My experience of taking quetiapine and escitalopram

Topics mentioned: medications, quetiapine, escitalopram, suicidal feelings, depression

About: Libby shares her journey to finding the right mental health medication, overcoming stigma, side effects, and her advice for anyone going through it too.

This blog contains reference to suicidal feelings. Please do not read on if you think the content may be triggering for you. If you are currently struggling with your mental health, please visit our find help page for information, advice and guidance on where to get support.

As a young person who has experienced mental health problems for a significant portion of my life, a large amount of my recovery has focused on finding the right medication for me. In the last year, I began to struggle and had my medication reviewed by my Local Mental Health Team (LMHT). During this period, I have trialled a total of nine different medications and would switch every few months. This may seem like a lot, but medication is one of the main treatments for my mental health condition.

It was very important that my psychiatrist was able to find a combination of medications that would aid my recovery. I wish I could tell every young person that the journey to finding the right medication is straightforward but, truthfully, it can take a lot of trial and error to find what works for you.

Having trialled four different antidepressants, my psychiatrist agreed that a combination of medications would be my best route forward and she suggested quetiapine. Quetiapine is a second-generation (newer) antipsychotic and, while it has fewer side effects than earlier antipsychotics, it still comes with a lot of guidance. At first, I felt a sense of discomfort about taking an antipsychotic. Not only because of the side effects, but also because there’s a lot of stigma around antipsychotics.

It’s important to remember that antipsychotics can be used to treat a whole host of conditions, like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. We should not make assumptions about someone who takes antipsychotics. With this in mind, I asked myself: ‘Is it worth overcoming the potential side effects and stigma in order to live my life?’ The answer was yes, because what I desired more than anything was to have some sense of normality and order back in my life.

I agreed to start taking quetiapine, starting with a lower dose and building my way up to a higher dose. During this time, I researched a lot about others' experiences and lots of people found this medication to be very sedating, causing low energy and sleepiness (a major side effect). I braced myself to experience the fatigue, but it never came.

In fact, even as I increased my dose, I noticed no side effects. It’s important to recognise that medication impacts us all differently. Our opinion should not be heavily based on the experiences of others. I acknowledge that while this medication worked particularly well for me, this may not be the case for others, but never let this deter you from trying.

In addition to the quetiapine, I was trialled on my fifth antidepressant, escitalopram. Having never felt any benefit from my previous antidepressants, I assumed that this medication too would not serve its purpose. But I was wrong. Within weeks of starting escitalopram, I felt notable changes within myself including a lessening of suicidal thoughts, an increase in motivation, and overall, I felt more like myself again.

I also didn’t have any negative side effects from escitalopram despite this being a major factor in discontinuing previous similar medications. Upon reflection, similar antidepressants had not helped the way escitalopram did - not giving up on my journey to find the right medication had finally paid off.

There will be lots of young people going through a similar experience of trial and error with various medications right now. There is no simple solution to this, but my main message is to not be deterred. Remember that the negative experiences of others are a part of their individual journey and may not necessarily reflect yours.

Never feel ashamed of the medications that aid your recovery and never lose hope. It's normal to have to trial various medications before finding one that works for you, and only you can decide what benefits you on your journey.