Seroquel XR side effects / tests on Beagles

[PenelopeAnn]

OK. The embarrassing side effect we all dread to talk about..."sexual side effects". OK. I am trying to determine if my recent 'problem' is related to meds or to stress. I used to take regular Seroquel with no sexual side effects. I was recently changed to Seroquel XR and the side effects are so different than regular Seroquel, and one of them is sexual side effects. Anyone else? The other new med I am on is Amitiza, which is for Irritable Bowel Syndrome and didn't have sexual side effects listed. I have been under a lot of new stress lately, but that has never caused this problem in the past.  

While investigated Seroquel XR I noticed this in Wikipedia -
"Studies conducted on beagles have resulted in the formation of cataracts—while there are reports of cataracts occurring in humans, controlled studies including thousands of patients have not demonstrated a clear causal association between quetiapine therapy and this side effect."
Beagles? What? Why? Psychotic Beagles?

[BP2PROFESSIONAL]

I feel for you my little furry buddies, next time I see a Beagle cataract or not I'm going to give them a hug.

[ILADVOCATE]

Interesting one. Actually I spoke with my psychopharmocologist about it at the time and he said beagles were particular suseptable to cataracts. I know some people have mixed impressions of animal testing so I won't even go there  As happens with Seroquel its a statistical rarity but the whole time I was on it I had to get tested for cataracts anyway but I went to an opthalmologist and still do because I have nystagmus (diagnosed since age 10) so it really wasn't a big deal. More a piece of bureaucracy but it was a requirement so like bloodtests for lithium and the like (which are way more of concern) I went through it and frankly my opthalmologist was interested in the whole topic as well. He had never heard of Seroquel at the time as it was brand new. Generally not the top thing on your mind to think of or worry about when starting Seroquel.

[LeftCoastChick]

I have a libido again, since getting off anti-depressants - Seroquel's not been a damper on it at all! (if not it's gotten even better!)  I can't believe they still test on animals, I guess there isn't another options, but aren't all dogs pretty much the same gene pool, just beagles? The poor lil fellas. gah.

[PenelopeAnn]

Well everyone. It's a mystery. It wasn't any of my meds. Must have been me for a period of time, cuz now I'm fine.

[Lizz67]

PenelopeAnn, just to let you know, I haven't noticed any sexual problems with regular Seroquel (which you said you didn't, right?).  I've had that before from I forget what, though.

To anyone, regarding my cataract formation...My doctor suspects Seroquel is the cause because I've been on it for a few years and it is a known side effect. There is no history of (premature) cataracts in my family.  I'm "only" 41, so that's another clue that they're probably secondary to my meds.

My symptoms have been blurrly vision despite changes to my lens script, sensitivity to light (like the sun especially), and when driving at night the oncoming cars' headlights look very bright as though brights are on.  It's a little distracting.  My doc said these were classic symptoms, especially the headlight thing.

I have been wandering around this past week with a funny feeling about this.  Besides Bipolar, I haven't had major health  problems.  And this is my first serious/permanent side effect.  I don't know how I feel - I'm kind of incredulous in a way because I've been so lucky side-effect-wise for so long.  But PenelopeAnn, I appreciate your comments about being in my position.  My manias are very dangerous, also. Really don't want to risk that happening again.

[RJ233]

Poor little beagles. I guess they are stressed from trying to go through briers or whatever to catch those rabbits! Now they give them cataracts to make their job harder. Poor things, if their nose goes, they are in big trouble.

I take Seroquel. Been on them for about a week. They have helped me a lot, so far. I'm soon 59 so I about expect cataracts, before too much longer. My mom had them and it seemed to be pretty simple surgery. I sure felt worse before I started taking them. My eye doctor is great and checks me thoroughly, so if he sees any changes that are unusual for the time period, he will definitely let me know and he keeps my meds up to date. If he had patients that have had problems with it, he will tell me. I will be going before too much longer. I'm going to ask him about it.

The medicines I have been on even after all the changes over the years, have had a sexual side effect. Not to the good either. If the seroquel had an effect on it, I'd never know.

Lizz, your looking for your water bowl, I'm trying to find the food dish. Where are those rabbits? My nose is clogged and I have a lot of brown spots on me! (freckles!)

