If you have taken more quetiapine than the dosage recommended by the doctor who prescribed it to you, you must get medical help immediately – even if you do not feel any different.
While taking quetiapine, some people may think about hurting themselves or taking their own lives. You must go straight to hospital with your tablets if you have any of these thoughts.
Quetiapine can sometimes cause serious side effects. Tell your doctor immediately if you experience unusual movements (mainly of the face or tongue).
Feeling a little dizzy or sleepy is common, particularly at the start of treatment. This usually passes, but if you feel very dizzy or excessively sleepy, contact your doctor. Go to hospital if you have a seizure (fit).
Quetiapine can in rare cases cause a long-lasting and painful erection (called priapism). If this happens, you will need to be treated in hospital.
In very rare cases, people have severe allergic reactions to quetiapine. Go to hospital if you have difficulty breathing, or swelling of your face or throat.
Quetiapine is not addictive, but stopping it suddenly can cause problems such as difficulty sleeping, feeling or being sick, headache, diarrhoea (loose poo), feeling dizzy or irritable. See you doctor if you want to stop, or if you are having these effects.
You might feel sleepy or dizzy, and not able to see properly, in the first few days after taking quetiapine. Do not drive a car, ride a bike or operate machines until you see how this affects you.
If you are pregnant, or thinking of becoming pregnant, please read the ‘pregnancy, post-natal and breastfeeding’ section under the 'Side Effects' tab, because quetiapine may affect the developing baby.