hi hope,
Like u have quoted , doses of over 200mg theres an increased risk of side effects when used chronically. Thats why i use it intermittently and i have also read that the sedative effects of seroquel level out at 200mg, so if someone is usuing more then 200mg all the time then i would think they were using it for something else then just insomnia. I was prescibed this for my insomnia when nothing was working at the time, but i found even seroquel doesnt work all the time for me if i use it every night which is what all sleep meds do to me. I find seroquel though has a different effect, its sort of like a reset button for my poor brain, after a night of sleep with this drug, im alot calmer and the next night other more benign meds work alot better.
yes i have found weight gain from using mirtazapine all the time and its sedative effects wore off quickly, so thats why i use it intermittently as well has it helps avoid these side effects. I have tried many meds for sleep and i have found all the supposedly sedating antidepressants of no use including trazadone(i had hi hope for it but?) except doxepin and mirtazapine.
I was scared to death to try seroquel after reading about it and it took a couple of years before i had nothing to lose trying it. My doc prescribed 100mg which i only took a 1/4 of has i have read where people sleep for 18hrs from such a dose, and it had no effect, i increased this dose by 25mg until i got to 100mg then slept like a baby. Now after using it for over 12 months intermittently, i dont know what all the fuss is over this drug, but in saying that everyone reacts differently to meds.
its taken me awhile to develop my sleep strategy with my doc, but i really believe without the sort of sleep i have been getting with medication, i would be house bound. i believe my sleep problems are from cfs although i have been a shift worker working rotating shifts for over 20 years, but others i worked with dont suffer insomnia like i do, the onset of my insomnia was with cfs.