[ILADVOCATE]

You'll have to ask the other person how they specifically diagnosed it from Seroquel. I'd like to know to for my own information as well. As for antipsychotics you haven't tried you didn't mention Geodon. And I found Invega more tolerable than Risperdal although they are similar in action. And regardless they are coming out with new ones. There may be one out in the next year depending and others to come. They will work similarily to Abilify but Risperdal works in a similar manner to Seroquel and you could tolerate that so if you did have to change there will be new options. Cataracts are rare as a long term side effect. The long term side effects I mentioned are more of concern and Abilify has less sexual side effects generally so the ones that will released should in general. And the new class of antipsychotic I am on the glutamate antagonists should be released in about 5 years so those will be very different and none of the side effects people are talking about will happen. But regardless there is at least one antipsychotic of a more standard type close to release so keep up to date by googling "psychmeds123" (the site updates itself).

[PenelopeAnn]

I have been on other antipsychotics, Zyprexa, Risperdol, Abilify, and I didn't get any benefit from them and/or the side effects were too costley, more costly than sexual side effects. Now, if I had cataracts from Seroquel, I don't know if I'd consider trying an antipsychotic I haven't tried, because if they don't work I could have a serious mood episode and my episodes are full of dangerous delusions. And how would you know your cataract is from the drug and not age-related or something else? I wonder if they can tell.

[ILADVOCATE]

You can change to another antipsychotic. Seroquel is the only one known to cause this but it is of help to a good number of people. I asked my psychopharmocologist about it at the time I was on it (I did get tests from my opthomologist for cataracts) and he said that beagles were suspectable to cataracts so that's why they studied them. That's a rare long term side effect but one I believe only Seroquel can cause (except for older rarely used antipsychotics like Melaril). The two long term side effects to be concerned about in general are tardive dyskinesia and diabetes so a regular check for movement disorders from your psychiatrist will do as well as a standard blood test for sugar level. If the first problem emerges they will switch you to Clozaril. If the second does they can have you go on a modified diet and if caught in time the diabetes will go into remmission as happenned with a friend of mine.

[PenelopeAnn]

Ooo, decision making time. Don't you hate those? Which horrible thing do I WANT to deal with? Possible blindness or psychosis? No, really, yours is an important decision. I don't envy your position. If it makes you feel any better, two of my dogs have cataracts and they both get on just fine. ;-)

[PenelopeAnn]

I know about animals and drug studies, trials, and phases. I was just curious why they chose, not just dogs, but Beagles specifically for something like a drug study for the treatment of psychosis. Why not monkeys? Why not Boxers or Poodles? It just seemed ridiculously specific. Or did they try them on different animals and only the Beagles got cataracts? Or were they seeing if Seroquel could treat something else that has to do with Beagles?

My sexual side effects have to do with problems of arousal and a climax that has become anticlimactic.

[Lizz67]

Speaking of cataracts, I have no idea why psychotic beagels get them but I have just been diagnosed. My eye doctor believes that I'm having that (rare) side effect from my Seroquel.  
He was the first person to talk to me about this. Of course it's buried in the patient information sheets, but it's not one that jumped out at me.
My eye doctor is pretty knowlegeable about psychotropics which is cool, and he reccommends that I stay on the Seroquel since I'm doing so well. He considers it easier to successfully treat the cataracts then mess with a good thing with my BP.
So, I have a decision to make as I do not want to go off my Seroquel, but I need to consider alternatives, too.
Weird, you brought that up - I just saw my eye doctor Thursday. (Hey, where's my water dish??!)

[ILADVOCATE]

Seroquel XR in lasting all day could have an increased likelihood of sexual side effects and it could be interacting with the the Amitiza. It would depend what you mean by "sexual side effects". Decreased libido could definitely be from the Seroquel. Anti-cholinergic effects from both medications interacting (those cause dry mouth and blurred vision but affect all areas of the body) could cause other problems that would make sex difficult and/or painful. I do know Abilify (and there is one similar anti-psychotic due for release like it) is less likely to cause either of these effects and the Phase II experimental antipsychotic I am on glycine, a glutamate antagonist in FDA study has none but I do have sexual side effects from the multiple medications I take for tardive dyskinesia which the new antipsychotics can't cause but I have in severe form from the previous ones.
  Animal studies are done to test physical effects of medications (some people are opposed to them its complex imo, I do think some tests were abusive, of course though you would want to give a study medication to an animal before a person first because if it has dangerous side effects a person could be affected). They can't study psychosis in animals because animals don't have thoughts like humans. But medications affect them the same. And if you notice a previous post, someone did actually develop cataracts from Seroquel so it was good they noted that. Medications go through Phase I trials where they are studied on people who are completely healthy just to see the reaction and if they are safe and then Phase II (where the glycine is) to study effectiveness and finally Phase III to find exact specific dosages and then a new drug approval letter is sent. Regardless animal tests are done first as although people's brains work differently from animals their bodies function in much the same manner.