" or "showing signs of depression." As in the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment-many of the mock prisoners showed symptoms of depression within 6 days!!!! I wonder how much data AZ takes from our huge prison system as from your previous posts, it seems many inmates love the stuff!!!!

I was diagnosed with severe depression, but I had not been diagnosed bi-polar. Seroquel was administered to me, as well as Risperdal, another anti-psychotic. My pituitary swelled up to the point that they thought I had a tumor, in addition to my gaining 50 pounds. I've been reading other books, about coming off of meds, namely "Coming off Psychiatric Drugs," which is also a collaboration of Loren Mosher's.
Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

Oops, another minor mistake. Loren Mosher did not write that book at all, even though he did collaborate with the previous one I mentioned. Peter Lehmann Publishing has it at their website.

That's so messed up. They're purposely misleading people. I can't imagine kids taking Seroquel at all. It's what I'm on now for my Borderline.

I've never seen my psych's jaw drop until the day I asked him if he's heard of the seroquel abuse happening, Q-ball, snorting it, abuse in prisons, being sold on the streets, etc. his office uses pharma samples; i suggested they all might want to consider those samples a controlled substance and not give them out anymore. i took seroquel and it was hell, and the withdrawals were worse. couldn't drive a car for 14 hrs after taking the seroquel. i will never take this drug again, i found 50mg of benadryl helps me sleep better [torture type dreams on seroquel too]and i can think and function the next day with benadryl!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Rebecca Riley, the 4 yr old who was dx bipolar at age 2 and died;was rx'd Seroquel as part of the medications she was on.

I am on Seroquel, scary stuff. It knocks you right out and feels like your passed out dead. Impossible to wake up. Love the site, keep up the good work.

-J. Screeb
Bipolar Perceptions Blog
http://www.jscreeb.com

I believe the only mention of antidepressant is in the warning section on the linked AstraZeneca website. I am 99% sure that this is on there only because the FDA required a wide swath of drugs to carry the warning, and I think in Seroquel's case, it was required to carry the warning because it was approved to treat bipolar depression. So it's not AstraZeneca's fault on this one. The journalist you cited got it wrong.

Oh, but considering that Seroquel is pretty likely to get approval as an antidepressant before long, maybe this journalist just has good foresight.

I'm not saying it SHOULD be approved for depression; I'm just reading what I perceive to be the writing on the wall...

A marketing tactic perhaps Phil?

They may announce their faux pas later... well after the sales figures go up?

Maybe it was 'inadvertent'?

See here how Pharma like the word 'inadvertent' so much.

http://fiddaman.blogspot.com/2008/04/fdas-avandia-warning-hits-gsk.html

Fid

i have been taking 100mil of seroquel for sleep..i am on an opiate replacement program also.."scary dreams" for sure..not distinguishing dreams from reality..sometimes forcing myself to wake up in fear..weight gain even though i walk on the treadmill for 1hr every day..i am trying to slowly reduce my dose so i can dis-continue use without flipping out..i am a 56yr old male who has fought substance abuse issiues since i was 16yrs..any comments are appreciated

One year after this article was written, wow AstraZeneca has a door wide open to depression treatment with Seroquel.

It's reality, and the FDA is corrupt!

I have been on Welbutrin for several years. I tend to build up a resistance to drugs, but Welbutrin is one of the FEW that I didn't. Well, at least not until relatives moved to the state we lived in, and let me tell you, I went from happy to severely depressed from all the negativity. BACK to my point.... lol..... I was on Welbutrin and ended up taking 450 mg to 600 mg and felt fine. I was getting the NAME BRAND from Canada.... until they raised their prices. I went on generic Welbutrin, and well, sorry, but the stuff sucks! My doctor said that it has the same stuff as the name brand, just different fillers, and SOME people (of course that would be me) cannot I guess absorb or somehow the fillers block the usefulness of the drug. Something like that. Which I believe! I didn't think it would be any different but it is. So I was watching TV and the Seroquel commercial comes on about "if your anti-depressant isn't enough...." So I decided I would like to try it. I am not bi-polar, but I am semi-okay and depressed. I don't get the mania, so maybe Uni-polar? lol I do have strong depressive emotions that Welbutrin helped to control, but again..... generic SUCKS!

Anyhow, he said to take 50 mg at night before bed and I cannot TELL you how much more NORMAL I feel. I feel even keel. So now with 300 mg of Welbutrin XL and 50 mg of Serequel, I feel balanced. BUT I have only been on it 2 weeks and now I am really worried about what I read. I DON'T get hungry, since I think Welbutrin (natural appetite suppressant for me!.... well, natural is a relative term.) counteracts the Serequel.

When did you all end up having symptoms? I am NOT a zombie, nor do I have any side effects that I read. I DID take Zyprexa YEARS ago with a regular doctor that was playing GOD and said I was bi-polar..... 40 pounds later (still need to loose) I quit that crap and stayed with the Welbutrin and felt 100% better. I went to an ACTUAL psychologist who said I was NOT bi-polar and Zyprexa was like shooting a fly with a .33 caliber! lol

So please tell me when I should worry about the Serequil! Age onset diabetes runs in my family and I HATE needles!

Hi I was on a very high dose of seroquel for bipolar. I guess it lifted my depression somewhat for a very short while. On reflection on started having side effect after 3 months but was on the drug for 4 years. I kept thinking that I was getting better but--no. I put on 25 lbs. and I had no energy. I was written off by two doctors as a lost cause. I moved and track down a Doc who told me that I was over medicated[my word]. while going through the process of finding a pyschristist I found out that my blood sugar was elevated as were other lipid panel. I immediately stopped the drug and the slew of symptoms for diabetes vanished. I was waiting for the shoe to drop when I noticed that my anger, rage, negative thoughts, counting, and many more symtoms which evade at the moment. I'll never try another anti pyschotic drug again. And the fact that this is not 'news' makes me extremely distressed. I feel great. energy, comprehension, memory, and humor have returned or are on the way back to me. Because of the diabetes scare I cleaned up my diet and exercise.
I'm starting to feel better about myself.
What pisses me off--I was never told of the side effects.

I have a friend who is currently on this drug, she asked me 2 look up the side effects. As she struggles 2 get 2 grip with every day routines. Her situation spireld after a break up in her marriage.
Emotionally she became phsycotic and addressed the situation in anger an dispaire leaving her feeling deeply ashamed for her actions. She cried out for help and was diognosed with bipolar, then months later phsycitrists say they are not sure she has bipolar but they continue 2 subscribe her Seroquel XL, 2 begin with 300mg then 600 mg now back 2 300mg. We have both read this web site 2 night and are shocked that my friends fears have been rightley concerned this drug has been doing more harm than good.