Take this medication exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Your doctor may occasionally change your dose to make sure you get the best results from this medication. Take each dose with a full glass of water. It is important to take Seroquel regularly to get the most benefit. Do not take Seroquel for longer than 6 weeks unless your doctor has told you to. To be sure this medication is helping your condition, your doctor will need to check your progress on a regular basis. It is important that you not miss any scheduled visits to your doctor. Store Seroquel tablets at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Seroquel can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert. Dizziness may be more likely to occur when you rise from a sitting or lying position. Rise slowly to prevent dizziness and a possible fall. Avoid drinking alcohol, which can increase some of the side effects of Seroquel. Avoid using other medicines that make you sleepy (such as cold medicine, pain medication, muscle relaxers, and medicine for seizures, depression or anxiety). They can add to sleepiness caused by Seroquel. SEROQUEL is supplied for oral administration as 25 mg (round, peach), 100 mg (round, yellow), 200 mg (round, white), and 300 mg (capsule-shaped, white) tablets. Inactive ingredients are povidone, dibasic dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, hypromellose, polyethylene glycol and titanium dioxide. The 25 mg tablets contain red ferric oxide and yellow ferric oxide and the 100 mg tablets contain only yellow ferric oxide.

Antipsychotic drugs like Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate) have been found to cause extremely dangerous side effects, including diabetes. In some cases, these side effects have resulted in death. Seroquel is marketed by AstraZeneca as a treatment for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety and sleep disorders. Seroquel belongs to a family of drugs known as atypical antipsychotics. It is not fully understood how drugs like Seroquel work, but what is understood is that they may be causing you or your loved ones harm because of their hazardous side effects. If you’ve taken Seroquel to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety or sleep disorders and you have developed diabetes, or pancreatitis, the Seroquel lawyers at Weitz & Luxenberg may be able to file a Seroquel lawsuit on your behalf and get you the legal protection you need. Weitz & Luxenberg’s experienced team of dangerous drug lawyers know how to combat profit-driven pharmaceuticals and will fight for you to get you compensation for your pain, suffering, and medical expenses.

The most common side effect of Seroquel is sedation, and is prescribed specifically (off-label) for this effect in patients with sleep disorders. Seroquel's newest indication, for Bipolar Depression, specifically calls for the entire dose to be taken before bedtime because of its sedative effects. Although quetiapine is approved by the FDA for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, it is frequently prescribed for off-label purposes, including insomnia or the treatment of anxiety disorders. Seroquel is not classified as a controlled substance, however reports of quetiapine abuse (sometimes by insufflating, then crushed tablets) have emerged in medical literature; for the same reason, abuse of other antipsychotics, such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine®), may occur as well, but research related to the abuse of typical antipsychotics is limited. Common side effects include: constipation, headache, and mild weight gain. Less common side effects (less than 2% of patients) include: abnormal liver tests, dizziness, upset stomach, substantial weight gain, a stuffy nose, and increased paranoia. Of note is the somnolence/sedation that occurs with Seroquel - as this side effect is most pronounced within the first 7 days of treatment and decreases over time thereafter. There is a significant risk of development of the incurable neurological disorder tardive dyskinesia with any prolonged use of any neuroleptic drug. However, quetiapine is believed to be less likely to cause tardive dyskinesia somewhat less often than typical antipsychotics based on the data sources which point to placebo-level incidence of extrapyramidal side effects (a claim that only Seroquel can make, based on current research). The rare, but life-threatening, neuroleptic malignant syndrome may also result from quetiapine use. Weight gain can be a problem for some patients using quetiapine, by causing the patient's appetite to persist even after meals. However, this effect may occur to a lesser degree compared to some other atypical antipsychotics such as olanzapine or clozapine. Like other atypical antipsychotics, there is some evidence suggesting a link to the development of diabetes, however this remains unclear and controversial.