Seroquel Prolong
Seroquel Prolong contains quetiapine, an antipsychotic medicine used to treat conditions like bipolar depression, severe depression, mania, and schizophrenia.
Form
depottabletti
Strength
300 mg
Active Ingredient
Quetiapine fumarate
Manufacturer
Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH
How to Use
Dosage
Your doctor will prescribe your starting dose; the daily dose usually ranges between 150 mg and 800 mg.
Method
Take the tablets once daily, whole with water, at least 1 hour before a meal or at bedtime, without breaking, chewing, or crushing them.
Important
Do not exceed the maximum daily dose your doctor has prescribed, typically up to 800 mg.
Possible Side Effects
COMMON
- •Dizziness (may lead to falls), headache, dry mouth.
- •Sleepiness (which may decrease with continued use, may lead to falls).
- •Withdrawal symptoms when stopping the medicine, such as difficulty sleeping, nausea, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, and irritability (stop gradually over 1-2 weeks).
- •Weight gain.
- •Abnormal muscle movements like difficulty starting movements, shaking, restlessness, or stiff muscles without pain.
- •Changes in certain fat levels (triglycerides and total cholesterol).
- •Fast heartbeat.
- •Palpitations (pounding or fluttering heart).
- •Constipation, upset stomach.
- •Weakness.
- •Swelling in arms or legs.
- •Low blood pressure, especially when standing up, causing dizziness or faintness (may lead to falls).
- •High blood sugar.
- •Blurred vision.
- •Abnormal dreams and nightmares.
- •Increased appetite.
- •Irritability.
- •Speech problems.
- •Suicidal thoughts and worsening depression.
- •Shortness of breath.
- •Vomiting (mainly in the elderly).
- •Fever.
- •Changes in thyroid hormone levels in blood.
- •Decrease in certain types of blood cells.
- •Increased liver enzymes measured in blood.
- •Increased prolactin hormone levels in blood, possibly leading to breast swelling and unexpected milk production in men and women, or missed/irregular periods in women.
RARE
- •Seizures or convulsions.
- •Allergic reactions like hives, skin and mouth swelling.
- •Unpleasant feeling in the legs (restless legs syndrome).
- •Difficulty swallowing.
- •Uncontrolled movements, especially of the face or tongue.
- •Sexual dysfunction.
- •Diabetes.
- •Changes in heart's electrical activity seen on ECG (QT prolongation).
- •Slower than normal heart rate, especially at the start of treatment, possibly with low blood pressure and fainting.
- •Difficulty urinating.
- •Fainting (may lead to falls).
- •Stuffy nose.
- •Decrease in red blood cells.
- •Low sodium levels in blood.
- •Worsening of diabetes.
- •Confusion.
- •A combination of high fever, sweating, muscle stiffness, severe drowsiness, or fainting (neuroleptic malignant syndrome).
- •Yellowing of skin and eyes (jaundice).
- •Liver inflammation (hepatitis).
- •Long-lasting and painful erection (priapism).
- •Breast swelling and unexpected milk production (galactorrhea), menstrual disorders.
- •Blood clots, especially in leg veins (swelling, pain, redness in legs), which can travel to lungs, causing chest pain and breathing difficulties.
- •Sleepwalking, sleep-talking, sleep-eating, or other sleep-related activities.
- •Low body temperature (hypothermia).
- •Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).
- •Metabolic syndrome (a combination of at least three conditions: increased abdominal fat, low 'good' cholesterol (HDL-C), high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar).
- •Fever, flu-like symptoms, sore throat, or other infection combined with a very low white blood cell count (agranulocytosis).
- •Bowel obstruction.
- •Increased levels of creatine phosphokinase (a muscle enzyme) in the blood.
- •Severe skin rash, blisters or red patches on the skin.
- •Severe allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock) that can cause breathing difficulties or shock.
- •Rapid swelling of the skin, usually around the eyes, lips, or throat (angioedema).
- •Severe blistering of the skin, mouth, eyes, or genital area (Stevens-Johnson syndrome).
- •Abnormal secretion of a hormone that regulates urine volume.
- •Muscle fiber breakdown and muscle pain (rhabdomyolysis).
- •Rash with irregular red patches (erythema multiforme).
- •Rapidly appearing red skin areas full of small pus-filled blisters (acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP)).
- •Severe, sudden allergic reaction with symptoms like fever, skin blisters, and peeling skin (toxic epidermal necrolysis).
- •Systemic eosinophilia with drug rash (DRESS) with flu-like symptoms, rash, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and abnormal blood values.
- •Withdrawal symptoms in newborns if the mother used Seroquel Prolong during pregnancy.
- •Stroke.
- •Heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy).
- •Heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis).
- •Blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis), often with small red or purple skin rashes.
Important Warnings
- Do not take if you are allergic to quetiapine or any other ingredients.
- Do not take if you are using certain medicines for HIV, fungal infections (azoles), bacterial infections (erythromycin or clarithromycin), or the antidepressant nefazodone.
- Tell your doctor if you or your family have had heart problems.
- Tell your doctor if you have low blood pressure.
- Tell your doctor if you have had a stroke, especially if you are elderly.
Show 10 more warnings
- Tell your doctor if you have liver problems.
- Tell your doctor if you have had seizures (epilepsy).
- Tell your doctor if you have diabetes or are at risk of getting it.
- Tell your doctor if you have had low white blood cell counts.
- Do not take if you are an elderly person with dementia, as this medicine may increase the risk of stroke or death.
- Tell your doctor if you or your family have a history of blood clots.
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding without discussing with your doctor.
- This medicine can make you sleepy; do not drive or operate machinery until you know how it affects you.
- Seek immediate medical attention if you have thoughts of harming yourself or suicide.
- Stop taking this medicine and contact your doctor immediately if you develop severe skin reactions like rashes, blisters, or skin peeling.
Use in Elderly Patients
Category D
Avoid use in older adults. Anticholinergic. Sedative. For treatment of psychosis only. Inappropriate as a hypnotic. Increases the risk of cardiovascular events, QT prolongation and orthostatic hypotension. Increases risk of falls, extrapyramidal symptoms and cognitive impairment. Reduces the effectiveness of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease. Avoid grapefruit. (updated 15.1.2024)