Quetiapin Hexal
Quetiapin Hexal is an antipsychotic medicine used to treat mental health conditions such as bipolar depression, mania, and schizophrenia.
Form
depottabletti
Strength
150 mg
Active Ingredient
Quetiapine fumarate
Manufacturer
Hexal A/S
How to Use
Dosage
Your doctor will decide your starting dose. The usual daily dose is between 150 mg and 800 mg.
Method
Take the extended-release tablets once a day, whole with water, without food (at least 1 hour before a meal or at bedtime). Do not break, chew, or crush them. Do not drink grapefruit juice.
Important
The maximum daily dose is 800 mg. Always follow your doctor's instructions.
Possible Side Effects
COMMON
- •Dizziness (can lead to falls)
- •Headache
- •Dry mouth
- •Sleepiness (can lead to falls), which may disappear with continued use.
- •Withdrawal symptoms if stopping treatment suddenly, such as trouble sleeping, nausea, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, and irritability.
- •Weight gain
- •Abnormal muscle movements, such as difficulty starting movements, shaking, restlessness, or muscle stiffness without pain.
- •Changes in blood fat levels (triglycerides and total cholesterol).
- •Fast heartbeat
- •Palpitations (pounding or fluttering heart)
- •Constipation, indigestion
- •Weakness
- •Swelling of arms or legs
- •Low blood pressure, especially when standing up, which can cause dizziness or fainting (can lead to falls).
- •High blood sugar
- •Blurred vision
- •Abnormal dreams and nightmares
- •Increased appetite
- •Irritability
- •Speech and language problems
- •Suicidal thoughts and worsening depression
- •Shortness of breath
- •Vomiting (mainly in elderly patients)
- •Fever
- •Changes in thyroid hormone levels in the blood.
- •Decrease in certain types of white blood cells.
- •Increase in liver enzymes measured in blood.
- •Increase in prolactin hormone in the blood (can cause breast swelling in men and women, unexpected milk production, and missed or irregular periods in women).
RARE
- •Seizures or convulsions
- •Allergic reactions, such as hives, swelling of the skin, around the mouth or face.
- •Unpleasant feeling in the legs (restless legs syndrome)
- •Difficulty swallowing
- •Involuntary movements, especially of the face or tongue.
- •Sexual dysfunction
- •Diabetes (new onset or worsening)
- •Changes in the heart's electrical activity (QT prolongation seen on ECG).
- •Slower than normal heart rate (especially at the start of treatment, possibly with low blood pressure and fainting).
- •Difficulty urinating
- •Fainting (can lead to falls)
- •Stuffy nose
- •Decrease in red blood cells
- •Decrease in blood sodium levels
- •Confusion
- •Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (a serious condition with fever, sweating, severe muscle stiffness, severe drowsiness or fainting).
- •Yellow skin and eyes (jaundice)
- •Liver inflammation (hepatitis)
- •Long-lasting and painful erection (priapism)
- •Unexpected milk production from breasts (galactorrhea)
- •Menstrual disorders
- •Blood clots (in veins, especially in the legs, with swelling, pain, and redness; can travel to the lungs causing chest pain and breathing difficulties).
- •Sleepwalking, talking, eating, or other activities while asleep.
- •Lowered body temperature (hypothermia)
- •Pancreatitis
- •Metabolic syndrome (a combination of symptoms including increased belly fat, low good cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar).
- •Agranulocytosis (a condition with very low white blood cells, often with fever, flu-like symptoms, sore throat or other infection).
- •Bowel obstruction
- •Increased creatine phosphokinase in blood (a substance from muscles).
- •Severe skin rash, blisters or red patches.
- •Severe allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock), which can cause breathing difficulties or shock.
- •Sudden swelling of the skin (angioedema), usually around the eyes, lips or throat.
- •Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a severe condition with blistering of the skin, mouth, eyes, and genital areas.
- •Abnormal secretion of a hormone that regulates urine volume.
- •Muscle fiber breakdown and muscle pain (rhabdomyolysis).
- •Erythema multiforme (a rash with irregular red patches).
- •Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis (AGEP), sudden red skin areas covered with small pus-filled blisters.
- •Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), a severe sudden allergic reaction with fever, skin blisters and peeling.
- •Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS), flu-like symptoms with rash, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and abnormal blood test results (including increased eosinophils and liver enzymes).
- •Withdrawal symptoms in newborns if the mother used quetiapine during pregnancy.
- •Stroke
- •Heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy)
- •Heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis)
- •Blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis), often with small red or purple patches on the skin.
Important Warnings
- Do not take this medicine if you are allergic to quetiapine or any of its ingredients.
- Do not take this medicine if you are also taking certain HIV medicines, antifungal medicines, erythromycin, clarithromycin, or nefazodone.
- Tell your doctor if you or your family have heart problems, irregular heartbeats, or if you are taking medicines that affect your heart rhythm.
- Tell your doctor if you have had a stroke, especially if you are an older person.
- Tell your doctor if you have liver problems.
Show 20 more warnings
- Tell your doctor if you have ever had seizures or epilepsy.
- Tell your doctor if you have diabetes or are at risk of developing it. Your doctor may need to check your blood sugar levels.
- Tell your doctor if you have ever had a low white blood cell count.
- If you are elderly and have dementia, this medicine is not recommended as it may increase the risk of stroke or death.
- Tell your doctor if you are elderly and have Parkinson's disease.
- Tell your doctor if you or your family have a history of blood clots.
- Tell your doctor if you have sleep apnea or take medicines that slow down your brain activity.
- Tell your doctor if you have trouble emptying your bladder, an enlarged prostate, a blocked bowel, or high pressure in your eye.
- Tell your doctor if you have a history of alcohol or drug abuse.
- Tell your doctor if you are taking antidepressants, as combining them with Quetiapin Hexal can cause a serious condition called serotonin syndrome.
- Contact your doctor immediately if you experience a combination of fever, severe muscle stiffness, sweating, or reduced awareness (Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome).
- Contact your doctor immediately if you have uncontrolled movements, especially of your face or tongue.
- Contact your doctor immediately if you feel dizzy or very sleepy, as this can increase the risk of falls, especially in older patients.
- Tell your doctor as soon as possible if you have a fever, flu-like symptoms, sore throat, or any other infection, as this could be a sign of very low white blood cells.
- Tell your doctor as soon as possible if you have constipation with persistent stomach pain, or constipation that does not improve with treatment, as this could be a sign of a severe bowel obstruction.
- Contact your doctor or the nearest hospital immediately if you have thoughts of harming yourself or suicide.
- Stop taking this medicine and contact your doctor immediately if you develop severe skin reactions such as rashes, blisters, or red patches, or flu-like symptoms with a rash and fever (signs of SJS, TEN, DRESS, AGEP, EM).
- Weight gain has been seen in some patients. Your doctor should regularly check your weight.
- This medicine is not for children or adolescents under 18 years old.
- This medicine can make you sleepy. Do not drive or use machines until you know how it affects you.